Forget Me Not

Forget Me Not, Redux

By Pam Jernigan 

Summary: A rewrite of the episode "Forget Me Not" in which Dr.
Deter and the clinic are appropriately out of the picture. Lois,
still without her memory of Clark, but inexorably attracted to
him, asks to stay at his apartment during her recovery.

Let's assume that in Forget Me Not, Lois was only an outpatient
at the medical clinic. The A-plot would be essentially unchanged
- Lois, while being in treatment, would notice strange things and
figure out the bad guy's plot. You've seen it, it's nothing
special, I won't recreate it here. The B-plot, however, would go
more like this...

***

"Lois, are you sure you're okay?" Clark asked anxiously. Although
Lois had mostly recovered from her injuries, and could function
in many ways, her personal memories had not yet returned. She'd
had a steady stream of visitors over the past two days (her
parents, his parents, their boss and others). With pictures and
documents, they'd told her about her life.

Clark had been there most of the time, answering her questions,
telling her stories of their lives, watching her sleep. He'd
ignored the rest of the world; she needed him more, and he needed
to be with her. In more ways than one. Mindful that she barely
knew him, he'd struggled to act like a brother to her, not
showing any hint of his desire for her. He was determined not to
make her uncomfortable in any way. Being patient had worked
before; it would work this time, too. He had to believe that,
because he couldn't face a life without her.

"I'm *fine*," Lois insisted testily from behind the privacy
screen, struggling into the last of her clothing. She'd been in
the hospital for two days now, and she was thoroughly sick of it.
All bland, blank walls and cheerfully noncommittal nurses. She
still didn't remember much of her life, but that was no reason to
hide from the world. She suspected that she'd never been one to
back down from a challenge.

"Maybe you should stay here a little while longer," Clark
suggested uncertainly. He didn't want to do anything to hamper
her full recovery.

"No, I won't, and that's final." Now fully dressed, she stepped
around the screen to face him. His eyes were full of a concern
that warmed her heart. He was so amazingly kind. She'd been told
that as well as being her partner at work, he was her fiance. At
first the knowledge of their engagement had caused an odd thrill
of fright, but as she'd considered it, and seen his innate
gentleness, the fear had melted away. This man could surely be
trusted with her life.

And with her body? She couldn't remember if he was her type, or
if she even had a type, but she found that she enjoyed watching
him. The lock of hair that fell so engagingly over his forehead,
the breadth of his shoulders, even his strong, gentle hands...
all of these and more were starting to make her shiver in
breathless anticipation of his visits, in hopes of his kiss. She
could tell he loved her, she reflected in wonderment. It was
there in the way he treated her, in the way he looked at her...
and there was desire in there, as well, she'd glimpsed it...

At the moment, however, he was looking harassed and beleaguered.
She hid a smile. Her visitors had all mentioned that she tended
to lead their partnership, and based on his reactions, she could
believe it. He was resisting now, though, and she supposed he
might have a good reason.

"Out with it, Clark, what's the problem?" she asked, arms
crossed.

He looked at her helplessly for a second, then sighed. "Well, you
were kidnapped right during the wedding ceremony." A familiar
stab of guilt assailed him at the thought, but he steadfastly
ignored it. Dwelling on what might have been was too painful.

"Yeah, and...?" Talk of her wedding--a wedding she couldn't even
begin to imagine--caused her stomach to flutter, a sensation she
preferred to deny at the moment.

"Lois... you'd already moved into my apartment, and out of yours.
It's been leased to someone else already; I checked." He watched
her anxiously.

"Oh." She sat down on the hospital bed, feeling as if she'd had
the wind knocked out of her. So, she had nowhere to live.
Nowhere, unless... she looked up at Clark speculatively, and made
up her mind. She took a deep breath and spoke quickly, not giving
herself a chance to reconsider.

"That's all right. I can stay with you."

Clark felt his eyebrows raise in astonishment. She had, in a way,
only known him for two days, and she was proposing to move in
with him? It had taken him over two years to win that much trust,
the first time around, to get through her protective layers.
Surely even a memory loss couldn't erase such deeply ingrained
barriers.

She smiled tremulously at his surprised expression. "If I want to
get my memory back, I should stay in familiar surroundings,
right? All my things seem to be at your place, and I guess I was
probably pretty familiar with it, anyway, wasn't I?"

"Yeah..." he admitted reluctantly.

