(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 9

"Are you sure you can do this?" Clark asked as he continued to pace the Sullivans' living room, checking his watch every other minute, "It's been two hours"

"Will you quit bugging me, Smallville!" Lois complained as she sat over her cousin's laptop, trying to hack her way in, "Ironically, the person who would be best at this is the person whose computer we're trying to break into" she sighed as she made another attempt to bypass the password protection, or maybe just guess at the damn word that would've been used.

"What do you really think we're going to find anyway?" Clark asked as he leaned on the back of the chair and peered over Lois' shoulder, thinking better of the move a moment later when she turned to look at him and they came quite literally face to face.

"I don't know" she admitted as he darted back away from her, and Lois moved her eyes back to the computer screen, "What I do know is that Chloe keeps everything on this damn computer, and if we want information on what's happening to her and maybe how to stop it, it's all gonna be in here" Lois said definitely.

Clark had to admit that what she said was most likely true. Chloe's computer was her life and everything that mattered was saved in there somewhere. That included all her Wall of Weird material, which might just lead them to some kind of cure for the meteor-rock infection she and Lex seemed to have. If they wouldn't stop drinking the stuff then it would never wear off naturally, and that meant a cure had to be found, and fast.

"Would you do something useful besides pace, Smallville?" Lois urged Clark when he continued to move silently behind her, both distracting and annoying her immensely, "Go see if the coffee if ready or something" she said, with a gesture of her hand that was to send him away to the kitchen.

"Who died and made you Queen of the World?" Clark muttered, as he did as she said.

Honestly, he was surprised Lois had survived this long without a caffeinated beverage, since usually she was almost as bad as Chloe for main-lining coffee. All that concentrating she was doing, all the running around and... other activities they'd partaken in already today, he was concerned at least a little for her energy levels. His own were not a factor, of course, not for a good long while, but he could still use a drink he decided as he poured out two mugs of coffee and took them through to the living room.

"Yes!" Lois declared just he got in the doorway, causing him to jump and almost throw the drinks down himself.

"Lois!" he complained, though she barely noticed as she shot up from her chair excitedly and pointed at the screen like a child squealing over presents Santa had brought.

"I did it! I got it! We're in!" she said delightedly, though Clark looked decidedly under-whelmed, "Oh come on, Smallville, at least look a little impressed!" she said, as she took her coffee from his hand and re-took her seat.

"Yay, Lois" he dead-panned as he pulled up a chair beside her, taking care not to sit too close.

Lois tried to ignore the fact she could feel his presence so intensely. It was only Clark Kent, no big deal, and what they'd done in the truck was just a blip, a moment of insanity brought on by a kind of drug that had gotten into her system completely by chance. Unfortunately, all rational arguments got lost in Lois' head, amongst a haze of pink-hued memories as she sipped her coffee.

If she were completely honest, her dirty thoughts about Clark Kent had begun way before today. That first time they'd met, well, what was a young woman to do when faced with a naked body like that? There was no denying that God had blessed the guy, and she would have had to have been blind not to notice. He was the good kind too, maybe a little straight-laced, but the thought occurred to Lois that perhaps that was what she needed. It had proved much too difficult dating bad boys, trying to make them behave when she needed them to. Maybe what would work better was to be with a nice guy like Clark, and just encourage his wild side out once in a while.

"Lois?" the very man in question said her name again, snapping his fingers in front of her face as she gazed un-seeing at the computer screen, "Come on, what's wrong with you, we need to work through these files?" he reminded her, as he picked up his own coffee and downed most of it in one go.

Though the liquid was hot, it didn't burn, barely felt warm in fact to the man of steel. What did cause a sensation inside of him, Clark realised, was something he should never have consumed. In the split second before he forgot to care about it, he knew that it wasn't Lois who had left water in the coffee machine, it was Chloe, because it wasn't just any water that coffee had been made with.

Of course, by the time realisation set in for either Clark or Lois, it was far too late. Any sensible reasoning was abandoned from their minds in favour of more pleasurable activities. Turning at almost the same moment to look at each other, with matching smiles on their faces, it was all too obvious what was coming next.

"Are you bored with this yet?" he asked her, the look in his eyes telling her exactly what he'd rather be doing.

"Completely" she nodded, barely giving him a chance to breathe before her arm snaked around his neck and pulled him forward, crushing his lips against her own.

In the midst of kryptonite-induced passion, all reasonable thought was forgotten as once again the pair completely abandoned themselves to their want for each other. The thought didn't occur that they ought not to be doing this, that it was wrong, that they would regret it later. They needed to be close to each other, and that need was almost overwhelming, to the point where the two wooden chairs they were balanced on couldn't take the pressure anymore.

As the furniture tumbled backwards, Lois and Clark found themselves rolling across the floor, eventually hitting the couch, her on top of him, sending her into a momentary fit of giggles. The laughter didn't last long as she looked down into his fiery eyes and was once again overtaken by want for this guy.

Tongues battling for dominance and hands sliding inside clothes, it seemed the effects of what they'd drunk was more potent this time and was not about to end any time soon. Here in the house the pair had easier access to places that they were hindered from reaching in the car. Movement being simpler here, it wasn't long before both were out of their tops, and fingers drifted to the fastenings of pants.

"We should... go upstairs" Lois gasped in air between long hot kisses, knowing even in her state of passion that the living room carpet was not going to be as comfortable for this activity as a bed might be, and it wasn't like they didn't have that option.

