Hey guys! New chapter! The original (much shorter) version of this chapter was actually the first thing I ever wrote for this story. I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Superman or any associated characters.
Chapter 5: Sick Dreams
Clark spent all night performing rescues and didn't get back to his apartment until six in the morning. After a quick shower to wash off the soot from a fire in Cairo, he fell into bed to get a couple hours of sleep before getting ready for work. He walked into work ten minutes before nine, unusually early for him, and nervously looked toward Lois' desk.
She wasn't there weirdly; she dropped Jason off at school by eight and was usually at work by eight-thirty. Today, she crawled in at around nine-fifteen, holding tissues, just in time for the morning meeting. She sat down next to Clark before hacking into the waded-up ball.
She continued coughing and blowing her nose throughout the meeting. Perry kept giving her sideways glances as he handed out the morning assignments and made other general announcements. After the meeting was dismissed, the chief pulled Clark aside.
"Clark, I want you to take Lois home."
"But, Chief, you know how she is. She's all caught up in this latest investigation and she never takes sick days even when news is slow."
"I know, but I'd bet this whole paper she has that flu that's been going around, and I won't have my entire writing staff getting a fever and sniffles. Someone's got to convince her to go home, and if it's not you, I don't who it is."
"I'll try my best, Mr. White, but I don't know if..."
"You'll do more than try; you'll succeed. Take her home and keep her there. Send in your article from her home if you have to, but keep her away from my bullpen."
"Yes, Mr. White."
"Now go, when I look out there ten minutes from now, I don't want to see either of you unless its your backs."
SSSS
Clark left Perry White's office with a mission. Take Lois home, no matter what. Accomplishing that mission could prove difficult.
Lois was hunched over her desk, looking miserable as she tried to find the right files on her computer. "Stupid search function. Why don't you ever work?" Her voice was nasal and congested.
Clark bent over her, putting his fingers on the keys. "It helps if you spell the file name correctly. 'Evidence' has an 'e' at the end."
"Whatever, as long as I can find it."
Clark looked at her in exasperation. "Lois, Perry told me to take you home."
"Why? Because of a little cold? I can still work; we still need to finish looking through those receipts. There's got to be a connection somewhere." Her sentence ended with another cough into her tissue.
"I can keep looking though them, Lois. You're sick." Clark held his hand against her flushed forehead. "You feel warm, so you probably have a fever. What we should do is get you home, and put you back to bed."
Lois glared at him halfheartedly. He hated seeing her like this.
"Please, Lois. Perry will kill me if I don't get you out of her."
That did it. She sighed, "Fine, I'll go home. But I'm still going to help you."
"Sure you will, Lois," Clark bluffed.
Clark drove Lois back to her apartment, her head bobbing up and down as she tried to keep from dozing off. He talked her into going to bed by the time they got there.
SSSS
Lois couldn't sleep, probably because she couldn't breathe through her nose and woke up hacking every five minutes. Nevertheless, she tried to obey Clark's suggestion and eventually fell into a restless slumber.
She was naked in a satiny bed. Strong arms held her tightly against a firm, muscled and equally naked chest. His embrace was so warm and comforting, like being at home, yet it was also filled with passion. Fire blazed though her body wherever her skin touched his.
She looked up into Clark's beautiful blue eyes. "I love you, Lois," he said. His head leaned down toward hers; she responded in kind, reaching up to….
Lois jerked awake to a knocking on the bedroom door. She was so hot. Why was she so hot? Of course, because she had a fever. She had the flu. The knocking continued followed by a voice calling her name. "Come in," her own said shakily.
Clark walked in the door and over toward the bed. What was he doing here? Oh yeah, because he had brought her home. "Are you doing okay?" he said as he put his hand to her forehead.
Lois just stared at him. Oh my god, Cat was right. He was gorgeous! Tall, broad shouldered, well built, how had she missed this for so long? And why were they just friends? He was sweet and kind and caring and apparently completely gorgeous. Seriously, how had she missed that? She kept staring, mentally undressing him, wondering if he was really anything like the dream man who shared his name.
"I'm going to get you some juice, okay?" Lois broke out of her trance at the sound of his voice. Clark had a confused expression on his face as he looked at her. He picked up the empty glass on the bedside table and walked out of the room.