"Well, there you go then." She stood again, gathering her
courage. This would work out just fine; it had to. "The only
other place I could think of to stay would be with my mother, in
her hotel room, but just between you and me, I don't think she
and I get along very well."

He quirked a smile. "No, not really."

Lois took a moment to appreciate what a great smile he had,
reassuring herself. She smiled back at him. "Then you have no
choice, do you? You have to help me; I'm homeless."

He sighed once more, looking around the room for guidance that
wasn't there. Could she really mean what she was saying, that she
trusted him to be that close to her and not try anything? Could
he trust himself?

Lois saw the worry written across his face and advanced until she
was standing close enough to rest her forearms on his chest, her
hands exploring his shoulders. She noted that he automatically
opened his arms to receive her. His nearness, his *body* felt
good, setting off waves of desire outward from where his hands
rested on her hips. "Clark, look at me."

He looked down into her intent brown eyes. God, she was
beautiful, and he still marveled that he had found her again. He
didn't care how long it took her to regain her memory, he could
wait months if he had to, as long as she was safe.

"Clark," she repeated, all trace of amusement gone. "There are a
million things that I don't know about you, that I don't know
about me. But I do know this. You are kind, patient, and more
considerate than I deserve. And my... previous self... wanted to
marry you. How could I not trust you?"

How could he resist her? "Okay. Let's get you out of here."

It took some time to complete the paperwork, but the hospital
staff could no more stand in her way than Clark could. She would
be an outpatient at a local memory clinic/sanitarium for the next
few weeks, but she was free to stay wherever she chose.

***

As Clark drove her Jeep to his apartment, an air of tension rose
between them. Lois kept sneaking looks at him, when she thought
he wouldn't notice. Who was this man? How well did she know him;
how well did he know her? They were engaged (by unspoken
agreement, that engagement was on indefinite hold, but she had no
urge to break it); had they been... intimate? She felt her cheeks
flushing, feeling excited by the prospect. She knew general
things about lovemaking, but it was all distant, impersonal.

Clark was aware that she was looking at him, darting glances at
his face, and at his body. He shifted uncomfortably as he drove.
What was the matter with him? She was injured, and barely knew
who he was. He shouldn't even be thinking of making love to her.
But he was. Under the cover of checking the Jeep's blind spots,
he kept an eye on her. She was pale, and thinner than she should
be... but she still took his breath away. And he was going to be
sharing his apartment with her. He swallowed hard.

"Well, here we are." His tone was determinedly cheerful as he
pulled into the parking spot. Lois looked around, hoping for a
glimmer of memory, but none came.

"Nice place," she offered, to let him know that nothing was
coming back.

He nodded, not really disappointed. He knew that when he'd lost
his memory, two years earlier, it had taken time for familiar
people and places to bring him back to himself. He got out of the
Jeep and headed for her side to open her door and help her out.
He found her standing on the sidewalk, looking around. He smiled
despite himself. Some things apparently didn't change.

"The entrance is around the side." He touched her elbow to guide
her, and she fell in step next to him.

Lois felt a jolt of awareness at his touch. It was only his hand
on her elbow, for pete's sake. She had to get control of herself.
At least until she had some answers. "Oh, what an unusual
entrance!" she exclaimed, enchanted by the wrought-iron porch.

He smiled tightly as he fumbled with his lock. Taking a deep
breath, he swung the door open. "Welcome home."

Lois stood on the threshold, seeing his apartment as if for the
first time. It was more or less all one room, decorated with
souvenirs of his trips around the world; he'd told her about that
sometime yesterday. She noticed a tenseness about him, and
suddenly realized how hard this must be for him. He'd expected to
bring a bride here, not a virtual stranger. She turned to meet
his eyes, surprised to feel a glimmer of tears in her own eyes.
"Oh, Clark, this isn't what we planned, is it, for me to not know
you..."

Clark felt his heart twist at her wistful expression. On its own
accord, his left hand reached up to cup her cheek, and she tilted
her head into his palm, the way she always did. "No," he admitted
hoarsely. "But I'm just... so grateful, that you're safe, that
you're here, that you don't hate me."

She enjoyed the touch of his hand on her cheek - it was an
unusual gesture, and yet it felt so natural. How could a simple
touch make her feel so good? "I don't think I could ever hate
you," she whispered, running her gaze over his face, focusing on
his gorgeous eyes, and his full lips. On impulse, she raised
herself on tiptoes and leaned forward to kiss him. It was a quick
kiss, a mere brushing of their lips, but it left her breathless
and tingling.

