Clark walked in the house later that evening to find Joanne at the kitchen sink, washing the last of the dishes they'd had for dinner.
"You didn't have to do that." he said, shrugging out of his jacket.
She shrugged one shoulder. "I wanted to. I needed to do something, all this waiting is…unpleasant."
"I guess it is."
"Did you finish your chores?" she asked and he nodded, leaving out the part that he'd spent most of the last hour in the barn thinking. He'd done the last of his chores in about five minutes.
As he went to the fridge to get some orange juice, Joanne turned around to face him. "Clark, what were you talking to Oliver about earlier? And please don't tell me it was nothing, you had a face like thunder when you came back in."
"He just wanted to talk…about you."
"What did he say?"
Clark stared at her for a moment, weighing up whether or not he should tell her the truth, but then, it was the least she deserved, he supposed. He sighed and sat down at the counter in the middle of the kitchen. "He said that he has this friend who's a doctor…"
"Oh?"
"Yeah, he wanted to uh…to run some…tests on you. To find out who you really are."
Her face fell, and Clark felt it like a kick to the gut. He couldn't stand seeing her upset or hurt. But she quickly hid it behind a smile.
"I see. What kind of tests?"
"I don't know really. Just ones that might help us figure out if you're telling the truth or not."
"So you think I'm still lying to you?" She held up a hand before he could answer. "It's okay Clark. I get it. I don't expect you to believe me. I wouldn't if it were me."
"It's not that Joanne, it's just…"
"Like I said, it's okay. I don't blame you at all. But I think that…if a DNA test is the only way to get you to believe me, then I think that maybe it's a good idea."
"Really? You'd be willing to do that?" he asked, mildly surprised that she would be open to it. If she were lying to them, wouldn't she want to avoid that at all costs? A DNA test wasn't something that she could fake her way out of.
"If it's the only way. Then yes, I'd be willing to do that. But I'm curious," She walked over to Clark and sat down next to him. "Why didn't you tell him yes? I'm sure you're eager to find out who I am too."
"Sure but…I just didn't think it would be fair to put you through that."
She smiled warmly and covered his hand with her own. He wasn't used to 'Lois' being so…soft. That was probably the wrong word but Lois was always more…talkative and she often told it like it was. Wait, why was he comparing her to Lois? They were two different people…weren't they?
"I love that you want to look out for me Clark, but this is the only way. I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to give me an honest answer okay?"
He nodded. "Has it ever crossed anyone's mind that maybe Lois isn't really Lois? Maybe she isn't who she says she is."
Clark narrowed his eyes, his suspicions picking up a little. "No, because she's…well she's Lois. I just know it."
"But how?"
"I just do, that's all. She isn't acting any differently. Apart from being a little more…aggressive but that's Lois. She's fiercely protective of the people she cares about."
"Okay, I get it. So…can I ask, why are you helping me? If you're so sure I'm someone else."
"Because…" He paused as he looked into her eyes. "Because I don't think you're dangerous, I don't think you have an agenda. And I want to help you."
She drew in a deep breath as she nodded and went back to doing the dishes. "You should call Oliver, arrange those tests. I want to prove I am who I say I am."
Clark watched her for a moment, her shoulders seemed set and her back was straight as if she were literally holding herself together. She was upset. He felt bad that he might've caused it so he stood up, placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him.
"Don't worry about me Clark, I'm totally fine. Really…" Once again she was avoiding any eye contact with him. But he let her continue. "I mean, Lois obviously means a lot to you, I just wish you could see how much I care about…I mean um, I wish you could see that I'm telling you the truth and that I would never want to hurt you or cause you any pain. I know this has to be confusing for you but believe me it's a lot more confusing for me and I…"
The sheer nervousness and pain in her words, the way she was rambling, had a strange effect on him, he felt like he was being pulled towards her, slowly, until their lips touched softly. Instead of pulling away, she responded, and as he deepened the kiss, he wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her in closer to him.
