Chapter Eight
Clark walked down the corridor saying ‘hi’ to a couple of friends before opening the door to the Torch office. Chloe had left him a note in his locker to come down in his lunch period. He was surprised to see Lois sitting at the desk while Chloe sat on the couch playing with Kally.
Clark smiled at his friend. “Lois. This is a surprise. What are you doing here?”
“It’s a nice day so I thought I’d come down and visit Chloe,” she said.
Kally turned to look at him and held her arms out. “Daaaa!”
With a grin he picked her up and held her close. Chloe pouted.
“Daddy’s girl!” she said.
He chuckled. “Can I help it if I’m just plain ol’ irresistible?” he asked.
“You wish!” the blonde shot back. “On that note,” she added, getting up from the couch, “I’m gonna go get myself some lunch.” She walked to the door and looked at them. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Clark huffed and shook his head, looking down at his daughter.
“That’s your aunt Chloe for you,” he said. “Thinks she’s a comedian.”
Kally wrinkled her nose and pouted. Lois laughed.
“Careful Kally. The wind’ll change and you’ll have that face forever.”
Clark groaned softly. “My mom’s always saying stuff like that.”
“Yeah, my dad says it too,” she replied with a laugh. She went to the door and closed it softly. “Okay, so I got your message this morning.”
He smiled. He’d wondered why she really had come down to the school. At least Chloe was helping their cause in some way by pretending the visit was really for her.
“I got an email from the Swann Foundation,” he said. “There’s a linguistics professor at Met U.”
“Did you email him?” Lois asked excitedly.
“Her, actually. And I didn’t have to. She knew exactly what it was about. There’s an old temple. In China.” He told her the professor knew of someone who had been studying the symbols at the temple. For some reason the Chinese government had left it alone despite destroying other items of cultural significance.
Lois looked stunned. “China? Smallville, how on Earth are you going to get to China? It’s not like you have access to a plane. Or can you, you know, fly?”
He grimaced. He remembered being able to fly as Kal-El in the summer when he’d retrieved the first stone, but the fears he had as Clark were still too strong for him to attempt it. He’d told Lois almost everything, including the times he’d woken up floating.
Lois obviously remembered what he’d told her as she sighed.
“Honey, you really have to figure out a way to get past all that,” she said.
“I know. The thing is, even though I can run pretty fast, I don’t think I can run fast enough to jump the North Pacific into China. I’d probably have to run all the way up to Alaska and around the Arctic or something.”
“That’s at least doable. You could be there and back in … what, a day?”
“Maybe less, if I don’t run into trouble.”
“So, it’s at least possible,” she said. “You have to. I mean, there’s more than your future at stake here. I don’t want to come off so ‘Lois’ but we need to know if Kally’s going to have your abilities. I mean, it’s as much for her protection as anything else. You know what it was like to grow up with your powers. And forewarned being forearmed and all that, and you know I’d help you if I could but I don’t think I could convince my dad to let you on a military transport …”
“Lois!” he said. He’d been trying to get a word in edgewise for at least the last two sentences. She sighed.
“Sorry, I do that.”
He chose not to comment on her babbling. She was right. It was more for Kally’s sake than anything else that they were doing this. Clark hadn’t been ready to face whatever destiny Jor-El had apparently laid out for him, but he knew if he was going to protect his little girl, he had to go along with it.
There hadn’t been any further signs since the bruise on her head. That had faded within a couple of days – fast enough that it had been noticeable. At least to them. They’d been careful to avoid anyone who didn’t know his secret.
They decided to email the professor and find out a little more detail. Meanwhile, Chloe had returned with food, bringing a banana for Kally. She held out the sweet fruit.
“Kally, banana. Can you say banana?”
The little girl frowned as Chloe repeated it, clearly trying to work her mouth in the same way as her aunt.
“She hasn’t even said ‘mom’ yet,” he told her.
The blonde shrugged. “Worth a shot. So, I’m all for these little visits, but if Reynolds finds out …”
“What’s he gonna do, Chlo? It’s a month to graduation.”
Still, they both knew the principal wouldn’t approve. He’d always taken a hard line with his students, telling them he had high expectations of them. Especially Clark, who had had a run-in with the principal in his sophomore year. Terrance Reynolds had once been the headmaster of Excelsior Preparatory Academy, the private school Lex had gone to. When he’d realised Clark was friends with Lex, he’d warned him about the other man. Clark still didn’t know what the man had against Lex and hadn’t asked his friend either.
Lois decided not to chance it and left shortly before the lunch period was over. Clark watched her go, promising to visit her the next morning, since he had a free morning.
Chloe sipped from a can of root beer, gazing at him.
“What?” he asked.
“Where do you see this going?” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“You and Lois. I see the way you look at her.”
He shrugged. He hadn’t known it was that obvious that he had feelings for Lois, although he wasn’t sure where it was going. “I don’t know. Right now all we can focus on is Kally and getting through college. We don’t really have time for anything else.” Well, it was partly true.
“But you admit there’s something there,” she said.
“Chloe, I’d really rather not talk about this. Not with you.”
Her stare was almost piercing. “Why?”
“I don’t need to give you a reason. You’re my best friend, you know that, but I’m not going to discuss my relationship with Lois with you.”
She frowned. “Are you mad at me? You are, aren’t you? I knew it. You said you forgave me for Uncle Sam, so why are you …”
He huffed. “Chloe! I’m not mad at you. I know you were put in a bad position where Sam was concerned and I’m not blaming you for that. I just … I don’t even know where this is going with Lois, but you’re not the first person I’d be discussing it with. It’s not fair to Lois, or Kally!”
She grimaced. “Oh, God. I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m sticking my nose in where it’s not wanted.” She chewed on her lip. “I’m really sorry, Clark. It’s just … well, Lois is my cousin and with everything that happened I just …”
He subsided, crouching down beside her. “Chloe, I know you care about Lois. I know you don’t want her to get hurt. I don’t want that either. That’s why I need to take things slowly with her. Okay? I don’t know how she feels about me but right now neither of us are ready to take that step. I know that sounds kind of dumb, considering there’s Kally, but us sleeping together was a mistake. I’m not saying Kally was a mistake, because in some ways, becoming a dad has made me see things a lot clearer than I used to.”
She gazed at him, her eyes dancing. “You sound so grown up, Clark. I kind of envy you.”
He shook his head. “Becoming a parent forces you to grow up,” he said. “As much as I love Kally, it’s not something I would recommend.”
“Still, you realise you’re going to be in big trouble when she’s older. She’s going to break a lot of hearts.”
He smiled fondly, thinking of his adorable daughter. Even his mother often said she was ‘cute as a button’. Of course they might all be biased. Probably every parent, or every loving parent, thought that way about their child. “Yeah, I know. That’s why there’s no way in hell I’m letting her date until she’s an adult.”
