Waiting | Superman

Long after she’d sent the boys to bed, Lois continued pacing the kitchen. Despite her words to them, she was worried sick over the whole situation.

Outside, she could still hear the DOD bustling around, trying desperately to get any leads on either Edge or Clark. Ever since the two Kryptonians had disappeared earlier that night, everyone had been on high alert. Lois knew they would do their best to find them. She could only hope their best was good enough.

Her eyes landed on the kitchen table as she turned another circuit around the room. There, in the center of the wood surface, was a vase full of flowers. They were mostly dried out now; with everything else going on, she hadn’t had a chance to get rid of them yet.

They were the flowers Clark had brought home for her last week as a surprise. They were a fairly ordinary bouquet of autumn colors. But the sight of them brought an unbidden memory to Lois’s mind — one that did nothing to ease her worry.

At some point, early in their relationship, Clark had developed the habit of bringing home flowers for Lois when he’d been called away on Superman business. At first, it was intended as an apology. She had a remarkable amount of patience in dealing with him, but there were limits to anyone’s level of tolerance — and anyone would be upset when their boyfriend mysteriously disappeared at random times, only to turn up a day or two later with a painfully flimsy excuse.

The best he could do was try not to let it happen too often. And, on those occasions when it was unavoidable, he’d always turn up at her doorstep as soon as he returned, with a beautiful bouquet in his hand. She hadn’t known it back then, but Clark never bought these flowers. He would always fly out on his own, in search of the prettiest and rarest plants he could find, and then he’d assemble the bouquet himself. He knew what she liked, and he wanted them to be perfect for her.

After Clark revealed his secret to her, Lois at least had a better understanding of why he was leaving and where he was disappearing to. Misunderstandings about his absences were no longer an issue.

And yet he still made sure to bring home a fresh and lovely bouquet of flowers. Not every time he was called away, but usually on those special sort of calls when he would have to be away longer and he knew Lois would have been awake all night, repeatedly checking online for any news about him.

Lois didn’t need the flowers — knowing her husband was home and safe was more than enough for her — but she still appreciated the gesture. Besides, Clark was a hopeless romantic and she didn’t mind humoring that side of him.

Now, as she stared at the withering plants in the vase, Lois couldn’t help wondering if that had been the last time he would ever show up on the doorstep with a handful of flowers, picked especially for her.

Her mind kept flashing back to that last moment Clark had looked at her before being taken away.

Slowly, she pulled each flower from the vase, laying them in a neat pile on the table's surface. With each one, she tried to remind herself of all the previous times she'd feared for his life, only to have him show up alive and well, and with a small bouquet of flowers in hand. Surely this wouldn't be the one time he didn't return. Would it?

She had told the boys that their dad had been in worse situations before. She’d told her father that Superman was strong enough to come back to them. She’d told herself that Clark, her husband and the love of her life, would never let someone like Edge separate them.

