Lois leaned against the open elevator doors. With all the arguing, Clark had hardly been able to hear his own thoughts, let alone the elevator. If he had, he would have... He didn't know what he would have done, but something.
Not stare gape-jawed at her, possibly.
"Well, well, well..." She stepped forward. "I guess the gang's all... Hey!" She turned around. "Could you wait?" she seemed to be asking the closing doors as she pulled at her coat.
He took a moment to glance behind him. Everyone else was staring as well as she righted herself, then turned back to them. At least he wasn't the only one stuck in place.
There was a voice in the stairwell and it took him a moment to figure out that he knew it. And that it was his mother. "Lois, I asked you to wait. You don't even have your bag and..." She appeared at the top of the stairs. "Oh. So... everyone's here?"
"Oh, yes they are," Lois said, giggling. "And guess what, Martha? They're having a party and we weren't invited. I'd think that's kind of rude, except how I think it's a surprise party for me. I mean, here you all are, talking about me." She waved an arm around her. "Like usual."
Clark watched Linda move past him and up the small steps. "Lois, it's not like that. We..."
"No, no, no." Lois put a hand over Linda's mouth as she approached her. "You've all been talkin and whissspering all this time and now... s'my turn." She moved forward. "I've got something to sa... whoa!" Clark rushed forward as she started to topple at the steps. He grabbed her left arm and saw Bart at her left. She turned her head to Bart with a smile. "Thank you, Bart." She turned to Clark and her smile dropped. "I'll deal with you later."
She shook them both off and stepped into the middle of the room. "Okay. The buck stops here." She pointed at the coffee table, then giggled. "Where does that even come from? It's like 'gets my goat.' I mean, where does something like that even..." She shook her head. "No. Seriously. I mean... The jig... is up."
AC raised his hand, then dropped it. "Uh... Lois... If you could be clearer about the jig..."
"That's exactly what I mean," she said pointing at him. "Thank you." She put her hand to her chest. "Lois." She laughed and shook her head. "Lois. Lois. Lois. See... you have this name and people call you this name and you answer and..." Her head dropped, then picked up again, her eyes slightly moist. "You never stop to think that it's not even true."
Linda stepped to her. "Lois..."
Lois stepped away. "No. Don't even try it. I know, okay? I know about Chloe." She laughed hoarsely. "Or should I say... me?"
Clark, or anyone with ears, could have heard a pin drop at that moment.
"Want to know what I did with my winter vacation?" Lois sniffled slightly. "I dug. I just grabbed a mefatorical shovel... No." She took a deep breath. "I grabbed a metamorphic shov..." She groaned and rolled her eyes. "Where are all my god damned words?" She sighed. "I dug. Okay? And you know what I found? I found a story." She clapped her hands and looked around her, a smile on her face that Clark knew was false. "Did you guys wanna hear a story?"
He couldn't bring himself to speak, neither, apparently, could anyone else.
"I don't blame you," Lois said chuckling. "This isn't exactly a fairy-tale. But I can just... soften it up. See... Once upon a time, there was a girl named Chloe..."
Linda rushed forward. "Lois, if you know then..."
"Are you gonna let me tell my story?" she broke in, her voice suddenly hard. "Because I don't have to share."
Linda stared helplessly. "I..."
Victor took her hand and led her to the couch. "Just let her say what she needs to."
Lois nodded to him. "Thank you, Victor. See, I always knew I liked you. I never knew exactly why." She gave a harsh laugh. "I actually still don't... Which brings me back to my story. See... This girl, Chloe, she was... Well, not to be self-congratulating, here, but she seemed like a good kid. Editor of her high school newspaper, valedictorian, prom queen... I mean, you'd never think a kid like that would just... become..." She squeezed her eyes shut. "See, I don't even know when it started. I mean, it could have been when a seventeen-year-old girl got her own column at a major newspaper through, from what I hear, strings pulled by Lionel Luthor." She snorted. "Gotta wonder what she did to get him to do that, if you know what I..."
"No," Linda gasped. "No. You can't think..."
"Okay, okay." Lois put her hands up. "Maybe that was unfair. That's just hearsay. I have no evidence to support it. I mean, the only person that I even heard it from was Lex in this... interview thing and maybe he was being a big, fat liar."
"Of course he was."
Victor held Linda on the couch. "Calm yourself."
"No. I know that's not..."
"No. Thank you, Linda," Lois cut in. "I mean, you'd know. Better than me. I guess all of you would know. So good. I'm glad to have that off my... joke of a mind. But speaking of Lex..." She laughed again. "Now, you can't tell me there wasn't something going on there."
