A/N: Thank you all for the comments/reviews I really appreciate it. *feels warm and fuzzy* I'm sorry for the late update RL has been a bit, eventful for the past couple of months. Anyway, without any further wait, here's the new chapter I hope you like it.

*A very special Thank You to my beta''s- they are amazing and patient. I really appreciate it, guys.

Chapter 8

Loyalties

Clark knocked softly on Perry Whites door before entering.

The editor and chief looked up at the threshold and smiled, "Kent! Good to see you! Well, don't just stand there like a bump on a log come in, come in!" He waved his hand forward.

"Mr. White," Clark acknowledged politely, smiling a bit nervously. The two men shook hands and Clark took a seat across from his old acquaintance.

"What can I do for you?"

"Well," Clark started nervously, "I want a job."

"A job?" Perry echoed, leaning back in his seat.

Clark quickly shoved the folder he'd been holding onto the Perry's desk, "these are some past pieces I've written. I know I haven't done anything in a while, but-"

The older man held up his hand, stopping Clark mid-explanation. He took the folder and started to flip through the articles, mumbling incoherently to himself.

Clark waited patiently for him to finish.

"Well, son," Perry said after what seemed like an eternity. "You've got some OK, stuff here. Not too shabby at all."

"Thanks, Mr. White," Clark smiled, unable to hold down the feeling of pride welling up in his chest.

"My only concern," Perry started and Clark found himself quickly deflating. He knew this was too easy. "You've been out of the game for quite a while, son."

Clark nodded in agreement. It had been a little over six years since he wrote his last piece. "I figure it's just like riding a bike, sir." He tried to sound more confident than he felt.

Perry studied him for a moment.

"I'll tell you what Kent- you show me you've still got talent like this," he held up the small stack of articles in his left hand, "and you've got yourself a job!"

Clark beamed back the editor, "sounds fair to me."

After Clark left Perry's office he immediately headed upstairs to Lois's office to share the good news. It had been five days since he'd last talked to her. Which was strange because he usually talked to her everyday. But Clark felt it was for the best. He needed to distance himself from her – put her in the back of his mind, which, if he was honest, was proving to be little more than a trial.

How many times had he picked up his cell phone over the past five days and almost called her? Emailed her? God, he was sounding pathetic. At least, this gave him a genuine reason to talk to her. They were, after all, going to be colleagues- sort of- maybe.

Oh, well it was good enough for him. However, when Clark reached Lois's office, Phil was there to greet him.

"Clark," the blonde man smiled at him. Clark nodded, feeling a bit awkward.

"You here to see Lois?"

Clark bit back a snarky 'here's your sign' comment and said, instead, "yeah, I just needed to talk to her about something."

"Well, according that little twit, Lois left about fifteen minutes ago."

"Oh," was all Clark could answer. Little twit? He didn't mean Jenna did he? She was a good kid.

"Well, if Lois is gone I'll just-" Clark started, trying to keep his temper in check. The sooner he left the better.

"Wait," Phil put a hand on his arm to stop him, " I actually needed to talk to you."

Clark eyed the other man warily. "About what, exactly?"

"Lois. " Surprise. Surprise. "I know you helped her move-"

"Yeah. I mean we all did. Me and Chloe and Oliver," Clark interrupted, talking like a man with a guilty conscious. Which was ridiculous because Lois wasn't even dating Phil anymore.

"And I really appreciate that," The sport's writer continued, either oblivious to Clark's apprehension or blatantly ignoring it, "but I don't think it's good for her."

"What?"

"The move. The house. Everything. It's not safe, Clark. That neighborhood isn't a proper place for a single woman to live and that house is a death trap!"

"I don't think there's really anything you can do about it, Phil. Lois is happy there."

"I was thinking maybe you could talk to her. She listens to you. Just tell her-"

"No, Phil. I've known Lois for a long time. Once she makes up her mind, that's it." Clark replied, stonily.

Phil eyed him suspiciously. "I know you were there a couple of nights ago. I heard you didn't leave till late."

"So?"

"So," Phil replied, Clark could sense the hint of vexation in his tone, "Some people might get the wrong idea about you two. People who don't know you're like siblings-"

Clark didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Look, Phil I'm sorry about what happened between you and Lois," Liar. "But she's moved on and so should you." Clark left before Phil could retort.

