*Chapter Nine*

POV: Lois Lane

I watched as 'Clark Kent' furrowed his brow. Perry White and Jimmy were looking at him shell shocked. "Kent?" Perry finally asked. Clark blushed and shook his head. "No Lois." He said firmly. "You must be confused." I just raised an eyebrow and smiled.

I get it; I mean who would want to reveal to the world that they ran around with their underwear over their pants and called themselves Superman? "Oh, you must be right." I lied. Clark sighed. They had showed me pictures of my co-workers, and Clark Kent had looked immaculate. Here though he had bags under his eyes and his hair was rumpled.

"So how are you feeling?" Jimmy asked to change the subject. I groaned. "That's the question of the year. I feel crappy, completely and totally crappy." Perry smiled. "That's a good girl. I swear Lane; you're going to give me a heart attack with all of your shenanigans." I smiled. "There's not much I can do in here. The nurse was hesitant to give me a pen because she was afraid I would accidently stab myself." Jimmy smiled. "Good old Lois."

The old part was right. I was way older than I remembered. "So I guess you and Superman are cool now?" Jimmy asked. Perry and Clark shot him a death glare. "What do you mean?" I asked suspiciously. Jimmy glowed beet red and stumbled backwards. "Uh I mean nothing." My eyes automatically narrowed warily. "Olsen. If you don't speak I swear I will get out of this hospital bed and strangle the answer out of you."

Clark eyed me with an amused glint. Jimmy sighed. "The thing is you actually would get out of bed Lois." He dropped into one of the chairs. "A while ago, you got kidnapped by some thugs and thrown out of a plane." He paused. "That's not the weird part; I mean it's pretty common. The thing that steamed you is that when they threw you out of the plane Superman didn't even attempt to catch you. Lex Luthor saved you, and you hate Lex Luthor."

This piece of information surprised me so much that it didn't even register that I knew Lex Luthor. "He left me for dead? But he just saved me. I don't understand." Clark shrugged. "No one understands." "Huh." I looked out the window. Metropolis buzzed underneath me, not even caring that my entire world had been flipped and twisted in every direction. I turned back to my strange group of visitors. "Thanks for the info Jimmy." I put on a tight smile.

Jimmy nodded and excused himself before rushing into the hallway. "He's an awkward kid." Perry explained. "He practically had idolized you and Clark though." Clark looked up guiltily. "What did you say Mr. White?" Perry just shook his head and Clark returned to staring at the floor. Perry cleared his throat. "Okay then. I better go check on Olsen. Poor kid looked sick." I smiled.

"Thank you for coming Chief?" He raised an eyebrow. "Don't call me Chief." He excused himself. I turned to look at Clark. He was attractive in a nerdy way, kind of like a Superman without the super. "I know who you are." I finally said. Clark looked up calmly. "And who is that?" I gave an exaggerated sigh. "It's obviously Superman." I said in a voice that showed him exactly how I felt. Clark sighed and stood up. "Sorry Lois, but I'm no Meta."

Without another word he breezed from the room. I tapped the monitor on my finger against the bed railing. My life was crazy. I knew Kent was Superman, but how did I prove it? How would I adapt to my new life? I dejectedly picked up the ballpoint pen and notepad that the nurse had grudgingly gave me. As I wrote, my nerves slowly began to ease and I felt my tense shoulders loosen.

When the nurse came to give me my next dose of medication, I had run the pen dry. She chuckled. "You sure are a writer Miss Lane." I gave her a tight lipped smile and gestured to the stack of my published articles that Lucy had brought me. "That's what I've read." The nurse just put the medicine into the IV. I pulled anxiously on the cord. "Is such heavy medication necessary?" She nodded as she fiddled with the various tubes. "If you want to not feel the intense pain you should take it." I thought for a second. "I think I can handle the pain."

The nurse straightened. "Honey, you almost died. You are getting your pain medication." I couldn't do anything but wait for the pain medication to kick in. In no time at all I was napping and giggling as the medicine did its magic on me. I hated pain medication and feeling stupid, but man, it really does feel good when you're on it.

At one part of my delusion, I heard a swooshing sound and looked up to see Superman. He looked down at me, moonlight framing his figure. "Hey." I slurred. He got a funny half smile. "Hey, I was just checking in on you." I frowned. "You were here earlier Clark." I corrected. He sat down and grabbed my hand in his big one, slipping something into my fist. "No Lois. I'm not Clark Kent." I ignored him and focused on his swirling face. "You're very cute." I whispered. He looked embarrassed. "Both you and Clark Kent are. Your just so, so…" I got distracted and let my voice trail off into sleep.

When I awoke, he was gone, all that was left was a worn out black ball point pen that had been curled in my hands. In his place was my family. "Lois." Mother said flatly. After the whole divorce incident, Mom and I had been less than friendly. "Morning Mother." I replied. She practically growled. Dad's face seemed to yell now you know why I divorced the witch. "Your father has to return to the base, and I have important appointments at home, so we'll be saying goodbye now." She announced.

Lucy scowled at the floor. "What about you Lucy Caboose?" Lucy glared at our parents through eyeliner coated eyes. "Oh, well I'm being dragged back to a top secret army base in the middle of nowhere." She snapped. My heart panged. I knew what it was like to be stuck at army base.

"Lucy can stay with me." I decided aloud. "I'm going to be in need of a helper while I sort everything out, and Lucy is old enough to help me." Dad raised an eye brow. "Is she really now? Because before the accident, you were adamant that Lucy was too young to live in Metropolis with you." I raised an eyebrow. "Yes, and before the accident I knew who I was. Now, I don't and I'm pretty sure things are different." Lucy grinned, a megawatt smile at me. Mom sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"And, I think it is better that Lucy is with me, opposed to surrounded by men on Dads army base or forgotten about by Mom." Dad gave a sad smile. "Okay Lo, stay calm. Lucy can stay with you." Mom looked at him in shock. "That is happening under no circumstances!" She protested. Dad snorted. "You don't get that choice Ella. I have custody of the girls."

Mom stuck her nose into the air and marched from the room. "Bye mom. It was nice to see you too." I grumbled. Dad reached over and squeezed my hand. "Don't mind your mother Lois, she really does love you." He gave me a small smile. "I guess I should take Lucy to get organized in your dorm room."

I nodded and he gave me a small kiss on the cheek. "Have a speedy recovery solider." I just smiled. "Thanks Daddy." He nodded to Lucy and they left. I leaned back against the stack of pillows the nurse had brought. I would be out of here soon enough.