Here's the next part. Let me know what you think!

Thanks to Liz for being great! Woot!


Phase 7: Dishes
"Martha Kent, you're slacking!" Chloe spat out, annoyed. "I thought better of you, and I was expecting a lot more. Not even more, but rather, anything. You haven't come up with anything!" She proclaimed, slumping heavily onto the couch. She waited impatiently for the older woman to provide an explanation.

"I invited you to dinner, didn't I?"

"Yes, and the food would have been wonderful I'm sure if I wasn't distracted by this," she harshly pointed a finger at her eye, "And that," she pointed in the direction of the kitchen where she could still hear Lois and Clark bickering.

"Chloe, maybe you should calm down," Lucy suggested gently, nonchalantly moving the sharp dessert utensils farther away, just in case.

"I'm sorry," Chloe said, actually sounding sincere as she slid further into the cushions.

"I know sweetie, but look, so far you've tried locking them together in the basement…"

"—Storage closet."

"…of the Daily Planet. Then something happened with an elevator…"

"Oh yeah," Chloe remembered with a little laugh.

"And you followed them around everywhere they went."

"Not everywhere," Chloe muttered, not liking one bit that she was starting to sound like a psycho or a stalker.

"Lucy tried the whole jealousy angle, which was amusing, but we have to face that all that came from that was a really nice girl getting a black eye."

"Poor Brooke," Lucy added, shaking her head sympathetically.

"I thought I'd try something a little more… simple," Martha finished with a smile as both girls leaned forward slightly in anticipation.

"What?"

"Dishes."

"Dishes?!" Chloe yelled incredulously and leapt off of the couch when Martha nodded. She was about to explode with anger when she realized something very crucial to their operation.

Silence.

For the first time in what seemed like years, there was silence.

Followed closely by a loud crash of what sounded like a dish.

The three women raced toward the doorway of the kitchen, slightly pushing each other when they all tried to fit in the small frame. They watched in astonishment as there, beside the counter, Lois and Clark stood staring at each other intensely over a broken plate. Chloe opened her mouth to say something, but before she could ask what happened, Lois grabbed Clark by the neck and crushed her lips into his.

The onlookers' mouths all dropped open in shock as the duo continued to kiss, more lovingly now than in the first few moments of passion. Lucy squealed in delight and Chloe finally smiled for the first time in what seemed like months.

"Good job, Mrs. Kent," Chloe congratulated, leading the ladies back into the living room. The kiss wasn't as important as the fact that they were kissing. "Who would have thought that after all this time it would just take them doing the dishes?"

"Actually... I was just stalling for time," Martha admitted casually, not realizing what she was saying.

"What?"

"I was still working on my plan — but quite frankly, you're scary. I had to make something up."

"What?" Chloe repeated glaring at Martha.

"It's true — scary," Lucy agreed with a serious nod.

"Chloe, you're driving me crazy!" Lois burst into the room, amazing everyone. They had thought she was quite occupied. She should have been too occupied. Either Clark wasn't cutting it, or Lois was frustrated about something. But it couldn't possibly compare to what they've been putting her through!

As if Chloe's thought was his cue, Clark stumbled into the room, still a little dazed, and almost ran into Lois when she stopped.

"Lois wins on being the scariest though," Lucy murmured, and this time Martha agreed with a nod.

"I'm driving you crazy?" Chloe finally managed, silently cursing her twitching eye.

"Yes."

"I'm driving you crazy?"

"That's what I said," Lois defiantly replied, moving towards her cousin with her hand laced with Clark's as she pulled him along with behind her.

"Sorry," he mumbled, Lois shot him a weird look that he was clearly supposed to interpret.

"You're fine, Clark," she reassured, but then she pointed an accusing finger at one Chloe Sullivan. "You! You on the other hand are not. What I would have given for five minutes alone with this big lug behind me, but everywhere we went—there you were! The movies—"

"You invited me!"

"Ha! That's because you said you wanted to see it so bad but what about the Talon?"

"We were there first and you had plenty of time when you were making brownies alooooone with him before you suspiciously fled the scene!"

"Ha!"

Everyone turned to stare at her. Obviously she could have come up with a better rebuttal, but they didn't understand the situation and circumstances.

"Nothing to say?" Lucy asked curiously and smiled cheekily when her sister zeroed in on her.

"Not that I don't like it that you're here, Luc, and not getting into trouble but, why are you here exactly?"

"I'm just in the right place at the right time."

Lois didn't believe a word of it, but she would not be sidetracked, refocusing her attention back on her insane cousin.

"And then there was the grocery store incident!"

"What do you mean incident? I needed laundry detergent!" Chloe answered half-heartedly.

"Right," Lois stated disbelievingly. "And the display of cans just magically toppled over on their own?"

"Well you had plenty of time to sort out your feelings when I locked you in the storage closet!"

"That was you?! What the hell, Chlo? We could have died!"

Even Clark raised his brow at the dramatic statement, forcing Lois to roll her eyes and reiterate. "Or we could have at least gotten a cold because of the dang air conditioner... I suspect that was also your doing?"

Clark nodded to lend his support, smiling as he watched Lois interrogate Chloe, who was finally distracted from her annoyance. It didn't seem to matter all that much anymore that these two had driven her crazy for what seemed like years now. It didn't matter that she had come close to drinking herself into a dumb stupor or jamming something sharp in her leg. What mattered was right in front of her, and they were casually holding hands.

They were finally together.

All is right in the world.

Chloe sighed, flopped down onto the couch, and hung her head in her hands. "But how the heck did it happen? How did you two manage to get together on your own? Our plans were so thought-out... so thorough..." she trailed off in disbelief and let her head fall between her knees. As much as Chloe liked to believe that she was responsible for Clark and Lois finally being together, she couldn't take full credit — anycredit really. Something had been going on and she had missed it.

But what?


woo, ok so there that is. You know the drill--You like, you hate it? Tell me. I love reviews--they make writing all the more sweeter