A/N: My dear readers, another chapter! Thank you to all who keep reading, reviewing and marking my story with an alert. I am terrible at updating, but I am trying my best.

We slowly walk towards the end here, wrapping loose ends and such. I hope the resolution is satisfying to most (can't please them all, unfortunately).

CHAPTER 14

Lois felt weak and tired and strangely sore. Her muscles were stiff and just thinking about moving made her cringe in pain. She couldn't remember a single thing that would explain this present state, so that meant waking up, opening her eyes and getting some answers. Sometimes living in Smallville seemed to make actual living so much harder, she thought to herself, as she willed her arms to function and her lids to rise.

A groan escaped her lips unbidden.

"Lois?". Clark's voice was strong and uncertain at the same time. That made her feel irritated for some reason.

Up went her eyelids, heavy and almost uncooperative. At first, her vision was blurry, but as it cleared, Lois couldn't help but focus on the face leaning over her, blue-green eyes silently pleading.

"Smallville...", she licked her dried lips. "Why am I always waking up with you in my face?"

He grinned. The stupid boy had the nerve to grin at her widely!

"Stop that!", she demanded, arms working to accomplish a seated position. She was having mild success at it, when Clark's strong arms and large hands encircled her waist and easily hoisted her upright, nestling her against the sea of pillows at her back.

Lois tried very hard to deny the way her body reacted to the warmth of his hands on her t-shirt covered waist. In fact, she wavered between denial and acceptance. Smallville making her go all gooey inside? Completely new development... well, mostly new and no one would make her admit any more than that. She sighed internally. This could be taken as proof that the ally and all that holding each other close had not been a fluke.

It was a scary thought.

Clark settled in the space beside her hip and leaned much too closely and suddenly, Lois also found that her breathing was being affected by his proximity. Again. Seriously? She gulped and tried to breathe in deeply (such a big mistake, that, when being so near to such a good smelling man... she should have learned her lesson by now) and then decided breathing normally was quite good enough.

"Was it the crystal again? I..."

"Yes". It was apprehension that knocked her off her Clark induced fantasies, though not surprise.

"So... what happened exactly?".

"Lois, you disappeared." She frowned at that. "Chloe called me and told me you were missing from work all day and that when she got to your apartment, it seemed like something wasn't quite right. I found you, but I couldn't come near you and I watched some people talking about taking you back and I decided to follow them, make sure you were really ok. And they brought to the Talon and left and I told Chloe and brought you here, to the farm. I t thought it would be safer."

"You can breathe between sentences, Clark. I promise", she smiled at him and her returned the smile and Lois felt déjà vu in the way they got caught up in the moment.

"That's the short version", she laughed. And then sobered up when she saw him turning serious. "I don't know who took you... Lois, I... I think it was Lex".

"Lex..." Arms got crossed and pillows got crushed in her attempt to gain some personal space back. "Go on."

"I... I didn't actually see him, but I heard two thugs talking about tests. They were going to bring you back home, so I only followed them. I thought it would be better not to interfere... maybe give us the upper hand" Lois frowned at that.

Trust Clark to choose now to start thinking before acting where Lex Luthor was concerned.

"Feels so strange to say that", he sighed. "I wanted to..."

"I know... But you did the right thing", she assured him, her hand rising out of its own volition to cup his cheek. She tried to be discreet in pulling it away.

A hand came up to go through dark hair, making the blue t-shirt colored arm to bulge and Lois was lost again in fantasies. Seriously? Clark's gorgeous and everything - she had always know that -, but seriously? When did he start making her lose focus this way, she wondered. He glanced sheepishly at her, like he could somehow hear her racing heart and Lois found he could also make her blush.

Just great...

"Tests?", she tried to get her focus back.

"Yeah. I don't know what kind", he sighed in return. "probably Lex feeling paranoid about..." Lois' hand came up again, voluntarily this time, and settled on his arm.

"He saw me during one of my spacing out moments. He seemed very interested in the why." She frowned, not liking this train of thought at all. "I don't think I want to know", she shuddered.

"You are fine, Lois. I scanned you. No bruises, or anything that...", he trailed off, not wanting to even say the words. Lois understood him though. "Lo?"

She had been spacing out, gaze lost in the distance, while her brain worried about a multitude of possibilities. And then he called her, unsure and quietly. Her eyes focused on his again.

"What is it, Clark?"

