I do not own Smallville. Please, read and review:)

Chapter 9: Therapy.

A week passed and Clark still had not spoken to his mum properly, as he was afraid that he would not be able to cope. Martha had called Tess and Conner and told both of them. They had both threatened to talk to their father, but she had told them not to get involved. On a Monday morning, whist Lois was feeding the twins, Clark sat down next to his mum in the living room and asked, "Do you have any idea what you're going to do?"

Martha nodded and sipped her cup of coffee. "Yes, I have, Clark. I'm going to find a flat in Metropolis, hire a lawyer and ask your father for a divorce."

Clark stared at his mum in shock and exclaimed, "Mum, you can't divorce Dad! You really can't! You've been married for so long. How can you be so willing to give up on Dad, on the man whom you married and love more than anything else?"

It was now Martha's turn to stare at her elder son in shock at that he had just said. Sighing, she replied, "Sweetie, no matter how much I love your father, I cannot remained married to him. He broke his wedding vows, he cheated on me."

"Have you spoken to him? Given him a chance to explain himself?" Clark was desperate to keep his parents' marriage together, despite what his dad had done. Martha shook her head, "Clark, I can never trust him again and a marriage without trust is.. a broken one. I love him and he may still love me, but I can't stay married to him. Deep down, in your heart, I know you understand that. I did your father a chance to explain himself and he came out with the most cliché lines, so as far as I'm concerned, our marriage is over and… the worst part is he didn't even try to defend his actions to me." There was a long silence, then she stood up. "I'm going to start flat-shopping." She kissed her son on the head with a sad smile, then left the room.

Feeling frustrated and defeated, Clark made his way into the kitchen, where Lois was wiping down Jane's front. "Someone had a little accident. Smallville, will you help me here?" When she received no response, she looked up and saw the defeat and upset in her husband's eyes. "Clark, what's wrong?"

Clark sat down at the table next to his twins. "I told my mum not to divorce my dad, despite everything he's done, but I know that she's going to anyway. I guess… I'm still struggling with this and them divorcing will make all of this real. I'm not sure if I'm ready for that, I want my dad to be the hero I thought he was."

Lois wrapped her arms around him and she murmured, "He can still be your hero. He is your dad, after all."

"No, Lois. He can't be. I believed that my dad was one of the best men in the entire world. I used to believe that my mum and dad had the perfect marriage, that they would be together forever, but I guess I was wrong." He finally let himself relax in Lois's arms and he closed his eyes, feeling safe and loved. He kissed her hair before closing his eyes again, wishing that he could wish away all of his's pain and his dad's cheating. He had thought that his dad loved his mum, but maybe love was not always enough. Lois rested her head on his shoulders, hoping that her comfort and her love would stir Clark through this hard time. She knew that, as a child, he had been closer to his dad, whilst Conner and Tess had been closer to their mum and that might have been another reason why Clark was taking this news so badly.

Their thoughts were distracted by the door opening and Tess and Lex walked in, with Alexander and James in their wake. Tess hugged her brother and then walked out of the room, in search of her mum. Lex turned his attention to his sons and told them to go and play in the living room, indicating to Lois and Clark that he wanted to talk to her. He really wanted to just talk to Clark, but he also knew that whatever he told Clark, Lois would find out, as there were no secrets between them. Before Lex could open his mouth, Tess returned and said, "I need to ask you something-well, we need to ask you something. We are thinking of going to see a marriage counsellor and we were wondering if the two of you could watch the boys when we do?"

Lois and Clark were silent for a couple of seconds, before the latter recovered and nodded. "Yeah… sure. Erm, have you already booked an appointment?" Tess and Lex glanced at each other for a second, then Tess shook her head. "No, we haven't. But we're going to get it booked. We'll find a counsellor and book it, won't we?" In response, Lex just nodded numbly.

Sensing the tension between his sister and her husband, Clark suggested that he and Lex made their way to work, as they had a pile of work to do. He hugged Lois goodbye, kissed goodbye the twins and threw Lois a fleeting look before leading Lex out of the house and his stomach moved in a happy way when Lois blushed. As Clark drove to work, he texted Oliver, asking him if he knew of any good marriage counsellors.

