Justclois: thank you! glad you're liking the story :)

The Great Unknown89: the only thing I read in the N52 is Smallville Season 11 :) And thank you so much for reading :)

razorstar90: thank you! Clois interaction would be for the last chapter though *wiggles eyebrows* lol

LSpade: I love your stories! And it warms my heart that you left a comment.. thank you! :)

LoisNClark4Ever: thanks! that interview was purely Clark and Lois, especially Lois. I mean, I kinda thought that Lois would not let the opportunity pass with regards to teasing Clark :)

Again, sorry for the delay (that has been my schtick since time immemorial lol) but here's the latest chapter and I hope you all enjoy.. also, this is unbeta'd, so forgive me for the mistakes in the story.

Chapter 3

"We're here."

Oliver looked down at Chloe as she opened her eyes. "We're here already?" she asked, wiping away sleepiness and fatigue.

"Yes." Oliver answered. "The car's already waiting for you outside. I'll bring down your equipment."

Chloe nodded as she followed him down the plane. They stopped near his Maserati, and Oliver was now regretting his decision not to join Chloe in this mission. Somebody has to man Watchtower while Chloe was doing her thing.

"Take care of her, baby." Oliver said to his wife.

Chloe raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "You care more about the car than me?" she teased.

Oliver looked at Chloe and smiled sheepishly. "I was talking to the car, you know, so she'll take care of you." he weaseled out.

Chloe grinned, and just nodded. "Right."

"Well," Oliver started. "How long would this take you?"

Chloe opened her case, taking out the ear wig and putting it on. "I honestly don't know. Clark was the one supposed to activate the fortress to act as a shield, but then he realized that if he went there and then promptly disappeared from Lex's monitor, he would be able to pinpoint the location where he disappeared, and the fortress would be compromised. I have the instructions here," Chloe said, tapping the tablet she pulled out from the case. "But Clark warned me about the control panel." Chloe shrugged. "I really can't give you a concrete answer to that one." And then Chloe groaned. "Oh yeah, and the key, I still have to get it from the farm. Clark could not risk going there to get it just so he can give it to me."

Oliver tapped the car proudly. "This would take you to the barn and then the caves in no time. She's my favorite you know."

Chloe tiptoed and gave Oliver a peck on the lips. "I thought your favorite was the Ducati?"

"Four-wheeled favorite." Oliver grinned.

Chloe stepped back and got inside the car. "I better get going, Clark's already antsy as it is. I mean, it's already been what, three weeks?"

"I know." Oliver answered, his hands on top of the open car door. "What's with Clark and three weeks huh? Has that always been the time of their separation? If I'm not mistaken, Lois' future travel lasted three weeks. Then Clark's Phantom Zone trip was three weeks, and now, this."

Chloe shrugged and smiled. "Well, I am pretty sure that Clark would not want these three weeks to lengthen before seeing Lois, so…" Chloe looked suggestively at Oliver's hand.

Oliver let go of the car and grinned. "Right, sorry. Be careful."

"You know I will. You be careful too." Chloe closed the car door, revved up the engine, and sped out of the hangar. As the car disappeared, Oliver returned to the plane and addressed his pilot. "Back to Metropolis now, Captain."

Oliver sat down and buckled up, thinking about the long day ahead. But Oliver was not regretting his decision of covering for Clark. This was the least he could do, and he was happy to be doing this for them.

"Gosh, Clark, this is hard work!" Chloe said, wiping off an imaginary sweat from her forehead, even if she knew that Clark could not see her and it was below zero inside the fortress.

"Sorry, Chloe. If there is anyone besides me who can do this, it's you."

Chloe adjusted the earwig. "Thank you for the vote of confidence, Clark. I appreciate it. But this really would have been easier if your control panel is from this planet!"

"Sorry about that. It really did not occur to me that something like this would happen, so I haven't had the time to re-configure it and translate it from Kryptonian."

Chloe smiled at the guilt in Clark's voice. "You know that I'm just messing with you. Besides, who would have known that Lex would do something like this, unknowingly separating you from Lois."

"You know Lex." Clark replied. "Even without his memories he still finds a way to make my life miserable."

"I'm glad you figured out a way on how to go about things." Chloe said, that while happy for her cousin and her best friend, she felt like a kindergartner new in school, trying to match the figures in her tablet to the keyboard in front of her.

"And it was three weeks too long." Clark answered, Chloe not mistaken in hearing frustration from him.

"Well, don't you worry now," Chloe said. "I am just a couple of keys away." Her eyebrows knit in concentration, Chloe finished the task quickly. The fortress gave a slight bluish glow, and Chloe gave Clark the affirmative.

