Title: Aftermath
Author: Kiki
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Spoilers: Recruit
Author's Note: In my mind there was a CPR scene.

"Clark?"

If it hadn't been for his super hearing he would never have heard her.

"It's going to be okay." He whispered softly, not sure whom he was trying to convince. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her out of the water and holding her tightly against his chest.

"Lois? Lois? C'mon stay with me. Please."

His eyes locked with hers, both reflecting fear and horror.

"I'm going to get you out of here." Clark promised.

He was unsure how fast he could move her, or the amount of damage that could be done if he super-sped her to a hospital.

He gently lifted her into his arms, anxious to get her out from what could have been her dirty, cold, watery grave. He shuddered at the thought. He carefully made his way towards the exit, moving as fast as he dared.

Every second seemed to stretch into eternity. Finally he burst through the demolished door with Lois in his arms.

He knew she would have appreciated the irony of how they looked: the epitome of a hokey romance book cover. All he needed was the long hair and no shirt.

He glanced down into her pale face. Something was wrong.

"Lois? Lois can you hear me? Wake up!"

He was shouting, resisting the urge to shake her. He felt the panic well up, threatening to overwhelm him. He bent his head close to her chest. No heartbeat.

Before he realized what he was doing, he had Lois on the ground; coat ripped open, hands over her heart. He began CPR. He leaned down—she was going to kill him— and covered her mouth with his.

He was so intent on Lois he didn't hear Chloe's car come to a screeching halt.

"Oh my God! Lois! Clark!"

She fell to her knees near them. "Oh my God." She fumbled through her purse with shaking hands. "I'm calling an ambulance."

"Wait. She's breathing."

They watched as Lois began to cough and shake. They sat her up, both gripping her tight. The paralysis still seemed to be in effect.

"I'm…fine. No h..ho..hosp'al." Lois gasped.

Clark shook his head fiercely. "Lois, you're going."

"You can barely breathe, you could have hypothermia for all we know," Chloe tried to reason.

"Lois glared at both of them. "N..no. Hosp'al."

"You don't have a choice. Chloe, let's get her in the car. We'll take her ourselves."

Chloe nodded. She ran to open the back door for Clark as he gently hoisted Lois back into his arms. He looked down to see her still glaring—which made him want to laugh, and yell. Trust Lois to still argue, despite the fact she could barely move her lips to speak. He shook his head. "You are the most stubborn person I've ever met, Lois Lane."

Chloe helped get Lois into the back seat. Clark held her firmly in order to keep her upright. When things looked to her satisfaction Chloe ran back to the driver's seat and sped away.

"I'm f…fine. No hosp'tal." Lois wheezed.

Both ignored her.

She tried again. "G..ge'ing better. Can m…move finger."

Chloe and Clark glanced at each other skeptically.

Lois glowered up at Clark. "Look."

He looked down at her, following her eyes down to her fingers. Her index finger had begun to twitch.

"Chloe. It's starting to wear off."

Chloe sighed in relief. "Oh thank God."

"See. No hosp'tal. Fine."

"Geez, she doesn't let it go, does she?"

"I don't know Clark, maybe she's right. When we were investigating Coop he had begun to regain movement until Jeff came back and…"

"You're kidding, right? You just said she could have hypothermia, or water in her lungs. She needs to be checked out."

"She absolutely hates hospitals. But she isn't stupid Clark; if she thought something was wrong, she'd let us take her. Plus, how are we going to explain this to the doctor?"

"I'm…here." Lois whispered, rolling her eyes.

Clark glanced down amused, "must be killing you to barely talk or yell at us, huh?"

Her eyes narrowed into slits.

It was a good thing he was the only one with heat vision. Chloe and he would have been incinerated by now.

"Getting better," She croaked.

"Lois, the only way Clark and I will even consider not taking you to the hospital is if you promise to tell us if you feel even the slightest bit sick or that something isn't right."

"You have to promise," Clark said firmly.

Lois nodded soberly. "Promise," she rasped.

"I can't believe we're letting her win."

Chloe sighed. "Me neither."

"Chloe, her shaking is getting worse, we have to get her out of these wet clothes." He quickly shrugged out of his semi-wet coat and wrapped it around Lois like a blanket.

"Y..you wish, Sma'ville."

Chloe made it to Lois's dorm room in record time. Clark carried her in, then left to give Lois some privacy as Chloe removed her drenched clothing.

They decided to take turns at her bedside throughout the night.

1:21 A.M.

"Chloe? I'll take over. You get some sleep."

"Thanks, Clark." She yawned loudly. "Wake me up if anything changes." She said stumbling sleepily towards the couch.

Clark sat down beside Lois' bed watching her breathe. He was happy to see the colour had returned to her cheeks. She was now able to move her head as well as her hands and feet.

He traced a finger softly over her cheek. He needed to reassure himself that she was real and alive.

He had made it in time.

For that he was eternally grateful. He hadn't failed her like he had Alicia. If he had been a few minutes later…

He pulled his hand away, trembling. It shook him more than he would ever admit.

Seeing Lois weak and vulnerable was unnerving. He couldn't imagine losing her. Despite the teasing, and the bickering, he liked her. They had a unique relationship, but he knew underneath all the bantering was a genuine friendship—no matter how much they both denied it.

"I'm sorry Lois," he whispered softly. "I should have stopped Geoff earlier… I didn't want to believe—"

Lois opened her eyes. "Having a pity party without me?"

Clark smiled sheepishly. "Sorry for waking you up."

"I'm glad you did," she admitted quietly. "I was having a bad dream."

"About Geoff?"

"No. I could've kicked his ass if he hadn't snuck up on me. I dreamt I was trapped in a dark room. I couldn't move or breathe. I was getting claustrophobic." She shuttered at the memory.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to you before—"

"Clark?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up. As much as it pains me to admit, you kind of saved my life. So, well, uh, thanks."

Clark grinned. "Wow. I don't think I caught that. Could you say that again, please?"

"Watch it Smallville. If I had full movement of my arm, I'd smack you."

Clark laughed quietly. "I'm glad you're alright Lois."

"Me too."

He reached for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Go back to sleep. I'll wake you up if you have another nightmare."

Lois began to protest.

He put his finger over her lips.

"Lois, shut up and go to sleep. I'm not leaving — Chloe would kill me."

She smiled sleepily. "Mmm…don't want to mess with the wrath of Chloe. It runs in the family."

He watched as she struggled to get comfortable, shifting as much as her body could.

He had no idea what to do, so he did as his mom had done to him when he'd had nightmares. He sat down gingerly at the edge of the bed and gently rubbed her back, and began telling her stories about how he had met Chloe and a few of their funnier adventures.

In a matter of minutes she was fast asleep.

Clark couldn't make himself leave her. He sat back against the headboard and continued to stroke her back.

He hadn't failed this time. Lois wasn't Alicia. She was going to be fine.

The End.

A/N: I remember before this episode aired how many were hoping for a CPR scene and since we were gypped, I figured I'd add it in for this challenge. Hope you enjoyed it.