It's nearly dark when Clark comes back.

I'm almost relieved. I've been alone all day and slowly going completely insane. If it weren't for Mrs. Kent, I probably would've forgotten to eat as well. My mother-in-law has taken to calling me at least four times a day just to check in; and I've come to look forward to them. Except for today.

Every time she called, I was slightly disappointed. I'd been hoping it was Clark.

Then he storms in, and snatches the front door open. As far as appearances go, he barely applied any force; but the door comes completely off its hinges, and he carelessly tosses it outside.

'shit.'

"Where is he Chloe!" he yells while angrily marching up to me.

I take an involuntary step back.

"Who? Lex?" I ask.

It's a mistake as I'm pretty sure that he's talking about Lex; and now it looks like I'm stalling or something.

"You know who! Tell me where he is!" he shouts while grabbing both of my arms.

I'm amazed he's not hurting me. I can't even image the amount of restraint it's taking for him not to apply any pressure to my arms in his current state. All the same, I tug my arms free from his grasp, doubting it will please him to know that I don't know where Lex Luthor is.

"I don't know," I answer honestly.

Effortlessly, he picks me up, and sets me down on the counter. I'm thinking he didn't like the way I snatched away from him because he's trapped me here. With his arms placed on either side of me and the way he's standing between my legs, I'm not going anywhere.

"Don't. Lie. To me," He whispers; and I suddenly wish he'd go back to the yelling.

"I'm not," I say staring him down, just as intensely as he's watching me. "Is that where you've been all day? Looking for him?"

"You shouldn't have kept this from me," he says, his voice begins to get louder as he realizes I'm telling the truth. "You should've"-

"And what were you going to do when you found him?" I interrupt.

"I was going to make sure he never hurt my family again," He says fiercely.

"How?" I demand.

"What the hell happened to the door?"

"Nothing," Clark and I answer Lois together.

"Nothing? It's on top of your car; and don't tell me some freak wind came and blew it off again," she warns after sitting her purse on top of the table and giving us her full attention.

"Some freak wind came and blew it off again," Clark answers tersely before snatching me down from the counter and marching me toward the stairs.

"I'll be so glad when this 'make like the bunnies' phase is over," I hear her mutter. I would have smiled if that was actually what we were going to do. As it were, I'm in a lot of trouble so I won't be smiling anytime soon.

Once we enter our bedroom, Clark shuts the door behind us and locks it.

I suddenly feel a little claustrophobic.

"Alright, let's talk," He says while folding his arms over his chest.

I wait for him to continue.

He doesn't.

"Talk?"

"Talk."

"About?"

"Everything."

'Could he be any vaguer?'

"Specifically…" I prompt.

"Let's start with the real reason you kept this from me."

'Real reason? I didn't know I had a fake one.'

"You weren't protecting me," he continues. "You were protecting yourself."

And now I'm completely lost.

"Clark, what are you talking about?"

"The fact that Lana is pregnant with my child."

"What? That makes no sense. She's pregnant with our child."

"You didn't always know that; did you?"

"No; but"-

"You thought I got her pregnant and you didn't"-

"Seriously? You think I was afraid you'd leave me for Lana if you found out she was carrying your child as well? Honestly Clark, the thought never entered my mind."

It's easy to tell he doesn't believe me, and that irks me to no end. Sort of. Okay not really. Considering how many times I've lost Clark to Lana before, I wouldn't believe me either. I'd think the way Clark is thinking; that I found out Lana was carrying his child and kept the information to myself in order to keep Clark to myself.

But I'd like to think that I'm not that selfish. I'd like to think that if that was the case, I'd let Clark go to Lana. Honestly, it would probably be better for Clark to be with Lana. With the whole maniac for a fiancé thing she's got going, she certainly needs him more.

"I heard you two talking. I heard Lana tell you that I love you; and I heard what you said," Clark interrupts my thoughts.

"I know he does, just…not the same way he loves you."