“Like you’re gonna have a choice?” she returned. “I can see it now. She’s gonna be a teenager and come home with a boyfriend, only for him to have to face the wrath of Daddy. You won’t even need a shotgun.”
He frowned. She’d been saying a lot of strange things to him lately. Her remarks had been slightly off. When he’d announced he wasn’t going to take up the scholarship at Met U, she’d told him she was proud of him for the decision, telling him she was sure he was destined for more than scoring touchdowns.
“Why do you say that?” he asked.
She looked hesitant. “Well, I mean, you’re a big guy,” she said after a few moments. “You’d be really intimidating to potential boyfriends.”
Why did he get the impression that wasn’t exactly what she had been intending to say? Clark pondered the issue for the rest of the day but couldn’t come up with an answer.
As he was putting his stuff in his locker after last period, he ran into Lana.
“Hi,” he said.
“Oh, hi,” she replied. She seemed a little nervous.
“Is everything okay?” he asked as they began walking toward the main door.
“Oh, no, everything’s fine.”
“How are things with you and Jason?” he queried, knowing she was still dating the former football coach.
“Um, they’re okay,” she said. He frowned, wondering why she was so hesitant and looking like she would rather look anywhere but at him.
It had been rather a surprise to him when he’d seen Lana talking to the new assistant coach last Fall. He wasn’t that obtuse that he hadn’t caught the vibes from the two of them. It later came out that the pair were dating and once the school administration learned of it, Jason had been fired.
Clark hadn’t said anything to Lana or even given any hint that he wanted to pick up where they’d left off over a year earlier. As far as he was concerned, they were over and done with. He didn’t know whether it was because of Lois and Kally, but any feelings he had for his former girlfriend had died long ago.
“Um, so are you gonna go to Prom?” Lana asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe. I was thinking I’d just go on my own though.”
He had considered asking Lois, but didn’t know if she would want to go with him. He didn’t want her to get the wrong idea and think that he was ready to explore his feelings for her. Friendship was all he could really handle right now, he thought. He didn’t want to go into the what-ifs of what happened if things didn’t work out between them. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her or his daughter.
“You read Chloe’s article though,” she said.
“You mean the ‘election of prom royalty is an archaic and elitist ritual’ Chloe Sullivan specialty rant?” he asked.
She laughed. “That’s the one.” She studied him. “What are you planning?”
He tried to look innocent. “Me? I’m not planning anything.”
“Yeah, right. I know you, Clark Kent. You’re up to something.”
“I might have put a couple of feelers out.”
“About what?” she asked.
“You’ll see. Tomorrow.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You know, I don’t know Chloe’s cousin all that well, but I think she’s a bad influence on you.”
He grinned at her, glad she was finally starting to relax enough to tease him.
“Is that right? Well, maybe Lois had nothing to do with it.”
“What is up with you two, anyway? You hang out a lot together.”
He caught the note in her voice that suggested it was more than just a casual enquiry. She was fishing for something.
“We’re friends,” he said. “Lois has been studying for her high school equivalency and I’ve been helping her with her studies.”
Lana nodded. “I guess with Kally and everything, she wouldn’t have been able to finish school. It’s nice that you’re helping her. She seems like a really great person.”
“She is. I think you’d really like her if you got to know her.”
She turned to head to the parking lot. “Well, I should get going. You’d think the teachers would give us a break from homework this close to graduation.” She made a face and sighed dramatically.
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” he agreed, wondering what homework she was talking about, since he hadn’t been given any himself and they still shared a few classes. Obviously it was a way for her to end the conversation without sounding rude.
He got up early the next morning to do his chores. His father came in, frowning at him.
“You’re up early.”
“I’m going to see Lois before school,” he said.
“I thought you only saw her on weekends,” his dad asked.
“Yeah, but she has some last-minute cramming to do on a paper and asked me to tutor her.”
“Hmm,” was all his father replied. Clark didn’t want to lie to his parents but he knew how they felt about Jor-El and his orders to search for the stones. He figured they probably wouldn’t appreciate him involving Lois either, but somehow it felt right that she was working on it with him.
“You two seem to be getting very close.”
He watched his father work for a moment before nodding.
“Yeah. I can’t explain it, but somehow, I don’t feel so alone when I’m with her. It’s not because of Kally,” he added. He’d felt that the night they’d met.
“Lois is a very special young woman,” his father replied. “I know your mom is very fond of her.”
It looked like she wasn’t the only one, Clark thought.
“Just, don’t go rushing into anything.”
“Don’t worry, Dad. We’re just friends right now.”
The blond farmer looked a little sceptical. Clark could understand. He constantly had to remind himself that he was the one who had made that decision and drawn the line between them. As much as he wanted to, he knew he wasn’t ready to cross that line. Not yet.
He left the farm an hour or so later. Lois was feeding Kally breakfast in the kitchen. She smiled when he came in.
“Hi. We’re just having breakfast,” she said, showing the plate of berry yoghurt, which was Kally’s favourite.
Clark noticed she hadn’t finished her own breakfast. “Why don’t I finish feeding Kally so you can eat your breakfast,” he suggested.
She nodded. “Okay. But I warn you, she’s in one of those moods.”
Kally sometimes got a little recalcitrant and would refuse to eat what she was given. He pushed the sleeves up and gazed sternly at his daughter.
“I hear you’ve been giving your mother trouble, young lady.”
She shook her head, her dark curls bouncing around.
He held out a spoonful of yoghurt but the one-year-old again shook her head stubbornly then babbled something that sounded almost like ‘no’, as if she was back-talking him.
“Kally Lane-Kent, are you talking back to me?” he said, hearing a snort of laughter from Lois. He turned and glared at his friend and she gazed back at him with an innocent expression.
Kally again babbled something, drawing his attention back to his daughter. She had dipped her hand in the bowl and was scrunching up her fist.
“Smallville!” The warning came a second too late. The little girl had thrown the yoghurt straight at her father. Lois burst out laughing. “Told you she was in one of those moods.”
Yoghurt dripped down his face. It was only a small amount but it was enough. Kally was giggling loudly, clearly very pleased with herself, having won whatever game she had decided they were playing.
Clark growled softly and began tickling his little girl, making her giggle harder.
“Oh, you think that’s so funny,” he said. “You’re just a funny girl, aren’t you? You’re just like your mom.”
Lois scoffed. “I never!”
He shot her a knowing look. “Oh, really? That’s not what your dad told me. At your first birthday party you threw chocolate cake everywhere. He even showed me photos.”
“Oh, that is a low blow, Kent! I know somebody who decided to go rolling in mud, without his clothes on. And I’ve seen the evidence!” She smirked at him.