So he told her. Told her about Rokk and his strange words, about seeing his father, about Chloe and Lana. Opening up to Lois felt natural, felt right, and with every word spoken, Clark felt himself relaxing and leaning forward again.

"So... This Rokk guy. You think we can trust him?" Clark shrugged, then nodded.

"I think so."

"And what did he mean, devastating consequences?". His eyes left hers and shifted around the room, his uncertainty shining though loudly. "Clark?"

"I..." He looked at her again, deep green-blue eyes filled with sorrow making her heart ache. "I think you died".

"So, I'm not supposed to. You know, die. I wasn't supposed to die at the dam?". He shook his head minutely. "But is the crystal doing then? Making it so I won't be taken from the timeline?", she swallowed hard, briefly closing her eyes. When she opened them again, his was still staring intently at her. "How?".

"I don't know. And I think you were right, Lo", he softly brushed a strand of hair out of her face, making the barest of contact with the skin of her cheek and resulting in goose bumps up and down her spine. "I think were are not supposed to know. The future's not ours to know."

She nodded, gazes still fixed.

"Lois, I have been scared to tell my secret to, well... anyone, in what seems like forever. And here you are and you know, probably more than anyone will ever know and...", his breath coming out in a sigh brushed against her lips and still she didn't move, transfixed by the sudden change in topic.

"And Chloe knows, and Lana knows and my parents and Pete and... And just knowing they know makes me nervous and worried and, maybe, feeling like they don't see me anymore. Me, I mean, Clark Kent. Not Kal-El, or an alien, or a super-powered being. Just me", he closed the distance between them even more, his every word a brush against her lips.

"Of course, you're you", she told him, eyes being drawn to his lips, then back up.

He chuckled, increasing the subtle shuddering of her body. "Remember when you told me to save up for a Harley and not waste my time with an ordinary bike?" She nodded. "And I told you, that sometimes, it seemed you knew me better than anyone..."

"And other times, like I didn't know you at all", she finished. His eyes were staring at her and they were fascinating. He was so close and somehow, not close enough.

"Exactly. You didn't know the details, didn't know about me being, well... all, super-Clark", she snorted at that and he grinned. When had he gotten so close that their noses were almost touching? "... but you knew me. You saw me, better than anyone."

"Clark?", she whispered.

"Yes?"

She was sure that was something she wanted to say, some words of wisdom, some joke. Something. His close proximity, though, was making her brain fuzzy and her stomach so light she was sure she could feel it in her throat. There was natural progression to their closeness, to their noses brushing against each other, to being so very near, that they could almost not see the other properly, could not focus on the other's face completely.

So, Lois kissed him.

She leaned forward, vanishing the inch still separating them, and allowed her lips to mold against Clark's soft, pouty lips. Her eyes closed of their own volition and the rest was a myriad of feelings and sensations as they connected like that. Innocently. Passionately. Perfectly.

When they parted, it wasn't to lean away. In fact, they barely parted at all. "Wow..."

Clark gulped. "Lois?"

"Hum?"

It was his turn to cross the distance and claim her lips. This kiss, however, was more firm, more sure. His hand came up to circle her back and her hand drew up to his shirt, fisting it with her trembling fingers. A deep breath and their mouths were open. Tentatively, his tongue sought entrance to new territory. Quickly, her own responded, stroking his.

There was no tearing off clothes, or kisses so frantic, one would be hard pressed to breathe. No. It was long and deep and slow, exploring the other and letting yourself be explored. There were no fireworks or the earth moving. They could barely feel the air around them, much less the rest of the world. They were each other's only world, only gravity, only purpose.

xxxxx

Chloe opened the door to the farm and walked inside, knowing no one would be in the ground floor. She heard Lana coming in behind her and closing the door. Her feet was just about to lead her to the stairs, when footsteps started echoing in the room. Soon, Lois and Clark appeared, clearly having heard them coming in. Chloe paused to examine Lois from head to toe, trying to assure her own heart that her cousin was okay, that her cousin was there, in one piece.

"Lo?" The taller woman smiled openly.

"Chloe!" And then they found themselves wrapped in an embrace.

"You're okay! I mean, you are okay, right?" Chloe asked, a brief shadow overtaking her features.

"Yes, I'm fine. Already been scanned by Smallville's super eyes and put up to date".

So Chloe and Lois and Clark and even Lana sat all together and updated each other with what they knew, specially about Rokk and the supposed tests. Chloe was most relieved to hear Lois was apparently not supposed to die and Lana was frowning deeply, sure Lex was the culprit of the kidnapping of Lois, by the end of it.

