"There!" Linda said on one final grunt. Clark was in another tub. This one was bigger and nicer. Lois hoped that, when he regained consciousness again, that he'd appreciate that much. Lois began stripping the robe off Clark, but Linda put a hand on her arm. "Could you maybe let me leave the room first?" Lois nodded and stalled her actions. "Thanks." Linda backed away slightly. "Yeah. There are things I just don't need to see ever again." She shuddered slightly as she turned and left the bathroom.
Lois got back to work, pulling the robe from under a very out-of-it Clark and tossing it away. She settled him back against the lip of the tub and reached for the knobs. They weren't in English, but "froid" seemed a bit of a cold word. She was right, apparently. No sooner had she got the shower on than Clark sat up, sputtering.
"F-freezing," he breathed. "Come on. Please..."
"It's for your own good," she said, perching on the side of the tub. This one was big enough that the spray didn't pelt her, at least. "The cold's just because your skin's too warm." And it was. It even steamed slightly as the water ran over him.
He leaned back, hugging his arms to his chest. "Maybe it just wants to be warm." He looked at her, eyes slightly glassy. "Can't we let it be warm? Give it a blanket?"
She reached in, trying to smooth the worry lines in his wet, but still hot forehead. "Just trust me." She couldn't exactly reason with him, not with him in such a fevered state.
He seemed to relax, closing his eyes. "I trust you." He grasped her hand, unseeing. "I always trust you."
As ridiculous as his statement was, she was touched. Since this new awareness between them had began, she'd been so afraid of it. Its very intensity frightened her. Now, with the idea that the world could lose... No. With the idea that she could lose him... She wasn't afraid of those feelings now. She nearly invited them. If they would make him hold on, be there, then she wouldn't be afraid. She might even tell him.
She grasped his hand right back. "I want you to get better, Clark. I want you to try, with every ounce of strength in you."
His eyes open. They lit on hers and stayed. "I'd do it for you."
She swallowed hard. "Then do it for me." She squeezed his hand hard. "Please."
There was a noise at the door and she looked up. Linda was standing there, holding her closed cell in one hand and some towels in another. She smiled slightly. "Didn't think there was enough." She moved forward, keeping her eyes away from the tub, and placed them on the toilet seat. "I'm going to see what's keeping Ollie." She glanced at Lois, then tossed a quick look at Clark before leaving the room again.
Lois still wanted to talk, still wanted all of the questions that swirled in her mind answered, but... She looked back at Clark. There would be time for that. That was for when this was okay again. That was all she wanted. "Do you feel better?"
Clark's eyes closed again. "I can't tell. Just tired."
Lois moved her hand to the back of his head. The lump seemed smaller, less threatening. "You can sleep," she said softly.
Clark's lips quirked on one side. "Yeah, right. Too hard in here to..." His words trailed off as his breathing deepened. She smiled slightly and touched his cheek. It was merely warm now. She let her fingers trail over his closed eyes. She'd let him rest a bit, as long as they could keep his fever at bay... but for how long?
She almost lost her perch on the edge of the tub as a slight tremor shook the world around her. It was joined by a loud, syncopated noise. She rose, moving to the doorway, nearly afraid now. "Linda?" She crept out of the bath and through the bedroom. Her cousin wasn't there. She felt a slight chill. It was as if something was coming, something beyond her control that would truly shake her world to the ground and...
"What took you so long?" She breathed a sigh of relief and followed her cousin's voice to the living area near the elevator they'd come up in.
"We had to check it out first." Lois recognized the deeper timbre of Oliver Queen's voice. She moved closer, seeing him moving down the metal stairs toward the living room where her cousin stood, hands on her hips.
"Well, you could have answered your cell." Linda rushed forward. "I was getting..." Oliver backed up and Linda stopped in her tracks. "What's the matter with you?"
"Honey, it's not personal." He put a hand up. "But we found something at the house."
