HOUR 4 - THE COMMUTE TO WORK
THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 8 A.M. AND 9 A.M.
"Lois, will you hurry up? We're gonna be late!" calling up to her.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she yells back.
"That's fine when we're making love, but not when we have to get to work. You don't want Mr. White yelling at you again," he retorts; rolling his eyes and wishing for once that she could be on time.
"He hasn't yelled at me once since I announced I was pregnant," a smug look on her face as she slowly descends the staircase.
"Obviously memory loss must be a symptom of pregnancy," he mutters very softly under his breath.
"What do you mean memory loss?" noticing the surprised expression on his face as she waddles over to the desk and picks up her purse and briefcase. "Yes, I heard you," she adds. "Looks like you forgot I have some of your powers," a satisfied smirk on her face. "Thank you, sweetie," she smiles while looking down at her stomach and softly patting it with her hands.
He frowns for a moment, then says, "Mr. White yelled at you just yesterday because you neglected to cover that press conference the Mayor conducted," cocking one eyebrow at her.
She doesn't reply as she walks over to the kitchen door, but she does raise her hand and flips him off as she walks through the doorway and onto the porch.
He shakes his head at her as he also steps outside and locks the door behind him. He thinks once again about the hormones that must still be manifesting themselves as a result of the pregnancy. He descends the porch stairs and walks over to the car just to find Lois already sitting in the passenger side seat.
"You forgot your seatbelt," reaching inside to fasten it for her before closing the door.
"I didn't forget," smiling inwardly as he slides behind the driver's seat and locks the door, then inserting the key inside the ignition and turning it; the engine roaring to life.
"I just had to fasten it for you," turning his head to stare at her with surprise.
"If you say so," she smirks while resting her hands on her stomach.
"You purposely left it off because you wanted me to do it," his eyes narrowing at her.
"If you say so," she says again; a smug expression on her face.
"I'm telling you if you weren't pregnant..." his words trailing off.
"You'd what?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" a glint in his eyes as he starts to pull out of the driveway.
"You forgot something," pointing to his chest.
He scowls as he fastens his own seatbelt. "Are you happy now?" glaring at her.
"Almost," she replies. "There's one more thing," a grin on her face.
"What now?" beginning to get exasperated.
"Your glasses?" pointing to his shirt pocket. "You do know you're supposed to be mild-mannered Clark Kent at work and not Superman - don't you?"
He pulls them out and puts them on. "Anything else?"
"Just one more thing," she says.
"You are determined to drive me crazy aren't you?" finally snapping back at her. "What did I forget now?"
"This," she replies in a low voice as she reaches over to press her lips to his, then pulling away and reclining back in her seat.
He puts the car into 'park', then leans over to wrap his arms around her and gives her a more passionate kiss. "Now I'm happy," letting her go and shifting the car back into 'drive.'
She started thinking as she rolled down the window that there was no way she was going to allow him to have the last word. She decides to wait until they reach the outskirts of Metropolis to make her move. In the meantime, she lays her briefcase on her stomach and opens it. Just at that moment, the car hits a bump on the road.
"Dammit!" watching in horror as all the papers she had in the briefcase fly out the open window.
Clark looks over at her when he heard her swear and sees all the papers scatter into the wind. He immediately pulls over and promptly gets out of the car. He takes a quick look around to make sure that nobody was watching, then promptly shifts into super-speed and gathers up the papers. He returns to the car and reaches through the open window of the passenger seat and lays them down in the briefcase that Lois still has on her lap. "Is that all of them?" he asks her as he rests his arms on the edge of the open window.
She quickly shuffles through the papers and shakes her head. "There's a few missing," a worried expression on her face. He turns around and scans the area. "I see them," super-speeding about a mile away and retrieving them. "Here they are," handing them to her.
"Thank goodness," breathing a sigh of relief.
"I think you better close the window," he remarks as he gets back into the car and fastens his seatbelt.
"That's not a problem," she replies as she rolls up the window. "I've learned my lesson."
"That's good to know," smiling back at her, then pulls back onto the road.
She smiles back at him and wonders whether or not she should go ahead with her little plan to get the last word. He glances over at her and notices that she's deep in thought. "Penny for your thoughts?" he says at last.
"It's probably a dollar by now," she quips.
"Why do you always have to have the last word?" a slight frown on his face.
She looks at him with puzzlement. "You asked me a question and I answered it. How is that having the last word?" looking curiously at him. "Besides, I don't always have to have it," lying through her teeth.
"Sure you do," his eyes narrowing. "It's like you always have to be on top when we make love," raising his eyebrows.
"Now that's absolutely not true," glaring at him.
"It is so true," he counters. "Every time I lay on top of you, you push me off and climb on top."
"I do not," sticking her tongue out at him.
"Now that's very mature, Lois," shaking his head and returning his attention to the road.
She's silent for the next few minutes. Then she finally opens her mouth and says, "If I recall, last night you were behind me," a smug grin on her face when she sees his fingers gripping the steering wheel. "Are you okay, sweetie?" she asks him in an overly sweet voice.
"Don't sweetie me," snapping back at her.
"My sweetie is upset," leaning over to softly kiss him behind his ear.
"Stop that," jerking his head away. "It's not funny," he replies through clenched teeth.
"I don't understand why you're upset all of a sudden," a concerned look on her face.
He pulls over to the side of the road again and turns to look at her. "Do you really want to know why I'm upset?"
"Yes," she replies. "Of course I do."
"Okay," pausing a moment to take a deep breath. "Sometimes I feel like I'm your side kick and not necessarily your equal. You always have to be the one in control. You decide where we go out for dinner. You even decide what movie we're going to watch. You want to know what I want to do when we're making love? I want to push you up against the wall and watch your eyes bulging out of their sockets as I f*** your brains out," his eyes widening as he realizes what he just said.
She stares at him in shock. "I had no idea," she says at last. "I'm so sorry," reaching over to hold his hand. "Why did you never tell me this?"
"I guess I should have told you," he says with a sigh. "Don't get me wrong, Lois. I love it when you take charge – sometimes – but I'm a man and I need to be more in control when it comes to our love life. I know it sounds cliché, but I can't help feeling that way. Can you understand that?" he asks her.
"Of course I do," raising his hand to her lips. "In fact, I'm going to make you a promise."
"You are?" a little leery.
"Yes," she says emphatically. "I'm going to promise that I will try to let you have control more often."
"I'm glad you said the word tried because I think we both know you couldn't give up complete control if your life depended on it," smiling back at her.
She smiles back, then lets go of his hand. "You know me so well."
"Of course I do," smiling again at her. He glances at the clock on the dashboard and notices the time. "It's 8:35," he says, promptly shifting back into 'drive' and pulling once again onto the road.
They finally reach the outskirts of Metropolis and promptly end up in traffic. "I wish I could just fly us here," he grumbles under his breath.
"I know," she says; a little wistful. "I love it when you take me flying. I just hate that we can't do it right now."
"We will soon," reaching out to pat her stomach. "We'll even take this little one with us when he or she is old enough," he says with a smile.
"I can't wait," resting her hand over his.
They finally reach the Daily Planet parking garage and pull into Clark's assigned parking space. He gets out and walks around the car to help Lois get out, then closes the door. He takes her hand and together they walk over to the elevator. He presses the button and the doors open a moment later. They step inside and press the button for their floor. As the doors close, Lois says, "By the way, I can't wait for you to f*** my brains out," not looking at him.
"You just had to have the last word," scowling at her.
"Of course I do," the sounds of her laughter echoing through the air as the elevator doors close...
Coming up next: Hour 5 - The beginning of the work day