The morning sun glittering off the snowy fields blinded Lois, leaving her even more confused than she had been. Turning away from the barn window, she tried to piece together the events that lead her to this point. She remembered the accident, Clark's disappearance, and the ambulance taking away Lana's body. She couldn't remember how she got back to the farm though or how she ended up in the loft. Lois had woken up plenty of times in college with no recollection of the night before, but those days were long behind her. Perhaps she'd been drugged.

She heard someone make their way up the stairs and whirled around to face Clark. He didn't look surprised to see her there. A haunted look settled in his eyes and she could tell he hadn't slept all night.

"Oh my God, Clark! Are you alright? Where did you go?" She took a step towards him, with an outstretched hand, trying to comfort him. He stepped back out of her reach.

"What do you mean? We've been here all night." He said.

"No, Clark. Last night your father won the race and Lana was in a terrible accident. Where did you go?" Something was wrong. Both she and Clark were confused and he didn't even remember last night.

"You remember that?" Clark asked. He turned away from her and mistakenly said out loud, "How does she know about that?"

"What do you mean how do I remember? It was twelve hours ago!"

"It should have worked." He muttered sadly. Ignoring Lois he pulled out his phone to check the date. He had gone back in time. It was January 26th again. He looked at Lois in confusion. He had gone back in time, changed what happened. Why wasn't Lois affected like everyone else should be?

"Clark, what did you do?" He didn't answer, just continued to look at her with confusion and a hint of guilt. "What did you do?"

"I didn't know what else to do. I went to Jor-el." There was a slightly crazed look in his eyes that told her how lost he really was.

"And?"

"He gave me a crystal that could make me go back in time. I didn't really believe it would work, but I had to try. I couldn't let her die, Lois."

"Oh God, Smallville, what have you done?" She shouted. "You can't just mess with time like that, it's not natural. You don't know what kind of things can happen because of this!"

"I made a mistake Lois, and she died because of it!" He shouted back, with more anger than she had ever expected from him.

"What are you talking about?" Lois could feel the storm brewing.

"I let myself get...confused. I never should have changed my mind about her."

"Confused? About what? What did Jor-el say to you?"

"It doesn't matter what he said." Clark said, coldly, turning away from her.

"Stop turning your back on me!" She snapped, but he still ignored her. "I know that you're upset because of what you saw last night, but I think your grief is clouding your judgement."

"No, Lois. I'm seeing everything clearly for the first time in a long time." He faced her. She was shocked to find him glaring at her, his features contorted into a blank mask of anger. "I'm supposed to be with Lana. Nothing about me makes sense without her."

"That's ridiculous!" She spat. Fury bubbled up from her stomach, threatening to erupt. She didn't know if she was so angry because of his ignorance or because she found herself jealous of a whiny, entitled, insignificant girl who would become just a blip on his timeline when he married her.

"Ever since you showed up here, you've changed everything! You walked around spouting your wisdom at me, telling me that I'm going to end up as some big hero, making me think that I could do anything. And I believed it!" He threw his hands up in the air, and for the first time in her life, she fliched away from him. Regret lit up his features immediately, but he was too angry to take it back. "I believed in you, and then Lana died!"

"Clark Kent, are you actually trying to blame what happened to her on me?" She shouted, so angry she was shaking.

"Of course not. It was my fault." He whispered. "My fault that I didn't stop it and my fault for trusting you."

"When have I ever given you a reason you a reason not to trust me? Everything I've done has been to protect you, dumbass!"

"You've been keeping secrets from the beginning! Last night when Lana called me, she accused me of fathering your child. Why would she think that unless you said something to her to make her believe that?"

Lois stopped dead as if he had slapped her. How could someone as self-absorbed as Lana see the truth? "You're not angry at me Clark, you're angry at yourself. You need to make me your enemy so you don't have to stop and think about why you're so guilty."

He froze, really listening to her for the first time since he had walked up those steps. He started to regret being so angry with her. She deserved better than for him to take out his pain on her.

