Different

In this next chapter, will Clark be saved and by whom, and also Lois tries to put all the pieces together in her mind. There are no longer any spoilers. This is my mind running wild with speculation about the next phase of their relationship. I hope you enjoy it. Please read and review. Thanks, everyone!! Read on! :D



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Chapter 6: We Meet Again



Previously:



“Unlike you, I will lead from a throne, not from the shadows. Every human including the woman you love will kneel before Zod,” he growled in Clark’s face.



“You already destroyed my first home. I won’t let you take this one,” Clark growled right back. He then made a decision. He shoved the knife into his side hoping it would miss any vital organs. It was just as he had hoped. Without the blue kryptonite knife exposed, Zod was pulled into the sky by the Book of Rao.



Clark felt content as he fell off the ledge and prepared to die.



~o~o~



A week has passed since that fateful meeting between Clark, the Kandorians and Zod. After Clark had sent them away to another dimension, no one had seen or heard from Oliver or Clark. Chloe couldn’t decide if she should contact Lois or not without revealing the truth. She finally decided to give her a call just to see if she had heard from Clark. Lois said she hadn’t heard anything and she was very worried about him. She told Chloe about the job offer from Mr. White to join him in Kenya, but she had decided not to go. Mr. White wasn’t joining the paper after all, but he had managed to get her and Clark’s jobs back at the Planet. Chloe said she was happy for her. Lois went on to say that none of it mattered, not without Clark. Chloe said she would contact her if she heard anything. After hanging up with Lois, Chloe suddenly had a terrible thought. What if they’re both gone, gone forever? How do we accept that?



The Daily Planet bullpen:



After she hung up with Chloe, Lois sat across from Clark’s desk trying to put all the pieces together. Her head was spinning from everything that was running through her mind, but the one thing that kept coming to the forefront was … Clark Kent and the Blur are one and the same. She touched her lips, closed her eyes, as her mind went back to the alley and their kiss. She shook her head remembering. She had to stop this. She didn’t want to tell Chloe that she knew. She wanted to talk to Clark first, but where was he? Her mind also went back to their talk in the loft. Why did he want me to go, to leave him? I have to tell him that none of it matters now, so long as he comes back, as long as he’s alright. He has to be alright.



The Fortress of Solitude:



Hawkman and Martian Manhunter had hoped that Clark would come out of it soon. They had rescued him from that fall from the ledge just in the nick of time and had brought him to the Fortress to recuperate. He had been delirious and his breathing was weak but he had gotten better and the wound in his side was healing. The first few nights were the toughest. Clark had dreamed of Lois. Her name was a constant plea on his lips. He had mumbled over and over for her not to leave him and that he hadn’t meant what he had said. Another night, he had dreamed of the fight with Zod and that he couldn’t let him win. Several days later, as Clark began to improve, Carter and J’onn had finally realized that Clark had been right about everything. A peaceful solution would always be the first and only answer.



Suddenly, a moan was uttered. “Clark, Clark, can you hear me?” J’onn asked his friend.



“J’onn, where am I?” Clark asked as he tried to focus on his surroundings.



“You’re at the Fortress, Clark. You’re going to be alright,” Carter said.



Clark touched his side and he was still in pain. “I remember now,” he said and closed his eyes.



“You should rest, Clark. You’ve been through hell, but now you’re back with us,” J’onn said relieved he was awake.



“How long have I been here?” Clark said trying to stay awake, but needing to know.



“It’s been a week now,” Carter replied.



“A week, but …” Clark said and tried to sit up, but the wound in his side protested.



“Whoa, Clark, you need more time to heal and Jor-El said your powers won’t return, not for a few more days,” J’onn said.



“But there are people who need to know I’m alright,” he said hoping they would understand.



They did, as they glanced at each other. “Oh, you mean Lois?” J’onn asked smiling.



“Well, yes, and my mother and Chloe. They must be worried about me,” he stressed.



“We’ll contact Chloe and your mother, but Lois …?” Carter asked curious about the situation.



