Almost Lois (Chapter Twenty-Eight)

It was a smash. Lois Lane's in depth look at Superman hit the news stands and suddenly papers were a hot item. The same people that once chatted on their cell phones or checked their PDAs during The Met Stop's early Monday morning breakfast rush were now unfolding The Daily Planet. Hungry for only one thing: the words of Lois Lane.

It was almost too much happiness for one person to bear.

"Ooh! I like this part best," Doris said. She cleared her throat. "Clothing lines have put feelers out, military organizations have pleaded on national TV, producers vie for the rights. But Superman doesn't want these things. He's nearly old-fashioned. Polite, respectful, and fairly modest for a man who could easily use all his power for personal gain. He seems humbled by the idea that he could be a beacon of hope for a world that seems so devoid of anything hopeful. When asked why he chooses to spend his time so selflessly, he answers easily. 'I just want to help. I had no home and this planet gave me one.' It's simple to him, but the words are nearly hard to swallow in a world where everyone has an angle. Yet coming from this man, this last son of Krypton, this lone hero, I believe them." Doris folded the paper and patted her hand. "Just lovely, Sweetie."

Lois smiled. "Well..."

"I was afraid at first," Jimmy put in. "I mean, I thought you'd be gushing about eyes as blue as the sky and rippling..."

She hit him with Doris' paper.

"Ow! What? That picture I got of him during the Eighth avenue fire got all the ladies going. I'm sure you're not the only one practically lusting after his..." Jimmy tapped his chin and stared at the ceiling. "What were your words, Doris? Nearly perfect, round..."

"Good morning, Clark," Doris cut in smoothly, taking the paper back to rap Jimmy on the hand.

Lois looked up. "Don't you usually get your breakfast at the news stand? Weird to see you without your morning snack cake." She never saw Clark eat a thing that wasn't mostly junk. If she ate like he did, she'd be malnourished. Why did he always have to look so... corn-fed and hearty?

He shrugged and slid in next to Jimmy. "Doris called my cell. Said we were celebrating. Where's Perry?"

"Probably in his office gloating to Joe at the Telegraph," Doris sighed.

"But he might be along soon," Lois said, glancing at the spot Clark was now occupying. "Doris," she whispered from the side of her mouth. "This place is pretty crowded. Where's Perry going to sit?"

"He won't be here," Doris hissed back. "Besides, I think you should spend a little more time with Clark and a little less time mooning over the unattainable type."

She glanced quickly at Clark, who had his head down, dabbing at a coffee stain on his tie with a wet napkin. The act seemed to sum up everything about Clark. She leaned closer to Doris. "Thanks for the thought, but I'd like something a little less attainable than Clark Kent."

"He's always looking at you. I've seen it."

"That's the point. It's unnerving. He's just so... not my type." Clark suddenly looked up and she leaned away from Doris. It was impossible he could have heard, though, with their lowered voices and the din of the diner. "What are you having, Clark?"

"Keep in mind," Jimmy said. "It's on The Planet." He leaned back. "I'm having The Hungry Man."

"Oh, well..." Clark picked up a menu and looked at it. "I guess the...uh... Fresh From The Farm?"

Lois snorted and Doris leaned in again. "What do you mean by not your type?"

"Oh, the earnest, farm-raised, rosy cheeks type. Boring. He'd probably want me to cook and clean and iron his underwear. Believe me, I'm not his type either. He wants some small town princess head cheerleader type. The kind who wants a picket fence and..."

"What are you two whispering about?" Jimmy elbowed Clark. "Probably Superman's ass again. Ever since I got that shot from the back from last week, they've been staring at it."

Clark looked up again, his hair falling in his eyes. He looked a little red. "Yeah?"

"Oh, yeah. Doris has it framed on her desk."

"That's a lie," Doris said, narrowing her eyes behind her cat's eye glasses. "I have it laminated on my bulletin board."

Jimmy laughed. "Like that's different?"

"What's different?" They all looked up as Rachel came over.

Lois rolled her eyes. "You invite her, too?" she mumbled to Doris.

"No, but... Oh, just try harder with Rachel. You'll get used to her."

"How long did it take you?"

Doris shrugged. "Still working on it."

"Hmm..." Rachel glanced at the booth. "No room." She turned and sauntered over to a table between the rows of booths. Three men in suits were arguing. She put a hand on the chair their coats were stacked on. "Excuse me, Gentlemen? I don't seem to have anywhere to sit and..." Her voice lowered and Lois could almost see the sly, simpering expression on her face. The guys quickly removed their coats and gestured to the chair, looking disappointed when she took it and walked away. "So... Lois got the front page. Congrats. Moving on..." She turned to Clark. "I read your piece on page eight on STAR labs new project. It was... stimulating."