She hoped she was right.

~~~~~

“Not to say I told you so, Lois… but I totally told you so.”

Lois rolled her eyes. In hindsight, maybe her little sister wasn’t the best person to talk to about this. “Thanks, Lucy, that’s very helpful.” She shifted the phone, wedging it between her shoulder and chin so her hands would be free to keep typing. Boyfriend troubles or not, she had a deadline to meet.

“Oh, come on, you know what I mean,” Lucy continued, her voice slightly muffled now that the phone wasn’t being held properly. “I just meant that I tried to warn you when you first introduced me to him. A guy who is that good looking, and charming, and a decent person? No one is that perfect.”

“I’m going to hang up now.”

“Hey, don’t be mad at me because you got stood up.”

“I’m not mad about being stood up.”

Lucy scoffed. “Yeah, of course you’re not.”

“I’m not mad about being stood up,” Lois insisted, grabbing the phone again. The article was never going to be finished at this rate. “I’m worried because my partner disappeared on some assignment that I’d never heard about, and apparently Perry didn’t know anything about it either, and now he’s been missing for two days and no one has any clue where he might be.”

“Lois, take a breath before you pass out.”

“With everything that’s been going on the last few days — all the power outages and the weird earthquakes — I’m just worried about him, okay?”

“And mad?”

Lois sighed and tipped her head back against the couch. “Okay, yes, fine. I’m also mad. Mad and worried. And mad because I’m worried. Happy?”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine, Lo,” Lucy said, tone actually softening a bit. “There have been a lot of missing people turning up now that the power is back on in the city. I’m sure Clark will show up soon as well.”

Somehow hearing that concerned tone from her annoying little sister only made Lois’s fears stronger. “I hope so,” she said. Any further conversation was cut off by a soft knock at the door. Pushing to her feet, she said into the phone, “Look, Lucy, I have to get off now. I’ll call you back tomorrow, okay?”

Hearing an affirmative from her sister, Lois hung up the phone and dropped it on the coffee table. She barely made it to the door before another knock sounded out.

“Okay, okay,” she muttered, undoing the locks, “I’m coming.”

The door swung open to reveal her missing best friend standing on the doorstep. He was dressed more casually than usual, looking completely exhausted, and with a large bouquet of what looked like wildflowers in his hand.

“Clark,” she breathed out, feeling as if it was her first full breath in two days. “You’re okay.”

He nodded, watching her a little uncertainly. “I’m okay.”

“You aren’t hurt? You’re completely okay?”

“Yes, I’m completely okay, Lois.”

A wave of relief washed through her, clearing away the days of non-stop worry that had built up inside. Unfortunately, that only left the anger behind.

“Lois,” he continued, “I’m so sorry I missed our date the other night.”

“Oh? Which night was that? The one when you just disappeared off the face of the earth with absolutely no explanation or warning?”

“I promise, I had a good reason.”

She crossed her arms, waiting for him to continue.

He stared back at her for a long moment, face scrunched in some sort of internal debate. Whatever he was trying to figure out, he must have decided against it, because his shoulders slumped in defeat.

Lois sighed. “The thing is, Clark, we’ve been working together a while now. And I’m a pretty good judge of character. I don’t believe you would have disappeared like this, and left everyone worried about you, unless you had a good reason for it. I’m trying to give you a chance to explain that reason.”

“Lois, I promise there is an explanation for all of this. But it’s not one that I can share with you. Not yet.”

Her foot tapped impatiently as she stared into those pleading hazel eyes. She already knew her answer, of course. And she wasn’t sure if she was more mad at Clark for having such irresistible puppy dog eyes, or at herself for caving to them.

“From now on, no disappearing on me without a warning,” she said firmly. “And if you have to cancel a date with me, you’d better be ready to make it up afterwards.”

The relief on his face as he nodded his agreement melted the rest of the ice from her heart. It really was impossible to stay angry with him.

“I really am sorry, Lois,” he said, reaching across to take her hand. “You’re my best friend and you mean the world to me. I would never hurt you on purpose.”

“I probably shouldn’t, but I do believe you.” She glanced at the bouquet in his other hand and smirked. “However, I hope you realize that it’s going to take a lot more than flowers to get back on my good side.”

He smiled, setting down the gift so he could place his arms around her instead. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“As our aerial footage from the chopper shows, the creature hasn’t even been slowed down so far. Despite Superman’s best efforts, the path of destruction continues across the coastline. This may be the one time the Man of Steel has actually met his match.”

The newscaster droned on, but Lois was barely listening.