Once at work, Clark dropped his belongings in his office and left to buy himself a coffee, as he had not had one this morning. When he returned, he found Lex in his office, with his mobile phone in his hands. "Do you make a habit of looking at my phone?" Clark asked, in a joking manner, but he was annoyed.

Lex looked up at him and replied, "Oliver Queen's got back to you-he's given you a name of a… marriage shrink. Why the heck did you ask him?"

"If this is about the petty rivalry which is between the two of you, I'm really not interested." Clark snapped, as he picked up his phone and sat down at his desk. Lex walked over to him and replied, in the same tone, "Well, it isn't Clark. I thought I could trust you, you're my friend and brother-in-law! How could you ask Queen that question? I don't want everybody to know about my martial problems with Tess."

Sighing, Clark remarked, "Lex, attending marriage counselling shouldn't be embarrassing; it's proof that you're trying to make your marriage work. There's nothing wrong with that."

Lex glared at him. "Yes, but Queen is an old boyfriend of Tess. What if he works out that I've cheated on her, what if he tells Tess? What would I do then?" He paused, then added, "I never thought I'd be here. I never thought I'd become my father- I always told myself that, if I was ever lucky enough to marry, I would be faithful to my wife. I guess I broke that promise."

"You're not still… seeing Lana, are you? And this is me asking as your friend, not as Tess's brother." Clark looked into Lex's eyes and saw his answer in there, but he also saw so much confusion in his eyes. Before he could ask any more questions, Lex walked out of the office, leaving Clark wondering what his friend and brother-in-law was going to do next. He was relieved that Lex wanted to make his marriage work, but he also received the feeling that he blamed Tess for the failures of their marriage.

Lois arrived at Chloe and Jimmy's house and let herself in. The two young women hugged, before letting their children play together, as they had not seen each other since Christmas. "How's Clark holding up, after finding out that about his dad?"

Lois sighed. "Not well, cuz. He loves his dad so much and this has shattered the perfect idea he had of his dad, which I can understand. All I can do is be as supportive as possible, just be there for him." She shook her head, "Anyway, how are you and Jimmy?"

"We're fine, thanks. I'm going to ask Ollie if he can take care of Nicky for a couple of nights so that Jimmy and I can have some time together." Chloe smiled and blushed more to herself than to her cousin. She saw Lois frown and she asked, "What is it?"

Biting her lip, Lois asked, "Have you told Jimmy that you had a one-night stand with another guy a couple of days before you were with him?"

The smile vanished from Chloe's face and Lois could almost see her defences going up. "No, he doesn't need to know."

"Really? I think that Clark would be pretty angry if he would out that I hadn't told him something like that!"

"You told Clark?" Chloe stared at her, resisting the urge to shout at her cousin.

Lois nodded and smiled sadly. "Yes, Clark and I tell each other everything. We always have and we always will." She paused, then asked again, "Why won't you tell Jimmy?"

Chloe looked down at her hands. "It happened over a year ago, I'm married to Jimmy. Telling him would break his heart. There's no point in dragging up the past because it doesn't affect us. Besides, I'm not lying to him. I've never lied to him-any marriage which begins with lies is doomed to fail. I love him so much, Lois, and if I told him, his heart would be broken and for what? For me to have a clear conscience? It wouldn't be worth it, Lois, and it would break his heart. That night meant nothing to me, but when I'm with Jimmy, it's different because we love each other. It actually means something." There was a long silence, then Lois had to leave to change the twins. As she left, she remembered that she still had no idea who the man was with whom Chloe had had a one-night stand.

That evening, Tess and Lex dropped Alexander and James at Lois and Clark's before making their way to see the marriage counsellor. He was bald man in his early-fifties with a beard and glasses. He also had a Southern American accent. Tess and Lex sat down on the chairs, which were next to each other and Tess was tempted to move her chair away from Lex's, but she feared that this action would be noticed by both men, so she remained where she was. The first question sounded like a simple one, but both Tess and Lex knew that it had ammunition: "So, how long have the two of you been married and do you have any kids?"

