From: "L-Soft list server at Indiana University (1.8d)" To: "ARTF@MemoryAlpha.nil" File: "LOISCLA-GENERAL-L LOG9806B" ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 04:03:32 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Frances Coogan Subject: Post length question Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Marie (KampmeyerM) and I have just completed a truly dreadful badfic based on Abba songs (I'm ducking), so could someone please tell me the maximum length of post to prevent those who can't take attachments having problems. Thanks. Frances (wondering how many people will say 0Kb to stop this atrocity taking place). ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 10:19:44 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Gary Subject: URL reminder Comments: To: Lois and Clark The New Adventures of Superman MIME-version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >RFC 1738 Uniform Resource Locators (URL) December 1994 > > >APPENDIX: Recommendations for URLs in Context > > In addition, there are many occasions when URLs are included in other > kinds of text; examples include electronic mail, USENET news > messages, or printed on paper. In such cases, it is convenient to > have a separate syntactic wrapper that delimits the URL and separates > it from the rest of the text, and in particular from punctuation > marks that might be mistaken for part of the URL. For this purpose, > is recommended that angle brackets ("<" and ">"), along with the > prefix "URL:", be used to delimit the boundaries of the URL. This > wrapper does not form part of the URL and should not be used in > contexts in which delimiters are already specified. > > Examples: > > Yes, Jim, I found it under type=d> but you can probably pick it up from ternic.net/rfc>. Note the warning in net/instructions/overview.html#WARNING>. > ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 10:58:01 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Lydia Esterline Subject: Season 5 & Question Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I have to say I really enjoyed the season 5 fanfic, it help fill the horrible void that was left when one of the few shows, I take time to watch (and my most favorite)went off the air. You all did a Super terrific ;)! Job! Sorry to add this to the list. I need to change the address I sub to on this list. Where do I send this too? Thanks! lyds ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 11:21:45 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Pam Jernigan Subject: Post length question Comments: To: Blind.Copy.Receiver@compuserve.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 >> could someone please tell me the maximum length of post to prevent those who can't take attachments having problems. << I think the limit has usually been around 18-20k (save the file to plain ASCII text format to see how big it is). I got that from Rhen's old guidelines, when she sent out the fanfic in e-mail parts... that seemed t= o work for the biggest number of people. PJ !^NavFont02F0136000EMGJHG65MG67HH~A478 ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 08:45:46 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Re: URL reminder & Cherryh novel In-Reply-To: <3.0.1.16.19980608101944.4bd7e7b0@vmspop.isc.rit.edu> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >> >> Yes, Jim, I found it under > type=d> but you can probably pick it up from > ternic.net/rfc>. Note the warning in > net/instructions/overview.html#WARNING>. >> And the point of the URL reminder is???? The person who posted the URL did the right thing by putting it on a separate line -- and for the record, I have *never* seen anyone post URLs in this way. Oh and while I'm here, I've been meaning to respond to your response about my opinion on the Cherryh book. Just so you know, reiterating your opinion doesn't change mine. Respectfully, Leanne Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 14:18:51 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Frances Coogan Subject: ABBADfic Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Thanks, Pam, for the length info - I hope the single post doesn't cause anyone problems. WARNING. This is really bad. I joked about writing a badfic containing lots of ABBA song names; Marie offered to write it with me. For the last week we've been e-mailing various versions and additions around and we think we have the full set of titles included (they're capitalized so the uninitiated will spot them) - some of them more than once! The only rule was that we couldn't split up the titles with other words - we allowed punctuation. We haven't included the Swedish, French German or Spanish versions, or the solo pieces, and we've omitted the parts of titles in parentheses. We'd like to know if we've missed anything (Anyone have a copy of Alska Mig?), and any blame is to be jointly shared - we have our escape planned . The disturbing thing is that it almost makes sense ... Here goes: ABBADfic by Frances Coogan (FCoogan106@aol.com) and Marie de Castro (KampmeyerM@aol.com), last seen heading south with assumed names, fake passports, dark glasses and turquoise satin flared jumpsuits. At the baseball game in downtown Metropolis the score read Metropolis V, Hamlet III. "PARTS 1 & 2 are nearly over..." the commentator was getting excited: "...and HERE COMES RUBIE JAMIE, he's about to ..." Lois dutifully turned her attention away from the TV screen and back to her husband. " .... and then BANG! A BOOMERANG hit me on the head as soon as I landed in the Australian outback," Clark was recounting to Lois on his return to the office after extinguishing a nasty bush fire. "You don't expect to find yourself UNDER ATTACK when you respond to SOS calls!" "So who was this MAN IN THE MIDDLE of nowhere who hit you?" "Oh, just some guy SITTING IN THE PALMTREE. He yelled 'WATCH OUT', but only after he'd hit me!" "What did you say to him?" "I yelled back at the guy: 'PUT ON YOUR WHITE SOMBRERO next time and be one of the good guys!'" "What? I thought you were in Australia!" "He was a Mexican tourist. I guess that's why he wasn't too good with the boomerang." Lois groaned: "Agh. Good job you're invulnerable. Anyway, I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU. ONE OF US has to keep things going while you're doing your SUPER TROUPER routine." "A new story?" "TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE, actually." Clark was impressed. "Two stories? Sometimes I WONDER how you do it. You really are the best." "THAT'S ME!" Lois exclaimed, giggling immodestly. But she frowned when she saw Clark's mind was elsewhere: "HONEY .... HONEY.... are you listening to me?" "What? Yeah. Oh, sorry, Honey. What's wrong with Jimmy?" "Probably HEAD OVER HEELS with his Juliet of the week," Lois responded indifferently, but Clark decided to get to the bottom of it: "Jimmy!" He called the young man over. "What's up?" "Oh, hi, CK. Nothing. Just .... WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE ME?" "You .... what?" Lois now took an interest if only so that they could return to the story more quickly. "Well, there are these six women ...." "Six?!" Clark scolded. "Jimmy! didn't you ever hear of ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN? DOES YOUR MOTHER KNOW?" "Hey, CK, MY MAMA SAID PEOPLE NEED LOVE, but LOVE ISN'T EASY, you know," Jimmy insisted defensively. "One of my first loves was my music teacher, RIKKY. ROCK 'N ROLL, ER... wasn't her style. I was taking piano lessons at the time, really getting into some INTERMEZZO, NO. 1, I think, by some dead composer. She kept saying ANDANTE, ANDANTE, Jimmy, like I was going way too fast or something. She was just so cute! I couldn't help it. But WHEN I KISSED THE TEACHER, she really started to ROCK ME! Boy, did I learn a lot then! Anyway, you gotta fill the HOLE IN YOUR SOUL, and I will pick one. But these six are all in love with ME AND I feel like I'M A MARIONETTE being pulled this way and that .... You see there's CASSANDRA - THE GIRL WITH THE GOLDEN HAIR - we went to see a ROCK N ROLL BAND; ELAINE - the DANCING QUEEN; NINA - PRETTY BALLERINA from the dance company; CHIQUITITA - wow, talk about KISSES OF FIRE! SHE'S MY KIND OF GIRL. Then there's ...." Jimmy's list of girlfriends was curtailed abruptly when he noticed the two young ladies who had strolled up >from behind and now regarded him with smouldering looks. He stammered as he reached for an explanation: "HEY .... HEY .... HELEN! .... Come back! .... SUZY! HANG AROUND for a minute! .... MAMMA MIA! .... Girls! .... " Jimmy ran off to attempt to resolve his dating problems. "I'd say there's some DISILLUSION there," Lois commented wryly. "Yeah," Clark agreed. There's one MAN IN THE MIDDLE of a heap of trouble! I reckon he's met his WATERLOO with that lot, but he's been living in a DREAM WORLD." "CRAZY WORLD, more like. WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, I think it's best if he can just MOVE ON. Anyway, back to the stories - if you still want to hear about them." "Oh, I DO I DO I DO I DO I DO!" "I don't know," Lois teased. "Maybe I should just keep these stories for myself, and you could try your own research, and when the Kerths come around .... well, THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL!" "No, Lois, BABY, ANGELEYES, MY LOVE, MY LIFE! You know THE NAME OF THE GAME - we're partners. GIMME! GIMME! GIMME!" "Why are you repeating everything?" But Lois relented quickly: Her threat had only ever been a playful one: "Okay, but YOU OWE ME ONE. ME AND BOBBY AND BOBBY'S BROTHER had a meeting while you were in Australia and the word on the street is that when the ruler of Eurovisionia got into town last night all his jewels were stolen on ARRIVAL." "What?! THE KING HAS LOST HIS CROWN?! Weren't his SOLDIERS there to safeguard them?" "Well, that brings me to the other part of the story. Bobby reckons some of THE VISITORS touring with him may have been involved in that string of thefts. They've been getting away with lots of MONEY." "MONEY?" "MONEY, yeah. There's no proof, of course, or that they're connected to the theft of the jewels, but travelling with the royal party is a good way to move around without attracting suspicion. Think about it. Every couple of days ANOTHER TOWN, ANOTHER TRAIN .... so no one is any the wiser." "But KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU, we can get to the bottom of this," Clark said confidently. "I tried to get Bobby to keep GIVIN' A LITTLE BIT MORE , but he was out of information, and I was out of breadsticks. Sometimes he keeps me bouncing around like a RUBBER BALL. MAN, I hate it when he does that! But I can't start BURNING MY BRIDGES with him; he's my best source! So, SHOULD I LAUGH OR CRY?" ***** "Lois! Clark! Get in here!" Perry bellowed. "What is it, Chief?" they asked in unison. "I need you to follow up this story at the zoo." "WHAT ABOUT LIVINGSTONE?" Lois asked. She usually didn't whine about stories, but she was getting tired of the same old grind. Almost every SUMMER NIGHT, CITY beat wanted out of their fair share of articles and left Lois and Clark hanging. "Well, it's like that movie says, HASTA MANANA!" said Perry. "Uh, Chief, I think that was Hasta La Vista," countered Clark. "Oh yeah, right! Anyway, get out there, or we'll have to pay THE PIPER before we know it! If only I didn't have to go to that confounded wedding tomorrow." "HE IS YOUR BROTHER, Chief," Clark gently reminded his editor. "You have to go." "Yeah, well. Anyway, you can make things easier by just doing as I say. Now, SCARAMOUCHE!" "But Perry..." "Lois, quit your whining. You are not the boss: I AM. THE CITY beat is just too swamped right now. Now get to it!" Lois and Clark jumped to their feet to begin the story of a lifetime. ***** RING RING. "Hello?" Lois answered the telephone. "Yes, I understand. We'll be right there." She replaced the receiver. "There's a surprise," she told Clark. "King FERNANDO will see us. He's been trying to keep the jewel theft quiet. Come on, let's go: The zoo story can wait!" ***** "So did you notice anything unusual about THE DAY BEFORE YOU CAME to Metropolis?" Clark asked King FERNANDO as he and Lois sat across from His Majesty. "Nothing at all, Mr Kent," FERNANDO assured him, "but it would not take SO LONG for someone to remove the jewels from my rooms." "You seem remarkably unconcerned," Lois commented suspiciously. She suppressed a gasp as she caught sight of something and hoped the king had not noticed her. Apparently not, since he continued: "Well, I didn't want to go ON AND ON AND ON with the police reports and publicity. You know how it is." "Yes." Lois's response was abrupt. "Well, we're sorry to have bothered you. Come on, Clark." "What? Oh, yes." The two got up, Clark not quite understanding why. But they were halted before they could exit: "Wait!" The king was holding out two copies of a music CD with a photograph of a TIGER on the front. "Please, take this with my compliments - a selection of traditional songs from my country." "Wow." Lois's deadpan voice was matched by her forced smile. "An honour to meet you, Your Majesty," Clark added as they left. "Oh, and THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC." ***** "It hasn't been stolen!" Lois excitedly told her husband as soon as they reached the street. "The crown - I SAW IT IN THE MIRROR!" "Are you sure?" Lois's look told him he was silly to have questioned her: "This isn't JUST A NOTION, you know," she snapped. "Okay, you're sure. So it must be an insurance scam." "Makes sense. If he has contacts here - and if he's related to the thefts too it suggests he may have - he can leave the jewels and go back to that TROPICAL LOVELAND of a country of his to make a claim." "But if he's that sloppy about keeping the crown out of sight the missing money may be there, too. Let's call the police." "Agreed. He probably didn't count on a visit from such an EAGLE-eyed reporter. He'll think I AM JUST A GIRL doing a bit of writing. Come on - I don't want him SLIPPING THROUGH MY FINGERS!" ***** With most of the king's entourage in Metropolis Prison and the king himself, released JUST LIKE THAT, FREE AS A BUMBLE BEE for the sake of diplomacy, on his way home, Lois and Clark relaxed in their living room with the Eurovisionian CD playing in the background. "So," Clark asked, "do you want to TAKE A CHANCE ON ME not stepping on your feet?" Lois glanced over at the CD player. "Sure," she replied. "We may as well DANCE WHILE THE MUSIC STILL GOES ON." .... And as they danced they found themselves humming along to some of the tunes: "DUM .... DUM .... DIDDLE ...." As they tired of dancing, they sat back and Lois turned on the TV. "What's on?" asked Clark. As she thumbed through the pages she mumbled: "On 34 it's KING KONG. SONG of the South is on 42..." "Are you happy, Lois?" Clark looked into those beautiful rich, dark, chocolate eyes. "I mean Really HAPPY? HAWAII was our first choice for our honeymoon and we never really made it there. Would you want to visit there someday? Or maybe try King FERNANDO's place for some dinner and DANCING. QUEEN ELAINE is world-renowned for her hospitality..." "HEJ GAMLE MAN," said Lois softly, incorrectly using a recently-learned Swedish phrase from Clark, "I know our life is like a MERRY-GO-ROUND sometimes, "but anywhere with you is fine with me. We can go to Eurovisionia, or even SANTA ROSA. When I'm with you I feel like AN ANGEL. PASSING THROUGH MY ROOM at the Planet was the best thing you ever did for me. I never knew how much I could LOVE. LIGHT of day dawned on me slowly." "Oh, Lois, you don't know how I wanted to--" Lois stopped him in mid-sentence. "It's all right now, Clark, but back then, remembering, even in the rough parts I always thought I would have been okay or that I *was* okay. But IF IT WASN'T FOR THE NIGHTS that I felt like CRYING OVER YOU, I wouldn't have known what I was missing." "But Lois, now we're AS GOOD AS NEW. OUR LAST SUMMER together was wonderful. And we are finally working on a HAPPY NEW YEAR together being married. We know each other THE WAY OLD FRIENDS DO after years together. Sort of like an old pair of shoes." "You're comparing me to an old pair of shoes?!" Her ire was piqued and she lunged for him. "Uh, bad metaphor," he said as he ducked. He hauled her over his shoulder and started to carry her upstairs. "And where do you think you're taking me?" she laughed. The giggles had gotten ahold of her. "To a place where you can LAY ALL YOUR LOVE ON ME, as opposed to that anger of yours!" "But how about Superman?" Lois protested. "What if there's a crimewave?" "Forget Superman. For tonight, this is where I AM. THE CITY can wait!" "And what makes you think I want to be LOVERS after that crack you just made?" she queried, curious as to his response. "Oh I'm just GONNA SING YOU MY LOVESONG until you give in." "But you can't sing!" "Oh, why don't I LET THE MUSIC SPEAK for itself. Then you'll give up pretty quickly, huh?" "No!" she laughed as he bounced her onto the bed, a MEDLEY of sensations rushing through her. "We'll find out. VOULEZ-VOUS?" "What does that mean?" "We'll find that out, too..." THE END ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 12:48:41 PDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: "K.C. Boyd" Subject: Re: Batchelor Party... Fanfic Request Content-Type: text/plain Hey If it's not too much trouble, I would like a copy of Bachelor Party too. K.C. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 16:09:22 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Sandra McDermin Subject: Requests for Fanfic from this List -- Housekeeping Type Post Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Hi Guys: I just noticed that someone posted a request for the Bachelor Party fanfic. Earlier today, someone kindly posted that fic to the fanfic discussion list. So, what people should do who want fanfic and can't find it on the L&C fanfic websites (TUFS, S5, L&C, Zoomway's, whatever) is to go to *this* list's archive, which is on the web at the following address: http://listserv.indiana.edu/archives/loiscla-general-l.html and do a *search of the archive*. Only at that point, once finding that the story is not there, would it be necessary to ask the list for the fic. Perhaps everyone subscribed cannot take advantage of this option for various computer-related reasons that escape such an internet idiot like myself. But, for those who can, you'll find it a wonderful resource. Sorry, to jump in here with this, but I, myself, have used this method a number of times quite successfully. Sandy ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 13:30:22 -0800 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Leanne Shawler Subject: Re: ABBADfic In-Reply-To: <8c04d96.357c2b0d@aol.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ROTFL!~!!!!!!!! I *love* it! Has anyone forwarded this to AbbaJames yet? Oh and there were a lot of B-sides and "previously unreleased material" until those big compilation Cds, weren't there? Great stuff!!! Hmm, maybe I could do a Duran Duran one .... any co-author takers? Leanne Leanne Shawler aka Volterra on IRC (volterra@sd.znet.com) Web Design: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/design/webdesign.html Home Page: http://www.znet.com/~volterra/leanne.html Midnight Dreaming: The Original Anthony Warlow Home Page: http://www.zweb.com/volterra/anthony.html ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 17:21:27 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Cristin J Whitley Subject: L&C Musical Part 1/3 Lois and Clark: The Musical Adventures of Superman By: Cristin Whitley ~ indicates a song. All song titles can be found at the end of the story. *Author’s note: This is my version of a LnC musical. I didn’t come up with the idea. I have no clue who did. This has been done before. Lois, Clark, Superman, all songs, and just about everything I’m typing belong to someone else in someway or another.* Scene 1 Setting: The Daily Planet *This is back before Clark was Superman, and he is currently developing a HUGE crush on a certain female reporter.* In walks Lois Lane, the Planet’s star reporter. Following her we see Clark Kent (a.k.a. “Hack from Nowheresville”). CLARK: So, Lois, what are you doing after work today? LOIS: I’m going home... alone. I told you already, Farmboy. I don’t have time for a relationship. So, you can forget about it. Lois walks away, leaving Clark all on his lonesome. CLARK:~I know she got everything she wants I know she got everything she needs I know she needs me more than she knows She came on so sweet and kind I wonder if I'm on her mind She always turns away I know I'll get her one of these days~ Scene 2 Setting: The Kent’s Home in Kansas *This is quite a bit later when our Clarkie is having troubles hiding his powers and goes to his mommy for some advice.* Clark and his mother are having a conversation in the kitchen. CLARK: Mom, people are starting to notice my powers. What should I do? I can’t just stand around and let people get hurt. MARTHA: Clark, I think you need a disguise. You could be a hero! People would love you! CLARK: You mean like a costume? People would recognize me! I’m not a hero, Mom. I’m just a farmboy. MARTHA:~There's a hero If you look inside your heart You don't have to be afraid Of what you are There's an answer If you reach into your soul And the sorrow that you know Will melt away And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you'll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you It's a long road When you face the world alone No one reaches out a hand For you to hold You can find love If you search within yourself And the emptiness you felt Will disappear And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you'll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you Lord knows Dreams are hard to follow But don't let anyone Tear them away Hold on There will be tomorrow In time You'll find the way And then a hero comes along With the strength to carry on And you cast your fears aside And you know you can survive So when you feel like hope is gone Look inside you and be strong And you'll finally see the truth That a hero lies in you Martha holds out a red cape to Clark and smiles. He looks at her again and decides to go try it on. ***Cristin Whitley :o)***CKandLL4ever@Juno.com*** I love Superman!!!!! FoLCs Forever!!! SUPERfan on IRC ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 17:24:42 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Cristin J Whitley Subject: L&C Musical Part 3/3 Lois and Clark: The Musical Adventures of Superman By: Cristin Whitley ~ indicates a song. All song titles can be found at the end of the story. *Author’s note: This is my version of a LnC musical. I didn’t come up with the idea. I have no clue who did. This has been done before. Lois, Clark, Superman, all songs, and just about everything I’m typing belong to someone else in someway or another.* Scene 5 Setting: Lois’ apartment *Before she can get married, Lois wants to make sure her chances with Superman are shot. So, she calls him to her apartment to ask him how he feels about her.* LOIS: Superman, I’m sure you’ve noticed that I like you. I always have. Before I marry anyone, I just want to know something.... How do you feel about me? I know I love you. If you love me too, then we could be happy with each other. So, tell me, what’s in your heart??? SMAN: Lois, you may think you love me, but you don’t even know me. No one knows the real me. ~ Leave my heart out of this You're too much to resist I don't have the strength to pull away No is getting hard for me to say I'd love to be the way your heartache ends But 'til it does we can't be more than friends I'm only trying to do what's best It's gonna hurt you more unless You leave my heart out of this.~ Superman flies out the window. Lois remains in the same spot. She’s either in shock or still reveling over his singing talents. Scene 6 *This is after Lois ditches Lex. We are into the point where she finally decides to see Clarkie for the god he really is.* CLARK: ~You see this guy this guy's in love with you Yes, I'm in love who looks at you the way I do when you smile I can tell we know each other very well how can I show you I'm glad I got to know you, 'cause I've heard some talk they say you think I'm fine Yes, I'm in love and what I'd do to make you mine, tell me now, is it so? Don't let me be the last to know. My hands are shaking don't let my heart keep breaking, 'cause I need your love I want your love say you're in love in love with this guy, if not I'll just die.~ LOIS: ~Unbelievable Describes your smile so sweet Inconceivable That you’re a part of me The innocent look in your eyes Love without compromise for me It’s a mystery What did I do to deserve you Only God’s hands could have made you And brought this dream to life Always swore that I would never fall I guess miracles happen after all And what did I ever do to deserve you~ Scene 7 Setting: Lois and Clark’s wedding *In my own fanfic world, Lois and Clark only had one wedding and this is it!* LOIS and CLARK: ~I do swear that I’ll always be there. I’d give anything and everything and I will always care. Through weakness and strength, happiness and sorrow, for better, for worse, I will love you with every beat of my heart.)~ LOIS:~From this moment life has begun >>From this moment you are the one Right beside you is where I belong >>From this moment on~ CLARK:~From this moment I have been blessed I live only for your happiness And for your love I’d give my last breath >>From this moment on~ LOIS:~I give my hand to you with all my heart Can’t wait to live my life with you, can’t wait to start You and I will never be apart My dreams came true because of you~ CLARK:~From this moment as long as I live I will love you, I promise you this There is nothing I wouldn’t give >>From this moment on~ LOIS:~You’re the reason I believe in love~ CLARK:~And you’re the answer to my prayers from up above~ BOTH:~All we need is just the two of us My dreams came true because of you >>From this moment as long as I live I will love you, I promise you this There is nothing I wouldn’t give >>From this moment I will love you as long as I live >>From this moment on.~ THE END SONGS: (in order of appearance) Spin Doctors Pocket Full Of Kryptonite More Than She Knows (Eric Schenkman/S. Lambert/G. Clark/J. P. Fitting) Carey Mariah Music Box Hero Barlow Gary Open Road Superhero (Barlow/Martin/Lundin/Skinner) Brooks Garth Ropin The Wind Shameless (Billy Joel) Jewel Non Album Tracks Love Me Just Leave Me Alone White Bryan The Right Place Leave My Heart Out Of This Bacharach Burt Non Album Tracks This Guy's In Love With You White Bryan The Right Place What Did I Do (To Deserve You) Twain Shania (Guest Vocals: Bryan White) Come On Over >>From This Moment On ***Cristin Whitley :o)***CKandLL4ever@Juno.com*** I love Superman!!!!! FoLCs Forever!!! SUPERfan on IRC Please send any comments!!! ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 17:23:04 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Cristin J Whitley Subject: L&C Musical Part 2/3 Lois and Clark: The Musical Adventures of Superman By: Cristin Whitley ~ indicates a song. All song titles can be found at the end of the story. *Author’s note: This is my version of a LnC musical. I didn’t come up with the idea. I have no clue who did. This has been done before. Lois, Clark, Superman, all songs, and just about everything I’m typing belong to someone else in someway or another.* Scene 3 Setting: Flying above Metropolis *By now, Clark has been Supes for a while and Lois has developed quite a crush on him.* Superman and Lois are flying after he saves her life. LOIS: Superman? SMAN: Yes, Lois? LOIS: Who are you really? Why are you here? Where did you come from? What.... SMAN: (Interupting her babble) Lois, I’m exactly who I appear to be. As for why I’m here.... I’m here to help. And I don’t know where I came from. All I know is I’m here to stay. ~(To be your superhero ...) I can't sit and wait For you to say If there's room inside your heart I'm not used to playin' That silly game Turn me down or let me start You have to believe I'll make things right Open your arms, give up the fight CHORUS For all that you want, For all that you're feeling There's a place where you can go For all that you need, I will be waiting To be your superhero I'm sure that you've heard this before so many times (So many times) Girl look inside my heart and you will find You'll find your superhero I'll be the one to hold you I'll never let you go I'll always understand you baby To be your superhero LOIS: Wow! After Superman’s singing debut, Lois and he fly back to the Planet where he leaves her. Scene 4 Setting: Lois’ Apartment *At this point Lois and Lex will soon be getting married.