********

Twenty-five minutes later, Clark pulled into Lois's drive way. He barely got the car in park, before he saw Lois leap from her porch and sprint towards him. "Lois?" He questioned as she hopped in the cab. "Drive." She ordered, her voice slightly hysterical.

"Lois what's wrong?"

"The pound. Go. I'll explain on the way."

Without a second thought Clark threw his truck in reverse and whipped out of the driveway.

"OK. Do you wanna tell me why you look like your having nervous break down, now?" He asked once they turned on Main Street.

"When I got home today Shelby was gone," she started, her arms already starting to flail about. "I don't know how he got out, he was perfectly fine when I left this morning. I made sure the gate was shut, there is no way he could have gotten out unless he suddenly grew opposable thumbs and learned to walk upright!" Her voice cracked. "So of course I ran outside to look for him. I mean he wouldn't have gone far, especially if he was hungry. I knew I should have come home for lunch today, dammit!"

"Lo-"

"So while I was screaming like a crazy woman one of my neighbors, Mrs. Fletching, the one with the fence, she told me that she saw animal control pick up a retriever hours ago. So I called the pound to tell them that they made a mistake, but they said there was nothing they could do, because I'm not the licensee. It's in Phil's name not mine. And he'd already given them the go ahead to- to," she couldn't finish the sentence. Clark heard her take a deep shaky breath. "So I call the murdering jackass up, but he didn't answer the damn phone! They said he bit someone Clark. Can you believe it? Shelby wouldn't hurt anybody. He's a lover not a fighter."

"I know," Clark replied trying to sound soothing. "We'll talk to them. Don't worry. Everything'll be OK, Lo. I promise."

"I was just about to leave when you pulled in." She said, trying to smile at him, but it came out as more of a grimace. "You always did have impeccable timing."

He took a hand off the steering wheel and reached over to her, squeezing her fingers reassuringly. When he tried to take his hand back, Lois grasped on to it. "You know I'm not the hand holding type," she told him, "so don't tell anyone about this."

The corners of Clark's mouth twitched upward. "Don't worry Lois. You're secret is safe with me."

They didn't talk for the rest of the way. The pound was a good twenty minutes away from Lois's house, so Clark had plenty of time to enjoy being close to her. The heat from her hand felt good and right. And he liked how the contours of her palm fit inside of his. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Wondering what she was wearing underneath the gigantic yellow parka that made her look three times bigger than she was.

Thinking about clothing brought him back the colorful underwear he'd seen her packing into her bags- and then he pictured her filling them out, until he stripped them off of her and bounced her on that red sheeted king sized bed-

What the hell was wrong with him? She was in a dire state of emotional turmoil; her dog was danger for crying out loud! And all he could think about was getting into her pants? God! What kind of pervert would think about sex at a time like this?

His kind, apparently.

Beside him, Lois perked up in her seat, her hand slipping from his to point excitedly. "There's the dry cleaner's it's just past that on the right."

Clark turned into the shelter's parking lot- the shelter's empty parking lot. The place was deserted, not a car in sight. Clark looked at the clock on his dashboard. It was little past six-thirty. "This isn't good." He whispered but Lois had already exited the vehicle, making a beeline for the front entrance.

Clark sighed heavily and began to follow her. Then stopped, he gazed at the dark building frowning. He changed his course and headed around back, where the dogs were kept. This place wasn't huge and it definitely wasn't over flowing with funds. Clark quickly searched the area and found the lone, strategically placed security camera. He used his heat vision to disarm that and the alarm system, knowing Lois she would find a way in some how or another, best to be safe than sorry.

As Clark rounded the corner back to the front of the building he saw Lois still attempting to force the front door open. She'd given up trying to pick the lock with a hairpin and was now trying to, Clark could only assume, bust it down.

"Lois!" He walked a bit quicker than humanly possible to her side. She was standing good two- two in a half yards away from the door, bending down slightly, shoulder forward. He grabbed her arm a bit more forcefully than he'd meant to. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Trying to rescue my dog!" She snapped back, glowering as she wrenched herself out of his grip.

"How is breaking your neck going to help Shelby?" Clark demanded.

Lois stuck her chin out defiantly at him, "I'm not going to break me neck, Smallville! I'm just going to break the door down."

"The steel door?" Clark questioned, dryly.

Lois huffed and folded her arms across her chest, "you got a better idea?"

