Thanks for all your great reviews, guys! Sorry it's taken so long to post an update.

hbthomas: Of course, you can make a recommendation in your "SR" story. Thank you. I won't double post, but I'd love "SR" fans to know that this is here. (And I think the answer to your questions regarding Lois making the connection about Clark/Superman will be answered in this update. At least, I hope so.)

Chapter Nine

Gotham, 2008

Lois took deep breaths and forced herself not to panic. She looked around the spacious guest room and made a quick mental inventory of all the things that had worked out. She'd never thought Bruce would let them in – and he had. And then she'd never thought she'd be able to convince him that she was from the future (an alternate version at that) but she'd accomplished it. And she'd managed to get this version of Bruce Wayne onboard with helping them figure out what was wrong. Which hadn't been easy, since he was young and obstinate as hell. But she'd done it.

All in all, it wasn't a bad day's work. Then why did she feel so helpless? So alone? Why didn't the weight of the world stop crushing her down? An image of Jason came to her mind and her heart broke. How was he feeling? Was he okay? I have got to get out of here. I can't leave him alone for this long.

"Are you okay?" Chloe's concerned voice interrupted Lois's inner monologue.

Lois put the hairbrush down and swiveled around in the dressing room chair to face Chloe. Chloe looked very much like Lois herself did – with wet hair and wearing an oversized bathrobe that had been thoughtfully provided by their host. Chloe's face, like her own, was scrubbed clean of any make-up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Lois forced a slight smile to her lips.

Chloe walked into the room and sat down on the huge bed. "No reason – I just heard you mumbling to yourself and I thought I'd come by and investigate." Chloe paused and then shot her a cheeky smirk. "I'm nosy that way."

Lois couldn't help but let out a reluctant laugh. "I see – well, I understand nosiness, I guess. I was just thinking about the situation we're in – and how I hate just sitting here waiting."

"Well, you did manage quite a bit, you know," Chloe reminded her. "Bruce Wayne admitted he was Batman and you've got him down there with Clark going through astronomical data for the night of the switch. What more can you do?"

"I know," Lois sighed in the frustration and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "It's just – how can I just go to sleep while they figure everything out? I should be down there - ."

"Except he refused to let you down there until you've had dinner and slept a bit," Chloe interrupted. "There's no point in crying over it – I want be there just as badly as you, but what can we do? Let's just go to sleep and attack it in the morning. You haven't slept in over twenty four hours and you need get some rest." Chloe glanced around the ornately decorated guest room and grinned. "I just can't believe it – do you realize that one guest room in Bruce Wayne's manor is bigger than my whole crappy apartment in Metropolis?"

Lois nodded weakly and stopped arguing. Chloe was right – what was the point? It wasn't like Bruce was going to figure it out in the next five minutes. And if he did, he would wake her up. And it wasn't like she was going to be of use to anyone if she was a walking zombie tomorrow. Still, she knew sleep was going to elude her. Thoughts of Jason would keep her awake.

"Are you okay?" Chloe asked again, this time the concern reaching her blue eyes. "You have that weird look again."

Lois shrugged. "It's nothing."

"It's not 'nothing', Lois," Chloe responded adamantly. "Look, I know that I'm not your cousin in your world, but I really do love this world's Lois. And this world's Lois has told me I'm a good listener, you know."

Lois appraised the petite blonde for a second and then smiled. "Yes, I'm sure you are. It's not that big of a deal, Chloe. I was just thinking about my son. I miss him." Lois thought for a second and then added softly, "I'm worried about him. He's never been away from me for this long. It's been over three days and he's all alone."

Chloe gazed at her sympathetically. "I know it must be hard. I mean, I don't have a kid, but I can imagine…." Chloe's voice trailed off and she looked away, like she didn't quite know what to say to Lois. Then she turned back to Lois and asked, with a puzzled look, "but what about Clark? He's there, right? And Clark is great with kids."

"Well, yes, I suppose he is," Lois answered calmly. "But he's not Jason's father, so he's not going to be taking care of him."

Startled, Chloe shook her head. "I don't get it. I thought you and Clark… Lori said…."

