Just to let you guys know I hate the title of this song i don't even see the relevance of it in the lyrics and I didn't even want to write it as a title to this chapter cause it's just weird. but I love the lyrics nevertheless so... just ignore the title:P

Thank you all for the reviewsss I hope i didn't make you wait too long:)

Enjoy!

Chapter 26: Squealing Pigs- Admiral Fallow

Cause sometimes it's who, not what you do. Just because your father did, doesn't mean that you should too. I don't want to lose you. Don't go away from here.

Lois took her time going up to her place, taking in everything Bruce had told her, and thankful of the fact that it didn't affect their friendship. She felt her heart flutter as she got closer to her door, seeing Clark again brought a smile to her face. She opened the door and walked in, seeing Chris running around with his rubber airplane. Once he spotted his mother, he yelled out, "Ma-Ma!" as he ran towards her. Lois swung him up in her arms.

"Hey baby! Did you have fun with Clark while momma was gone?" He giggled and she nuzzled her nose against his. She put him down as he continued to play with his toys. She grinned down at him and dropped her jacket on the table, seeing Clark lean against the balcony, his back to her. She crossed her arms, leaning against the frame, "Hope my kid wasn't too much of a hassle while I was gone." She teased.

Clark kept his back turned towards her, "He was fine." He replied in a monotone voice.

Lois drew her brows together, figuring he was in one of his moods, "Okay..." Her voice trailed off as she turned to leave when his voice stopped her.

"Did you enjoy your quickie?" Lois froze in place and abruptly turned around as he continued to have his back to her.

"What did you just say to me?" She said in astonishment.

Clark turned with an amused smile, which sent a shiver down her spine as she noticed his eyes darken and looked ice cold, "You don't have to put up an act for me, the walls could see the sexual tension between you two. Couldn't wait to be alone huh? To get out of the house, go somewhere quiet so you won't get caught. Pretty sloppy if you ask me." He shrugged.

Lois' jaw dropped as she fumed, "You don't know what you're talking about." She said in an icy tone.

He raised his brow at her, "It's not a surprise really, first Oliver, then Kent, now Bruce, you really get around. So who's next in the League?"

She clenched her jaw, "How could you say that about me? You don't even know me!"

Clark smirked at her, "You're right, I don't. Trust me though, I've seen enough." He tried to brush past her when she roughly caught his arm, and their faces were inches apart, he felt her breath on his face and felt numb.

Lois' hazel eyes glared up at him, "Don't you dare, call me a whore. You don't know anything. Bruce and I are just friends." He looked into her eyes and saw determination in them.

Something inside of him wanted to believe her, so badly, but as quickly as his muscles relaxed, they tensed up again from the image of her lips against Wayne's... and anger boiled up inside of him again. Bruce isn't the one who should be kissing her; he shouldn't be the one to get to hold her. But he knew what he saw. Slowly pulling his arm away, he leaned closer to her, as they were inches apart, "That kiss you shared in his car didn't seem so friendly. Tell Wayne to keep the top up next time. Figures someone like you just can't keep her legs closed. " With that, he brushed past her and went inside, leaving Lois speechless and taken aback by his accusation.

Both Lois and Clark didn't say a word to one another for the rest of the evening. They were both lying on their beds, both wide awake, angry with one another. Lois worked on her piece about the mysterious white beam of light shooting up at the sky in the heart of Metropolis, stating it was a malfunctioned technological training exercise funded by Luthorcorp, and that no harm was done, making sure she covered up the League's tracks. After emailing her article to Perry, she slowly drifted into a deep sleep, while Clark was still awake, looking up at the ceiling, relishing in the darkness as he felt something he's never felt since Lex' death... regret. He thought back to the words he stabbed her with and was finally starting to regret what he had said to her, regret witnessing the hurt in her eyes that he had caused. Regret that he had made a judgement call when he had no right to. Who was he to call her a whore? Why did he even care what she did with her life? She was nothing to him. She didn't mean enough for him to get mad... or even care... right?