“Lois knows about me, but maybe she doesn’t. I tried to tell her in my own way,” Clark said making no sense to them.



“What does that mean?” J’onn asked. “Did you tell her or not?”



“Yes, I told her … sort of,” Clark replied still making no sense.



“Clark, you’re not making any sense. You should try and get some more rest. You obviously need it,” Carter said.



Clark sighed. He then went on to tell them exactly what had happened between them.



Carter and J’onn digested this information, both pacing as they turned to face him.



“Well?” Clark asked worried he may not have gotten through to her. “Oh, no, I just thought of something. I have to get out of here. I have to find her and talk to her,” he said as he tried to get up again. His wounded side was not having it. He moaned and fell back onto the bed again.



“Clark, what is the rush?” Carter asked.



“Lois had a job offer to go to Kenya and I told her to go. She could be halfway around the world by now,” Clark said and closed his eyes imagining the worst.



“Wait, you told her to go? But why would you do that Clark?” J’onn asked confused by his actions.



“I thought I was leaving Earth forever and I just … I couldn’t say goodbye. I couldn’t,” he managed to say as he closed his eyes thinking about their talk in the loft.



“I’ll go and find her for you, Clark, I promise. You rest now. Everything will be alright,” J’onn said. “And Clark, we have something for you.” J’onn reached inside his pocket and handed him the Book of Rao.”



“Thank you,” he said staring at it relieved beyond measure. He managed a smile. “And thank you both for saving me,” Clark said as he tried to keep his eyes open but couldn’t.



Carter and J’onn both smiled as they realized Clark was asleep. “I’ll be back in a little while,” J’onn told Carter and left.



~o~o~



The Daily Planet bullpen:



It was pretty late when J’onn arrived at the Planet. It was the first place he looked and she was there. It looked as if Lois had decided not to go to Kenya. Clark would be relieved to know that. Maybe he had gotten through to her after all. After contacting Chloe and Clark’s mother, Lois was next on the list. “Ms. Lane?” J’onn asked as he approached her desk.



Lois tore her eyes away from Clark’s desk. “Yes, may I help you? I know you. You’re … Detective Jones, is it? What brings you by?” Lois said as she stood up and shook his hand.



“I have some news … about Clark.”



“Oh, no,” Lois said and stumbled back into her chair. Her eyes filled with tears as she put her hand over her heart. “Is he dead?”



“No, no, that’s not why I’m here,” he said as he tried to reassure her. “Can we go somewhere so we can talk in private?” There were employees around watching them.



Lois felt such relief that Clark was alive. “Of course, we can go in here,” she said and led him into a vacant office and closed the door. Lois had a thousand questions for him. “So, Clark is alright? Where is he? Is he hurt? What happened to him?”



“Just know that he’s fine and he’ll be back in a few days,” J’onn said being evasive.



“But you can tell me where he is. It’s alright,” she said then she looked him in the eye. She touched his arm. “It’s alright,” she said hoping he would get her meaning.



J’onn smiled admiring Clark’s methods of persuasion. “He’s at the Fortress.”



“The Fortress, is that the farm?” She asked confused.



“No, Ms. Lane, it’s a replica of his home planet in the North Pole,” he answered her.



Lois’s mouth dropped open, but she recovered quickly. “No, really where is he? You can tell me the truth,” she said.



“It’s the truth, Ms. Lane.”



Lois thought about it and then she had a few more questions. “I’ve seen Clark fly. Can you fly, Detective Jones? Are you and Clark the same?” She asked and then she had a thought. “Can you take me to him? Has he been asking for me? Is that why you came to see me? It’s true, isn’t it?” She wasn’t letting up at all.



J’onn sighed knowing Lois wasn’t going to stop. He tried to dissuade her. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”



“Detective Jones, please. You have to take me to him. Clark needs me.”



J’onn couldn’t deny that fact. He was silent.



“He does, doesn’t he? Please take me to him. He has to know that I would never ever leave him. Please?”