The Daily Planet newsroom was a mess of activity as everyone scrambled to cover the super-powered battle that had started a hundred miles south and was steadily making its way toward Metropolis.

A few weeks ago, Lois would have also been solely focused on covering the story. It was, after all, a fairly noteworthy event — the supposedly invincible Superman finally meeting something that could potentially beat him. But a few weeks ago Superman had merely been a mysterious visitor from another planet. Someone she was grateful to for saving them so many times, but still a stranger. Now, every time she glanced at the news footage playing on the screens overhead, all Lois could see was her boyfriend risking his life to protect their city.

“Lois, I need you to call our Central City office and see if we can borrow one of their choppers. WGBS is getting all the best coverage of this,” Perry called over to her on his way through the newsroom.

Almost on autopilot, Lois reached for the phone and dialed the number. Her fingers tapped nervously on the desk as she listened to the hold music drone in her ear.

She’d covered stories under some of the most stressful circumstances. She’d been in the heart of war zones and riots and earthquakes. Every time, she managed to keep a level head and focus entirely on getting the story out to the public. Nothing she’d encountered before had been able to rattle her enough to shake that resolve.

Right now, though, she felt as if she was swimming through tar. She couldn’t breath. She felt trapped.

Would this debilitating fear ever go away? Would she someday get used to seeing him out there in life-or-death situations? Did she even want to have to get used to it?

It was odd, she thought. It seemed like it would ease her mind to find out her boyfriend was bullet proof and basically unkillable.

Instead, finding out the truth only seemed to make Superman more vulnerable than before. Not because she thought Clark was weak, but because now he had a name and an identity that she could wrap her head around. He wasn’t simply Superman, a mysterious alien trying to protect the world. He was Clark Kent — her wonderful, sweet, human boyfriend. He was someone she could lose.

By afternoon, the battle had moved its way into the outer areas of Metropolis. Superman was thankfully successful in keeping the chaos in an abandoned warehouse district, but there was no way of knowing how long that would continue.

“Lois!” Perry shouted out.

Eyes still glued to the news footage, Lois jumped at his voice. “Yes, Chief?”

“Cat is still out sick, I need you to go out in the news van with our film crew. Get as close to ground zero as you can.” He disappeared into his office, before sticking his head out a moment later to add, “But be careful, okay?”

“You got it,” she called back to him, grabbing her work bag.

Head back in the game, Lois, she chided herself. You have a story to report.

The entire ride there, she remained glued to her phone screen. It was her job to keep on top of the story, she told herself. Although she knew it wasn’t professional interest that made her stomach drop every time the alien creature landed a blow.

By the time they’d arrived on the scene, several large warehouses had already been leveled.

Lois immediately got to work, grabbing her mic and stepping into position so the battle could be seen over her shoulder as she reported. She had no idea how she managed to keep her voice steady and eyes dry as she listened to the sounds of destruction behind her, but she got through the broadcast with the same professional objectivity she always prided herself on.

“Lois, are you okay?” Jimmy asked after the broadcast switched back to their in-studio anchor.

She nodded, forcing her shoulders straight. “I’m fine. Let’s get into position to catch the footage as they cross the river.”

Somehow, she managed to make it through the entire day. It was not long after sunset that the creature was finally stopped. Lois received a text from her father, letting her know the DOD and Superman had figured out a plan but “there will be some risk involved” — which was his way of warning her that things could potentially go very wrong.

Whatever they did, it seemed to work. The creature was brought down and the city was once again safe.

But no one had any news on how Superman himself was doing in the wake of the all-day fight. Lois called the DOD, but was put on hold by some secretary. They obviously assumed she was simply another reporter after an exclusive. And it wasn’t as if Lois could tell them that all she wanted was some reassurance her boyfriend was okay.

The drive home that night was excruciatingly long. Lois probably didn’t need to honk angrily at every car that cut in front of her, but she wasn’t in the mood to deal with traffic problems.

The door to the apartment swung open and her eyes immediately scanned the room for any sign of the one person she wanted to see right now.

“Lois.”

She was across the room before her brain had fully processed his presence. He caught her easily, pulling her in close against his chest and holding on as if she was the one who’d been in danger all day.

“Are you okay?” she asked, hugging him back with every ounce of strength she had.

“I’m fine,” he said. “I promise.”

