THE TRAUMA COUNSELOR

"Good morning, Dr. Lucus's office."

"Hi, I'd like to make an appointment."

"Have you seen Dr. Lucus before?"

"No."

"I'm sorry, but Dr. Lucus is not currently taking any new patients."

"Any chance she might make an exception?"

"Her schedule is way overbooked already."

"Can I speak with her?"

"She's with a patient right now."

Clark peeked inside Dr. Lucus's office again. She was huddled over her desk doing some paperwork. "No she's not."

"Yes, she is."

"She's alone in her office. You could just tell me the truth and say she's busy."

"She is with a patient."

Clark knew the receptionist was just doing her job, but he was starting to get irritated with her. "She's sitting at her desk doing paperwork, and you're playing Subway Surfers."

"How did you know that?" The receptionist dropped her cell phone on her desk.

"Because I'm Superman and I'm hovering outside your office building. And a score of 4399 is lame." Clark tapped the 'end' button. He floated to Dr. Lucus's window and rapped it gently.

Dr. Lucus looked up and gasped in surprise. She got up and walked to the window.

"I'm sorry if I startled you," Clark spoke just loudly enough so she could understand through the glass. "I need to talk to you."

"Me?" Dr. Lucus pointed to herself with incredulity.

Clark saw with his x-ray vision the receptionist get up from her desk and walk Dr. Lucus's door. "Sshh!" He put a finger to his lips, pointed to the door, and then pivoted away from the window.

The receptionist knocked on the door and then opened it. "Lili?"

"What is it Amanda?"

"I just got a creepy phone call from some guy. What are you doing in front of the window?" Amanda rushed over to Dr. Lucus and pulled her away from the window. She stood at the side of the window and leaned over to carefully peek out. "He knew what we were doing. He might be watching us from one of the other buildings, maybe with a telescope. Should I call the police?"

"No." Dr. Lucus waved her hand dismissively. "It's probably just another prank call."

"But he knew what we were doing." Amanda rolled her eyes. "He claimed he was Superman."

"Oh, did he?" Dr. Lucus choked on the words. "Really, Amanda, I'm sure it's fine. If he calls back, we'll call the police, OK? Go back to your desk. I… need to get back to my paperwork."

After Amanda left, Dr. Lucus turned back to the window. Clark pivoted back into view. "Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

"Of course."

"I'm going to come in… in disguise. Tell Amanda you're expecting Josh Taylor." Clark disappeared from view.

Less than a minute later, Clark entered the receptionist area, startling Amanda, who was still shaken up. He was wearing Clark Kent's clothes and glasses, but he slicked his hair back like Superman, and he sported a fedora he carried around with him for circumstances just as this.

Clark walked over to Amanda's desk. "Hi. Josh Taylor. Dr. Lucus is expecting me."

"Yes, she is, Mr. Taylor, go right in."

"It's Professor Taylor, by the way." Clark swaggered into Dr. Lucus's office.

"Superman?" Dr. Lucus stood up and extended her hand.

Clark took off his hat and glasses. "Yes. It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Lucus." Clark took her hand and gave it a gentle shake. He looked up at her and… his breath caught in his throat.

Dr. Lucus was stunningly beautiful.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She gestured to a chair opposite her desk. "Will you have a seat?"

Keeping his eyes transfixed on Dr. Lucus's face, Clark took a step sideways toward the chair and bumped into it. He realized he was still holding her hand. Awkward. He let go and lowered himself into the chair. "Thank you." He thought his voice sounded strained. He cleared his throat, attempting to invoke the authoritative tone he was accustomed to using in his Superman persona. "Thank you." He took a quick deep breath.

"Can I offer you some tea?" Dr. Lucus raised her brows and gave Clark an expectant look.

Clark became momentarily preoccupied with the realization that regardless of her facial expression, Dr. Lucus's perfect bone structure served as the ideal scaffold beneath her flawless skin. Had she just asked him a question? Oh, right. Tea. He let out the breath he had been holding. "Yes, please." He caught himself watching Dr. Lucus's subtly curvy hips sway gently as she walked over to a small table to prepare two cups of tea. He shook his head in exasperation with himself and looked away before his eyes refocused where they shouldn't.

Clark took a deep breath and tried to clear his thoughts. "I'm sorry to barge in on you like this. I tried to make an appointment, but… Sorry I rattled your receptionist."

"She'll be OK," Dr. Lucus smiled at him as she handed him his tea and took her seat. "What can I do for you?"

Clark didn't answer right away. He had made the mistake of looking at her again and he was momentarily distracted by the dimple in her left cheek. The dimple disappeared as she took a sip of her tea… a sip she took with her full moist lips that that were blessedly not covered and ruined by lipstick…. Clark looked away again. He massaged his brow with one hand. What was wrong with him? "I… uh… I don't like asking for favors. People rarely say 'no' to me, and I don't like to take advantage. But someone I care deeply about has been severely traumatized and I just…" Clark paused. He took his hand away from his face and looked around the room for a few moments.

