Almost Lovers (Epilogue)

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The end. The absolute end.



PREVIOUS CHAPTER

Epilogue

“Clark, help her!” Lois wept against his chest. 

“I’m sorry. I can’t…”

She pulled back. “Please? You have to…”

He shook his head sadly. “You know I can’t do that.”

She pushed him away. “I thought you loved me!”

“You know I do!” he growled.

She grabbed his collar and shook. “Then please… Please, just… Go in there! I can hear her screaming!”

“She’s fine.” He gestured to the waiting room’s door. “Oliver’s in there with her and…”

“But he doesn’t have X-ray vision!” She gripped him by the collar. “He can’t see if something’s wrong! You have to look in there. I give you full permission to look right through her skin and…”

This wasn’t how he planned to spend the first weekend of summer. They were supposed to be in Maine. They even had reservations and were ready to leave at five sharp when Oliver’s frantic call came. Linda had been in there for four hours already and the waiting room was about to close down and Lois was getting manic.

“Lois, I can see into the room,” Clark said as calmly as he could. “She’s pushing. Apparently, it really hurts and that’s why she’s screaming. Okay? Everything’s fine.” He shuddered. “Please don’t make me look any closer.”

“If it helps at all, I don’t think anyone in there is panicking,” John said from across the waiting room. “Well, maybe Oliver, but the doctors…” 

“That’s right! You can read their minds!” She let Clark go abruptly and moved to John. “What am I bothering with you for?” She gripped John’s sleeve. “What are the doctors thinking?”

John stared at Clark over her head, then bent to Lois. “It’s all very technical. But they seem to think everything’s perfectly normal…”

“And the baby?” She gripped him harder. “What’s the baby thinking?”

“Well, I can’t think of the words for it, but he’s… quite frightened.”

She released him and backed away. “Oh, my God! The poor baby!”

“No. I think that’s relatively normal,” John said evenly. “You know they say human birth is a jarring transition, frightening, but…”

She suddenly laughed. “It’s a boy!”

Bart appeared beside her. “It’s a boy?”

Lois turned to him and gripped his hands. “It’s a boy!”

“And we knew first!” Bart pulled her in. “Okay, so here’s the plan. If Oliver pokes his head out, we all say in unison…”

The door flew open. “It’s a boy!” Oliver announced loudly before the door swung shut again. 

“Ah! He ruined it,” Bart groaned.

“I have a nephew.” Lois said, fanning her face. “At least now I know for sure if I’m an aunt or an uncle…”

“An aunt.” Victor snorted. “You were an aunt either…”

“Oh, leave her alone!” Diana stepped up and pulled her in. “She’s overexcited!”

“I really am,” Lois agreed on a sob. “Oh, my God! I bought yellow balloons. They’re all wrong. They have to be blue!”

“Technically,” Diana cut in, stroking her hair, “the idea of blue for boys and pink for girls was commercially established in the last century and should have no reflection on…” She stopped at the look on Lois’ face. “You know what? We’ll get you some blue balloons. It’s no big deal. Bart!”

“Thank you,” Lois wept as they moved away.

Clark took a deep breath and approached her. “Okay. You’re okay.”

“But Linda…”

“Linda’s okay, too.”

She turned and buried her head against his shirt. “Clark, she’s my only family!”

He rubbed her back. “Well, not anymore.”

She lifted her head. “That’s right. We have… what’s his name?”

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

“Connor,” Linda groaned, placing him in the bassinet now that the party, small as it was, had moved to their home the next morning. No one had got much sleep, even with the semi-luxurious accommodations at Queen Manor. 

“Stupid man.” Linda gestured to Oliver, who looked dead on his feet in one corner of the drawing room. “He wore me down.”

Greta, Oliver’s long time housekeeper, tutted and rubbed Linda’s back. “It’s a very nice name.”

“It’s not a first name, it’s a last name. You might as well name someone…”

“Clark?” Clark cut in. 

“Exactly!”

He shrugged. “Well, it was my mother’s maiden name.”

Linda stiffened and turned to Martha. “And it’s a lovely name. Just lovely.” She gripped Clark’s tie as Martha moved off. “Nice move.”

“Move?”

“You just know your mother won’t always be around,” Linda growled. “And I have green rocks and…”

“You do not.”

“Oliver does. So if I hear one whisper of you setting a date before I lose this baby weight…”

“I haven’t even…”

“You just better not,” she hissed. “Because I am not waddling down the aisle. Okay? I’ll walk when I’m good and ready to…”

“Speaking of that. Shouldn’t you be sitting or…”

“Don’t change the subject. Did you ask her?”

“Ask me what?” Lois appeared behind them. 

“Oh, look at little Connor!” Clark said quickly. “I think he’s smiling in his sleep.”

That got the both of them. 

Linda released Clark. “You know, they say it’s just gas this early, but I swear he is.”