They held each other for longer than Lois bothered to keep track of. But eventually they migrated to the couch, both of them physically and emotionally exhausted.

They’d been together long enough for Lois to recognize that particular look in his eyes. It was what his mother referred to as his “weight of the world” look. Knowing how often her boyfriend tended to internalize things, especially guilt, she decided it was best to bring it out into the open.

“What are you thinking?” she asked softly, tracing her fingers over the tense jawline.

“I guess I didn’t fully think about that side of it,” he said, his voice also quiet. “When I told you my secret, I knew it might be hard to get used to… but I didn’t really think about how it would feel for you when I get caught in these situations.”

“I don’t think I realized it either,” she admitted. She didn’t want to make him feel worse, but she also wanted to be completely honest about how this was affecting her. Especially since she already knew beyond any doubt that she wanted them to have a future together. “Seeing you out there today…” she paused, swallowing back the tears that were threatening to appear. “I was scared, Clark. I’m not used to feeling scared. I’ve always been able to take care of myself, no matter how bad the situation. Today, I could barely think straight.”

He held her a little tighter, but didn’t say anything, waiting for her to continue.

“I’m not trying to say you shouldn’t be Superman,” she said. “I know you have to go out there. And I know what happens to the world if you don’t.”

“But that doesn’t make it any easier,” he acknowledged.

“No. It doesn’t.”

Nothing more was said on the topic, but they continued sitting together, holding each other close, long into the night.

She didn’t remember actually falling asleep, but she eventually came back to consciousness in her own bed with her favorite comforter tucked around her.

She barely had a chance to roll over before the door quietly slid open. To her surprise, Clark came in, already dressed in day clothes. Even more surprising, they were casual clothes instead of his usual work suits.

“What’s going on?” she asked around a yawn.

He smiled and reached over to brush a loose strand out of her face. “Nothing. I just thought you could use the extra sleep. Breakfast is made, when you’re ready for it.” He pulled his other hand out from behind his back as he added, “Also, I went out to get you something.”

The flowers were beautiful. They were bright shades of pink and orange mixed with softer yellows and creams — a perfect sunset of petals. The flowers themselves were also completely foreign to her. She knew without asking that they probably didn’t originate anywhere in this hemisphere.

“They’re beautiful, Clark,” she said, accepting the gift from him. “What’s the occasion?”

Instead of answering, he leaned down and gave her a slow, deep kiss. Despite being half-asleep still, she happily reciprocated. Considering only a few hours ago she hadn’t been sure she would ever have the chance to kiss him again, she was going to take every opportunity available.

When he pulled away, he said, “I already called Perry to let him know we’re not coming in today.”

Her eyes widened. “Not coming in? Do you realize they’re going to pass my coverage of the fight off to someone else to write? With my luck, Cat will get it.”

He smiled down at her fondly. “Lois.”

“What?”

“Let Cat write the story. I think we need a day without any news.”

A smile of her own slowly emerged as she considered his words. “Okay,” she said, grabbing his shirt and pulling him closer. “A day to ourselves does sound good. But I want you to know you’re the only person in the world I would give up a story for.”

Lois was fairly certain she was wearing a visible trail in the floor as she paced endlessly from one end of the apartment to the other.

It wasn’t a long trip. On reporter salaries, she and Clark hadn’t been able to afford too fancy of a place for their first home. But they had managed to make it as cozy and warm as possible. It was their safe haven from the rest of the world. The one place where they were allowed to be them — all of them. They didn’t have to hide one side or the other of their relationship in this one place.

Only now it felt more like a prison. The emptiness of the tiny apartment was present as a physical ache in her chest. The quietness burned against the muffled noises of the city outside.

She needed to get out of here, but she didn’t dare wander far.

Checking her phone again, Lois sighed at the realization that she still had another two hours to go before the next call from her father.

Sam had been calling with updates every six hours. That was all he was willing to risk, fearing that more frequent contact with a well-known reporter during this time would be noticed by someone. With almost two hours to go until the next update, Lois wasn’t sure how she was going to keep her sanity intact.

That was the hardest part, she realized. It was having to be here. She shouldn’t be stuck in her apartment, waiting for infrequent updates from her father.

And yet, she couldn’t be the one place where she really needed to be right now. She couldn’t be at the hospital, sitting beside his bed while her husband fought for his life.

