Chapter Nine

"Lane!" Lois groaned as the familiar bellowing of her boss sounded out above her head and looked up to see Perry standing over her desk with an aggravated expression on his face. "Where's this article on Superman?"

"I'm working on it." She replied, flatly.

"Well, where's Kent? He's supposed to be your partner now." Lois glanced at Clark's empty desk and sighed.

"He's checking out a lead for me. He'll be back soon chief." Perry stayed silent longer than Lois would've liked and she looked up at him again to see him eyeing her warily.

"Lois are you feeling…?" His question trailed off as he caught sight of the TV in the corner of the room and Lois was grateful that his attention had been diverted.

"Hey you, turn that up." He yelled to a passing employee that Lois didn't even recognise.

"Yes sir." He bumbled his way over to the TV and turned it up.

Never one to miss an opportunity to see her husband in action, Lois stood up and watched in awe as Clark effortlessly lifted a bus full of schoolchildren and placed it carefully back on the bridge it had been about to fall off. One by one the crying children exited the bus, and stopped when they saw the man who had just saved them, standing in front of them with a warm smile.

Lois couldn't hear what he said to the children because of the reporter talking but she saw the way their little faces lit up as he smiled and chatted, easing their distress. Then one little girl, tugged on his cape and he crouched down to listen to her. Lois' heart flipped in her chest as she saw Clark pick up the little girl, who couldn't have been more than six, and float a little off the ground.

She squealed in excitement and then gave him a quick peck on the cheek as he slowly and carefully lowered her down to the ground again. The news media was in a frenzy but Clark handled it with the dignity and grace that Superman always brought to the table and Lois felt her heart swell with pride as she watched him being interviewed.

It was days like this that she found it hard to even conceive that she was married to him. That she of all people would get to spend the rest of her life with him.

"Lois!" She snapped back to attention to see Perry frowning at her. "What are you waiting for? Get out there and get me some quotes."

"Right, uh…yeah." Suddenly all of a fluster, Lois grabbed her stuff and stumbled her way out of the bullpen and out into the street. She stopped as she rounded the corner, realising that she had absolutely no idea where she was going. Turning around to head back to the Planet, she collided with something solid and found herself looking up into the narrowed but smiling eyes of Lex Luthor.

"Lois," He said, nodding his head politely at her. She glared before trying to sidestep him but he blocked her path.

"Get out of my way Lex." She growled.

"What's the hurry?"

"Are you following me or something?" He sighed, shaking his head disappointedly at her.

"Lois, Lois, Lois. Is that any way to talk to your next big front page article? Hmm?"

"What?" She asked, thrown off guard for a second as he studied her.

"I had a meeting at the Planet with your boss and he wants you to write the article about my returning to take care of Luthorcorp." He replied, a smug look on his face that Lois was so eager to wipe off.

"You have got to be kidding me. What makes you think I would write anything for you?" She spat.

"Oh come on now Lois, you know this is a big opportunity for you. I mean, writing stories about Superman may get you recognised but technically, it is cheating, since you're married to him and all." Lois leaned in closer to him and looked around, hoping that no one had heard him.

"I don't know what game you're playing here Lex, but I'm warning you. Stay away from me and my husband. I don't want to write your story, I don't want to even see your face. Now if that means I have to spend the rest of my life writing obituaries then so be it. Metropolis was better off with you gone."

"Perhaps. But it doesn't matter, I'm back now. I can't change what happened in the past, I can only move forward. I won't pretend that I don't hate Clark, but I'm not actively pursuing it either."

He took a step forward and grinned. "Come on Lois, where's the witty comeback?"

Lois stared at him, knowing that she should be saying something but no words came to mind. The world seemed to tilt for a second and she pressed a hand to her forehead, instinct telling her to reach out and grab something to stabilise herself.

Unfortunately for her, the nearest steady thing was Lex and he held onto her elbow, watching her curiously as she grabbed his shoulder. As soon as she'd realised what she'd done, she snatched her arm away from his grasp and took a step back, breathing deeply to dispel the sudden dizziness.