J’onn knew that Clark would be surprised at first, but he had a feeling that Lois was just what Clark needed right now. “Alright, let’s go, but you’re going to need a few more articles of clothing.”



~o~o~

Somewhere in the far north:



Lois was actually flying in the air. Detective Jones was a Martian, but he looked like any other guy on the street just like Clark. Was Clark a Martian? Detective Jones said no, Clark was not a Martian. He told her that Clark would tell her all about himself in due time when he was stronger.



As they came closer to the Fortress, Lois could not believe her eyes. She had been there years and years before. She shook her head at her Smallville. She pushed her feelings of hurt way down. It wasn’t important now. What was important was that Clark’s powers return so he could be strong again. Detective Jones had told her that Clark had to fight the imposter and send him away, but that Clark had been hurt badly and he needed to rest, and that he would recover completely in time.



They set down inside the Fortress. It was cold, but not overly so. She was led to another chamber and Clark was in a huge bed with satin sheets. He appeared to be asleep. "Hello," she whispered to the man with wings standing beside the bed. He nodded to her but didn't say a word. He decided to leave them alone.



Suddenly, Clark began to mumble in his sleep. "Lois ... where ... are ... you?"



Lois sat down on the bed, took his hand and said, "I'm here, I'm here," she managed to say.



Clark seemed to relax after that and was quiet again.



Lois lifted his hand to her lips, kissing it, and placed her cheek against it, so very relieved he was going to be alright, as happy tears streamed down her cheeks.



~o~o~



Clark slowly awakened and immediately realized the pain in his side was gone, and he realized something else. There was a warm body lying next to him. It was Lois. She’s really here beside me, not in Africa where I wouldn't be able watch out for her, not the way I want to, and not the way I need to. He slowly lifted his hand needing to touch her.



“You should let her sleep. She’s been here for two days, refusing to rest watching over you,” J’onn whispered.



“She’s really here? I’m not dreaming?” Clark asked and smiled at J’onn’s expression. “I actually got through to her?”



“Did you really think you wouldn’t?” J’onn asked amazed at Clark’s thinking.



“I had hoped, prayed even,” Clark admitted.



“Are your powers back?”



“Yes, they're back,” Clark replied.



“Excellent. I’ll inform the others,” he whispered and turned to leave.



“J’onn, thank you,” Clark said nodding at Lois, but then he remembered something very important to ask him.



J’onn listened carefully, nodded back, and left to do what he asked.



Clark couldn’t go back to sleep, so he laid there and watched Lois sleep. He noticed her eyelids were moving. I wonder if she's dreaming of me or is she dreaming of the Blur? He frowned at that thought, as his feelings of jealousy returned. He really felt foolish, but he couldn’t deny it any longer. He was jealous of the Blur. He just realized something else too. When I had kissed her that night in the alley, she didn't know I was the Blur or did she. I wonder. I can’t bring that up because my deception was far worse than Lois kissing the Blur, far, far worse. She was almost killed several times because of my deceit and my lies. I know it’s coming, but I will have to beg for her forgiveness. That and more, he realized.



Lois suddenly mumbled his name, sighed and burrowed under the covers.



Well, that answered my question. She is dreaming of me. He smiled and then he couldn’t help remembering their first time, their second time and their third time as well. Oh no, not now! He suddenly realized he was getting excited.



Lois’s scent was tickling his nose and other parts of his body were reacting to her nearness, her breathing, her … everything. He needed to get out of that bed. This could really be a problem. She’s exhausted and she’ll probably want to talk when she wakes up, but talking is the last thing I want to do. He groaned to himself as he tried to get control over his emotions and his wayward thinking.



“Clark,” Lois mumbled his name again, as she slowly awakened realizing where she was and who was beside her. She looked to her left and he was staring at her.



Their gazes locked.



TBC!



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A/N: Don't hit me! Sorry to leave you like that, but I wanted to think about a few things before their big 'talk.' They will be doing a lot of ‘talking’ or you could call it that! *sly grin* Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it! Reviews are love! :D