“Of course he is,” Lois scoffed. “He’s clearly a superior baby.”

“Damn right,” Linda said, beaming and picking him up again when he fussed.

Lois held out her arms.

Clark backed away from Linda while he could. Despite everyone else swallowing that the bracelet was not some kind of engagement ring, was just a gift, Linda never quite hopped on board. And she was right. Clark had known he wanted to make it official since way before Lois put that bracelet on. It was always just a question of when she was ready.

And maybe an engagement bracelet wasn’t the traditional bauble. And maybe it was even less so for having been on her wrist for the better half of a year and him almost living at her place.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t ask the question. 

He wanted to, Maine or not, was almost dying to as he saw Lois cradle that baby before gently placing it back down. There was a sense of loss as he realized that wasn’t something he could give her. She was human and he was… not.

He briefly wondered if that was a lasting impediment, but then she met his eyes as she moved away from the bassinet, smiled so warmly.

“So what do you think, Uncle Clark?” she grinned.

Maybe nephews, blood related or not, would be enough for them both. He pulled her in. “I think this kid’s in for a hell of a game of catch when he…”

"Ugh." She frowned and drew away. “Stupid phone. I meant to turn it off.” She dug in her purse. “Must have set it on vibrate.”

He groaned. “I thought we had a weekend free.”

“We did.” She kept digging. “Probably just Pammie. I put her facebook posts on my alerts because Dottie… Well, it’s kinda cute. She says I’m her mentor. You know, she writes for her grade school paper just like I…” She trailed off and stared at her phone, aghast. “It’s Jimmy.” Her eyes widened. “Big news.”

He dug in his pocket for his own phone, which he did turn off. He waited for it to power up and turned to her. “What…”

“It’s Lex,” she said dully

“Lex?”

“He’s escaped from Belle Reve in…” Lois squinted at her phone. “A hot air balloon?”

Clark had to laugh. “You can’t be…”

“That’s what Jimmy says.” She shook her head. “He’s still texting. The only lead they have is one balloon rental… to an Eve…” She met Clark’s eyes.

“Tessmacher,” he finished.

“A balloon? Idiot,” Lois groaned.

“The one time we go away...” Clark moved into the dining room, not sure who he was mad at. Maybe himself for getting so complacent. Then again, maybe Lex knew. He knew a little too much these days. He quickly closed the kitchen door so Greta wouldn’t hear before he turned to the others. “I’m sorry to break up the festivities, but we have a situation.”

“Oh, good.” Bart sped up to him. “I haven’t seen any action since Coast City and that was like watching paint dry for me.”

“Hey!” Hal piped up from the corner.

“Give me more stuff to do next time!”

“Well, I’ve got something for you, so listen up.” Clark drew them in. “Lex is on the loose. I don’t have to tell you that this is priority number one considering all he knows.”

Bart clapped his hands. “I’ll get the bald son of a…”

“Bart, listen first,” he said quickly. “I need you on the ground, covering Metropolis and surrounding areas. You text me if you see a hot air balloon and give me your coordinates.”

Bart laughed. “A hot air balloon? That’s just…”

“It’s early summer so there might be a few. Look for one outside what seems to be a recreation area. Go!”

“On it,” Bart said, though he snorted loudly.

Clark turned to the rest. “John, I need you to get Victor to headquarters to scan the skies before you join me. Hal and Diana, I’m going to need support in the air. Between the four of us, we can cover a lot of air. Oliver?”

“What? I’m awake,” Oliver grunted, red-eyed and barely standing.

Clark patted his back. “Get some sleep.”

“On it,” he said dully, stumbling away.

“Gear up!” 

His mother stepped in front of him. "Clark, make sure they go easy on him. He's obviously not getting the help he needs and..."

"Mom, I wouldn't let anyone hurt Lex," he sighed. "But I'm also not going to let him hurt anyone if I can help it."

She nodded. "That'll have to be good enough."

He moved out the French doors and to the patio.

Lois followed. “Where are you going?”

“There might be time to catch them if…”

“If you think I’m not hitching this ride, you’re crazy.” She linked her hands around his neck. “I’m not leaving my city in Cat Grant’s claws! Fly!”

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

He let her down on the roof before he stripped off. “Could you put them…”

“Under the loose tile,” Lois finished. “I know the drill by now.” He’d have no civilian clothes left if it weren’t for her keeping tabs on them. “Go!”

He pulled her in for one kiss, hard and fast before he moved off.

Her feet met the roof and she rolled her eyes as he disappeared. She knew what that was about. Hell, she’d known what this weekend was about before it got hijacked by a baby, then a bald man. And there was time for it later.

She’d say yes. Of course she’d say yes. They were practically married already. But that didn’t mean she’d make it easy. She’d actually been rehearsing several ways to deliberately misunderstand him as she knew that Clark was anything but a man who got right to the point. There would be some hilarious hemming and hawing first and she’d be sure to… 

She stilled as she opened the roof access door. 

