A/N: Big thanks to Marcy on this one. Your suggestions made the chapter great!

Thanks to everyone for all the feedback. Enjoy the chapter and please review!

Chapter Four

Chloe looked up and frowned as Clark lumbered into the office. He was sporting the same dark circles she had seen on Lois’ face earlier and looked as if his night had been sleepless as well.

She looked around to see if anyone else had noticed the office’s new arrival. Mrs. Hill, the school nurse was on the phone in her side office calling a parent of the sleeping child that had come down complaining of a headache and Mrs. Davis had gone to a principal’s meeting 20 minutes ago.

All clear.

She rose grabbing the maintenance clipboard and met Clark at the large counter. She spoke in a low voice. “Hey Clark, how has your morning gone?”

He sagged against the countertop. “I had to make some repairs to the playground at one of the other elementaries. It wasn’t too bad.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his head.

Chloe eyed him carefully and glanced at Mrs. Hill’s office. She was still on the phone. “That wasn’t what I meant.”

Clark sighed and his mouth drooped. “I guess you heard we had a fight.”

“More like overheard the fight.”

Clark winced. “Oh.”

Chloe grabbed his hand. “Clark, just give her time. She’ll be ready for children one day.”

Clark squeezed his eyes shut. “Apparently you didn’t over hear everything.” Clark’s voice broke slightly. “Lois doesn’t want children.”

“Ever?” Chloe was taken aback.

Clark shook his head.

“Oh, Clark. You guys will get through this. I mean think of all the other…”

Clark jumped and pulled his hand back clearing his throat and grabbing the clipboard from Chloe. “Ms. Bly, which item needs to be done first?” He pointed to the clipboard.

Chloe recovered quickly. “Well, the third and fourth grade hall needs some work with the…,” she searched for the right excuse, “ …wiring.”

Mrs. Hill entered the main office and placed the notebook of student contact information back in it’s home on the shelf behind Chloe’s desk.

“The wiring?”

Chloe gave Clark a look. “Yes, all the classroom televisions seem to be on the fritz.”

Mrs. Hill eyed the two, as Clark chucked his thumb towards the door. “Yeah. I’ll get right on that.” He went to the door and headed right.

“Sir.” Mrs. Hill called after Clark.

“Yes?” He poked his head back in.

“The intermediate halls are that way.” She pointed Clark in the correct direction.

“Right.” He glanced at Chloe, who was hiding a snicker, before heading out. “Thanks.”

Amy Hill watched Chloe who had gone back to her desk with a bemused smile. “He’s new, right?”

Chloe looked up. “Yes.”

Amy held Chloe’s look. “Isn’t he staying with the Dawsons?”

“I guess so.” Chloe shrugged.

Amy grinned. “I hear he’s a college friend of Mike’s.” She paused. “He’s good looking.”

When Chloe didn’t respond, Amy added, “You know he wasn’t wearing a ring. I bet Kim would set the two of you up.”

Before Chloe could answer, two panicked police officers rushed in the main door. “It happened again?” They went straight to Mrs. Hill. “The EMT’s are on their way. Who’s in a coma now?”

Amy looked at Chloe whose confused look reflected her own. “Bob, what are you talking about?” Amy addressed the older of the two officers.

“We just heard that Creek Side sent a call to 911 over the dispatch and came as fast as we could.” Bob glanced between the two women. “You didn’t call.” It wasn’t a question.

Chloe went to her computer and checked to see if there was a way to look up the school’s immediate phone records. She found what she was looking for and clicked the mouse to enter the program. Chloe looked up at her expectant audience with a rueful smile, waiting entirely too long for the program to load. Chloe resisted the urge to bang on the side of the ancient CPU and breathed a quick sigh of relief when the screen finally sprang to life. “Here we go. I don’t know where the call went, but the last outgoing call came from room 605.”

“That’s Mrs. Matthew’s room.” Amy frowned as she went to the door and was followed by the officers. “She has a sub today. I don’t know why she would call 911 without coming to the office first.”

Chloe didn’t hear the rest of the conversation as she watched the group through the large glass windows. She picked up the office phone and had to push the button several times before hearing the dial tone. She quickly punched the extension to Lois’ room hoping to catch her before the infantry arrived.

Come on, Lois. Pick up.

“Mrs. Matthew’s room.” A high-pitched voice answered through the static connection.