* Clark has just approached Lois’ apartment door and, before he can knock, Lois comes out. LOIS: Clark! What are you doing here? CLARK: Lois, I need to talk to you. LOIS: I am kinda trying to prepare for a wedding. So, make it quick. They enter her apartment and sit down. CLARK: Lois, you can’t marry Luthor. He’s a bad guy. You don’t know him like I do. He’s..... LOIS: (Interupting) Oh, and how well do you know Lex? Clark, I have things to do, and I don’t appreciate you taking up my time for this. You’re my best friend, Clark, but Lex is the man I love. I don’t want you saying these things about him! Do you have anything nice to say, or can I go back to my errands now??? CLARK: Lois, I love you. ~ Well I'm shameless when it comes to loving you I'll do anything you want me to I'll do anything at all And I'm standing here for all the world to see Oh baby, that's what's left of me Don't have very far to fall You know now I'm not a man who's ever been Insecure about the world I've been living in I don't break easy, I have my pride But if you need to be satisfied I'm shameless, oh honey, I don't have a prayer Every time I see you standin' there I go down upon my knees And I'm changing, swore I'd never compromise Oh, but you convinced me otherwise I'll do anything you please You see in all my life I've never found What I couldn't resist, what I couldn't turn down I could walk away from anyone I ever knew But I can't walk away from you I have never let anything have this much control over me I work too hard to call my life my own And I've made myself a world and it's worked so perfectly But it's your world now, I can't refuse I've never had so much to lose Oh, I'm shameless You know it should be easy for a man who's strong To say he's sorry or admit when he's wrong I've never lost anything I've ever missed But I've never been in love like this It's out of my hands I'm shameless, I don't have the power now I don't want it anyhow So I got to let it go Oh, I'm shameless, shameless as a man can be You make a total fool of me I just wanted to you to know Oh, I'm shameless, I just wanted you to know Oh, I'm shameless, Oh, I'm down on my knees...shameless~ LOIS: Clark, I told you. I love Lex. Not you. Lex. ~ I tried to forget you But you tied bells to your name They jingled every time I thought of you Without shame Well, I'm trying to be unlovable Why couldn't you do the same? What's the matter? Did your love need a home? Alright then Love me just leave me alone What's the matter? Did your love need a home? Alright then Love me just leave me alone Love me just leave me alone Love me just leave me alone~ After hearing this, Clark leaves. Lois, too upset to do her errands, settles down on her bed for a good, long cry. ***Cristin Whitley :o)***CKandLL4ever@Juno.com*** I love Superman!!!!! FoLCs Forever!!! SUPERfan on IRC ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 17:00:00 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Beverly Latham Subject: new fanfic NEBS: PROMISES [1/8] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii" Hi gang, Okay, I'm desperate. I didn't want to send this out until I had the next section installment ready for final editing, but I can't seem to get motivated to completely finish the first draft of the next one. Soooo, I thought it might help me get back on track if I sent this one on to the list for some feedback. You'll understand why that might help . . . eventually. < Beverly :-) ******************** "Characters in this story are copyrighted by December 3rd Production, Warner Brothers, and ABC. No infringement is intended in any part by the author, however, the ideas expressed within this story are copyrighted to the author." AUTHOR'S NOTES: This third installment of NEBS called PROMISE most definitely falls closest in emotional content to just after the episode WHINE, WHINE, WHINE. THE NEVERENDING BATTLE FOR SANCTUARY SEASON TWO: PROMISES by B.B. Medos [bbmedos@aol.com] "Embarrassed? Does he think that because he couldn't defeat some robot that that changes the way I feel about him? Clark, that's not what attracts me. It's . . . it's his intelligence and caring. He's . . . he has integrity and an innate goodness. I mean, he's . . . he's a lot like you." -- from METALLO "Alright, that's it! I don't have time for this, you creeps!" That snarled warning given, the small brunette cornered against the back of the warehouse by the three very much larger, muscular and rather dangerous looking men spun to the right in a tight circle and kicked out at the same time. The men smiled gleefully, thinking she'd missed her intended mark, namely them, completely. Then her booted foot made contact with a four-by-four brace pole underneath some shelving at her side, knocking it completely clear of its position, and their eyes widened in sudden alarm. Without the support, the enormous barrels secured on the shelving rocked slightly then fell to the floor with a thunderous rumble as the shelf gave way. More precisely they dropped directly onto two of her adversaries, effectively removing them from the action. The remaining 'creep' tore his widened eyes from the sight of his fallen comrades, or rather their arms and legs sticking out from the pile of barrels they were buried under, only to be met with another horrifying sight. A two-by-four coming in the direction of his head. He slumped to the ground unconscious. Lois Lane stared down at him long enough to determine he was going to stay that way, then tossed the board down beside him and dusted her hands off. A large portion of the side of the warehouse exploded inward and she whirled, tensed to confront a new danger, only to relax with a soft welcoming smile at the sight of famous blue tights and red cape. Before either could voice a greeting, her head swung back around at a noise from the opposite side of the warehouse. As the wide doors opened slowly to reveal a large squad of police personnel, Superman strolled slowly towards her, shaking his head as he surveyed the scene he'd found, drawling with amused wonder in his voice. "That's the police." "About time." His eyebrows rose at her disgusted mutter. "Considering I barely beat them here, I think they did pretty well." He glanced down at the man at their feet, who was beginning to moan softly as he regained consciousness. "Although, now I'm not sure why we bothered. Have you ever heard the phrase damsel-in-distress?" "What?!?" Her head shot around and she glared at him, primed to snarl some more, even if it was Superman receiving the effects of her temper. It had been that kind of day and she still had things to do. Then she caught the teasing glint in his eyes and shrugged. "Yeah, and if I ever find one, I'll be sure to call somebody . . . IF I need any help." She savored his incredulous expression for a moment then teased some more. "Oh, relax, I'm sure there'll be other times I'll need rescuing . . . by somebody or other." Grinning impishly when his mouth actually dropped open, partly in surprise and partly in horror, she patted his arm reassuringly. "Besides, someone has to clean up the mess here, you know. Won't want you to feel left out." "Gee, thanks." His eyes widened after the sarcastic words because Lois had already turned away and hurried over to speak to Police Inspector Henderson. Leaving him standing talking to thin air! That certainly didn't happen to him very often. Particularly with Lois Lane. Another moan from near his feet drew his attention again and he bent to check the man out. Seconds later he'd uncovered the other two men from the pile of barrels and turned them over to waiting officers. By the time he finished helping the police search the premises using his special skills, Lois had completely disappeared. He frowned, uncertain whether to be concerned or not. Lois disappearing suddenly could be perfectly innocent. Or it might not be. The trick to staying sane was knowing which it was at any given moment. His expression must have given him away because a voice at his side spoke up. "If you're looking for Lane, don't bother." Inspector Henderson shook his head, ruefully. "She gave me her statement then bolted out of here almost as fast as you do. Let me tell you, Lois Lane anxious to leave the scene of a crime is unnerving. This could be the end of civilization as we know it." He chuckled. "Or the beginning of it." Superman watched as the Inspector gave some instructions to one of his officers, then asked as casually as he could manage. "Did she say what the rush was?" "What? Yeah, she did. Of all things, she's late for a date." Henderson grinned as Superman's eyes widened in what could only be called alarm. "Exactly. Scary thought, isn't it?" Henderson blinked as a sudden burst of wind almost blew him over as Superman exited the building with absolutely no warning. He turned to his Lieutenant and managed to gasp out. "What did I say?" "Clark?" "Hmmm?" Her head tilted so she could see his face more clearly, Lois checked to make sure he was even listening to her. He'd been extremely quiet all evening and she wasn't in the mood to be ignored again. "Clark!" His gaze swung downward to connect with hers. "What?" "Finally!" She grinned as his blank expression let her know he had absolutely no idea what she'd said mere seconds before. He was normally an extremely attentive date, when he wasn't running off on her and he hadn't even been doing that much lately. Tonight, though, the man's body didn't have to leave, his mind was a million miles away for some reason and she'd put up with it as long as she was going to. They'd almost walked all the way back to her apartment from their movie date and he'd barely opened his mouth the entire way. "Want to tell me what's wrong?" "Wrong?" He frowned, apparently honestly not understanding what she was talking about. "Nothing's wrong. The movie was great. Why would you say anything was wrong?" Her eyebrows rose because she suspected he wouldn't be able to tell her what movie they'd seen if she pressed the issue. "Primarily because you aren't paying ANY attention to your date. Not a good sign, Clark." "Oh . . . Sorry." He grinned and the hand at her waist tugged her closer to his side. Then he shrugged. "I've been thinking about something. Guess I lost track . . . " Lois laughed at his sheepish expression. "I noticed. Want to talk about it?" "There's not really anything--" "Clark!" Her sharp tone told him he'd better explain his distracted behavior, fast, or he was going into her doghouse. Big time. He smiled and shook his head. "Okay, but it's really nothing important. I was just thinking about what happened to you at the warehouse today." "Is that all?" "Don't try to act innocent with me, Lois Lane. Superman told me you took on three men all by yourself." She shrugged. "Well, it wasn't like I had much choice, you know. You'd gone to call the police. What was I supposed to do, hope Superman would wander in by accident?" "No, I suppose not." Clark sighed then mused softly, with an almost smile. "Do you realize that was the first time in weeks you've gotten into any trouble? I think it might be a record for you." "And this is a bad thing?" She was looking at him as if he'd lost his mind and he grimaced. He stared down at her intently, the soft lights of the street lamps glinting off his glasses as he tilted his head. "No, it's not a bad thing, but weren't you the one complaining just today at the Planet that the news was boring lately? That there haven't even been any disasters, natural OR man-made, in weeks." Lois threw up her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I see your point. At least, I think I do." Her brow wrinkled because she was truly puzzled now. Clark rarely brought up work on their dates. Usually he made a point of steering her clear of anything remotely connected to their jobs. And he was complaining because she hadn't gotten into trouble? It was so weird it was almost frightening. He must be bugged about something. She opened her mouth to ask him what was really bothering him, but they reached the front steps of her apartment building and she decided it could wait. Once inside, she automatically started pulling out things for coffee without asking him if he was staying. Abruptly, it hit her they'd fallen into a predictable pattern on their dates in the last few weeks and she nibbled on her bottom lip uncertainly before glancing over at him. "You ARE staying for a little while, aren't you?" "Sure." His eyes met hers. "I mean, if you want me to." "Of course, I do. I mean, if you want to." "Lo-is." Those two syllables said it all. He was exasperated with them going in verbal circles. Suddenly the whole thing became extremely funny and she giggled. When he eyed her oddly, she only laughed harder. Finally, she was able to catch her breath and explain. "Clark, sometimes I think we're WAY too comfortable with each other." "And this is funny to you?" "Well, no." She shrugged when he frowned in reaction. "But the way we're acting IS." His frown became more intense. "And how are we acting?" Eyeing his extremely masculine, irritated expression, she sighed, knowing it was probably a bad idea to even broach the topic given the strange mood he already seemed to be in that evening. "I'm not sure you want to hear this." "Lo-is!" "Oh, okay--but don't say I didn't warn you--we're acting like an old married couple stuck in a rut, IF you must know." Clark opened his mouth to dispute her words, then abruptly stopped and snapped it shut. He slowly sank down onto her couch, deep in thought. For the last week or so, things had been so quiet around Metropolis, around the world even, he and Lois had been able to spend time together almost every night after work. It had truly been an enjoyable change, but she was right, they HAD fallen into a rather predictable routine. Lois brought the tray with their coffee mugs and a plateful of assorted cookies over to the couch, sat down at his side and handed him a mug. When he didn't respond immediately, she shook her head. "Well, at least being ignored is something NEW. Or am I boring you into a stupor?" "What?" He blinked at her and took the mug. Then her words registered and he grimaced. "I'm sorry. You ARE NOT boring me. I was just thinking about how much time we've spent together this last week or so. It has been different and I guess we HAVE gotten into a rut." "I'll say." Studying his face for a moment, she sighed. "So, you're not bored with me, but are you . . . tired of dating me?" [continued in part 2 of PROMISES] ******************************* Beverly Latham blatham@hop-uky.campus.mci.net ******************************* ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 18:48:34 EDT Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Susan VanCott Subject: Person whose address starts with "folc" Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Okay, somebody emailed me about my story, "Purple Haze" All I remember is that their address started with the four letters "folc" As I was opening the email, my computer burped, and ate the email. Sadly, I was unable to retrieve the email; it was fully digested. So I would greatly appreciate it if whoever sent it would send it again. And to anyone who this does not concern who opened this email anyway, I'm sorry for wasting your time and mailbox space. Peace, Love,and Superman, ~~>Susan<~~ ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 18:00:00 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Beverly Latham Subject: new fanfic NEBS: PROMISES [2/8] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii" "Will you stop saying things like that! I could never be bored with you OR tired of you." His eyes met hers openly and honestly. "NEVER." She smiled softly after his fervent reassurance, then tilted her head to look at him more closely. "But something's wrong, isn't it?" He started to deny it but she glared him into silence. "Look, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but, please--don't tell me nothing is wrong. I know you too well." Clark took a sip of coffee to give himself time to think of an explanation she'd buy. Nothing came to mind, so he stuck with the basic truth because he did need to talk about it. "The only thing wrong is things have been so quiet lately I feel useless." "Useless? Clark, you're not useless. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Why do you feel useless?" "I don't know. I guess, I've gotten used to action and always being on the go and now . . . " Lois watched his face, unsure whether to try to tease him out of his mood or be sympathetic. She sighed and reached over to squeeze his hand after he set his cup down on the tray. "We ARE going through a slow period at work right now and I understand how you feel. Believe me, it's happened before." "Not like this." "Worse than this." He looked skeptical and her head bobbed up and down, emphatically. "Yes, Clark, much worse than this. The winter before you came to Metropolis, there was a month or so there I thought the paper was going to close down. The only thing happening in Metropolis was snow, and even that wasn't enough to be news. Perry was close to committing suicide from sheer frustration. Of course, he didn't. He amused himself by making the rest of us even more miserable." Clark chuckled, knowing she was probably quite accurate about Perry's reaction. He understood what she was saying about work, but it didn't help. Not completely. He shrugged. "Still--" "Neither one of us is useless and you know it." An impish grin spread across her face and she leaned towards him. "Especially not you." Mesmerized by her sparkling eyes, he smiled in spite of his black mood. "And why is that, Ms. Lane?" "Because, Mr. Kent, you've kept me from being bored during this slump. That's a difficult job and I appreciate your efforts." He couldn't hold back an amused chuckle when she leaned over and expressed her gratitude by kissing him gently on the cheek. As she pulled back, he agreed softly. "And an important one, because it keeps you from driving everyone else crazy." "Let's not get carried away, farmboy." Clark laughed out loud at her mutter and Lois grinned in response. Reaching down, she picked up the tray and carried it back to the kitchen. Feeling as if he'd suddenly awakened from a long sleep, his eyes followed her graceful motions in amazed silence as she moved around the kitchen putting things away, guiltily realizing he really hadn't been paying her much attention all evening. He hadn't even noticed how great she looked, and she did look gorgeous, even in ordinary blue jeans and a simple white blouse. Of course, now that he was paying attention, he honestly had to admit there wasn't anything simple OR ordinary about the way the blouse and jeans hugged her body like a second skin. Lois did love tight clothing. When Lois returned to the living room and perched at the other end of the couch, cross-legged and facing him, he frowned slightly, then leaned back and grinned at her. "I suppose you're right." "I'm always right, but to what are you referring this time?" He ignored her teasingly purred brag. "About keeping each other from being bored. That's probably why we've gotten into such a routine lately. Misery loves company. More or less." "Mmm." Lois pulled her knees up and hugged them, then studied her nails absently, musing softly. "Like I said, we're too comfortable with each other." Noticing his frowning reaction to her words, she hastily amended. "Not that it's a bad thing." All she got from him was a grunt and she rolled her eyes. Leaning forward with her arms braced on her knees, she insisted. "It's NOT a bad thing. From my standpoint, it's a great thing." "What do you mean?" "I mean comfortable is nice for a change. Very nice." He continued to look extremely skeptical, so she sighed and tried again. "In the past, my relationships with the male of the species have been full of tension. I always ended up trying to act the way they expected, or what I THOUGHT they expected. It's nice to know I can be myself with someone, that they can see both the good and the bad and still LIKE me. That's what I mean by comfortable. With you, there's no pressure." Clark smiled his agreement, finally understanding what she meant. He felt the same way about her. He'd always felt relatively relaxed around Lois. Then his eyes narrowed. For some reason, her last words didn't sit well. "No pressure?" "You know what I mean." Lois actually blushed and his eyebrows rose. His voice lowered to little more than a rumble. "No, I don't think I do. Please explain what you mean by NO pressure." "Clark!" Seeing he wasn't going to back down, she relented. Just a little. "Okay, there IS pressure, just not nearly as much as with other men." She hadn't backed down far enough to his way of thinking and his eyes narrowed as he scowled at her. In fact, he was pretty sure she'd only made things worse. Somehow their discussion had gotten turned around and suddenly his male pride was on the line. Again. Not at all surprising around Lois, but that didn't make him feel any better. In the middle of his mental grumblings, it occurred to him she was right. Especially lately. He'd unconsciously slipped back into their old familiar friendship even though they were now officially dating. His friendship with Lois was just as comfortable and reassuring to him as it was to her. Clark's suddenly booming laughter almost made her bounce off the sofa in surprise. Eyeing him suspiciously, she straightened. "What's so funny?" "Us." She didn't look convinced and he chuckled. "We HAVE been in a rut, but not necessarily the way you meant earlier." "Oh?" His brown eyes were dancing behind his glasses as he grinned at her and Lois suddenly realized she wasn't nearly as comfortable as she'd thought she was. Nervously, she started to get off the couch. She couldn't move and her eyes widened as she realized why. Clark was holding her feet in his lap. Why he was holding them and how they'd gotten there in the first place, Lois had no idea. One second her feet had been in perfectly safe and neutral territory on the couch between them. The next, his fingers were wrapped around her ankles as they rested on his thighs. Swallowing, she attempted to slowly ease them off his lap. Apparently, he wasn't ready to let go. His thumb rubbed the skin above one shoe, ever so softly. Her breath hissed out in reaction. "Stop doing that!" "Doing what?" Twinkling brown eyes told her he knew exactly what she was referring to. Lois refused to play his game. Instead, she tried tugging her feet away again. They were her feet, after all. Clark tugged back harder and she ended up sliding down the couch until her neck was cushioned on the arm. He chuckled at her startled expression as he slipped one shoe off, then the other. Tossing them on the floor, he turned back to challenge with a masculine grin. "Still feel like we're in a rut?" "Ha! Ha! Very funny. Now, can I have my feet back?" He actually appeared to give the matter serious thought before shaking his head deliberately back and forth. His attention returned to her feet. Holding both of them cradled in his hands, he studied them intently. She stared at him, astonished by his behavior. "Clark?!? I want--" "You have beautiful feet." Ever so slowly, the fingers of one hand rubbed up and down along the top of one foot, in a soft caress. Lois shivered and swallowed, uncertainly. "I don't think this . . . I'm not . . . I mean, they're just feet." "They're gorgeous just like the rest of you. And such a contradiction--like the rest of you." Picking up one foot in both hands, he began massaging the arch with his thumbs. She bit back a moan of pure bliss and tried to concentrate on his words instead of his actions. It was difficult. The evening had taken such a bizarre and unexpected turn, she wasn't sure what to say or do next. Wide-eyed, she watched his slow, sure movements, frozen in place by both the exquisite warmth and tenderness of his hands and the look on his face. "What do you mean by contra--" His thumb pressed on a particularly sensitive spot on the pad of her foot and the moan finally slipped out. "Ahhh . . . " Smiling knowingly, Clark continued to firmly rub in slow circles. Glancing in her direction, he shrugged. "The contradiction is that your feet look just as fragile and delicate as you do--but I've seen you take down men twice your size with one kick. Like today." "Oh!" Lois blinked after her soft whisper. She wasn't sure if she was responding to his incredible statement or the pleasure-pain he was causing with his hands. He transferred his attention to the other foot and she whimpered. "Ooohhh, god, Clark . . . that feels wonderful." "So lay back and enjoy it." "But--" "LO-IS." Under his exasperated look, Lois forced herself to close her eyes and do as he ordered. Finally, she sighed softly. "I still can't believe you're doing this, but I'm not complaining. Thank you." "You're welcome. Now, shut-up and enjoy it." Without opening her eyes, Lois stuck her tongue out at him then had to struggle to swallow a giggle when he tickled the arch of her foot. "Hey, cut that out!" Clark chuckled at her one-eyed glare and obediently went back to work on her foot. She settled back against the cushions happily. Smiling, he continued the foot massage as he watched her blissful expression of contentment. His smile faded slightly as he realized she was back to looking comfortable while he was becoming distinctly uncomfortable. He turned his attention back to the foot in his hands but instead of concentrating on massaging muscles and nerves, he was only conscious of the combination of silky skin under his fingertips and soft moans of delight reaching his ears. He swallowed hard before turning to stare at the open window, wondering distractedly where an interruption was when he needed it. Suddenly, he was angry with himself. Talk about being in a rut. For months now, one of his biggest worries was that his constant running off was going to drive Lois farther and farther away and now he was WISHING for an excuse to run? Not likely. Lois needed him and he needed her. It was that simple. God, did he need her. Without conscious thought, his gaze returned to her foot and tracked back up to the soft smile on her face. The second his hands stopped their wonderful massage, her eyes popped opened to find him watching her intently. Their eyes met and held. "Are you finished?" "I don't think so." "Huh?!? What do you mean?" "I'm still climbing out of the rut." Her mouth dropped open in surprise as he 'climbed' closer by scooting down the couch under her legs, then twisting sideways to lean over her semi-reclining form. Her eyes widened even more as he propped his elbow on the back of the couch and looked down at her. "Lois, I'm sorry. I have been acting stupid, haven't I?" "What--" "Instead of accepting and enjoying our time together, I've been questioning it. Even worse, I haven't been enjoying it." He smiled, determinedly. "But not any more." She licked her bottom lip nervously, even though her eyes were starting to twinkle. "Clark, I didn't mean . . . " "I know, Lois, but I do." She didn't challenge his husky whisper. She couldn't, because he murmured the words practically against her mouth, literally stealing her breath away as he leaned over her. His other arm drifted around her waist and completed the job of shifting her the rest of the way into his lap without his mouth ever stopping its assault on hers. Lois completely forgot about disagreeing. She moaned instead as her arms slid around his neck. Clark couldn't make himself stop nibbling at her mouth. His arms instinctively tightened to keep her cradled against his chest even as he fought his way through an incredible rush of desire. Somehow she found enough breath to whisper against his lips. "What just happened?" [continued in part 3 of PROMISES] ******************************* Beverly Latham blatham@hop-uky.campus.mci.net ******************************* ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 19:00:00 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Beverly Latham Subject: new fanfic NEBS: PROMISES [3/8] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii" Clark tore his lips away from hers reluctantly and lifted his head. After a few seconds, he smiled. One hand came up to brush her hair back before cupping her cheek and his eyes glittered into hers as he confided with a soft chuckle. "I'm not sure, but I'm certainly not bored anymore. I like it. Now, come're." She didn't move but sat studying his face. He stared back, a little puzzled at her serious expression, and gave her a lop- sided grin. "Am I making you uncomfortable?" "Oh, no . . . it's just . . . " "What?" His thumb stroked the side of her face as he whispered the question. Her brow wrinkled and her head moved from side-to-side. "It's just, I . . . I don't know what it is, but sometimes when I look at you I get the strangest feeling. It's like . . . " Her words trailed off and she bit her bottom lip, then shrugged. Clark smothered an impatient groan at her soft words. Not now. He smiled instead. "Define strange." Her eyes widened in surprise and she grinned. "I'm not sure that would be a good idea. Especially the mood you're in." "This is sounding better every second. We should definitely explore this feeling." The second he rumbled the husky words, Clark wondered where in the world his mind had vanished to. Was he intentionally trying to get himself in trouble? Briefly he considered changing the subject and their current positions, but the soft and very sexy answering smile on her