As those thoughts ran through his mind, he heard Chris wailing from his room. He sighed, as the cries got louder and didn't seem to stop. Lane didn't seem to hear him. Taking a deep breath, Clark continued to lay in bed as Chris continued to cry. Not being able to take it any longer, Clark got up and headed towards Chris' room. Slowly opening the door, Clark saw Chris sitting up, with tears running down his face, looking flushed. Clark felt a weird ache in his chest as he saw the little boy sob. Walking over to the crib, Clark lifted Chris in his arms and patted his back, rocking him back and forth as Chris laid his head in the crook of his neck. Whispering softly in Chris' ear, Clark continued to rock back and forth, "Shh it's okay little guy... I'm here. You're okay."

After a while, Chris had stopped crying and had the hiccups as he laid still in his arms, feeling certain warmth inside of him, Clark sniffed Chris' hair, kissing the top of his head, holding him until he fell asleep. Hearing muffling sounds coming from her son's room, Lois slowly got up out of bed, quietly walking into his room where the door was a crack open, and she could see Clark holding her son, rocking him back to sleep, and whispering something she couldn't make out. Her lips parted at the sight, watching him with her son, so gentle, so affectionate, so... fatherly. She swallowed back the sudden feeling in her heart that ached for Clark Kent, and all her anger towards Clark Luthor dissipated as she watched him gently lay her now sleeping son back in his crib, and he didn't move as he continued to look down at Chris. And just for that one moment... it felt like she had never lost her husband. That it was just another night he was taking care of their son. Just for a moment. The corner of her mouth curved up as Lois slowly backed away from the door and went back to bed, unseen and unheard.

The next morning, Lois came out of the shower, fully dressed for work. As she walked into the living room, she slowed her pace when she saw Chris sitting on Clark's lap, while they were watching his favorite cartoon together. Hesitating for a moment, she decided to be the first to cut the tension, with a sigh, she said in a stern tone, "I'm going to work now... I have to take Chris to daycare..."

Without looking at her, the smile on Clark's face faded when he heard her voice, as he replied in an equally stern tone, "Fine."

Lois sighed; of course he was going to be stubborn and not swallow his pride and apologize. Putting her hands on her hips, Lois was about to let him have it when her phone rang. Huffing, she went to answer it, "Hey Jimmy what's up?" She was listening to what Jimmy was saying as she was watching Clark on the couch from behind. When she hung up, she walked back to him, "I'll be back later." She said in a dull tone as she grabbed her bag and went to pick up Chris, "Come on buddy, time to go."

Chris squirmed and pulled on Clark's shirt as Lois extended her arms, "No!" He exclaimed which made both Lois and Clark freeze in place as they stared down at him. Lois looked back up at Clark, who looked really uncomfortable with her so close to him.

Clark cleared his throat and gently unlatched Chris' small hands off his shirt, handing Lois her son in silence to which Chris protested some more as he wailed, "Come on buddy you love day care you'll be home soon enough." Lois pleaded with him to stop crying as she bounced him in her arms, without another glance at Clark, she left.

The Daily Planet

"What do you got for me Olsen?" Lois said as she approached him.

Jimmy grinned triumphantly, "You're going to be proud of me Ms. Lane. I found out Andy's lead on the investigation and she's on the same trail as us, turns out she persuaded Mr. Sanders' parole officer to tell her where he resided now.

Lois' eyes widened, "Where is he?!"

His smiled faded into disappointment, "That I haven't found out yet, but she was also at his childhood home, trying to talk to his family, who didn't want to talk to the press about him at all. Word is they probably gave Michael a heads up that a certain reporter was being nosy and they disappeared."

Raising her brow at him, Lois replied, "That's a little suspicious..."

Jimmy nodded, "That's all I got about Andy..."

Lois nodded, "That's good enough, I went to the Kansas State Penitentiary today to go see my source..." She grumbled as she dropped her bag on her desk, "Looks like Morgan Edge doesn't want any more visitations from reporters. I'm banned from seeing him." She huffed, "But I didn't come up empty handed. I broke into the Precinct here in the city and pulled out Michael Sander's police records." She handed Jimmy a rather large folder, "All of Michael's history with Intergang used to put him behind bars and enough to take away his badge. Turns out this everything that Louise Travis had found out about him when she was undercover as his girlfriend and used this evidence to turn him in and write her expose on proof that Metropolis' police jurisdiction lied in the back pocket of Intergang... that's bound to raise some questions."