“You always have to have the last word, don’t you, Lane?” he accused.
“Yup.”
He looked at Kally who was looking from one parent to the other, a big cheesy grin on her face.
“Now I know where she gets it from,” he said, glaring as Lois got up to put her dishes in the sink.
“Poor baby,” Lois cooed.
Clark stood up, stalking over and standing behind her as she rinsed her plate. She turned, a little disconcerted at his closeness.
“Smallville! Personal space!”
He frowned, remembering the night at Atlantis and his efforts to get her to dance with him. He was not exactly a skilled dancer, but on red K he hadn’t cared how it looked. He’d tried to pull her closer, but she’d said the same thing to him that she was saying now.
Despite her apparent discomfit, he could see her pulse was racing. His own heart was pounding so hard he would have been surprised if she couldn’t hear it.
Lois licked her lips, leaving a light sheen. Clark couldn’t tell if she’d done it unconsciously or deliberately but he felt the urge to kiss her. It wasn’t the first time he’d felt it but each time it went unfulfilled, it became stronger.
The little voice inside him that kept those feelings at bay reminded him once again not to cross that line, but he didn’t want to listen. After everything he’d said to Chloe the day before, he realised he knew where he wanted things to go with Lois. The question was, did she want the same?
“Clark!”
Frowning, he took in the note in Lois’ voice and heard Kally trying to say something. He turned and looked at his daughter. She was attempting to shove fistfuls of yoghurt in her mouth, getting it all over her face, her hair and the high chair, looking extremely pleased with herself.
She noticed them watching and grinned. “Mama,” she said clearly, holding out a hand coated in yoghurt.
Lois began to laugh, her giggles quickly becoming guffaws. Clark joined her a second later.
Once they were able to get some semblance of control, Clark grabbed the cloth and took the bowl away, wiping down the high chair and Kally’s hands.
“Looks like you need a bath, little girl,” he scolded. He shook his head. “What a mess!”
“She’s your kid, Smallville.”
He snorted. “Yeah, I’m not gonna touch that one, Lane!” He picked up the baby and carried her out to the cabin to give her a bath in the small tub they’d managed to find at a Granville store.
He was just dressing her when Lois came out with Kally’s bottle. Now that her game was over, the one-year-old was looking ready for a nap. They laid her down in the crib.
Lois had grabbed his laptop and set it up on the table. He’d forgotten he’d left it in the kitchen.
“Thanks,” he said quietly.
She sat beside him as he sent off the email to the professor. They had no idea how long it would take before they got a reply, but since he still had an hour or so before his first class of the day, he decided to wait it out.
The silence between them felt a little awkward. Clark wondered if Lois was thinking about what had almost happened earlier.
“Uh, about before,” he began. “I didn’t mean to come on so strong.”
She frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”
“You know, in the kitchen.”
“Nothing happened, Smallville.”
“But I wanted it to,” he replied.
“I know. The thing is …” She sighed. “The thing is, I don’t know if I’m ready for that. I mean, what if whatever happens between us falls apart. I don’t want Kally to get hurt.”
“Kally? Or you? I mean, isn’t that what this is really all about? Even if it didn’t work out between us, it’s not going to change how I feel about Kally. She’s still going to be my daughter.”
She huffed. “I can’t. I mean, you were right when you said friendship was all we could handle right now. It’s not that I don’t think about it. I do, you know. But not now. Maybe some day, when we’ve got our lives together.”
She was right. No matter how tempting it was, his logic brain told him it wasn’t the right time. Not yet.
The computer beeped, letting them know he had an email. He turned to read it.
“It’s from the professor,” he said. “She’s given me the location of the temple.” The rest of the email sent his heart plummeting. “Somebody might have beaten us to it. Apparently there was some kind of deal done with the Chinese government to allow an archaeological expedition.”
“You don’t know that they found the stone,” Lois reminded him.
“No, I know, but …”
“Go check it out,” she said. “Now.”
He quickly checked the time in China. It would be night, but that was probably a good thing, he thought. He could investigate the site under cover of darkness.
He left the inn and ran his way up through Alaska and over the Arctic back down to China. He located the temple on the outskirts of the city of Shanghai. To his dismay, there were still archaeologists working on site. As he got closer, he saw the Luthorcorp logo.
“Lex,” he murmured.
He returned to Smallville a short time later. Lois was waiting for him.
“What happened?”
He told her what he’d seen. Lois looked as disappointed as him.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I have to find out if Lex has the stone.”
“How are you going to do that? You can’t confront him. For one thing, he’ll deny it. For another, that will just put you back under his radar.”
He ran a hand through his dark locks. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Maybe Jor-El can locate the stone,” she suggested.
It was a long shot, he thought, but he consulted with his birth father, who confirmed that there was no way for him to locate it.
There was only one other way. Clark was sure if Lex did have possession of the stone, he would have it locked away in a vault somewhere. The question was, how could he find that out without Lex figuring out what he was doing?
Unfortunately, Dawn Stiles, the school’s resident ‘Queen Bee’ put paid to any opportunity he had to figure it out until prom was over. Dawn had been humiliated when her boyfriend had broken up with her, in public, the day before prom. Smarting over that, and Chloe being nominated for prom queen, she had plotted to find a new date for the senior dance as she drove home. Police would later figure she had been on her cellphone when she lost control of her car and ended up in Shuster’s Gorge.
Thanks to some green Kryptonite, Dawn’s spirit had been able to possess others and she’d used that ability to get what she wanted, which was the prom crown, through Chloe. Even that hadn’t quite gone to plan and Clark had had to stop her burning down the entire school.
His opportunity came the day after, when Lex invited him to play pool at the mansion. Careful to ensure the cameras didn’t pick up what he was doing, he was able to x-ray the vault. The stone was nowhere to be seen.
Either Lex hadn’t found it either or someone else had found it and taken it.
Bubsy stopped Lois as she finished cleaning one of the rooms.
“Sweetie, would you mind going into town for me to run some errands?”
She smiled at her friend and boss. “Of course not.” It was part of her job but Bubsy always made it sound like she was doing her a favour.
The older woman nodded, handing her a card and a list. “Why don’t you take Kally with you?” she suggested. “I’m sure you both could do with some fresh air. And don’t hurry back, sweetheart.”
Lois watched as her boss walked away, before glancing down at the items Bubsy had handed her. There was a voucher for a free coffee at the Talon. She chuckled lightly to herself, thinking how crafty the other woman was. She never said anything but it was her way of spoiling Lois.
She didn’t need any further prompting, grabbing what she needed and taking one of the cars the inn used to drop guests off at the train or bus station. It was warm as she headed into town. Kally sat in the car seat, happily babbling away, attempting to sing along with the radio.