“Yes, this is Ms. Bly in the office. Can I speak to Ms. Cochran please?” Chloe tapped her finger on her desk and craned her neck to see if she could gage how close the officers were to Lois’ room.

“Who?” There was a lot of chatter and laughter in the background that continually cut in and out.

“Ms. Cochran.” There was no response. “Your teacher.”

“Oh yeah, her.” Chloe heard the phone drop making the static worse, before she heard the child yell, “Teacher! It’s for you…..I don’t know. It’s some lady.”

“La--, Liz Cochran, here.”

“Lois, what the hell is going on?” Chloe shifted her gaze down to the hallway again.

“Chloe? Hang on. Oh, Alex, honey don’t do that. Scissors are not a toy! Alex. Alex, put those down. I mean it! Alex!”

The level of noise increased over the terrible connection and Chloe was pretty sure she heard wailing.

“Lois!”

The officers where almost there.

“Chloe, I gotta go. Alex just cut Elianna’s hair.” Chloe swore under her breath as she heard the phone click off.

----

Clark made his way down the third and fourth grade hallway and paused when he saw the closed door dressed in a large display of colors, paper paw prints and the words ‘Tiger-rific Tutor.’ He stood there a moment debating his options. Should he walk away wallowing in his anger and self pity, go in and apologize for practically hanging up on her and try to talk through the issue, or enter the room and kiss her soundly, pretending the whole argument never occurred?

Although he really favored the third choice, Clark knew that neither he nor Lois would be able to just forget the argument. Sure, they would get past last night’s dispute, but there were deeper issues that needed to be resolved.

After their fight, Clark had taken off into the night sky and flown among the clouds for hours not returning to the Dawson household until dawn. Lois didn’t want children and although he didn’t want to force her into anything, Clark felt he had been cheated out of something extraordinary.

At first he had been furious with Lois. She had made and huge decision without considering his feelings, but as fatigue settled in, Clark felt his anger dissolve only to be replaced by a deep sadness.

He went over all the possibilities in his mind to explain Lois’ reasoning and he could only come to one conclusion—she was scared.

Clark was very familiar with the many moods of the tenacious woman that had captivated his heart. Life was good when Lois was excited or happy however, when she was angry, it was best to steer clear—or duck. Usually, when Lois was scared, she hid it under false bravado. Chocolate was the remedy for sorrow and when nervous, Lois went into babble mode. Yes, Clark was accustomed to the many facets of Lois Lane’s emotions.

But now?

Lois had flipped the tables on him and he was unsure of how to proceed.

Clark sighed, clearing the thoughts that replayed over and over in his head. He had to see her some time today. He finally decided he might as well get it over with and opened the door to greet Lois. He could only hope that he would be well received.

“Lo—“

A young woman was on a step stool reaching for some books on a tall, crooked shelf. Startled, she almost slipped. The young woman was surprised to feel a strong hand steady her balance and help her down. “You scared me!” She then looked up ready to face the offender, but immediately softened after taking seeing the handsome man who had also rescued her.

“I didn’t mean to startle you. I didn’t realize…”

Where was Lois?

Clark searched his weary brain for a quick cover hoping she wouldn’t question him. “I’m new. I’m doing some maintenance in the hallway and thought this was a classroom.”

The young woman smoothed her outfit and adjust the stack of heavy books in one arm. “It’s okay. Maybe I can direct you to the right place.” She deliberately reached her left hand out to shake Clark’s. “I’m Beth Riley, I teach right next door.”

Clark returned the handshake missing the woman’s quick glimpse of his hand. “That would be great, Ms. Riley. Thanks.”

Beth bit her bottom lip before smiling at Clark. “It’s not a problem. What did you say your name was?” She tucked some hair behind her ear and leaned a little closer.

“Oh, I…”

Was she flirting with him?

“I’m Al Dolan.” Clark stepped back just enough to give himself some space, but not enough to completely dissuade Ms. Riley’s interest. “You’re one of the third grade teachers right? Maybe I can start working in your room. I’m supposed to work on the wiring of your television.”

“They’re actually going to fix it?” Her tone was sarcastic as her head tilted to the side and shook slightly. “I thought snowballs had a better chance in hell.”

“Maybe I can help.”

Beth held Clark’s look. “You’re serious?”

Clark nodded, feeling guilty that his story wasn’t entirely true.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” she muttered.