Four days ago, Superman had been shot while fighting an unknown invader from another dimension. The weapon was well beyond anything they could understand, but it quickly became obvious that the bullet itself held some form of synthetic kryptonite. It lodged deep in his chest and the infection had set in within a few hours. It spread rapidly to his heart and lungs, requiring immediate medical attention to keep him breathing.

Since the entire incident had happened outside the Daily Planet’s usual jurisdiction, Lois was forced to watch all of this on a live news broadcast — the same as any other ordinary citizen. But she wasn’t the same as them. While the rest of the world waited on news of the mysterious alien who’d repeatedly risked his life to keep them safe, Lois was waiting to find out if the man she’d married only a few months ago was going to be coming home for dinner that night. Or ever again.

Everyone else in the world was worried about Superman. Lois was worried about Clark.

Last night, the doctors had finally made the decision to operate on him. They had hesitated up to that point out of fear of doing more harm than good — it wasn’t as if there was a text book on Kryptonian physiology — but at that point, they determined that they couldn’t possibly do more harm than what the infection was currently doing to him.

While her husband had been undergoing surgery, Lois was sitting on the balcony of their empty apartment, hugging Jimmy as they both offered meaningless words of encouragement to each other.

Superman came out of surgery slightly over eighteen hours ago. It was the news headline shortly afterwards. Sam called Lois with the same update not long after the rest of the world was informed.

The three check-ins since then had all delivered the same update: “He hasn’t woken up yet.”

Lois knew there would be many challenges, being married to Superman. She had been expecting the missed date nights, the many supervillains wanting him dead, having to scramble for a good cover story when he had to run out of a party at the last minute. Even the more everyday inconveniences of having a super-powered husband around the house — especially one who also a bit of a klutz.

The one thing Lois hadn’t been prepared to deal with was this: not being allowed to be Superman’s wife when he needed her most. Every part of her wanted to be at that hospital, encouraging him through this fight for his life. But being there would risk revealing his secret to the world. Especially now that Lois was a well-known reporter, who’d recently gotten married to another well-known reporter.

The phone rang, startling Lois out of her frantic pacing. She glanced quickly at the caller ID, and almost threw it across the room at seeing the telemarketing number.

No news yet. And almost two hours to go until the next update. She wasn’t sure she was going to make it.

The key rattling in the door’s lock caused her to freeze. Before her brain could finish making the connection of what that sound actually meant, the door was swinging open to reveal her husband standing on the threshold.

He was so much paler and thinner than she had ever seen him, with dark circles under those warm hazel eyes, and a slight limp as he hobbled into the apartment and shut the door behind him.

It didn’t matter to her what he looked like. He was alive and breathing, and that was more than enough for her right now.

She was across the room before she even realized her feet were moving. Her arms were around him a moment later, clinging to him almost as tightly as he was currently holding onto her.

The rest of the world could breath a sigh of relief at finding out their legendary hero had survived the ordeal. Lois was simply happy to have her husband home again.

“Oh, before I forget…” Clark pushed back a little, lifting one hand to present a small bouquet of wilted blue flowers. He shrugged a bit sheepishly. “I brought you something.”

Lois sniffed hard, brushing an annoyingly wet spot off her cheek.

“I had one of the nurses put them in water,” he continued, “but I guess they didn’t hold up very well. Hopefully they’re not too bad, though.”

She shook her head, giving up the battle to keep the tears at bay. Launching forward, she stood on tiptoes so she could wrap her arms around his neck, hiding her face in the crook of his neck. Clark immediately wrapped both his arms around her as well, holding her as tightly as he could without hurting her.

She choked back a sob and was pretty sure she heard him do the same.

“I’m sorry, Lois. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she told him. “You came home.”

Lois leaned back against her pillow, letting her eyes fall shut for the first time in far too many hours. The late afternoon sun was filtering through the half-closed blinds, turning the sterile white walls of the hospital room into a pale yellow.

It was quiet. Finally. After twenty-seven hours of labor, she could use some peace and quiet.

Clark had slipped out a little while ago to call his mother. They knew she would want to know about her new grandsons at the first possible moment. Lois would also have to call her own family, but she decided it could wait until she’d rested.

