By Jennifer Allen
(Tuesday Evening)
"Oh, Clark, I don't think that I have ever been so tired in my
entire life," Lois said as she sat down on the couch. She leaned
her head back against the couch and closed her eyes.
"Lois, for the first time in my life, I actually feel tired,"
Clark said as he laid down on the couch with his head resting on
Lois' lap. It had been two months since the birth of their son,
Johnny, and this was the first evening that they had spent alone.
Sam and Ellen had taken the baby to stay with them for the
evening at their house. Martha and Jonathan would be arriving at
Sam and Ellen's house later.
"Clark, you have got to be the best dad a child could have. You
are so patient, so understanding, and so gorgeous," Lois said
with a wicked grin on her face.
"I don't really think that Johnny appreciates that last one.
That's only you." Clark said laughing. "You know, Lois, you
aren't such a bad parent yourself. You have to do everything with
normal human energy. I have an advantage over you." Clark said as
he reached up and kissed Lois on the cheek, and then settled his
head back on Lois' lap.
"Yeah, but not only are you a great husband, a great father, and
a great reporter, you are also Superman. It has to get draining
after a while." Lois said as she ran her fingers through Clark's
hair. "I think that you should just take a day off every now and
then."
"I will if you do." Clark said. "But what about Johnny, won't we
be deserting him?"
"Honey, just calm down, we both have parents who are perfectly
capable of taking care of their grandchild. That is why there are
those things called babysitters." Lois said with a sarcastic tone
to her voice.
"You're right, and even if they can't, there is always Perry, or
Jimmy, or Lucy." Clark said.
"I think that we should leave Jimmy and Lucy for our last
resorts." Lois said laughing.
"Now that I think about it, they should only be last resorts."
Clark said. "So let's set a date. When are we both free?"
"Well, Superman is never completely free, but Clark and I are
free on Friday. Remember, Perry gave us the day off." Lois said.
"O.K. That sounds great. We can just make it a long weekend. Oh,
and by the way, Superman always has free time for his favorite
fan." Clark said, winking at Lois. "I promise that Superman will
be completely free on Friday and for the rest of the weekend."
Lois started to laugh, and then bent down and kissed him. Their
kiss grew more passionate as time progressed. Just then the
telephone rang.
Lois and Clark both groaned as they pulled away from each other.
Lois reached over and picked up the phone. "Hello?" she answered.
"Oh, O.K. Perry." "No Johnny is staying with my parents tonight."
"Sure, we'll be there as soon as we can." "O.K. See you in about
twenty minutes." Lois hung up the phone and started to explain to
Clark what Perry had just told her.
"You know Linda from research, right, Clark?" After Clark nodded
that he knew, Lois continued. "Well, her two year old daughter,
Carrie, was just kidnapped, and no one knows what happened. Perry
wants us on the story."
"Oh, let's go. I guess our necking will just have to wait until
Friday." Clark said as Lois handed him his jacket.
***
"So, Perry, what do we have?" Lois asked.
"Well, Linda said that she was putting her daughter to bed, when
she heard a noise downstairs. She left her daughter in bed and
went down to see what it was. She found nothing, but when she
went back up to her daughter's room, Carrie was gone." Perry
explained.
"Do the police have any leads?" Clark asked.
"The only thing the police found was that the bedroom window was
open." Perry said with a concerned look on his face.
"Well, that really isn't very much to go on." Lois said. "Uh,
Jimmy, call Linda and ask her to give you a list of anyone who
might have wanted to take her daughter."
"O.K., Lois. I'm on it." Jimmy said as he breezed by Lois, Clark,
and Perry.
***
(An Abandoned Warehouse)
Joe Heffman sat at a desk with Carrie on his lap. "So, princess,
what do you think of your new home?" He asked in a gruff voice.
Joe had worked at the Metropolis Post, another newspaper in
Metropolis, until recently when he had been fired. "You see,
sweetheart, everyone who was responsible for getting me fired is
going to pay. That includes almost everyone at that stupid Daily
Planet." Joe said as he slammed hi fist down on his desk.
Joe had worked at the Post for fifteen years. His boss had fired
him a month ago because he was not producing enough late-breaking
stories. He blamed the Daily Planet workers for this and vowed
revenge.
