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Disclaimer: I only own the characters not normally seen on the show, in the comics or in the films (basically the trivial characters you don't recognize).

Previously: He'd wait until she was ready to move. He'd wait for the rest of his life if he had to.

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Lex Luther looked over the morning's papers: another story about Superman caught his eye. Reported by Lois Lane, he read silently. He couldn't suppress the grin that slipped across his face. Lois Lane had definitely impressed him: going from sarcastic college dropout to insightful Daily Planet journalist in only a few short years.

A flash from a few years before, when Lois had just barely begun her career as a journalist: a time when the woman didn't seem to understand the politics of the world she was getting into. Justice was not always as it seemed in the world of men like Lex. And she'd nearly lost her life for her naiveté.

He tossed the Daily Planet aside and hefted the stack of tabloids from his desktop. The covers were decorated with pictures of Lana and his children. He'd already contacted the Inquisitor about having pictures of Alexander and Lilly but they had apparently not heeded his warning.

It hurt his head and his heart to see his children being paraded around the city like the prized show horses he'd bought for Lana on their one year anniversary. She used to love to take Alexander out to the stables and ride with him across the Luther grounds. Lex slammed his fist against the paper.

"I'd watch that temper if I were you, Mr. Luther," came a voice from the shadowy corner of Lex's office. Lex could only see the faint flutter of something in the darkness. He subtly pressed the button under his desk, alerting his security guards of the intruder before speaking.

"Who are you? How did you did you get in here?" The volume of Lex's voice rose as he got to his feet.

Suddenly, a gust of wind burst through the room, and the voice was behind him, "Some many questions, Mr. Luther." The tone was mocking, like a cat teasing a captured mouse before making the kill. It was a tone which Lex was all too familiar with, he liked to use it on some of his less-open-minded business partners.

"What do you want?" Lex asked.

Another burst of wind, and the voice moved to his right, "Answers."

"About what?" Lex nearly yelled. His eyes darted around as he slipped his gun from the arm rest of his chair.

"Senator Kent."

"What about Martha Kent?" Lex asked he cocked the gun as quietly as he could.

"Why did you try to have her killed Lex?" the voice asked, suddenly angry.

"I swear to you, I had nothing to do with that; you have to understand, Martha Kent deals with a lot of unsavory people in her line of work--." Lex was cut off by a force being thrown against his back, heaving him forward so he collided with the top of his desk. The intruder held him there, pined against the newspapers, his cheek pressing against the cold mahogany.

"You can't hide from me, Lex," the voice whispered menacingly, "I am justice."

Suddenly, as soon as it arrived, the voice and pressure on Lex's back disappeared. He stood up and hurried to the open window, but the light of sun barred him from being able to see anything. He spun around as four men with gun burst into the office.

"Fantastic timing, gentlemen;" Lex snapped coolly.

Leaving his former security staff staring after him, Lex left the comforts of his office with the voice floating around his brain. He'd been threatened before mostly by his father, but Lex had a strange feeling that who ever it was had the potential to be a very serious problem. And there was only one way Lex knew how to deal with problems.

He looked back at the security guards, still looking after him, "Find out who the hell broke into my office!" He shouted.

Lex Luther would not be beaten.

(--)

Lois held onto Rory's hand as they dashed through the long grass of the Metropolis Central Park. Chloe was sitting nearby with baby Chris on the blanket in from of her. The four were celebrating their Saturday and Lois first day off in months with a picnic in the park. Chloe had packed a splendid lunch for them and was beginning to set it out while Lois kept Rory occupied.

Jimmy had planned to stop by once he finished developing the photos from the latest Breast Cancer Awareness Rally, unfortunately, Cat Grant, had decided last minute that her story about Senator Moore's affair with a stripper desperately needed pictures; so the horrible woman had dragged him away, hoping to catch the Senator in the act.

Lois felt queasy for her poor friend; Cat Grant was as her name implied: a woman whose claws were sharper than any other feline. As the brunette lead Rory back to her mother and the waiting picnic, she felt something tense up in her chest. It was a familiar feeling: she was being watched. She scanned the park, but the relative crowdedness of the beautiful day made it impossible for her to determine whether anyone was paying special attention to them.

Lois and Rory reached the blanket and Lois masked her uneasiness with a bright smile and tickled the baby who was lying on his back on the checkered blanket. Christopher laughed and Lois smiled wider. No, she wasn't the motherly type, but she didn't mind enjoying Chloe's desire to mass produce.

She crossed her legs and opened Chloe's wicker picnic basket. The blonde had certainly turned into Martha Stewart over the years. There was peanut butter and jelly from Lois and Rory and turkey for Chloe. There was a bottle in a travel heating pack, stored in the corner of the basket alongside two waters and a juice box.