She pried heavy eyelids open again so she could look at her two beautiful boys. They were sleeping so peacefully in their bassinet beside the bed. Despite all the doctors’ reassurances that they were perfectly fine and healthy, she still needed that visual confirmation to make the idea fully sink in.

While they hadn’t talked about it much during the pregnancy — at least not in so many words — she and Clark had both been worried. She was sure they hadn’t had a good night’s sleep since she first saw those double lines on the pregnancy test.

Considering Jor-El’s certainty that it was biologically impossible for them to even have children, it was natural to be a little concerned when they somehow managed to defy the odds. They had no idea what complications could arise from human-Kryptonian hybrid genetics. And since natural births hadn’t been common on Krypton for many generations, even Jor-El wasn’t able to provide much information to them.

But, thankfully, both babies arrived almost exactly on their due date without any unusual issues. The birth itself, while excruciatingly long, happened as smoothly as could be hoped for.

Her sons were finally here where she could look at them and hold them.

The door swung open softly, but Lois didn’t bother looking away from the sleeping babies. She knew it would be Clark coming back from his phone call. As exhausted as he also looked, she hadn’t been able to convince him to go home. After months of worrying over her and the children, he wasn’t about to leave them now.

The mattress dipped slightly as he sat down beside her, slipping an arm behind her back. “They still asleep?”

“Thankfully,” she said, leaning back against his chest. “I think I need the break.”

“You should get some sleep before they wake up,” he told her. Before she could make up an excuse, he quickly added, “I’ll watch them.”

She nodded, glad that he didn’t need her to explain. It didn’t make sense to still be worried about them, but she had a feeling they were going to keep worrying anyway until they were sure the boys were really okay. Or possibly for the rest of their lives. Maybe that was just a parenting thing, she mused.

“I can’t believe they’re here,” Lois whispered, trying not to wake the sleeping infants. “They’re finally here, and safe, and ours.”

“I know,” he murmured back. “Do you realize our family has doubled in size since yesterday?”

“If we aren’t careful, we’ll end up outnumbered.”

Clark hummed thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t mind that.”

“Only if the next one is a girl,” she told him.

He laughed softly. “Sure. We’ll try our best.”

The shadows from the window slowly lengthened as they sat together, watching their sleeping children. It was the weirdest feeling, knowing that these two brand new lives were entirely their responsibility for the next eighteen years. Lois knew she and Clark could take on any world-ending disaster together, but raising two boys? Somehow that seemed a far more intimidating challenge.

“You realize we’re never going to sleep again, right?” Clark said.

Lois smiled at her boys. They were only a few hours old and already looked so much like their father. “I think it will be worth it.”

Clark suddenly stirred, removing his arm from around her. “Oh, before I forget…” He reached over to the bedside table and picked something up, passing it over to her.

She looked at the small bouquet of purple and yellow wildflowers. They were beautiful and smelled like no flower she’d ever encountered before. She glanced up at her husband with a confused frown. He brought her flowers often, but these special bouquets usually only meant one thing.

“Did something happen?” she asked, breath stalling a little in her chest. “You said that last mission went down without a problem.”

“Nothing happened to me,” he said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “These are for a different superhero. After what I watched you go through today… Lois, you are an amazing person and you never stop surprising me. You are a much stronger hero than I could ever be.”

Lois smiled and set the flowers down so she could wrap her arms around him instead. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

He smiled and leaned in for a kiss.

And of course, Jordan chose that moment to wake up from his nap.

If Lois had thought it was hard before, waiting up all night while Clark was away on Superman business, it didn’t even compare to this.

Somehow, it was a lot harder dealing with it now that the boys were old enough to actually be aware of their father’s constant absences. Having to keep her worry hidden inside only made it feel so much worse. But she couldn’t risk upsetting them; especially not when they were under the impression Clark was simply away on assignment for the Daily Planet.

Listening to the boys playfully arguing over a video game upstairs, she chewed on a fingernail and tried to resist the urge to drive over to the DOD headquarters herself.

It was supposed to have been a simple guard detail. Clark was going to be done with it and home in time for breakfast.

Instead, not long after midnight that first night, Sam had called to inform her that Superman was being officially declared missing in action. No one had any idea where he was or why he had suddenly disappeared.