Somewhere deep in the back of his mind, he knew he shouldn't be doing this. That he liked Lois and no one else. But this woman, she was so much like Lois. What if she was telling the truth? Was it possible?
Lost in a haze of confusion and excitement, Joanne reluctantly pulled away, breaking their kiss. For a moment he looked surprised, but she knew it was for the best. He thought she was a stranger, and until the test proved she wasn't, she couldn't do this. It wasn't right.
"I'm sorry, that shouldn't have happened." he said, looking down at the ground. She took a step back to clear her head. She couldn't think when she was so close to him.
"It's okay Clark. I understand."
She went to move past him, but something made him reach out and stop her. Looking into her eyes, Clark felt something…a connection of sorts.
"Clark? You okay?" she asked, when he didn't speak for a few minutes.
He blinked back to attention and let go of her arm. "Yeah I uh…I'm sorry."
She nodded and moved past him, heading over to the stairs. "It's getting late. I should go to bed."
Pursing his lips, Clark nodded but didn't say anything. He smiled in response to hers, then watched as she walked up the stairs. What was going on inside his head?
Suddenly in need of some fresh air to clear his head, Clark grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. Before he realised it, he was standing at the edge of Crater lake. He wasn't sure what had brought him out here but as he glanced off into the distance, a figure walking into the woods, caught his attention. By the light of the moon, he was able to make out a long, dark brown ponytail swishing behind her. So he ran over to her.
"Lois?"
She turned around at his voice, and her face was one of anger. Not exactly a welcoming sight, he thought.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be babysitting Miss Amnesia?"
"Lois…"
"Where is she?" she asked, arms folded, body language screaming at him not to mess with her right now.
"I assume you're talking about Joanne? She just went to bed."
Lois let out a snort. "So it's Joanne now huh?"
"Lois what are you doing out here this late?" he asked as he closed in on the last few steps and came to stand beside her.
"I needed to get some air. This is really messing with my head. There's a twin of me Clark. Wouldn't that weird you out too?"
She seemed to be on edge, but he didn't know what to say to calm her. "Oliver said he has a friend who can run some tests. To find out if she's telling the truth."
Lois narrowed her eyes at him. "Telling the truth? Wait a minute, you don't actually think she could be…? Clark, I know you're not the sharpest tool in the box sometimes, but how can you just let her fool you like this? I gave you much more credit than that."
Slightly affronted, Clark said. "Lois just relax, it's not like that."
Lois started pacing around in front of him, rubbing her upper arms. "I can't relax, I can't do anything knowing that she's there." She stopped and looked directly at him. "With you."
"What exactly is it that you think she's doing?" Clark asked, getting a little bit irritated. "She needs help Lois. She doesn't need you breathing down her neck."
"You're defending her to me? How dare you?"
Clark let out an impatient sigh. "Look Lois, she has been nothing but scared since the moment I brought her home with me. I know that you're angry with me for that but I don't want to just abandon her when she obviously isn't out to get you."
Lois shook her head, unable to process what she was hearing. Why was he defending her so much? He barely knew her. Then a though occurred to her. "Wait…did you kiss her again?"
"What? No, of course not."
"Uh-huh. Then why can't you look me in the eye right now?"
Clark forced himself to look, though he could feel the heat of her eyes burning into his. "I didn't kiss her." He could tell that she didn't believe him.
"So…she kissed you?"
The expression on her face reminded Clark how angry she could get so he stayed silent, realising too late that that was the worst thing he could've done.
"That's it!" Lois started stomping off in the opposite direction, leaving Clark to follow after her.
"Lois, where are you going?"
"The farm."
Clark grabbed her arm and stopped her, whirling her around to face him. "No, leave her alone Lois. I mean it. Wait a second…are…you jealous?"
Lois' face scrunched up in disgust. "Don't be ridiculous. Me, jealous of her? Doubt it. And don't look so smug farm boy. I just have an issue with people touching my things."
Lois' mouth snapped shut so fast Clark could practically hear her jaw clatter. Both of them stood in a shocked silence for a few minutes, neither knowing what to say to that.
