PREY PROTECTED

Ace of Clubs, one week later

Inside was chaos; bodies were everywhere. The smell of blood was so strong that Lois had to pause and take deep breaths before she could go any farther. The last time she'd seen anything like this was during her battles with the Darkness. At that thought, she stopped when her vision started to fade, using the bar to support herself. She looked around for something to distract her and spotted J'onn in the middle of the room. He looked so different wearing his detective clothes…

This is not the invasion; get a grip, Lane.

Lois closed her eyes and when she opened them, she was able to focus. With a clearer head, she walked over to her former battle ally.

"What happened here?" Lois asked, still shocked by the level of carnage.

"Why don't you ask your partner?" He responded, pointing toward the terrace, while giving directions to one of his officers.

"Clark's here?" Lois asked him, looking across the room to the balcony doors. Sure enough, there he stood on the terrace holding on to the railing and looking out over the city.

"He came in just a few minutes ago," J'onn told her. "I assumed you were together."

"No, but I can remedy that." Lois said, catching the man's satisfied nod before she crossed the bar quickly to get outside. On the balcony, she breathed deeply trying to clear the smell of blood from her nostrils.

Clark didn't move as she approached, so Lois took the opportunity to study him. She hadn't really seen him since their argument. She'd searched high and low after making her decision to strike first, but he'd disappeared. After that, she'd been caught up with Chloe's wedding plans. As more time went by, Lois' resolve weakened until she'd convinced herself to wait.

Her gut was telling her that now was not the right time.

As for Clark, he was never around, taking avoidance to a whole new level. He was gone from the farm when Lois went to bed and at work by the time Lois got up in the morning. His hours at the Planet were making Lois look like a slacker, and his desk was a mess. He'd also taken to keeping an emergency scanner near his computer and running off at odd hours of the day, usually any time she was trying to have a conversation with him. To top it off, all of his assignments had been solo lately.

Right now, he looked like a man on the edge.

"Hey, Smallville, what happened here?" Lois asked, leaning against the railing and watching his profile. When he didn't turn to look at her, she started to get worried.

"A lot of people died," he responded finally, his voice flat and cold.

Sudden fear erupted in her stomach, almost choking her. Was this it? She'd assumed that Clark was simply engaged in a form of busy brooding after their fight but what if it was more? If this was a trigger of some sort for the Dark and she'd left him alone for too long …

Pushing down the fear, she tilted her head and considered him more closely. His voice was in direct contrast to his body language, muscles coiled and hands gripping the railing. The show of emotion was there, just not in his voice.

Her body relaxed a little. "I can see that for myself," she told him. "Any suspects?"

"No," he answered tersely. Without moving his hands on the rail, he pushed back on his heels and rocked forward in a move Lois hadn't seen since Lana left.

"Any leads?" She asked, recognizing the signs of an extremely stressed Clark.

He looked down at his hands and Lois saw the clear plastic evidence bag clutched in his fingers. Inside was a cell phone.

"Okay, taking evidence from a crime scene is really more my style…" she trailed off, equal parts concerned and impressed.

He turned to look at her and she could see the storm of distress, anxiety, and frustration in his eyes. Had he tried to save all these people? Surely not, he had powers but this… this was a catastrophe. Even he must have limits.

What was driving him so close to reaching them?

"We need to get that back to the Planet and take a look," she told him, moving to take the bag from his hand. He didn't resist. Letting her purse slip down her shoulder, Lois carefully dropped the bag inside. Sighing, she grabbed his arm and led him away from the crime scene, feeling the tension in his body ease after she touched him.

Just like Night.

Where had that thought come from?

Night hadn't crossed her mind in weeks. With thoughts of the future, she might have expected the memories, but she wasn't ready when the sharp pain hit. Rubbing her temples, she kept walking and then, just like that, she was in the future.

Lois was testing Night, pushing him to the limit with every escape attempt, and she knew it. It was her job to try despite the odds. She would not be anyone's prisoner voluntarily. Of course, with his abilities, Night always found her and brought her back to the penthouse.

In some weird, twisted way, escape and capture had become a game between them, with Lois increasing her efforts and the risk level in every attempt. She did it in part because she was Lois Lane and that's how she did thing, but also in an attempt to bring Clark back. He was in there; she'd caught glimpses of him after the first couple of escapes and she couldn't suppress the little thrill that went through her with every show of irritation, annoyance or concern.

