The italicised part is still part of flashback
Chapter 5
Clark was floating a couple of feet above his bed when someone knocked at the door. He almost ran towards it, tripping as he hurried.
There was only one person who used to run to him in the middle of night. But that was such a distant memory.
"Hi... " he said, smiling.
Lois was leaning against the door. She stared at the floor in front of her, not yet being brave enough to speak to him.
Clark brushed her dainty hand and slowly took it into his big one. He raised his other hand to her face, until their gaze met. Lois moved her eyes away from his face, looking yet again at the floor. With a little embarrassment, she realized that he was wearing only his shorts.
"I already miss you," he told her, smiling.
"I miss you too..." Lois whispered. She paused for a moment. "Please... can I stay?" She added this last request in an almost inaudible voice.
As his answer, Clark opened the door wider, but to his amazement, Lois didn't move.
Then he pulled her towards him. A moment later, she was lost in his embrace. Her arms held him with all her might. Clark did the same, kissing her temple.
"I'm here, Lois. I'm here, just for you."
He could hear her breathe deeply. She was trying not to burst into sobs and Clark realized this from the way she was holding him. She never held him in that way. She was holding him... as if he was going to disappear.
He whispered to her, and kissed her temple, trying hard to make her feel better.
"I'm not going to go anywhere, Lois, I'll be here for you... always, and forever."
Lois slowly moved a couple of inches in order to look into his eyes.
They stared at each other for a seemingly endless moment, then slowly their mouths moved closer and closer. Their lips brushed together, lightly. It was explosive but at the same time comforting, they were like fire and gunpowder each combining to create the sense of combustion that they
were feeling.
They stared at each other for a seemingly endless moment, then slowly their mouths moved closer and closer. Their lips brushed together, lightly.
They both closed their eyes.
It seemed so right, so perfect.
Their lips caressed again. And their kisses became more passionate.
There was a sense of nothingness around them. Just the two of them, together, as if the world no longer existed. As if they were floating in space. The heat was generated by them, invading them. This kiss was a declaration. Both knew that, more than a thousand words, more than all the promises they could make to each other. It was LOVE. It was the sign, it was the cause, and it was the effect. It was the purpose and the way.
Lois and Clark opened their eyes, staring at each other for a long time. Neither of them spoke.
Lois held him tightly again, and he did the same. Then she started to kiss his chest. Slowly, and with light kisses, while she stretched out, kissing her way up his chest, then his neck, then up to his jawbone.
Clark had never felt so alive in all his life, even in his dreams Lois never affected him in this way.
How they found their way to the bed was really a mystery for both of them. They didn't care about it. They simply cared about the one they were holding and kissing, making sweet love to.
It was only a few hours later, when Lois woke up, that she realized what had really happened. It all seemed like a dream, the most perfect dream she'd ever had in all her life. She never felt so alive, so happy. So... loved.
"Please," she whispered. "Tell me that you are real..." She didn't wait for an answer. Clark was still sleeping... but something in his subconscious seemed to tell him she was speaking to him, so he held her a little more tightly, while Lois hid her face between his shoulder and his neck.
She felt him stretch and smile into her soft hair.
"Hi..." She kissed the man she loved as answer to his nuzzling.
"I never thought it was possible. Not anymore," she added huskily.
"What?"
"To be happy again. For anything to make me feel alive again." She smiled, a little embarrassed.
Clark caressed her cheek, staring at her with a gaze she knew no one had ever looked at her with in her entire life. It was so full of respect and love.
"Lois, have you any idea how long I waited for you?"
"And I seem to be waiting for you forever. I don't want to lose you again... please."
"Lois, I have loved you from the beginning..."
"And I'll love you 'til the end..."
They started to laugh and joke, this had been the best time that each of then had had for a long time. That was a night that they were going to remember for the rest of their lives.
It was late in the morning when both of them were forced to get up. Clark had an interview with all of the other prizewinners scheduled for the first hour in the afternoon.