"Lois?" She let out a breath of relief as Clark's voice came from behind her. It wasn't that she needed him to rescue her, but with Lex Luthor standing in front of her acting all innocent yet at the same time intimidating, she wanted to be where she felt the safest. In his arms. She turned to Clark, noting the suspicious look on his face as he took in the scene before him.

"Lex, what are you doing here?" He said, trying to sound nonchalant as he snaked a protective arm around his wife's waist, but failing. She leaned against him weakly, letting him support her weight. She didn't see him glance down at her, concern etched on his face, as she continued to stare down Lex.

"I was just telling Lois that she has been selected to write an article about my return to Metropolis and to Luthorcorp. I'm sure after reading all the Superman articles she's written, that she will do it justice."

Lois felt a growl rumble in Clark's chest and knew that she had to do something to diffuse this situation before it got out of hand in the middle of the busy street. People were already looking at them.

"And I told you I'm not interested." She said.

Lex shrugged and smiled. "Your loss Lois…but I was looking forward to you doing it."

Clark leaned forward slightly, keeping his voice low as he spoke, but Lois could hear the threat in his tone.

"I thought I told you to stay away from her."

"I thought it was Superman who told me that." Lex said, feigning confusion. "Besides, do you own the planet now Clark? I can go wherever I please and if Lois happens to be in the vicinity, then that's just too bad."

Lois placed a hand on Clark's chest, silently telling him to back down. This wasn't the place for a confrontation. He took a step back, but kept his eyes glued to Lex as he started to move past them.

"Well, I'm sure I'll be seeing you around. Lois," He said with a nod. "Nice seeing you again. Oh and by the way Clark…?"

"What?" He growled.

Lex chuckled. "Nice glasses."

"What the hell was that all about?" Clark asked once he was out of sight and Lois could hear the almost accusatory tone in his voice.

"He's just trying to get to you Clark, and you're letting him." She replied, and with the dizziness now fading, she walked back towards the Planet with Clark following closely behind. He grabbed her arm as she reached for the door and spun her around to face him.

"Lois, why were you even talking to him?" His face bore an expression that she couldn't quite figure out. He looked…angry.

Lois rolled her eyes and gave him an incredulous look. "I wasn't having a conversation with him Clark. I was trying to get away from him."

"You didn't appear to be trying very hard." Clark murmured under his breath.

"Excuse me? Care to repeat that?"

Clark stared hard at her. "I don't want you anywhere near him."

"Look Clark, I get that you're angry at him. I understand that, but don't accuse me of something I haven't done." She said, her voice now starting to rise as the irritation built within her.

"And don't tell me what to do!" Why was he acting like this? She hadn't done anything wrong? Was it only based on fear, or was there more to it than he was letting on?

"I wasn't accusing you." He replied, his tone matching hers. "But how am I supposed to react when I turn up to see you leaning on him? As if that isn't bad enough, he was actually holding onto you"

"I don't need this right now." She said, storming in through the Planet's doors. She made it halfway down the stairs before he caught up to her.

"Lois…" She carried on walking, her emotions getting the better of her as she felt tears build in her eyes and she inwardly cursed herself for letting his words affect her. What did he really think had happened? And more importantly, why was it bothering her so much?

"Lois…wait." He stopped her again with a hand on her arm but this time she didn't turn to face him. "I wasn't accusing you of anything, I'm sorry." He sounded genuine enough but Lois was unable to reply, fearing that her voice would betray her. She took a deep calming breath and blew it out.

"I have to get back to work Clark. We can talk about this later." She said, dismissively and walked off, intending to give Perry White a piece of her mind. She made her way to his office, surprised and a little shocked that Clark hadn't tried to follow her, and burst right in.

"Dammit Lois! Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Perry yelled as he began mopping up the coffee that her arrival had caused him to spill over his desk.

"What's this I hear about Luthor wanting me to write an article on him?" She huffed, crossing her arms in front of her. He held up his hands in a placating manner.

"Now Lois, don't go getting…"

"Don't you 'now Lois' me Perry. Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

"I didn't think I had to. He asked me if you would write the article and I said no."

Lois did a double take as his words sunk in. "You what?"