Once Lois had finished the errands, she parked outside the Talon and picked her daughter up. A boy she recognised as one of Clark’s football friends held the door open for her. Kally gave him a big grin as a thank you.
It was busy in the coffee shop with a line about five deep. Martha was working at the counter as she stepped up to give her order. The redhead beamed.
“Hello, sweetie. Hello Kally. What are you two up to today?”
“Just running some errands for the inn,” Lois said. She handed over the voucher. Martha shot her a knowing look and turned to start making the order.
“Can I get some juice for Kally as well?”
“Of course you can, sweetheart. Why don’t you go find a table and I’ll bring it over.”
Lois looked around the crowded café for a table. There wasn’t one to be found, but the boy from earlier waved her over. He was sitting with a couple of others.
“You can sit with us,” he said. “We don’t mind. Any friend of Clark’s …”
“Thank you,” she replied.
“So, you’re Lois, right?” one of the others said. “Clark talks about you.”
She was surprised. “He does?”
“Yeah. He said you two were good friends. I’m Mike, by the way. That loser is Justin,” he added, pointing to the boy who had invited her to sit with them. “And this jerk is Tom.” He pointed to the third boy. “I’m guessing this is Kally.” He smiled at her daughter.
“I heard Clark was helping you study for your high school equivalency,” Justin said.
She nodded in confirmation, curious to know exactly what Clark had been telling them.
She wondered if Justin was trying to find out if there was more to it than that. She couldn’t help thinking about what had almost happened the other day. Maybe Clark had been teasing her, trying to get her back for laughing at him, but he had been coming on a little strong. She had wondered if he really would have kissed her if she hadn’t seen what Kally was up to.
It was a little unfair, she thought. Clark had said all along they should really focus on friendship but he kept stirring her emotions, making her think he wanted more than that. They really weren’t ready. They both had four years of college ahead of them and while it wouldn’t be that hard to have a relationship, she had far too much to worry about with trying to raise her daughter and keep her job as well. Bubsy was a good boss and a good friend, but she still deserved Lois’ full attention when she was scheduled to work.
Lois chatted with the three boys as she drank her coffee and Kally drank her juice from a sipper bottle Martha had thoughtfully provided. Her daughter once again proved just how much of a little heartbreaker she was, giving their table companions big grins as they played with her.
She was beginning to get the impression that Justin wanted to ask her out. As much as she appreciated it, she knew she would have to let him down gently. If she didn’t already have feelings for Clark, there was no way she could even consider dating, just by the mere fact that Kally and her job took up a lot of her time already.
The three boys left after a while. Martha came to sit down beside her.
“Finally time for a break,” she said, giving her grand-daughter an adoring smile. Kally happily agreed to sit on her lap. “So, how are you doing, sweetie?”
“I’m fine,” Lois told her. “How was the prom last night?”
She knew Clark’s parents had agreed to chaperone the senior dance. Martha began telling her about the girl who had died and her spirit had somehow been able to possess others. Clark had stopped her, with help from his dad.
“I would have thought Clark would have asked you to go with him,” Martha said.
Lois nodded. They’d talked about it over the phone but she’d told him as much as she regretted missing her own prom, she had felt it better that they didn’t go together. People already talked enough about the amount of time they spent together, judging from what Clark’s three friends had told her and if they’d gone to the dance as a couple, it would have just started the rumour mill going full force. She wasn’t sure she wanted to subject her daughter to any potentially nasty gossip.
As she chatted to Martha, she couldn’t help noticing Lana and Jason arguing about something. The relationship was rather odd. Lana had apparently told Chloe that the reason she’d left Paris was because she had found out Jason had only got involved with her because of some scam he was working. When he’d come to Smallville and got a job at the school, he’d somehow managed to convince her that it was because he was in love with her.
It seemed like one week they were on and the next they were off again. Clark had even commented that it had been just as bad when he’d been dating the brunette. Lois wondered if Lana really knew what she wanted and was just using excuses to keep backing off the relationship.
Her conscience nagged at her and she wondered if perhaps she was using Kally as an excuse not to get into a relationship with Clark. While it was true they did have a relationship of sorts, it wasn’t a romantic one. Was she afraid of the outcome? Was she afraid of losing herself by being with him?
“You look miles away, sweetheart. Is there anything wrong?”
“No, well, not really. I just can’t help thinking about me and Clark. I mean, I keep thinking I’m not ready for, you know, that kind of relationship with him. I do have feelings for him and I can’t just turn those off, but …”
“Lois, being in a relationship is never easy. Goodness knows, Jonathan and I have never had it easy. My father didn’t approve. He wanted me to study law and didn’t like it when I chose to marry a farmer.”
“That’s just it. I mean, what if I lose my sense of self?”
“I know you, Lois, and that will never happen. I do think the two of you are doing the right thing by focusing on your studies right now. I love my grand-daughter, but having a child complicates your life in so many ways. When you have a young child in the house, you have little energy for everything else. Don’t feel guilty for wanting to get your own life settled before inviting someone else into it.”
Kally whimpered and Martha looked down at her. The little girl was making a face which indicated to Lois she was feeling uncomfortable - a sure sign she had messed her diaper. “Looks like somebody needs her diaper changed.”
“I’ll do that,” Lois said.
The older woman shook her head. “I don’t mind, sweetie. I never got that chance with Clark.” She picked up the diaper bag. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes,” she added, taking Kally out the back of the shop.
Lois sat and finished her second cup of coffee. She saw Lana sitting at a table. Jason had obviously left as the brunette was alone. As Lois watched, she began rummaging in her purse for something, pulling out a cloth-wrapped bundle. The cloth appeared to be Chinese silk. Lana unwrapped the silk, revealing something that looked metallic in appearance. Lois got a glimpse of some kind of symbol etched on the surface.
She hadn’t been able to see much but enough that she thought it could look like one of the symbols Clark had shown her from the drawing.
Lois quickly turned her head as Lana looked up to see if anyone was watching. She pulled out her phone and sent a text to Clark, telling him to meet her at the inn in half an hour.
She began to gather her things as Martha returned with Kally.
“I have to get going,” she said. “Bubsy will be wanting the groceries.”
“Now don’t forget. You and your dad are invited for dinner next Saturday.”
She smiled. “I won’t.” She kissed the older woman on the cheek as she took her daughter in her arms. “Thanks Martha.”
Clark was waiting for her in the reception area of the inn when she finished putting away the groceries. She beckoned for him to follow her outside.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I think Lana has the stone.”
a/n: I know it looks like Clark and Lois keep going back and forth where their relationship is concerned, but I think it's a sign that they both still have a lot of growing up to do before they can cross that line between friendship and romance. Just because you have strong feelings for someone doesn't mean you have the maturity to act on it.