"I want a divorce from Lex, " she whispered in the same moment that he emerged from the bathroom.
He was already dressed and ready to go. He stared at her for a time before he felt able to speak. Neither of them had used that name since they'd come back from the restaurant. Clark needed a couple of seconds to realize that. Lex. He had slept with Lois Lane Luthor. He had slept with a married woman. No, he had slept with the only woman he had ever loved, ever wanted to love. But now, reality was crashing back in again.
"Lois... "
She took his hand, holding and kissing it softly.
"I've ruined your marriage! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to... I just wanted to have my best friend back again!"
"NEVER! It's not your fault. Clark, you are giving me the courage to do it. I ruined my marriage, in the same moment I agree to marry someone I was not in love with! I realized I wasn't in love with Lex the morning of my wedding. But I wasn't strong enough to stop it. I am the one who's sorry! I made you suffer so much! But if you still want me... I..." she wasn't able to finish her statement. She just sat on the bed, her hand holding the blanket in her fist. She was trembling.
Clark took her into his arms and held her tight. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut.
"Clark, you have no idea what all of this means to me. You are the only one in all my life that has loved me without asking anything in return. But you are different, and I wonder how I even could... Oh, Clark, I'm so sorry!"
Clark smiled against her hair.
"You have to stop saying that! It's not a good way to start," he joked.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." She tried to smile. "If I am quick, I think I'll be able to catch the flight at 2 p.m. I've got all the papers I need. He's going to be back at the end of this week, so I guess I can be free by the middle of next week!"
She was so engrossed in Clark's embrace that she almost didn't realize what the time was. She was shocked when she read the time on the alarm clock display. "Oh my! It's late! You are late! This interview is important for your career! You have to go!"
"I'm not late. I know a lot of short-cuts..."
"You are late! But I'm glad that I was the cause of this."
She grinned, kissing him. "So, I'll go out with you. But I'll push you in the elevator with my own hand," she smiled. "I'm Lois Lane. Don't forget it!"
"How could I forget?"
Clark gave her a light kiss on the lips. Lois went out the door, while Clark closed it behind them. "Are you going to call me when you arrive?" Lois was holding Clark's hand, as if she wasn't going to let him go away.
"Of course!"
The elevator was at their floor in no time. They entered, and when the elevator door re-opened a couple of floors downstairs, Clark was ready to go out.
"Where you are going to go?"
"I always accompany you door to door!"
"Not this time, you are too late!" She gave him a kiss "How can I survive another week without you?"
"You can stay here, and..."
"No. I want to end my... Well you know. I want it to end as soon as possible."
"I understand... But you take care, ok? And if you need me just call me, ok? I'll find a way to be there in a flash!"
"I'll be fine! Don't worry! You take care of yourself. Ok?"
He simply nodded.
"Now you go!" He smiled at her, pushing the elevator button.
"Oh... Clark!"
He turned toward her.
"I love you!" she said as the door slid closed.
/BACK TO PRESENT/
That was the last time he saw her, until that afternoon in the hospital. How much pain, how much hurt...
He wondered how he could survive all of this. All the happiness was suddenly broken only a week later. Lois wasn't going to leave her husband.
"Clark? Hey... are you all right?" Martha understood perfectly what Clark was thinking about.
He smiled silently. "Yeah... Just thinking... I never guessed I could have her back in my life... "
"Are you really sure about this choice?"
"Yeah." he said firmly.
"I'm sure you'll make the right decision. But be careful."
"I always am, Mom."
"Yeah, but when we speaking about her..."
Clark smiled. "True... but this time it will be different."
"I hope, son." Martha kissed him on his forehead. "Do you wanna eat?"
"Mmmm yeah... I'm hungry!"
--OOO--
The weeks ran quickly but Jerome seemed to get weaker and weaker. No one seemed to be able to make him feel better. There were days where Jerome could barely open his eyes.
