"Lois! What are you doing here? I thought you were spending the weekend with Chloe?"

Jonathan was right behind his wife. "Is everything ok?"

Lois raised her head from the oak table and gave them a rueful smile. "Depends on your definition of ok. I'm fine; everyone is fine. It's just been a weird couple of days."

Martha nudged her husband. His eyes widened in panic. He didn't know how to talk to a young girl, no a young woman. Especially when that woman was Lois. He had a hard enough time trying to reason with Clark. And spitfire was not a term that could be applied to his son.

Martha rolled her eyes and shoved him forward. Men. "How about some pancakes, Lois. Will that help?"

Lois perked up like a child. "With lots of chocolate chips?" she asked hopefully.

Martha laughed. "Of course. But now that you're at the Talon you have to promise to come for breakfast every Sunday." She smiled in amusement. "You're sweet-tooth is almost as bad as my son's."

"All that sugar...it just rots your teeth." Jonathan shook his head in mild disgust.

Lois groaned. "Could you not mention either sugar or your son."

Jonathan's head flew up. "Clark? What did he do?"

Lois made a face. "What doesn't he do? Stupid farmboy."

The Kent's exchanged glances. Jonathan lost. "Umm, is there anything you'd like to tell us?"

Lois looked up into Jonathan's concerned gaze and smiled reassuringly. "You're a sweetheart Mr. K." She patted his shoulder and jumped up to help set the table.

"Pancakes are ready. Lois do you want the whipped cream? I don't think Clark used it all with his pie..." Martha called, her head in the cupboard.

"Oooh, yes, please! Do you want me to try and find it? I know where Clark hides it. He's really not that bright. He always puts it in the same spot."

"Where--oh, never mind I found it." Martha came over with a heaping plate of pancakes. They all sat down to eat.

Lois didn't waste a moment, already digging into her pancakes and whipped cream.

Jonathan grimaced. "That is disgusting."

Lois glanced up at him. "Mr. K, your wife is too amazing of a cook to make anything disgusting." She grinned. "Right Mrs. Kent?"

Martha shot her husband a warning look. "Is something wrong with my pancakes, dear?"

"Of course not. I meant the chocolate and whipped cream. I see no evidence of there even being a pancake on that plate. I wish Clark were here. I don't stand a chance when you girls do this."

Martha and Lois grinned, nodding in agreement. Every time they had pancakes a similar conversation would ensue.

"So how was your time in Metropolis with Chloe?" Martha asked innocently.

Jonathan tried to hide his grin. Leave it to Martha not to drop a subject.

Lois glowered into her food. "Interesting. Weird. That about explains it." She took another bite, grumbling to herself. "Let Chloe talk me into becoming a stripper, getting held hostage by a lunatic who thought I should become the Britney Spears of his sex-slave ring, I mean really, I know I was pretty good on that pole but do I look like a person who takes orders!" she growled.

Jonathan and Martha stared at her, mouths open in shock, not sure if Lois was trying to be funny, but she was too busy stabbing her pancakes.

"I would have been fine too, but noooo, Clark decides he needs to play hero. I know his synapses weren't firing on all cylinders from the lap dance I had to give him, but seriously, I had Andre just where I wanted him but no, Mr. Hero-complex decides I'm another simpering damsel in distress. Doesn't he get enough of that with Lana."

Martha almost choked on her glass of coffee.

Jonathan's face was getting redder by the second. "Lois." She kept mumbling to herself about idiots and slipping a twenty, Chloe and death. He wondered if Clark and Chloe would be avoiding Smallville for the next while. He could see why. He tried a bit louder. "Lois!"

Lois glanced up startled. "Huh?" She looked at Jonathan, then Martha. Oh. She grimaced. "I said that out loud didn't I?"

They both nodded. "Care to explain?"

"Well Mr. Kent, I'm sure you don't really want to know..." Lois trailed off at his unimpressed expression. So that's where Clark got it. It was definitely a lot more intimidating on the senior Kent. "Ok, you do want to know. Well, which part? Chloe making me pose as a stripper? Or me getting kidnapped by Andre the sex-ring creeper?" She brightened, figuring she could turn the focus to Clark. "Or what your son was doing at a strip joint?"

Jonathan looked at her sternly. "How about how you were held hostage and almost killed." Lois winced. Or not.

"Uh, funny story, actually."

Martha spoke up. "I'm not sure what's funny about you almost being killed."

Lois sighed. "Well, that part wasn't funny. But you should have seen Farmboy's face when I...oh, actually that isn't funny either." she backpedaled quickly. Mrs. Kent might find a faint glimmer of humour about her giving Mrs. Kent's precious son a lap dance, but she doubted Mr. Kent would.

She took a sip of her coffee and then told them the whole story-well most of it. She omitted and twisted a few tiny details.

Jonatha sighed, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "So, the three of you put yourselves in danger for a story?"

Lois bit her lip. Reluctant to tell him the whole truth, but she couldn't lie to the Kent's. They deserved to know the truth.

"Yeah. We were trying to clear the Senator."

"What! You kids did this to help my old friend?"

"Well, yah. But there was no way Chloe would have passed up that story anyway. And I wouldn't have let her go alone, and you know how I tend to find myself in... interesting situations. Plus, I'd blame Clark. Seriously, trouble seems to find him everywhere. So it would have happened no matter what." Lois said quickly.

Martha had to agree. "Jonathan, don't you dare go blaming yourself or these kids. Everyone's hearts were in the right place, and things turned out for the best so maybe we should just let this one go."

"But Martha--"

"She's right, Mr. Kent. We solved Melissa's murder, the bad guys are put away. It's all good."

Jonathan shook his head. "Ganging up on me again."

Martha and Lois smiled at him innocently.

"Alright, alright. But Lois, try to keep yourself out of trouble. I'll be mentioning that to Chloe and Clark as well."

"I'll do my best."

Martha nodded. "Good, now how about we all go for a walk."

Lois agreed quickly, anxious to change subjects. "Good idea, Shelby keeps nudging my leg. He's getting restless."

They all headed out the door, Shelby barking happily, walking alongside Lois.

"Lois?"

"Yeah, Mr. K?"

"While we walk you can tell us about this lap dance you gave our son."

Lois stopped short. Maybe a walk was a bad idea.

The End.