Tess was about to reply, but Lex began speaking before her. "We have been married for 10 years. We first met when we were 18 at university and became friends. We got together when we were 24 and married shortly after that. We had our first son the same year, Alexander, he's 10. We also have James, who's 4."

"Was your relationship a first for both of you?"

Tess avoided looking Lex in the eye and he was doing the same thing with her, because he was afraid that if he spoke about Lana, she would be able to tell that there was something wrong. Much to his relief, Tess answered the question first, replying that she had had her first boyfriend at 22 and that she had ended the relationship a couple of weeks prior to beginning a relationship with Lex; she did not provide the man with Oliver's name, as she knew that that would be unfair. Lex's response was that he had had a couple of girlfriends in boarding school and at university, but that none of them had been serious. Tess knew that that was a lie and she must have expressed her emotions on her face, because she saw the counsellor giving her a pointed look. He smiled at her as he asked the two of them the next question, "What do you both do for a living?"

This time, Tess answered before her husband had a chance to do so. "Well, Lex works for LuthorCorp and works with people at Queen Industries so that the two companies cooperate with each other as best they can. I-I don't work, I just stay at home and look after the kids and the house."

"That's work, too." remarked the counsellor, to which Tess just smiled.

There was a slight pause, then Lex observed, "Tess is amazing with the boys. She's a fantastic mother, she loves them so much. It's amazing." Despite what he was saying was positive, there was a negative edge to his voice which both Tess and the counsellor heard, so the latter inquired, "So, what's your relationship with your sons like?" He guessed that this was a key issue in their relationship, so he wanted to explore it and see how Lex responded.

Lex glanced at Tess before he answered "Well, I love them both very much, but I have to work so much, so I don't get to see them as much as I would like to." "Do you think that maybe you had your first child too soon? I mean, you said yourselves that your first son was born the same year you married, so you think that meant that you didn't have enough time alone as a married couple?"

Tess sighed, deciding to be honest as this man was trying to help them. "Alexander wasn't planned for, so yes, it did mean that we had less time together. My brother and his wife together were married for five years before they had their kids and I think that gave them time to be together. But James was planned for, because we wanted Alexander to have a little brother or sister. I mean, who doesn't want that for their child?" She was beginning to become annoyed with her own words, as it sounded as if she were trying to justify why they had two children together. Once again, she saw the man's eyes on her, before he asked, "So, what do the two of you think are the main problems in your marriage, relationship?"

Tess could feel Lex tense beside of her and he let go of her hand, which made her heart ache. She also knew that he was going to speak first. "Well, the thing is, I come home from a day at work and Tess is looking after the kids and doing a very good job of it, but she always blows me off. And in the evening, when I want us to spend time together, she always claims to be too tired and that-that hurts."

"That isn't an excuse, it's because I really am tired, Lex!" Tess snapped, glad that he had said that to another person besides her. She turned to her husband and, much to her surprise, she saw hurt and pain in his eyes. He sighed and remarked, "How's that supposed to make me feel, Tess? I makes me feel as if you don't find me attractive in that way anymore and that hurts, more than I can express."

Shaking her head, Tess whispered, "Maybe you would understand if you listened to me, Lex. You know I love you. I always have and I always will, so just because I don't want to be with you in that way doesn't mean that I don't want to be your wife! Do you remember what you said to me months ago? You said that I only married you to have kids."

"What else am I supposed to think?" Lex asked, raising his voice. "We've barley been together since we had James and that was four years ago."

"What do you want me to say, Lex?" Tess raised her eyes to meet his. "What do you want me to do about this? How are you going to fix our marriage because we can't go on living like this! If we do… I don't think I'll be able to stand it." There were now tears in her eyes and that made Lex realise how much she was hurting, because Tess very rarely cried.

He sighed and asked, "Are you saying that this is my fault?"