Clark was surprised by her reaction and his face must have shown it because Beth raised her hand in an apologetic manner. “I’m sorry. It’s not you.” She pushed her lips together and bobbed her head in disbelief. “It’s just…” She paused. “We, all the teachers, have sent in numerous requests to fix the dad gum things. At first they gave us the standard, ‘We’re working on it.’ Then the reply changed to, ‘It’s not in the budget now, but it’s coming. Keep teaching those kids. Get them ready for the test.’ The last two requests have just been flat ignored.”

Beth shifted the books in her arm to rest on her hips and continued her tirade. “It’s so frustrating. They want us to give these students the best education, yet continually tie our hands with broken technology, budget cuts, and insufficient staff. For example, we were supposed to get a tutor today, to help some of our struggling students. But where is she? She got pulled to sub for some teacher that’s rumored to be on bed rest. I mean come on! The test is in less than two weeks!”

“Rumored?” Clark raised both eyebrows. So that’s where Lois was. He wondered which room she was in and how she was handling the new undercover placement.

Beth lowered her voice to a whisper. “I heard that Karen Matthews is interviewing with another school district. I bet she’s in Dallas living it up and getting the royal treatment.”

“Oh.” Clark stammered.

Beth frowned but then quickly changed facial expressions and blushed. “I’m sorry. I just completely unloaded on you. You really just want to do your job and get going don’t you?”

She had no idea.

“It’s okay, really.” Clark decided that he would find a way to really fix this young woman’s classroom television, even if it took some super help. “Why don’t I start working on your TV and see if I can get it up and running.”

Beth sighed as if a huge weight had been lifted from her chest. “Thank you. I’d be more than happy to let you have a look, Mr. Dolan. Or can I call you Al?”

Clark smiled at her. He gestured that she should lead the way and followed her to her classroom. He surveyed the room quickly, noting the vacant desk amidst the rows of students. An empty chair was pushed into the desk with a torn nametag and the name Kate Winters written across it in a neat, even script.

She pointed to the television. “Here it is.” Her smile widened. “Take your time and thanks again.” She left Clark to his work and headed back to her desk.

Clark retrieved a step stool from the corner of the room, positioning it to where he could see the class. He carefully lowered his glasses, focusing on Kate’s desk. There were several pencils, some crayons, various sizes of erasers and a pair of scissors scattered among many textbooks. He glimpsed at few of Kate’s papers and it was obvious that schoolwork did not come easily. Realizing there was no new information to be gathered from Kate’s desk, he began searching other students.

Beth Riley walked through the rows of her busy students pausing here and there to assist as needed, all the while keeping one eye on the attractive repairman. She watched from her peripheral vision as he fiddled with his glasses and tinkered with the wiring of the television. She focused her full attention on him when his head snapped to the side and his face took on a far off look.

She raised an eyebrow, questioning him.

“I’ll, uh, be right back.” He headed towards the door. “I forgot something to fix the, um…” He pointed to the TV. “….the wires need some work.” He quickly exited the room.

“Ms. Riley, I’m finished.” Beth turned her attention to the student, hoping the handsome repairman would soon return.

----

Clark moved down the hallway just short of super speed and exited the door leading to the playground. He was sure he heard sirens nearby; they were headed towards the school. Clark looked to make sure there was no one watching spun into his suit and flew towards the front of the building.

After arriving at the scene he followed the medical crew into the school’s main entrance, and stopped in the office doorway. Any meager amount of anger he had left in his soul immediately dissipated as the scene before him sent a sucker punch to his gut, knocking all breath from his lungs.

Lois was hunched over, one hand on her knees and the other wagging a finger at three small children who were wearing identical guilty looks. The vein on her forehead was more apparent then usual and her mouth turned under in frown that meant business. Her suit was wrinkled and she had a small run in her nylons starting at the knee. Lois’ hair, which was usually so well kept, was wild and flipped in different directions across her back. She was most definitely out of her element.

Clark swallowed the thick lump in his throat, taking in the vicious black circles that assaulted Lois’ eyes. They were dark and deep against her waned complexion causing her eyes to look sunken and dull. His stomach tightened when he came to the realization, she had spent the night crying—and he was the one who had caused her tears.

He desperately wanted to pull her into his arms and tuck her tall frame against his body.

“Superman?” The small town policeman was star struck.