Lois didn't miss the way Clark folded in on himself. "It was about, uh, insect cloning."

She shuddered delicately. "I know. Insects are just so instinctual. I mean they die so young, they have to just jump in and..."

"Take your order?" a harried red-haired girl asked, pen poised above her pad.

Lois smirked as Rachel calmed her hormones and sat delicately back. She'd changed her look this week. The tight blouses had been replaced with pastel sweater sets and pearls, for crying out loud. There was something that bugged her about the way Rachel went after Clark. Maybe it was just Rachel's type. women who hung their hat on their sexuality instead of distinguishing themselves socially with... Well, that was the thing. Who was she to talk? Lois didn't do much socially. If you didn't count friends from work and talking to Linda, she didn't have much in her life. Even her history was fuzzy. That was something she meant to take up with Grady on her next visit. He'd been trained, surely. He could try a different approach with her than... whatever it was he did. Even their sessions were somewhat muddled in her mind.

*********************************

Clark's mind was swimming as he walked next to Jimmy and Rachel back to The Planet. Rachel was clinging to his arm, whispering about how she loved a man who ate a big breakfast. Jimmy was going on about his upcoming date with a petite blonde that worked on the seventh floor.

"Do you think she expects a suit?" he was asking. "I mean, does she seem high maintenance?"

"I bet you'd love a home-cooked meal," Rachel cooed.

"No," he said to both.

"I guess not," Jimmy sighed.

Rachel let go of his arm. "Well, I could do take-out..."

He couldn't concentrate. He'd heard Lois and Doris whispering at breakfast. It was hard not to. It wasn't as if either of them were subtle about it.

Considering the last thing he should be thinking about was dating Lois, it stung that she was so averse to the idea. They'd had an actual fresh start and she apparently thought he was boring, prudish and attainable. He thought about that. If you stripped away everything that he could do, put them into a whole separate person... which he'd actually done, then what was he? Just a guy who was raised on a farm, a guy who did try to be polite, normal... boring. Had he succeeded? Was he now the most low-key guy in the city? He should probably be glad, but he hated that he was apparently so... not her type.

The worst part was that he was, when all together, exactly her type. A piece of him wanted to rush up, bend her backwards and show her how her type he could be.

But he wouldn't. He was only there to keep her safe. Another thing irked him. What she thought his type was. She'd nearly exactly described Lana Lang. He thought about that morning in Maine. That morning he'd watched her sleep. Everything had seemed so simple before the fortress. He'd seen nearly this life with her. He'd seen them living in Metropolis, unraveling mysteries together, working against all that was wrong with the world. He sort of had that life- except he was lonely and she hardly looked at him except to point out a stain on his shirt. He looked down at the egg on his tie. It joined other stains. He could outrace a jet, but he still couldn't get a handle on laundry.

Anyway, he knew for sure. He knew that the life he'd once dreamed of with Lana could never fill him up. As lonely as he felt on Superman's slower nights, there was something about the city, The Planet, about Lois... It all fit. He was even settling in at work. He sometimes got what she'd always felt on the tail of a story. Lately, he'd been looking into a planned community in the northern suburbs of Metropolis. Couples had been moving out very rapidly... but without a forwarding address. Three straight couples and one lesbian couple. There was something there...

As exciting as it was, he couldn't truly concentrate on that.

Lois thought he was boring and attainable. Lois thought Superman was everything but. Maybe he was nothing except for what he could do. Maybe Clark Kent was just a boring shell Superman flew out of nightly, sometimes daily.

Maybe, deep down, he was nothing special.

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"It's not a big deal," she said, trying to smile. "I just want to know why." She sat on Grady's couch and crossed her legs. "I mean, do all your patients have this problem remembering who their third grade teacher was, the color of their mom's hair, the..."

Grady looked uncomfortable. "I... It's not uncommon, but my methods are just... different. When we go into deep hypnosis, we always..."

"But how do we go into deep hypnosis?" she asked, leaning forward. "I know there are periods of even these sessions that I don't see clearly and..."

"My methods may be unconventional, but..." He rubbed his temples. "Don't you feel lighter when you leave me? Don't you feel like you're the kind of woman you could be without the baggage of moments that weigh you down?" His eyes were almost pleading.

She took a deep breath. "I think that what you do could be helpful to many people, but... I'm a reporter. I'd just rather know. It's who I am."

"But it was you who..." He drew back and leaned against his desk. "I just want to be helpful."

"You have been," Lois assured him. "I'd be a fool if I ignored all the rave reviews from your patients. It's probably what drew me to you in the first place... Wasn't it?"

He sighed. "Let's just leave it at that."