***
(Friday morning: Daily Planet)
Lois, Clark, and Jimmy were tired. They hadn't been able to come
up with any more leads, and three more of the Daily Planet's
employees kids had been taken. Lois and Clark were both sitting
at Clark's desk furiously searching through papers. Jimmy came
running by.
"Jimmy, have you found anything new?" Clark asked with a hopeful
look in his eye.
"Sorry, C.K., I have found absolutely nothing that is useful."
Jimmy said. "Hey, isn't today your day off? I thought you two had
plans."
"We did, but it doesn't look like we're going to be able to go."
Lois said as she looked at Clark. "I guess we will just have to
wait until our next day off." Just then Perry came storming out
of his office.
"What the Hell are you two doing here? I though I gave you the
day off." Perry said looking at Lois and Clark.
"Well, Chief, you did, but we are knee deep in this story right
now. We're not going to get to go." Clark said.
"Why don't you two just go. There hasn't been any change in the
story since Tuesday, and I am still trying to find a connection
between all of these people." Jimmy said.
"We don't want to leave you with all the work, Jimmy. You have to
be tired." Lois said.
"Yeah, but I don't have quite as much responsibility as you two
do. You deserve the day off. Uh. . . don't they, Perry?" Jimmy
said.
"Get out of here before I change my mind." Perry bellowed.
At that, Lois and Clark got up and gathered their things. "I
don't want to see you two here until Monday." Perry added.
***
(Friday afternoon: Lois and Clark's house)
"O.K. I left the name and phone number of the hotel on the table.
We're not taking Johnny, so we don't need: diapers, bottles,
clothes, toys, blankets. . . Clark am I forgetting anything?"
Lois asked.
"Lois, calm down. I think my parents are very capable of taking
care of Johnny. Just look at what a great job they did with me."
Clark said smiling at Lois.
"You're right, Clark. It's just that we have never left him for
more that a day, and I just hope that he will be O.K." Lois said
with a worried look on her face.
"You are the one who told me that everything would be fine. What
happened in the last few days." Clark asked as he hugged Lois.
"Well, I just never really thought about how much I'll miss him.
But, you are right, everything is going to be just fine." Lois
said as she kissed Clark passionately.
Clark pulled away, and said, "Well if that kiss is any
indication, I am sure that everything is going to be great."
Clark and Lois both started to laugh and then went downstairs to
where Jonathan and Martha were playing with Johnny.
"Aren't you two ready to go yet?" Martha asked.
"Uh, yeah, we were just packing a few last minute things." Lois
said. "I think we are ready to go now." Martha stood up and
carried Johnny over to where Lois and Clark were standing.
Lois took him from Martha and cradled him in her arms. "Now, I
want you to be good for your Grandma and Grandpa Kent. Alright?"
Lois said and then kissed him on the forehead. Clark did the same
and then Lois gave him back to Martha.
"We'll see you in a couple days, alright, big guy?" Clark said as
he took Lois hand and walked out the door.
Lois and Clark stepped into the alley beside their Brownstone,
Clark changed into Superman, he picked up Lois, and then they
were off for a short weekend in Hawaii.
***
(Hawaii: Lois and Clark's Hotel)
"Well, Lois, now that we're here, what would you like to do
first?" Clark said as he sat down on the bed in the hotel room.
Lois walked over to him, sat down on his lap, and then said, "I
don't care what we do. Just as long as I am with you."
"How about a walk down the beach? How does that sound?" Clark
asked and then kissed Lois on the cheek.
"Sounds good to me." Lois said as she turned her head and met
Clark's lips with her own. They kissed passionately for a while
and then Lois said, "Or. . . we could just stay here and you
know. . . bond."
Clark pulled away and started to laugh. "Let's go. We can save
the bonding for later." With that, they got up and walked out the
door.
***
(Later that evening: Hotel Room)
"Oh, Clark, I had such a great time today. I never realized how
much I missed being alone with you. Not that I don't love Johnny,
because you know that I love him so much. I love spending time
together as a family, and like I said, I love him so much. . ."
Lois continued to babble.
"Lois!" Clark interjected. He loved to hear her babble on about
things he already knew, so he smiled at her.
"What, Clark? What are you smiling at?" Lois asked with a shy
look on her face.
"You." That was all he said. He cupped her face in his hands and
passionately kissed her. He carried her over to the bed and
gently set her down on it. The passion flared between them as
their kiss became deeper. Lois began to unbutton the buttons of
his shirt and ran her hand over his broad chest muscles. Clark
moaned with delight. Just then Clark's head snapped up. Lois
looked at him with hurt in her eyes.