Clark closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. "God,
Lois, don't do that." I can't control myself if you do that, and
I have to control myself.

Hurt, she stepped away, and entered the apartment. A few steps
later, however, she thought she understood, and she was ashamed
of herself. He was determined to treat her like a sister, to not
take advantage of her. She shouldn't make things harder for him.
Unless, of course, her treacherous inner voice whispered, you
want him to take advantage of you. She smiled.

A few deep breaths gave Clark back his balance, and he followed
his fiancee into the apartment. She was looking around
appraisingly, carrying her small bag from the hospital. Acting as
if nothing had happened, he pointed out the apartment's features.
"Okay, here's the living room, with the new lamps we bought after
the old ones were shot up." The lamps were one of few features
they'd purchased together; they had been waiting until after the
honeymoon to make decisions on major pieces of furniture. "In the
kitchen, we have all the regular kitchen stuff - plus I stocked
up on cream soda and chocolate ice cream for you."

She followed him, looking around with interest. "I like ice
cream?"

He chuckled. "You like chocolate."

"Ahh, that's good to know." She nodded wisely. "Good thing I have
you to tell me all this stuff."

"Just ask, and I'll tell you what I know," he promised.

"So why were the lamps shot up?" She turned to face him, with an
inquiring expression.

He grimaced, wishing he hadn't mentioned that detail. "This
couple was trying to kill me, and kidnap you..." He really didn't
want to tell that story in any detail. The subject of Superman
had come up several times in the past two days. So far, he'd
always managed to gloss over things, only telling her what was
general knowledge. He fully intended to come clean to her again
sometime soon, but not yet. Not until they had some other things
sorted out.

She lifted one eyebrow. "This happens to us a lot, does it?"

He shrugged helplessly. "We're reporters," he temporized. "And
we're good at it, especially you, so sometimes people don't
appreciate us investigating them."

"Good thing we've got Superman to look out for us then, huh." She
could tell that he wasn't telling her everything on that
particular topic, but it could wait. One mountain at a time,
Lois. She wandered further into the kitchen.

"Yeah." Clark let it go at that, glad to escape the topic. "Okay,
behind this wall is the bedroom..." The tension that had leaked
away earlier was suddenly back as they stood by the side of the
bed.

Lois swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. Had she spent much time
in that bed? They obviously hadn't been living together, but that
didn't mean they hadn't slept together. She looked up at him,
wondering if she dared to ask.

Clark commanded himself to think of something to say, anything to
move the focus away from his bed... the bed he longed to be in,
with her a full and willing participant. It's not an option,
Clark, he told himself sternly. Behave. You don't want to scare
her. He looked around the room, searching for something to say.
"Um, no one can see in the windows, so you don't have to worry
about that." That was better, he told himself encouragingly.
"Over here's the dresser - you've got the top two drawers, and
most of the closet." He pulled open the top drawer to
demonstrate, and froze when he saw her lacy undergarments lying
there. Good one, Clark. He pushed the drawer shut after an
endless moment, but it was too late. He could feel his blood
rushing southward, bringing him back to the familiar, aching
fullness that had begun with her innocent kiss.

Lois was too far away to see into the drawer Clark opened, but
she could guess the contents by his expression. A blush crept
over her cheeks, but more importantly, she thought this was a
clue. He wasn't familiar enough with her underthings to be blase
about them. That was interesting.

Clark moved blindly back towards the living room. He couldn't
stay here much longer, not with them both upright. "I'll sleep on
the couch."

She followed him, feeling curiously elated. She could tell, now,
that he was just as affected by her as she was by him, and it was
equally clear that he didn't intend to act on his feelings. This
seemed to leave her in control. A familiar, safe feeling, but
thrilling at the same time. Just like flying... where had that
thought come from?

***

The evening passed slowly. Clark was very business-like, drawing
on years of painful experience in controlling his feelings around
Lois as he told her about their stories and their sources. Her
nearness still affected his breathing, though, and he was
achingly aware of every move she made.

Using the excuse of getting them dinner, he took a break around
eight. He wanted to take time for a quick trip to the Arctic (he
somehow didn't think a cold shower would be enough, and besides,
in order to take one, he'd have to explain himself to Lois, and
he just didn't feel up to that conversation) before heading for
their favorite Chinese take-out restaurant. Before he could get
far, however, he'd heard the familiar refrain of, "help,
Superman!" and he'd had to respond - he'd neglected the world for
too long already.