Wiping away her tears, Tess replied in a whisper, "No, it's the fault of both of us, Lex. And we have to sort it out in order to save our marriage." There was a long silence in which time the two of them stared at each other, trying to work out what to say to the other which would make their pain go away, but neither could think of anything. After this silence, the counsellor dismissed them and told them to return in a month and with that, Tess stood up and Lex followed her and they walked back to their car in silence.

Meanwhile, Lois and Clark were sitting in front of the fire, watching Alexander and James sleeping on the sofa. "I can't believe that Tess and Lex have got to this stage," Clark murmured, "having to talk to a stranger about their marriage. Even Chloe and Jimmy didn't do that."

Lois ran her hands through her hair and then squeezed Clark's hands. "It's sad that… they love each other and they have kids together, but their marriage is falling apart. They're the only ones who can fix it and I don't think that Lex is accustomed to cleaning up the mess which he creates."

"Do you think Lex is to blame?"

Shaking her head, Lois replied, "I don't think anyone's to blame, Smallville," she rested her head on his shoulders, "I think it takes two people to damage a marriage. I mean, look at Chloe and Jimmy, for example. Jimmy's main insecurity is Chloe's reasons for marrying him and those wouldn't be there if they talked about it. And Chloe keeping secrets from him will have ramifications at some point, I can guarantee. In my opinion, both Tess and Lex and Chloe and Jimmy married too quickly and had kids too soon."

Clark kissed Lois on the head, which made them both smile, before he agreed with her. "I agree. I mean, Alexander was born the same year Tess and Lex got married and they married a couple of months after they started dating. They really rushed it. I wonder if that was because they feared that the other would change their mind. And Chloe and Jimmy's relationship moved far too quickly and Nicky was born about 9 months after their marriage." He chuckled to himself, before remarking with a loving smile, "You and I were the sensible ones, Lois: we were friends for two years before we got together, we got engaged and married after dating for 5 years and we waited for five years until we had the twins. And, we waited until the right time before we… made love. We knew that we loved each other."

Raising her head, Lois smiled and murmured, "Yes, we did. We took our time, as we agreed we would when we began dating, and now I would say that we're the happiest couple out of the three of us. We argue of course, but that's normal. The fact that we were friends first helped a great deal, I think."

"It meant that we already knew each other's flaws." Clark smiled, stroking his wife's hair. Resting her head against his hand, Lois replied, "And each other's strengths. My strength is you, Clark Kent."

Looking into her eyes, Clark whispered, "Ditto, Lois Lane." With that, they kissed passionately and closed their eyes, enjoying being together in that way without being interrupted by their babies. As they sat up after a while, Lois remarked, "Speaking of friendship first, I have always thought that Chloe and Oliver would work well together."

Clark nodded. "I thought that when they first met-there was a spark between them. I'm glad that they're best friends now, they understand each other in a way that other people don't."

"An understanding which you and I always have of each other," Lois remarked, thinking about what she was saying, "do you think that maybe, Chloe and Oliver, like you and I, could be soulmates?"

Staring at her in disbelief, Clark shook his head. "How could they be? They've never dated."

"Clark, think about it. A soul mate is a best friend, someone who knows you better than anyone in the world. Think about it-it suits their relationship; they're best friends and they have an understanding of each other which is like the understanding you and I have of each other. And a soul mate doesn't have to be someone whom you've dated. You don't believe me, do you?"

Smiling to himself, Clark shook his head, "No, for once I don't, Lois. I don't think that Oliver and Chloe are soul mates nor do I think that they will ever be anything more than friends. Chloe's married to Jimmy and she loves him and Oliver's still in love with Felicity. They could never love each, as brother and sister yes, but not in that way."

His wife smiled too, as she observed, "I think, Smallville, that if it weren't for Jimmy and Felicity being around, they would be together-or close to it. They suit each other."

"I really don't think they do. I mean, I know that Oliver was in love with her, but Chloe sees him as a friend, and nothing more. I think, in another life, they would be together, but they aren't and they never will be."

"Do you want to bet on it?"

Clark stared at her. "Did you just ask me if I want to bet if my best friend and your cousin will get together?"