"I think that's a signal that your fortress is now a shield for your radiation." Chloe said, now packing up her equipment, getting ready to leave. "Are you sure the coordinates you gave me covers a 50-mile radius?"

"Yes." Clark answered. "Thank you, Chloe. I owe you big time."

"It's no biggie Clark. You know I love both you and Lois. But you do know that you can only do this once right?" Chloe cautioned.

"I know." Clark said. "Lex will be suspicious that my blip on his radar would always go off around the Arctic, and he will get suspicious and…" he trailed off.

"Let's worry about that next time." Chloe said, ready to go back to the caves. "Clark, I'm going to go back now, might lose the connection. I will be back at Watchtower in a couple of hours, so in the meantime, do what you do best, and leave the rest to us."

"Thank you, Chloe." Clark repeated. "Superman out."

Chloe tapped the earwig, and as the white light enveloped her, she can't help but be pleased at the rate things are going.

Lois could not believe that this was happening right now. She cannot truly understand why things were not going her way today, of all days.

"Come on, you have to give me something."

There was silence on the other line, only the breathing on her ear told Lois that her contact still has not ended the call. That's a good thing, Lois thought. He's got something and he's hesitating to tell me.

"Give me a bone here." Lois said in her sweetest, most convincing voice.

"Sorry Ms. Lane." Her contact said. "But this time, I can't help you. My balls will be fried man!"

"I am reaching for your compassion here. Don't you have a family, a brother? A sister? Maybe even your own child?"

The silence on the other line told Lois that she had hit home. "I have a sister who completely aggravates me, but I wouldn't want to see her working in that pit. I see the faces of those teenagers and I see their lights starting to dim. They have a whole future ahead of them. But they will forever be tied down to that no-good factory, destroying their lives in the process. Please. Help them out."

What the contact uttered next almost crushed her. "Sorry, Ms. Lane." And the line went dead.

It took all of her strength not to throw her phone in frustration. That was the fourth who had given her the heave-ho. There was someone big behind the factory's operations.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a text message coming in. Looking at the phone in her hand, she saw that it was Chloe.

Hey Lo, I figured I should bring the key to you so you wouldn't have to go to the farm just to get it. Text me what time you will be available and I will head over to the café near the Daily Planet. :)

Lois smiled, in spite of what recently transpired. One good thing to look forward to was her first meeting with Clark in three weeks.

As she was about to reply, Lois was hit by a thought. Are you free now? Lois texted.

A few seconds and Chloe replied. I'm about ten minutes away from the city. Meet you now?

Lois smiled. Sure, will wait for you at the café. Thanks 'cuz.

She will be meeting her cousin, but she would have to meet with Big Sister too.

"Superman."

"Watchtower, go."

"In a minute Arrow's redirected satellite will pass Lex's tracking satellite. I will give you a countdown."

"Thank you." Clark said, his heart now starting to beat faster at the thought of holding and touching Lois the way that he wanted to. "And tell Ollie thank you for covering for me."

"It's no big deal, Big Blue." Oliver interrupted. "Enjoy your night."

"Thank you." Clark said. "Really, I owe you. You and Chloe."

"Don't mention it." Chloe replied. "I mean seriously, don't mention it. We don't want to hear stories about your reunion."

Clark gave out a short laugh. "It's a deal."

"Fifteen seconds and counting." Chloe started. "Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Now."

In a split second, Clark was now standing in the fortress, a welcome sight from his usual haunts where he used to try to get some shut-eye.

Walking towards the main console, Clark pushed one of the crystals in to reveal the bed that he had installed a few months back. Nerves and excitement overwhelming him, Clark turned down the bed and started re-arranging the pillows.

It was after he settled on the arranged that he liked that he realized that Lois was still not in the fortress. Clark smiled, typical Lois.

Focusing his hearing, Clark zeroed in on Lois' heartbeat, and found that it was beating a mile a minute. It was his super-super hearing, as Lois called it, that even if she was halfway around the world, Clark could always hear her heartbeat.

Could Lois be in a dangerous situation? Screw tonight's meeting if Lois would be in danger. He was ready to fly out, when dread filled him as Lois' heartbeat stopped, only to return, this time much louder, still beating like a galloping horse.

Hearing a tentative step, Clark realized that Lois was not in any danger. She was already in the fortress, and that second of not hearing her heartbeat must have been the time she was transported from the caves to the fortress. She was excited, energized even, and Clark's mind was filled with only one thought.

She's here.

Your reviews and comments are most welcome.. love you lots! :)