----Chapter 22
Lois stared at the wall for an hour after Lara had disappeared. She'd taken the bracelet off right away, wanting to avoid getting the stream of Clark's emotions the diary had said she would. She was in no way ready for that kind of connection with him.
She finally snapped out of her daze when Jordan woke up from her nap and joined her on the couch, turning on the television and laying her head down on Lois's lap. Lois stroked her daughter's hair slowly as she lost herself in the children's show that had been turned on. They sat in silence for a while before Jordan spoke.
"I'm thirsty, mommy."
Lois looked down to find Jordan had turned to look up at her. Smiling down, she nodded. "What would you like?"
"Apple juice, please."
As she stood up, she tossed a giggling little girl over her shoulder and walked out to the kitchen. After setting a glass on the counter, she pulled the juice out of the fridge and poured out a glass, taking a quick swig from the bottle before putting it back in its place. She finally put Jordan down, letting her sit on the counter while she drank her juice.
"So, how'd you sleep, baby girl?"
"Ok. May I have a snack?"
Lois looked at the clock on the fridge, trying to remember when they'd eaten lunch. It had only been a few hours. It would still be a few hours until Clark came home for the day. She thought about what they had and finally acquiesced when she decided she could use a snack as well.
Opening the fridge again, she found an assortment of fruits and vegetables in the drawers, and figured that was a lot better for a growing girl and growing fetus than something like chips, ice cream or what she really wanted, two chocolate chip cookies with whipped cream in the middle. Good god, that sounded amazing... but no. Less crap, more nutrition.
She pulled out an orange, tossing it a couple times from hand to hand before setting it down on the counter. She rifled through a few drawers before finding what resembled a peeler and walked back over to the orange. It ended up being the right utensil and the orange was quickly peeled and sliced into small slices. She handed one to Jordan before popping one into her mouth.
They finished the orange quickly, and while Jordan was sated Lois was still fighting hunger. She wondered if she was ever going to stop being hungry until AJ was born. She reached into the fridge again and pulled out an apple. She washed it off and was about to take a bite when she was interrupted.
"Could I get down now, mommy?"
Lois looked over to Jordan, who was still sitting on the counter and swinging her legs. "Sorry. Mommy got distracted by food, which might happen a lot until the new baby is born." She put Jordan down on the ground and watched her take off towards her room. Lois grabbed her apple, and after thinking about it for a second, a sharp knife to cut off pieces.
She was about halfway through the apple, watching an episode of Friends on TV Land, which just made her feel old, when she sliced her finger with the knife. She shook her hand a couple times and went to inspect the cut. She looked at it as it started bleeding, then starting pulling itself back together. A second later, her skin was unblemished and it was as if the cut had never existed.
Her finger had just healed itself. She'd cut it with a knife, and it had healed within seconds.
Lois made herself blink after a long period of staring at her finger with very wide eyes. Why... why had it done that? How could something like that happen? Not that she was against having things heal very quickly, but it was very, very abnormal and NOT something she'd ever had happen before.
Clark. Clark would know what was going on. He remembered all their years together so of course he would know what was going on. He had to know what was going on.
She searched around for the cell phone Clark had said was hers. After turning over half their bedroom, she finally found it in the drawer of his night stand. She scrolled through the names until she got to number for his desk.
It rang a couple times before he picked up.
"Clark Kent's desk."
"Clark! It's Lois and..."
"Hey Lo! How're you and Jordan doing?"
"She's doing great, playing in her room at the moment. I, on the other hand, am very confused and a little freaked out?"
"What? Why?"
"I was eating an apple. I didn't want to take bites, though I can't remember why not, so I grabbed a knife and was cutting off slices. Well, in so doing I ended up cutting my finger. Upon inspection, it healed. It closed up and looked like it had never existed, Smallville! How and why?"
"Lois, calm down. This is completely normal, based on your pregnancy with Jordan."
She nearly threw the phone when he said that it was normal. She appreciated that it was a subjective term, but this was ludicrous! "Are you kidding me? This is not normal, Clark!"
"Look, I can't really talk about this here. Do you want me to come home so we can talk about it?"
It didn't require much thought for her. "Yes, please. Thank you, Clark."