"I'm uh…I'm your thing?" Clark asked, unsure as to what exactly that meant.
Lois shook her head and for a second, Clark loved seeing her get so flustered. But it was quickly replaced with anger again. "Shut up Smallville! The point is that she can't just come in and take over my life like this!"
"That isn't what she's trying to do Lois. She's convinced that she is you."
"Well she isn't." Abruptly, Lois lunged forward and smacked him in the chest.
"Ow, what was that for?" he said, rubbing the spot, it didn't hurt of course, but it was for emphasis.
"That was for kissing her! I thought we came to an understanding."
"You're gonna have to clue me in on that one Lois. What understanding did we come to?"
"You know, you like me, I like you. That one."
"Huh? When did this happen?"
"Hey I'm the one with the head injury, you can't conveniently forget your way outta this one."
Clark shook his head, confused even more so now than he had been all day. And that was saying a lot.
"Smallville, we kissed. We almost more than kissed." She sounded so frustrated. "If you hadn't been such a whiner we would've done more."
"Gee Lois you make it sound so romantic." he deadpanned, which earned him a glare.
"You know what I mean. You have feelings for me and you won't even admit it."
"Oh like you have?" he countered.
She blinked. "I did. We've been circling each other for months now, were you ever going to make a move?"
She had him there, he had to admit. He did have feelings for her, strong ones. But he'd always been too afraid to act on them before.
"I wanted to…but…"
"But, there's always a 'but' with you." She stepped a little closer, bringing herself right up against him. "You want me Clark, I know you do. I can sense it. Just as much as I want you."
Before he could say anything, she leaned up and captured his mouth in a searing kiss that rocked his whole body. He tried to pull back, knowing that doing this so soon after kissing someone else was wrong but he just couldn't. Instead, he found that his arms had somehow worked their way around her body, pressing her into him, as if they had a mind of their own.
Her lips were so soft, just like…Then it him like a brick to the head. Snapping his head back suddenly, he ended the kiss, leaving Lois looking shocked and a little disappointed. But he couldn't help it. An idea was forming in his head and he couldn't ignore it.
They were the same person. Lois and Joanne, they both kissed exactly the same way. Joanne was telling the truth.
"Clark?"
"Huh?"
"What happened?"
He frowned, knowing that he shouldn't share this new information with her just yet. She was not going to believe it. He wasn't even sure that he did yet either.
"Nothing, I'm uh…sorry I just…"
Lois sighed in frustration and started walking back towards the woods. "You know what Smallville, it's fine. You obviously want to keep living in denial so who am I to stop you?"
"It's not that, Lois will you wait for just a second?"
He followed her into the woods, not wanting her to walk in here this late without protection. It was dark and very cold.
"Why? I have things I need to do and you obviously have to be somewhere, so don't let me keep you."
He grabbed her arm again, making her stop. "Lois, what are you doing out here anyway?"
"Investigating! Some of us actually do that when we need to figure out what happened. Not all of us are content to invite a stranger into our home and start macking on them."
The bitterness in her voice was hard to miss, and he didn't know what to say to that so instead, he let go of her and started looking around with her. "I don't know what you hope to find Lois. We already looked."
She didn't appear to be listening to him anymore, and when she crouched down to the ground he realised they were in the same spot as where she fell and hit her head. He kneeled down next to her, frowning as she refused to even look at him.
"Lois…"
"There's nothing here." She sat back on her heels and sighed. "I don't know what I was hoping to find but…"
Her voice trailed off into the background as he stared at the ground. Sticking out of it was a rock, about the size of his fist, with sharp, jagged edges. And it was black. He reached out to touch it, but felt the sting in his fingertips, so he quickly pulled them back. He knew what it was.
And then a million things clicked into place.
"Lois, I think I know what happened to you." he said quietly, still staring at the rock.
He knew what had happened, he just couldn't figure out how. It wasn't supposed to affect humans. But Clark knew, that what he was looking at right now, was black kryptonite.
To Be Continued...