"Hey!" She ran down the hall after the teenager. "Wait!"
He stopped and turned, his demeanor a little more exasperated than it had been with Linda. "Yeah?"
She tried to smile. "Could you tell me who sent those?"
He shrugged and looked at her hand. "You have the card. I only deliver stuff."
She smiled again. "Yes, but if I were to call your shop..."
"I work for like five shops. They just give me the addresses and the flowers. Like I said, I just deliver them, Ma'am," he sighed. Lois tried not to be affronted that someone five years below her was calling her ma'am. She had more important things to worry about.
She walked slowly back to her apartment. If Lex knew she was alive, why wasn't she dead now? If he had outside help, why couldn't he just send them to take her... and Martha. Why the flowers? Was it like Martha thought? Was he giving them a chance to run?
She opened her door. She wouldn't run. She'd only just settled into her new life. It was everything she'd wanted. She had to fight for it. This wasn't over yet. If Lex had the power to get her now, he would have.
When she entered the apartment, Linda was just hanging up the phone. "That's odd."
"What?" she asked, wondering if she'd even tell her.
"The flowers. Ollie said he didn't send them." She smiled again. "Told me he wanted to give me something in person." She held the flowers out. "They must be for you."
"Oh, they are." Lois laughed and stuffed the card into her pocket. "I just got the card out in the hall. Perry sent them. I gave him some advice about his wife. Must've paid off."
"I'll bet." She cradled the pink flowers when Lois didn't take them. "These are Damask roses."
"Oh? Is that special?"
She shrugged. "Running with the rich and famous, you learn a few things. These are pretty rare. Probably won't find more than two shops that carry them."
"Really?" She took the flowers finally and brought them into the kitchen. "I'll get a vase." She didn't have a vase any more than she had a dining table, but she used the action of finding something to put them in as cover for her racing thoughts.
This was getting riskier. Linda was finally happy with Oliver in Star City. Chloe Sullivan had died three times now. Did she want her cousin to go down with Lois Lane when it all hit the fan?
"You know," she said, turning around and leaning on the counter. "I hate to think of Ollie all alone, waiting for you with his... present," she finished, leering.
Linda giggled. "Yeah, I know... But I can't leave you. You need me."
She rolled her eyes. "Linda, if I need you, I know you'll steal the Bell again and race like a maniac to me."
Linda put her hands on her hips. "Maniac? I fly very well. Even Victor is... almost okay with me taking the Bell now."
"Why don't you prove it and fly back to your mayor?" Lois picked up her keys from the counter. "I'll take you to Martha's and you can fly off and be there by bedtime."
Linda seemed to think about it for about three seconds. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
Linda shrugged. "Sure. I mean, I do like bedtime."
************************************
When they pulled up to the house, the Bell was already out of the barn. Martha was standing next to it.
"Martha," Linda shrieked. "We didn't call ahead to tell you to kill yourself dragging that thing out. It took the three of us an hour to shove it away last time." She turned to Lois, whispering. "And Victor's going to kill me over that scratch."
"Oh, I'm fine," Martha said, waving them away. "I just... had all this excess energy. Just a few shoves." She laughed.
Lois looked down and noticed the dirt ground around the copter didn't even seem scraped by its movement. "Must've been a mighty shove." There was no way Martha could have...
"Well, you know..." She laughed again and came forward to hug Linda. "I'm so glad you and Ollie have made up. You give him my love. And all the boys."
"Thanks, Martha. I will. Even Bart." Linda broke away and hugged Lois. "You call me the minute you need me. You know we'll all drop everything for you."
"I do. And thanks."
Both women waved and stepped away as she took off. She was still a little uneven, Lois thought.
"Well, Sweetie." Martha turned to her. "It's nearly dark. Shouldn't you be getting back?"
"Actually, I was wondering if I could stay and talk a bit."
Martha bit her lip and looked toward the house. "You know, I normally would, but I should get started in this order of muffins that..."