"Clark, you promised!" Lois practically yelled. "You said you
were taking the night off. You lied!" Lois was angry so she got
up from the bed and began pacing, repeating 'you lied' and 'you
promised' over and over.
"Lois, please. I'm trying to listen to this." Clark said with a
worried look on his face.
"I know, you are always trying to listen to this. I just got
finished telling you how much I missed being alone with you, and
you promised Superman would take the weekend off! I hate it when
you do this!" Lois yelled.
Clark looked at Lois with a terrified look on his face. Then he
whispered something that Lois couldn't hear.
Lois picked up on Clark's terrified look and was no longer quite
as angry as she was. "Clark, what is the matter with you?"
Then he uttered the words again. This time Lois could hear what
he said. "No, not Johnny!" Clark jumped up and spun into
Superman.
"What, Clark? What happened." Lois asked.
Clark wasn't sure why, but he was angry at Lois for acting the
way that she had. Then he said, "That was my mom. Someone has
kidnapped Johnny. I could have heard the whole story if you would
have been quiet for at least two seconds. Come on let's go."
Lois looked at him with a petrified look on her face, but didn't
move. She was in shock. Clark sensed this and went to her and
picked her up. Now they were on their way back to Metropolis.
***
(Lois and Clark's Brownstone)
Lois and Clark rushed through the door. They saw Martha sitting
on the couch sobbing. Jonathan was next to her trying to comfort
her.
Lois rushed over to them, while Clark went up the stairs to check
the nursery. "What happened? What happened to my baby?" Lois
asked.
Martha looked at Lois and then began to sob even harder. Lois
rested her hand on Martha's back and then looked at Jonathan,
hoping he could provide her with the answers she was looking
for.
"We were in the nursery putting Johnny to bed. Then I left to
rent a movie for Martha and me to watch. Martha said that Johnny
fell asleep, so she put him in his crib to sleep and then went
down into the kitchen to make some popcorn. Then when I came
back, I found her sitting in the rocking chair saying what a
terrible grandma she was. That is all I've been able to get out
of her." Jonathan told Lois.
A tear rolled down Lois' cheek as she rubbed Martha's back.
"Martha, you aren't a terrible grandma. It wasn't your fault."
Lois said trying to reassure Martha.
Just then Clark came down the stairs. Lois ran to him and buried
he head into his chest. "Oh, Clark. . .what are we going to do?
He's gone." Lois was now sobbing and she could feel her knees
becoming weak.
Clark tried to comfort her as he sat her down. "Lois, I'm going
to find him. Don't worry. Everything is going to be all right."
Clark was trying to comfort Lois, but deep down, he was just as
worried as she was. Clark knew that he couldn't dwell on the
terrible thoughts that were racing through his mind at this time.
He had to concentrate on finding his son. "O.K. Lois, we need to
go to the Planet and see if Jimmy has found out anything new."
Lois nodded as she wiped the tears from her face.
"Dad, take care of mom." Clark said.
***
(The Daily Planet)
"Oh, God. I don't believe this." Perry said as he hugged Lois.
Lois tried to stop the tears from falling, but didn't succeed.
She tightened her grip on Perry, and he tried to comfort her.
"Jimmy, have you found anything new?" Clark asked a concerned
Jimmy.
"No. . .C.K. I'm afraid we have come to a dead end." Jimmy
replied.
Clark knew that by now Lois was in terrible shape, and he
mentally scolded himself for being so angry at her. It was
1:30am, and they were both exhausted. He walked over to her
sitting at her desk, staring blankly into space. He kneeled down
beside her and gently embraced her in his arms. "I'm so sorry,
Lois. I shouldn't have been angry with you. I love you so much. .
." Clark's voice trailed off, and Lois felt a tear land on her
shoulder.
She took his face in her hands and looked deeply into his eyes.
"It's all right, Clark. I should think before I go off on my
tangents." She said with a faint smile on her face.
They embraced again, and Clark whispered into her ear, "I'm going
to go search the city again. I just can't sit here." Lois nodded
her approval and stood up as Clark got ready to leave. Just then,
she saw his head snap up, the same way it had earlier that
night.
