Pairing: Clois, some Clana/ Chimmy Plot: Set after Bizarro. After saving Lois, Chloe 'died' but she did not revive til the next morning when Clark found her still alive in the morgue. Lana is still thought to be dead. Alternate Universe: (there are a few changes to characters/events)
Spoilers: None past season 7
Rating – PG13
Everyone was gone. Their worlds were over. All either could feel at the moment was numbness and loss. Lex had destroyed both their lives forever because they dared to cross his path. Now he was going to pay the price and lose his freedom.
Guilt overwhelmed Clark - Lana only married Lex to protect Clark. She was selfless to the last and proved her love for him time and time again, but this time had paid with her life. Clark had been through enough heartache in his lifetime with the loss of his father, and now the loss of his soulmate. He wanted to kill Lex for what he had done, the feeling of revenge was running out of control through his veins.
Lois's head was in a state of confusion. What had happened in that dam, leaving Chloe fighting for her life. She had woken up to find Chloe unconsciousness. The medical staff had been puzzled by her condition but one thing was certain, she was not expected to regain consciousness.
Lois was sitting by her cousin's bedside when the machines suddenly alarmed. A flurry of doctors came in the room, ushering Lois out of the room. Ten minutes later a doctor appeared from the room. Lois did to ask, the expression on the doctor's face and slight shaking of her head told her the news which would tear her world apart.
Clark got a call from the hospital to say Chloe was in a coma. He could not help Lana but he could help his friend, Lois needed him.
He arrived at the hospital to find Lois crumpled into a heap on the floor. A nurse was trying to comfort her but with no success. She wanted to be left alone to deal with it. Just then she felt a familiar hand on her shoulder and then a weak voice.
"Lois, let me help you up." Clark offered his hand to her with a weak supportive smile.
"Chloe is gone Clark. She's dead." Lois sobbed as she clung on him for dear life.
Clark hugged her tightly, not allowing Lois to see the tears which had begun to fall down his face again. Not only Lana, but now his best friend were gone. How much more could he take. Then suddenly it hit him, he had to be there for Lois. She was an emotional wreck.
He had one mission in life now and that was to protect Lois from the world. She had suffered too much, and all as a result of the phantoms being released from the Phantom Zone. The guilty was taking over his mind. He pulled himself together and pulled away from Lois so he could see her face.
"Lo, there is nothing more we can do here. Let me take you home. You need to be with someone tonight."
Lois gave a nod, but was obviously in shock. The trip back to the Farm was an eerily silent one. Clark thought back to the happier times when he and Lois used to fight over whether she could play the Whitesnake CD she always had in her bag. Lois soon fell asleep; her wet cheeks were the only sign of her emotional turmoil. Clark was just pleased to see Lois had settled.
The Farm was quiet. His mother was gone. It was cold and empty. Even Shelby had his tail between his legs and his hand hung low. He could tell something was not right. Clark carried Lois upstairs and laid her in his bed. He covered her up and kissed her on the cheek.
He was tired, so he came back downstairs and fell asleep. He would hear if Lois needed him.
Hours later, Clark awoke to the sound of Lois screaming. He was upstairs in seconds.
Lois was bolt upright in bed, her breathing was rapid and she was sweating.
"Lo, what happened. You were screaming." Clark sat on the bed
"It was a nightmare. I dreamt Chloe came back." Lois was starting to sob again.
Clark could no longer control his emotions. The flood gates opened. His chest was heaving. It even stopped Lois from crying. She was shocked. She had never seen Clark like this. Chloe was his best friend.
"This is not how life was meant to be. First Lana and now Chloe." Clark whispered.
Lois wondered if she had heard correctly so asked him. "Lana, what's wrong with Lana?"
His eyes betrayed the truth. She was gone too.
"Clark, please no, not Lana as well."
They clung to each other, both understanding what the other was going through – the feelings of nothingness and emptiness formed a bond between them.
Then out of the blue, Lois looked at Clark with an expression he had never seen before. It was one of need and longing.
"Clark, stay with me tonight. I need to feel something. Help me forget" Lois begged.
She leant over to him, and their lips ended up inches apart, both quivering in anticipation of what was going to happen next. Within seconds their lips crashed together. What happened next was a frenzy of need, all that mattered was taking away the feelings of pain, even if it was for only one night.
Their clothes lay in shreds on the floor, having been ripped off in the aggressive madness that followed. Their bodies moved together, each movement making the painful memories fade for a moment until an explosion hit both their bodies in unison. "
Lois woke up the following morning sprawled across Clark's bed. It took her a few minutes to realise what had happened between her and Clark and why she was totally naked. She looked across to see Clark fast asleep with a little smile across his face and not a care in this world, well at least until he woke up and reality hit him.