Linda backed away. Lois couldn't see her eyes, but she could tell from her stance there was hurt there. "Could you maybe elaborate?"
Ollie sighed and stared down, his eyes downcast as Linda backed further away. "Victor found some very minute traces of something we couldn't identify on the front door knob. We only know that kryptonite was present because of the new program."
"New program?"
Ollie shrugged and leaned against the post at the base of the steps. "It was a sort of present for Clark. We found a way to isolate traces of kryptonite. We got it into Vic. I mean, we've been searching and destroying all we can, but it would be great to pinpoint and eradicate all meteor rocks, just as a hobby." He shrugged again. "We get bored sometimes."
"Uh-huh." Linda seemed unimpressed, but Lois' mind was lapping up every word. "And you won't touch me because..."
"Babe," Ollie cut in. "I would be doing a whole mess of touching, but we don't want it to spread."
"You mean..." Linda suddenly paced the area, rubbing her hands on the sides of her pants. "Oh. Ew! Do I have something on me or... Wait a sec..." She turned back to Ollie. "I never even touched the front door knob. I just rang the bell and then Lois..."
"We have to be safe. We need to give you and Lois a blood test. Victor wiped the sample, but we can't get Doctor Ramirez. I've been trying to look up this Doctor Yakamoto Clark's always..."
Lois stepped out of hiding then. "It's Takamoto. Murray Takamoto."
Ollie glanced up, surprised. "Lois. Hi." He stepped forward, then stopped himself. "Good to see you. I hope you understand if I'm..."
"It's not Yakamoto," she cut in. "And he works at Star Labs in Chicago."
Ollie's eyes turned serious as he pulled out his phone. "Thank you." He punched in some numbers, then brought it to his ear. "Diana? Hey. It's Murray Takamoto and he's at Star Labs in Chicago... Yeah. Thanks." He clapped the phone shut.
Linda moved slightly closer. "I thought Diana went back to D.C. to..."
"Oh, come on, Linda. I just called her in to collect Bart and A.C. from Cancun. Do you have to..."
"Well, you could have told me. Maybe I don't wear flag bikinis, but I am entitled to a little..."
"Have I ever given you a reason to doubt me? I bend over backwards to..."
"Shut up!" Lois was nearly surprised to find that the words had come from her, nearly unbidden. She took a few deep breaths as the two of them stared at her. "Clark is sick," she said, slightly shaky. "If whatever has infected him could have infected us..." She glanced at Linda. "Then I think I should know what you found."
Ollie ran a hand down his face, looking tired. "Lois, I don't think it's my right to tell you things that are not mine to..."
"She knows," Linda cut in.
Ollie glanced at Lois, his eyes wide. "Do you mean..." He suddenly smiled. "Lois, this is great! How did you..."
"Yes," Linda suddenly said very loudly. "She knows all about Clark being Superman. Isn't that fabulous, Ollie?"
Lois didn't miss the pointed look Linda threw at him -- or the way Ollie's smile suddenly fell. "Well... Great." He smiled again, but it seemed false. "What a relief. Because we have lots to do and no time to explain it all so... Great." He rubbed his hands together and moved toward the couch.
"So what did you find?" Lois asked. She stayed standing as Ollie sat. Now she was afraid to infect the whole place. She'd been at the house the whole time, with Clark, touching him.
"We can't tell exactly. Victor got most of it off the area on and around the doorknob. We found Clark's prints there, too. But he doesn't know what he's looking for in it. I mean, he's an engineer, not a doctor, so..."
"Who's Victor?" Lois cut in.
Ollie leaned back and stared at her. "You mean you don't..."
"Ollie, just go slower." Linda came beside Lois and placed an arm around her. "I'm having trouble myself." Linda squeezed Lois and she found herself slightly annoyed. Why did she feel like a child in front of a bunch of grown-ups here? The feeling only grew when Linda patted her shoulder and said "Don't you worry, Sweetie."