face promptly drove any remaining sane thoughts out of his head. The only thought he could grasp was how soft and moist her lips looked. And, more importantly, they were only inches away from his. He tugged her face towards his with a sigh. This time Lois didn't hesitate but met him half-way. Before Clark could react, her arms were wrapped around his neck and she was nibbling her way around his jawline. She giggled against his ear at his moan of pure pleasure. "I think you have sensitive ears. You always melt whenever I get anywhere near them." Clark gritted his teeth. He knew for a fact the woman didn't know what she was talking about, once again. His ears were quite sensitive, thank you very much, but the rest of him was just as sensitive, if not more so, and he had certain proof he wasn't melting. Quite the contrary. Lois grunted in surprise and lifted her head to look at him when he shifted their positions sideways suddenly and they ended up lying face-to-face on the couch. Clark grinned back at her because the change allowed him room to breath. Literally. Then Lois ruined everything. She leaned farther away from him to get an even better look at his face and almost fell off the couch in the process. His instinctive reaction of snatching her back against his chest kept her from falling, but it also molded her soft curves against him. He promptly decided he should've let her fall on the floor. That idea struck him as so odd, even given his current state of mind, not to mention body, that he closed his eyes and let out an agonized groan of pure male frustration. "Are you okay?" He didn't answer and Lois continued to eye his strained face, uncertainly. "Maybe we shouldn't . . . " "No!" Clark opened his eyes and sighed when he saw her eyes widen in surprise at his snarl. He knew she was probably right. They were playing with fire and he was tempting fate, but the very thought of letting her go made his arms tighten even more in reaction. Stupid or not, he wasn't budging, and no one was going to make him. He smiled. Lois frowned. Watching her, Clark just as quickly realized there was someone who could make him move and it suddenly became of primary importance to make sure she was content to stay right where she was. Gathering her against his chest, he rumbled persuasively. "I just want to hold you a little while." He almost groaned again at his own words. Weak Kent. Very weak. Did he honestly think she was going to buy that one? Apparently the idea didn't bother Lois as much as it did him because after searching his face for a long moment, she grinned and nodded, before snuggling closer. Clark smiled back and leaned closer to nibble at her mouth, murmuring softly. "That's good, because I'm not sure I have the will-power to move at the moment." Lois sighed as she tilted her head for him to work his way around her face. "Hmmm." His answering rumble tickled her ear and she giggled and twisted away from him. His rumble changed to a outraged grumble. "Be still." "It tickles." Clark lifted his head, fully intending to scold her playfully, but found himself staring into dancing brown eyes. All teasing left his expression as he gazed at her delighted expression. His hand moved up to touch her cheek tenderly a second before his mouth covered hers. Lois whimpered as his lips molded hers, surprised as much by the look of hunger she'd glimpsed in his eyes as by the intensity of the kiss itself. And by her own reaction. Her fingers fisted in the material of his shirt as she tried to find an anchor in the storm of sensations he was creating. There was only one problem with clinging to him. He was both her anchor and the cause of the storm. It was confusing, but at the same time felt so right. Sighing, Lois gave up trying to figure it out and her hand slid up his chest and around his neck. Clark groaned and his hands moved to her waist to hold her motionless. Incredibly, impossibly, Lois was a flame, powerful enough to singe him. Singe? He was already on fire, rapidly blazing almost out of control. He did not like being out-of-control. Struggling against the contradictory, instinctive impulse to find relief from the heat by pulling her even closer, Clark pushed up on both arms and held himself above her on the couch. Staring down at her dazed expression, he almost changed his mind. For an eternity, they stared at each other before he forced himself to stand up and walk towards the open window where he dragged in huge gulps of air. Lois sat up and slowly brought her own breathing under control. She stared at him in silence before moving to his side. "Clark? Did I do something wrong?" His shoulders slumped and he turned to face her. "Of course not. Never think that. It's not you. It's me." Her eyes widened at the raw emotions in his voice. "You? I don't understand . . . " Clark managed to smile softly as he held her gaze. "Don't you?" "No, I . . . oh . . . well . . . " When she blushed, bit her bottom lip and looked away, Clark chuckled, wryly. "Yeah, well . . . Maybe it would be better if I said goodbye before I start putting pressure on both of us." He moved to step around Lois, but her hand on his chest stopped him mid-stride. "Do you really have to leave?" "What are you saying?" "I . . . " Lois stared at his raised eyebrows then shrugged. "I just don't want you leaving this way. It doesn't FEEL right." "Amen to that." Her eyes widened at his low mutter and she sighed. "Look, all I mean is, I don't see why you have to rush off. Nothing happened." "And I want to keep it that way." "You do?" "Of course I do." Clark saw the surprise on her face after his snarled assertion and abruptly regretted his words. "Hell, I didn't mean that the way it came out." "So--you want something to happen?" "I . . . " Clark closed his mouth to keep himself from saying anything else and his eyes to block out the sight of her suddenly amused expression. He silently counted to ten and prayed for patience. And sanity. Both seemed to be in very short supply for some reason. Finally, he opened his eyes, fixed a grin on his face and grabbed her hand to tug her along behind him as he walked towards the door of her apartment. "What I want is to leave before I dig myself any deeper into what is sure to be major trouble." "At least we seem to be out of the rut." Clark groaned at her soft whisper and turned to face her as he reached the door, tilting his head to see her face better. Seeing the laughter sparkling in her eyes, he smiled in response. "I think I almost prefer the rut to this. It WAS so nice and comfortable." Stepping closer, Lois grinned at him impishly. "Are you saying I'm making you uncomfortable, Clark Kent?" Clark tried to frown at her after the teasing, but he couldn't seem to manage it. Instead he smiled as he leaned back against the door. His arms slid around her waist and pulled her against his chest. "You know you are, Lois Lane, AND you're enjoying it. You always do." Settling against him with her arms around his neck, Lois chuckled. "Well, you know--it does keep me from being bored." Her words were still lightly teasing but the husky way she whispered them wasn't. Clark groaned as another shaft of desire shot through his already over-stimulated system. "God . . . Lois . . . I wish you wouldn't talk like that. It makes leaving extremely . . . " Clark gave up trying to talk when she stretched upwards to place her mouth over his. For the longest, he stood passive, allowing her to nibble at his mouth while he mentally counted to ten again and told himself all the reasons he should leave. It didn't work. His brain was refusing to cooperate and his body didn't want to in the first place. All his attention centered on the warmth of her lips as they slowly and thoroughly caressed his. His hands flexed at her waist, digging into her soft curves in reaction to her continued assault. Lois whimpered softly as she snuggled closer. With a low, husky growl deep in his throat, Clark stopped struggling and instinct took over. Crushing her against his chest, his lips devoured hers while his hands skimmed along the curves driving him crazy. Long breathless moments later, Lois blinked when he lifted his head and used both hands to push her back from his chest with an agonized groan. "Clark?" "I can't do this." His hand moved to cup her cheek. "I'm sorry, but I just can't. I thought I could, but I can't. Not now and not like this. Goodnight." Then he was gone. Lois blinked and stared at the door he'd just closed, practically in her face. "What the hell did that mean?" Slowly, she reached up to turn the locks then leaned against the door as she tried to collect her wits. It didn't help. The entire evening had simply been too strange for words and her thoughts appeared to be permanently scattered. She'd never seen Clark act like this. It didn't really make any sense, all things considered. Granted he was different from any man she'd ever gone out with, but still . . . tonight's behavior was downright odd, even for him. First he'd been withdrawn almost to the point of ignoring her completely. Then he'd been . . . Intense. There was no other way of describing the feeling. Even more amazing, it had been a sexual intensity. More intense than they'd ever gotten before, that was for sure. Lois smiled as she realized she'd liked it coming from him. Actually, she'd more than liked it, she'd craved it. And wanted more. Somehow, almost instinctively, she didn't think hearing that would make him feel any better, even if he was the one who'd been intense in the first place. Fantastically intense. Wonderfully intense. The last few weeks had been great and she'd been happier than she'd ever been in her life. Just enjoying life. Just being with Clark. It was amazing. No pressure, just like she'd told him earlier. On the other hand, that didn't necessarily mean she wanted things to stay that way. In fact, she was quite happy with the developments of the evening. Or she had been until he'd panicked. Her eyes widened at the thought. Incredible as it seemed, she recognized panic when she saw it. Clark had panicked. More importantly, she had no idea why. [continued in part 4 of PROMISES] ******************************* Beverly Latham blatham@hop-uky.campus.mci.net ******************************* ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 20:34:21 -0400 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Sandra McDermin Subject: Fanfic Review: Various and sundry comments on "First Impressions" Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii I just finished reading "First Impressions" and glanced briefly over some of the editors comments. (I must admit I read the first part of the story several days ago, so all of this is not fresh in my mind.) First off, I'm not a great Regency fan, therefore, my comments may not be appropriate. However, I have read a great deal of Austen. And, since you seem to have utilized some of the style and social settings of those novels, maybe I won't be too off the mark. In any case, despite my ignorance, I think you did a great job. There were a handful of times, or so, when I thought the language was more modern than appropriate. For instance: >>"She's run off?" Kent asked. Lousia turned and found him standing in the doorway. "Looks like it. There are some clothes missing...."<< Instead of "Looks like it", one might say "I'm afraid that is the only conclusion one can draw...." Or, something like that. (I don't want to bore people with this type of thing.) However, if *you* want to be bored by it, Leanne, I will send my nitpicks to you ; ). Also, there were one or two occasions -- as when you used the word "remiss" and later when you used the words "salacious" and "veritably" -- when I out and out thought they were the wrong words to use. They conjured the wrong meaning. Let's get to the meat of the thing. Unlike some of your editors, I had no problem with the lack of Kent in the beginning of the story and the impression the reader gets that Luther is good while Kent is less desirable. The story *is* called First Impressions after all, which gives one the impression (forgive me) that these initial opinions will be proven wrong, i.e., you can't tell a book by its cover. Furthermore, isn't this how these novels are usually structured? One usually views the action through the female heroine -- not through the hero. Therefore, the male always seems to be a mystery. As I recall, Austen received the same sort of criticism with regard to Pride and Prejudice. None of her readers liked Darcy, straight off, and they couldn't imagine what their beloved Elizabeth would see in him. However, this only made Austen's point. We saw Darcy *through Elizabeth's eyes* and only learned of his full worth as she did. As for your Luther character, another feature of these type of books is that "young" men who appear good and kind, or fun and exciting *at first* always end up being less than what one hopes. I had no problem with the "personality switch" for lack of a better phrase, as I knew this is how these things usually go. Turning to Catherine, her relationship to Kent was initially unclear, and I was surprised to find that she was his ward. She might have been better presented as a young widow, although I do recall in "Northanger Abbey" that one of the young women in that novel was pretty conniving -- not to mention the forwardness of Lydia Bennett, who was just plain stupid. Killing off Lucia did seem rather dark for this type of story. Almost as if we had slipped from a Regency to a Gothic or maybe to a Thomas Hardy novel.... In his work, all women who are sullied -- whether their fault or not -- must pay! I must agree with your editors that Kent's growing love (and Louisa's to a much lesser extent) should have been more fully explored. Granted, in P&P, we don't really know Darcy's thoughts until he confesses his love to Elizabeth and then he tells her how he had become drawn to her despite his internal struggle over the inferiority of her connections! (The marriage proposal to end all marriage proposals --> barring Mr. Collins'.) However, *this* was towards the end of Volume I of three Volumes. Anyway, we don't really know the full extent of Kent's struggle over his initial feelings. He tells no one that I can remember. One last thing, when you were going back and forth with Pam, you mentioned about reading an L&C fic where Lois could only reveal the true nature of Lex by marrying him.... Um, that wasn't my story, was it? If so, I must clear up one thing, she didn't marry Lex for that reason, she *stayed* married to Lex for that reason. Well, I truly did enjoy "First