No. She’d just say yes. Maybe, before all this, it had seemed like a fun little prank. But that was before Connor. Maybe babies weren’t in the cards for them, but… Aunt Lois and her longtime boyfriend? He really had to make an honest woman out of her.

She glanced absently at the bracelet as it clinked on the railing on her way downstairs. Sometimes, it seemed to flash at her. She knew it was just reflecting the light. She’d long since put away the idea of it having some kind of sentience. But sometimes…

She shook her head and opened up on eight. She had bigger problems right now – like Cat Grant typing away at her desk. “Excuse me?”

Cat looked up at all, all innocence. “Oh, I thought you were away. I was only...”

“I never stay away for long,” she cut in. “Perry!”

He slammed out of his office like a bear. “Lane! Thank God! We’ve got Lex Luthor…”

“Escaped from Belle Reve. I know.”

Cat grunted and stood. “I have this covered.”

“Hardly.” She turned to Perry. “Apparently, not only Superman, but The Flash, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern are in hot pursuit.” And she wasn’t about to let Cat cover them. She’d once called Diana a low-rent swimwear model. She pulled at her desk chair until Cat let go and sat down. “I’m going to get all I can, but I already have intel on Eve Tessmacher, so it’s somewhere to start for the online edition, tying the two together. We can dress it up for Sunday once we see where it goes.”

Perry nodded. “Good work, Lane.”

Cat pouted as he moved back into his office. “I pretty much had this, you know.”

“No, you didn’t,” Lois said absently, pulling up a fresh document. “Your story would have been mostly speculation. And that’s not how we do things here.” She sighed and turned to Cat. “When are you going to get that, Cat? Now, get me Luthorcorp’s employment records on Eve Tessmacher for timeline and I’ll give you a spot on the byline.”

Cat huffed and moved off, but Lois noted that she sat right down at her desk.

"In small type," she said under her breath. “Ron?” She absently called to Troupe behind her. “Can you get me Belle Reve’s security roster? I want to get on those guards and see if we can get an eyewitness account. I’ll give you…”

“A credit,” he sighed. “Fine.”

Steve Lombard appeared next to her. “What do I have to do to get in with you, Babydoll?”

“Get me a coffee,” she tried with an annoyed sigh, setting down her purse and her phone.

“And what do I get?”

“My gratitude?”

“Nah.” He moved off.

“I got it.” A coffee appeared near her hand and she looked up at Jimmy.

“Bless you!” Clark may have his band of heroes, but she had hers.

“But seriously? When I texted you, I never thought you’d get back so quickly.” Jimmy looked at his watch. “I mean you and Clark were supposed to leave for Maine yesterday and then you said you were going to Star City and that’s even farther than…”

“Oh, we never went,” she lied quickly, glad Clark wasn’t here to contradict her. He was still and always would remain the absolute worst liar. Still, she wouldn’t change that. Good thing he had a sneaky cohort like her. “You think we could stay away? Clark’s covering balloons as we speak. I’m waiting for word from him.”

It was true -- in a way.

“You two.” Jimmy shook his head. “You work too hard. Anyway, I got some balloon shots from the rental place and some stills of Luthor from two months ago.”

“Send your best two to Perry and we’ll run them with the online edition.”

“Will do.”

“You’re the best.”

“I know it.”

She smiled and sipped her coffee as he moved off. 

It had seemed like it might be touch-and-go with Jimmy when she first came back to work on that fateful Monday some months ago… Was it six already?

Either way, she’d been shaking when she laid eyes on him that morning and he'd quickly looked away. She’d found herself near him at the coffee pot and had spilled the creamer all over his cup and hers.

“No, it’s good,” he’d laughed as she apologized. “I like some coffee in my cream.” He’d gripped her hand as she went to pour his coffee out. “It’s okay. I’m okay.” He lowered his voice. “I really am, Chloe.”

Her eyes had met his and it seemed like a thousand words passed in the silence between them.

“Grady?” That was all he said.

She only nodded.

“I thought so.” He sighed. “I mean, Clark didn’t say, but… Well, I guess he didn’t have to say.” He held her gaze soberly. “I know The Planet is helping put the word out for his victims, but… I don’t see any reason to come out as one. Do you?”

She just shook her head. 

“Good.” He shrugged. “We’re pros. We can handle it. We’re okay.”

“Jimmy…” She stopped him before he moved off. “Are we okay?” 

He laughed. “Of course we are. I mean… Need I remind you? My girlfriend is a weather girl."

She’d let out a surprised laugh.

She let out another chuckle now, remembering it, then suppressed it quickly. This was no time to laugh. Lex Luthor was at large and the police were at a disadvantage without Maggie Sawyer.