She stepped away then and took the seat she'd been denying herself, perching on an ottoman. "Okay, I need in. I need to know what you found and I need the short version." She glanced backward toward the bedroom. "I don't like leaving Clark alone."
Ollie nodded. "Okay. Victor is an associate of mine. We went to the house and he checked it out in his... own way before we entered. Within seconds, we found traces of kryptonite on the doorknob along with something we can't completely identify. Victor's going back to sweep the rest of the place after he picks up Mrs. K, so..."
"Oh, Martha's coming?" Linda smiled. "I was so going to call her, but we had to lift her giant son into the..."
"Honey, can we focus?"
"Oh, fine. If you want to be..."
"Linda, please!" Lois turned to Ollie, nodding. "Go on."
He glanced at Linda before continuing. "Well, the plan is to have that doctor look at what we have and take samples from the two of you, just to be sure, Then we can figure out how to..."
"Ollie, I never touched the knob. I told you. I only..."
"But you touched Lois," he cut in. "And I'm sure she..."
"No," Lois suddenly said, her mind racing over the last few days. The door was open when she found Clark. She left the house through the side door the next morning. She came in, practically dragging Clark back in that day. She and Linda left through the garage... "I never touched the knob."
"Well. We need to be sure. Victor's checking the rest of the house to see if there's more of the substance." He glanced at both of them in turn. "And you've both been exposed to Clark. We need to test it and the both of you to make sure that what you have isn't harmful to you or anyone else." He stood. "It might just affect Clark, which means we have a big problem. It means he was targeted and, worse, that someone knows who and what he is."
"And doesn't care," Lois said, her voice hollow. "What kind of monster would destroy Superman, knowing what he does?"
Ollie's eyes were hard. "I have a few ideas. Maybe just one..."
Everyone stood still as the room shook again. Lois backed toward the bedroom, thinking of Clark in the bath. "What the hell is..."
Linda shook her head. "Just old Vicky coming back." She brightened and turned to Ollie. "Oh, but you said he was bringing..."
The elevators opened to reveal Martha kent and a dark-skinned, handsome, but scowling man behind her. She rushed out and down the stairs. "Is he okay?"
Ollie stepped forward. "We'll do everything we can, I swear, Mrs..." His words were cut off as she grasped him to her, kissing his cheek.
"I'm so glad you're all here for him again," Martha Kent said, hugging him tight. "Oh, Ollie, I..." She trailed off, her eyes landing on Lois. "Lois?"
Lois tried to smile. "Hi, Mrs. Kent."
Martha smiled and stepped away from Ollie, patting him on the shoulder. "You're here. No one told me you'd be..." She trailed off, her eyes darting all over. "Does this mean..."
"Yes!" Linda cut in. "She knows all about about Clark being Superman. Isn't that great?" Lois glanced sideways at her cousin. This was the second time she'd done that. It was putting her on edge. "And, hi, Martha! I'm here, too."
Martha smiled and patted Lois' cheek before moving to Linda. "I wasn't about to forget you, Honey." Lois watched as Martha hugged Linda, who hugged back very hard. Just how well did she know Clark's mother? Martha turned back to Lois. "How did you find out? Did Clark just..."
Lois shook her head. "It was an accident. He forgot to take off his glasses." Even saying the words made her feel stupid all over again. Glasses... Really?
Martha laughed slightly, then stopped, a tear running down her cheek. "That's Clark. He always was a forgetful boy. I often thought..." She sniffled and straightened up, taking a deep breath. "Where is he?"
"In the bathroom," Lois said gently. "We've been running the shower on him." She grasped Martha's arm. "Don't turn it off, no matter how much he complains. He needs to keep his fever manageable."
Martha sniffled and nodded. "Don't worry." She suddenly hugged Lois so hard she thought... She felt strangely like crying. "And thank you," she whispered in her ear. "You always take care of my boy."
