A.N: I know I suck. I can't even remember the last time I updated this. Between school and work, writing has become harder to do. I promise to try to write more often. I want to finish this story. It deserves to be finished. So please bear with me. Hang tight in there. We're just now reaching a climax. :0)

Chapter 13

Wes lifted his duffel bag and tossed it into the trunk. He slammed the trunk down and jumped.

"Jesus!" He cursed holding his chest when he saw Clark standing in front of him with his arms crossed. "What the hell man? You scared the crap out of me!"

Clark shook his head letting out a laugh. He signaled toward the car that was packed up. "Going somewhere?"

"Yeah, on assignment." Wes nodded.

"That's too bad." Clark continued walking around the car to stand in front of the other man. "I was beginning to think we were getting along. Of course…that must have been before you tried to steal my girlfriend."

"Hey man, no hard feelings right." Wes grinned. "She made her decision. She chose you."

"Yeah she did." Clark said and smiled. "I don't want you to ever forget that."

He turned to walk away but West called out to him, stopping him in his tracks.

"It'll be hard to forget considering what a tight little body Lois has…"

Clark turned toward him and glared. He stalked up to him and swung his fist dropping him and giving Wes a bloodied nose. Wes cradled his nose and looked up at Clark. "You're crazy man!"

Clark crouched down to be at eye level with him. "You stay away from me and from Lois. Or you'll have more than just a broken nose."

"You and your friend Lex are more alike than you think." Wes mumbled from behind his hands.

Clark didn't react to the comment as he walked away.

Clark drank a sip of his beer and smiled when he felt arms wrap around him. He held her hands closer to himself with his free hand before turning around to face her. She looked up at him and smiled.

"What are you smiling at?" He grinned pushing her hair back from her face.

"Went by Wes' house on the base..." She traced the 'ARMY' logo on his shirt before looking up at him. "He'd cleared the place out. Do you know anything about it?"

"He might have mentioned an assignment or something." Clark shrugged.

"Clark…"

"Lois, he had all his things packed and was ready to go by the time I got there."

"Okay." She smiled.

"Just like that?" He asked. "You believe me?"

"Yeah, you know…we have this really weird and rare thing…" She shrugged before leaning up on her tiptoes. "I think earthlings call it trust."

She closed the gap between them and kissed him softly. He pulled away a little and laughed. "Earthlings, huh?"

She shrugged. "Your mom wants me to let you know dinner's almost ready."

"I'll be right there."

"Don't spend too much time brooding in this barn, Smallville."

"I don't brood."

"You brood."

He rolled his eyes.

She winked and turned to walk down the stairs.

"Lois?"

She turned toward him again.

"Are we going to be okay?"

She smiled. "Yeah, we're going to be fine."

She turned one last time and started down the stairs. "Don't take too long up here. We're starving."

He watched her leave with a smile that never left his face.

"Well, where is he?" General Lane screamed into the phone receiver before slamming it down. "Find him!"

He slammed the phone on the table three more times before throwing it across the room and watching it break into pieces. He breathed in deeply and glared at the wall. An applause from behind caused him to spin around quickly.

"Bravo." Lex smirked. "You almost had me fooled."

"You got what you wanted, now get out."

"Not quite." Lex smiled walking around the oak desk to stand in front of the three star general. "You've made Wes disappear…that was good…but now…you're going to give me all that you have on Clark Kent."

"I don't know…"

"What I'm talking about?" Lex finished for him. "Sure you do. There's a reason why you are so interested in a farm boy from Kansas and I tried telling myself that it was because he was dating your daughter…but you've been watching Clark a lot longer than Lois has been dating him. You've been keeping tabs on the Kents for the last two decades. And I want to know why."

"Mr. Luthor…that information is classified…Clark's military jacket is…"

"Is private…but that's not what I want," he said walking toward the bar and pouring himself a glass of scotch. "I want what's off the record…what the Army doesn't have and I know you do."

"And if I don't give it to you?"

"Then there's a girl in Smallville who's currently in love with the subject of your current obsession…I wonder how she'd feel that daddy has been keeping tabs on her boyfriend and his family and that he's the reason why she's been having relationship problems."

General Lane swallowed thickly.

"The files, General, and this all goes away…including me."

General Lane eyed the bald man in front of him carefully and nodded his head slowly.

"Good answer." Lex smirked before taking a healthy gulp of the scotch.

Clark opened the door to his kitchen and smiled at the scene before him. His mom and Lois were in the kitchen making dinner and his dad was setting the table.

"Clark, about time you came down." Jonathan smiled. "Help me set the table, will you?"

He grinned. "Sure, dad."

"I told your dad it might be safer for me to set the table with you guys but he insisted I learned to cook," Lois said from the stove smiling. "Clearly you didn't tell him about my kitchen disasters."

He smiled broadly and walked up to her as she turned back to the stove to wrap his arms around her waist from behind. He breathed in her scent and smiled, kissing the side of her neck. "I'm sure you'll be fine. Mom's a great teacher."

"Smallville…" She laughed softly.

Martha and Jonathan smiled at one another.

"Alright kids, dinner is served." Jonathan said wrapping an arm around Martha. "Let's eat before it gets cold."

Clark took Lois' hand and led her to the table. He pulled out a chair for and tucked her in once she sat down. Lois bit the side of her cheek to keep herself from smiling to broadly. She watched as Jonathan did the same for Martha and her heart melted. Clark sat down in front of her and Jonathan and Martha at both ends. She bit her lip and smiled softly as she realized this was the first time she sat down to eat at the table as a family since she was six.