Jimmy nodded, "So there's a lot of motive for her to be killed but Lois... it doesn't make any sense with the other girls, none of them have any relation with Intergang or Michael Sanders..."

Sighing Lois nodded, "You're right, I need to focus on the other victims too..."

He added, "But Michael's definitely a potential suspect. I got a hold of Louise's phone records and it turns out that she was contacted by an unknown number a week after Michael had been released from prison 6 months ago... around the time when she quit the Daily Planet. There was another call she got from an unknown number a week before she was murdered."

Lois raised her brows, "There's no way to trace the calls?"

He shook his head, "It was from a prepaid phone. And it seems like an awful coincidence that Louise got a mysterious phone call a week after Michael was released and another week before her death. Michael could be the one who called her we just need to figure out where he lives now."

She smiled back at him, "Andy may use her persuasion tactics to seduce the parole officer, but I'm going to use my special skills."

Jimmy rolled his eyes at her, "You're going to break into his office aren't you? Lois wasn't the police station enough breaking and entering for one day?"

Lois smirked, "Not me, we. You're going to have to create a diversion while I'm in his office and make sure I don't get caught."

Jimmy's breath caught in his throat, "Lois!" He hissed, "I'm not good with this sneaking around stuff! You're the mastermind behind that!"

"There's only one rule Jimmy, don't get caught. There's a first time for everything." She winked at him, "Come on, we're going right now."

Jimmy nervously ran his fingers through his hair, "I hate you!"

Lois smirked at him, "Keep telling yourself that." She said as he followed her outside.

After leaving the parole officer's building, Lois and Jimmy sat in her car, as she drove, "Okay so this is Michael's address now... we have to go there."

Jimmy jerked his head back, "What?! Now?! Lois we should be cautious about this for all we know you could be setting up an interview with a serial killer."

"I wasn't exactly planning on having coffee with him Jimmy..."

Jimmy's jaw dropped, "No! Nu-uh! You are not going to sneak around a potential serial killers house!"

Lois huffed, "It's not sneaking around it's... just being curious Jimmy!"

"Yeah that's what they say in all psychological thriller movies! Just being curious, sneak around and before you know it, the potential killer is driving up to his house and we're trying to figure a way to climb out the window without getting ourselves killed!"

She continued to drive for about an hour while she and Jimmy fought back and forth the entire ride. She came to a stop in front of a small house up town, "This is it..."

Jimmy pulled at his collar as he was sweating, "Lois... please don't."

Rolling her eyes at him, Lois ignored him as she got out of her car and walked towards his door. Taking a deep breath, Lois raised her hand up to knock on his door while Jimmy stood behind her. After about 5 minutes they concluded no one was home, when Lois tried the knob, it turned out it was open. They both cautiously walked into an empty house. No furniture, no appliances, no signs that anyone lived here the place looked completely empty. Lois furrowed her brows, looking around, the place didn't look dusty... meaning Michael had to have just left. She huffed, disappointed at the dead end, the only lead she had to a suspect, Lois and Jimmy went back to Metropolis.

When Lois returned home, she was really tired, putting Chris down as she fed him, all the while Clark was reading the paper. She sighed as he didn't say a word to her when she got home. When she put Chris down for his nap, she came back into the living room and held out something in front of him. Clark looked up from his paper and saw that she was holding a book, and not just any book. He looked up at her, speechless as she gave a weak smile, "Thought you might want to do some light reading. I know this is your favorite." Looking back down at the book, Clark took it from her hand and looked down at the cover, realizing this was the early edition of John Steinbeck's 'A Winter's Discontent'. Without another word, Lois headed to the kitchen to pour herself some coffee.