"Is something wrong?"

"It… it's just… I didn't expect…"

"What?"

"I.. it's just that… you're so…"

"Yes?"

"…young. Is there another world-renowned trauma specialist in Metropolis named Lilian Lucus?"

"Not as far as I know," Dr. Lucus responded demurely, her cheeks becoming just a tad pinker. "You're not what I was expecting either. I mean, not that I was expecting you."

That was the most Dr. Lucus had spoken all at once. Clark found himself as mesmerized by her warm, melodic voice as he was with the rest of her.

"How did you garner such a reputation so quickly?" He took his first sip from his tea.

"I've written a lot of articles. Some of them were rather well received."

"I read them. Impressive." Clark smiled a nuanced self-deprecating smile. "Not that I understood hardly any of it. There were a lot of big words. But you also have reputation for being good with people on the couch." No sooner had the words left his lips than he regretted uttering them. "I… am…so… sorry," he stammered. "I promise, I wasn't even thinking about… anything… you know… just… therapy"

Dr. Lucus sighed, a tinge of both amusement and irritation on her face. "Good, because that tired old joke lost Its charm a long time ago,"

Clark pretended to turn his attention back to his tea.

"Who is this person you know who's been traumatized?"

"Oh, right." Clark refocused his thoughts back to the purpose why he was there. "Do you follow the news?"

"Yeah, a bit."

"The girl Lex Luthor kidnapped. He and his goons were pretty rough with her." Clark's voice faltered. He didn't trust himself to continue just yet.

A look of sympathy and concern came over Dr. Lucus's angelic face. "Yes."

Clark let himself gaze at the beautiful visage across the table. The anguish he was feeling helped keep his thoughts from wandering. "I can't help her." He didn't intend for that come out as a whisper. Nor did he intend for his eyes to start watering. He swallowed hard, trying to regain his composure and his Superman persona.

Dr. Lucus tilted her head slightly and briefly bit her cheek. "Seems to me she's not the only one who's been traumatized."

"Do you think you can help her?"

Dr. Lucus didn't answer right away. "She's Kryptonian, isn't she?"

"Yes."

Dr. Lucus paused to consider him for a moment over the rim of her cup as she took another sip. "Do Kryptonians and humans share similar psychologies?"

Clark had pondered that question before. "I don't know much about psychology, but I think… they're pretty similar."

"I'm not so sure." Her penetrating green eyes focused on his.

There was a moment of silence as Clark was momentarily lost in the intensity of her gaze. "What makes you say that?"

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and there's never been a more perfect example of absolute power in the history of this planet than you." That enchanting dimple made an appearance again as she smiled at him.

Clark forced himself to look away so he could gather his thoughts. "That would apply to Kryptonians and Krpytonian history as well. I'd say you could apply it pretty… universally. But it's not an absolutism. Not here or anywhere else."

Dr. Lucus put her cup down, placed her arms on the desk and leaned over, looking intently at Clark. "Your parents sent you here, right?"

"Yes."

She tilted her head again, her eyes still focused on him. "Ostensibly to help us… to be force for good. How did they know you wouldn't be corrupted by the power they knew you'd have?"

Clark smiled. "You've already given this some thought, haven't you?"

Dr. Lucus smiled back, again revealing her adorable dimple. "The subject of… you… occasionally comes up... you know... among my collegues and such." She righted her head again. "Are you going to answer my question?"

"No," Clark replied curtly. He finished his tea and placed the empty cup resolutely on the table. His smile was gone, and he became serious. "Will you meet with her?"

"Yes." Dr. Lucus nodded, nonplussed at the sudden change in Clark's demeanor. "I will. I'll do my best to help her."

"Thank you. And you must understand everything needs to be handled with complete discretion and confidentiality. No notes. No records. We'll come and go in disguise and anonymity."

"I understand." Dr. Lucus nodded her head.

"I'm taking a great risk bringing her here and letting her talk to you. I… we have a lot of secrets, and she's not very good at keeping them."

"You can trust me."

"I'll pay you in cash."

"Pshaw," she waved her hand dismissively. "Of course I'm not going to charge you."

"I can afford it." Clark got up to leave. "I'd appreciate it if instead you'd offer pro bono services to someone else who needs it."

Dr. Lucus got up and followed him to the door. "That's very generous of you."

"When's a good time for me to bring her?" Clark put his glasses and hat back on.

"I'm here by myself by 5:30 almost every weekday." Dr. Lucus smiled, amused at his disguise.

Clark tipped his hat to her and smiled politely. "What about tomorrow?"

"That works for me."

"See you then, Dr. Lucus." Clark extended his hand. He let himself look straight into her eyes.

She took his hand and returned his gaze. "I'll look forward to it, Superman. And please call me Lili. Everyone does."

"Fine. And you may as well start calling me Clark."

"Clark?"

"That's my name. It's a secret, but like I said, Kara's not so good at keeping secrets. See you tomorrow, Lili. And thank you." He opened the door and stepped into the waiting area.