Hanging by Oliver's silk sheets at forty stories up was her riskiest effort so far, especially now that she'd run out of sheet and still wasn't close to the balcony below. Trying to climb back up hand over hand hadn't worked. Her arms were too tired. When she felt herself slip, she couldn't suppress a scream. Night was there in an instant.

His reaction was better than she expected. By the time he lowered her feet to the floor of the bedroom, he was furious and it showed. His eyes had turned dark blue, his brows were furrowed, his lips thin and pressed firmly together. In response, she smiled and raised one eyebrow, taunting him.

He grabbed her by the arms, the cold not as shocking to her senses any more, and shook her like he was trying to shake some sense into her. All Lois could do was stare back at him in wonder as each reaction- anger, frustration, concern- crossed his face and color returned to his complexion. Soon, the cold in his hands lessened as he fought to slow his breathing-

"Lois, Lois, answer me," Clark was demanding, concern in his voice. He continued shaking her lightly as she stared at him. He was talking and she marveled at his words.

"Lois, are you all right?" His brow was wrinkled his lips pressed firmly together.

Smiling, she touched a tentative finger to his lips, reveling in her success. It had worked and the outcome was better than she expected. Clark was back, he was talking, and his lips were warm.

Wait… warm.

It was the warmth that penetrated her memories as Clark started rubbing her arms while calling out to her. Soon she could hear the shouting of medical personnel and see the catastrophe inside the club.

Clark must have seen the awareness return to her face as she dropped her hand because he practically pushed her out the door. In the quiet of the hall, he turned her back to face him.

"Lois, what's going on? Are you all right?" His eyes continued to widen in alarm when she didn't respond. "I'm taking you to the hospital."

"No … no, I'm okay," Lois managed to get out, still reeling slightly from the memory, "Just zoned out for a minute. Uhm, it's pretty bad in there," she told him, looking over her shoulder toward the club.

He sobered immediately, looking past her to the entrance.

"Yea, it is," he responded, the haunted expression returning to his features.

"Let's get out of here," Lois said, pulling him by the elbow. When he followed, she let out a sigh of relief. If these memories continued, Clark was going to get suspicious and, if he became worried, he'd put her in the hospital in a heartbeat. Since she didn't know how to stop them, she'd have to come up with some creative ways to distract him... and soon.

The walk back to the Planet was done in silence, Lois trying to put her earlier memory from her mind while Clark kept stealing glances at her out of the corner of his eyes. Lois ignored him, knowing she'd get another safety lecture if she gave him any kind of opening.

In the basement, after they played the phone recording of the attack, Clark tensed up even more, certain that one of the meteor infected was involved. Lois agreed with him and, while Clark took off to follow up with Chloe, Lois looked up any recent police records that mentioned unusual abilities. Despite everything that happened, it felt right to be working as a team again.

Daily Planet, next day

"I'm talking about obsession, Clark. You can't save everyone," J'onn was saying as he stood next to Clark's work chair. Lois watched as J'onn looked pointedly at the fast food wrappers and empty coffee cups that littered the desk surface.

She softened her footsteps and edged a little closer.

"The minute I believe that is the minute I stop trying," Clark said, clearly agitated.

It was just as Lois feared; Clark had tried to save all of those people at the club. No wonder he was ragged looking.

"What happened to Lois was not your fault," J'onn continued sympathetically.

What? Surely Clark wasn't blaming himself for what happened at the jeweler's. That was taking his guilt complex a little far. Lois had kept the entire investigation from him on purpose. How could he have known she'd get kidnapped?

"Lois almost died," Clark said sounding distressed at the idea. "If I hadn't been so worried about her learning my secret… Anyway, I thought you'd be happy I'm finally embracing my destiny-" Clark said, lowering his voice. Suddenly his stopped and turned to look at Lois approaching from behind. The desperate look in his eyes was replaced with suspicion.

Lois straightened and walked briskly to her desk, nodding at J'onn, while acting oblivious. As the men casually made their way over to the file cabinets, she wondered if she'd heard them wrong. It simply wasn't possible that Clark was trying to save everyone because of what happened to her. Evidently, he was also afraid that she knew about him. Which one was fueling his frustration? If she was going to be supportive, she needed to know.

Her eyes wandered to Clark's desk and, making a quick decision, she grabbed her trash can to clean off the debris, inching closer to the men's conversation.

"Until I messed up … " Clark was saying.

Really need to work on that guilt complex.

"… Similar murders," according to J'onn.

More bodie - scary thought.

"Bones are crushed … Killer gets away without a trace," Clark told him, bitterness creeping back into his voice.

Already know that.