Clark continued to look down at the object in his hand, completely taken aback that she remembered his favorite book, something he only mentioned once. Slowly getting up, Clark walked to the kitchen where she was, with her back turned towards him while she kept herself busy. Clearing his throat, Clark finally spoke up, "Thanks... for this." Lois turned around and nodded at him. They stood in an uncomfortable silence. Clark shifted his weight from one leg to another when he broke the silence, "Look... I know I'm being an ass, and I said some things to you... but there's nobody else to be pissed at except you okay. There's no one but you." He said as he didn't make eye contact with her.

After a moment of silence, Lois parted her lips, "Is... that your way of an apology?"

Clark smirked, "I guess so."

They stood staring back at each other when Lois pursed her lips, "You wanna play some poker?" He looked up at her, confused as she continued, "I get this is kind of getting awkward... so let's just forget it ever happened. You know how to play poker?"

Clark chuckled, "Yeah... I'm pretty good at it."

The corner of her mouth twitched, "Then you haven't played against me." She said as she brushed past him to get a deck of cards. As they were playing, Lois and Clark continued to make some small talk as she filled him in on her investigation, and Clark actually felt bad that she came to a dead end. "I don't know what to do anymore... I don't know where to go with my investigation. Without Michael Sanders, I have no leads..." She said as she was dealing the cards.

Clark watched her carefully, "Never thought you'd be a quitter Lane."

"I'm not a quitter" She said abruptly.

He tilted his head to the side, "You sound like one."

Her brows furrowed at him, "I'm not quitting" She said as she raised her voice, which amused Clark, "I'm just... I'm at a rough patch."

He shrugged, "So investigate the other victims, why are you just sticking to Louise?"

Lois sighed, "I thought her connection with Michael was my chance at solving this case."

"Maybe Michael fled cause he found out you were investigating him... and didn't want you snooping too far into his past. Maybe he was scared you'd find something on him."

Lois smirked, "He wouldn't know about my investigation, he was living in an isolated area... far from Metropolis." Then a thought came to her, "But this reporter who's working on the same story contacted his family and they didn't take that lightly... maybe they contacted Michael to leave town." Her eyes lit up as she formed her hunch.

Clark nodded, "Sounds realistic." She smiled back at him as he dealt his chips, "I see your 20, raise you 50."

She raised her brows at him, "You seem pretty confident to take a big leap like that."

Clark shrugged, "I'm just that good. And I've dealt with higher prices Lane." She chuckled at him as they continued to play.

"So who taught you how to play?"

"Lionel of course, taught me how to keep poker face and always keep my opponents on the edge... best way to manipulate people in the business industry."

She leaned forward as she asked, "Why did you decide to follow in his footsteps and take over the family business?" He looked up at her, "I mean the last time I saw you here you wanted to get as far away from Lionel as possible, you even wanted to kill him... so when did that change in the past 7 years?"

Clark blinked, "I don't even know how to answer that..." Lois waited as he stared down at his card, "When I got sucked back into my world... well Lionel's world... he made sure I knew it was his world where he controlled everything and everyone... especially me. So when he found out about my plans to use the mirror box to get away from him he also realized I wanted to kill him. And he tried to kill me before I got a chance, but I reminded him exactly why he needed me. I held something over his head and he knew he couldn't kill me."

Lois raised her brow with interest, "What did you have against him?"

The corner of his mouth curved up as he ignored her question, "So Lionel and I came to an agreement and I was his most valuable asset to the Luthor Empire. So instead of killing each other, he showed me the real ropes of the business... not that he had a choice. So Luthorcorp was mine for the taking once the old man died."

Her lips parted, "You're being incredibly vague but that's fair... but you still didn't answer my question... you could've found plenty of ways to get out of his grasp... why did you choose to stay and take over his business for him?"

Clark didn't meet her eyes, after a long moment of silence, he answered her, "Maybe I wanted him to love me... hear someone tell me my father would be proud of me... I may hate him for the most part, but he still raised me and... He's the only father figure I had. As twisted as it seems there was no one else I could trust, he knew everything about me."

Lois blinked, "So... despite everything he did to you... you still loved him as a father?" He smirked at her, shaking his head to himself, "I'm not judging or anything, I'm just trying to understand."