Lois was pale as a ghost. She never left her son. She'd just run home for a change of clothes sometimes. Just to have clean pjs for her son.
She slept very little in the night. The only positive thing was that Clark was with her. She wasn't alone anymore, she didn't have to go through all of this alone. Clark spent every free moment with them and she was really glad about that. Lois couldn't tell him how grateful she was that he was there. It was the hardest moment in all her life. She had to seem stronger than she was. She couldn't let Jerome know how worried she was. She tried to be fun and nice with her son. But it was difficult.
Luckily, all of the nursing staff in the hospital were really helpful. They seemed to have adopted both Lois and Jerome. And not because they were the wife and son of the richest man in the world. But just because they were special, and because they were lonely. And now they seemed really glad to help them. And Lois was sure they hated her husband as much as she did.
--OOO--
One evening, Clark came a little later than usual. There had been an accident with a train. No one had died, but Clark had helped to save people trapped in the twisted metal.
It had been so hard. There had been a lot of children crying in the wreckage. An elementary school class near Metropolis that had been on a school trip - a fun outing that had ended in such a scary way. Luckily, they had hadn't been badly hurt, just frightened and shaken up a little.
Clark moved as quickly as he could. He listened to their little hearts running hard with fright. He tried to speak to them, reassuring them, to make them know that they were safe. Superman was helping them. But it hurt to see the fear in their eyes.
After that horror, he flew to Jerome. There was another horror in his life now. To see the son of the woman he loved slowly dying and to be unable to help or do anything to prevent it.
Silently, he went into Jerome's room. The child was sleeping. He seemed to be in so much pain. A dripfeed had been inserted into his arm. Lois had fallen asleep near him. She sat on a chair, her head lying against the mattress. She was holding her child's hand.
Clark smiled sadly. He lifted her into his arms and moved her onto the bed next to Jerome's. Almost incredibly this simple action took more effort than he had expected. He couldn't believe that he wasn't able to carry Lois so short a distance. How could this happen? It couldn't be the effect of the last rescue. He'd only done what he'd been doing for years now...and he had never felt as tired as this before. Never... except for that time in Smallville, a long time ago. There was only one thing in the world able to produce this effect on him: Kryptonite.
He tried looking for the source of the strange effect. It was painful, though not very much, and it made him feel nauseous. There had to be a small piece of the crystal nearby. But where? He looked all around the room without finding it. It was so strange. Then he saw Jerome move in his dream. Clark approached him. Lois was sleeping, for the first time in days. He didn't want to wake her up. He caressed Jerome's hands, but his sense of sickness was stronger here. Clark looked around again. There was only one thing in the room that was light green in color - the contents of the dripfeed.
Jerome was being given kryptonite. It had to be but how could this be possible? And why? Lois had never told him that...and how could he ask her? He realized that the amount of kryptonite in the dripfeed solution was small. Maybe this was a new treatment. Maybe kryptonite was able to minimize pain in humans. He'd never heard of such a thing, but Lex was the richest man in the world. He would surely have tried everything he could to care for his son.
Jerome's sleep was very agitated. Clark didn't care about his own sickness. He realized it wasn't affecting him as much as he'd imagined at the beginning. It was just a light feeling of nausea. He kept holding Jerome's hand, whispering nonsense worlds. Just a couple of minutes before the drip-feed bag ended a nurse entered in the room with a syringe. She injected the contents into the dripfeed. The liquid turned purple and Clark felt the effects of kryptonite vanish quickly.
Soon after the liquid had been injected into the bag Jerome seemed to be more calm and the painful expression on child's face changed into a tired but serene one. When all the liquid had drained from the bag the same nurse slipped the needle from the child's arm.
Clark noticed that not only did his symptoms vanish with the injection of the purple substance but Jerome's restlessness ended not long after as well. This situation made him pause to think, could the kryptonite actually be causing Jerome to be in pain? Might not the treatment be causing him more harm than good? He decided to file this information away for now but he planned to explore this theory further as more evidence presented itself.
