Disclaimer: DC/WB Entertainment owns these characters. No profit is being made from this story. This is strictly for my own amusement.

Author's Notes: As the story continues, the city is still in turmoil, the citizens of Metropolis are skeptical about Superman being a hero, and later, a childhood friend shows up much to Lois' utter shock and confusion. Please read and review. Thanks!:D

~o~o~

Chapter 2: Give Up the Fight

Daily Planet bullpen, a few days later:

Lois and Clark had their heads together on a story that Perry had just assigned to them. They weren't officially partners yet, but Perry had an idea to try them out for a few weeks, and see how it goes. They were oblivious to Perry's plan, but they saw it as a chance to get closer.

Clark saw no reason for them to hide their feelings, but Lois was right. The rumors were rampant about Lois and Superman, so it was going to take a while for the rumors to die down.

They headed to a conference room for more privacy. They hoped to put together a strategy about reversing all the unpopular opinions about Superman. Perry was one of the few people who were actually on Superman's side, and so he gave them this assignment hoping they could come up with reasons why Superman should be trusted.

After an hour of strategy, Clark came out the conference room to check his phone messages. He turned the corner, and headed toward his desk. He was totally shocked to see his Mother and Lana Lang standing in the middle of the bullpen looking totally lost. At first, he felt awkward about seeing them at his place of employment. He quickly ducked behind a wall, took several deep breaths, but then decided he was acting silly.

"Mom?!" He came over to her and kissed her cheek then he turned to his old friend. "Lana, what are you doing here?"

"Hello, Son," Martha greeted him warmly.

"Clark; I just wanted to see how you were doing, I mean, how you were coping with everything," Lana responded, still unsure about coming.

"Let's go inside here for a minute." He directed them to another conference room. Lois, meanwhile, was waiting for him. "I'll be right back. Would you like some coffee?"

"Sure, we'd love some," Martha responded.

Once Clark had left, Lana stood up and went over to the window. "I shouldn't have come."

"No, Lana, he needs a friend. You saw what happened on television. The city is in shambles and Clark needs us here."

"He doesn't need me. Lois Lane is here; she works with him every day."

Martha understood. "Yes, she does and Clark did say that she was a friend, so …"

"I think it's more than that. I sensed it in Smallville the first time she came there, and it's probably even stronger now. It's all over the tabloids about them. Lois and Superman, well, if the rumors are true, she … cares about him."

Martha came over to her. "So do you."

"Martha, it's more than that and you know it."

"I know, but you know Clark isn't a teenager anymore. He's a man now, with a man's emotions."

Lana was a bit surprised. "Are you suggesting that I throw myself at him? I wouldn't do that."

"No, honey, no, that's not what I meant at all. Just make yourself available if he wants to talk about … everything; that's all."

Lana smiled. "I guess I can do that."

~o~o~

Meanwhile, back in another conference room:

Lois looked up from her notes when Clark walked in. He seemed nervous about something. "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong, but my Mom and … Lana Lang just showed up out of the blue. I didn't know they were coming."

"Really; that is odd." Lois remembered both women. Mrs. Kent was sweet after getting over her initial shock about Lois being a reporter wanting to talk about her Son. She remembered Lana as a jealous harpy. "Well, where are they now?"

"I … Ummm … left them in a conference room."

"Clark, our meeting can wait. Go and have a nice visit."

He frowned. "Are you sure? It's the middle of the day and we have a job to do." He loved spending time with her. It was a rare occurrence for them, and Perry's assignment was what he had dreamed about; working together closely on the story, especially about Superman.

"Of course, I'm sure, go ahead."

He smiled at her, leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you after lunch."

"Sure; Bye Clark." Taking a shuddering breath, she gathered her notes and left the conference room. Once out in the hall, she watched from a distance as he, his Mom and Lana Lang left the bullpen.

Lois' mouth dropped open in shock. Lois didn't remember Lana looking like that. She guessed she was more interested in Clark than Ms. Lang, but seeing her again, she took stock of her rival, and she was a rival; there was no question about that. Ms. Lang was a stunning brunette, with long flowing locks and a figure most women would envy. Lois was no different.

"Trouble in paradise?" Cat Grant spoke from just behind her.

Lois was not in the mood. "Shut up, Cat." She walked away.

Cat chuckled at her retreating back.

~o~o~

At a quiet restaurant a few blocks away:

Lunch was almost over, and Martha was getting tired. "I'm sorry, but all of this travel and that huge lunch." She yawned for effect. "I'll be at the hotel." She stood up. "Thanks for lunch, Clark."

"Mom, what?" Clark began, and he also stood up.

"No, Son, just stay and talk with Lana for a while. You two need to catch up."