Clark shrugged, "Truth is I don't even understand it. I don't give a shit about him, I don't love him... I don't love anyone, but... at the same time... I have no one else in my life like that. I didn't have a mother, just Lionel... that's bound to leave a mark." Lois nodded, while Clark's eyes were glued to his cards, "But it didn't bother me when he died. That can't be healthy right? To feel nothing when your father dies, to not miss him, that I might be better for it... guess it fits considering I'm not human anyways." He shrugged.

Lois' lips parted as she replied in a soft tone, "Lionel created a lot of pain in your life Clark. He abused you, deep down you knew he didn't look at you as a son, he saw you as an opportunity... as an asset that he can use to his advantage. You're as human as anybody else, to feel at least a pang of compassion for him, to be bothered by the fact that you don't feel anything for him makes you just as human as the rest of us. If you didn't feel that way... if you didn't feel some kind of remorse to not feel any emotions towards him doesn't make you a bad person... it just makes sense considering what he put you through."

Clark stared back into her hazel eyes for a long moment, "Guess I wouldn't be this kind of person if I was raised as a Kent... I'd be a little less alien and a little more human." Lois stayed silent at that, "I just don't know how it got to this... with him... with Lex."

Lois titled her head, as her eyes softened, "What about Lex... what happened with that?"

Clark's eyes snapped, and she could see his expression change to cold and distant, "Let's get one thing straight Lane. Lex Luthor is off limits to our conversations. Don't ever ask me about him again." He said in an icy tone.

Lois sighed and nodded, disappointed that he went back to hiding behind his mask, "So what about me?" He raised his brow at her as she smiled at him, "What's Earth-2 Lois Lane like?" She kinked her brow at him.

He chuckled under his breath, "Well... I think it's safe to say that your personalities are pretty much spot on." She grinned back at him with pride, "But I didn't really know her that well... she was mostly known for her nosy reporter skills." He smirked, "She always found a way to piss of the Luthors since she made it her mission to take us down... mostly Lionel... and I'm her next target."

She furrowed her brows, "Well Lionel and Lex I can believe but..." She leaned back on her chair, intrigued, "Why you?"

He shrugged, "She's making it her mission to take down Ultraman... and I had a feeling she knew it was me..." The corners of his lips twitched, "So I fired her." His eyes met hers to see her reaction.

Lois' brows shot up and her eyes widened, "You fired me?! You can't do that!"

"I didn't fire you. I fired her."

She rolled her eyes at him, "Same thing!" She sighed, "You're a real ass."

He shrugged to himself, finding himself grinning at her angry face, it made her look cute, "I've been trying to tell you that."

Huffing, Lois continued, "So what else did you do to my counterpart? Poor thing she's probably freaking out cause she lost her only dream job. I know she's not going down without a fight so you better be prepared for the wrath of Lois Lane." She challenged him.

He couldn't help but stare back at her for a long moment, seeing her frustration, how beautiful it made her look, "I'll look forward to it, not like I haven't seen it before."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Trust me, you haven't." She flipped her hair back, "So how did I figure out you were Ultraman?"

Clark scoffed to himself, "I'm pretty sure her husband helped her figure that out... ex-husband to be exact."

She raised her brow, "I was married?" He nodded, "To who? Why didn't it work out?"

Clark's jaw clenched as he thought about Lois ever being married to Queen. It never bothered him before. He never thought once about it, but now... he couldn't understand this feeling at the pit of his stomach that made it him sick at the thought of Lois Lane-Queen. "Oliver Queen." He mumbled with no enthusiasm.

Lois' lips parted, "Clark Kent told me I was engaged to him when he was in Earth-2... I'm not surprised, Ollie's a great guy."

He narrowed his eyes at her as his grip on his cards tightened, "Sure if you call a cheating scum a great guy."

Lois leaned forward in shock, her jaw dropped, "HE CHEATED ON HER?!" Clark simply stared back at her, "Holy crap! With who?!"

"Dinah Lance." He said with a smirk.

Lois raised her brow at him, "Dinah Lance? Oliver cheated on me with Dinah Lance?! "

He rolled his eyes at her, "Again not YOU. Earth-2 Lane."