Clark entered the room completely. “I was flying nearby and heard the sirens. I thought you might need some assistance.” His gaze never left Lois, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes. The two of the children, however, were now looking at Clark with deep reverence. The boys began to nudge each other as the little girl with a messy ponytail crossed her arms and huffed. Lois stood to her full height, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder. The child looked up at Lois and uncrossed her arms, giving a dramatic sigh.

A familiar voice spoke, breaking Clark’s trance. “Superman.” He turned to face Chloe. “Thanks for coming but this turned out to be a false alarm.” She looked at the children as she addressed the man of steel. “It seems we had some curious students who decided to play with the telephone.”

Clark looked at the children who were fidgeting under the adults’ scrutiny.

One boy hung his head and the girl elbowed the boy next to her as Clark walked to them. He glanced at Lois who finally met his eyes, penetrating him to his core. Jaw set, she held his look.

Clark licked his lips as he reached to cup her face. His hand was almost to her shoulder when he jumped and dropped it back to his side, suddenly remembering where they were. She searched his face a moment longer before breaking the unspoken dialogue. Shaking her head slightly, she squeezed her eyes shut before rolling them skyward. Lois turned abruptly, doing all she could to avoid his eyes and grumbled something about getting back to her class. She told the children to come straight back when they were through in the office.

Clark watched her square her shoulders and walk away without a backwards glance. He blinked his eyes several times, reminding himself to keep his emotions in check before kneeling to address the students. “Kids it’s not a good idea to call the police unless it is a real emergency.”

The little girl spoke up crossing her arms again and rolling her eyes. “Alex, made us do it!”

“No! Maggie! It was your idea!” The boy to Maggie’s left stomped his foot and raised his fist.

Clark was about to step in when the other boy announced, “It was Maggie’s idea, but you were the one that pushed the buttons, Alex!”

“No, I didn’t.” Alex was ready to deck both children.

Maggie thrust her chin towards the boy and huffed. “You pushed the buttons too, Rudy!”

Clark put his hand up to silence the children. The children stopped as if realizing for the first time that they were actually talking to Superman. “A very wise mother once told me that once a problem starts, it doesn’t matter who started it. It a matters how you chose to finish it and if you learned something from it.” Clark looked at the boys. “Is she the boss?” He gestured to Maggie.

Alex answered for both. “No. That lady that yells a lot is supposed to be the boss.”

Clark bit down a smile when he realized that Alex was referring to Lois. So, she wasn’t completely worn down. “Well, if Maggie’s not the boss, then you probably don’t need to do what she tells you to do, especially if you know that it’s not a good choice.”

Clark looked at Maggie. “Did you really, think that playing with the telephone was a good idea?”

“No. I just wanted to look at the phone.” Maggie’s eyes watered. She looked down and shuffled her foot on the carpet. “I didn’t mean to call the cops.”

Clark placed his hand under Maggie’s chin and gently raised her face to meet his gaze. “Next time will you do me a favor?”

Maggie nodded.

“Stop and think before you do something. Think to yourself, ‘is this a good choice or a bad choice.”

“Calling the cops was a way bad choice,” Rudy muttered and Maggie glared at him.

“I said I didn’t mean too!” Maggie turned back to Clark and heaved a great sigh swallowing her tears. “I’m sorry.”

The boys echoed her apology and Clark ruffled each boy’s head in return.

He rose and turned to address the officers. “I guess I’ll be on my way then.”

“Thanks, Superman.” The EMT worker was in just as much awe of the man of steel as the children.

“No problem.” Clark looked back to the children one last time. “Bye, kids. Remember what we talked about.” Clark’s gaze shifted to the kindergarten hallway and as an afterthought he added, “And be nice to your teacher. She really needs you to be on your best behavior.”

The children nodded as Clark exited the room. He heard one of the officers ask Chloe what she thought Superman was doing in the area. Clark grimaced; he hadn’t thought of that.

He heard Chloe mutter something about a fire in a surrounding city and speculate that maybe he had been nearby helping. He smiled, he could always count on her to cover for him.

Clark landed, checked for anyone watching, and spun back into his civilian clothing before heading back to the intermediate hallway. As he made his way to Ms. Riley’s room, Clark’s thoughts returned to Lois, wondering how she would handle the rest of the day and hoping they would soon have a chance to talk. He was finally ready to hear what she had to say.