Clark smirked, "You can get to the pens if you go around back-"

Lois was already in hot pursuit before the word, 'back' left his mouth. And as the sight of the pens came into her view she took off sprinting. Only to be stopped by a rather tall chain link fence. "Dammit!"

Lois was just about to start climbing, when a horn sounded behind her. She turned around to see that Clark was backing his truck up to the fence. She scrambled to get out of his way. Once the car stopped, Lois wasted no time clambering into the bed. She reached up on her tiptoes and was just able to grab onto the top of the fence, in one clean movement she hoisted herself up and over. Clark was hot on her heels.

The brunette dropped to ground and couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu, as her eyes frantically swept across the half dozen pens. "Shelby!" She called out, pacing up and down the aisle. She caught sight of several auburn colored dogs, but none of them were Shelby. What if they had some sort of special kennel for the dogs that were going to be destroyed, like a death row for dogs? What if it was inside? What if she couldn't get to him? The panic that had started to bubble in her chest an hour ago was no threatening to boil over. Her throat was starting to burn and tighten. She was blinking back a couple of frustrating tears, when she heard Clark call out to her.

"Over here!"

God bless that man! A wave of relief sang through her as she reached the kennel. Lois felt some of her nervous energy subside as she knelt down by the cage. Her dog whined and yelped on the other side. And Clark had to admit he looked pretty pathetic behind bars.

Shelby tried to nuzzle Lois's hand through the links, but could barely fit his wet nose through the hole. "I'm so sorry, Shelbs," Lois cooed. The reporter quickly spied the lock on the kennel and let out a frustrated growl. "Combination locks? Really?" She cursed and violently shook the pen's door, as if willing it to open.

Clark put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "It's OK. Now that we know he's all right, we'll come back tomor-"

"I'm not leaving him," the stubborn brunette put on, what Clark liked to affectionately call, her 'mule face.'

"Lois-"

"They'll kill him, Clark!"

"Then we'll get here really early and-"

"No. I'm not leaving my dog. You can go, just leave me the blanket in the back of your truck. I'll be fine. It'll be like camping."

"Lois be reasonable-" Clark began as gently as possible, but Lois jerked out from under the hand that was still on her shoulder and fixed him with an icy glare. "That's what Phil would say! This is not about being reasonable. This is about loyalty and love and trust and betrayal, and I am not leaving this dog. They are going to kill him!"

"So, what? You're just going to sit out here and freeze to death?" Clark asked, crossly.

"No. I told you- leave me the blanket in your truck," she replied, jutting her chin out at him indignantly.

"I'm not leaving you, Lois!" Clark said, outraged that she would even consider it. "What kind of guy do you think I am?"

"Well, I'm not leaving Shelby. So whatever kind of guy you are, that makes two of us!"

Clark sighed and looked at the imprisoned Golden Retriever, who was now lying down against the wire of the cage, gazing up at him and Lois with sad chocolate eyes. Then he looked at Lois- immovable and irresistible and too damn iron-willed for her own good.

"Oh hell," Clark sighed.

Lois shrugged then took a few steps back from the pen. She was planning something. Clark could almost see the gears turning in her brain. He studied the cages too. They were pretty massive about ten or twelve feet width wise and eight or nine feet high, no top. He could, hypothetically, easily jump over, grab Shelby and jump back. However, distracting Lois long enough to do that was going to be impossible. There had to be a way- the brunette next to him suddenly ran toward the cage, and jumped on it.

"Lois what are you doing!" Clark grabbed her waist, swung her around and set her down on the ground.

She pushed him away, "I'm going to climb the fence and get my dog!"

"And how do plan on getting him out once you're in there? Throw him over your shoulder? He's a seventy pound animal Lois!" Was she trying to give him a heart attack?

"I'd figure something out!" She snapped, "It's better than just sitting here doing nothing!"

She made another move toward the fence, but Clark was too quick for her. "And what about the other dogs, Lois? Did you even consider that some of them might- oh I don't know? Be dangerous? Have rabies?"

Lois bit her lip and for the first time eyed Shelby's temporary inmates. They were mostly big dogs, they didn't seem threatening, none of them were growling or baring their teeth, but Clark did make a point about the disease part.

Lois turned her head back and peered up at her friend, helplessly. "We have to save him."

How could he say no when she was looking at like that? Her eyes wide, sparkling with vulnerability her full mouth frowning beautifully. He had no choice. Clark nodded and walked calmly over to the chained door. With one swift hand movement he broke the lock.