Lois scoffed, "Still... who does he think he is cheating on Lois Lane what an idiot! I hope I made him pay!"

Clark tilted his head at her, amused at her outburst, "Well you kind of did." He had her full attention by then, "You had half his shares of Queen Industries, and Oliver's half was on the verge of bankruptcy and as soon as the divorce was final you sold all his shares to me and I took over Queen Industries, and kicked Queen and his green leather off to the curb. Now he's broke and divorced. Barely a dollar under his name and all he has left of his peanut sized dignity is Green Arrow, which I can easily take down now." He said with a sinister grin.

Lois sat still for a moment before she found her voice, "I-I did that? I sold his company to his enemy? To you... out of spite." Her eyes fluttered as she was in disbelief with herself. How could Earth-2 Lois Lane do that to Oliver? No matter how much he hurt her she couldn't imagine stooping down to that level to hurt him and leave him with nothing.

Clark shrugged, "If it helps you weren't too proud of yourself after it was over. I managed to manipulate Lane into thinking this was her only option. Worked out for me." They stared back at each other for a long time, while Lois struggled to find her voice, with the knowledge that her counterpart destroyed Oliver Queen's life. She watched him as this was a side of Clark she didn't realize was there... his Luthor side, seeking revenge on his enemies, manipulating anyone to get him what he wanted. It almost reminded her of Lex, and how he used everyone to get what he wanted. That look in his eyes was the same ones reflected off of Lex Luthor... and Lionel. Clark stared back at her eyes and saw disappointment in them. Disappointment in herself, in him, unable to withstand it any longer he broke eye contact, "I got a flush." He dropped the cards in front of her.

Lois blinked, composing herself as she puts her cards down, clearing her throat, "Full house."

Clark smiled down at her cards, "I never lost a game of poker before..." He pursed his lips, "Mostly cause I usually use my powers to cheat, guess you got the upper hand on that. That's why Lionel taught me how to play... to use my powers to my advantage... and his" He said as he got up, taking a deep breath, still recovering from her penetrating gaze, "Let's call it a night." He turned to leave.

Her eyes fluttered as she watched him about to leave, "Clark." Her voice stopped him as he turned to face her, "I know you're... I know you're scared you're going to become Lionel. But it doesn't have to be that way. You don't need to feel obligated or forced to follow in his footsteps anymore just cause he was the man who raised you he didn't treat you right. A real father wouldn't strap kryptonite on your wrist periodically in your life. Now that he's gone you're finally free to do whatever you want. When you go back to your world, you don't have to make decisions with Lionel in mind anymore. He's out of the picture; he doesn't hold a candle to you. You don't have to become like him, with the business, and seeking away to get revenge on your enemies, or manipulating people to cheat your way to get what you want. Just... don't be like him Clark. You're free Clark. What are you going to do with that now? You build your own path and there's nothing holding you back..."

Parting his lips, Clark shook his head at her, and simply said, "There's still demons from my past that are holding me back Lane... I have to face those before I can do what I want. I'm not free yet." He turned away to leave when he felt her hand on his shoulder as he turned to face her.

Hesitating for a moment, looking into his blue eyes gave her a sense of comfort, "One more thing..." taking a deep breath, she spoke, "Nothing's going on with me and Bruce... not that I need to explain myself but I want to. He wanted to talk to me, to tell me that he had feelings for me..." Clark blinked once at her, staying silent, "I told him how I loved him as a friend, and how important he was to me... and that we couldn't be more than that cause I don't feel the same way. And that kiss you saw... it just happened, but we both knew it didn't mean anything, it was more like closure for him, and to let me know I didn't lose him."

Clark looked down at her for a long time, the corner of his mouth curved up as he nodded at her, bringing his hand up to brush a strand of hair out of her face as he pushed it behind her ear, while Lois froze in place, holding her breath as she felt his touch, his fingers brushing against her cheek. She bored her eyes into his as they stared at each other for a long moment, before Clark was the first to break it, as he walked away without a word.

End of chapter:)!

I got to say i'm a little nervous about your reactions to this chapter i don't even know why lol but just be honest with me and I'll definately take your comments into considerationn:) Thanks for reading more to come!