"What now?" Lois asked, turning to face Clark, who sat beside her.

He merely shrugged. "I don't know".

And just like that, as if it had been again summoned, the crystal appeared on the table before them, soft blue glowing drawing their immediate attention. Clark's first reaction was to grasp Lois' wrist.

"Please, don't touch it".

Lois only reacted when he spoke, rolling her eyes. She made no move to reach for the object, though. Chloe, however, had no such qualms and quickly picked up the crystal. It remained unchanging.

"Should we - I don't know -, question it, like we did before, Lo?" Chloe was staring and frowning at the glowing rock.

"Maybe... We could try".

It seemed that the question was enough to prompt the crystal into action. A dark smoke swirled around them and it didn't take much to realize that it was only a projection, as they could see it, but not feel it. They all rose from their sitting positions. The smoke cleared a little, but it was hard to actually see anything. And then they heard it. The loud, guttural cry of a desperate man. Lois stepped back, colliding onto Clark's back; he circled her waist with his strong arms and held her close. Lana's eyes widened and she glanced from side to side, trying to see something beyond the smoke. Chloe merely continued to frown and stare at the crystal, willing it to give them some answers.

The cry was then reduced to sobbing and muttered words they could not understand. And in the space between the group of four confused people, the smoke cleared and what they saw made them all gasp. Clark, in the same blue uniform they had seen him in before, was sitting on the floor, dust and debris on him, blood dripping from cuts on his arms and legs and face. His arms were closed protectively around the broken, bleeding form of a woman, whose face they could not see. He was crying and it seemed sure that the woman was no more. When the desperate man wiped his tear, dust filled cheek and brushed the hair out of the woman's face, they all gasped once more.

For it was Lois, pale and dead in his arms.

The real Clark tightened his arms on Lois and she felt him trembling against her. Chloe had a look of horror on her face, head shaking in disbelief. It was only Lana who bore an expression of cool detachment. It was also she who plucked the crystal from Chloe's hand and demanded answers.

"This wasn't supposed to happen. Not like this". She breathed in deeply. "Why did you active?"

The crystal seemed to respond, for the smoke cleared completely and the broken pair on the floor disappeared. In their place, they could see the Fortress of Solitude coming into focus.

Jor-El's voice boomed around them, coming from above, below and all sides at the same time. "It is not possible to go back in time without serious repercussions, Kal-El. This is a lesson you have already learned."

Next, they saw Clark, still wearing the torn uniform, bloodied and dirty. "You said this was not supposed to happen, father!", his anguished voice evoked tears in Lois's eyes. She made no effort to brush them away. "I don't want to go back in time!". He buried his face in his soot covered hands. "I just want to know what went wrong!", again he looked up, eyes dull with pain. "What point in time made this the only way the story ends?", he whispered finally, anger seemingly not enough to overcome the pain.

" Lois Lane was taken. And then she was returned."

"What does that mean... taken?"

"Lois Lane was taken out of the timeline. History was brought faster into the future and destiny delayed too long."

He rubbed his face and sighed. "What do I do now?"

"She must die", were Jor-El's matter of fact response. Clark's reaction, though, was explosive.

"She has already died! She is gone! What else do you want from me?!" His knees hit the snow covered ground.

"To live, Kal-El, she must die". Clark's fist came down and even though he was, now, nothing more than a projection, his spectators felt the earth moving below their feet all the same.

"Stop talking in riddles and sentences with hidden meaning! Stop talking about destiny and what is and is not supposed to happen! This is my life you are talking about! This is her life!", he bellowed.

Jor-El did not answer with words. Before his broken son, a crystal appeared, floating on air and glowing red, blue and gold. Clark stopped raging for a second and raised his face up, as if looking at his father's face. "I thought you said time travel is dangerous. You told me there was only one crystal!"

"You will not travel back in time, my son", Jor-El's ever calm and methodical voice spoke. "Time is already collapsing. This crystal will reestablish the balance so that the timeline is preserved."

The crystal in question was the same one now Lana held in her hands. It was the same crystal that had shown them so much and kept so much from them. The same which had been interfering with their lives. The one which was supposed to balance out time.

"And now?", the broken Clark asked, a glimmer of hope in his eyes, as they stared at the glowing object floating before him.

"Now, we are no more..."

Some answers or only more questions... Let me know if I am creating a bigger picture, or if it's still all a jumble. Virtual cake to all who review! =D