Title: Midnight Discoveries
Author: scullymulder
Spoilers: Eh...none that I know of.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Summary: Lois ventures downstairs in the middle of the night while staying at the Kent's. She discoveres a little more about Clark. In response to Rapierhomme's challenge.
Archive: Sure, just tell me.
Rating: PG-13

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A/N: So...yeah...This is in response to a challenge. Ya know, I would be writing more on CS or Memory, but noooo. Lol, jk. This is good for my writing skills.

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Lois' eyes fluttered open. The dream that had quickly progressed past a nightmare insisted on recurring.

At first it was the man in the red cape that had scared her – in her dream she thought she had loved him, which for her was frightening.

Then the man in the red cape had changed – into Clark Kent. And that's what scared her the most; the fact that she might be, subconsciously, in love with him.

But she couldn't be. That was why they were called nightmares. You were scared of whatever it was that you dreamed would happen. She wasn't scared of falling in love with Clark Kent, per say, just scared of falling in love, period. It was just that Clark was the most prominent guy in her life at the moment, so it made sense her nightmares would be focused around him.

Yeah. Sure. That was it.

Flinging the sheets off her body, she stepped into her bunny slippers and walked out the door, her destination being the Kent kitchen. Whenever she had a nightmare, she always had gotten orange juice. She didn't know why, but it calmed her for some reason.

Descending the steps that led into the kitchen, she saw that the light was on.

She walked through the door way that separated kitchen from dining room, having stepped off of the stairs, to see Clark sitting at the kitchen counter, hands covering his eyes and his fingers buried in his hair.

He looked absolutely miserable.

"Damn, Smallville, what happened? Lana break your heart again?"

He didn't bother to lift his hands from his eyes before he responded -- he knew who it was. "Go away, Lois."

"Oh, so that's how you treat a guest, huh?" she asked as she opened the fridge, taking out the orange juice.

"Lois, please, I'm not in the mood."

"What is wrong with you? Even when Lana devastatingly breaks your heart, you're never like this," she said as she grabbed a glass from a cabinet.

"Chl…Chloe died," he said, his voice sounding choked.

"What!" she asked, her heart rate starting speed up rapidly.

Clark continued, ignoring her. "Mom died, Dad died, Pete died….you died."

"Clark," she said, her heart rate slowing back down, "I'm right here. You mom and dad are upstairs. Chloe called me from Met U this evening, remember? And Pete…well, I have no clue. Never met him. No one died, Clark."

"I know that, Lois. It just...seemed…so real. And I couldn't do anything to stop it. It was my fault that you died."

Lois walked around the opposite side of the counter and sat down on a stool as she poured orange juice into her glass.

As she screwed the cap back onto the juice container, she cast a glance at Clark, who still had his hands covering his eyes.

She sighed at him, her eyes dancing all over his face, albeit its cover.

She brought her hands up to his and they tugged at his, causing them to fall limply off his face and onto the counter. She tucked her thumb under his chin, and slowly forced his eyes level with hers.

"It was just a dream, Clark. No one died. You didn't fail anyone. You are a wonderful person, and you put yourself down entirely too much, especially over a nightmare."

"Wonderful?" he asked, his blue eyes vulnerable. "You mean that, Lois?"

"Yeah, Clark, I do. Just because I'm not as good a person as you doesn't mean I can't recognize when someone is."

His forehead creased in confusion. "But you are a good person, Lois. You're incredibly loyal and selfless when it comes to your family…and my family. You stayed and helped my parents rebuild this place while I was gone. Most people wouldn't do that."

"Yeah, well, like I said. Your folks are like the parents I never had."

"Folks, Lois? The country is really growing on you, huh?"

She smacked him lightly on the arm, grinning. "Yeah, well…it's nice out here."

Clark blinked in surprise. That definitely wasn't the response he was expecting.

Lois smiled at him. "Contrary to common belief, I do have a nice side."

"Only Chloe gets to see it," Clark mumbled.

"What, jealous?" she asked, returning to her former glory.

Clark rolled his eyes. "Not jealous. Envious. You don't bust her chops all the time like you do me."

"Yeah, well, she's family."

"But you just said I was!"

"No, that's your parents," she said.

Lois finished her orange juice as she stood up from the counter and placed the orange juice back in the refridgerator.

As she grew even with Clark, she looked at him with concern. "Did that help?"

He smiled at her. "Yeah, Lois. It did. Thank you."

She returned the smile, "Any time, Clark. I'm glad you're feeling better."

She turned away from him and started to walk towards the stairs, but an arm placed on her stomach stopped her softly.

"Lois?"

Her head turned towards his, and her eyebrows rose when she saw that his face was mere inches from hers.

"Yes, Clark?"

He didn't response, but instead he lowered his lips to hers, barely letting them touch.

It wasn't quite a friendship kiss and it was far from a lovers kiss. It was, however somewhere in between.

He drew his head away from hers, taking his arm from her torso.

"What was that for?" Lois asked, her eyes a torrent of confusion.

Clark smiled faintly at her and responded. "A thank you."

"Well, you're welcome."

"Hey, Clark," Lois asked. "You didn't mention Lana's name. Why?"

Clark blinked. "I...I dunno. I didn't dream about her dying."

"Huh," Lois said, fascinated. "Well, see ya in the morning."

She walked slowly away, finger to her lips. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, her foot paused on the first step as she looked back at Clark, a smile tugging at the ends of her lips.

She drew her gaze away from his face, trudging up the stairs to try and get back to sleep, leaving Clark Kent behind, watching with a faintly happy smile on his face.

End

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A/N2: Blek. I hated this.
A/N3: Oh...review? Please?

Scullymulder