That was two days ago.

So far, all attempts to locate him had turned up nothing. Lois even tried using her ELT. The lack of an immediate response was enough to tell her that something very bad had happened to her husband.

As she finished rinsing the last of the dinner dishes, she paused a moment to stare out the window at the night sky overhead. Their brownstone was far enough outside the inner city to get a good view of the stars. She and Clark used to go up on the roof and sit under the stars whenever they needed a break from everything else going on in their lives. It was only now that Lois realized how long it had been since they’d done that.

“Please come home soon, Clark,” she whispered at the stars. She knew no matter where he was, he would be able to hear her. “Please be okay.”

The sound of the boys stampeding down the stairs broke her out of her thoughts. She quickly finished drying off her hands and schooled her expression into something more neutral.

“Hey, Mom,” Jon called, poking his head into the kitchen. “Is it okay if we stay late after school tomorrow? We’re supposed to go study at Joey’s house.”

Crossing her arms, Lois shot him her best ‘stern mom’ look. “I thought the reason you gave a few days ago was going to the new mall across town?” she reminded him. “And your father already told you no.”

Jordan, who was hovering right behind his brother, huffed. “It’s not like he’s even here to notice if we did go. Wasn’t he supposed to be back from that assignment already?”

As much as she wanted to be mad at him for saying it, Lois could also understand why he felt that way. He had no way of knowing why his father kept disappearing on them at random times.

“He got held up,” she said, once again feeling that stab of guilt at having to lie to them. “And the answer stands. No going to the mall while you’re both still grounded. Maybe next week.”

Jordan muttered something under his breath before retreating back upstairs. Lois wasn’t surprised. His temperament issues only seemed to be increasing the older he got. She wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with the teenaged version of him when he turned thirteen next month.

Her attention drifted back over to Jon, who was still standing in the doorway. Despite how young he was, he had proven almost as perceptive as his father. Lois always had a harder time keeping her worry masked from him.

“Are you okay, Mom?” he asked nervously. “Is everything okay?”

She smiled and looped an arm around her son’s shoulders. “I’m fine, honey. I just don’t like it when your father has to be away this long.” It wasn’t the whole truth, but it also wasn’t a lie. She hated having to lie to them.

“Yeah,” Jon agreed. “I miss him, too.”

The sound of the door opening startled both of them. They turned in unison to the front entryway as the door opened fully to reveal Clark standing there.

“Dad!” Jon exclaimed, running over to greet his father with a hug.

Clark smiled and leaned down to return the hug. Jon was growing fast, but he was still another growth spurt away from reaching his father’s height.

“Hey, Jon,” Clark greeted him happily, tone almost normal enough to fool even Lois. But she could still hear that slight undercurrent that sent a pang of worry through her. “How did baseball practice go at school?”

“Great,” the boy said, chin lifted proudly. “Coach said I have the best swing on the team.”

“I’m not surprised. I’ve seen your swing. We can go to Centennial Park this weekend to practice, if you want.”

“Thanks!”

Jordan finally reappeared, apparently having heard the noise. While his greeting was less enthusiastic than his brother’s, it was still obvious how glad he was to have Clark home.

Lois stayed where she was, leaning against the kitchen doorway, content to watch their interactions. Whatever had happened to Clark, he seemed to be fine now, and she was simply glad to have him home.

“Do you smell fruit?” Jordan asked suddenly.

“Oh,” Clark said, reaching for the paper bag he’d been carrying. “I brought something for your mom.”

He reached inside and pulled out a lovely bouquet of tropical flowers, walking over to place them in Lois’s hands. She accepted the gift, taking in the exotic colors and scents. It was one of the special bouquets — the kind that she only got under special circumstances.

Her eyes came up to meet his. Past the lingering tiredness and worry, she could see one very clear message, transmitted as distinctly as if he were saying it aloud: “I’m home and I’m safe. Sorry for making you worry.”

She nodded, reaching over to squeeze his hand while her other still clutched the bouquet. “It’s okay. I’m glad you’re home.”

The boys, completely oblivious to their parents’ silent conversation, came bounding over.

“Hey, can we do a movie night since Dad wasn’t here last night?” Jon asked.

“And order a pizza!” Jordan added.

“You just had dinner,” Lois reminded them, not letting go of her husband’s hand as she turned to the twins.

“One pizza?” Jordan bargained. “And can I pick the movie?”

“You picked last time,” Jon argued back.

Lois smiled and glanced over at Clark. “Glad to be home?” she teased.

He met her gaze with a completely sincere smile. “Very glad.”

