The Not Quite Justice League in... The Bee's Pleas!!!

[stands_for_hope]

[continued from here]

Finishing his article, clearing everything with Keith, those things took time. That was why it took a few hours before Clark was ready to make his usual call to Lois that night. He had worried that he might not make the time window that she cleared every day to talk to him and the others, but he was proud to say that he'd left himself an even half an hour as long as everything was to schedule.

After the fifth time she didn't pick up (didn't so much as text or ping him), it became clear that things were very much off schedule.

Clark made his way back to the main floor where everyone seemed to congregate and headed straight for Tony, holding up the phone to him.

"I know we're all tired and we've certainly had a long day, but... can you find out where Lois's phone is from the number here?"

In all the madness of the day, all the fighting and the close calls and the weakness brought on by the proximity of kryptonite, he'd lost track of her heartbeat. Usually, it was simple enough to pick up over the phone once again, a steady pulse that he could find his way back to once the phonecall had ended.

He couldn't hear her. He couldn't tell where she was. And she wasn't answering her phone. She always answered her phone. He didn't want to think anything was wrong, but he wasn't naive enough to discount something like this. Not after today. Not after they'd pulled out kryptonite weapons.

Comments

[stands_for_hope]

Clark looked between the two of them.

"You know I do type on my laptop. It's called 'slowing down a little'."

Lois grinned over at him, then Tony.

"Oh, I know. I just like to tease our illustrious host."

[kolodnoykovki]

"No, no, I'm... hm... Maybe I could do it with software... External keyboard..."

He was murmuring to himself as he started to drift away, pacing while he thought, and popping another almond into his mouth.

Jim watched, wondering if Tony even realised he was wandering.

[stands_for_hope]

Clark very gently leaned over.

"You could always use a laser-based keyboard and fine tune the processing speed on it so you're less restricted on materials," he suggested, less because he wanted a new laptop or a keyboard and more because he knew it'd drive Tony insane if he couldn't figure it out.

[kolodnoykovki]

"Laser keyboards are less intuitive - no real feedback," Tony answered, "and that gets frustrating, but some kind of touchscreen..."

Bulletproof glass. Hmm.

[stands_for_hope]

Lois smiled over at Jim as Clark threw another suggestion at Tony and the smile was fond and warm and it said better than anything else that he'd been missed.

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim stood, stepped up, and kissed her forehead, careful of how he leaned over the bed to do it. "Welcome home, Lois. We'll get you back to the apartment and get your hair washed soon. We've even got the elevator done right in time."

[stands_for_hope]

"I can't complain about the bed or the company. Both are a big improvement. Do you think I could get some food, though? They, uh... they didn't really feed me. Wasn't there long enough, I guess."

She smiled up at Jim.

"Like with airlines. Only without the peanuts."

[kolodnoykovki]

He smiled back at her. "Anything you want. We were just getting breakfast, but we'll get anything."

[stands_for_hope]

"Just something. Clark made eggs?" and Lois looked hopeful at that. She loved Clark's eggs. He always managed to make them properly fluffy.

[kolodnoykovki]

"I think we can get you some Clark-made eggs." In fact, he was almost sure that now they'd been mentioned, they'd materialise before too long.

[stands_for_hope]

Clark pulled away from discussing the issue of the keyboard ('I can actually feel the lasers, Tony, no, really') and headed straight into the kitchen like he was on schedule. Steve couldn't help a faint smile and Diana stepped up to stroke Lois's hair out of her eyes as they settled around her.

"I am so glad I wasn't going to be much help for Thanksgiving anyway," Lois said with a little grin. "That means I won't feel like a total putz. I can still buy a box of pie with three fingers, after all!"

[kolodnoykovki]

He smiled warmly to her. "Let us wait on you for a while. You'll get used to having us serve you and once you're back on your feet, you won't know what to do."

[stands_for_hope]

"Now that's just ridiculous," Lois said with a crooked smile, "I absolutely know what to do when everyone's waiting on me hand and foot.

"Steal the television for my Netflix queue."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Yeah, but afterward?" he teased, but then leaned in to murmur, "If both of us do the puppy eyes, I bet we can get Steve to sing along with Prince Philip in Sleeping Beauty."

[stands_for_hope]

She leaned in against him, obviously soaking in some of his presence, taking something she needed from it even if it was on the sly.

"I can puppy dog like nobody's business. We're definitely doing that."

[kolodnoykovki]

With a wide grin and a wink, he nodded his agreement - they were absolutely doing that.

"See? Already on the road to recovery."

[stands_for_hope]

"Screw that! Who needs recovering? I'm consistently fabulous," Lois said with a small smirk even if she was leaning up against Jim.

[kolodnoykovki]

He settled his arm very carefully around her. "Damn straight you are."

And he had her. Nobody was going to take her out of his grasp now, under pain of death. That was his niece.

[stands_for_hope]

She let her head rest up against his arm and closed his eyes. Diana looked over at Jim and gave him the tiniest nod. Yes, they'd take care of her. His niece, but also her sister.

A moment or so later, Clark was walking in with a plate of eggs and a small spoon for her to eat them with.

"So, you guys gonna rock paper scissors for who gets to man the spoon or do I get to choose?"

[kolodnoykovki]

"Your choice," Jim smiled. "I know all of us will go by whatever choice you make."

And he would. But he could tell that she'd probably do miles better once they were home. Their home, not just Metropolis.

He and Diana were going to have to pull off their plan soon.

[stands_for_hope]

Lois looked down her nose imperiously before nodding towards Clark.

"Clark gets spoon duty. Jim, you're on cuddle shift and Diana, you get to try and fix my hair so I don't look like a haystack when we head out of here."

Diana gave her the warmest smile.

"Of course, Lois."

Clark didn't want to crowd her, so he floated beside her before he started feeding her the eggs.

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim chuckled but stayed close, supporting Lois as much as cuddling - after all, he'd missed her. And she... Well. Maybe she needed a little support. "What did the doctor say about us helping you wash up outside your bandages?"

[stands_for_hope]

She paused before taking the next bite.

"He said that I should, and suggested that for some of the larger sections, I get a thing that makes my cast waterproof with like a whole bag so I can shower. But for right now, I'm strictly sponges, unfortunately."

Steve gave Lois a little smile before walking out to go find Tony. They needed to set up some sort of pipeline, something firm, so that the good guys were at least as in sync as the bad guys.

[kolodnoykovki]

"Then I'll leave everything from the knees to the shoulders to people who should see you naked," Jim said. "But I should be able to handle the rest. I'll get you sponged off as soon as you're done eating while we have Tony's water bill to abuse."

This was something they hadn't really seen of him - something that hadn't been necessary, even when Steve had been forced into his old body. He hadn't gotten sick in that time. Hadn't needed Jim there to mop his forehead and make sure he got the fever-sweat washed away. But his hand was as practiced at that as it was anything else. He'd been a caretaker for a long time before he'd been a soldier.

[stands_for_hope]

"It is always an honor to assist a fellow warrior," Diana said warmly, stroking her arm with a kind smile.

"And I'll keep wrangling Perry. Though he, uh, he may barge in at some point to check on you. He's been texting me since I let him know your situation," Clark admitted.

Lois smiled just a little herself.

"That old softy."