"You're welcome. I'll be home soon."
Twenty minutes later, Lois thought she may have tapped grooves into the coffee table with her fingers. She couldn't stop fidgeting, despite her best efforts. She couldn't decide if she was nervous about hearing what Clark had to say, or just really freaked out. When she heard the door opening, she let out a relieved sigh and hopped up, walking towards the door to greet him.
"So? What's wrong with me, Smallville?"
The way he was smiling at her, she decided he wasn't taking this situation seriously enough, even if he did know what was going on. "Enough with the grinning, Smallville! If you haven't noticed the fidgeting, I'm freaked out!"
He put his hands on her shoulders a second then pulled her into a hug. She let herself melt into his embrace, which calmed her down. Wait, why was a hug from Clark calming her down? Yeah, it was nice, well, really nice and comfortable when he lightly rested his chin on her head... no! She had to focus on the crazy healing finger and get an explanation. She was about to push away when he started talking, as if he'd sensed her intentions.
"How much do you know about the function of the placenta during pregnancy, Lois?"
"I know there is one." She thought for a second. "That about covers it. Pregnancy was never a topic I was all that interested in until about five days ago when I learned I was pregnant."
"Ok. Basically, Almond Joy's blood supply goes through the placenta and it sifts out all the waste, which goes into your blood to be gotten rid of. At the same time he or she is getting nutrients, oxygen and antibodies from your blood that also goes through the placenta. We assume you get your healing from the transfer of nutrients and waste between the babies blood and yours."
"Huh. Just how much is some?"
"Small cuts and the like are gone more or less as soon as they happen. Bigger things heal more quickly too, but it's not an instantly thing. You broke your ankle when pregnant with Jordan, and it was healed in about eight hours. This does not mean you should stop being careful, just that when you get hurt, you'll be ok sooner."
All in all, Lois thought that it seemed like a satisfactory explanation. It was about as plausible as anything she could ever come up with, and they'd probably discussed this with other people to figure it out. It'd have to do.
What she really wanted to know was why she was having such a ridiculous Thursday. First there was that whole Lara thing, which, ok, she'd brought upon herself. She wished the her in 2017 that had written about it would have just kept her pen to herself. And then, she finds out that because she's pregnant with a baby that would heal quickly once born, if it could even get hurt, she had the ability to a lesser degree until then. Weird.
She was still in Clark's embrace, which was still being disturbingly calming. She was beginning to think that people with the last name Kent had her under some sort of spell where they all make her happy and feel loved. It was definitely an unfair advantage they had, that's for sure.
"Fine," she mumbled into Clark's chest. "I guess that all makes sense and you've probably done more research on the topic. You could have told me about it, though."
"Had I, you'd have wanted to test it, and I was hoping to avoid that."
She pushed her head away from him and looked up into his eyes. "Wanted to test it? What was I going to do, stab myself in the hand, cry out in pain and then be all giddy when it healed?"
"No, but based on past experience, you'd have made a couple small cuts on your palm and then take some unnecessary risks when we're out in the field."
"Oh, I would not... ok, I would do the unnecessary risks thing, but that's just me!"
"Right, and I wasn't going to give you any more incentive to do so."
Lois finally removed herself from his grasp and walked back over to the couch, sitting down and laying her had back on the cushions. She did feel much better now that she knew why crazy things were happening. "Are you going back to work, Smallville?"
"No. I told Perry I'd be spending the rest of the day with you and Jordan. He's looking forward to getting you back at the Planet tomorrow, by the way."
"Well, I am the best. So, now that you're here, how about another story about stuff I don't recall?"
"What do you want to hear?"
"I'm thinking you could tell me something about our early days as a team at the Planet. Lane & Kent, the early years."
"Ok. So, we were at the office late one night the week after Chloe's wedding. It was the Thursday night of my first week, actually."
---
Clark scratched his ear as he looked at the computer screen, trying to figure out the right way to word his sentence. Lois had passed off the article to him a few minutes ago, needing to go get coffee. She'd told him that she trusted his judgement, which he took to mean that she was going to change it to the way she wanted it once she got back. She wasn't keen on his suggestions quite yet.
