Truth or Farewell
By Bren Ren
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Summary: A slightly revised take on that poignant scene in the loft from Salvation
Rating: All Audiences Approved—nothing you wouldn't see on primetime
Disclaimer: Yes, the Finale was as darn near perfection as I could have dared ask for, but I couldn't resist this little fix-it fic for the one and only moment in the episode I'd have changed if I were in charge. Which obviously I'm not. And I'm also not making a hay-penny off this, so I'll kindly ask your indulgence for a little harmless fun!
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"Come on, Clark!" Lois hated the way her voice was cracking, and she had to swallow hard against the bolder lodged in her throat. "I need you… to be honest with me. Please, just tell me…" She was begging full-stop now, and hating herself even more for being reduced to such a groveling crybaby.
Clark's expression was clearly torn and his eyes were dark with anguish and sorrow. "I can't tell you," he told her, his tone filled with remorse.
"But you could tell Chloe, couldn't you?" Lois spat out. "That's who you could tell."
"Lois—"
"Forget it." She spun on her heel and started marching toward the stairs, but before she could even descend the first step, she whipped back around and ran to Clark with silent tears trickling down her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around his waist and clung to him like a life preserver in a gale-force storm. "Just hold me," she whispered, unable to produce even the softest of vocal tones.
Clark wrapped his arms around her and pulled her ever closer against the broad expanse of his chest. "I'm sorry, Lois," he murmured softly. "Just know that wherever you go… I will be watching over you."
Lois tensed in his embrace the instant those words slipped past Clark's lips, and she struggled valiantly to hold back a sharp gasp at the familiarity of those words. Her brain, already a whirlwind of confusion and uncertainty, charged into hyperdrive at the potential implications wrought from that seemingly simple statement of assurance. She carefully extracted herself from Clark's arms while schooling her features into something she hoped resembled calm acceptance. "I should go."
Before Clark could formulate a response, she turned again and fled, this time not even pausing as she fairly flew down the stairs and out of the barn. Once inside the safety of her car, Lois brought her hand up to eye level to stare at the small metallic object she'd somehow managed to slip out of Clark's pocket without his noticing. Those unusual alien symbols were etched into its surface, and she traced one with the tip of her finger. She glanced over her shoulder back toward the barn, and as she spied Clark's shadow creeping out from through doorway, she shoved the object into her pocket. She quickly averted her gaze before Clark fully emerged, fastened her seatbelt, started the engine, and drove off without so much as one last parting glance.
More confused and conflicted than ever, she drove back out to Metropolis to meet with Zod one last time. As she crossed into the outskirts of Metropolis, she firmly resolved not to hand over the Book of Rao until she was absolutely certain that Zod was indeed the superhero he claimed to be—and that Clark, who was definitely not all he appeared to be, was truly the villain Zod had painted him as. She mentally vowed that one way or another, the truth was going to come to light tonight.
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Fin!