"You're right, Lois. I'm sorry. I just… I thought there was something between us. I knew how stupid that was, but I still let those feelings get out of control." He turned to her with sad-puppy eyes. Lois couldn't breathe as she waited for him to continue. "Yesterday I made a mistake and there's only one way to fix it now. I've planned my whole life with Lana, and I was being impulsive when I decided to let her go."

"You're being impulsive now!"

"No, I'm being a man and taking responsibility for my own actions. It's time I stop lying to the woman I love."

"She can't handle what you're going to tell her, Clark." She said through gritted teeth. "She's not strong enough and that weakness will get her killed. You'll end up right back here with no way out."

"You can't know that." He said.

"I do, and you know it too. There's a reason you've waited this long and lied to her all these years." He turned and started walking away from her. Lois nearly began to hyperventilate as she watched him go. "Just remember that there are things that you can never take back, Smallville."

He glanced back at her. For a moment she could have sworn he understood what she was staying, and knew who exactly he was giving up, but from his expression she knew that he had made a choice and it was too late to change his mind now.

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Lois stared at the golden globe spinning endlessly on top of the Daily Planet. Until now she had never debated walking through those doors.

She cancelled her doctor's appointment in order to clear her mind and focus on what was going to happen now that Clark had changed the timeline. She was furious at him for costing her the ultrasound photo that she could never get back. Her first instinct was to run to Chloe and vent to her about Clark. She was so tired of carrying her burden alone, but she didn't know exactly how to explain this one to Chloe.

There was an invader at Chloe's desk when Lois reached her destination. Of course Clark had already beaten her to the punch, and was spilling his guts to her cousin. Smug thoughts entered her head as she watched anger and disappointment form on Chloe's face.

Lois was walking over to the two of them when she noticed that something was very wrong in the pit.

"What are you doing here, Lois?" She heard Clark say. She ignored him, walking past them to a desk right beside the stairs. Standing there, talking to a young, flustered looking journalist, was Brainiac. Lois strained her ears to hear the information he was feeding the other man.

Brainiac looked up sharply, zeroing in on Lois. He stared at her for a few seconds, smiled darkly, and bid the young journalist he was speaking to farewell. He barely made it to the doorframe before he vanished. The man he was talking to didn't look surprised to see him move inhumanly fast.

"Hey!" She yelled to get the attention of the journalist. He was surprisingly young, probably the same age or younger than Chloe had been when she started interning here a few months ago. His dark brown hair reached his shoulders and his clothes looked like they had been carefully picked out at a vintage second hand store. She marched over to his desk and smacked her palm against it. He eyed her with suspicion after the shock of her boldness wore off.

"Can I help you?" He asked, clearly annoyed. She picked up the nameplate that said, Justin Houch and tested the weight of it in her hand. She gave him a look of superiority and placed it back on his small desk.

"The name's Lois Lane," She said. The man arched his eyebrow and waited impatiently for her to continue. "What was Fine telling you?"

"That's really none of your business." Justin snapped.

"Oh, I think it is."

"Really? And why is that?" He squinted at her through his chic, designer glasses. "Who are you exactly?"

"I'm a reporter. One who knows Milton Fine a lot better than you do." She said, matter-of-factly, crossing her arms over her chest.

He jumped to his feet, fists clenched. "Who the hell do you think you are, coming up here and trying to scoop my story?"

"I'm not here for your story," She said, glaring at him. "I'm going to be your boss one day and I don't need to steal from other people to do it."

"Well then, what is it that you want?" He sounded exasperated.

"I want to know what Fine is doing. What he's planning."

"What makes you think I'm going to tell you that?"

"Because," She lended in close to him, a triumphant smile on her face. "I know your type. You're hungry for a big story that's going to put your name on that front page. You want the break that's going to get you the hell out of this basement and earn you respect around here. You give me the professor, and I'll give you that headline."

She could see that she had sparked a fire in him. She could see the possibilities whirling around behind his eyes. "What headline?"

"If I told you that, you could probably find it yourself, and that wouldn't be good for me would it?"

"Well it wouldn't be good for me if I gave up my sure-thing over a hunch from a random woman, would it?" He said, mocking her. "I can't trust you to hand over a story, I don't even know you."