"… Davis Bloome," J'onn referenced.

Lois felt her mind go blank and her head snap up at the name.

"What about Davis Bloome?" She asked, dropping all pretenses, along with the trash can, and walking over to join them. "Do you think he's involved?"

"It's just a theory," Clark told her in his don't go off halfcocked voice. "He's been the first paramedic to arrive at some of the crime scenes."

"It's certainly nothing conclusive, Ms. Lane," J'onn agreed.

"Fine, I still think I'd like to have a little chat with him," Lois said, turning to walk briskly back to her desk.

"Whoa," Clark said, grabbing her arm. "I thought I would interview Davis while you follow up with Chloe on the meteor infected angle."

"Why, so she can shut me down, too?" Lois asked, looking pointedly at her arm, which he released immediately. Clark had already filled her in on the results of his talk with Chloe last night. It was a complete bust given Chloe's views on confidentiality with her counseling patients. "If you couldn't get the names of the meteor infected out of her, what makes you think I can?"

"Well, you're her cousin," Clark said slowly as he turned and walked back to his desk, surveying the tidy desktop with disbelief.

"Well, you're her best friend," Lois countered.

"I thought we already had some names?" J'onn interjected, holding up a folded piece of paper.

"Let me see that," Lois said, grabbing the paper from his hand. It was a list of several first and last names written in Clark's handwriting.

"Smallville!" she called, only to look up and find him gone.

Lois eyed J'onn, and she could see his questioning look mirroring the one on her own face.

"What just happened?"

"I'm afraid he's taken off on his own again," the man responded, concern showing.

"He's been doing that a lot lately, huh?"

"You heard our conversation?" The Detective remarked in what was more of a statement than a question.

"Hello, nosy reporter," Lois replied pointing to herself and shrugging.

"Are you going to tell him that you know?"

Lois considered the question, "Is he going to tell me?"

"Probably not," J'onn sighed anxiously. "I've watched Clark for a long time now. He's been taught never to reveal himself to anyone and, when his friends find out, they're constantly in danger-"

"I guess it's a good thing I'm always in danger anyway, huh?" Lois raised her brow and bumped the older man in the shoulder the way she used to when they were in the trenches.

He shook his head, "I can tell you that Clark does not see that as a good thing."

"Well, he can't blame himself for all the trouble I get into…" Lois let her words trail off at J'onn's doubtful expression. Suddenly she was struck by an idea. "How about we give Clark some help by doing some surveillance at the Isis Foundation?"

"Do I have any choice?" The Detective questioned, ruefully shaking his head. "Clark would never forgive me if I let anything happen. Besides, I took an oath to protect the citizens of Metropolis, even the reckless ones."

Lois laughed. Her former ally was getting to know her again.

Daily Planet, same night

"Clark, did you give the police the names of my Isis group?"

Lois could hear Chloe by the glass doors near her desk. She paused. It was rare that her cousin sounded this hostile, especially with Clark. Dropping the papers she was copying, Lois walked out of the copy room to see what was going on.

"How could you betray me and my confidentiality with these kids?" Chloe demanded, voice rising as she marched up to his desk.

Lois walked over to her own desk and cleared her throat loudly. Clark was looking at Chloe with a vague expression, still trying to shift his focus from his computer to Chloe's questioning. Her cousin leaned forward, growing angrier with Clark's lack of response. In spite of Clark's distant attitude toward her since the fight, Lois couldn't let her partner take the blame.

"Actually, Chloe," Lois said, choosing her words carefully. "The police didn't rely on any names; they performed surveillance outside the Isis Foundation-"

"How do you know that?" Chloe turned and confronted Lois.

"Because I was with them," Lois told her, taking a sip of her coffee and looking at Clark. He raised his brows in question. She smiled, telling him silently it was her idea.

"Lois, how could you?" Chloe asked, seemingly stunned.

"Well, they are potential suspects in the recent murders. I was checking them out without breaching your code of confidentiality, or whatever you call it," Lois said raising her brows in Clark's direction as he frowned. He was beginning to understand and, as usual, he didn't like it. Too bad; she was saving his bacon.

"Why is everyone assuming that a member of my group is the killer?" Chloe said, outraged. She turned to Clark, "I can't believe you, of all people, are a member of this witch hunt …" Her voice trailed off when she realized what that statement may have revealed.

"Witch hunt seems a little strong when the victims all ended up with their bones crushed. I know we're not doctors, but I think we can all agree that's not normal," Lois responded, getting annoyed with her cousin's attitude. No one was condemning her group but they couldn't be ruled out either.