Or maybe that was just how Clark saw it.

Bruno Mannheim had disappeared from his cell sometime last month with no hoopla and no discernible escape route. The only whispers of him had been in Gotham City and that’s where Maggie Sawyer had insisted on going, as if hot on his heels. 

Clark hadn’t been happy, pacing up a red and blue streak until she calmed him down. She wasn’t sure if he was more upset about Metropolis losing their best detective or about Gotham, a rather notoriously corrupt place as she’d heard, possibly infecting Maggie Sawyer. But she calmed him down, pointing out that there was a presence in Gotham, Maggie Sawyer aside, a mysterious man… or bat man... Batman… The BatMan?

She wasn’t sure what name she liked better, but she’d read up on him and couldn’t help feeling that he could handle whatever was coming his way.

Hell, they certainly had their own challenges in Metropolis right now without worrying about other cities.

There was a tell-tale breeze to her left. No one else might have noticed it, but she was too well-trained by now. She turned to Clark. “You didn’t…”

“We lost him,” he sighed, throwing himself into his chair across from her. “As stupid as a balloon might seem, it’s also pretty low tech and hard to track.”

She smiled sadly. “So Eve’s grown a brain?”

“I wouldn’t go that far. But John picked up a lead. There’s another patient missing from Belle Reve, assumed to have gone missing with Lex. Otis Bergman. Maybe he’ll contact someone.”

“If Lex lets him.” She sighed and searched him out, too, having hacked into the database already. “Not too bright, according to stats, big fella…”

“Not enough to sink a balloon,” Clark huffed.

“But enough to stand out when travelling with a noticeably bald man and a blowsy blonde. Hey…” She reached across both of their desks and gripped his hand. “Lex’s allies have gotten more obvious, the less power and money he has. He won’t be hard to track down,” she said hopefully.

He tossed her a weary smile. “Maybe for you.”

“For us,” she corrected.

“Hey, Lois?”

“Yes.”

“I was thinking…”

“I just said yes.” She held up her left wrist. “Like you didn’t know by now. Now will you focus? We have an online edition to get out and I haven’t even thought about..."

“The Sunday paper. I know,” he said, very obviously trying not to smile. 

“All these years and one thing hasn’t changed,” she groaned loudly, standing up. “You think you can just finish my sentences like you have the right!” She moved around to lean on his desk. “Well, you know what, Clark Kent?” 

“Hey!” He leaned back. “I was just saying I think we can handle it!” 

“Oh, that’s okay, then.” She gripped his tie and leaned down to meet his lips as his eyes widened. She did like to keep him guessing. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

Maybe this wasn’t the time for kiss, but she just couldn’t help it. They’d spent the better part of a decade finishing each other’s sentences and picking up each other’s loose ends and making each other miserable and ecstatic and she couldn’t think of a better way to spend the rest of her life, crazy as it might seem, than with him.

Later, Perry would lead a champagne toast, both to the paper being put to bed, despite the loose ends, and their engagement – in that order. 

In the next week, she would lead him back to her place with great ceremony as he shoved his stupid red couch through the door with solemn promises to reupholster it. 

In the next month, they would have their biggest argument ever…

“You knew this would happen!”

“I swear! I never knew it was even possible!”

But, for now, there was just a kiss between a heroic farm boy and a girl reporter that was always too nosy for her own good. However history remembered them, if at all, that was underneath it all.

And they could, she truly believed, handle anything.

THE END… FOR REAL.

I know. I’m so cheesy.

I thought it would be nice, letting Lois throw a little of that insane concern Linda’s way after everything Linda did for her.

As for Connor, his backstory always changed, but I know he’s almost consistently illegitimate. I just thought this would be a bit nicer. 

Ah, the hot air balloon. As iconic as the first Supes movies were to many people, you have to admit some aspects were just plain silly. But I figured I’d use it here because Eve’s… well, not the sharpest tool. 

Now between Lex and a few other things, this may seem like a cliffy, but it’s not. It’s just an acknowledgement that our duo will just… never be bored, not even when they want to be.

I’m also giving myself room to come back as I really don’t think I’ll be able to leave this universe for good. I just hope you all will be able to find me again if/when I come back!

I mean, I’m writing other fics and I know some of you read those, but I’ll just miss you! I feel like we’re graduating! I mean, I felt like this when SV first ended, but now it seems so final! My longest fic, the fic which spanned my fandom existence, is OVER! If it weren’t for getting a Chlark/Kaloe bug up my a*ss and writing Almost Clark, I’d have never done more than lurk! 

I definitely hope to see some of you around on my other fics. I still have at least five I’ve committed to write before I step back and concentrate on my romance novels. I’ll probably still write fic even then. It just won’t be three-at-once. 

I'll be posting a fic post mortem with final word count on the main page for this series if anyone is curious on the stats.

For now, thanks for reading and commenting.