~~~~~

Back to the present...

Lois was pretty sure she hadn’t gone more than ten minutes at a time without Clark’s hand firmly grasped in her own. Ever since he’d arrived home earlier that evening, she had felt some lingering fear deep inside — as if he’d disappear again the moment she let him out of her sight.

She tried to tell herself that it was over now. Clark was home and Edge was defeated. It was only a matter of time before they caught Leslie Larr as well. It was over.

And yet she found it impossible to fully relax and make herself accept that fact. The absolute terror she’d felt when her father ordered the red solar rocket fired on Clark refused to leave her. It had taken on a life of its own inside her chest and wouldn’t budge — not even with the reassurance of Clark’s hand firmly grasping her own all evening.

After they’d said goodbye to John Henry, the boys had been sent into town to pick up dinner. Mostly because none of them had been in the right state of mind to worry about cooking anything themselves.

They watched Sam’s car pull away, with the boys in the back, before turning towards the house.

“I heard you,” Clark said quietly as they climbed the porch steps. “Even with Zod in control, I heard your voice through John’s radio.”

Lois squeezed his hand, resting her head against his shoulder. “Thank you for listening and coming home.”

He lifted their joined hands so he could place a kiss on the back of her knuckles. “You’re worth coming home to.” He let go of her hand so he could wrap his arm around her as their footsteps thudded softly over the porch.

Lois pushed the kitchen door open so they could step inside.

The room was still in a bit of disarray. Between the DOD crawling all over the place the last few days, and the general worry of everyone, there hadn’t been a lot of time for cleaning or straightening.

Clark’s eyes landed on the dying flowers on the table before shooting her a questioning glance.

“Trying to remind myself,” she said, trailing a finger over one of the dried out petals. “Remembering all the other times you made it home safely.”

Clark nodded, expression softening. “I’ll always come home to you, Lois. Always.”

“You almost didn’t today.”

It wasn’t an accusation. More of a reminder — for both of them. Clark didn’t answer, but the way he leaned a little closer into her side was response enough. He was here; he’d made it home. There was no telling what would happen tomorrow, but they still had each other at least for today. And sometimes that was the best they could hope for.

He glanced back over to the dying bouquet and sighed guiltily. “I didn’t bring you flowers.”

Lois wrapped her arms around him, leaning up to plant a kiss on his cheek. “You didn’t need to,” she whispered into his ear. “This is enough for me.”

Thank you for reading! If you would like to contact the author, please visit my tumblr or dreamwidth.

Waiting For Superman