Chapter One

"Well it's about time you two got here," Chloe said, glancing up as they approached. She was currently lying on her front, letting Oliver put some sunscreen on her back.

Clark was genuinely pleased to see his best friend so happy. For a while it had been a little awkward, finding out that Lois' ex was now dating her cousin. But Lois didn't have a problem with it and now, things were easier and they were able to do things like today without any awkwardness.

Lois set her towel out next to them and started taking her clothes off. "Don't blame me, I had to get him out of his fortress of brooding. And you knew that would be no easy task."

"Hey! I was not brooding." he defended, irritably. But when she lifted her t-shirt over her head, revealing a skimpy red bikini underneath, that left very little to the imagination, Clark found himself having to avert his eyes. He ground his teeth together as he noticed that Lois had caught a few other men's attentions too.

"Oh that's right, no brooding, you were just applying for a job at the Planet." Lois said, teasing him.

Without realising what he was doing, Clark moved to stand in front of her as she took her pants off, effectively guarding her from the eager views of the other men. But it didn't guard her from his.

"I wasn't…"

"Clark Kent, a reporter?" Oliver said with a light snort. "Sorry big guy, it's just not something I can picture."

Clark scowled at him. "Why not?"

Oliver shrugged, replacing the cap on the sunscreen. He tossed the bottle to Lois and laughed. "I don't know, mild mannered reporter by day and…" He trailed off, but Clark knew what he was getting at. So did Chloe, if her smile was anything to go by. But he could do it, couldn't he? Separate his identities? He certainly hoped so.

"Smallville?" Frowning, he turned to Lois. "Help a lady out?" she asked, holding the bottle out to him.

He swallowed hard, an image of running his hands over that creamy skin instantly popping up in his mind. To disguise it, he smirked. "When I see one, I will."

"Well until then, you'll have to make do with me." She threw him a mock glare and turned around, her back facing him. "Come on, it won't kill you."

He took the bottle and twisted off the cap, squeezing some cream out onto his hands. He sank to his knees in the sand as she sat in front of him. With a deep breath, he rubbed his hands together and started to rub the cream into her skin.

"Mmm," she let out a slight moan, making him draw his hands back fast. She grinned over her shoulder and Clark shook his head. She was playing with him. Was she aware of how hard this was for him right now? Probably not.

"Well, if you don't wanna be a reporter Smallville, you could always become a masseur."

At her comment, he forced his hands to work a little lighter. When he was done, he cleared his throat and sat back.

"Thanks," she said, rubbing some into her arms. Then Clark's eyes widened as she abruptly turned and got onto her knees. "Your turn."

He shuffled back a little. "I…uh, I'm okay thanks."

It wasn't that he didn't want her to touch him, quite the opposite actually and they were in far too public a place for that. Where was this sudden attraction coming from? Sure he'd noticed Lois before, who wouldn't? But since when had he, himself, thought of Lois in that way?

"But you'll burn in this heat Clark." she said, sweetly.

"I'll be fine."

Then she broke into a fit of laughter and stood up. "You're still too easy Smallville." She flipped her hair behind her and ran towards the lake.

"You gonna let her get away with that Clark?" Oliver asked, an amused brow raised. Chloe sat up and leaned back into him, throwing Clark a challenging look.

That was it, he was going to get some payback.

Lois ran towards the water, still laughing, but just as she reached the edge, she glanced back and almost stumbled. Clark had peeled off his shirt and was heading straight for her. She allowed herself a very brief moment to take him all in, the way his muscles moved as he ran, the broad expanse of his chest.

Well, she'd been right when she told him wasn't bad to look at in a swim suit. Except today he was wearing long shorts. She shook her head out of those thoughts, noticing that he was gaining on her, so she dove in and let the water cool her heated skin. But the memory of his hands, so gentle on her back, wouldn't leave her alone.

After swimming out a few feet to where she could no longer touch the bottom of the lake, she noticed Clark was nowhere in sight. She couldn't see him anywhere, Chloe and Oliver were on their own, cuddling and laughing. So where was…? She felt a pair of hands grab her ankles, a split second before she was pulled under the water. She emerged, coughing and spluttering.

"Smallville, what the hell!"

Clark floated alongside her, wearing a look of satisfaction. "I thought you were an excellent swimmer."

"I am, when someone isn't sneaking up, trying to drown me." she protested.

He rolled his eyes. "I was hardly trying to drown you Lois, and anyway, you asked for it with your little stunt back there."

She swept her wet hair back from her face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Lois," he warned, a heated look entering his eyes. Or was she imagining that?

"Okay, okay, don't get your plaid in a twist."

Her smile faded at the warning look he gave her, and just before he dove for her again, she swam away. He laughed and watched her for a minute, deciding to give her a head start. When she reached the edge of the lake and climbed out, Clark suddenly couldn't tear his eyes away from her.

He was aware that he was staring, yet he couldn't stop. Her long legs glided through the shallow water as she walked onto the embankment and then she turned his way, shot him a playful look and disappeared into the woods surrounding the lake.

Lois ran a little further into the woods, listening for the sounds of footsteps coming out of the lake. She put a hand to her heaving chest, forcing herself to calm down. Her heart was racing, and not just because of the swim. With the water gleaming off his chest, it had been difficult to look anywhere else. She'd practically had to tear her gaze away and swim off.

She heard a twig snap, he was coming. She grinned and took off, running a little slower because of her bare feet. But suddenly, she lost her footing and went down, hard. She felt her head strike something, a rock? A branch? She didn't know. There was a flash of light, almost like a lightning bolt, and then all too soon, the blackness was swimming up to meet her.

"Lois?" Clark yelled, stopping to take a look around. He listened intently, but could hear no signs of her. Where was she? She couldn't have gotten that far. He walked a little further, concern now starting to take over and that was when he spotted her feet sticking out from behind a tree.

He raced over and threw himself down next to her, lowering his ear to her face to see if she was breathing. Thankfully, she was. But she had a nasty wound on her forehead that was bleeding quite badly.

"Lois." he said, gently shaking her shoulders. Slowly, her eyes started to flutter open and as soon as they landed on him, they scrunched up in pain.

"Ow." she moaned, raising a hand to her head. "Did you get the number plate of that truck?"

"What happened? Are you okay?" he asked, helping her up.

"Yeah, I'm…" She wavered as she looked at her hand, and he held onto her, bringing her body in close to his. "Wow, that's a lot of blood."

Trying to ignore the feeling of her skin in direct contact with his, he wrapped an arm around her waist and started walking. "Come on, let's get you to the hospital."

"No, no I'm fine. It's a flesh wound, Smallville. Come on, we only just got here. Let's have a little fun first huh?"

For a minute he debated doing what she said, but when she went pale and teetered, he shook his head. "No, you could have a concussion Lois. At the very least that wound needs stitches. Come on, we're going…and no arguing with me."

"I wasn't going to." she replied, looking up at him softly. Man, she must've hit her head harder than he thought. She was agreeing with him? Definitely not something that happened very often, if at all.

"Okay, come on."

As they walked away, both failed to notice that, lying a few feet away, was another person. Slowly her eyes opened and as she looked around, she saw Clark walking away from her. Someone was leaning on him as he helped her away and it took a second for her to realise that her head was pounding.

She pressed a hand to her forehead as she stood up. Then, as Lois noticed exactly who the person leaning on Clark was, her eyes went wide.

"What the…?