"Well, Mr. Houch, your 'sure-thing' is going to be picked up by the U.S. military rather soon." He shot her a look that said he thought she was absolutely crazy. "Do your research on me after I'm gone. You'll see who my father is and why I know so much. But, by then, I'll be long gone and the deal will be off the table."

He stood there, thinking and debating internally. "Can you at least tell me what the headline relates to so I know you're not making this crap up?"

She looked around his desk until she found a sticky note pad and a pen. On it she scribbled down her name and phone number. She handed it to him and said, "Call me if you meet with Fine again and I'll hand you Lex Luthor on a silver platter."

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Lana wondered around Jonathan's last campaign party looking for Clark, though she mentally told herself over and over that she wasn't. She was angry and hesitant to talk to him after he stood her up again this morning. When she finally found him, he was coming towards her with a look on his face that she had never seen before.

He didn't say anything when he reached her, he just wrapped her tightly in his arms and buried his face in her hair.

"Don't think I'm going to forgive you that easily." She said, jokingly.

He pulled away from her and stared down at her with panic. He searched her face with wonder and confusion. "Oh! Oh, you mean about our date this morning. I'm sorry about that, Lana."

"It's… not a big deal." She sensed that something was off about Clark. He hummed with nervous energy and stared at her like she was a piece of jewelry in a thief's hand, about to be stolen away forever. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Not anymore." He grabbed her arm and gently pulled her in the back of the Talon where they were completely alone. He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her, sending warmth through every vein in her body.

"I love you," He said. "I've loved you from the first moment I saw you."

"You're scaring me," She whispered.

"I know," He said. "Lana, I can't bare the thought of losing you, and I know that I am. I can see it in your eyes."

"Clark…" She trailed off.

"It isn't your fault." He reassured her. "You've stayed by my side through so much. You've trusted me, you've loved me, you've forgiven me at times that I didn't deserve it. I've taken more than I could ever give you in return. But, it's time for me to change and I'm finally ready to do it. I have something I need to show you. After the party will you come with me?"

"Where would we go?" She asked, taken aback by his words.

"It's kind of a secret."

"I'm tired of secrets."

"You terrify me, Lana." He confessed. "From that first moment in the graveyard, I've been scared that I'd do or say the wrong thing and you'd run away screaming."

"I would never do that, Clark. You should know that."

"You're right. But I've never been able to shake that feeling. I know we can't go on like this though." He took a shaky breath. Lana took a step towards him and placed her hand on his chest.

"Oh my god, your heart's racing!"

"I've thought about this moment since I was fifteen. I had it planned out so much better a few days ago." He said, in a fast, nervous rant. "I know that if I don't tell you what you mean to me, it will be too late. I just need to know that I'm enough for you."

"Of course you are," She said, with a smile.

"Just me, as I am now?" She nodded. "Would you still love me if I wasn't who you thought I was?"

"What do you mean?"

"Answer me, Lana. Please."

"Are you trying to tell me you robbed a bank or something?" He smirked slightly, then turned serious once more. Lana sighed, then said, "I'd still love you, no matter what you did. I always will. But, that doesn't mean I'll wait around forever. I need you to stop lying to me."

"I'll give you the whole truth this time, I promise."

"I've heard that before."

"I swear, Lana. I'll tell you everything when you come with me. I want to let you in, I just need to know that you love me enough to stay after I do." He dropped to one knee and grabbed her hand. He pulled something out of his suit pocket and presented it to her. A glittering diamond stood out of a small gold band, throwing thousands of tiny rainbows in every direction from his trembling hand. "Lana Lang, I love you with every part of me. Will you marry me?"

Lana was speechless. Before she could consider her answer, the door swung open, letting the sound of the roaring crowd fill the room.

"Clark, you need to get out here. I'm about to announce-" Lois stopped mid-sentence, taking in the scene in front of her. The look of anguish on her face knocked the breath out of Clark. He only thought about running after her once she had vanished, letting the door swing closed behind her.

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The long gravel road leading to the farm was barely visible in the moonlight. Lois couldn't remember how she had ended up on it. She had driven the back roads winding through Smallville for hours, trying to escape her own thoughts. The flat Kansas cornfields were an abyss though, and gave her no shelter to hide in.