"Yeah-in two years," Lois smiled mischievously, "are you going to take the bet or are you too scared that you'll lose to your wife?" Clark threw her an annoyed, but loving look and was about to reply, when there was a knock on the door and Clark went to answer it. It was Tess and Lex and Clark could see the tears in Tess's eyes and the frustration in Lex's. Luckily, Lois walked over to the door and asked, "How did it go, Tess?" She addressed Tess, because she was not keen on Lex since discovering that he had cheated on his wife several times.

Tess did not reply, instead she walked into the living room and asked how the boys had been. Her brother answered that they had both been very well behaved. Tess picked up James and carried him to the car and Lex did the same with Alexander. With that, they thanked Lois and Clark and left, driving away in silence.

Clark closed the door, then turned back to Lois and began, "Now, about that bet? I will take it, but first I think you and I need to have some time together." He pulled Lois into his arms and they kissed passionately. After their kiss ended, he picked her up in his arms so that their eyes were level and he carried her to the sofa. There, she lay down and he lay next to her, with their heads resting against each other. "I love you." They whispered to the other at the same time, causing them to smile with love in their eyes, before resuming their kissing…

Once home, Tess and Lex put their sons to bed, before Tess quickly made her way to their bedroom to change. When Lex walked in a couple of minutes later, Tess was lying in their bed, smiling at him. She walked over to him, with a certain look in her eyes. "Lex Luthor, would you like to…spend some time together?" She leaned closer and began to kiss him, but when he did not kiss her back, she pulled away, frowning. "What's wrong? I thought this was what you wanted?"

Looking into her eyes with anger, Lex replied, "I'm really tired, Lutessa, so I'll pass tonight." He walked past her and collected his pyjamas from under his pillow. Not looking at her, he told her that he would sleep on the sofa. As he walked past her and out of their room, Tess felt as if she had been physically smacked in the face. Fighting back tears, she almost fell into her bed and buried her face into her pillow so that he would not hear her crying. Downstairs, Lex did hear and the very sound of it broke his heart.

The next morning, Lex woke up at 6:00, had his breakfast and left for work before Tess was awake. The guilt of how he had treated her the previous night was weighing on him like a giant burden and the only person with whom he could discuss it was Clark, even though he knew that whatever he told Clark would find its way to Lois also.

As Lois and Clark began to have their breakfast at 6:30, their front door opened and Jimmy walked inside. "Hey, Jimmy, what's up?" Clark asked, as he began to eat his own breakfast.

"Nothing, C.K. Well, I was wondering if maybe you could put in a good word with me with Oliver. My boss has told me that I'm taking pictures for Queen Industries. I've never really talked to the guy and I can't ask Chloe, 'cause she's really busy, so can I ask you? I would mean a lot to me, C.K. I know that Chloe works for the company too, but asking her for help would be a bit…weird, especially considering that Oliver's her best friend."

Clark glanced at his wife and he nodded. "I'll see what I can do, Jimmy. I also work for the company, so I may be able to help you anyway." He paused, before inquiring, "How are you and Chloe doing?" He received a 'I will kill you later' look from Lois, but he ignored it.

A smile fell across Jimmy's face as he replied, "We're great, thanks, CK. We had a long talk and we've resolved our problems. To be honest I think the main problem was me not having enough faith in our relationship. I love her more than I can express and she feels the same way-we'll never be as solid as you two, but who is? She and Nicky are the best parts of my life."

"That sounds like a song." Oliver remarked, as he walked into the kitchen. "Maybe you should write it, dedicate it to Chloe, that would be very romantic." He smiled, fully aware that Jimmy did not really know him and, therefore, would have no idea if he was joking or not.

Jimmy nodded, very nervous. "Yeah, thanks, I'll give that a go. I'm sorry, I've never really spoken to you before, Oliver." Lois and Clark glanced at each other, aware of the irony that two of the most important men in Chloe's life did not really know each other. Before Jimmy could say anything else, Oliver said, "Chloe told me that your boss wants you to take some photos of my company. Come to my office later and I'll tell you what to do." Jimmy smiled a smile of thanks, then left to go home and see Chloe and Nicolas before going to work.