Left completely alone for the first time in days, Lois wandered
around the apartment. She saw many pictures of herself, alone and
with Clark. They both looked so happy. She picked up one of the
pictures, and wistfully touched Clark's image with a finger. Why
couldn't she remember anything about her life?

The more time she spent with Clark, the more she wanted him. This
boldness, inexplicably, surprised her. Had she been previously
uninterested in sex? She couldn't see herself as shy, unless
perhaps she'd had bad experiences before meeting Clark... With
those memories gone, perhaps her true desires were coming out.
Whatever the reason, she'd felt herself hungering for him,
leaning towards him as he'd spoken about invisible men, cyborgs,
and Intergang. None of those topics had been anywhere near as
fascinating to her.

She decided to sit in the living room to watch the door for his
return, but that didn't feel right. A restlessness gnawed at her,
so she rose to pace again. Her steps took her into the bedroom.
In the darkness, the bed was even more inviting (and she was
tired) but that wasn't quite right, either. A-ha! The window
seat, under those wonderful glass panels. She curled onto one end
of it, arranging pillows around her. She could see a strip of sky
from here, and most of the apartment's small balcony. She
couldn't explain why, but this felt like the perfect place to
wait.

One small job for Superman had turned into three. Clark was glad
to have challenges to expend his energies on, problems he was
well able to fix. As soon as he could, however, he hurried back
to his apartment. Lois wouldn't know why he'd been gone so long,
and he wasn't sure what to tell her.

He unlocked the door quietly. She wasn't in the living room, and
his heart stopped for a moment before churning into overdrive. A
quick x-ray scan located her, to his great relief. He took a
moment to make sure he'd stopped shaking, and walked into the
bedroom. She was curled up with her head resting on the glass,
fast asleep, and looking very uncomfortable.

"Lo-is," he murmured softly, indulgently. He recognized her spot
- this was where she used to wait for him to come home. She must
have been very tired. The doctor had said that she could use all
the rest she could get, but she couldn't stay there all night.

He gently slipped his arms around her, gathering her to his
chest. She turned in her sleep and snuggled into his shoulder,
making soft noises. He stood stock still for a moment, reveling
in her response despite his frustration, and then turned to carry
her to the bed, floating over the floor to avoid the possibility
of his footsteps waking her.

Clark gently lowered her to the bed, wishing with all his heart
he could join her. She moaned a protest when he withdrew his
arms. Unable to resist, he leaned forward to kiss her forehead,
then settled back on his heels to watch her. He'd spent many
hours in the hospital, watching her sleep. She'd never been so
beautiful or so tempting as she was now, in his bed. He could
only hope she'd be comfortable sleeping in her clothes, because
there was no way he trusted himself to remove them.

He tiptoed out of the bedroom and turned off all the lights in
the apartment. If he could do nothing else, he could still guard
her sleep.

***

Lois woke, confused. Why did she feel like she was lying down?
She had been sitting up. She stirred, and opened her eyes. Ah,
she was in bed - Clark must have carried her. She glanced around
the room, which was dimly illuminated by the neon sign on the
adjacent building. Where was Clark, anyway? She rose up on one
elbow. "Clark?"

Almost before she'd finished calling his name, he was there,
standing in the archway. How did he do that?

"I'm here, Lois. Are you okay?"

She thought about it for a moment. "I don't know. I had some
really strange dreams."

He entered the room cautiously. "About?"

"You, me, Superman... all mixed up. Clark, I need to ask you
something." She gathered up her courage. "You've told me all
about work, now tell me about us."

"Us?" He cocked an eyebrow at her. He'd expected a question about
Superman. That suddenly seemed like it would have been an easier
issue to deal with.

"Yeah, you know, us." She was blushing, but her voice was steady.
She arranged the pillows so that she was sitting up against the
headboard, and held out a hand to him. Slowly, reluctantly, he
crossed the floor to sit on the edge of the bed.

Clark was terribly nervous. He was afraid that she didn't want
him, he was afraid that she did. Mostly, he was afraid of saying
the wrong thing, or of losing control and kissing her the way he
wanted to. "What do you want to know?" His voice was husky.

Now that she had him here, she was unsure how to proceed, but she
was determined to clear some things up. "How long have we been
engaged? How long had we dated before then?"

"We were only engaged a few months. And, well, we didn't really
"date" much before then - we knew each other, and worked
together, but didn't have many real dates."