She stared at the yellow house without actually seeing it. She couldn't force herself to go in, but she was unable to sit in her car any longer. Stepping out of the car, the frigid air enveloped her, forcing her to feel something for the first time since she had seen Clark down on one knee. She wanted to cry, but something inside her prevented the tears from forming. She was scared, lonely, and trapped in this life that was all wrong. She was living someone else's life.

Lois heard the sound of arguing coming from the barn. She looked around until she spotted Jonathan's truck peeking out from the other side of the barn. The cobalt blue hit Lois with a sudden realization, and she sprinted to the barn.

She barely missed being hit by Lionel Luther's body as it was hurled towards the door. Jonathan shuffled over to them, fists clenched, covered in blood. He pounded his fist into Lionel's face four times while Lois screamed and tried prying him off.

"Stop! Stop! Jonathan stop!" She yelled. "You're going to kill him! You don't want to do that. You're not a killer."

He stilled, his fist frozen in mid-air. He was shaking with anger, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Then he lowered his arm. "Okay."

He backed away from Lionel's crumpled, bleeding body. Lois reached her hand out to him and he began slowly walking towards her. He stopped right as they were outside of the barn and clutched his chest. Lois had already pulled out her phone and began dialing 911 before Jonathan collapsed to the ground. She fell on the ground next to him and began doing chest compressions as she talked on the phone with the emergency dispatcher.

"Stay with me, stay with me." She cried after she was reassured an ambulance was on it's way. She bitterly regretted her thoughts this morning that she should just let her father-in-law die. Now, she was doing everything she could to keep him alive. Please, God don't let him die in my arms, she thought.

She heard the wail of the sirens coming down the dirt road and let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She didn't stopped giving Jonathan CPR until the EMTs pushed her out of the way. She climbed into the back of the ambulance and shut her eyes tightly as they raced to Smallville Medical Center.

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It had taken every ounce of strength Clark had to not leave his mother and Lana behind when they had entered the hospital doors. A sense of foreboding had driven him to nearly take off at super speed when they had gotten Lois's call. Jor-el had warned him that he would face the consequences of using that crystal to go back and save Lana, and now his father was in the ICU, barely hanging on.

Leaving Chloe and Lana to comfort Martha, he went off to find Lois. He found her sitting on a bench across from the vending machines with her head in her hands. He sat down beside her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him slowly, her cheeks stained with mascara.

"Lois, I-" He broke off. Her couldn't think of how to express all the things she wanted to say to her. "Thank you."

"What have I done?" She asked, staring hard at the floor. It didn't sound like she was asking why he was thanking her, but rather asking what terrible thing she had caused.

"What? Lois, are you okay?"

"I was so furious with you this morning." She looked up at him in disbelief. "Because I couldn't see things clearly."

"I know. I want to apologize for how I treated you. I'm sorry, Lois. I know that you just want what's best for me and our family. I shouldn't have taken out my guilt on you."

"No, Clark. I just couldn't see before that you did what you were supposed to do. I'm the one that's changed everything. Anything that happens will be my fault." She stood up and backed away from him.

"What do you mean, Lois? You're the reason my father isn't dead. You saved him."

"Go be with your family, Smallville. They need you more than I do."

He almost followed her, but thought better of it. He didn't turn towards the Intensive Care wing until she was completely out of sight.

Lois walked to the parking lot, not realizing until she got there that she didn't have her car with her. Shivering against she cold, she pulled out her cell phone and called a taxi. Ten minutes later she saw the cab pull into the far end of the parking lot. Rolling her eyes she made her way through the darkness.

Her phone buzzed and she checked the text. It said "Found info on Fine. Call ASAP. -JH" She smile at the screen. So, the young reporter had been worth her time. She was in the middle of calling him when she felt a presence behind her. She pulled her elbow back to strike the figure, but he dogged it. She panicked as he put her in a choke-hold. She struggled against him with everything she had. Bit it didn't matter how hard she fought. There was nothing she could do to win this fight, she realized as her eyes clouded into blackness.