Disclaimer: Remember, I don't own any of these characters.
By his third day in the hospital, Clark Kent was absolutely depressed. He missed his parents, he missed his work at the Daily Planet, and he still couldn't keep anything down. The doctors and nurses were very friendly, trying to make him as comfortable as possible, but the only way that Clark would be comfortable was if he was in his own apartment again, perfectly healthy, settling down to sleep in his own bed.
Luckily, his fever was going down, and even more luckily, the expert scientists that the hospital had flown in from New York and Washington, D.C. had been very quick to determine what was wrong with Superman. As it turned out, it wasn't a virus after all; it was Kryptonite poisoning.
"Kryptonite poisoning?" Clark asked weakly, confused. He was lying in his bed at the hospital, wearing a hospital gown over his Superman suit as usual. "But I haven't been around any Kryptonite."
"Well, Superman, along with your blood, we also analyzed your vomit, and we found traces of Kryptonite in your vomit," a female scientist with dark hair tied up in a severe bun told him as he rested in bed. "We've hypothesized that you inhaled particles of Kryptonite last week as you flew into space to stop the asteroid."
Superman nodded. "I guess that makes sense. But why didn't it affect me right away?"
"I don't know, Superman. We can't explain the delayed reaction. The only thing we know for sure is that your system will probably keep expelling the Kryptonite out through your vomit until you're all better. But the worst is over. Your fever's going down fast, although it may be a while until you regain your powers."
"So I'll survive?" he asked, smiling.
"Of course."
"When I can leave the hospital?"
"Dr. Miller wants you here for at least another day," a nurse who was taking his heartbeat with a stethoscope told him. "Then you'll be released on strict orders to rest until you regain your strength."
"Sounds good to me," Superman remarked weakly, thinking of his cozy apartment in Metropolis.
Leaving the hospital was tricky. Clark was still too weak to fly, and he couldn't take a taxi home without somebody realizing Superman's real identity.
"Your father and I are going to pick you up, honey. We'll tell everyone we're nursing you back to health at our farm in Smallville," Martha Kent told her son over the phone. "And don't worry about work. I told Perry the truth, basically. You're very ill and you've been in the hospital."
"Thanks, Mom," Clark told his mother over the phone. He had to keep an eye on his hospital room door to make sure that nobody was looking or listening in at Superman on the phone.
"Your father and I will take good care of you until you're better. I promise," Martha encouraged her son. "I feel like every other mother who has to take care of a sick child. I just wish there was some kind of cure to flush that nasty Kryptonite out of your system. Some kind of home remedy I could fix you."
"It's okay, Mom. The doctors said I'll survive."
"And that's quite a relief. I don't know what your father and I would do if we our boy!"
Clark paused. "But Mom, what if Lois finds something out?" he asked worriedly. "I know she's going to try to follow my trail as Superman. Superman being sick is a huge story for the Planet."
"I'll tell Lois to respect your privacy, and she'll understand. Clark, don't you worry about a thing."
Luckily, Superman had retreated to the back of Lois' mind as she prepared for her date with Lex.
I'm actually pretty glad Clark is out sick, Lois thought as she fluffed up her hair in her bathroom mirror. I wouldn't want him to be bored to death by my rambling about Lex.
Lois went out into her bedroom and checked her makeup at her vanity table. She was just spritzing on some of her best perfume when her phone rang. "Hello?"
"Lois, it's Perry White. Superman is leaving the hospital. I want you to get down there and cover the story right away."
"But Chief, I-"
"No buts. The public wants to know about this, Lois." Without any more words, the Chief hung up.
Lois sighed. She didn't want to postpone another date with Lex, and she knew that the Chief wanted that story. She cursed her thoughts from ten minutes earlier. Why did Clark have to be sick? Why couldn't he be available to cover the story?
Reluctantly, Lois picked up the phone and called Jimmy Olsen. "Jimmy, it's Lois. I need you to do me a huge favor."
"Name it, but it'll cost you," Jimmy told her, grinning.
"No, it won't. You'll be so thrilled to do this for me that I won't owe you anything." She paused. "How would you like to go down to the hospital and call in the story of Superman being released?"
Even though Lois couldn't see, Jimmy's eyes went wide. "Boy, would I!" he exclaimed. "Would I get my own byline and everything?"
"That's part of the favor. You'll have to share a byline with me."
Jimmy sighed. "All right. I guess so. But I'll be right down, and I'll get plenty of pictures."
"Thanks, Jimmy. Have fun." Lois hung up the phone and went back to her mirror. She wouldn't dare risk putting off another date with Lex.
Lex Luthor arrived at Lois' apartment with a bouquet of pink roses, wearing his charming smile. After helping Lois put the roses in a vase, he assisted her in putting on her coat.
"Tonight will be a night you won't ever forget," he told her, smiling gently.
Lois had a grin a mile wide across her face as Lex walked her down to his limousine. He helped her into the limo, shut the door, and went around to the driver's door.
He tapped on the glass, and the limo driver rolled his window down. "Yes, sir?"
"To LexCorp," he told the driver briskly.
The driver frowned. "Yes, Mr. Luthor."