Lois wasn't sure what to make of that. Then again, she'd had that feeling for days now. She watched Martha move off to the bathroom, then turned back to the others. Linda was standing off to the side. Ollie was talking to the new guy, who was staring at her from the front of the elevator. "I'll go back now," he said, turning back to Ollie. "I've got some lead boxes just in case we find more traces. I'll swab some and just wipe the rest until..." His words tapered off. Lois wasn't sure why until she realized she was standing in front of him. She hadn't remembered moving his way.
"Hi," she said, for lack of anything better.
"Hi," he said back, his eyes sort of hard on hers, yet strangely... sad.
She wasn't sure what made her do it, but she found herself hugging him. He felt hard and stiff until he hugged her back, seeming to soften for her. She pulled back, drinking in his face. He smiled.
"Um... Nice to meet you."
He smiled wider. "Same here... Lois," he finished. He glanced at Ollie, then moved backward into the elevator. "I'll be back," he said before pressing a button.
Lois watched the doors close, wondering what made her hug a total stranger. "Who is that?"
"Victor," Ollie said from behind her. "My associate."
She turned to him. "Just that? Because I feel like there's... more there. I just..."
"Isn't this a crazy night?" Linda exclaimed from behind her. She felt a hand on her arm, turning her, pulling her. "Lois, we should order something in. I saw that pizza and you hardly..."
She pulled away and moved down the stairs on her own. "Will you stop babying me?" She stood in the middle of the living area and turned to both of them. "I need to know what you aren't telling me. I feel like the grown-ups are talking in front of the kid and censoring themselves and I'm sick of it!"
Ollie came down the steps. "Good. Because we can't tiptoe around things anymore."
Linda stepped toward him, but didn't touch him. "Ollie, don't..."
"Calm down. I'm only going to tell her what she needs to..."
"How do we know she can handle..."
"If she can handle Clark being Superman, then she can handle me being The Green Arrow."
Lois couldn't take much more of this. "Would you two stop talking about me as if I'm not here?" She folded her arms. "Besides, I know that."
Ollie stopped and turned to her, eyebrows raised. "You do?"
"Of course. I..." Lois stopped suddenly. She did know that. "I used to write articles about you for The Sentinel," she heard herself recite slowly, as if from far away. "They never got published, but..." She sat down hard. "How could I forget that?" She stood, suddenly full of energy. "And Victor... I know him! He stays at headquarters and tinkers with all his toys and A.C..." She suddenly laughed and turned to Linda. "Didn't you guys hook up this one time?"
"Well, that's just ancient history," Linda said, her chin lifted.
"And Bart!" She felt as if her entire body was alive. "He had this crush on me and he always..." It stopped. She stopped. "I can't..." Her head was pounding, her mind shutting down. The room swam before her eyes until they closed. She felt hands on her. She opened her eyes. Linda was lowering her into the chair. Ollie was hovering over her.
"You're okay, Honey." Linda turned to Ollie. "God, Ollie, why did you do that? Can't you see she's..."
"He lied," Lois heard herself say. Both of them turned to her. "Bart lied to me. I met him, but I... I knew him. Why did he..."
Ollie leaned down to her. "And how do you know him? Us? What did we do?"
"Ollie, don't."
"Linda, this could be progress."
"She nearly fainted. How is that..."
There was a moan from the bedroom and they all turned. Lois got up, everything else falling away. "Clark?" She stumbled toward the bedroom and through it to the large bath. They all hovered in the doorway, looking in. Martha was perching on the tub, lowering a towel over Clark.
"There," she said softly. "Better?"
He nodded, his eyes closed.
Martha laughed slightly, not seeing them. "I'm your mother, Clark. If I'm not embarrassed, I don't see why you are."
"I just am," he said groggily.
"Well, Lois has seen you, apparently."
"It's different with Chloe. She's seen me... too much," he finished.