Lois handed Rory and Chloe their food before removing her own and setting the basket aside. It was a beautiful day, Lois couldn't deny that, but she did wish that Clark was there. He would have appreciated the warm sunlight and fresh crisp air more than any of them. Lois might not have had a day off in the two months since Mrs. Kent was attacked, but Clark hadn't even slept since the traumatic evening.

He spent all of time either looking through thousands of files at Planet or checking out possible leads as Superman. It was clearly taking a toll on him, even for a man who didn't actually need sleep. Lois was beginning to see dark circles form under her friend's eyes and she was worrying that he was overworking himself. Not that she blamed him: she'd been putting in plenty more than full-time over the last couple of months.

This was Martha Kent they were talking about. People called her the Mother of Kansas. She was revered and even more so by her son and his friends. Even Chloe was dedicating her free moments to hack into the police department's mainframes to determine if there was anything Lois and Clark could use to help their investigation. So far the police had even less than nothing and Chloe was doing all that she could with the limited resources of her home office.

So today, was a break for all of them; Lois had invited Clark but he had rejected her, saying he was going to talk to someone or another about something pertaining to the case. Lois had watched sadly as he walked away from her. But she knew that he was trying to protect his mother and she couldn't begrudge him for that.

Still, she missed him. They had finally made some strides in their relationship: they now ate nearly every meal together, including take-out over reports almost every night. Lois laughed because although Martha Kent was the most brilliant cook ever, Clark had clearly not inherited his mother's skill. Sure, he was definitely more accomplished in the kitchen than Lois was but they couldn't live off pancakes and bacon forever.

So as she sat on the blanket next to her cousin, Lois was trying to determine what to get for dinner that night. She figured Clark would probably being spending the night at the office, so she thought maybe surprising him with Chinese would be a good idea.

"You're smiling like a fool," Chloe commented laughing at her cousin, who did indeed had a wide smile plastered across her face, "Thinking about Clark?"

"Ha-ha, actually yes, but just about what to bring him for dinner," Lois replied.

"You guys are so cute," Chloe giggled, taking hold of Chris' tiny hand.

"Chloe, we're just friends," Lois warned against her cousin's hopeful look. Honestly, Lois did wish that she could say otherwise when people brought up her relationship to Clark.

She was starting to feel like things were on a permanent pause between them and although things had gotten a hundred and fifty percent better between them, she felt like he was holding her at arm's length. She knew that he believed it was what she wanted, and it had been; she'd made that perfectly clear. But she couldn't help wanting what she'd lost.

She couldn't help it that every time she looked at Clark she wanted him more. She wanted him to hold her like he once had. Sure they were closer than they had been in five years but it was nothing like before the storm. Nothing like before he left. She wanted that back. She wanted it more than anything.

But she felt bad about it. She'd made it clear to Clark that she wasn't ready two months ago when they'd first had breakfast. It would be unfair to suddenly demand more from him now. So she'd wait. She would relish being his friend and that would have to do.

Now it was her turn to wait.

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Clark stretched his sore arms, shaking the discomfort from his shoulders before allowing his gaze to return to police report which Chloe had emailed him. He had read over it several times already but he was hoping to find something he'd missed, something that would help.

Unfortunately for him, there was nothing which the police knew that he didn't. He couldn't help feeling like he was failing his mother, the woman who had raised him, given him everything, and all he'd ever done, it seemed, was fail her. Running away, disappearing, not being able to protect her…it pained him to think about it.

He scanned the report once last time before tossing it aside and picking up the Planet's file on Lex Luther. Again it contained nothing that Clark didn't already know. Although he was surprised when he'd read that Lana had left him. He made a mental note to go and see her before he got too caught up in things. She was still his friend after all.

He threw the folder down with a frustrated huff. He was getting nowhere and it was beginning to take a toll on him. Not only was he only sleeping for brief periods of time, but he could feel Lois drifting away again.

They were so close, getting things back in order between them, but his obsession with his mother's attacker was draining them. He could see it in her eyes whenever she looked at him. She was worried; worried he would never let this go. And maybe she was right. Maybe he just had to leave it alone, wait for something to appear instead of searching it out. That had been Perry's advice.

Of course, the new editor had been biased: although he was very fond of Martha Kent, and he understood Lois and Clark's attachment and determination to the case, he missed his star reporters. Lois' Superman articles were bland, emotionless and Clark's work was pathetic, to say the least. Perry had stuck him doing film and music reviews because of the lacking quality Martha's case had procured.

Clark understood the man's frustration. For the first month after the incident Lois and Clark had still been strong in their writing; it was the adrenaline, the thirst for information, the desire to work together once more, but after time went by, after months without any leads, the pair had started falling apart again; and Clark knew it was his fault. It was his obsession that was driving a wedge between him and Lois.

But he couldn't stop. If Lois was going to leave too then his mother would be the only person he had left; he wouldn't stop, not until he had answers.