That had been my response. It was, is the truth as I know it.

"Look Clark, despite everything that's happened between us, all of us, I'm not threatened by Lana. Has it ever occurred to you that I just might trust you not to hurt me that way?"

"Or maybe, you're holding back emotionally just in case I do."

"Thank you Doctor Phil," I say with a roll of my eyes.

"Well, am I wrong?"

'No. I mean, yes. Maybe. I don't know.'

"Chloe," he takes a few steps toward me. "Did it ever occur to you that I might actually want to be with you?"

I can honestly say it hasn't; but I keep my mouth shut. I don't think that's the answer he's looking for.

"Think about it. I went to the dorm and"-

"You were high Clark; you weren't exactly yourself."

"I wasn't high, I was infected by red K; which strips me of my inhibitions and frees me to do whatever I want."

"And what you wanted was to get laid A.S.A.P," I say before sitting down on the bed, my feet are killing me. "How exactly is that supposed to make me feel better?" I smirk.

"I'm serious Chloe."

So am I. Despite the flippant and nonchalant tone I used; that's pretty much what I believe happened. And I'm okay with it; really.

"Why do you think I married you?"

"Again Clark, you were high. People do stupid things when they're high," I answer.

He sighs out of frustration; obviously not liking the fact that I'm rationalizing everything and tries again.

"I didn't just marry you; I gave you a wedding, complete with witnesses, the dress, the ring, and the honeymoon."

"The ring and dress were stolen, and the witnesses were complete strangers," I smirk. I can't think of anything I didn't like about the honeymoon though.

"Kal meant well," Clark smiles; finally easing up a little.

I roll my eyes. He and Kal aren't the same person only when it benefits him.

"If I'd done it, I would've done it right," Clark tells me.

"No, you wouldn't have," I smile softly. "You wouldn't have done it at all."

I halfway expect him to deny it; but we both know I'm right. H

e sits down beside me and takes my hand in his.

"Do you remember Cyrus Krupp?"

I wrinkle my eyebrows.

"The kid who thought he was an alien?"

"Sometimes, I swear your memory is almost as good as mine," he chuckles.

Meanwhile, I'm more than confused. What does Cyrus have to do with me and Clark?

"Do you remember what you said to me when I asked if you thought he was an alien?"

"Vaguely. I might've said I thought it'd be cool if he was," I frown. I'm not sure. It happened about four years ago.

"You did; you also said, "Compared to most people, aliens would be a step up,"" he smiles at the memory; then slowly the smile fades. "I asked Lana about it later; about how she would feel about Cyrus if he was really from another planet. She said she'd be a little freaked out," he finishes with a shrug.

My heart goes out to him. I thought loving someone who didn't love me the same way I loved him was bad. I can't imagine loving someone the way Clark loved Lana, but keeping the most important parts of myself hidden, not just to keep her safe; but because he was afraid she'd be uncomfortable around him if she knew the truth.

"It looks good on you," he says startling me from my runaway thoughts.

I frown. Clearly, I've missed something. What looks good on me? I almost ask him when I notice he's staring down at my hand; my left hand, which is no longer ringless.

I smile; where a traditional diamond is supposed to sit on top of a gold band, there's a ruby about the size of a jelly bean; and I'm sure my band is made out of lead. I now have on my finger a constant reminder of the events leading up to our wedding.

"I love it," I grin.

"I love you too," he answers; then frowns. "You tricked me into saying it first," he accuses.

I laugh at him. I won't deny it; I wasn't going to say it until he did. Obviously, he was waiting on me as well.

"Say it back," he commands.

I start to, but decide to have fun first.

"Say what?" I ask sweetly.

"Chloe," he warns.

I stare at his lips with a mischievous grin on mine, and lean in close to him.

"You have to make me want to say it," I challenge.

Clark grins back at me and captures my lips with his. He's always like a good challenge.

~~{(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)(O)}~~

A/N: Next post will be Monday June 21st