Beyond Camp Randall Chap 18

MET U SENIORS, Planning for Life

Metropolis Loft 02:00

"Clark?"

"Um?"

"Are you asleep?"

"Not now."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"When are we going to start planning?"

Silence.

"Clark?"

"Um?"

"You keep falling asleep on me. It's irritating."

"Well, I was patrolling until 1AM. I was hoping to get some shut eye, sweetheart."

Silence . . . sniffles.

Clark rolls over, places his arm over Lana's stomach and pulls her closer to him. "Lana, honey . . . what's the problem?"

"We haven't done any planning for our wedding." She sniffles.

"Haven't you and Nell, or Martha & Chloe done any planning?"

"No. When I bring up the subject, all I get is 'oh, there is plenty of time'." Lana whispers.

"Are you getting nervous, love?"

"Yes, can you help me light a fire, please?"

"You mean, like with my eyes?" He chuckles.

She socks his bicep. "If that is what it takes, yes!"

"Ok, I'll speak with mom the next time we are out at the farm. Can I go back to sleep now, sweetheart?"

"Yes, I love you." She settles down, snuggling closer to her lover.

"And I love you too, very much!"

KENT FARM

Clark has a moment to speak to Martha in the kitchen. He had awakened to the aroma of morning coffee; Lana was still asleep in the loft.

"Mom, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course, dear. What's up?"

"Lana is quite troubled about wedding planning. Or lack thereof."

Martha chuckles. "Well, we ladies (Nell, Chloe & herself) are doing things; we know how swamped you two are. We didn't want to bother her at this early stage. Is that a problem?"

"Yes. It's her . . . our wedding, and she wants to be involved. I know you will include her eventually, but she feels left out at this point. May I make a suggestion?"

"Of course, dear."

"Why don't you make a spreadsheet, or calendar, listing things that need to be done or decided, and check them off as they are completed. That way Lana will see progress, and make it known when there is an item she wants to be involved with or make the final decision?"

"Hm, that's an excellent idea. I can work that up today, before you leave. And include her."

"She will love that! Thanks mom, love you!"

"Love you too, son!"

METROPOLIS LOFT

"You had a talk with your mom, didn't you?"

"Yes, did that work out ok?"

"It was beautiful. I really enjoyed working together on that wedding planning document with her. That was a real bonding time – I feel so much better now . . . we still need a talk with the Daily Planet and the Justice League. You know, to flesh out our relationships with each."

"Absolutely, which do you think we should do first?"

"Well, part of our talk with the JL is about trust issues with the Planet people, correct?"

"Correct. So, the JL talk should be first?" Clark surmises.

"I think so. Should I call Chloe?"

"Yes, do that."

SHERWOOD

Chloe welcomes her friends with open arms. "It's so good to have you for dinner. It's been too long!"

"Only a month," Clark mutters.

Lana raps his chest, chastising him.

"And hello to you too," Oliver grins and gives Clark a side hug, then a kiss on the cheek for Lana.

Chloe gives her long-time friend Clark a little shove . . . then a warm embrace. "Rough day, big boy?"

"Nah, just lots of stuff going on. Looking forward to your home cooking."

Chloe looks down at her shoes. "I ordered Thai."

Oliver steps up and hugs his wife. "I've been working her too hard." He admits.

Clark steps up and hugs Chloe . . . "that sounds great, we love Thai. One of these days, why don't I fly us all to Thailand for the real deal?"

"You can do that?" Chloe asks with a surprised expression.

"Sure, he can," Lana responds. "Probably in 2 trips."

"Yup, just get your reservations on the C/K express."

"I'll check with your booking agent," Chloe smirks.

'Call me," Lana whispers. Chloe nods.

AFTER DINNER

Clark begins, "We have two things we'd like to discuss with you. Working with the Justice League and trusting people at the Daily Planet."

"Let's start with the Planet, shall we?" Lana suggests.

Clark nods. "If I am going to work with Lois Lane, and I want to try to make that work, it seems that some people should know what I'm doing. Otherwise, curiosity will overwhelm some and my 'secret' will be compromised. So, can you two opine on whether or not we can trust Lois, Perry White and maybe James Olsen?"

Chloe & Oliver look at each other. He nods at Chloe, giving her the go ahead to start. She does: "Well, I think Lois and Perry are obvious ones to start with; and I've worked at the Planet so I know the people fairly well. Lois is an outstanding investigative reporter, so she knows the importance of confidentiality and keeping sources secret and safe. I think she can be trusted. Perry was previously an excellent reporter; he now is editor-in-chief. I think you can trust him also. Mr. Olsen is a horse of another color. Ollie, I think you can talk about him better than me." She smirks at her husband.

"Thanks, dear," he smirks right back. "James Olsen is a trust-worthy individual. Unfortunately, he has a propensity to brag, exaggerate and be pompous. While I would generally trust him, I would not do so with your particular 'secret'. Does that make any sense?"

"Absolutely," Clark admits. Lana nods in assent.

"So, does that cover number one?" Oliver asks.

"Yup," Lana admits.

"And number 2 is?" Chloe asks.

"Working with the Justice League," Clark says.

"Well, I see that discussion taking 2 parts," Ollie starts. "First – Clark's duties. Second – Lana's duties. Lana first: I think I am most comfortable with Lana working with Chloe; being a help with our tracking, intelligence gathering & analysis, other tasks at Watch-Tower. I think as her physical capabilities improve, we can mutually decide if and when to involve her in operations. Does that make sense to you Lana?"

"Yes, it does. I am excited to get started. My goal is to help Clark, to watch his back so to speak. But I realize that I can be a detriment to him if he, and you & others, have to worry about me while you are doing an operation. So, let's take our time, and see how things develop."

Clark has his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. He picks his head up, grins and gives Lana a kiss on the cheek. "Sweetheart, I am so glad to hear you say that. I anticipated that we might fight over your involvement in JL operations. To me this sounds like a sensible way go start, and proceed."

They all nod in agreement.

"Now to look at a schedule," Chloe states.

TBC Daily Planet meeting.