Impressions" especially since it was so refreshingly different. As I was reading it, I became a bit inspired and started to write my own "take off" on L&C. Not a Regency, however. Another time period farther in the future. Frankly, I did not see your story as a "soulmates story" (as defined by this list), nor do I see mine -- if I ever finish it -- as one. As you mention, soul mates, if there is such a thing, do not necessarily end up the same way in each lifetime. Souls, supposedly, make journeys with each other through many lifetimes and, in some, they are not always lovers nor do they likewise end up living happily ever after.... Until the next time. Sandy ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 20:00:00 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Beverly Latham Subject: new fanfic NEBS: PROMISES [4/8] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii" So, why was he panicking? His behavior had almost reminded her of a nervous bride on her wedding night. Which was ridiculous. Wasn't it? It also reminded her of something, or someone, else but her thought were so muddled she couldn't place-- The sound of a loud knock right in her ear almost made her jump out of her skin. With a soft yelp of surprise, she spun around to attack the source. Then she started breathing again and felt like screaming in pure frustration. Checking through the peephole, she was more surprised to find Clark on the other side of the door, looking a little sheepish. And very tense. Her eyes narrowed as she opened the door. "Forget something?" Clark grimaced at her sarcastic tone. "Listen, I'm sorry. I know I'm acting crazy tonight but I do have a reason. I'm not sure you'll understand it, but it is a reason. We need to talk." Lois stared at him, then whispered incredulously. "Talk?" "Don't say it like that!" Her eyes widened. "Like what?" "Like you think I mean something else entirely. I don't. We need to TALK." "Okay, talk about what?" "I . . . Can I come in?" Her eyebrows rose. "If I let you in are you going to stay?" His eyes widened and she sputtered. "TH--THAT is not what I mean!" Then she chuckled ruefully as she let him walk past her back into the apartment. "I hope you know this is the weirdest date I've EVER had in my life!" Clark rubbed his hand over his hair and nodded. "The feeling is mutual." "This is supposed to make me feel better?" "We need to talk." "You keep saying that and, frankly, it's starting to get on my nerves." "You and me both." "Clark!" At her frustrated wail, he sighed. "Look, this isn't going to be easy on either of us, Lois. Please don't make it any more difficult than it is." Lois stared at him. Whatever it was, he was very serious. Frowning, she crossed over to where he'd backed himself against her couch and placed her hands on his chest. "You're scaring me." "If it'll make you feel any better, I'm scaring myself, too. Considerably." "No, that most certainly does not help. I'm not sure I want to hear this. Not now. Maybe not ever." "Lo-is! I can't stop now. I've finally gotten up enough nerve to tell you this and I have to finish. Please." Closing her eyes, she shook her head. "No, I most certainly do not want to hear this. I know I'm being unreasonable, but go home." "But . . . " Stopping, he studied her face. She was serious. "Why not?" Wide brown eyes stared into his. "Because you're getting ready to tell me something that's going to change everything between us, aren't you?" "Well, maybe . . . but . . . It's not a bad thing. At least, I don't think it is. It's just . . . " "God, just when I thought things were finally right in my life . . . this has to happen." "But, Lois, it's not what you think. I mean . . . " He looked confused for a moment, then smiled slightly. "At least, I don't think it is. With you, one never knows. It won't be that bad, I promise." Her heart was pounding and she swallowed hard, suddenly only more terrified instead of reassured. Over the years, she'd learned to survive by trusting her instincts and her gut was suddenly in knots. "No, I don't want to hear this tonight." "But . . . " "Clark, please. Not tonight. I don't think I can deal with this tonight. Can't we just . . . wait?" Meeting eyes that were suddenly filling with tears, his shoulders slumped before he tugged her into his arms. "Okay, but when we finally do talk about this and you want to kill me for not telling you sooner, remember this night, Lois Lane." Eyes wide, she looked up and nodded. "I will. Thank you." He kissed the top of her head, then straightened to walk to the door. Once there he glanced back over his shoulder as he walked out the door for the second time that evening. He shook his head, almost sadly, then turned to walk down the hallway. Lois slumped against the doorframe, uncertain whether she felt relieved that she'd gotten her way or terrified by the disappointment that had been on his face. "Don't be ridiculous!" Lois continued striding into the conference room and placed the book she'd borrowed back on the shelf. When there was no answer from Clark, she turned to face him. He was standing just inside the closed conference room door with his arms crossed on his chest, watching her with narrowed eyes and, more importantly, effectively blocking her exit. Intentionally, no doubt. Only when he seemed certain he had her undivided attention did he speak. "It is NOT ridiculous in the least. You HAVE been avoiding me for the last two days. Every time I get within three feet of you, you bolt away. Admit it." "I will do no such thing. Besides, look who's talking." His eyes narrowed and she shrugged. "I have to go home right now because--" "Uh-huh." "Clark, I'm not avoiding you. Not this time." "Ah-ha!" Lois rolled her eyes. "Okay, I admit that at first I might have--" "--avoided me." "--not wanted to--" "--talk to me." "Will you stop that! I've never seen you act this way." Exasperated she studied him through narrowed eyes then sighed. "That's part of the problem, you know. The way you're acting isn't helping one bit." "Me?!? What did I do?" "You're hovering." His eyes widened, incredibly almost becoming larger than his glasses, and she nodded, trying to make him understand. "Yes, you are. I feel like you're going to pounce at any second and it's irritating." "Not nearly as irritating as being avoided. I told you we needed to talk. Lois, it's important. Very important." He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "I knew I shouldn't have let you talk me out of it the other night." "Well, I'm not. I . . . was tired." Since she knew he wasn't buying that one, she rushed on. "So, okay, maybe I have avoided talking about . . . whatever it is you want to talk about, but I haven't been avoiding you." "Yeah, right." "And I'm certainly not today." "Fine, then you'll go out to dinner with me tonight so we can talk." "But I can't." "Excuse me?" "I have to meet someone." "I thought you said you had to go home." "I do." His expression changed, becoming harder. "I saw you talking to Scardino so you don't have to hide it if that's it." Her mouth dropped open then she frowned. "I'm tempted to let you stew for that comment, however, I absolutely refuse to go through all that again. I told Dan to get lost, more or less, and I meant it. He does work in Metropolis you know. Sometimes I am going to meet up with him. It's part of the job. Both our jobs." "I'm sorry." Clark sighed. "I really shouldn't have said that." "No kidding." She shook her head. "I'm going home to eat dinner with Mom, you big dope." "Your mother is here in Metropolis?" Lois leaned back against the edge of the conference table, looking depressed in the process. "Believe me, I'm as surprised as you are. She showed up on my doorstep last night. I afraid she may never leave. She's in one of her moods." His gaze became speculative. "Okay, she's invited to dinner, too." For a second, her eyes widened at the possibility, then she shook her head, vigorously and determinedly. "No, I don't think so--" "Look, I can guarantee I won't try to talk about . . . well, you know, in front of your mother, so you can stop worrying about that." His mouth kicked up in a grin and he added. "That's definitely a given, so why not?" "You don't know my mother, that's why not." "I'm going to have to meet her sooner or later." "Not if you're lucky." "Particularly if I'm lucky." Lois had to tell herself to keep breathing. She wasn't entirely certain if it was the look in his eyes or the way his voice lowered but something definitely affected her ability to draw in a breath. Or maybe it was the way his hand came up to cup her cheek as he stared into her eyes meaningfully. Blinking to break the spell, she whispered. "Clark, I don't think--" "Relax, it won't be that bad." "Sez you." Reaching over with his other hand, he picked up a phone from the table behind her and dialed a number from memory. "No, you don't understand--" His thumb covered her mouth before she could hiss out any more protest. "Hello, Mrs. Lane? This is Clark Kent . . . Ummm? Oh, yes . . . well, I hope at least some of what she told you was nice. She hasn't always had a high opinion of me." His eyes glittered with amusement behind the glasses as he listened to the words coming over the receiver. "R-e-a-l-l-y?" Lois' eyes widened and she attempted to snatch the instrument out of his hand. Clark chuckled and shook his finger in her face as he backed a step away from her. "I'm glad to hear that, at least. Mrs. Lane, the reason I called was to invite you out to dinner with Lois and I tonight. When she told me you were in town, I couldn't bear the thought of you sitting home alone." He glanced back at the woman beside him when she made a choking sound. She was sitting with her eyes closed and hands clutched in a prayerful attitude. He rolled his eyes to stare at the ceiling. "Great. Eight okay with you? Hmmm . . . See you then." He placed the phone back on the table and turned to find Lois staring at him with a dazed expression. When she didn't move or speak, he tapped her on the nose. "See? Piece of cake." "My god . . . what have you done?!?" He studied her face intently after her hoarse whisper, then shrugged as he turned to open the door. "I'm not sure, but I can tell you what I'm not going to be doing." Lois swallowed and managed to ask. "What's that?" "I'm not going through another evening without being able to get near you." A date . . . with Clark . . . and her mother. What was she thinking?!? What was SHE thinking? More like what was HE thinking? SHE hadn't had a whole lot of say in the matter. And of all the times for her mother to decide to be agreeable. It was unbelievable. It was also typical Ellen Lane. Completely unpredictable. Thank god, she hadn't passed that trait down to her daughter. Lois frowned as she stared at the clothes in her closet without really seeing them. Her mind was not on getting ready for her . . . correction, their date with Clark. It was on the two people in the other room. Two people who happened to be getting along like old chums who'd known each other for years. How did he do that?!? Her mother had never liked any of her dates. So why the heck did Ellen Lane decide to like Clark Kent the moment she set eyes on him. The sound of laughter drifted through the bedroom doorway and Lois made a face. She was simply dying to know what was being said on the other side of the wall at that very moment. Except she didn't have time. She had to get ready. Maybe just one peek. "Lois, are you almost ready?" At the question, Lois guiltily jumped away from where she'd edged closer to the bedroom door, then muttered. "Almost, Mom." "Well, there's no rush. I'm thoroughly enjoying talking to Clark." With a low groan, Lois began changing clothes faster than she ever had before in her entire life. One way or another, she was never going to survive the evening without going insane. She just knew it. [continued in part 5 of PROMISES] ******************************* Beverly Latham blatham@hop-uky.campus.mci.net ******************************* ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 21:00:00 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Beverly Latham Subject: new fanfic NEBS: PROMISES [5/8] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii" She survived. Even more amazing than that, she actually enjoyed herself. As Clark escorted them back into her apartment three hours later, Lois kept asking herself how it was possible. She never enjoyed herself around her mother. It was a contradiction in terms. It made absolutely no sense and yet . . . Tonight it had happened and she didn't have a doubt in her mind as to how. Clark Kent. More specifically his wholesome, middle-America, farmboy charm turned on at full blast. Even more amazing, her mother had lapped it up like a cat served a full bowl of cream. Lois just wasn't sure why. Not why Clark had been wonderful to her mother. Of course, he probably didn't know how to not be wonderful, or polite. He'd apparently been born totally nice and polite then had another layer of it ground into his head by the Kents just for good measure. He was so sweet at times to people who certainly didn't deserve any consideration at all, it actually worried her. One of these days, he was going to be hurt and hurt bad. He wasn't invulnerable, after all. That, however, wasn't her biggest concern at the moment. No, it wasn't Clark's behavior that baffled her, it was her mother's. Why had Ellen Lane been . . . well, to put it bluntly, nice in return? And she was still purring at him. "Clark, thank you for a lovely evening." "You're very welcome, ma'am." "Will you please stop with the ma'am business? I meant it when I told you to call me Ellen." Lois gritted her teeth, although, if she was honest, she wasn't entirely certain whether she was holding back a groan or a giggle. The evening had been refreshingly enjoyable, yes, but the syrup flowing in a steady stream around her head was starting to give her a definite ache between the eyes. "Alright. Ellen, I enjoyed myself. We'll have to do this again sometime." He turned to grin at Lois with a rather triumphant sparkle in those soft brown eyes. "I guess I'll say goodnight now, Lois." Before she could open her mouth, her mother purred some more. "Oh, don't do that. Really, it isn't necessary. I'm exhausted and I'll say goodnight instead. You two take your time." Lois stared at her departing back in amazement, not even hearing Clark's polite response. That did it. She turned to follow her parent out of the room to demand an explanation when Clark's hand on her arm brought her to a full-stop. "I think