Lois smiled slightly at Chloe's confusion. "Yes, Lori's right – Clark is the biological father. But Lori didn't see everything. She didn't see that Clark didn't actually raise Jason – someone else did."

"What? How is that possible?" Chloe asked, grabbing a hold of a pillow from the bed and wrapped her arms around it. She looked like a little girl waiting to hear a story. "You cannot leave it there – I've gotta know."

Lois looked at her fondly and had a fleeting thought that she wished she had known Chloe in her own world. Maybe I wouldn't have made so many stupid mistakes if I had a friend like this to keep me in check.

Lois took a deep breath and started to try to explain to Chloe what she, herself, couldn't quite figure out. "Basically, I slept with Clark about six years ago. But I didn't know he was Clark. I thought he was Superman. Something happened and he did a mind wipe, making it so that I didn't know we slept together. And then he just took off for Krypton…"

"Whoa, wait!" Chloe held her hand up, her eyes wide and horrified. "Back up… what do you mean, you didn't know it was Clark? He tricked you? And then he wiped your mind? And then he just took off to a different planet? What is wrong with him?"

"Um… well…" Lois thought for a second, trying to see if she knew the answer. "I have no idea. I've been asking myself that for months. I guess, at the time we slept together, I had figured out that Superman and Clark were the same guy. But, later on, the mind wipe totally cleared the whole 'Clark Kent equals Superman' part out of the memories. At least, what was left of them. A few months ago, the memories of the night started coming back. But not the Clark is Superman part." Lois stared blindly at an ornate portrait on the wall in front of her and added softly, "I didn't figure out that Clark was Superman until I got here, actually. That was the only missing piece."

Chloe kept silent, processing what Lois had just explained. Instead of questioning the situation with Clark, she just pressed on. "Okay, so what happened next? I mean, what did you think when you found out you were pregnant? Immaculate conception?"

Lois winced. "Well, here's the thing. After Supe – I mean, Clark – left, I was really mad. Not just because he'd left, but mainly because he left without saying goodbye. So, this guy - Richard White - asked me out and I said yes." Lois flushed and glanced away from Chloe. "One thing led to another and I ended up sleeping with him."

Chloe gave her an unreadable look.

"Just that one time!" Lois exclaimed. "In my defense, I'd had a lot of martinis. And, technically, I was single, you know."

"I know, I wasn't judging you," Chloe replied, raising her brow quizzically. "Why would I? You were an adult, you knew what you were doing. But what does this have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with it – that's where the mess started," Lois explained patiently. "When I found out I was pregnant, my mind immediately went to Richard. I had no memory of my time with Sup – I mean, Clark – so I thought Richard was the only possible father."

"Ooohhh," Chloe nodded, finally understanding what had happened. "So, what did this Richard guy do? Did he freak out?"

Lois shook her head. "No, he didn't freak out. He was great…totally supportive. He asked me to marry him, almost immediately. I said no, of course. We didn't even know each other – how could we get married?"

"But you're engaged to him now?" Chloe asked, starting to get confused again.

"Yeah," Lois nodded. "But we only got engaged about five months ago. We didn't even start sleeping together until a year ago." Lois saw the blank look on Chloe's face and started laughing. "Look, in the beginning, I just told Richard that he could be a part of the baby's life. But he was so close to Jason, he was pretty much always at my apartment. When Jason was about two, we decided it didn't make sense to pay rent for two different places, so we bought a house and moved in together."

Chloe smirked a bit and Lois hastened to add, "It wasn't like that. We stayed in separate bedrooms. It was like we were roommates. But then, as time went on, he was just there. Comfortable, you know? Like a really good pair of socks."

"A pair of socks," Chloe repeated faintly, looking a bit skeptical.

"Yup," Lois nodded firmly. She leaned forward to explain, fixing her earnest gaze on Chloe. "A pair of socks. Or a comfy, old sweater. One night, he asked if we could take our relationship to the next level. He said that he couldn't just stay there as my friend anymore. So I thought about it and it made sense -- he was the perfect father and the perfect boyfriend material. I loved him, in my own way. And he was my son's father – what more could a girl ask for? So, we started dating and it led to us getting engaged."