He let his fingers go into super speed and typed out a couple paragraphs, smiling as his words showed up. He liked the way his writing seemed to match up well with Lois's stuff. Hers was smart and edgy, his was smart and heartfelt. Not that hers lacked heart, but the heart could get lost in the edge sometimes. He could always see the heart in her words.
Smacking himself in the forehead, he reminded himself that he should try not to think that way. They were partners, now. He shouldn't be obsessing over her like he was some lovesick college kid anymore.
Just then she walked back towards their adjoining desks and he forgot that he shouldn't be doing exactly what he was doing, which was thanking every God that could possibly exist for allowing him to be so close to her every day. She sat down at her desk and sipped at her coffee before saying anything.
"How much did you get down, Smallville?"
"A few paragraphs. I think it's looking good."
"A few paragraphs? I was gone for three minutes, so I'm thinking it looks rushed it and you left something out."
He watched as she got up again and came around to look at his screen. She leaned over so that her face was right next to his, nearly resting on his shoulder. He could smell her hair, and suddenly he wasn't thinking straight at all. All he could think about was kissing her, a lot, and how happy they could be if...
"Smallville!"
Clark snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Lois, blinking a couple times. "Yeah, what?"
"I was saying that I actually like what you wrote down. Leave it in." She took another big swig of coffee before speaking again. "Know what? Even coffee isn't doing it for me tonight. We can finish this up tomorrow morning for the afternoon edition."
"Sounds good. Say, you want to go grab some food?"
"Nah. I've got a couple calls to make, so I'm still going to be here a little while. You can go on and get out of here."
"Are you sure, Lois? I can wait, it's no problem."
"I'll be fine, Smallville. Get out while the getting's good."
He smiled at her before she turned away, then sighed as she walked away. Most people would revel in getting to go home from work; for Clark, it was the worst part of his day.
He grabbed all his notes and stuck them in his briefcase, making sure he had everything before closing it up. He grabbed it and walked to the elevator, waiting for it come to come. It finally got there, and he walked in, pushing the button for the ground floor. He thought he caught a glimpse of Lois running towards the elevator, but shook it off as his mind playing tricks on him.
When he finally got out of the building, he was about to hail a taxi when he decided it was a nice night to just walk to his apartment. It was only about a twenty minute walk, and it wasn't like it was going to tire him out or anything. He looked up at the night sky, wishing that the lights of the city didn't drown out the stars.
He was about halfway home when he heard the call for help. He focused his hearing and determined it was back at the Daily Planet. Looking around, he ducked into an alley. It was now or never if he was going to fulfill his destiny and protect people. He ripped his shirt open and shed the rest of his clothes and took off, flying towards the Planet.
He focused his vision and saw a woman hanging off the roof of the Planet. She lost her grip and fell. He pushed himself and just as he got to her, he saw that it was Lois. Oh god, what was Lois doing hanging from the roof of the Daily Planet, not to mention falling? Why had he left?
He caught her, more thankful than any time in his life that he had his powers, and held her against himself a little closer than necessary. He hoped like crazy that she wasn't going to recognize him.
"It's alright, miss. I've got you."
He watched Lois look down then look into his eyes, wrapping her eyes around his neck. "You've got me? Who's got you?"
After that she went quiet as he took her back up to the roof of the Planet. He put her down, smiled and took off again. He turned around and looked at her when she spoke.
"Who... who are you?"
He still hadn't picked out a name. He really should have done that before revealing himself. Probably something that started with an S. For now, though, he just needed to tell her something to satisfy her curiosity.
"A friend." He'd have said more, but the more he said, the longer he was giving her to put two and two together.
He flew away from the building, grinning. He heard her yell after him about an interview, which just made him smile. Lois would always be Lois, no matter what happened. He wished he could call Chloe to ask about name suggestions now that he was out of the super hero closet, because she would invariably find out and call him and Lois, but interrupting her honeymoon wasn't an option. He thought he might be hearing from her anyway, though, since a flying man was likely to be all over the news everywhere in the world. They were going somewhere secluded, but not that secluded.