Luckily she still had some clothes to wear from when she lived here. She pulled them on quickly and ran out of the house. She started the walk into town. She needed some fresh air to deal with the wide ranging emotions she had dealt with in the past twenty four hours.
By the time she reached the Talon she had cleared her mind of the events of last night and come to one conclusion – it was sex, pure and simple. In some ways it was her and Clark's way of escaping from the reality of the ongoing tragedy in their lives. She did not regret last night, in fact it had been unlike anything she had ever experienced, in some ways carnal, driven by the need to forget all the pain and hurt.
There was nothing more to it than that. No doubt Clark would just clamp up about it and not talk about it. There was only one thing on Lois's mind. That was to find out what had gone on during the time in dam and how Chloe had died. She remembered pulling a knife out of her stomach and then collapsing. There was no indication this had happened apart from the blood bath on her tee.
Clark woke up to an empty space next to him. He thought about the consequences of what had happened last night. Lois had probably fled in a panic. He had to talk to her and see she was okay. First of all he had to go to the hospital to pick up some of Lana's property, not that there was much left after the explosion. He got to the hospital in the truck but it was all a bit of a daze, but not about Lana, more about the experiences he had with Lois last night.
He was taken aback by the amazing, mindblowing sensations he had felt last night. It had never been like that the one time he was with Lana. As soon as his thoughts turned to Lana, he felt the guilt return. How could he be thinking about another woman, never mind having sex with her. Lana had done nothing to deserve the fate that had taken her life. He concluded that last night was better forgotten and never mentioned again. No doubt Lois was thinking the same way.
He arrived at the hospital and he was directed to the Bereavement Office down the corridor. He was just in time. Just then he heard Chloe shouting of him. Was his imagination.
It was coming from the morgue. He ran in and opened the fridge where Chloe was and she sat up. She looked as white as a sheet, but then again she had just come back from the dead.
Clark calmed her, " It's okay. It's okay."
Chloe panicked. " Am I in a morgue?"
Clark suggested. " Come on, let's get you out –"
Chloe asked again, " Why am I in a morgue?
"You're alive. That's what matters now." Clark reassured her
"But I wasn't alive, was I? Lois." Chloe realised what he meant.
Clark told Chloe that Lois was alive and kicking. Chloe saw her death certificate, it felt surreal but nothing prepared her for the shock of seeing Lana's certificate on the desk. She didn't ask, she just looked at Clark and hugged him.
Clark called Lois and asked if she could come around to the Talon. She guess she was wrong about Clark and that he probably wanted to talk about last night.
She opened the door to see Chloe standing talking to Clark as though nothing had happened.
"What the hell is going on, is this some sort of joke?" Lois was hysterical
"No, Lois its really me" as Chloe went on to tell Lois the story of what happened.
Lois could not stop crying. She was so happy to see Chloe again, that she hadn't realised that this was the first time she had seen Clark since last night.
Chloe's cell rang. "It's Jimmy, I'll be back soon." She said as she walked into the bedroom and shut the door.
Clark and Lois just avoided eye contact with one another until Clark piped up.
"I didn't hear you leave this morning. You ok?" Clark asked tenderly.
Lois smiled. "Yes, I am now. I can't believe that Chloe is back. My prayers have been answered."
It suddenly hit Lois how unfair she was being going on about Chloe after Clark had just lost the love of his life.
"I'm so sorry Clark. I am being insensitive. How are you holding up?" Lois touched his hand.
Whatever connection that was between them last night reignited at that touch. Clark realised this and pulled his hand away.
"I'm fine Lois" he snapped as he walked to other side of the room.
"Clark, let me help you. I am here" Lois tried to approach him but his body language told her to back off.
"Lois, just leave me. I'll be fine. Just get back to your life. I will deal with my loss in my own time and my own way."
Clark looked angry or was it guilt, Lois wondered. She had to sort this out.
"Clark, as far as I am concerned last night was just about two people desperate to feel needed. I will never breathe another word to anyone else about it. It remains between us." Lois tried to calm him.
"Lois, that is just the problem. I don't know if I can go along with this 'no strings attached sex' idea. I can't deal with it. My whole world has been turned upside down."
"What do you mean Clark?" Lois asked.
"Did you not feel it too last night. It blew me away. That was not about just two people consoling each other was it." Clark asked
"Clark, I can understand you are devastated, I am too. But I think you are reading into things too much. Last night was based on desperation, nothing else." Lois lied.