"What? What are you hearing?" Lois asked. She noticed another
tear streak down his face as he looked off into space. "Clark,
what is it?" She asked as she wiped the tear from his cheek.
"I just heard Johnny cry." He said with pure joy in his voice.
Lois sighed a sigh of relief and motioned for Clark to go. They
both smiled at each other and embraced once again. "Lois, I'm
gonna try to find Superman." He said so that everyone could hear
him. Lois nodded and went back to her desk.
***
(Above Metropolis)
Clark flew over Metropolis, following the strains of Johnny's
crying. "Come on, Johnny, keep it up." Clark said to himself.
"Daddy is on his way."
***
(The Abandoned Warehouse)
Superman landed in front of the warehouse, not sure what to
expect. He went through the front door, still following Johnny's
cries. The sound led him down the stairs into the basement. Clark
peered through the window of the door and saw Johnny sitting in a
car seat on top of a desk. He thanked God that he was all right.
Superman walked through the door and saw the other children
sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor. He walked over to Johnny
and picked up the car seat. Then he heard footsteps behind him.
"Superman, put the baby down, or I swear I'll shoot these other
kids." Joe said.
Clark knew this person, but couldn't quite put the name to his
face. Just then he realized that it was Joe Heffman. "Joe, I'm
gonna put the baby down, and you are going to give me that gun."
Clark said.
As Clark put Johnny back down on the desk, he heard Joe begin to
cry. Clark turned around astonished. Then he heard Joe drop the
gun. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe I did this." Joe said. "All I
ever wanted was a good job and a family. Now look what I've done.
I don't have either." Joe said.
Clark picked up the cellular phone sitting on the desk and called
the police.
***
(Daily Planet)
Lois was pacing around her desk. Perry and Jimmy had tried to
calm her, but their attempts had failed. The look on her face
changed when she saw Clark step off the elevator with a bundle in
his arms. She ran up the ramp and met him. She took the sleeping
baby from his arms and began to cry. Clark wrapped his arm around
her shoulder and kissed her cheek. "Oh, we need to call my
parents and tell them everything is all right." Clark said.
"Already on it, C.K." Jimmy said holding up the phone.
"You two go home. Remember, you two are still supposed to be on
your little vacation." Perry said. Lois and Clark both looked at
each other and started to laugh. They then walked to the elevator
and went home.
***
(Four Years Later)
Lois and Clark were sleeping peacefully in their bed. It was
around 7:30 and that day they were leaving to take Johnny to
Disney World. Clark was awakened by the sound of little feet
running down the hall, and he smiled. The next thing he knew
Johnny ran into the bedroom and jumped up onto the bed in between
Lois and him. Lois was startled awake and jumped. "Oh, Johnny.
Don't scare mommy like that." She said with a smile on her face.
She laughed as she looked at what Johnny was wearing. He
obviously had dressed himself. He was wearing a pair of bright
orange shorts and a blue and green striped shirt.
"What you laughing at, mommy?" He asked with a grin on his face.
Lois began to tickle his belly, and he fell back on the bed
giggling. Clark joined in, but instead of tickling Johnny, he
began to tickle Lois. This freed Johnny from Lois, and he too
began to tickle her.
"Oh. . . no fair. . . two. . .against. . .one!" She said in
between laughs.
"Oh, all right, Johnny. Let's leave mommy alone." Clark said as
he kissed Lois on the lips. Their kiss would have turned into
more, had their four year old son not been sitting in between
them.
"Hey, where's my kiss?" Johnny asked as he pulled Clark away from
Lois and kissed her on the cheek. Lois then kissed Johnny on the
cheek. "See, daddy? Mommy likes me better than you." Johnny said
seriously, looking at Clark.
"Oh, is that what you think? Well then. . ." Clark grabbed Johnny
and started tickling him.
"O.K. Daddy, stop. . .please!" Johnny said laughing. Johnny then
crawled up and laid squarely on Clark's chest. "I love you,
daddy."
Lois laid back and took in the beautiful sight that she saw. She
couldn't imagine her life without either of these two people, and
she loved them both more than anything. Johnny then reached out
and grabbed her hand and held it.
"I love you too, mommy." Johnny said.
Lois and Clark both laid there for a while reveling in the
feelings they both were having. Both thinking of the future ahead
of them and hoping that this vacation would be better than the
terrible one they had experienced four years ago.
THE END
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