Lana shook her head at Martha's obvious attempt at matchmaking. After she had left, Lana felt very awkward. "I'm sorry about that. That wasn't my idea."

Clark sat back down. "What wasn't your idea?"

"Coming to Metropolis, but I really wanted to see you. After what happened with General Zod, the invasion, and …" She watched him squirm. "Are you alright?"

"I'm coping," he replied not looking at her.

"Coping, really?" She frowned. "Clark," she said and being bold, she took his hand. "I'm here for you. I'm still your friend, no matter what happened in the past."

He tried to smile. "That's good to know."

"Do you want to talk?"

He did need to talk, and Lana was always there for him, even though he had rejected her in the past. "I've never said this out loud."

She squeezed his hand. "Go on."

"Zod, I … I killed him," he whispered, finally admitting it.

Stunned, she removed her hand from his. "What did you just say?"

"Lana?" He sensed her disapproval.

Her hands were in her lap. She shook her head unbelieving. "But why; why did you do it?"

The restaurant was empty now. The lunch crowd had thinned out a lot, and no one was paying them any attention. "You saw the news stories. He was going to kill everyone. The world engines had to be stopped, and his followers were murdering lunatics. There was no other way," he whispered urgently, hoping she would understand.

"Clark, you can't pretend that this isn't going to change you. Killing is something you promised yourself you would never do. I can't believe you did it." He reached out to her, but she stood up. "I wish I'd never come." She left the restaurant without saying goodbye.

Clark was devastated. He supposed he had it coming. This was her way of getting back at him for rejecting her all those years ago, running away from Smallville, but he knew that wasn't true.

What she said was true; he was different from the innocent young man who had left Smallville behind to find himself. He did promise her that he would never hurt anyone, and being a doctor would have been a real and true profession for him. All of that was over now. He would never be a doctor, nor would they be together. He could forgive her for not understanding.

He slowly made his way back to the office. He was so zoned out that he missed an emergency across town, a fire, but he arrived just in the nick of time to save a few elderly residents at a retirement home.

Lois watched the news stories and was worried. That wasn't like him. She left the Planet and headed over to the fire, and he was still there apologizing to the Fire Chief.

The Chief saw no harm done. Everyone was safe, and that was all that mattered.

He thanked him and lifted up into the sky. He spotted Lois, and she had that look on her face; a look of upper trust and commitment.

Everyone caught their looks, and it wasn't going to help Clark and Lois' relationship at all. Sighing to himself, he turned and took off into the sky.

~o~o~

Minutes later, the Daily Planet rooftop:

After getting a text from Clark, Lois climbed the stairs, not knowing what was going on with him. He wasn't in the costume, but he was in a business suit and tie and his glasses of course.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he jumped when Lois touched his shoulder. "Wow, you sure were distracted about something."

"I'm sorry, Lois," he apologized.

Lois was confused. "Sorry about what?"

He shook his head. "Everything..."

She frowned. "Clark, let's sit down for a minute." She took his hand, and they sat down on one of the two-seater benches. "Talk to me."

"It was Lana."

"Oh, I see. Go on."

"I told her about what happened in the train station." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and she didn't appear upset, at least not at first.

"Do you think that was wise?" Lois asked truly concerned about him.

"I trust her."

"I hope so, Clark. It can't get out about that."

"She won't say anything. Lana and Pete Ross were my only friends especially after the bus accident."

"I'm happy to hear that, but as it is, my Father called me about General Zod."

"Why would he call you about him?"

"Well, he knows that you and I meaning Superman are close, so he called me."

He frowned. "When was this?"

"I was going to tell you about it today. He called last night, and the military know what happened. There were cameras in the station." She took his hand to keep him calm. "They don't blame you for it, Clark. They knew General Zod couldn't be stopped at least in the conventional way."

He felt relieved. "Well, that is a relief."

"Yes, it is, but you have to talk to Lana and explain that no one else can know about it."

"Of course, I'll talk to her." He was quiet, deep in thought about something.

"Clark, so are you going to tell me why she came to Metropolis?"

He grinned at her. "She just wanted to check up on me, to see how I was getting along after … you know."

She shook her head, not truly surprised. "And what did you tell her?"

He leaned back on the bench and being none too subtle, slipped his arm around her shoulder. "Do you mean, did I tell her about us?"

"Well, did you?"

"No, I didn't."

She removed his arm from her shoulder, stood up, and walked over to the ledge. "And why not?"

He also stood up and came over to her. "Lois, there wasn't time. She rejected me when I told her about Zod. She couldn't accept it."

Lois was stunned. How could she do that to him? "Clark, I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too."

She came closer and touched his chest. "You have nothing to be sorry about. It's her loss."