"But you weren't in love with him. Not really," Chloe pointed out.

"I do love him," Lois insisted. "In my own way. It's just – I don't know, Chloe…I was tired of sitting there waiting for a dream that was never going to come true - ." Lois stopped abruptly, memories of her frustration and anger coming back to her.

She remembered the night she'd decided to move forward in her relationship with Richard. It was the same night she'd sat down and written her Pulitzer Prize winning article – "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman". Writing the article had been her farewell to the dreams she'd fostered that he was coming back. Little had she known that he would come back and it wouldn't be as easy to dismiss him as she had thought it would be.

"Lois? Was Clark that dream? Or, I guess I should say, Superman?" Chloe asked softly, interrupting Lois's thoughts.

Lois met her eyes for a moment and then admitted, "I don't know. I always thought it was Superman. But what do I know? He was Clark Kent the whole time and I didn't even see it."

Chloe nodded sympathetically. "Don't feel bad, Lois. Clark's fooled a lot of people before. He dupes people in this world all the time and he doesn't even have a costume. No one can blame you for not seeing through his disguise."

"Have all those other people had a child with him? Thought they were in love with him? Worked side by side with him for years?" Lois asked dryly, folding her arms across her chest. "I don't think it's the same thing, at all."

Chloe hesitated and answered slowly. "Well, I've been in love with him. And I was his best friend for years. And I didn't figure it out."

Lois's eyes widened in surprise and dismay. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know…." Lois's voice trailed off and then she pinned her curious gaze on Chloe. "Are you in love with him now? That must be hard – seeing him with Lori."

"No," Chloe shook her head and smiled ruefully. "I figured out a long time ago that Clark and I aren't destined to be together. I still love him as a friend, but I'm not in love with him." Chloe paused and added thoughtfully, "But that's not to say that Clark being with Lori doesn't bug me. But that's for a whole other set of reasons."

"Why?" Lois frowned and proceeded to indulge her own genetic disposition towards nosiness. "If you're not in love with him why does it bother you that he's with Lori?"

Chloe shrugged. "It's hard to explain, but I think he's with her for the wrong reasons. I think the only reason he's with Lori is because there's no work involved. He never has to worry about her accepting him, because she just read his mind and figured out who he was from the beginning. I think he's afraid to think that he can just be with a normal, mortal woman…so he's holding himself back from who he's really supposed to be with."

So Chloe's trying to play matchmaker. Lois looked at her thoughtfully and bit back a smile. "And I take it that you have that perfect, normal, mortal woman in mind for him?"

"Yeah," Chloe nodded, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "You – or, rather, this universe's version of you. I've always sensed something between them, right from the beginning. And now that this all happened, I'm thinking I wasn't that off. There has to be a connection between your relationship with Clark in your world and Lois's relationship with Clark in this world. It's the only constant between the two universes."

Lois rolled her eyes at the romantic sentiment. She didn't want to burst Chloe's bubble, but she couldn't help but point out the obvious. "Except, of course, Clark and I aren't together in our world. And, apparently, this world's Clark and Lois have no desire to be together, either." Lois thought about it and then concluded softly. "Then again, that could be the constant – no matter what universe it is, Lois and Clark are not meant to be."

"Maybe that's why you're here, Lois. To find out that you're wrong."

Metropolis, 2019

"I just don't understand it," Bruce murmured softly to himself as he continued to type away on the laptop set out on the coffee table.

The living room was covered was printouts of statistical data and various charts and diagrams. Right after they'd finished eating, Bruce had taken over the study and living room in hopes of hunting down any information they could find that would lead them to the tiny scientist that they were convinced had started it all.

Clark looked up from the stack of data he'd been analyzing at super-speed in the corner of the room. His brow rose as he looked at his friend. "What don't you understand?"

"I can't get to this data," Bruce explained, typing faster on keyboard in front of him. He frowned at the screen. "I found some intriguing information regarding research about that night's freak storm. It's taken me to a locked file in the FBI archives." He shrugged, clearly irritated by his inability to get access the data. "It might not be anything, but I want to at least check it out."