"How did you-?" Lois furrowed her eyebrows at him, inquisitively.

Clark shrugged trying to look nonchalant, but his throat tightened slightly, "maybe it just needed a man's touch?"

Lois snorted, and Clark relaxed. "What's the plan?" She asked.

"I'll go in first and keep the other dogs at bay- you grab Shelby."

"Clark," Lois started, her voice quiet and worried.

"What?"

"Nothing." She shook her head.

"On the count of three, OK?" Lois nodded.

"One.

Two.

Three!"

Clark gingerly eased the gate open, a large pack of dogs were already waiting for him- jumping, barking, snapping, growling- including Shelby. Clark did the best he could, angling his body between the cage door and the overly excited animals. He managed to push most of them back long enough for Lois to swiftly, but carefully enter behind him, saying Shelby's name. The Golden Retriever bounced happily toward her, along with a few friends, and she grabbed his collar, leading him out. She shifted her body between Shelby and the rest of the dogs using her legs and hips to keep them inside as she pushed her own dog through to freedom. Once they were safely on the other side of the cage, she called to Clark.

"Oh, Shelby!" Lois collapsed on the ground hugging and the animal to her, whispering words of endearment. Clark tried hard not to feel jealous, or bitter. He was still trying to get away from the massive cluster of mutts- and Shelby was being kissed and caressed by Lois while he was seemingly trapped in a glorified cage with urine on the bottom half of his left pant leg. The irony was not lost on him.

After shaking off the last dog with his foot, Clark clumsily half-hopped half-tripped through the pen door. "You owe me for this." He said, grumpily.

"Anything you want," she told him and Clark thought of several things off the top of his head.

"Clark?" Lois said, after a minute, going a bit rigid next to Shelby. "Do you think this place has an alarm? Or a camera?"

Clark almost laughed. Of course, she would think of things like, security systems, after the fact. "I- uh took care of it while you were trying to break the front door down." He smiled sheepishly at her. Lois exhaled, "my hero," she beamed at him.

And Clark couldn't help but return her smile. "Come on let's go home. I think we've done enough illegal things for one night."

"Party pooper." Lois playfully shoved him.

********

"One of them peed on you?" Lois laughed, as Clark climbed into the cab of the truck.

"It's not that funny," he grumbled, fumbling for his keys.

Lois, however, begged to differ, "Clark you were marked. You're some jail dog's bitch, now. I hope his name was Bubba." She laughed harder.

"Go ahead, keep on laughing see if I ever help you rescue anymore dogs ever again," Clark said, pretending to be hurt.

Lois managed to keep her giggles under control and reached for him. Clark tried to ignore how close she was to him. "You know I really do appreciate what you did, Clark." He glanced down at her, her beautiful hazel orbs open and grateful.

Clark bit back a groan and tried to focus on the road and not the fact that Lois's breast was pressing into the side of his arm or that he could feel her breath on the nape of his neck or-

"Are you cold?" Lois asked, when he shivered involuntarily.

"No." Definitely not cold, in fact, Clark was so 'not cold' that he told himself that he was not going in to her house when they got there. He would just drop her off and keep the motor running. He'd have to tell her about the job, later, on the phone when he was at the farm and she and her tempting curves were here, far, far away.

Lois leaned her head on his shoulder. Maybe he should just slow down and let her jump out. Clark, in spite of himself, was glad to have her so close- leaning against him- touching him. It felt natural. They stayed like for several long minutes, riding along in a comfortable silence. Until Lois moved to look at him, "so? Have you been thinking about what you want?" She asked, innocently.

Clark jerked the steering wheel sharply. Could she read his mind?

"What?" he gulped audibly.

"Well, I told you, you could have anything you wanted for saving Shelby."

"Oh," he laughed nervously, "that, I uh-oh, look. We're home!" Clark flung the car into the driveway.

"You wanna come in for a celebratory drink?"

No. "Sure."

Clark took a deep breath before following Lois and Shelby into the house. How had, drop her off and keep the motor running, turned into going inside for a drink? But he didn't want to go home, yet. He wanted to stay with her, be near her, just for a little longer.

Besides, Clark told himself what could it hurt?

TBC

********

A/N: Please leave reviews/comments. I'll take what I can get *wink wink* Thanks!