Clark walked down the corridor saying ‘hi’ to a couple of friends before opening the door to the Torch office. Chloe had left him a note in his locker to come down in his lunch period. He was surprised to see Lois sitting at the desk while Chloe sat on the couch playing with Kally.
Clark smiled at his friend. “Lois. This is a surprise. What are you doing here?”
“It’s a nice day so I thought I’d come down and visit Chloe,” she said.
Kally turned to look at him and held her arms out. “Daaaa!”
With a grin he picked her up and held her close. Chloe pouted.
“Daddy’s girl!” she said.
He chuckled. “Can I help it if I’m just plain ol’ irresistible?” he asked.
“You wish!” the blonde shot back. “On that note,” she added, getting up from the couch, “I’m gonna go get myself some lunch.” She walked to the door and looked at them. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Clark huffed and shook his head, looking down at his daughter.
“That’s your aunt Chloe for you,” he said. “Thinks she’s a comedian.”
Kally wrinkled her nose and pouted. Lois laughed.
“Careful Kally. The wind’ll change and you’ll have that face forever.”
Clark groaned softly. “My mom’s always saying stuff like that.”
“Yeah, my dad says it too,” she replied with a laugh. She went to the door and closed it softly. “Okay, so I got your message this morning.”
He smiled. He’d wondered why she really had come down to the school. At least Chloe was helping their cause in some way by pretending the visit was really for her.
“I got an email from the Swann Foundation,” he said. “There’s a linguistics professor at Met U.”
“Did you email him?” Lois asked excitedly.
“Her, actually. And I didn’t have to. She knew exactly what it was about. There’s an old temple. In China.” He told her the professor knew of someone who had been studying the symbols at the temple. For some reason the Chinese government had left it alone despite destroying other items of cultural significance.
Lois looked stunned. “China? Smallville, how on Earth are you going to get to China? It’s not like you have access to a plane. Or can you, you know, fly?”
He grimaced. He remembered being able to fly as Kal-El in the summer when he’d retrieved the first stone, but the fears he had as Clark were still too strong for him to attempt it. He’d told Lois almost everything, including the times he’d woken up floating.
Lois obviously remembered what he’d told her as she sighed.
“Honey, you really have to figure out a way to get past all that,” she said.
“I know. The thing is, even though I can run pretty fast, I don’t think I can run fast enough to jump the North Pacific into China. I’d probably have to run all the way up to Alaska and around the Arctic or something.”
“That’s at least doable. You could be there and back in … what, a day?”
“Maybe less, if I don’t run into trouble.”
“So, it’s at least possible,” she said. “You have to. I mean, there’s more than your future at stake here. I don’t want to come off so ‘Lois’ but we need to know if Kally’s going to have your abilities. I mean, it’s as much for her protection as anything else. You know what it was like to grow up with your powers. And forewarned being forearmed and all that, and you know I’d help you if I could but I don’t think I could convince my dad to let you on a military transport …”
“Lois!” he said. He’d been trying to get a word in edgewise for at least the last two sentences. She sighed.
“Sorry, I do that.”
He chose not to comment on her babbling. She was right. It was more for Kally’s sake than anything else that they were doing this. Clark hadn’t been ready to face whatever destiny Jor-El had apparently laid out for him, but he knew if he was going to protect his little girl, he had to go along with it.
There hadn’t been any further signs since the bruise on her head. That had faded within a couple of days – fast enough that it had been noticeable. At least to them. They’d been careful to avoid anyone who didn’t know his secret.
They decided to email the professor and find out a little more detail. Meanwhile, Chloe had returned with food, bringing a banana for Kally. She held out the sweet fruit.
“Kally, banana. Can you say banana?”
The little girl frowned as Chloe repeated it, clearly trying to work her mouth in the same way as her aunt.
“She hasn’t even said ‘mom’ yet,” he told her.
The blonde shrugged. “Worth a shot. So, I’m all for these little visits, but if Reynolds finds out …”
“What’s he gonna do, Chlo? It’s a month to graduation.”
Still, they both knew the principal wouldn’t approve. He’d always taken a hard line with his students, telling them he had high expectations of them. Especially Clark, who had had a run-in with the principal in his sophomore year. Terrance Reynolds had once been the headmaster of Excelsior Preparatory Academy, the private school Lex had gone to. When he’d realised Clark was friends with Lex, he’d warned him about the other man. Clark still didn’t know what the man had against Lex and hadn’t asked his friend either.
Lois decided not to chance it and left shortly before the lunch period was over. Clark watched her go, promising to visit her the next morning, since he had a free morning.
Chloe sipped from a can of root beer, gazing at him.
“What?” he asked.
“Where do you see this going?” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“You and Lois. I see the way you look at her.”
He shrugged. He hadn’t known it was that obvious that he had feelings for Lois, although he wasn’t sure where it was going. “I don’t know. Right now all we can focus on is Kally and getting through college. We don’t really have time for anything else.” Well, it was partly true.
“But you admit there’s something there,” she said.
“Chloe, I’d really rather not talk about this. Not with you.”
Her stare was almost piercing. “Why?”
“I don’t need to give you a reason. You’re my best friend, you know that, but I’m not going to discuss my relationship with Lois with you.”
She frowned. “Are you mad at me? You are, aren’t you? I knew it. You said you forgave me for Uncle Sam, so why are you …”
He huffed. “Chloe! I’m not mad at you. I know you were put in a bad position where Sam was concerned and I’m not blaming you for that. I just … I don’t even know where this is going with Lois, but you’re not the first person I’d be discussing it with. It’s not fair to Lois, or Kally!”
She grimaced. “Oh, God. I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m sticking my nose in where it’s not wanted.” She chewed on her lip. “I’m really sorry, Clark. It’s just … well, Lois is my cousin and with everything that happened I just …”
He subsided, crouching down beside her. “Chloe, I know you care about Lois. I know you don’t want her to get hurt. I don’t want that either. That’s why I need to take things slowly with her. Okay? I don’t know how she feels about me but right now neither of us are ready to take that step. I know that sounds kind of dumb, considering there’s Kally, but us sleeping together was a mistake. I’m not saying Kally was a mistake, because in some ways, becoming a dad has made me see things a lot clearer than I used to.”
She gazed at him, her eyes dancing. “You sound so grown up, Clark. I kind of envy you.”
He shook his head. “Becoming a parent forces you to grow up,” he said. “As much as I love Kally, it’s not something I would recommend.”
“Still, you realise you’re going to be in big trouble when she’s older. She’s going to break a lot of hearts.”
He smiled fondly, thinking of his adorable daughter. Even his mother often said she was ‘cute as a button’. Of course they might all be biased. Probably every parent, or every loving parent, thought that way about their child. “Yeah, I know. That’s why there’s no way in hell I’m letting her date until she’s an adult.”