Lois kissed her daughter on the head as she fed her and Ben. "That was a very kind thing to say, Oliver. To make Jimmy feel less nervous."

Oliver smiled back, before picking up Ben and playing with him, so that Clark could eat his breakfast in peace and so that Lois could focus on feeding one baby at a time. Clark smiled and remarked, "You're so good with the kids, Oliver, you'll make a great day someday."

Just then, Martha walked into the kitchen and helped herself to breakfast. "Hello, Oliver." She smiled, before turning her attention to her son and daughter-in-law. "I've just got off the phone and my rent on a flat on the next road begins tomorrow. Your father and I have to be living separately for a while before we divorce, you see, that's why I can't divorce him straight away."

Clark bit his lip and asked, "Mum, have you spoken to Dad? I mean, since all of this happened?" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Oliver carry Ben into the sitting room, as he felt as if he were intruding upon a family matter.

Martha nodded. "Yes, I have, and we have agreed that it's the best thing to: he loves Nell more than me and there's no point in him staying married to me when he's in love with someone else." She paused, then added, "I haven't told Tess yet, because of everything that's going on in her life at the moment. I'll tell her when things have settled down at bit." She picked up her bowl of cereal and returned to her bedroom. Lois sighed and remarked, "I don't think there's much chance of it settling down."

Nodding, Clark kissed Jane on the head as he stood up and put on his jacket. "Could you speak to Tess today? She may be more likely to open up to you more than me? I'll try to talk to Lex, try to find out what happened last night." He smiled, then added, "Oh, and I love you." He and Lois kissed, then he said goodbye to Ben and Oliver, before leaving for work. Oliver walked back into the kitchen, with Ben in his arms.

Lois smiled at the sight of her son being so comfortable in Oliver's arms. "Clark's right, you are great with kids and babies. I heard you saw Felicity about a week ago? How is she?"

Sighing, Oliver replied, "She's fine and she-she's happy with Barry. I still love her, Lois, but she doesn't feel the same way and she's with somebody else. Ironically, she ended our relationship because she thought that I wasn't committed to our relationship and I had bought her an engagement ring. She begged me to tell her that I didn't love her anymore, but I told her that I couldn't lie to her… I can't blame her for moving on, I know, but that doesn't make it any easier."

"Is that why you ended your relationship with Kara, because of Felicity?"

Oliver nodded. "Yes, because if I can't be with Felicity, I don't want to be with anyone. She knows how I feel, so I can't do anything more than that." He paused, then asked, "Were you afraid of… letting yourself love Clark?"

Kissing Jane on the head Lois answered, "Before we were together, when we just best friends, I was in love with him and that terrified me, because I didn't want to risk loosing his friendship. But then, he kissed me and we began dating and suddenly, I wasn't afraid and when we declared our love for each other, it was right. I knew that he was the one for me. I guess a part of me had always known, deep down." She paused, then added, "I don't think that Tess and Lex are the one for each other."

"I agree, I don't think they're meant to be together."

Lois smiled sadly as she remarked, "You don't have a good time with other guys, do you? Tess dumped you for Lex, you were in love with Chloe and she married Jimmy and now Felicity is with Barry and you still love her. Maybe you're cursed."

Oliver shook his head. "No, I think it's more a case of I push them away, so they go to other people. That's why I'll always be alone." Before Lois could say something, he was called to work. He kissed Ben and Jane, then left the house, leaving Lois feeling very sorry for him, but what she had said had been true: he had lost Tess to Lex, Chloe to Jimmy and now Felicity to Barry. She did not know if he had loved Tess, but she did know that he had loved Chloe and he still loved Felicity.

A couple of hours later, Lois took Jane and Ben to the park and met Chloe there. Chloe had the day off, so she wanted to spend time with both her son and cousin. Tess joined them, with James in her arms, saying that he was sick, but the reality was that she did not want to be alone today. "So, how's the counselling going?" Chloe inquired. Lois threw her a look, but, like Clark, she ignored it.