"You are truly amazing," she said earnestly. "You're kind and competent and... I just want those same qualities to work for me in a way that's, well... more suited to my nature." She sat back. "If we could just reverse the things you've done. Tell my subconscious not to move on so..."

"I can't," he said tiredly.

"Sure you can." She smiled hesitantly. "Just put me under and..."

"I don't know how," he said, gazing at the floor. "Believe me, I sometimes wish I..." He shook his head and looked up. "This session's on me, Lois. Why don't we pick it up next week? I'm feeling a little tired."

"Oh, well..." She grabbed her purse from the coffee table. "Okay. I'll just..."

He strode to the door and opened it. "I'm sorry. I've had a rough week with... another patient."

She wanted to ask who, but she knew he wouldn't say. He'd seemed rather pale and fidgety all month. She hadn't wanted to hurt his feelings, not really. She just wanted him to understand that it just wasn't working for her. She wanted to try a new way. But he couldn't? She looked back at his drawn face once as she stepped into the elevator. What kind of doctor didn't know how to bring up repressed memories? She knew he worked in the reverse direction, but wasn't dealing with those very things practically the mainstay of all psychologists?

The mirrored doors closed and she frowned at her reflection. It had been itching at the back of her mind for a while. What was Grady all about?

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"Fraud," she whispered to herself. It had taken nearly all week to blow a hole in the paper trail of one Kevin Grady. She couldn't even mentally add the doctor anymore. His bio had said he was the son of the once-famous Lawrence Grady. Nothing solid had turned up to discredit him except for one tiny, hard-to-find article buried in the archives of The Smallville High Torch. Her own cousin had written it. Doctor Lawrence Grady had been involved in a scandal involving wiping memories from his own son, from Kevin. She supposed Kevin was using the method more altruistically. She had good instincts. She doubted that he was as damaged a man as his father seemed to be, at least by Chloe's account.

But he was still wrong. And he was no doctor. She always wondered how someone so young could have the kind of degrees his wall boasted. Forgeries. All of them. He'd barely graduated high school. He'd acquired some fancy talk, possibly from texts and self-help books. But he was no more fit to call himself doctor than she was. She had a session with him tomorrow. She wouldn't conront him right away, but she'd stay alert. She didn't know how he was doing it, but she didn't want him to get suspicious enough to wipe her as clean as a baby.

Lex Luthor. That nagged her, too. Six years were gone. Maybe she should play it cool with the good "doctor" and get to him as well. He still gave her the creeps, but there was a hell of a story there. She could feel it.

She strode to Perry's office. She'd let him in on what she had so far. She might need to reveal that she'd been seeing Grady herself, but he could just see it as part of her investigation. "Perry, I..."

"Yeah. Just a minute, Lois." He turned back to Clark.

She stood with the door half-open and tried not to look disappointed. He never shook her off. He was only talking to Clark.

"Are you sure?" Perry was asking.

"They were all trying to have children," Clark said, gesturing to the papers in his hands. "I thought the lesbian couple was a bit of a break in the pattern, but they were trying to get pregnant, too."

"And all just gone?"

"They moved out of nowhere with no forwarding address. Trucks came in the night. And no one can find a forwarding address."

Clark looked more animated then Lois had ever seen him. He seemed to be nearly shaking. She knew the condition. He had something. Well, so did she.

"Keep on it, Kent." Perry slapped him on the back. "Get the name of the moving company that was used. Find that stuff. Whoever's holding it may be the key."

"Yes, Sir." Clark was smiling widely as he moved past her. "Excuse me, Lois."

Perry moved behind his desk as she stepped in. "What was that all about?"

"Four couples disappeared from Metropolis Vista. You know, that new gated community up north. All attempting to have kids."

"Well..." It sounded a little better than her fraudulent psychiatrist. "Maybe they went away on some fertility retreat or to a special center."

"Not without telling anyone," Perry said, his eyes gleaming. "And not moving their entire house. Something's up."

"Sounds like it." Lois was nearly jealous.

"The guy's doing good. I mean, I wasn't sure about Clark, but he seems to have a front page story, here." He leaned back in his chair. "What did you want to see me about?"

"Oh, nothing big." Lois straightened her shoulders. "Just a thought, but it's really nothing."

Back at her desk, she dialled Grady's office. She still felt she had something, here. But it needed work and time. His receptionist answered. "Hi, Theresa. It's Lois Lane. I just want to confirm my appointment for tomorrow."

"I'm sorry, Miss Lane, but Doctor Grady has postponed all of his appointments indefinitely. We'll let you know..."

Lois listened to the dial tone with dismay. She was kept waiting. She glanced at clark's desk. He was frantically calling and typing. And Clark had the meaty story. When had the world turned upside down?

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Chapter Twenty-Nine