“Like you’re gonna have a choice?” she returned. “I can see it now. She’s gonna be a teenager and come home with a boyfriend, only for him to have to face the wrath of Daddy. You won’t even need a shotgun.”
He frowned. She’d been saying a lot of strange things to him lately. Her remarks had been slightly off. When he’d announced he wasn’t going to take up the scholarship at Met U, she’d told him she was proud of him for the decision, telling him she was sure he was destined for more than scoring touchdowns.
“Why do you say that?” he asked.
She looked hesitant. “Well, I mean, you’re a big guy,” she said after a few moments. “You’d be really intimidating to potential boyfriends.”
Why did he get the impression that wasn’t exactly what she had been intending to say? Clark pondered the issue for the rest of the day but couldn’t come up with an answer.
As he was putting his stuff in his locker after last period, he ran into Lana.
“Hi,” he said.
“Oh, hi,” she replied. She seemed a little nervous.
“Is everything okay?” he asked as they began walking toward the main door.
“Oh, no, everything’s fine.”
“How are things with you and Jason?” he queried, knowing she was still dating the former football coach.
“Um, they’re okay,” she said. He frowned, wondering why she was so hesitant and looking like she would rather look anywhere but at him.
It had been rather a surprise to him when he’d seen Lana talking to the new assistant coach last Fall. He wasn’t that obtuse that he hadn’t caught the vibes from the two of them. It later came out that the pair were dating and once the school administration learned of it, Jason had been fired.
Clark hadn’t said anything to Lana or even given any hint that he wanted to pick up where they’d left off over a year earlier. As far as he was concerned, they were over and done with. He didn’t know whether it was because of Lois and Kally, but any feelings he had for his former girlfriend had died long ago.
“Um, so are you gonna go to Prom?” Lana asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe. I was thinking I’d just go on my own though.”
He had considered asking Lois, but didn’t know if she would want to go with him. He didn’t want her to get the wrong idea and think that he was ready to explore his feelings for her. Friendship was all he could really handle right now, he thought. He didn’t want to go into the what-ifs of what happened if things didn’t work out between them. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her or his daughter.
“You read Chloe’s article though,” she said.
“You mean the ‘election of prom royalty is an archaic and elitist ritual’ Chloe Sullivan specialty rant?” he asked.
She laughed. “That’s the one.” She studied him. “What are you planning?”
He tried to look innocent. “Me? I’m not planning anything.”
“Yeah, right. I know you, Clark Kent. You’re up to something.”
“I might have put a couple of feelers out.”
“About what?” she asked.
“You’ll see. Tomorrow.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You know, I don’t know Chloe’s cousin all that well, but I think she’s a bad influence on you.”
He grinned at her, glad she was finally starting to relax enough to tease him.
“Is that right? Well, maybe Lois had nothing to do with it.”
“What is up with you two, anyway? You hang out a lot together.”
He caught the note in her voice that suggested it was more than just a casual enquiry. She was fishing for something.
“We’re friends,” he said. “Lois has been studying for her high school equivalency and I’ve been helping her with her studies.”
Lana nodded. “I guess with Kally and everything, she wouldn’t have been able to finish school. It’s nice that you’re helping her. She seems like a really great person.”
“She is. I think you’d really like her if you got to know her.”
She turned to head to the parking lot. “Well, I should get going. You’d think the teachers would give us a break from homework this close to graduation.” She made a face and sighed dramatically.
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” he agreed, wondering what homework she was talking about, since he hadn’t been given any himself and they still shared a few classes. Obviously it was a way for her to end the conversation without sounding rude.
He got up early the next morning to do his chores. His father came in, frowning at him.
“You’re up early.”
“I’m going to see Lois before school,” he said.
“I thought you only saw her on weekends,” his dad asked.
“Yeah, but she has some last-minute cramming to do on a paper and asked me to tutor her.”
“Hmm,” was all his father replied. Clark didn’t want to lie to his parents but he knew how they felt about Jor-El and his orders to search for the stones. He figured they probably wouldn’t appreciate him involving Lois either, but somehow it felt right that she was working on it with him.
“You two seem to be getting very close.”
He watched his father work for a moment before nodding.
“Yeah. I can’t explain it, but somehow, I don’t feel so alone when I’m with her. It’s not because of Kally,” he added. He’d felt that the night they’d met.
“Lois is a very special young woman,” his father replied. “I know your mom is very fond of her.”
It looked like she wasn’t the only one, Clark thought.
“Just, don’t go rushing into anything.”
“Don’t worry, Dad. We’re just friends right now.”
The blond farmer looked a little sceptical. Clark could understand. He constantly had to remind himself that he was the one who had made that decision and drawn the line between them. As much as he wanted to, he knew he wasn’t ready to cross that line. Not yet.
He left the farm an hour or so later. Lois was feeding Kally breakfast in the kitchen. She smiled when he came in.
“Hi. We’re just having breakfast,” she said, showing the plate of berry yoghurt, which was Kally’s favourite.
Clark noticed she hadn’t finished her own breakfast. “Why don’t I finish feeding Kally so you can eat your breakfast,” he suggested.
She nodded. “Okay. But I warn you, she’s in one of those moods.”
Kally sometimes got a little recalcitrant and would refuse to eat what she was given. He pushed the sleeves up and gazed sternly at his daughter.
“I hear you’ve been giving your mother trouble, young lady.”
She shook her head, her dark curls bouncing around.
He held out a spoonful of yoghurt but the one-year-old again shook her head stubbornly then babbled something that sounded almost like ‘no’, as if she was back-talking him.
“Kally Lane-Kent, are you talking back to me?” he said, hearing a snort of laughter from Lois. He turned and glared at his friend and she gazed back at him with an innocent expression.
Kally again babbled something, drawing his attention back to his daughter. She had dipped her hand in the bowl and was scrunching up her fist.
“Smallville!” The warning came a second too late. The little girl had thrown the yoghurt straight at her father. Lois burst out laughing. “Told you she was in one of those moods.”
Yoghurt dripped down his face. It was only a small amount but it was enough. Kally was giggling loudly, clearly very pleased with herself, having won whatever game she had decided they were playing.
Clark growled softly and began tickling his little girl, making her giggle harder.
“Oh, you think that’s so funny,” he said. “You’re just a funny girl, aren’t you? You’re just like your mom.”
Lois scoffed. “I never!”
He shot her a knowing look. “Oh, really? That’s not what your dad told me. At your first birthday party you threw chocolate cake everywhere. He even showed me photos.”
“Oh, that is a low blow, Kent! I know somebody who decided to go rolling in mud, without his clothes on. And I’ve seen the evidence!” She smirked at him.
