"Thank you, Superman," Lois said as she brushed drying concrete off of her clothing.

Superman flashed her a smile, then excused himself. "There's something I need to do," he said, flying off before she could tell him about Capone's plans to crash the party being held at The Planet.

Lois sighed, shaking in frustration. She opened her mouth to call Superman back, but a movement in the shadows of the darkened alley stopped her. For a brief moment, fear paralyzed her as the figure made a beeline for where she stood. As it came closer, she began to make out some of the features in the orange glow of the street lamps. Realization dawned on her, threatening to leave her speechless.

"Clark?" she called out, breaking into a run, heels clicking on the pavement.

A broad smile covered Clark's entire face and he picked up his pace. In an instant, she was in his arms and he in hers. Tears of joy welled up in Lois' eyes and fell unnoticed onto Clark's ruined suit, the same one he'd been wearing that night. Time stood still for them both as they hugged.

"Clark," Lois was murmuring, over and over as if to convince herself that he was really there.

"It's ok. I'm here," he soothed her, rubbing his hand comfortingly on her back.

She pulled away after a moment. "How?" she asked, as Doctor Hamilton came up alongside of them.

Clark smiled at her. Disheveled as she currently was, he thought that he had never seen so beautiful a sight. "Superman," he said. "He found my body after Capone dumped it. He froze me with his super breath."

"Freezing would prevent further tissue damage," Doctor Hamilton said, sounding as if his mind was whirring with thoughts.

Clark nodded. "He took me to your lab and used your notes on cryonics to bring me back. So it's like I never died." He gazed over at Lois, his heart nearly breaking with relief that he had found some way of resurrecting the life that he wanted. His incredible luck in the matter wasn't lost on him. If Doctor Hamilton hadn't left those notes in his lab...Well, in any case, he had been graced with a second chance and he was not going to squander it.

He kissed Lois on the cheek.

"I'm so glad my work finally did some good," Doctor Hamilton said, fairly beaming with pride.

"The Planet!" Lois said, as Capone's plan came to mind. "He's going to kill everyone."

"Call the police," Clark said, "I'll meet you there."

"No way! I lost you once, I am not letting you out of my sigh again," she admonished him.

Clark knew that tone and it brooked no room for argument. Reluctantly, he agreed. Doctor Hamilton rushed off in the opposite direction, hell-bent on destroying his lab and the research that had caused this whole mess to begin with.

Stopping Capone and his gang was absurdly simple. Clark had managed to separate himself from Lois and had appeared as Superman in enough time to catch the bullets that the gang had fired at The Daily Planet staff. Everyone had helped in the apprehension of the gangsters. Clark had been impressed at the way Lois, Perry, and Jimmy had handled themselves in particular. Then he had flown off, allowing Clark to rush into the newsroom, huffing and puffing from "running" up the steps.

"Has anyone seen Clark?" Lois had been asking as he walked in. No one had noticed his entrance in the chaos of the moment.

"Uh, Lois honey, Clark is gone," Perry gently reminded her.

"Don't believe everything that you read," Clark said cheerily. "Man, I have got to get back to the gym." He placed a hand to his abdomen to emphasize his shortness of breath.

"CK?" Jimmy sputtered, not quite believing his own eyes. He grabbed his friend in a hug.

"How?" Perry asked.

"Long story," Clark assured him. "I'll tell you on the way back down to the lobby. Being dead kinda takes it out of you." He yawned and it was no act. He'd been without sleep for too long, not since the night before his "murder" and a lot had happened since then, including a 36 hour stake out on the movie theatre where he had finally caught Dillinger.

"I'll drive you home," Lois offered, rubbing his arm affectionately.

"Thanks." He flashed a brilliant smile at her.

On the elevator ride back to the lobby, Clark made good on his promise, giving Perry and Jimmy the same story he had given Lois. Jimmy, in particular, couldn't keep the grin off his face. Perry shook his head and laughed, relief evident on his face. In fact, he seemed so thrilled to have Clark alive that he utterly forgot to throw in one of his famous, albeit, obscure bits of Elvis trivia. In the lobby, Clark saw Detective Wolf standing with Doctor Hamilton. No charges were being pressed - Clark had refused. After all, he literally would not have been standing there if not for the doctor's work - however many half-truths were buried in that.

Once in Lois' car, Clark finally allowed himself to relax. He slipped into a light sleep, feeling guilty as he did so. Lois was trying to tell him something. But he just could not keep his eyes open. Too soon, she was stopping the car in front of his apartment. He got out reluctantly, then watched as she drove away.

Inside his apartment, he stood for a moment, taking in the comforting feeling of being home. Truly being home. Odd, how completely safe he felt there. How much more like home it felt than his parents' house now did. He ran a hand lovingly down the banister as he descended the steps. Home. He wanted to shout his excitement, his happiness to the world. If he was more rested, he would have flown to the Andes and let such happy cries out. But not tonight, even though he'd restored some of his strength in Lois' car.