Clark flushed, still frozen, but Linda shook Victor off and stood.
"I certainly can. What the hell kind of digging are you doing if this is what you come up with?"
"The only kind I could do. See, I had to because everyone was lying to me and I had no choice but to..."
Linda rushed forward. "No. Lois... We wanted to tell you. But we... We didn't know what it would do to you..." Linda turned around, glancing at Clark, then around the room. "It wasn't lying. Tell her."
Clark wanted to, but he still felt frozen and strangely... satisfied. Wasn't this what he'd wanted? The truth?
"Lois, it was your headaches," Linda said in rush. "We were worried about your headaches."
"My headaches? Where would you even..." She turned to Clark. "Well, a few people knew about those. Like Clark." She whipped her head to Murray. "And the good doctor." She shook her head. "Murray... You, too?" Murray flushed as she turned to the room. "I mean, is everyone just broadcasting my business?" She threw her hands up. "Fine. If anyone should be spreading all my shit around, it should be me. And you want to know about headaches? They just... There are no headaches," Lois said coldly, then laughed harshly. "Well, there were. But there was this magic moment when..." She shook her head and sat on the coffee table. "I never thought I would thank Elizabeth Albright for anything, but she... She did something to me in that room. She... she took away the pain, the fear..." She took a deep breath. "Don't think she meant to. But it just..." She suddenly smiled. "It changed everything. I could... think them. All those things that hurt. I could get past that wall and see the lies and the stupid excuses."
She stood and moved to AC and Bart. "Like these people you know and... you don't." She ambled to the stairs, looking up at Martha. "These people that... know you. God, they even have your life on display in their house. And you just... just met them. Is that supposed to make sense?" She turned her head to Clark. "Nothing makes sense. Not your friends, not your... coworkers." Her lips trembled. "Is that all, Clark? Because I've seen photographic evidence that we were at least friends. But that's not all. There's... there's more. I feel it and I..." Her eyes filled. "Jesus, I can't even come close to opening that can of worms." She swiped at her eyes and his body swayed to hers, coming unglued from the spot, but she was moving away. To Linda. "The worst is when it's family. You wan to know your family and it's... hard when you don't even know their real name."
Linda's eyes spilled over. "Lois..."
"I want to be so angry," Lois sobbed. "I want to hate you all, but I... See, I know about my therapy. I know that I did this. I know you were just protecting me from... what I was..."
"What you were?" Linda reached to her, but she stepped away.
"Don't touch me. I don't... I don't even deserve it. I don't know if I was always a bad egg. I... I try to give myself the benefit of the doubt and say... See? She lost her father. Maybe it was just the pain that drove her to... that end. I mean, co-conspirator on an illegal cloning project, identity theft, and... let's not forget the affair with Lex Luthor, who's in even worse shape than..."
"Oh, God," Linda growled. "I cant take this. You want the truth? I'll give you the truth. Starting with that. The idea of you with Lex Luthor is the most ridiculous..."
"Then why?" Lois yelled. "Why was I there? I heard the tapes. I was at Ruby ridge with Lionel Luthor and Lex shot..." She choked on her words. "Lex shot Chloe Sullivan, only it wasn't. I... I did it. I lied. I identified the body of... Lois Lane. Then I took her name and her life and you can't deny that, Linda. I took your sister's life."
Linda paled. "You know about Lucy?"
"I'm not the only one who changed her name," Lois said sadly. "Isn't that right, Linda?" she choked out. "Or should I call you Lucy?"
Linda's eyes went wide. "Lucy?"
"I don't even get that part. Why did you change your name? You were guilty of nothing. You turned your life upside down for someone who stole your sister's life, maybe even caused her..."
"Oh, Sweetie." Linda moved forward and grasped her face. "You couldn't be more wrong. About any of it." Linda let out a watery laugh. "I almost hate saying it because I know how much you like to be right. That's a family trait."
"How can you even look at me?" Lois sobbed. "I know I'm not wrong on this. I stole my name from..."
"You never stole it. It was... It was given to you by the woman who identified that body." Linda wiped Lois' eyes. "By me."
"But Lois Lane identified that body," Lois said weakly. "The papers..."
"Yes, she did." Linda smiled sadly. "Maybe we should start out with the fact that my name was once Lois Lane."
"Oh." Lois pulled away. "Well, that explains..." She looked around the room. Her eyes landed on Clark, before turning to Linda again. "Would you excuse me a minute?"
Clark rushed forward, catching her just before she hit the floor.
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