“You always have to have the last word, don’t you, Lane?” he accused.
“Yup.”
He looked at Kally who was looking from one parent to the other, a big cheesy grin on her face.
“Now I know where she gets it from,” he said, glaring as Lois got up to put her dishes in the sink.
“Poor baby,” Lois cooed.
Clark stood up, stalking over and standing behind her as she rinsed her plate. She turned, a little disconcerted at his closeness.
“Smallville! Personal space!”
He frowned, remembering the night at Atlantis and his efforts to get her to dance with him. He was not exactly a skilled dancer, but on red K he hadn’t cared how it looked. He’d tried to pull her closer, but she’d said the same thing to him that she was saying now.
Despite her apparent discomfit, he could see her pulse was racing. His own heart was pounding so hard he would have been surprised if she couldn’t hear it.
Lois licked her lips, leaving a light sheen. Clark couldn’t tell if she’d done it unconsciously or deliberately but he felt the urge to kiss her. It wasn’t the first time he’d felt it but each time it went unfulfilled, it became stronger.
The little voice inside him that kept those feelings at bay reminded him once again not to cross that line, but he didn’t want to listen. After everything he’d said to Chloe the day before, he realised he knew where he wanted things to go with Lois. The question was, did she want the same?
“Clark!”
Frowning, he took in the note in Lois’ voice and heard Kally trying to say something. He turned and looked at his daughter. She was attempting to shove fistfuls of yoghurt in her mouth, getting it all over her face, her hair and the high chair, looking extremely pleased with herself.
She noticed them watching and grinned. “Mama,” she said clearly, holding out a hand coated in yoghurt.
Lois began to laugh, her giggles quickly becoming guffaws. Clark joined her a second later.
Once they were able to get some semblance of control, Clark grabbed the cloth and took the bowl away, wiping down the high chair and Kally’s hands.
“Looks like you need a bath, little girl,” he scolded. He shook his head. “What a mess!”
“She’s your kid, Smallville.”
He snorted. “Yeah, I’m not gonna touch that one, Lane!” He picked up the baby and carried her out to the cabin to give her a bath in the small tub they’d managed to find at a Granville store.
He was just dressing her when Lois came out with Kally’s bottle. Now that her game was over, the one-year-old was looking ready for a nap. They laid her down in the crib.
Lois had grabbed his laptop and set it up on the table. He’d forgotten he’d left it in the kitchen.
“Thanks,” he said quietly.
She sat beside him as he sent off the email to the professor. They had no idea how long it would take before they got a reply, but since he still had an hour or so before his first class of the day, he decided to wait it out.
The silence between them felt a little awkward. Clark wondered if Lois was thinking about what had almost happened earlier.
“Uh, about before,” he began. “I didn’t mean to come on so strong.”
She frowned at him. “What are you talking about?”
“You know, in the kitchen.”
“Nothing happened, Smallville.”
“But I wanted it to,” he replied.
“I know. The thing is …” She sighed. “The thing is, I don’t know if I’m ready for that. I mean, what if whatever happens between us falls apart. I don’t want Kally to get hurt.”
“Kally? Or you? I mean, isn’t that what this is really all about? Even if it didn’t work out between us, it’s not going to change how I feel about Kally. She’s still going to be my daughter.”
She huffed. “I can’t. I mean, you were right when you said friendship was all we could handle right now. It’s not that I don’t think about it. I do, you know. But not now. Maybe some day, when we’ve got our lives together.”
She was right. No matter how tempting it was, his logic brain told him it wasn’t the right time. Not yet.
The computer beeped, letting them know he had an email. He turned to read it.
“It’s from the professor,” he said. “She’s given me the location of the temple.” The rest of the email sent his heart plummeting. “Somebody might have beaten us to it. Apparently there was some kind of deal done with the Chinese government to allow an archaeological expedition.”
“You don’t know that they found the stone,” Lois reminded him.
“No, I know, but …”
“Go check it out,” she said. “Now.”
He quickly checked the time in China. It would be night, but that was probably a good thing, he thought. He could investigate the site under cover of darkness.
He left the inn and ran his way up through Alaska and over the Arctic back down to China. He located the temple on the outskirts of the city of Shanghai. To his dismay, there were still archaeologists working on site. As he got closer, he saw the Luthorcorp logo.
“Lex,” he murmured.
He returned to Smallville a short time later. Lois was waiting for him.
“What happened?”
He told her what he’d seen. Lois looked as disappointed as him.
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I have to find out if Lex has the stone.”
“How are you going to do that? You can’t confront him. For one thing, he’ll deny it. For another, that will just put you back under his radar.”
He ran a hand through his dark locks. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Maybe Jor-El can locate the stone,” she suggested.
It was a long shot, he thought, but he consulted with his birth father, who confirmed that there was no way for him to locate it.
There was only one other way. Clark was sure if Lex did have possession of the stone, he would have it locked away in a vault somewhere. The question was, how could he find that out without Lex figuring out what he was doing?
Unfortunately, Dawn Stiles, the school’s resident ‘Queen Bee’ put paid to any opportunity he had to figure it out until prom was over. Dawn had been humiliated when her boyfriend had broken up with her, in public, the day before prom. Smarting over that, and Chloe being nominated for prom queen, she had plotted to find a new date for the senior dance as she drove home. Police would later figure she had been on her cellphone when she lost control of her car and ended up in Shuster’s Gorge.
Thanks to some green Kryptonite, Dawn’s spirit had been able to possess others and she’d used that ability to get what she wanted, which was the prom crown, through Chloe. Even that hadn’t quite gone to plan and Clark had had to stop her burning down the entire school.
His opportunity came the day after, when Lex invited him to play pool at the mansion. Careful to ensure the cameras didn’t pick up what he was doing, he was able to x-ray the vault. The stone was nowhere to be seen.
Either Lex hadn’t found it either or someone else had found it and taken it.
Bubsy stopped Lois as she finished cleaning one of the rooms.
“Sweetie, would you mind going into town for me to run some errands?”
She smiled at her friend and boss. “Of course not.” It was part of her job but Bubsy always made it sound like she was doing her a favour.
The older woman nodded, handing her a card and a list. “Why don’t you take Kally with you?” she suggested. “I’m sure you both could do with some fresh air. And don’t hurry back, sweetheart.”
Lois watched as her boss walked away, before glancing down at the items Bubsy had handed her. There was a voucher for a free coffee at the Talon. She chuckled lightly to herself, thinking how crafty the other woman was. She never said anything but it was her way of spoiling Lois.
She didn’t need any further prompting, grabbing what she needed and taking one of the cars the inn used to drop guests off at the train or bus station. It was warm as she headed into town. Kally sat in the car seat, happily babbling away, attempting to sing along with the radio.