He slipped off to the shower instead, enjoying the hot water on his skin. Finishing, he wrapped a faded blue towel around his waist and sat back on his couch. He thought for a moment. It was still on the early side and the brief nap in Lois' car had revitalized him a bit, as had the hot shower. He decided to call home. Excitedly , he filled his parents in on the story he had come up with. He couldn't quite tell if they were upset with his continued charade, but it was clear that they were relieved that he had found a way to be happy again.

A knock on his door stopped him mid-sentence. He X-rayed the door quickly, and instinctively grabbed for his glasses.

"Mom, dad, I gotta go. Lois is here...Yeah, I'll talk to you soon...Love you too. Bye."

He hung up the phone and crossed to the door, acutely aware that he was only in his glasses and a towel still. He unbolted the door and allowed Lois inside. She had changed out of her concrete and cake ruined clothes and was in a pair of old sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Oh God, I'm sorry, I should have called first," she stammered when she saw his attire...or rather, his lack thereof.

"No, it's ok," he assured her. "Just uh, make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back."

He dashed into his bedroom and threw on a pair of thin cotton pants and a black t-shirt, very aware of Lois' eyes following his retreating body. He supposed that should make him happy. But he was concerned too. Why was she here?

Coming back out, he poured her a cup of coffee and sat next to her on the couch.

"Sorry," he said as he settled down. "I was on the phone when you came."

"Your parents," she said with realization. Clark nodded. "How'd they take it?"

"Well, they were shocked but more than anything they are grateful. They told me how you had called them the other night. Thank you...for being the one to do so."

"Clark," she said, staring at her coffee. He recognized the move as one of the things Lois did when she was afraid. Why was she afraid?

"I'm not gonna like this, am I?" he asked.

"No, I mean, it's not like that. I tried to tell you in the car. But you...fell asleep." She started to rise. He stopped her with a gentle touch on the arm. "I should let you sleep," she said, her cheeks flushed.

"No. Please. Stay," Clark said. "I'm the one that should be apologizing. You were trying to tell me something and I..." his voice trailed off.

"No, no. You've been through a lot lately. Clark, the whole time you were dead...or being...repaired...or whatever...why didn't Superman tell me? I went through hell thinking I would never see you again."

"Well," he said, picking his words carefully, "from what Superman told me, what he did was a long shot. I guess...he just didn't want to get your hopes up."

"Still, it would have been better having some hope than none." She took a sip from her mug. "But still, losing you made me do a lot of thinking. When I thought I would never see you again, never hear your voice again, I couldn't stand it. It was like my heart had been ripped right out of my chest and replaced with a painful chunk of ice. Clark, you do know that you are my best friend, right?"

"Of course I do," he said, as she took hold of his free hand. "And you know that you are mine, right?"

Lois nodded. "Yes. But there was even more than I realized. I realized that I didn't want to live my life without you in it. Over the past year and a half, I've come to..." she swallowed hard.

"To?" Clark prompted her.

"To love you. And I don't mean as my partner, or as my friend, or as some brother that I never had. I mean, I do love those things about you. And it bothered me that you were gone and that I had never told you just how much I really do love you." She seemed to draw up into herself as she waited to see how he would react.

"Lois," Clark laughed nervously, "are you feeling ok? I mean, it is possible, common even, for someone who had gone through something traumatic like that to think that they are in love with the person who is gone...or has saved them."

Tears welled in Lois' eyes. Clearly this was not the answer she thought that she would receive. She shook her head. "I'm not confused," she stated firmly. "I've never been so clear about anything. Forget I ever said anything."

"Great," Clark muttered to himself. Then, louder he addressed her. "No. I just meant...Lois you have to know that I love you too. I just...wanted to make sure I guess. Before I did anything...out of line."

She arched one eyebrow. "Like?"

"This," he said, as he leaned over and captured her lips in a kiss.

"Clark," she breathed when they broke apart. "Can...can I stay here tonight? I know it sounds silly, but I still have this fear that if I leave, that you'll disappear again. Like this is some kind of illusion that you're back."

"I'm not going anywhere," he said. "And I am really back. Um, you can take the bed, if you give me a few minutes to put fresh sheets on."

Lois followed him to the bedroom. "Clark, that's not exactly what I meant when I asked if I could stay here." The look she gave him silenced any doubt he might have had about her meaning.

That night, they made love.

Clark awoke early the next morning, Lois' still sleeping form curled next to his own body. His left arm was curled around her back, naked flesh to naked flesh. With his right hand, he brushed a wayward lock of hair away from her closed eyes, pulling her tighter against his chest as he did so. Looking at her, he smiled and kissed her head, drinking in the scent of her coconut shampoo. She was so warm next to him and his heart threatened to burst in unbridled joy.

Lois stirred and Clark barely had time to put on his glasses.

"Hi," she said groggily. A smile spread over her face.

"Hi," he whispered back. He kissed her lips softly. "Go back to sleep. It's still very early."

"Ok," she yawned.

Her eyes fluttered shut once more and within moments Clark could feel her breath return to the deep, even breathing of sleep. He lay back, settling himself deeply into his pillows, but his eyes never left Lois. He smiled as he gazed at her.

All was right in the world. Clark was alive.

Author's Final Note: If you are interested in the adult version of this chapter (read: explicit), please visit adultfanfiction and look for this story.