Lois watched him drift off again, her heart nearly pounding. It was all a lie. All those feelings he seemed to have. They weren't for her. They were for her... cousin. She backed away, closing her eyes to it. But she couldn't close her mind. All she felt for Clark, he was feeling, too.
But for a dead girl.
*********************************
"She's not coming."
David Terry turned from the window and glanced at his wife. She was on the couch, hugging her knees, laying on her side. "Sue, don't say that."
"Why not? It's true." She sat up, her eyes accusing. "Every time anyone mentions leaving, they go away." She smiled, looking off. "Then they come back saying that everything's fine. That no one would ever want to leave this wonderful place. This new Eden."
"Sue, just calm down. You need to get better." He moved toward his wife. She was thinner now. She'd always wanted to lose weight, but not this much, never...
"I'm calm," she said quickly. "I'm just fine. If the doc and her crony came in this second, I'd tell her all about how great I feel and how eager I am to have the next Adam, the next Eve. Just can't wait." She smiled, her eyes hollow, before dropping it. "But I'd like to think I could tell you the truth."
"I want to hear anything you have to say. Just..." He moved to the kitchenette. "Just eat something for me, Sue. Please, Honey."
"No." She shook her head and leaned back. "You think I want another one? The last one nearly ripped me in two and for what?"
He closed the fridge, staring at her over the counter. He'd never minded the extra weight. He'd often told her so. You know what they say about the bigger cushion, Babe, he'd say. She'd laugh, but she never believed him. She'd always try one diet after another. He knew why. She felt bad about the kids. If she couldn't give him kids, then she wanted to be some trophy in a size two dress. He'd never cared abo0ut that. But Sue... She wasn't born rich. She hadn't grown up with a trust fund. "Why'd you pick poor, chubby old me?" she'd ask, as if she couldn't accept that he just loved her, just wanted her, no catches. Somewhere along the way, she'd decided it was about an heir. And to what? A business he hated so much he sold it for almost nothing before they moved to Metropolis?
When she couldn't deliver the heir, she started pulling away. As if he was about to push. She never believed him...
"I love you," he said suddenly, wondering if she'd believe him this time.
"Yeah. Love you, too." She stood and moved to the window, space visible between her thighs. It didn't matter. This had stopped being about them the minute they'd lost the second Eve. Even if they got out of here, he worried that their marriage had been murdered.
It hadn't been that way at the start. When they'd first come here, they'd clung to each other on fear. But when the Doc had come, told them what they were here for, it had changed. They'd been excited, renewed. It had been hard to keep their hands off each other, but they did. Saved it all for in-vitro. They were going to get a child. Not just any child. Their child would never be ill, never scrape his knee, never... live, apparently. All had failed to live to term. David had suggested that they try it differently after the second. "We'll wait nine months," he'd said earnestly. "It doesn't have to be so fast."
The Doc had grasped his hand, her wizened eyes soft, nearly tearful. "Unfortunately, the treatment we use to make conception possible also accelerates the gestation period. We can't have one without the other." She'd squeezed both of their hands then. "We'll get it right. I promise."
But they hadn't. And now? Sue wanted out. He did, too. But he was better at hiding it. They'd come to the realization that their participation in the program was about as voluntary as the way they'd come in, waking up in a strange room together, paralyzed with fear until they'd seen the Doc... He saw her now. He moved back to the window, closer to Sue.
The Doc was walking along the path with her slow gait. The nurse was moving ahead of her, her long, curly hair trailing behind her. "What do you suppose they're up to?" Sue asked from beside him. "I heard Morgan was about to pop." She turned to him. "She'd had a treatment, you know."
"Maybe that's why Joanna didn't come," he said hopefully.
He glanced at his wife as she chewed a fingernail. He just wished she would chew on something more nourishing. "They're moving away from the med building. Something's up."
He almost didn't care. He moved away from the window, hope draining from him so hard it was nearly a physical sensation. They'd never leave.
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