Once Lois had finished the errands, she parked outside the Talon and picked her daughter up. A boy she recognised as one of Clark’s football friends held the door open for her. Kally gave him a big grin as a thank you.
It was busy in the coffee shop with a line about five deep. Martha was working at the counter as she stepped up to give her order. The redhead beamed.
“Hello, sweetie. Hello Kally. What are you two up to today?”
“Just running some errands for the inn,” Lois said. She handed over the voucher. Martha shot her a knowing look and turned to start making the order.
“Can I get some juice for Kally as well?”
“Of course you can, sweetheart. Why don’t you go find a table and I’ll bring it over.”
Lois looked around the crowded café for a table. There wasn’t one to be found, but the boy from earlier waved her over. He was sitting with a couple of others.
“You can sit with us,” he said. “We don’t mind. Any friend of Clark’s …”
“Thank you,” she replied.
“So, you’re Lois, right?” one of the others said. “Clark talks about you.”
She was surprised. “He does?”
“Yeah. He said you two were good friends. I’m Mike, by the way. That loser is Justin,” he added, pointing to the boy who had invited her to sit with them. “And this jerk is Tom.” He pointed to the third boy. “I’m guessing this is Kally.” He smiled at her daughter.
“I heard Clark was helping you study for your high school equivalency,” Justin said.
She nodded in confirmation, curious to know exactly what Clark had been telling them.
She wondered if Justin was trying to find out if there was more to it than that. She couldn’t help thinking about what had almost happened the other day. Maybe Clark had been teasing her, trying to get her back for laughing at him, but he had been coming on a little strong. She had wondered if he really would have kissed her if she hadn’t seen what Kally was up to.
It was a little unfair, she thought. Clark had said all along they should really focus on friendship but he kept stirring her emotions, making her think he wanted more than that. They really weren’t ready. They both had four years of college ahead of them and while it wouldn’t be that hard to have a relationship, she had far too much to worry about with trying to raise her daughter and keep her job as well. Bubsy was a good boss and a good friend, but she still deserved Lois’ full attention when she was scheduled to work.
Lois chatted with the three boys as she drank her coffee and Kally drank her juice from a sipper bottle Martha had thoughtfully provided. Her daughter once again proved just how much of a little heartbreaker she was, giving their table companions big grins as they played with her.
She was beginning to get the impression that Justin wanted to ask her out. As much as she appreciated it, she knew she would have to let him down gently. If she didn’t already have feelings for Clark, there was no way she could even consider dating, just by the mere fact that Kally and her job took up a lot of her time already.
The three boys left after a while. Martha came to sit down beside her.
“Finally time for a break,” she said, giving her grand-daughter an adoring smile. Kally happily agreed to sit on her lap. “So, how are you doing, sweetie?”
“I’m fine,” Lois told her. “How was the prom last night?”
She knew Clark’s parents had agreed to chaperone the senior dance. Martha began telling her about the girl who had died and her spirit had somehow been able to possess others. Clark had stopped her, with help from his dad.
“I would have thought Clark would have asked you to go with him,” Martha said.
Lois nodded. They’d talked about it over the phone but she’d told him as much as she regretted missing her own prom, she had felt it better that they didn’t go together. People already talked enough about the amount of time they spent together, judging from what Clark’s three friends had told her and if they’d gone to the dance as a couple, it would have just started the rumour mill going full force. She wasn’t sure she wanted to subject her daughter to any potentially nasty gossip.
As she chatted to Martha, she couldn’t help noticing Lana and Jason arguing about something. The relationship was rather odd. Lana had apparently told Chloe that the reason she’d left Paris was because she had found out Jason had only got involved with her because of some scam he was working. When he’d come to Smallville and got a job at the school, he’d somehow managed to convince her that it was because he was in love with her.
It seemed like one week they were on and the next they were off again. Clark had even commented that it had been just as bad when he’d been dating the brunette. Lois wondered if Lana really knew what she wanted and was just using excuses to keep backing off the relationship.
Her conscience nagged at her and she wondered if perhaps she was using Kally as an excuse not to get into a relationship with Clark. While it was true they did have a relationship of sorts, it wasn’t a romantic one. Was she afraid of the outcome? Was she afraid of losing herself by being with him?
“You look miles away, sweetheart. Is there anything wrong?”
“No, well, not really. I just can’t help thinking about me and Clark. I mean, I keep thinking I’m not ready for, you know, that kind of relationship with him. I do have feelings for him and I can’t just turn those off, but …”
“Lois, being in a relationship is never easy. Goodness knows, Jonathan and I have never had it easy. My father didn’t approve. He wanted me to study law and didn’t like it when I chose to marry a farmer.”
“That’s just it. I mean, what if I lose my sense of self?”
“I know you, Lois, and that will never happen. I do think the two of you are doing the right thing by focusing on your studies right now. I love my grand-daughter, but having a child complicates your life in so many ways. When you have a young child in the house, you have little energy for everything else. Don’t feel guilty for wanting to get your own life settled before inviting someone else into it.”
Kally whimpered and Martha looked down at her. The little girl was making a face which indicated to Lois she was feeling uncomfortable - a sure sign she had messed her diaper. “Looks like somebody needs her diaper changed.”
“I’ll do that,” Lois said.
The older woman shook her head. “I don’t mind, sweetie. I never got that chance with Clark.” She picked up the diaper bag. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes,” she added, taking Kally out the back of the shop.
Lois sat and finished her second cup of coffee. She saw Lana sitting at a table. Jason had obviously left as the brunette was alone. As Lois watched, she began rummaging in her purse for something, pulling out a cloth-wrapped bundle. The cloth appeared to be Chinese silk. Lana unwrapped the silk, revealing something that looked metallic in appearance. Lois got a glimpse of some kind of symbol etched on the surface.
She hadn’t been able to see much but enough that she thought it could look like one of the symbols Clark had shown her from the drawing.
Lois quickly turned her head as Lana looked up to see if anyone was watching. She pulled out her phone and sent a text to Clark, telling him to meet her at the inn in half an hour.
She began to gather her things as Martha returned with Kally.
“I have to get going,” she said. “Bubsy will be wanting the groceries.”
“Now don’t forget. You and your dad are invited for dinner next Saturday.”
She smiled. “I won’t.” She kissed the older woman on the cheek as she took her daughter in her arms. “Thanks Martha.”
Clark was waiting for her in the reception area of the inn when she finished putting away the groceries. She beckoned for him to follow her outside.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I think Lana has the stone.”
a/n: I know it looks like Clark and Lois keep going back and forth where their relationship is concerned, but I think it's a sign that they both still have a lot of growing up to do before they can cross that line between friendship and romance. Just because you have strong feelings for someone doesn't mean you have the maturity to act on it.
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