"And how am I supposed to convince them that it's safe to come back now, Lois? The Foundation is supposed to be a refuge, a safe-haven …" Chloe trailed off again, clearly nonplussed by either Lois' response or Clark's lack of one.

"We could find the real killer," Clark suggested. "There is another potential suspect." He glanced over at Lois, tightening his brows and frowning. Lois closed her mouth. His eyes were telling her that he was upset that she'd kept something from him… again. Lois sighed. She hadn't meant to, exactly. There just wasn't time to get him up to speed before tornado Chloe blew in.

Crap.

"Here are the results of some tests that Davis Bloome was trying to hide from me today." Clark handed Chloe the lab results. "Can you make sense of them?"

Lois grimaced when she saw Chloe's eyes widen with understanding; she understood the complex results immediately. With everything else going on, Lois had let the issue of Brainiac slide… looks like she needed to get back to her research.

"Oh, no," Chloe whispered. "It looks like the skin under this victim's fingernails is Davis'."

"We need to track him down, then," Lois told them, grabbing her phone to call the hospital. Chloe sat down at Clark's computer and, at the same time, his emergency scanner picked up a distress call. It was Jimmy's voice.

Clark looked at Chloe, his face reflecting the concern in hers.

"Go," Chloe and Lois said at the same time. They looked at each other and then back at Clark. Everyone froze for a second.

Chloe was the first to recover.

"You go ahead, Clark and we'll call the authorities," she said looking at Lois, who schooled her features and nodded, dialing 911. By the time she finished the call, Clark was gone.

For the next ten minutes, Chloe paced the floor and Lois couldn't tell if she was more concerned about Jimmy or, as Lois suspected, Davis. Either way, Lois couldn't take it anymore.

"Chloe, you can sit down any time now. Clark's seat isn't taboo or anything," she told her, trying to add some levity to the irritation in her voice.

Chloe stopped and looked at Lois, rolling her eyes at her cousin.

"Fine, I'll sit down when you stop chewing your thumbnail," she responded.

Lois immediately dropped her hand and watched as her cousin sat down in Clark's desk chair with a knowing smile. Since they were kids, Chloe had always called Lois on the carpet for her nail biting.

A few more minutes went by as the two sat in thinking and worrying before Lois looked up to see her cousin's face at the desk across from hers. Her heart skipped a beat at the view and she wondered if there might be some advantages to re-living the past, like saying the things you always wanted to the first time around.

"You know, I always pictured the two of us like this," Lois said motioning to the two desks pushed against each other, unable to resist smiling at her cousin.

Chloe's responsive smile was laced with sadness. "So did I."

"Do you miss it?" Lois asked, curious as to her cousin's response. She never had understood her cousin's decision-making with regards to the job change and her sudden marriage.

"Sometimes," Chloe said after some reflection.

"Come back, then," Lois invited, and at Chloe's shocked expression, added, "Luthorcorp still owns the place, but Lex isn't running things any more. Get back in the game."

Chloe's look of surprise turned to one of gratitude. "Thanks, Lois. That means a lot, but I think I'll stay where I-"

Chloe's phone rang, interrupting the moment. She held up one finger and turned away for a private conversation, while Lois picked up her own phone. Her conversation with Chloe had been short but it eased a large part of the tension she'd felt lately. Whatever happened, Chloe's gratitude was genuine and Lois was glad she'd asked her cousin to come back.

Now she had a rift to mend with Clark. After all this time, he hadn't come around. It was time for Lois to take action and get her partner back.

Daily Planet, next day

Like a thief, Lois snuck into the Bullpen at dinner time, evening edition in one hand, surprises in the other. Everyone seemed to be out to dinner and she breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, there were voices drifting down the stairs, so she quickly placed her surprise on Clark's desk and sat down at her own.

Clark hadn't spoken to her once since the capture of the Club Killer and she was convinced he was mad about her keeping things from him. After careful, and lonely, consideration last night, she'd come up with a plan for making amends.

Nervously, she picked up the paper just in time. It was Clark and Jimmy coming down the stairs.

"Damn good photo, Olsen, I didn't know you had it in you," she said, turning the city section so that Jimmy's photo of the killer was visible. He beamed.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Clark looked at the flowers and candy sitting on his desk. He picked up the card.

"Yeah, I can't believe that after all our investigating, the killer turned out to be a member of Chloe's group," Jimmy told Lois, abashedly. "Evidently, he confessed to everything, including the killings at the club."