"Good idea" Clark agreed, pushing himself up off the floor, never letting up his hold on Lois as he continued to kiss her skin, making her gasp and moan.

He practically carried her up the stairs and they tumbled in through the nearest bedroom door, landing on Chloe's bed in a tangle of limbs. Lois had her eyes closed at first but when she opened them, recognising her surroundings, she pushed Clark away a little.

"We can't do this here" she said with a slight frown, "It's Chloe's room"

"Like it matters" Clark told her, with a smirk, before going right back to his original activity, "I want you, Lois" he whispered in her ear, as if it were not already obvious in every possible way to the woman beneath him.

She mumbled something against his lips that seemed to return the sentiment as she worked the buckle on his belt, whilst he attempted to kick off his shoes. In the general struggle to get out of their clothes, the pair sent a random pile of Chloe's belongings spilling onto the floor. The contents of a book bag rolled across the carpet, and immediately Clark's mind was not on Lois.

A pain shot through the farmboy's entire body which could only mean one thing, he realised. One hand went to his head as he moved off Lois and the bed, practically falling onto the floor. There on the carpet right by his head he spotted the problem, a large piece of green kryptonite which for whatever reason Chloe must've had in her bag.

"Clark?" Lois frowned, not understanding what was happening.

One minute they were half way to happy land and the next he was gone. This did not please Lois at all and she was about to get into some seriously disappointed yelling when she moved to get off the bed and yelped as her barefoot landed on a rock.

"Ouch, damn!" she complained as she lifted her foot to see what damage had been done, then picked up the offending rock and threw it which such force it went sailing out of the open window.

Immediately, Clark felt better for the absence of the meteor rock that would cause him pain. Unfortunately, not all of his nausea went away as he looked up at Lois. It had happened again, and they both knew it as their eyes met briefly.

Without a word, Clark got to his feet, trying to gain his breath. The effects of his making out with Lois had done enough damage, and were consequently causing him pain, but the kryptonite had only added to his general discomfort.

"Wow" Lois said flatly, "Could this be anymore awkward?" she said to Clark, though her eyes remained on the floor as she reached for the comforter at the end of the bed and pulled it up around her shoulders in an attempt to cover the vast amounts of skin she had on show.

Her bra had to be somewhere, and somewhere downstairs was her top. One shoe was visible at the end of the bed, the other having been kicked off in the opposite direction and out of view it seemed. At least she still had her pants on, Lois realised with some relief. They hadn't quite gotten that far, though once again Clark was having to refasten his belt because of her nimble fingers.

He wouldn't look at her at all and was out of the door before Lois had a chance to speak again. Whether he was trying to give her privacy to re-dress herself or if he was just embarrassed, Miss Lane couldn't be sure. Either way she appreciated a few moments to figure out what the hell had happened here.

Infected water in the coffee machine, that had to be it, she realised, but knowing what caused her second near-tumble with Clark Kent didn't make it any the less true that it had occurred. It didn't stop her pulse racing, her lips tingling, and her body aching with desire as yet unsated. Not that this meant she really wanted Clark, at least that was what she tried in vain to convince herself of all over again as she located her own clothes and threw on the nearest of Chloe's tops that would be suitable since she didn't think heading downstairs sans chest-covering would be a good plan right now.

In the living room, Clark couldn't focus. Twice now he'd lost control and that scared him, not least because he knew how dangerous he could be under the thrall of red kryptonite. Lois was a factor too, and the realisation that their making out had gotten very close to sex made him more than a little uncomfortable. Maybe this was okay for her. The fact that they didn't, shouldn't, couldn't like each other made it all ridiculous but she was used to being this way with guys, he figured. Clark himself had never been so free and easy with a girl, and as yet he'd certainly never got as far as actually 'doing it'. Not that he was about to tell Lois that, she had no need to know. Besides it was over now, and it would not be happening again, he'd make sure of that.

"So" Lois said as she appeared in the door way, bringing him out of deep unhelpful thoughts, "I guess now we know what we need to do with Chloe and Lex" she said, "Green meteor rocks, right?"

"Uh-huh" Clark nodded, averting his eyes just the moment he'd looked at her, "Lois, I..." he started, intending it to be an apology maybe, or perhaps his best attempt at an explanation, even though it was neither of their faults this had happened.

"Save it, Smallville" she said, holding up a hand to silence him, as she smiled awkwardly, "Talking about it won't change it" she shook her head, "So let's just get what we need and say Viva Las Vegas"


Chloe peered out the window of the private jet with a smile on her face as the clouds whizzed by. Life was pretty much perfect right now, she thought, as her focus shifted from the view to her left hand and the diamond that sparkled there. She loved her ring, not because it was big and flashy, not because it was special for being Lex's own mothers originally. No, Chloe's big reason for loving this ring was because it meant she would be Mrs Lex Luthor, and that the two of them would always be bound to each other.

The physical side of their relationship was something she already enjoyed and couldn't wait for more of, but it was much deeper than that. For months she'd known the friendship between them was not enough, and at last they had acted on it. She didn't know anymore what those reasons were for holding back, whatever they had been they didn't matter any more.

"What are you thinking?" Lex asked, noting her thoughtful expression as he returned to his seat opposite her and poured them both a glass of champagne.

"About how much I love you" she admitted, as she leaned forward in her seat, "And how much I can't wait to be your wife"

"Not long to wait" he assured her, as he put down the bottle and picked up her hand, kissing her palm, "Nothing's going to stop us now"

To Be Continued...