Lois glanced up from the chart she'd been looking at and rubbed at her tired eyes. She'd been trying to see if she could recognize the stars she'd been looking at right before the lightening struck, but the diagrams were starting to blur in her exhaustion. "I thought you could hack into anything."

Bruce scowled again. "So did I… but this one's blocking me. The codes are impossible to crack. And every time I get too close, the programmer set it up so his computer sends a virus out. If I didn't have a top of the line program, my whole network would have been wiped out." Bruce typed something in and then squinted at the screen as he admitted begrudgingly, "Whoever this C. Sullivan person is, he's good. I may have to steal him and have him join Wayne Industries. It shouldn't be hard – we definitely pay more than the U.S. government."

"C. Sullivan?" Lois squeaked, the chart in her hands dropping to the floor in her haste to get to the computer. "How do you know it's a he? It's gotta be a she."

Lois whipped the laptop around to face her and Bruce gave her a startled look. "Ah…right, of course. It could very well be a she – sorry for the assumption."

Bruce sent Clark a look and remarked with a lifted brow, "She's trying to be politically correct now?" Clark tried not to laugh. It was all lost on Lois, as she frantically tried to decipher the code on the screen. Finally, she gave up and turned it back to face Bruce.

"Check to see if the 'C' stand for Chloe," Lois demanded impatiently, completely unaware that very few people in the world talked to Bruce Wayne in that tone and got away with it. Luckily, Lois Lane was one of the few people, so Bruce let it slide.

After a moment, his search turned up results. He leaned back against the cushions and read the profile out loud. "You're right – it does stand for Chloe. Special Agent Chloe Sullivan, to be precise. She's been with the Bureau for eight years. She got a Bachelor's degree in computer science from M.I.T. back in 2009. She earned her Master's from Stanford right after that in 2011. She's been with the FBI ever since."

Clark eyed Lois curiously. "How did you know who she was?"

"I didn't," Lois admitted faintly. Her knees felt weak and she sat down on the coffee table. "I just thought…" Lois's voice trailed off and she stared off into space for second.

It's Chloe, but it's not Chloe. Can she be the same Chloe? She has to be.

Then Lois shook her head briskly and explained to the two men in the room, "Chloe Sullivan is my cousin in my world. This cannot be a coincidence. We need to go talk to her."

Lois got up purposefully from the table and started to walk out of the room. Clark and Bruce exchanged a look.

"Lois, we can't go right now," Clark said gently, as he put his hand on her shoulder to stop her from leaving the room. He steered her back towards a comfy sofa in the corner of the room. "You haven't slept since you left the hospital. You're exhausted. It's two in the morning."

"And that's why they make coffee, Smallville," Lois said impatiently, shrugging his hand off her shoulder. For the first time, she felt a ray of hope. If this universe was showing her the way to Chloe, it had to mean something. There was no way she was just going go to sleep.

"Lois, we can't leave Jason," Clark pointed out, realizing that her exhaustion wasn't going to stop her. "Tomorrow, you can call Richard and let him know that we're taking Jason to my mother's for the day. He'll think it's weird, but you can make something up. And, after that, the three of us will go to Agent Sullivan's office and see what we can find out." Lois opened her mouth to argue, but he cut her off firmly. "After we all get a good night's sleep. You won't be of use to anyone if you're a walking zombie tomorrow."

"He's right, Lois. Not to mention that fact that Agent Sullivan isn't going to be pleased if we wake her up right now, either," Bruce added in, figuring that should stop her. "We need to have your cousin alert and willing to talk to us – not sleepy and mad."

Lois stared at the two of them for a second, struggling to fight the exhaustion taking over her body. Finally, a ghost of a smile played around her lips as she agreed reluctantly. "Well, Chloe does like her beauty sleep. Okay, fine. But first thing tomorrow morning, we go."

Bruce nodded in agreement, casting another sharp glance at the screen. "Definitely. Trust me, I'm just as curious as you are."