she wants to be alone." She rolled her eyes, exasperated with both of them, as he leaned one shoulder on her front door and tugged her around to face him. "Well, too bad, because I going to find out why she's acting so--" Abruptly aware of the way he was watching her intently, she stopped in midstream. "Oh, Clark, I'm sorry." "For what?" "For being totally impolite by not thanking you." Clark blinked in the glare of the blinding hundred watt smile she suddenly directed his way. His hand came up slowly to tilt her face up to his even more. "You're welcome, but for what are you thanking me?" "Oh, just being you." He looked like he was going to say something, then changed his mind and his head dipped towards hers for a long kiss. When he finally lifted his head, Lois laid her cheek against his shoulder and sighed, contentedly. Her voice filtered up, whisper soft. "I don't think I've had such a good time in my mother's company in years," her head came up until she could gaze directly into his eyes, "and it only happened tonight because of you." "Well . . . I'm not sure--" "I am. You're incredible." Clark stared at her so strangely after the soft words, she finally whispered. "What?" "You . . . " His voice was little more than a hoarse croak. He swallowed and tried again. "You've never looked at me like that." "Like what?" "Like you normally look at Superman." Her eye widened, then she grinned and her eyes sparkled. "Well, tonight, you're my knight in shining armor, not him. Get used to it." "Mmmm . . . with pleasure." He grinned back and took a moment to hug her tightly against his chest, then his brow wrinkled slightly. "Although, to be honest, I'm still not sure what I did that deserves such high praise. Not exactly." "You rescued me from dragon lady Lane, that's what." "We are talking about the mother, not the daughter, right?" "Don't ruin the mood." Chuckling after her grumble, he whispered back. "Wouldn't think of doing so. I would like to point out, however, that she didn't strike me as being a dragon lady. Any more than you do. At least, most of the time." Lois made a strange noise in her throat. "Give her time." Clark tilted his head to stare down at her pensive expression. "I'm serious, Lois. I liked her. A lot. You're probably so much like her, you can't see her good points." "Oh, gee . . . thanks a heap. The mood is definitely ruined, Mr. Kent." His shoulders shook with laughter in spite of her extremely sour frown which he suspected was real. He tried to tease her out of her irritation, anyway. "Oh, well, being a knight in shining armor was nice while it lasted. So much for gratitude." "I'm still grateful. Honest. I just don't like being reminded how much like her I am. It's depressing." She sighed as she played with the lapel of his jacket. "But you're right." "For what it's worth, it's perfectly normal to have some friction with your parents for that very reason. Everybody does sooner or later." She nodded, then leaned back to stare at him, puzzled. "So what's your secret, Mister All-American?" "Huh?" When he continued to blink at her as if startled by the question, she clarified. "How come you get along so well with your parents? It's not normal. Your words, not mine, my dear knight." "Oh, I don't know. Mom and Dad are special, I guess." "Their son, too, I think. No, actually, I know he's special." Clark swallowed hard in the face of the smile she was giving him. It would be very easy for his imagination to decide it was adoring. Which would lead that same lately very over-active imagination to move on to other ideas he wasn't quite ready for. He straightened. "I think it's time I left. We both have to work tomorrow." "You don't have to leave yet." When he looked doubtful, she nodded, encouragingly. "Honest. Mom's probably already asleep. There's no reason we can't sit down and talk. Would you like some coffee or something?" For a second, he looked like he might give in both to the suggestion and the soft inviting light in her eyes, then shook his head. "I don't think so." "But--" "No. I'm not going to tempt . . . " He paused as if uncertain, then his next words came out in a rush of air, " . . . either one of us. Not until we have our talk." His tone didn't brook any argument and Lois stared at him in surprise before whispering. "This . . . talk-- it's that important to you?" "Yes, it is." When she continued to stare at him, his hand came up to cup her cheek. "Lois, it's very important to me. To both of us." He glanced towards the doorway leading to her bedroom. "However, I realize with your mother here, this isn't the best time to . . . well, to start this particular discussion. You have enough to deal with at the moment. It can wait." He smiled. "Once she leaves, I'll invite you over to my apartment for a home-cooked meal and we'll do it then." Torn between growing apprehension at his insistence and honest amusement at his phrasing, she gave him a hesitant grin as her eyes widened innocently. "Do IT?" "LO-IS!" "Well, you said 'it,' not me!" Then she giggled uncontrollably as her own words registered. Clark attempted to keep his own laughter in check as he huffed. "You know very well that is not what I meant!" Abruptly she straightened and sobered. "Actually, I don't. Is that part of what you want to talk about?" "Ah . . . no. Not exactly." Lois frowned. "Not exactly? What the heck does that mean?" "Lo-is. Please, just trust me and wait until we can really have this talk without interruptions. Okay?" When her frown deepened he sighed. "You do trust me, don't you?" Staring into his suddenly very intent gaze, she shivered. "Yes, I do. You know I do. You're just being so strange about all this. It's . . . you know how I get about anything I don't understand." "Yeah, you go nuts." She made a face. "That wasn't what I was getting at." Then she grinned, reluctantly. "But you're right. Can't you tell me something--just so I won't think it's something bad?" Her eyes met his, suddenly wary. "It isn't something bad, is it?" His gaze held hers steadily and her heart-rate sped up for no reason that she understood. "For someone that didn't want to talk about it, you're suddenly asking a lot of questions, Lois Lane. Trust me and wait. Please. Just trust me." After searching his eyes, Lois nodded. Clark smiled then leaned down to brush his lips across hers in a soft goodnight caress. When she leaned into the kiss, his good intentions went up in smoke and his arms slid around her shoulders to gather her closer to his chest. Seconds, but it could have been hours, later, he pushed away from her, almost frantically, with a mumbled. "Goodnight, Lois." Once the door was closed and locked behind him, Lois smiled and hugged her arms around her waist as she wandered across the room to her stereo. This new side of Clark she was discovering was mesmerizing. Fun, too, when she thought about how he seemed caught between being hesitant and shy one minute and almost amazingly aggressive the next. Maybe once they got this all- important talk out of the way, he'd settle down to one or the other. Of course, if the aggressive side won, she might have her hands full. With Clark, of all people. She giggled at the incredible thought. In the process of bending over to select a CD to listen to, her head jerked up with an almost pained expression in her eyes as she abruptly realized he never had reassured her that it wasn't something bad. "Damn you, Clark Kent. How could you do this to me?" Lois shoved the CD into her stereo with more force than it deserved and continued mumbling under her breath as she set the controls. "For that matter, let's include all men while we're at it. Trust them? The whole rotten bunch can't be trusted, yet I'm supposed to give my trust, unconditionally? I think not!" As the soft music filled the room, she sat down by the window to stare broodingly out at the lights of the city. Finally, she sighed, long and low. The problem was she did trust him. More than she'd ever trusted anyone else in her life. Except Superman. Possibly more than she trusted Superman. She just wasn't sure she trusted life itself not to throw trouble her way. She did have a way of attracting trouble. "Are you okay, honey?" Lois turned from the window at her mother's soft question. "Oh! Yes, I'm okay. Clark just left. I was . . . thinking about something he said." As she pulled the belt of her houserobe tighter around the waist and sat down on the sofa, Ellen watched her daughter's face, curiously. "Bad?" "Why would you--" "You had a pretty ferocious frown on your face when I came in the room, honey." Lois shrugged. "No, not bad. At least, I don't think so. More puzzling. He said we need to talk about something important as soon as . . . " She stopped, glanced at her mother then continued, "possible, but he won't tell me what it is." Ellen's head tilted as she thought it over. "Think he's going to ask you to marry him?" "Clark?!? Ask me--" Lois sat up straighter in the chair, her eyes wide at the startling idea. "Oh, god, I never even considered that possibility. I mean, he has been acting strange lately, but . . . if that was it, I think I'd know . . . surely he's not . . . " Then she shook her head. "No, that's not it. It couldn't be." "He couldn't ask you to marry him?" "I didn't mean it that way." Lois frowned as she turned back to face her mother. "You almost sound disappointed." "I think I could be. Clark is a very . . . " Ellen paused as she searched for the right word then smiled triumphantly, "nice man." Lois burst out laughing, her eyes twinkling. "That he is. Of course, I doubt he'd appreciate hearing either one of us say that. Not at all." "Most men wouldn't." Ellen chuckled and waved one hand in the air to emphasis her point. "Oh, look, I know having your mother, or anyone else, actually say the man is your life is nice could be considered the kiss of death, but with Clark . . . well, it's not an insult. It's honest." Her voice became musing, harder and quite a bit sarcastic. "And, believe me, I don't say that very often about ANY man." "Me neither." Lois promptly groaned, or sighed, she wasn't sure which, when she heard her own voice sound like an exact echo of her mother's. Then she gave up and shook her head. "And you're right. Clark is so nice it's almost scary. I think at first it did scare me. A lot. No one could possibly be that nice. At first, I tried to scare him off in return but he . . . wouldn't scare off." "Probably because he adores you." Lois blinked. She couldn't have heard her mother's soft whisper right. Ellen Lane did not believe in love. She turned startled eyes towards the sofa. "W--what?" "You heard me, honey." "How do you-- but-- Mom! You're the last person I'd ever expect to believe-- I mean, say--" "The truth?" Ellen watched, amused, as her daughter's splutterings subsided into heavy breathing as she tried to regain some oxygen, then continued sounding almost regretful. "Honey, I may not believe love lasts for everyone, but I do believe in it. And I can certainly recognize it when I see it. Ten minutes after I met him I knew that poor man is so head over heels in love with you . . . " Lois was sitting so still and quiet all of a sudden, Ellen glanced at her then sighed. "I suppose, the big question is whether you're in love with him?" [continued in part 6 of PROMISES] ******************************* Beverly Latham blatham@hop-uky.campus.mci.net ******************************* ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 22:00:00 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Beverly Latham Subject: new fanfic NEBS: PROMISES [6/8] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii" "I think so." Her mother's eyebrows rose. "You THINK so?" "I want to love him." "You WANT to?" Lois shifted in the chair nervously. "Well, I do. I do want to love him. More than I've ever wanted anything before in my life. What's not to love? Oh, he can be strange at times, but he's also the most wonderful person I've ever known in my life. He's simply too nice not to love. How could I not love him?" Ellen tried again. "Honey, either you do or you don't. Which is it?" "I do." "But?" Wide brown eyes glared at her parent. "Why do you say but? Did I say but? No, I did not say but because there is no but. I love Clark." Lois sank back into the chair with a soft sob-like noise. "Oh, god, I just said I loved Clark, didn't I?" Ellen shook her head, looking thoroughly confused. "Yes, you did and you didn't sound all that convincing. If you ask me. Which you didn't. More like you're trying to convince yourself. Honey, what is going on in that head of yours?" Lois frowned in her direction again. "So, I'll work on it." "Lois!" Her daughter took a deep breath and smiled, the kind of soft smile that made most people relax when they saw it on Lois Lane's face. If they didn't know her very well. People that knew her well would recognize the iron-willed determination behind the seductive smile and start worrying. Ulcer-grade worrying. "Relax, Mom. I do love Clark. Really, I mean it. I love him. I think I've known it for weeks but I've been . . . denying it. My track record with men isn't all that great. It's just . . . well, for one thing, I've never said it out loud before. It startled me to hear myself actually say the words." Her mother chose to trust her instincts and began worrying anyway, even though she believed her daughter was being honest about loving Clark, not because of what Lois had said but because of what she'd seen with her own eyes that evening. The two were probably more in love than even they, themselves, realized. Ellen frowned. She just didn't believe she'd heard a complete explanation of the situation between them and it was frustrating. She most certainly did not relax. She did decide to change tactics, however. She stood up and walked over to where Lois was sitting. Leaning over, Ellen gave her eldest child a hug and smiled down at her ruefully when Lois seemed surprised by the action. "We'll talk about it some more tomorrow but I want you to know I'm very happy for you." Lois looked up at her with a considerable amount of doubt showing in her face and Ellen sighed. "Honey, I may not believe in love lasting, but I do believe everyone should experience the real thing at least once in their lives." Almost reluctantly, Lois returned the hug then watched her mother leave the room, not fooled for a second. Now, she not only had to deal with a boyfriend who was acting strange, even for him, but a nosy, possibly matchmaking mother. She frowned and muttered towards the open window. "Great. Just great. Do I scream 