"I told him no. But he was adamant that he wanted you to do it. Look Lois, I know that we don't exactly see eye to eye all the time, in fact sometimes you're a real pain in my…" He trailed off as she raised her eyebrows at him, daring him to finish that statement. "Yes well, anyway, there's no way I would let you get mixed up with the likes of Lex Luthor. He's a snake."

"You don't have to tell me that boss, I know exactly who Lex Luthor is. And what he's capable of." She plonked herself down into the nearest chair and held her head in her hands.

"Lois…" Perry narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he watched her. "Are you okay? You've been more than a little grumpy today. Well more than usual anyway. Is something wrong?"

She raised her head and looked at the man who, for all intents and purposes, had become almost a father figure for her over the past year.

"Everything's fine, I'm just a little tired that's all." Perry gave her a disbelieving look but didn't push the subject.

"Okay so, what are you doing back here? I thought you were heading out to get some quotes."

"I was, but I ran into Lex outside and I just needed a few minutes to regroup. I just really wanted to punch him, which of course, wouldn't look good for the Planet if I got arrested again." She said, remembering back to the time that Tess had suspended her simply because she had been defending herself.

Perry chuckled. "Lois, I couldn't care less if you hit him. But I wouldn't advise it, he'd have you behind bars quicker than you can blink."

"I know." The air fell silent between them for a moment as neither knew what to say next.

"Well, I guess it's time I got back to work." Lois stood and walked to the door.

"Lois,"

"Yeah?" She paused, her hand resting on the door knob.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Lois rolled her eyes and grinned. "Stop fussing Perry, you're starting to sound like my father."

"Just watching out for my best reporter." He said, smiling.

When she got back to her desk, she was a little surprised to see Clark's still empty. Everything was as it had been before she'd left, so where was he now? She grunted as she slammed her belongings back down on her desk. That man could be so infuriating sometimes. Just when she thought she finally had him figured out, he did something else that threw her off guard.

She jumped as she felt two strong arms encircle her waist from behind and couldn't help the smile that formed from the gesture.

He leaned in close and spoke low in her ear.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. But seeing you talking to him scares me Lo…he's taking too much of interest in you when he never gave you the time of day before. I just don't want anything to happen to you. I love you too much." She leaned back against him and placed her head on his shoulder as he kissed her temple.

"Trust me Smallville, I have no intention of inviting the wolf in okay? Please stop worrying so much though, I can take care of myself you know."

"I know." He tightened his arms around her, holding her in his protective embrace. "It's just…" He trailed off and she nudged him with her elbow.

"What?" She pressed.

"It's just that I feel like I'm living on the edge of a knife right now. I can't relax Lois, not when at any moment, I could be exposed. I'm not worried about me, but if everyone found out who I really am, it would be bad for you and everyone that I care about." She turned in his arms, resting her hands on his chest, and kissed him lovingly on the lips.

"Clark, there's nothing you can do about that. If it happens…well I guess we deal with it…together."

It took a few moments but eventually, a small smile appeared and he gazed at her with such love in his eyes. Again she felt tears prickling at her eyes, but this time the cause of them was different. What on earth was going on with her? She was never usually this emotional unless it was that time of the month.

Then, out of nowhere a thought hit her. She quickly crossed to her desk, ignoring Clark's frown and flicked through her calendar. As she reached the date she wanted she quickly did a mental calculation and…Oh crap!

"Lo? You okay?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I just remembered I'm supposed to meet this source and I'm actually pretty late." She stood and quickly gathered her things again. Clark stood behind her with his hands in his pockets, looking a little confused.

"Where are you meeting him?"

"Her, actually. Don't worry, it's not dangerous." She said, trying to think quickly.

"You don't want me to come with you?" He asked, and the puppy dog eyes he gave her, nearly floored her. Damn she hated when he did that and the glasses he wore made it no less effective. She was sure that he knew what affect it had on her too.

"Not this time Smallville. Women's stuff, you know. See you later." She reached up and kissed him quickly, afraid to linger too long in case he picked up on her behaviour, and bolted for the door.

Clark watched as she left, his x-ray vision trained on the elevator as she made her way up and out onto the street.

"Well, that was weird." He said to himself as he went back to work.