He descended into the alley he'd changed in and put his suit back on, adjusting his tie and putting his glasses back on as he walked out onto the sidewalk again. He passed a little burger joint, stopped, and went in, getting himself a greasy cheeseburger, some curly fries and a chocolate shake. His thoughts wandered to Lois, hoping she wasn't thinking she'd gone crazy.
He ate slowly, trying to figure out if he should do th interview she wanted. Oh, who was he kidding? Of course he was going to do the interview. Like he could ever deny Lois anything she wanted.
He finished his food and walked home, tossing his briefcase on the coffee table and turning on the television to see if they were covering him yet. He didn't want to be self centered, he just wanted to see how far news of the flying man had gone.
All the local channels were covering it. He wasn't too surprised by that. News stations in Metropolis were always quick to catch on to possible news stories and chase them down. He flipped over to the national news networks, where the flying man was getting coverage on most of those channels as well. Wow, that was quick, though since he'd rescued Lois from falling off the Planet building... wait, how had that happened?
There hadn't been anybody up there when he'd put her back down. They must have thrown her over the side and run back into the building. He felt like an idiot for not trying to find them, though, especially since they would probably try to kill Lois again. Why had she even been on the roof in the first place?
Sighing, he stripped his suit and tie off again and took off, flying towards Lois's apartment. When he got there, she was sitting in a chair on the balcony, her hand tapping on the table. She was wearing an old looking sweatshirt and... were those plaid pajama pants? Suddenly he wished she knew who he was so he could comment about that.
He floated down, watching her as she stared off in the opposite direction. He finally decided to speak up.
"How are you, Miss Lane?"
She jumped, a hand placed over her heart. She looked at him, eyebrows raised. "I was better before you scared the hell out of me." She paused before speaking again. "Not that I'm complaining, though, since I owe you my life, but I think it may have just lost a few years of it." She paused a second and her brows knitted together.
"Wait, how do you know who I am?"
"I like your articles, Miss Lane."
She eyed him, then nodded, seeming to accept the answer. "Not to look a gift horse in the mouth... I really spent too long in that farm town... what brings you to my balcony?"
"You asked me for an interview, and I thought I would oblige."
She got up and walked towards the door leading into her apartment. "Have a seat," she called out to him. He shrugged and landed on her balcony, pulling out a chair and sitting down, folding his cape over an arm. He still couldn't believe his mom had talked him into wearing the skintight costume.
Lois walked back out in completely different clothes. He had to work to keep his jaw from falling open as she stood in front of him in clothes that were extremely sexy and not at all professional in his opinion. They'd done a couple interviews together so far and she'd never worn anything like that to them.
This was going to be a long night.
---
"So, I was the first person you saved as Superman?"
"With as much trouble you tend to get in, I'd say the odds seemed to favor it." She watched Clark stand up and walk over to a bookshelf, pulling out something that looked more like a binder than a book. He flipped through it a second before pulling out what looked like a newspaper page. He put the binder down and handed the page to her. The headline at the top of the page read 'My Night With Superman,' by Lois Lane.
Lois read through the article, laughing when she got to the part about him x-raying her and telling her she had on a white thong. She looked at him, grinning.
"You must have been blushing like crazy when I asked you that."
"I'm not going to lie, that is a definite possibility. Though, giving me an excuse to look at your underwear was just about the best thing you did that entire year. Everything else involved me saving you after being scared you were already dead."
"I can see where that would be nerve-racking for you, Smallville."
They spent the rest of the afternoon and the evening relaxing and spending time with Jordan. They ate dinner, where Lois decided to indulge herself and ate until she felt like she couldn't eat for a month. She was snacking a couple hours later.
After putting Jordan down for the night, they did some more work on their city council corruption story, but without any new leads, they were just going over the same stuff trying to find any details they could have missed. Their first ten times reading the information seemed to have covered things, though.
Lois was laying in bed, her head on Clark's chest when she finally blurted out something that had been building all evening. "I'm worried."
"Worried about what, Lo?"
"Of not being the Lois people expect to read. I mean, I know I'm a good journalist, but does my writing change the longer I have my memory?"
She frowned when he laughed. "Lo, your writing hasn't changed once since we've been partners, no matter what's happened. Don't worry, everything will be fine."
For some reason, Lois believed him. She blamed his comfy chest for it as she fell asleep.