There it was … the look of total faith in him. "How did I get so lucky?"

She put her arms around his shoulders. "I'm the lucky one," she whispered. She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him sweetly. He kissed her back, pulled her closer and then one kiss turned into a few more.

After a few minutes, Clark had to say a few words. "Lois, I … I have to say something about you and Superman."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"The looks you give him can't go on. We have to stop the rumors somehow, and the way you look at him; it isn't helping."

She chuckled at his referring to himself in the third-person. "Well, I can do better; I guess, but you just looked so forlorn, and I wanted to …"

He touched her cheek. "I know honey, I know, but …"

"Clark, you called me honey. That's so sweet."

"Alright, alright, let's get back to work, but I do need to call Lana."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

He chuckled. "No, Lois, that's not a good idea."

"Ok, you go and have your talk with your old girlfriend, and I'll try not to be jealous," she said only half-joking.

"She was never my girlfriend."

She rolled her eyes, knowing Lana wanted more. They headed back downstairs.

~o~o~

In the hotel lobby, later that day:

His Mom was still resting, so Lana came down to meet with him, but before he could say anything, Lana apologized. "Clark, I'm sorry for the way I acted about Zod. I guess I was in shock."

"Sit down, Lana," Clark instructed. "There's no need to apologize. I understand how you feel. I'm finding it hard to accept it myself. But you were right; I'm not the same person I was when I left Smallville. I had such dreams about finding out who I am, about using my abilities, and finally being out in the open."

"I know it's a dream come true for you, Clark, and I am happy for you."

"Do you mean that?" Clark was thoughtful.

"Of course I do. I would never hurt you intentionally."

"Lana, I hope you mean that because what I told you, you can't tell anyone else."

"I understand, but does your Mom know?"

He bowed his head. "Yes, she knows."

"That's good, Clark." Lana was relieved.

"There's something else you should know."

"What is it?"

"Ms. Lane and I; we're seeing each other."

Silence followed that statement. "I suspected it; how long?"

"For about a month."

"So you and she …?."

"I'm sorry, Lana."

"I can hear it in your voice." She paused for a moment. "You love her." It was a statement.

"Yeah, I do. I guess over these past few weeks; we became closer, and the invasion happened and it blossomed into something more powerful than anything I've ever felt." He had gotten a bit carried away. "I'm sorry."

"Please don't keep apologizing. I'm truly happy for you, Clark. If anyone deserves it, you do. I know how you grew up. I know about the bullying, about being afraid of revealing yourself, about being close to someone, but you look very happy."

"I am happy, Lana, very happy."

Her eyes watered but only for a moment. "Well, we'll probably be leaving in the morning. I'll say my goodbyes."

"Can't you stay for a few more days? I want to talk about Smallville, our friends, everything. I do miss it sometimes."

"Ok, I guess I can stay for a few more days."

"Great and tonight, I'll bring Lois over for dinner."

"Ok, if you think it's alright?" Lana was worried.

"It'll be fine, you'll see."

~o~o~

Later that evening, in the hotel restaurant:

Lana and Martha were already seated, when Lois and Clark walked in. "Clark, before we go in, are you sure about this?"

"Lois, come on now, it's my Mom and Lana; I told you she apologized."

"I know you did." She took a deep breath. "Alright, let's do this."

Oh, no, not now. "I'm sorry, Lois, but I have to go," Clark apologized.

"But, you can't leave me alone with them," Lois said, but when she turned to him, he was gone.

Oh, boy! Lois took a deep breath and headed inside. She spotted them immediately. "Hi, I'm sorry, but Clark had to leave. He'll be back soon." She held out her hand. "It's good to see you again, Mrs. Kent, Ms. Lang." They shook hands.

"Ms. Lane, it is nice to see you too," Martha said. "Please sit down."

"Have you ordered yet?" Lois asked and picked up a menu.

"No, we wanted to wait for you and Clark," Lana replied.

After a few minutes of perusing the menu, Lana and Martha glanced at each other.

Lois caught their looks. "Is something wrong? Is there something you want to ask me?'

"Well, there's no easy way to say this, but …" Martha hesitated.

Lois frowned. "Go on; you can ask me anything."

"Why did you write that article about Clark? He trusted you Ms. Lane, and you betrayed him," Lana asked, stunning the young woman.

Shocked to hear this, Lois didn't know what to say.

TBC!

~o~o~

Song Inspiration: I Can't Make You Love Me, Adele.

A/N: Oh, dear, Lois has a lot of explaining to do. I could definitely see them being upset about how things went down. I hope you enjoyed this second chapter. I may have a few more chapters to this story. Stay tuned! Thanks for reading everyone. Reviews/kudos is love.