Phase 3: The Lake... and Brooke.

"So how did you convince Lois to help out?" Chloe asked conversationally as she watched Lois attempt to figure out how to reload the cotton candy machine. Lois squinted slightly at the back of the sugar carton before shrugging and pouring it in very hesitantly. Clark stopped what he was doing, turned to her and then did a double-take when he noticed what she was doing.

He laughed out loud, but Lois was so focused on the task at hand that she barely noticed when he stepped up behind her to move her closer to the machine. With a raised brow, he firmly pushed a finger onto the sugar container to force her to dump more in. Surprisingly, Lois only turned to glare at him as she allowed him to stay in his position from the back of her and empty the carton.

Apparently they were talking again and whatever had happened at the farm was just another stupid fight.

"This is great!" Chloe continued as she turned to Martha, awaiting her answer from her earlier question. Being just as focused on Clark and Lois, Martha snapped out of her trance and smiled back at Chloe.

"It was Lucy's idea, and I just asked Clark to talk to her about it," Martha explained with a little shrug as Lucy approached them with a smug grin. They all turned once again to watch as Lois impatiently held out a messy stick of cotton candy for a little boy to take.

"She really has no idea what she's doing," Lucy mused, letting out a little laugh when the little boy snatched the stick from her and sprinted towards the lake. "Don't chase him, Lo'," she muttered and watched her sister debate silently with herself whether or not she should do just that. Clark saved the boy's life by casually sticking a piece of the cotton candy to her cheek, causing her to lunge at him instead. He laughed and moved out of her grasp with a spin. Unbelievably, Lois laughed in return and snatched the sugary snack away before moving to stand closer to him.

"This is your plan?" Chloe asked very impressed. So far the day was going great. Her mission would be accomplished in less then an hour if they keep this up and she wouldn't need to resort to drowning herself in liquor.

"Nope."

"It isn't?" Martha asked in astonishment, because really it was working out so well. She might as well take credit for it.

"Not all of it."

"So what's the rest of it?" Chloe asked, intrigued but also slightly nervous.

"Brooke."

"Hate to break it to you, Lucy, but we're at a lake," Chloe responded dryly causing her cousin to roll her eyes.

"No... not a brook. I was referring to her," she pointed behind them. As one, Chloe and Martha turned around. "That, ladies, is Brooke," she reiterated smugly towards the blonde in a bikini.

"She's all leg!"

"Exactly!"

"And heading for Clark," Martha pointed out with a worried look.

"Perfectly planned."

"You sent a hot blonde after Clark!? That's your plan?" Chloe asked incredulously with a slow frown.

"Yeah," Lucy replied, sounding slightly unsure of herself.

"This is why it's important to stay for the entire informant meeting! That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard!"

"Chloe," Martha cut in, trying to intervene before Chloe tried to kill Lucy. It was a definite possibility with the fierce glare she was sporting.

"Is she at least stupid?"

"What? No."

"Good grief, woman. What if he likes the girl? We'll be screwed! I should just buy a flask and head for the bars right now to put me out of my misery before things get worse…"

"He likes Lois!" Lucy stated firmly halting Chloe's tirade.

"Well, what if she decides she likes him and sticks around?"

"She won't. For your information she's actually happily married to that Brad Pitt look alike about 20 yards away. I told them about our problem and we decided that a little jealousy was in order. At first we were going send him on over first, but it's not as fun to see Clark jealous."

"What?" Martha questioned with a little laugh.

"He's a brooder, as Lois told me, and brooders just keep to themselves."

"Well then," Chloe began, as the other two breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the anger drain out of her—mostly. "I still don't see why we even need her, they were doing so well."

"They've been flirting like that for months now."

"You haven't even been here that long, but I know."

"Then just watch and enjoy."

It was like they were starting a movie in the middle: they only had an idea of who the characters were, but had no idea what was going on. They could only guess why Lois's glare was so intense, or why Clark was leaning half into her away from Brooke, almost in fear. Lois stiffly offered out a stick of cotton candy, but the blonde refused to take it. All three girls stepped forward to listen in.

"It's not good for the figure, you know," the blonde stated, casually trailed a finger down Clark's arm.

Uh oh.

"I'll give you something else that's not good for the figure," Lois muttered loudly. Brooke just stared, unsure of how to react at first before throwing her head back in laughter. Lois first looked at the blonde as if she was crazy but sported a fuming as Brooke turned towards Clark once again and asked for his phone number. He only stuttered, and Lois rolled her eyes, deciding to help the guy out.

"867-5309."

"Thanks doll."

"But—"

"Not a problem," Lois cut him off before he could mention that the number was from a song and not his real number. He understood the look she shot him and nodded in thanks.

When the "bimbo" tried to take Clark's arm to lead him away from the booth — and away from Lois — Chloe recieved a look from her cousin. She knew that look, and almost stepped forward to prevent what was going to happen next.

Almost.

Lucy obviously didn't know her sister very well at all. Both Chloe and Martha had expected the anger, as well as what happened next. Only the people close to Lois and Clark understood their situation: even though they skirted around each other, they were aware of their own feelings. And no one poached on Lois's territory. She gave Clark a firm shove from behind, causing him to trip over his own feet and fall onto Brooke, who, in turn, fell into the line of customers that had been waiting impatiently behind her.

Lois stood over the groaning dog pile of people victoriously and then, as if motioned forward by her conscience alone, she moved forward to help Clark up, for it really wasn't the poor guys fault. She then held out a hand to Brooke, who accepted it almost immediately, if not warily. Lois cringed slightly at the shiner already showing on the other woman's face; she must have been elbowed by someone somewhere along the way. Lois contemplated apologizing, just as Chloe, Martha, and Lucy rushed towards them.

"Just go for it," Brooke told Lois cryptically with a smile. Leaving Lois speechless, the blonde spun around to head in the direction of a worried blonde man across the way.

"What?" Clark asked, rubbing at the back of his neck. Chloe stared off in the same direction as Lois, watching the man casually toss an arm around Brooke's shoulder as they walked off together. Lois's brow furrowed slightly before she gave a disbelieving smirk and turned to look up at Clark.

"Come on," she stated, pulling at his arm, and he allowed her to lead him back to the booth a few feet away. "Who's next?" she asked happily, as Clark took orders from her and began to gather the candy while she took money.

Chloe just stared in astonishment as everyone moved back into place with nothing more than a little grumble, and the flirting and bantering started once again as Lois and Clark continued to work.

"Where are you going?" Lucy called out to her cousin a little hesitantly.

"To the closest bar," Chloe proclaimed as she stomped off, and Martha followed after her with a worried frown. Chloe grumbled when she realized she wouldn't be able to numb the pain of an operation failed. She spun around to face Martha. "Alright... Lucy has failed us. So now it's your turn to come up with something. And it had better be good, or I'm done for."

Martha winced because she believed it. The eye twitch alone was enough to drive anybody crazy.

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you liked it. Leave em a review. I love them.

Thanks Liz!