Deep down Lois knew she had felt something too.
First the loss of Lana, now rejection by Lois. It was too much to deal with. He turned and walked out of the door, saying nothing more...
Clark spent the night in a world of limbo. He could not reconcile his head with the loss of Lana and the night with Lois. The thoughts swirled around his head, all mixed up and swinging from one extreme to another. On one hand he was tortured by feelings of guilt and betrayal of Lana's memory but on the other hand he longed again for the feelings of addictive pleasure from his night with Lois. If Lois had appeared right now he would find it hard to refuse her.
Clark felt as though he was better off not seeing Lois until he could sort his feelings out and most of all grief for his loss. Everytime he thought about Lois his clarity and perspective on life seemed to get clouded over again. He decided there was only one way to proceed – he was going to start his training at the Fortress. After all he had nothing left for him Smallville. He wanted some direction in his life.
Chloe rang and asked if he would accompany Lois to the dam. She was adamant about going, but Chloe did not feel up to it. Lois and Clark met at the dam and headed down the newly forged path through the forest. Clark was acting his usual annoying self, fussing over her.
Clark turned around to her, "Lois, you've had a near-death experience. You should be resting. What are we doing out here?"
"I'm going to find out what Lex is up to. Clark, you, on the other hand, are not required to attend. After what happened to Lana, why don't you take up Chloe's offer and hang out with her at the Talon?" Lois replied sensitively.
" It's dangerous out here. And it seems that keeping you out of trouble has become a bad habit of mine. Besides, it gives me a good opportunity to say goodbye."
Lois gave a half smile. " You can't break up with me, Clark. We're not even a couple."
That touched a bit of a nerve in Clark but he would not show his reaction to the comment, he just continued his explanation
" Lois, I'm leaving Smallville... after Lana's funeral".
The mention of her name caused both of them to give each other an awkward glance. That night had been a mistake, but neither could let go of it very easily.
" Wow, didn't see that coming. Where are you running away to, Clark?"
Clark replied. " Up North. There's something I need to do."
" Well, what about the farm? You can't just let the corn die on the vine." Lois looked sad at his announcement.
Clark asked "My neighbor Ben Hubbard - he's gonna run things for a while. What's wrong, Lois? I thought you'd be happy to get rid of me."
Lois's expression turned serious. "I don't want to answer that Clark. I could implicate myself"
"How?" Clark needed to know.
"Leave it Clark!" Lois pleaded with him
He touched her shoulder and turned her to face him.
"Lois, I need to know what you mean."
"No, you don't Clark. Maybe it is better for everyone if you just leave" Lois looked hurt as she strided off.
Clark jogged to catch up with her. This time he grabbed her hand and pulled around.
"Lois, do you really mean that?.
"Clark, leave it, I beg you or..." Lois did not complete her sentence.
"Or what?" Clark shouted.
Lois's bottom lip was quivering. "Or we will do something we both regret."
"How do you know we will regret it." Clark asked, pushing Lois more.
"Well we both regret that night, don't we" Lois was tearing up.
Clark looked at Lois with his blue eyes fixed on hers. His heart wanted to announce that he had no regrets but then his head told him he should be grieving and having feelings for Lois was inappropriate.
Clark broke eye contact with her and muttered "Suppose so..."
Before Lois could respond she saw something shining through the trees. It was large object that had obviously been hidden on purpose. Lois pulled some of the trees off it, leaving Clark amazed by what he saw – Kryptonian Symbols. This looked very much like some kind of spaceship, but what was it doing in the middle of nowhere by the dam.
Lois was amazed. "What is that? Holy crap, this is amazing. Check this out, Clark. Oh, my God. What do you think it is?"
Clark tried to sound unimpressed, " Lois, it's probably just some sort of experimental airplane."
"Then why aren't there any windows? And those symbols - they aren't like any airline logos I've ever seen. If you ask me, we're looking at a real live spaceship.
Clark replied, trying to convince Lois " Come on. You and I both know that they don't really exist."
Just then something or someone blurred past and knocked Lois out cold. The blur turned out to be young woman. Clark tried to retaliate against her but she had an advantage she could fly.
Clark fussed over Lois when they got back to the Talon, but she was not having any of it. Having him around was making her feel awkward. Maybe it would better when he left Smallville because while he was around something kept drawing her to him.
A day later, Clark had found out all about his cousin Kara. And thanks to Jor-el request that he remain in Smallville to watch Kara, life had just got a lot more complicated. Not only did he have to deal with his headstrong young cousin, he also had to face his feelings for Lois which were growing by the minute.
