Chapter One

"What do you mean, who's Clark? Clark Kent, my partner."

"Partner, Lois, if I ever gave you a partner you would go and get a job at The Star. Sweetie, are you feeling okay?"

"Honestly, I feel sick to my stomach, but it has nothing to do with physical pain. Perry, you gave me a partner two years ago, right around when Superman showed up."

"Superwhat?"

"Superman. Wears cape and tights, flies around, faster than a speeding bullet, has saved all our lives on more than one occasion."

"Lois, sweetie, are you trying to say you think you know a man…that can fly?" Perry said. He was looking at her like she had two heads. But they had all seen it. Why didn't Perry remember?

"Jimmy," she said, grabbing him as he walked past, "Tell, Perry who Superman is."

"Yeah sure, but, you have to tell me first."

"What, come on Jimmy, is this some kind of joke. Superman. Superhero. S on his chest. Fights for Truth, Justice, and the American Way."

"Well, that's a cool slogan, but I'm not as into comics as I was when I was younger."

Lois was having trouble breathing. No Clark. No Superman. No Clark. No Superman. The two most important men in her life were both gone and nobody remembered either of them. She was abandoned again, completely alone. No Superman to save her. No Clark to tell her it would all be okay.

"Lois honey, maybe you should go home. Take the day off, just uh, get your head on straight. I mean, I know you, and you are as sane as anybody. You're probably just overworked."

Lois looked at him dumbstruck. What the hell was going on? She had to find Clark. After Perry went to his office, she grabbed Jimmy again, "Jimmy, I need you to find an address for me."

"But the chief just said-"

"Jimmy!" she said with a growl. Jimmy knew that face. That was the face that had gotten Lois every story she had really wanted. It was the face that had gotten her the nickname Mad-Dog-Lane. Jimmy was scared of Lois. Jimmy was also scared of The Chief. But Lois was here, and The Chief was not, so he picked the poison that he might not have to drink.

"Uh, what's the name?"

"Clark Kent?"

"Okay, I'll call you when I have something. Now you better get out of here before the chief suspects something."

Reluctantly, Lois walked out of the planet.

Clark was starting to get nervous. It had been almost two hours, and Lois still wasn't back. He called her apartment. No answer. He decided it was time for Superman to do some eye-in-the-sky work. He scanned Metropolis twice. Nothing. He even tried tuning into her heartbeat, but still, no success.

"Perry," Clark said as he came back to The Planet, "I'm really starting to get worried. I cannot find Lois anywhere."

"Son, calm down, now, I'm sure she's fine."

"Well I'm not."

"Clark, she has not been gone too long, and you know how that girl gets when she gets into a story. Now, calm down, all right. I'll say when it's time to panic."

Clark watched as Perry walked back toward his office. It did not matter what Perry said, Clark knew, it was time to panic.

Lana and Clark made their way through the city. They had already seen three houses, all of which were nice, but none of them felt quite right. Neither one knew why exactly, but there was just a certain feeling missing. Nothing they had come across had felt like…them. Still, they both enjoyed seeing the sights, getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of the big city. It was very different from Kansas, and while both had done a little traveling, neither one had ever been anywhere quite like Metropolis.

"So, what did you think?" Lana asked referring to the house they had last seen while she scanned her tourist map.

Clark shrugged, "It was all right."

"So you didn't like it either?"

"It wasn't that I didn't like it. I mean, I'm sure it would be a nice place to live…for someone. Just not, you know, us."

"See, this I why I love you, you are polite to a fault." Lana said with a smile. Clark smiled too. He loved Lana's smile, and seeing it, he could never help but do the same, especially when he had put it there. "Well, I for one could us a break from house hunting. Coffee?"

Clark nodded. Lana opened her map up again, "There's a place a couple blocks down." Clark grabbed the map from her. "Hey."

"Is it a crime to want to see my fiancé's face?" he asked.

"Not at all. You know, we haven't kissed since we got to Metropolis."

"Are you afraid it's different?" she took the map back and slapped him playfully with it. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her in close. To Lana, nothing in the world was better than being close to Clark Kent. She breathed him in, and stood on her toes as he leaned down to kiss her. When they finally broke apart, he smiled, "So?"

"Definitely better than in Smallville." She said with a smile. He laughed.

When they reached the café, Lana went in to place their orders while Clark waited, finding them a nice table outside the café. He loved café's with outdoor dining. It was nice to know that once they moved here, he would still get to be outdoors a good deal of the time. He sat down at a table that had a good view of the nearby park.

Lois just kept walking. I must be going out of my mind. She did not know what to do, just that she was probably insane. No, she was not. She was sane. She knew she was sane. It was everybody else. They were the crazy ones. She looked straight ahead for some clue, and then, is that Clark?

"Clark!" he heard some woman scream. She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Um, hello. Do I know you?" he said awkwardly. He was not used to strange woman coming up to him and giving him hugs. As she was letting go, Lana came out of the café carrying to cups of coffee and one of those restaurant beepers.