That was interesting, but didn't really tell her what she wanted
to know. "But we were in love, right?"

He smiled at a happy memory, his teeth flashing in the
semi-darkness of the bedroom. "Yeah, we were. And after a while,
we even admitted it to each other."

Another clue. They'd had a difficult courtship, apparently. Maybe
there were other reasons that they hadn't moved in together. The
next question was the most difficult, but she had to know.
"Clark," she almost whispered, "were we lovers?"

Clark groaned at the images that word evoked. Images from many
passionate evenings danced in front of his eyes. He had trouble
making his voice work. "No. We kissed... and things... but we'd
both decided to wait until we were married before taking the big
step."

Lois mulled this over. She wasn't quite surprised, but she still
didn't understand. She looked away from Clark, glad for the
darkened room. "Why?" she asked softly. "Why did we want to
wait?"

Clark kneaded his hands on his thighs, keeping himself on a tight
leash. He swallowed again. "There were a couple of reasons. You
had had some bad experiences, so you were a little unsure." He
studied the far wall as if it contained the secrets of the
universe. "I'm kind of traditional. And I, ah, well... I've
experimented a little, gotten pretty close... but I've never
actually made love to anyone."

Lois filed the information about her previous experience, but she
was blown away by his revelation. Amazed and touched. This
gorgeous man had waited - for her? What a precious gift. She had
suspected he was a romantic. She reached out to hold his hand.
"Well, as far as I can remember, neither have I."

Clark looked down at her tiny hand on his, heard her attempt at a
joke, and felt his control slipping away. The weeks of
alternating highs and lows, of doubt and fear, of needing to be
strong, suddenly caught up with him. To his horror, he began to
cry. "Oh, god, Lois. I've missed you so much, needed you so
much..."

Lois heard the ragged edge of exhaustion in his voice. He must
have been worrying, waiting for weeks now; no wonder he was worn
out. She swung her legs out of the way and hugged him as best she
could. He instantly turned towards her, holding her tight,
burying his face in her hair. She soothed him and patted his back
as a few sobs escaped.

Clark didn't know how long he clung to her, drinking in the feel
of her body, the scent of her hair, the sound of her voice
murmuring reassurances. She was there, she was safe, everything
was okay. When he had recovered enough to stop crying, he pulled
back just far enough to see her face. She removed his glasses and
gently wiped away his tears, her heart in her eyes. He cupped her
face in his hands, and slowly leaned in for a kiss.

Lois watched him approach breathlessly. A small part of her brain
noted how different he looked without his glasses, but she
ignored it as unimportant. He was giving her plenty of time to
escape the kiss, a kiss she had no intention of evading, a kiss
she had been waiting for as long as she could remember. She
closed her eyes and tipped her face up to await his touch.

His lips brushed hers gently, then retreated a few millimeters.
She smiled, but quickly wanted more. Her lips parted of their own
volition, and she closed the distance between them. Finding her
mouth open, he moaned and set his tongue questing after hers.
They met in the middle, dancing passionately. His hands left her
face to trail down her sides and across her back, leaving
shimmering paths of desire along her skin.

She ran one hand through his silky hair, while the other attacked
his shirt, working the soft material loose from his waist.

The touch of Lois's hand on his bare midriff brought Clark back
to his senses. He pulled back from the kiss, far enough to see
her face. She was wide-eyed and panting slightly, looking sexier
than he'd ever seen her. But if he took advantage of her now,
he'd never forgive himself. "Wait." It was the single most
difficult word he'd ever said.

"Why?" She didn't need her memory to know that she wanted to do
this. It was right, more right than anything she'd ever done, she
felt it deep inside. Along with an aching hunger for this one
special man.

He was breathing heavily, too, he noticed in a distant corner of
his brain. "Because..." He was having trouble articulating a
reason. "Because you don't know what you're doing."

She shook her head, dead serious. "Oh yes I do. I loved you
before, and I love you now - all I've lost are details." She
searched for ways to convince him. "We made it to the church, we
had every intention of getting married - it's not our fault that
it didn't happen. I don't want to wait anymore."

"Well then," he countered, with a flash of dark humor. "Because
*I* don't know what I'm doing, remember?"

She laughed huskily, sending shivers down his spine. "Let's learn
together," she suggested, then sobered. "Please, Clark, I need
you. Please, be my first time..."

His good intentions vanished before her obvious sincerity. More
confidently than before, he reached for her, bridging the gap
between them. This time, there would be no pulling back.