Tess looked down at her son who was playing with Nicolas and sighed. "Well, it was good. We expressed all of the feelings which we'd been bottling up, or at least, that's what I keep saying myself." She paused, then explained, "After we went home, I tried to… do what he said he'd wanted, but he rejected me, telling me that he was too tired and he went downstairs to sleep on the sofa. And he called me by my full name, Lex never does that unless he's angry. Both of us are at fault for this and I was the one who suggesting counselling, because we can't keep living like this. We have to fix our marriage, but I don't know how to do that if he won't let me in." There was a silence, then she asked Chloe, "Did you and Jimmy not go through counselling during your separation?"

"No, we didn't really see each other," Chloe answered, "and, to be honest, the time apart made us realise how much we meant to each other and how stupid we were being. We had a long talk and resolved everything. Maybe you and Lex should try that, Tess."

"The counsellor asked about the kids and when we had them. I think that having Alexander so soon after our marriage was a mistake, but we agreed that it was the right thing. I think that we are both different people not, trapped with another person whom we don't really know." She was silent for a long time, before finally whispering, "We have to work it out. There has to be a way." Lois and Chloe exchanged a look, aware that Tess did not know of Lex's affairs and they were filled with dread to think of how she would react if she were to ever find out. Both Lois and Chloe pulled their children close to themselves, as if to remind themselves of how lucky they were.

When Clark finally arrived at work after being in a traffic jam for ages, he made his way to Lex's office so that he would speak to his friend about the previous night. As he entered the office, he saw that Lex was sitting at his desk, staring blankly at the wall. "Lex, are you ok?" Clark sat down in the chair opposite his friend, hoping that he would open up to him.

Sighing, Lex answered, "No, I'm not ok. Tess and I went to see the guy and… I still feel the same way. She obviously doesn't see me in that way anymore and yet, she-she's saying that the problems we're having are the fault of both of us. How can that be? She's the one who pulled away from me first and then, last night, I pulled away from her, and now she'll be in a mood with me."

"Have you told her about the affairs?"

Lex shook his head. "No. She would never forgive me if I told her and.. I can't blame her and the kids wouldn't forgive me either." There was a long silence, then in a gentle tone, he asked, "Clark, you still love Lois, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Clark replied in a whisper, "I always have and will."

Chuckling darkly, Lex nodded. "I think that's what my problem is… Clark, I don't think I love her anymore." Clark stared at him in shock and did not know what to say. What could be said to that?

That evening, by the time Lex returned home, Alexander and James were in bed, and Tess was lying in bed, reading. Slowly, Lex took off his coat, dropped his bag and walked upstairs. He stood in the doorframe, watching her. He knew that she knew that he was there, but he did not care. After a while of silence, Lex walked over to the bed. "I'm sorry for being so short with you last night, Tess. You didn't deserve that. Please, say something."

Tess looked up from her book. "You don't understand how much pain you're causing me, Lex. How did we become this couple? How did we get here, Lex? More, importantly, how do we get back?" Before she could say more, Lex embraced her in a passionate kiss. Tess pulled away, glaring at him with tears in her eyes. Her eyes searched his, before she murmured, "I love you, Lex." She kissed him back and they remained there, enjoying being close to each other in that way. It did not fix their problems, but at least it was some attempt at getting their marriage back to normal.

Meanwhile, Clark was standing in the twins' bedrooms, watching them sleep. Lois walked in and wrapped her arms around her husband as she said, "I could watch them all day, every day. Did you speak to Lex?"

Sighing, Clark nodded. "Yeah, I did. He said that-he said that he isn't sure if he loves Tess anymore. How can he even think that?" He turned around to face Lois and put a hand on her face. "I'll always love you, you know that?"

Lois smiled and whispered, "Smallville, you don't even have to tell me that." She leaned her face closer to his and they kissed, before resting their heads against the others, listening to each other and their babies breathing. They wrapped their arms around each other, because together, they felt complete and whole.