"Well, the food will take a minute, but the coffee's…hello." She said, surprised to see some woman hugging her fiancé. Clark gave her a look to imply that he had no clue what had happened, and she nodded in understanding. After all they had been through, if she could not trust Clark, they had learned nothing.

Lois stood, confused. Clark was here, she had found him. She was so relieved, but why didn't he seem recognize her? What was going on? Who was the woman with Clark?

"Hi. I'm Lois Lane." Lois said, extending her hand. She was stunned to see a beautiful engagement ring on the other woman's finger.

"From the Daily Planet?" Lana asked, her demeanor changing slightly.

"Yes. I've been looking everywhere for you." She said turning back to Clark.

Clark looked at her like she was insane, "Um, have we met?" he tried again. He did not want to insult her if she knew him somehow, but he certainly did not remember seeing her before.

As she began to catch on that something was seriously off about Clark, Lois used her reporter instincts. She remembered her friends looking at her like she was insane, and they had at least recognized her. Clark did not seem to have the slightest idea who she was, and he was acting extremely cozy with a woman wearing an engagement ring. Lois knew she was missing many pieces of the puzzle, but she also knew she could not figure it out alone, and she was not going to scare away one of the few people she would trust to help her.

"Um, no, but I've been doing my research, searching for the perfect writing partner. Boss wants to pair me up, fine, but I get to pick the guy."

"You've read Clark's work in The Ledger?" Lana asked, surprised. She did not know anybody outside of Kansas had ever touched The Ledger.

"Yes." Lois said, even though she had no clue which Ledger the girl meant. "So, are you interested?"

"What?" Clark said, staring at him, confused. He felt like he was twelve steps behind.

"Did you just offer Clark a job?" the girl asked. Lois nodded. "Could you give us a moment?" She asked politely, and then took Clark over to the side. Lois waited impatiently,

"Wow!" Lana said, almost breathless. She looked completely stunned.

"Yeah, um, I'm a few steps behind, but did I just get a job at The Daily Planet basically handed to me on a silver platter?" Clark asked, his expression not quite as excited by the prospect as Lana seemed to be.

"Looks like. So, what do we think?" Clark squinted, clenched his jaw, lowered his eyebrows, and tilted his head, "Oh no, I know that look."

Clark attempted a smile. It was a smile Lana knew well. He used it every time something was bothering him but he was trying to reassure her that everything was okay.

"It's just, I've had stuff handed to me on a silver platter before, too good to be true stuff, like a friendship with a billionaire to name one."

"You think there's an angle."

"I think offering a job to a strange nobody is suspicious, and when that nobody is me, it's time to board the windows up."

"When did you get so cynical?" Lana said teasingly.

Clark's eyes unsquinted and he chuckled a little. "What do you think I should do?"

"Honestly?" Lana asked, looking at him, making sure he really wanted her opinion. He nodded for her to continue, "I think that we plan on moving to Metropolis, starting a life, and the idea of you getting a job at The Daily Planet was always sort of in the mix." She started pacing; "You could do more good with those resources than most anywhere else in he world. I agree that the offer came rather easily, but if somebody really is trying to get to you, if they know something, I think it would be better to find out how much they know and how dangerous they are, which is easier when you feign ignorance and don't isolate yourself from them. I also think that while you need to protect yourself, and I am glad you are being careful, if you give into cynicism in regard to the human condition, you'll be losing a large part of what makes you you, but," Lana stopped pacing. She turned to Clark, "It doesn't matter what I think. This is your life, your goals, your risks, and whatever you choose to do; you know I will support you. So the question is, what is Clark Kent's next move?"

Clark smiled, "How did you become so amazing?"

"I spent some time with the most amazing man on earth, picked up a few things." She stood on her tiptoes and Clark leaned down to kiss her.

Lois stood watching Clark and the mystery woman. She was completely nauseous. It was not as though she had any claim on Clark; that had not even been out yet. Still, she felt possessive of him, even this odd Clark who nobody remembered and did not remember her. And this petite pixie with the perfect brown hair, the engagement ring, and a nauseatingly obvious hold on Clark Kent's lips was clearly in his memory. This stranger was with him, in a heading toward the alter sort of way. Lois had thought seeing Clark with Mayson was sickening, but this…

"Count me in.' Clark said, beaming at her with a smile that could melt her ten times over…and Lois Lane did not melt easily. Usually, she just melted for Superman, but she had been starting to have feelings for Clark, and now he did not remember her, and was engaged to somebody else, and kissing the crap out of her, and he was somehow different too, his clothes, something about the way he stood, and she could not tell if it was worse of better, but the whole thing was giving her a headache and causing her to rant in her head.

She just had to focus on the task in front of her. And that task was unfortunately befriending a man she already knew, and getting to know the woman engaged to the man whom she was just starting a relationship with. Piece of cake.