***

Lois woke and stretched languidly, feeling wonderful for no
reason that she could recall. She froze when her outstretched
hand hit something warm and solid, but then memory of the
previous night flooded back, and she opened her eyes with a
smile. "Morning, Clark."

"Morning, Lois," he replied, grinning from ear to ear, reveling
in the sight of her in his bed, in the touch of her hand on his
bare chest. How long had he waited for a morning like this? It
wouldn't be perfect until she had her memory back, but that
should be soon; this Dr. Deter she would be seeing today was
supposed to be the best. On impulse, just because he could, he
leaned forward and kissed her.

She returned the kiss, closing her eyes to devote her senses to
it. It had been a spectacular night. Their mood had been
changeable, from explosive to sweet, tender to funny, and they
hadn't gotten much sleep. She reluctantly opened her eyes again
when he pulled back.

He propped himself on an elbow, watching her. She noted with
amusement that he'd put on a pair of sleeping shorts at some
point, and he was already wearing his glasses, too... She glanced
down at herself, covered only by a thin sheet, and grinned.
"You're overdressed."

He felt the blood rushing to his cheeks, and elsewhere, but
merely smiled. She was still recovering. "I made breakfast for
you. Come on out when you're dressed."

She watched him leave, noting from his profile that he wasn't as
indifferent as he sounded. "I knew there was a reason I wanted to
marry you!" she called after him. Sensitive, sexy, and he
cooked... what more could she ask for?

***

"Superman!" At the sanitarium, late that afternoon, Lois waved to
the superhero that she was starting to remember. During her day
there, she'd noted strange happenings, and had stumbled across an
assassin for Intergang - apparently reporter's instincts don't
have anything to do with memory. Luckily, Superman had arrived in
time to save the day.

He detached himself from the newly arrived policemen and walked
over to her, the cape waving in the breeze. He looked strangely
familiar, but she ignored the feeling of deja-vu; she suspected
it would be pretty common for a while.

"Yes, Lois?" he asked in what he hoped was an impersonal tone,
fighting his body's reaction to her. They'd spent hours last
night exploring each other before drifting off to an exhausted
sleep, but he still hadn't found the time to explain about
Superman.

"I'm starting to remember things, Superman!" she announced
excitedly.

He smoothed his face to a stern expression. What if she
remembered her crush on Superman? Well, he'd just explain things
to her again, if necessary, but the mere thought that she could
fall for someone else after spending the night with Clark made
him tense up. "That's good, Lois," he replied belatedly.

She smiled brilliantly. "I need you to find Clark for me."

Oh really? This was interesting. "I can take you to him," he
offered.

She nodded, and he scooped her up, trying valiantly to think of
her as a sister. At least from this position, she couldn't see
how tight his briefs were becoming. He flew her away from the
sanitarium, towards Centennial Park, and the fountain where
they'd gotten engaged. He wasn't above subtle hints.

She looked around blankly when he set her down. That fountain was
vaguely familiar, but she didn't take the time to chase down the
memory. "Where's Clark?" Superman looked around, and she suddenly
was afraid he would leave. "No, wait, I want to talk to you
first."

He crossed his arms and looked at her, unsure of what to expect.
She started pacing, but glanced at him frequently as she talked.
"I don't remember a lot, very clearly, but I think I remember
that you... that you have romantic feelings for me."

Clark had no idea how he should respond to this, but she didn't
seem to require any input from him.

"I just want to make sure you know that I'm in love with Clark.
And I have been, for a lot longer than I ever told anyone, I
think."

He blinked in surprise, temporarily speechless. Sometimes it
still amazed him that she could love him at all, let alone that
she could prefer *Clark* to Superman. She kept proving it to him,
though, again and again, and it never failed to awe him.

She saw the thunderstruck expression on his face, and winced.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you...."

He shook his head slowly, and managed to reply. "You haven't hurt
me, Lois." He began to smile, feeling happier than he'd ever
expected to. In a way, this was even better than last night.

Lois saw Superman's smile for the first time, and gasped, her
eyes narrowing. This was more than deja-vu... she'd seen that
smile, just recently... she searched his face, and the light
dawned. "Clark? Is that you?"

Clark nodded, his smile broadening. She slowly began to return
the smile, and then suddenly she was in his arms. "I remember."

He held her tightly, and rose off the ground. It was time to head
for home... *their* home.

THE END