Here's the ending to the story, and the only part of it not told from Clark's POV. Time to look in on Lois's head for a bit! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and review. I really, truly appreciate it!

EPILOGUE

Four Years Later

Lois Lane had worked hard to get where she was. Well, she hadn't actually intended to be where she was right now, which was hanging onto a flagpole on the side of a building twenty stories above a gruesome death.

"Oh, Lois, how do you get yourself into these messes?" she gasped, trying to tighten her fingers around the bar. Her palms were becoming slippery with sweat and she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold on.

This was not how she'd envisioned her day going when she arrived at the Daily Planet this morning. She was almost ready to send her exposé on DA Sacks to her editor when the news came through that he was doing a press conference nearby. Lois had been unable to resist the possibility that she might uncover more incriminating evidence against him.

The DA was not pleased to see her in the audience, and he was even less happy at her pointed questions about his shady connections to organized crime. She must have hit a nerve, though, because as she'd been heading back to the paper to add to her article, a couple of burly thugs had grabbed her and herded her into a nearby building.

Lois had fought, but the two of them were like charging bulls as they shoved her out onto the roof. Even then, she'd never really thought that the District Attorney would have her thrown over the side of a skyscraper.

Somehow, she'd managed to grab onto the flagpole, but when Sacks saw that, he'd just laughed, taunting her about how long she thought she could hold on. Then he left. Lois had never felt more alone in her life. Her cell phone was in her pocket, but she really didn't think she'd be able to hold onto the pole with only one hand long enough to reach it.

Maybe if she screamed loudly enough, someone would hear and call the fire department. Hopefully, they'd at least be able to make her body look good for the funeral.

"Help! Somebody help me!" she screamed, as loudly as she could. Chancing a glance down, she saw people moving like ants on the sidewalk far below, but none of them looked up.

She wasn't scared of dying; Lois had never been one to fear her own mortality. There were just so many things left that she wanted to do. Worst of all, she would be breaking her promise to Clark.

Thinking of the man she loved gave Lois a little strength, and she wondered if perhaps he would be able to hear her if she screamed for him. No, he was all the way in the Arctic, and that had to be too far for even him to hear.

Lois thought of the small collection of postcards she had hidden in a box under her bed. Clark had apparently been allowed out of the Fortress for outside training a few times over the last four years, and he would always take a moment to send her a postcard from wherever he was. She had one from China, Australia, Mexico, Russia, and Alaska. Clark was turning out to be almost as much of a world traveler as Lois had been when she was still living with the General.

She thought about her father, her sister, and her cousin, all of whom would be saddened by her death. Lois hoped that her editor would find the article on Sacks and run it anyway, so at least she wouldn't have died for nothing. Lois thought about Lex Luthor, a man she'd once despised but with whom she had managed to make peace for Clark's sake. She hoped that Lex used some of those sources he had that were still a little shady to find out who did this and make them pay.

She thought about the Kents, who were her second family. She knew that they would probably be the ones tasked with telling Clark. Lois hated that she would have to put any of them through this pain.

Lois didn't know how long she'd been hanging there, but she could feel her fingers losing strength. She tried, but she just couldn't hang on any longer.

"I love you, Clark!" she shouted as her fingers slipped off the pole and she plummeted towards the ground. She prayed that she would at least pass out before she hit.

Two strong arms wrapped around her waist, stopping her fall, and Lois gasped as she opened her eyes. She looked straight into familiar blue eyes, and even though his hair was slicked back all funny, she would have known him anywhere.

"Clark?" she whispered.

"I love you, too, Lois," he said as he grinned at her, and then she realized they were hovering in mid-air! About the time that thought ran through her mind, they started rising slowly upwards, back to the roof of the building.

"You're flying," she said, still in a daze.

"Yep, and just like I promised, you're my first passenger."

"You're really here," she said and threw her arms around his neck, squeezing for all she was worth.

"I would've been here as soon as I heard you screaming, but I'm still figuring out how fast I can go, and it took me a few minutes to get here from the Arctic."

They landed gently on the roof she'd been tossed over earlier. Clark kept his hands on her waist which Lois was grateful for as she was still just a little unsteady on her feet.

Lois ran her hands over the slick material covering his shoulders, and pulled back to get a better look at him. He was wearing spandex! Not just that, but vivid blue spandex with red boots…and a cape!

"Clark, what on earth are you wearing?" she asked.

"It's not from Earth. It's traditional Kryptonian clothing," Clark said, grimacing in embarrassment. "Jor-El kind of insisted," he muttered.

"Oh! Sacks and his goons! We need to call the cops before they get too far away," Lois exclaimed.

"I don't think they're going anywhere for a while," Clark said with a grin, as he nodded with his head towards a corner of the rooftop.

Lois looked over and saw Sacks and both of his thugs sitting on the ground, unconscious, with a length of metal pipe wrapped around them, securing them to the building.

"You did that before you came and grabbed me out of the air?" she said in astonishment.

"I wanted to make sure they didn't get away with doing that to you."

Lois smiled at him, and said, "I can't believe you're here. You're really here."

"I can't believe I've been here five minutes already, and you haven't kissed me yet," Clark said.

"Pardon me. I've had a bit of a shock here! I nearly died and then you flew, and you're back, and I've missed you. I tried to be strong, but there were weak moments, when I thought you were never coming back, and if you were gone forever, I didn't know what I was going to do, because I-"

Lois's babble was cut off by Clark's mouth covering hers in the most wonderful kiss she'd ever had in her life. It beat the one right before he left by a million miles, because he was finally home.

The kiss slowly ended, but Clark only pulled back far enough so that their noses were still touching.

"-love you," Lois said, finishing her thought.

"I love you, too, Lois," he whispered. "Now, are you ready to help me make my superhero debut?"

"Absolutely," she said with a brilliant smile.

Clark scooped her up into his arms, and they floated up once again. As they moved steadily through the air and over the edge of the building, Clark said, "The only thing is, I don't really have a name yet. I was thinking that I could just go by Kal-El, but there might be some people who would make the connection to Clark Kent."

"Oh, Lex, Chloe and I have already picked your name, Smallville. No worries there."

"Really. I'm scared to think what the three of you together might have come up with."

"It's perfect! We gave it a lot of thought, I'll have you know. You're going to be Superman."

"Superman!" Clark choked. "Isn't that a bit, er, presumptuous?"

"No, I told you, it's perfect. It still has 'man' in it so people won't be too put off by your, ah, differences. But you're obviously a little more than a regular man, hence the 'super' part."

"I don't know…" Clark said doubtfully. He glanced down towards the crowd. People pointed and cameras flashed as they were spotted gliding downwards.

"Trust me, Clark," Lois said, giving him a tender smile.

"You know I do, Lois," he replied and smiled back at her.

"I hope you're ready for your close-up, then, Superman," she said, deliberately stressing the new moniker.

"As long as I have you with me, Lois, I'm ready for anything."

~END~