She smiled at Clark. "He has a really good doctor... We'll save him! I promise," she said firmly.
"I'm sure of that," he answered, smiling back. "Oh Nurse, do you know what medicine was in that IV? I noticed the unusual color of the liquid and I was wondering if it might be a new experimental treatment?"
"I don't know the contents of that particular IV sir, it's prepared especially by his doctor for use with Jerome. I'm afraid you'll have to ask him about that."
"Thank you Nurse, I'll do that." Clark said.
Clark sat there, silent after the nurse left. He stared at Jerome for a long time, then he turned towards Lois. She was curled up in the bed. She seemed like a child too.
It was almost nine o'clock when Lois started to move. Clark wondered why none of the nurses had asked him to leave.
He approached Lois.
"Hi."
"Hi..." she smiled. " What time is it?"
"Nine."
"What? Oh my... Jerome is OK?" Clark nodded. "You... what are you doing here so late? I mean... Sorry I don't want to seem unkind... I mean... It's late... don't you have to go home for dinner?" Clark shook his head. "Are you sure? I don't want you to think you... I mean ... you shouldn't feel obliged to be here, I mean you have a job, you probably have a girlfriend, lot of friends, you always were the busy one... and..."
Clark put light fingers to Lois' mouth. "Lois, I'm not that busy. If I have something to do I usually do it. But now I want to be here...if that's what you want. I know you need some help and you could do with having someone around to give you a break now and then. How long has it been since you had a decent night's sleep? Not recently, I'd guess..."
She simply nodded. Then, after a moment, she added, "Clark, you don't know how much this means to me. I'd hoped Lex would do this for his son, but... you love him more than he does... and you've known him barely a few weeks."
"Lois, I'd love Jerome anyway, just because he's part of you... But you're right, he's wonderful. I love him just because he's himself... " He paused. "Lois, why don't go get something to eat? I'd bet you didn't eat anything today..."
"You'd win. And you're right - I'm starving. I'll be back in a minute."
"I won't move!" She smiled at him.
"Thanks," she whispered.
Just a couple of moments later, Clark noticed Jerome was starting to become agitated.
"Dad... please... I don't wanna... please... no... It hurts, no... Mom! Help me, Mom... Dad... nooo please..." Clark ran near him holding his hand.
"Jerome... It's a nightmare... Jerome..."
The child widened his eyes and tears rolled down his cheeks. Clark caressed his arms, trying to calm him. For a moment the boy seemed afraid of the man near him, then he tried to sit. But he was too weak to do it alone. Clark helped him, and Jerome suddenly relaxed against his chest. Clark couldn't help but hug him back; Jerome was sobbing so much. Clark had never felt so strong in his life. Not because he had superpowers, but for the way that this trembling and sobbing child was looking for shelter in his arms.
When Clark tried to loosen his embrace, in order to look at him better, the child held him more firmly.
When Lois returned, she found Clark holding her son. The child was crying so desperately. She wanted to run to him but something stopped her. The way that Clark was speaking to him was just what her son needed. Soothing Jerome with one hand, Clark slipped off his jacket with the other and then covered the boy with it. Then he picked up the child from the bed and started to walk back and forth across the room, whispering to him. The sobs calmed and the child's breathing became more regular again.
Lois heard her son whisper, "I love you, Clark"
"I love you too, Jerome," was the answer, accompanied by a big smile.
She went toward Clark and leaned her head against his shoulder. They stayed in this position for a long, endless moment.
"I think he's sleeping," Clark whispered.
Lois nodded, smiling. "Do you need help to put him back into his bed?"
"No, but... can I keep him for a little while?" Clark's voice was so unsure, as if he expected a negative answer.
Clark saw Lois smile. "For as long as you want," she whispered huskily.
To Be Continued