'Help! Superman!' now? Or wait until I'm really to kill myself?" "You have an incredible view, Lois." Pausing in running a brush through her hair as she finished getting ready for work, Lois glanced over towards her mother's position at the living room window. "It's okay, I guess, but it's not that spectacular. I wish I could see more of the city." "Oh, I'd have to say it's pretty extraordinary." Puzzled by the note of sarcasm in the words, Lois moved over to see what in the world she was referring to. Then she gasped. "Mom! That's not a view, that's Superman!" "I'd figured that much out all on my own." After her dry observation, Ellen's eyes widened as she watched the grinning individual in question wave at Lois, then her daughter throw open the window and step back to allow him into the apartment without a milli-second of hesitation. The same individual who'd almost given her a heart attack because he'd been hovering in thin air directly outside the window like an enormous brightly colored butterfly when she'd first glanced out to see if the clouds the weather had promised the night before had arrived. Her gaze ran slowly down over his extremely tight outfit and back up to met her daughter's surprisingly anxious expression. "And I still say it's an incredible view to find outside your window first thing in the morning." "Mom!" Ignoring the embarrassed hiss from Lois, Ellen leveled her most intimidating frown on the figure in blue and red. "Do you always hover outside my daughter's window like that?" Superman's mouth quirked and his eyes sparkled devilishly. "Only when it's closed. She usually leaves it open." Ellen's eyebrows rose while Lois stared at him in horror after his honest explanation. For a second, she looked extremely guilty then seemed to catch herself and straightened to meet her mother's eyes defiantly. "He's a friend." "Uh-huh." After a distinctly disbelieving glance at both of them, Ellen questioned thoughtfully. "He can't use the door like everyone else?" When they both looked at her like the idea had never occurred to them, would never occur to them in a million years, she chuckled and shook her head. "No, I suppose not. What was I thinking?" Lois swallowed and shook her head in an attempt to get her brain to working again. Glancing first at her mother, then into his smiling eyes, she began a belated introduction at the same time she wondered why she thought it was necessary. "Superman, this is my mother, Ellen Lane." "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Lane." "My pleasure, I'm sure." Ellen's very quiet murmur brought her daughter's eyes back to her face. When their gazes met, Lois shifted nervously and Ellen's eyes narrowed, but she didn't comment. Instead she tilted her head towards Superman to inquire. "And what brings you by so early in the morning?" "Mom!" "No, it's okay." Superman smiled at the younger female then shrugged as he directed his answer to the older one. "I wanted to give Lois some information about an arrest I helped the police with just a little while ago. We turned up something related to those warehouse robberies you've been investigating." He grimaced. "I've got an appearance to make this morning at the dedication to the new library and archives building but I thought you and Clark should know about this before work. Things seem to be developing fast." Lois nodded, looking considerably relieved, then grinned at her mother. "See, it's about work." "I never said it wasn't." Ellen's steady gaze met her daughter's again until Lois looked away, then Ellen smiled at Superman. "It really is nice to finally meet you, considering how much reason I have to be grateful to you for saving her neck all the time, Superman. Thank you." His eyebrows rose slightly then he nodded as he glanced towards the woman they were talking about. "Like she said, she's my friend. I've only done what I had to do." Ellen stared at him in silence as their eyes met, shocked to the core as she recognized the silent message in his eyes and the wealth of meaning behind what he didn't say as much as what he did. She'd seen the same expression before and knew exactly what it meant, of that she had absolutely no doubt. In many ways, she might have even been expecting something along these lines. Yet, nothing had prepared her for the undeniable, completely unshakable impression she was left with because of the simple intensity behind his unexpectedly serious comment. He would willingly die for her daughter, not because it was the right thing to do but because he loved her. It was as simple and as complicated as that. Blinking at the moisture suddenly clouding her eyes and the confusion filling her thoughts, Ellen murmured an excuse that they needed to talk business and hastily left the room. Once she reached the safety of the bedroom, she sat down heavily on the bed and stared blankly into space with only one clear thought in her mind. God, no wonder Lois was confused about being in love. "You love him." A handful of popcorn froze in mid-air half-way to her mouth as Lois stared at her mother in surprise and considerable puzzlement. Where had that come from? They were both curled up on chairs in her living room in the middle of watching a late-night movie on one of the classic movie channels and hadn't even been talking much. Just enjoying the time together. Besides it'd sounded more like statement of fact than question. "Haven't we already had this conversation?" Ellen's head turned towards her daughter. "Ah . . . no. I'm talking about Superman this time, not Clark." "Wh--what?" "You love Superman." Her eyes widened with alarm, then Lois shook her head as she dropped the popcorn back into the bowl between them, completely losing her appetite for it. With as casual a shrug as she could manage, she hedged. "Of course, I love him. Who doesn't?" "I'd say quite a few people might not." Ellen laughed lightly after her dry remark, then shook her head. "And that kind of love is not what I meant and you know it. You're in love with him." "I already told you I love Clark. Why are you saying this?" "He loves you, you know. Superman, I mean." After the quiet words, Lois opened her mouth then just as quickly shut it, twice, because she couldn't seem to force any words past her throat. Finally, she whispered. "That has nothing at all to do with anything." The look Ellen gave her was patently disbelieving, yet almost sympathetic at the same time. "Of course, it does. It's very difficult not to respond to being loved by someone like him. Even when you know deep in your heart it's not right." She sighed, then continued. "Believe me, honey, I know." Blinking, Lois gaped at her parent. "What do you mean you know? And what's not right?" Then she paused, frowned and spat out with an indignant huff. "There isn't anyone else like him!" Ellen smiled. "No, not specifically, I suppose." "Mom . . . " "Honey, do you honestly believe I stopped loving your father?" "I--I don't . . . " "I love him. I'll always love him." Leaning forward, Ellen tilted her head to study her daughter's face intently then whispered. "But even more important than that to what we're talking about now . . . I know he loves me." "But . . . if you love each other . . . " Lois swallowed hard as she forced the question out. "Why?" Ellen didn't pretend to misunderstand. "Being in love with someone doesn't mean you can love them forever. Or even live with them. Sometimes the two are completely contradictory." "I see what you mean." Lois looked down at her lap as her shoulders heaved in a long breath. "I do because I suppose that's exactly what I've come to realize about him. I love him . . . but it's not enough." Her head came up and presented watery eyes to her mother. "But I'm not sure I understand how this situation is like yours and Daddy's." "Because your father used to look at me exactly the way Superman looked at you this morning. As if he would die for me . . . as long as something more important didn't claim his attention first." "Oh, god . . . " With a low moan of pain, Lois shot up out of the chair and across the room only to stop uncertainly in the middle of the floor. When her mother's arms went around her shoulders she turned blindly into the comforting shoulder offered, sobbing. Ellen's own eyes filled with tears as she steered them both down onto the sofa. Then she simply held on and waited. "I--I don't underst--stand . . . why I'm so upset. I know . . . I mean, I thought--I've already made my decision--" Ellen listened to the sobs mixed in with the muffled words and closed her eyes against the remembered pain which almost robbed her of breath as she pressed the dark head down onto her shoulder. Finally, she was able to whisper. "But have you allowed yourself to grieve for what you've lost?" The head came up and Lois gazed blearily at her parent. "But I haven't . . . I mean, it's not like--" Her shoulders heaved again, then her head tilted as she eyed the empathetic expression on her mother's face with amazement. "You're the first person who's understood." Ellen's eyebrows rose and Lois continued. "Most of the time, everyone else treats my relationship with Superman as a joke . . . " "Everyone?" Lois sat up straighter as she thought about it. "Well, maybe not Clark. But then he's Superman's friend too." Suddenly, Lois chuckled. "Of course, criminals seem to take it quite seriously." Then she sobered again. "Which I suppose is a large part of the problem." "Hmmm . . . " Lois glanced at over then whispered, a little hesitantly but not as hesitantly as she might have before. "Mom, can I ask you a question?" "Of course, honey." "Is it possible to love two people? The same, I mean." Ellen frowned as she gave the idea serious thought. "Well, I don't know . . . it would be a little strange, but I guess so. Why do you ask?" "Oh, nothing." Ellen simply stared at her and Lois shrugged. "It's just . . . I'm so confused by all this. Mom, I meant it when I said I love Clark. I do. I love him for all the right reasons. I know that. In a lot of ways, I think I love him MORE than I love Superman. Amazingly, there are more reasons to love him. I'm convinced I'm not just settling for loving Clark because I can't have Superman and yet . . . " "Sometimes you wonder why you still love Superman if that's truly the case?" "I tell myself that it's impossible to not love Superman." "I have noticed that attitude." Lois grinned at the amused, almost indulgent, look on her parent's face. "Well, he IS Superman, for goodness sakes. How can one ignore that?" "Rather difficult, I must say. He wears it so well." Lois blushed, then giggled. "Yeah, there is that." Abruptly, she frowned. "And that's just it, I see the body . . . the powers . . . all of it, but for me that's just part of a package. He IS a wonderful person." "You can't help loving him." "Exactly." Lois' shoulders slumped as she sought her mother's gaze. "But is that fair to Clark?" Ellen's brow wrinkled as she tried to understand the sudden question. "Now I don't understand. Is what fair to Clark?" "Not being able to give him all my heart." "Oh . . . I see." Ellen thought about it. "Have you ever thought about asking Clark, himself, how he feels about that?" "Mom! I've been avoiding admitting to myself that I still love Superman and besides I haven't even told Clark that I love HIM, yet." "Then maybe it's time you did, honey." [continued in part 7 of PROMISES] ******************************* Beverly Latham blatham@hop-uky.campus.mci.net ******************************* ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 23:00:00 -0500 Reply-To: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" Sender: "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Fanfic" From: Beverly Latham Subject: new fanfic NEBS: PROMISES [7/8] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/enriched; charset="us-ascii" "Instead of drinking more of this stuff, why don't you take a nap?" Lois only ignored him as she sipped determinedly at the steaming mug of coffee in her hands, so Clark tried again. "Better yet, why don't you just go home and get some sleep?" Her gaze, bleary though it was, slowly turned his way. In the dim light penetrating the car windows, he could tell she was giving him a patented Lois Lane glare, the kind specifically designed to intimidate all who dared cross her path and perfected on her so-called partner just so she could bully him around. The full effect of this particular one was considerably ruined by the enormous yawn which slipped out before she could manage to swallow it. Giving up on intimidation, she shrugged and muttered. "Partners do not desert partners on stake-out." Clark rolled his eyes, then looked over towards the warehouse they currently had under surveillance. He fiddled with his glasses for a long moment as he studied the structure intently before turning back to continue their argument. "I'd agree, but nothing has happened all night, nor does it appear likely to. Besides, it's almost three in the morning." He gave her an exasperated, but coaxing smile. "I don't think you're going to miss anything." Lois frowned, again choosing to ignore his persistent request in favor of what she considered more important matters. "Bobby Bigmouth was sure they'd be moving some of the stuff tonight. He's not usually wrong so I don't understand--" "Stop changing the subject, Lois Lane." "I am not--" Clearly seeing his eyebrows bob above his glasses, even in the low light, she made a face. "Clark, I'm not that tired, just a little sleepy. This coffee is perking me right up." "Yeah, and if you were any more perked . . . " His voice trailed off when the glare was turned his way again. He tried a different approach, asking softly. "Don't you trust me?" "What?!?" A little surprised by her startled reaction he stared at her then doggedly continued. "I think I could handle a simple little stake-out on my own, partner." "Clark Kent, that is not the point." Now, she was the one sounding exasperated. "I'm not going home and I'm not taking a nap and that's final." He frowned back at her, but before he could start in again, she turned sideways in the seat to face him and whisper impishly. "So talk to me, partner, and keep me awake." Clark stared at her grin in horror like most people would eye a snake then turned to bang his head lightly against the car door frame, muttering under his breath. "One of these days, Lois Lane, you're not going to get your own way." "I heard that." When he looked back, her grin widened. "But you know I always get my way." *And probably always will.* Defeated by his own traitorous thoughts, Clark sh