As Clark read the card, Lois could see his confused frown turn to a small smile. When he looked in her direction, she quickly turned her gaze back to Jimmy.

"I know," Lois told Jimmy. "He was right under our noses and we missed it."

She glanced over again and watched as Clark place the card in his pocket and pick up the flowers. He caught her eye and raised his brows, his smile broadening. She didn't need to read the card to know what it said.

To Clark,

Since you didn't take my advice about mending the rift with Oliver, I decided to follow it myself.

Love, Lois

The look in Clark's eyes was captivating, a mix of understanding, appreciation and some emotions Lois couldn't identify. As Jimmy prattled, Clark continued to hold her gaze. Evidently, she'd done well, at least his expression was telling her she had. After a minute, Lois felt her face flush.

It was J'onn who broke the connection.

"Ahem," the Detective cleared his throat. "Clark, I need to talk to you."

"Wait, are you a detective?" Jimmy asked, looking at the badge on J'onn's belt. "You look like a thinking-outside-the-box kind of guy. Look, I'm pretty sure there's a Good Samaritan running around saving people in the city but I can't convince anyone in your department that he's real."

"Really …" the older man replied, at the same time that Clark warned, "Jimmy …"

Lois looked between the three of them. What was this about?

The Detective raised his eyebrows. "We could certainly use the help, but do you have any proof?"

"Oh, I'll get the proof," Jimmy told him, holding up his camera and rocking on his heels enthusiastically. J'onn smiled at Jimmy's excitement but Lois was suddenly distracted by the name 'Good Samaritan.' Where had she heard that before?

The Blur…

Butterflies stirred at the name. That's who Jimmy's Samaritan turned out to be. She'd almost forgotten about him with her mission and everything else. Of course, after Oliver told her the Blur was dead she'd buried him in her memories and put all that hero worship stuff behind her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lois saw Jimmy bounce away toward the elevator. Acting on impulse, she jumped up to follow. This time, she was getting in on the ground floor.

"Lois!" the tone of Clark's voice stopped her and she turned. Evidently, he'd been trying to get her attention. His smile had been replaced by a worried look. J'onn looked serious. They must have been talking while she was thinking.

"What? Spit it out, Smallville. I want to catch up to our ace photographer."

"J'onn came by to talk to you, too, Lois," Clark said, slowly walking toward her, a combination of dread and sympathy on his face. At that expression, she fought her initial impulse to take a step back, eyes darting to J'onn for an explanation.

"As you know, today was the day the jeweler was being transported to Belle Reve…" the Detective began, his voice trailing off.

"He escaped," Clark finished for him. Clark continued moving his mouth but Lois couldn't hear the words any longer. The whir of the lie detector filled her head with static; black started filling the edges of her vision.

She knew what was coming. Without a word, she nodded her head to both men, turned on her heel and walked away.

It was Clark who found her in the copy room, leaning over the sorting table taking deep steady breaths.

"Lois?" he asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She ignored him, continuing to battle the darkness at the edge of her vision.

Breathe in… out… in…

"We'll catch him," he continued softly.

Nodding, Lois continued… in, out, in…

"Do you want to talk about it?" His voice sounded quiet and uncertain.

Hearing the apprehension in Clark's voice fortified Lois. Shaking her head she straightened and faced her overly protective partner. "I won't live like a prisoner," she told him, trying to convey her determination through her stance.

Resigned, Clark sighed, "I know."

"And I don't need any twenty-four hour protection, or whatever," she added, waving her hand for emphasis.

"Right," Clark replied, with just a hint of a smile.

Her eyes narrowed, "Are you making fun of me?"

"Of course not," he squeezed her shoulder and leaned forward until his nose was almost touching hers. "There's only one solution to this problem."

"What's that?" She asked, hating the breathless quality of her voice and that it was caused by his proximity. She swallowed again and licked her lips, suddenly mesmerized by the green flecks in his blue eyes.

Those eyes darted to her mouth and she watched his pupils dilate. Before she could react to the obvious sign of attraction, Clark's head shook and he pulled away. "I'm going to have to stick to you like glue," he said, pulling her gently against his chest.

A sigh escaped her at the feeling of warmth and safekeeping.

"Think you can handle that?"

She knew what he was doing, trying to forestall her objections with a challenge. Right now, she was too content to argue. Lois smiled against his chest.

"Oh, I can handle it, Kent," she told him. "I'm counting on the fact that you can't."

His laugh vibrated in her ear and she realized that it felt good to have her partner back.