"Just for a coffee. I have something to tell you."
Martha seemed conflicted, but she smiled. "Sure. I'll put a pot on."
When they were settled in the kitchen, Lois noticed that she seemed nervous. She kept glancing at the doorway. Maybe she was more bothered by those flowers than she'd let on. "Martha, are you okay?"
"Me?" She smiled and poured two cups of coffee. "I'm just fine. Just have a heavy load of orders." She brought the cups to the table, spilling them a little. "Oh... I'm so clumsy."
"Not usually," Lois said, turning towards the back door. "I'll get a towel." As she reached for one from a rack near the door, she looked down. There were muddy boots there. They looked well-worn. And they weren't Martha's. They were much too big.
When she turned back, Martha took the towel, mouthing her thanks.
"Martha, is there a man here?"
Martha stopped in the middle of wiping under a cup and put it down, spilling again. "I... There..." She brought her hands to her face and sat down. "I wanted to tell you."
"Tell me what?" She looked at the boots again and realized... She knew those boots as well as she knew who wore them. "How long?"
"Late last night. Soon after you left, really."
"Oh..." She hadn't known. Somehow, she thought she would've known the second he crossed the Canadian border.
"I'm sorry, Sweetie. I couldn't tell you."
Her legs felt shaky. She sat down at the table. "But... Martha..."
"I told her not to."
Lois very slowly turned in her seat towards the doorway that led to the dining room. There he was. In sweatpants and an open flannel with wet hair and bare feet. Her hands started shaking, too. She folded them in her lap. "Hi, Clark."
He was staring at her. "Hi... You've, uh, changed your hair."
She nodded, trying to project calm. "Yes. I've changed a lot." Her eyes searched for something besides him to look at. She found her salvation when they fell on the clock. "You know, Martha. It is late." She stood on still shaky legs, wincing when her chair hit the floor. "I... I really should get back. Early day and all..." She let her eyes rest on Clark again. "Hope you get settled in okay. I mean, if you're not leaving again..."
"Chloe..."
"It's Lois now," she said, cutting him off. "Your mother can fill you in." She turned to Martha. "Sorry I can't stay for coffee, but Perry's a bear if I oversleep and I'm just... really tired," she finished, dropping her eyes to the floor.
If she could have, she would have run to her car. It was hard enough to walk without falling. But she kept moving forward. She had to.
It wasn't until she hit the freeway that she lost momentum. She pulled to the shoulder and cried, trying to tell herself it was the last time she'd cry for him.
********************************
She felt better when she pulled the keys from her pocket at the stairwell from her building's garage. It was the card that did it. It came out with her keys and gave her something to focus on besides Clark Kent and his unwelcome return to her state... and her thoughts. She pushed him away resolutely as she walked slowly up the stairs toward the third floor.
She turned the card over in her hand. There was nothing on it but the note. Even that was typed. Probably dictated to the florist. If she could just find the florist, she could find the sender, at least she hoped. At any rate, it was her only lead. Linda had said Damask roses were rare. If that were so, then it would narrow her search. A press pass sometimes got people talking. She could offer free advertising. Perry would play along if she told him why... She stopped short of her apartment door.
She couldn't tell him why. She shook her head as she put her key in the door. She'd find a way to get him to do it. Perry White was very nearly a softie with her... not totally, but nearly. Her time as Blythe Nellie seemed to earn her his respect. It seemed that Perry White was the only man in her life that hadn't let her down yet.
When she let herself in to the dark apartment, she saw her living room window was open. She didn't have time to wonder who did it.
The alien sitting in her easy chair answered the question for her. "I'm sorry about sneaking in, but I think we should talk."
She didn't react, didn't show any sign of being startled. She just turned and closed her door slowly. She moved to the Chinese food cartons still littering her coffee table and picked a few up. "You talk," she said as she moved past him to the kitchen. "I said all I had to say nine months ago."
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Chapter Seven
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