"You know you look at that for too long, you're gonna go cross-eyed," said a familiar voice from over Clark's shoulder. He turned to see Lois standing behind him, wrapped in a warm coat, a red scarf wrapped around her neck. She was carrying her purse in one hand and brown paper bag in the other.

"How was your picnic?" he asked, turning away from her again.

"It was nice, you should have come," Lois replied.

"I told you had I to follow up a lead," Clark responded, harsher than he had intended to, but Lois wasn't fazed by his antagonistic tone.

Instead, she pulled her chair around to his desk and sat beside him. She placed the brown bag on top of the papers he was reading which earned her an angry look from her partner.

"Lois!" Clark snapped.

"Clark, you've been reading the same thing for three days now; it's time to take a break," Lois ordered. She pulled from the bag three containers and two egg rolls. She passed one to Clark, handing him the plastic fork she grabbed (he was dangerous with chopsticks she had learned and since she valued her eyes, he got the fork) while she opened her container of roast pork lo mein and started eating away.

Clark stared at her, as always he was impressed by her boldness and felt his anger ebb away. Sighed, giving into her demands, and opened his own container. She'd gotten him General Tso's chicken, his favorite. It amazed how well she knew exactly what he needed, when he needed it. She gave him a wide smile, as if she knew what he was thinking, which he returned before stabbing a piece of chicken and settling back in his chair.

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After finishing his meal and what was left of Lois', Clark was finally full. Lois was leaning backwards in her chair, watching him gather the napkins and used chopsticks and tossing them into the trash can beside his desk. He felt her eyes on him on he completed the mediocre task and turned to face her. Her expression did not change, she was still grinning at him.

"What?" he asked. Lois' hands were laced and resting on her stomach as she watched him.

"Nothing," she replied nonchalantly.

"You sure?" he asked again.

"Yup."

"So there's no reason why you're staring at me?" Clark asked, giving her a frown.

Lois shrugged, "Nope."

"Well, could you stop? You're kind of freaking me out," Clark commented raising his eyebrows at Lois.

"You're mom wants us to spend Thanksgiving at the farm," Lois stated. Clark nodded, leaning back.

"Do you want to?" he asked.

"It'll be fun," Lois replied.

"Yeah," he agreed, "but we, well we haven't been back there since…"

"It's Thanksgiving, Clark, it's your mom's or mine; not a difficult choice," Lois joked, lighting Clark's face, easing the tension between his eyebrows as she let the past drift away from them.

"So we're going?" Clark reaffirmed.

"Yeah," Lois nodded.

They sat in companionable silence once more. Lois was still watching him, her eyes intense and yet soft. Clark felt self-conscious under her stare: he knew what she was thinking. He knew that she was trying to get him to talk to her, open up to her. She wanted to tell him to ease up on the search for his mother's attacker.

He decided to preempt her, "Lois, I don't want to talk about it."

"Talk about what, Clark?" Lois asked innocently.

"I'm going to find out who tried to kill my mother," Clark replied coolly.

"I know," Lois nodded.

"And don't try to tell me that I'm working too hard, and I'm being obsessive and everything because I know it all," Clark continued.

"That's good," Lois leaned forward in the chair, "and yet you continue?"

"Lois," he warned.

"I'm not talking about it; I'm just questioning your statement. If you know these things, why do you still do them?" Lois questioned.

"She's my mother, Lois, I'm not going to stop until I find him," Clark answered.

"Clark, it's been months, we haven't found anything," Lois began, "Maybe we should listen to Perry: back off and wait for something to come up."

"Do nothing?" Clark frowned at his partner.

"Clark, driving ourselves into exhaustion is clearly not helping; we need a new approach," Lois explained, "besides, we wouldn't be doing nothing; we would keep our ears and eyes open for any leads, but we do have jobs we need to keep. I don't know about you but I worked too hard to get to the Planet to throw it all away because I wouldn't relax on a case."

"This isn't just some 'case', Lois, this is my mother," Clark snapped.

"And you're not the only who cares about her, Clark," Lois retorted; she sighed angrily: there was no point getting into an argument with Clark…again. He was a stubborn as she was and it would only lead to them ignoring each other for a few days and getting even less done than when they were talking.

"Fine," Lois threw up her hands and leaned back into her chair once more, "let's just spend Thanksgiving with your mom, take a break from the story, maybe things will start to unfold then," she suggested.

Clark couldn't deny that he desperately needed a break: a break from work, a break from Superman, from the search for his mother's attempted assassin. He needed a break from everything. He just needed to spend some time back on the farm; he only hoped that it brought him the same comfort that it used too.

"Okay, we'll spend Thanksgiving with my mom at the Farm," Clark concurred.

"And…" Lois waited for Clark to continue.

"And…we'll take a break from the story," Clark finished.

"Thank you," Lois said, satisfied. She crossed her arms over her chest and smiled smugly. Clark rolled his eyes.

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A/N: I hope you guys are enjoying this story! Review if you do!