The next morning, Kelly snuck out of bed while Lex was still sleeping. She gathered her clothes and left the mansion, walking into town to get her car. She made it a point to return to Nell's house to see Lana, instead of heading straight to Metropolis.

"Did you come home last night?" Lana asked her sister after she came down from the shower.

"Uh, no. I, uh, I stayed with a friend," she answered, avoiding her sister's eye.

"What friend?"

"A friend, Lana. Jeez."

"Sorry. I was just asking."

"What are you doing today?"

"I was going to go see Whitney. Why?"

"I have to head to the station in Metropolis. Get my return date. I want to have dinner with you and talk when I get back."

"You have to go back already?"

"This is just to get the papers that tell me when I have to go back. It could be in a few days or another few weeks."

Lana frowned.

"I'll be back so much sooner this time. I promise."

Kelly reached out and pulled Lana into a hug. Lana returned the gesture, squeezing her sister as if it was going to make her stay.

Kelly didn't bother staying in Metropolis after she received her papers. She saw a few old friends that wanted her to stay and catch up, but she was much too angry to have a good time. She sped back toward Smallville, no doubt breaking a few laws on her way, but she hadn't gotten pulled over for it yet. Her phone started to ring from beside her, she grabbed it and answered without looking at who it was.

"Yeah?" she said into the phone.

"You don't always make it easy to catch up to you, do you?" Lex replied.

"Lex?"

"I hope you don't mind. Lana gave me your cell number."

"Did she now?"

"You left without saying goodbye this morning. I figured if you were anywhere, it would be with Lana."

"I guess she told you I'm not there?"

"She may have mentioned a trip to Metropolis."

"A wasted one."

"Bad day?"

"Yeah. Kind of makes yesterday seem like a walk in the park."

"Let me make it up to you. Come by the mansion later."

"Lex…"

"It's just dinner. No strings attached."

"Lana and I are having dinner together tonight. After that, I can be all yours."

"Good. I'll see you then."

He hung up the phone, and Kelly sighed. She wasn't looking forward to breaking the news to Lana, and now she's going to have to tell Lex. They weren't a couple, as far as she knew, so she didn't understand why she was so hesitant to tell him. Maybe it was because she didn't want to ruin whatever it was that they did have. Or perhaps because she didn't want to mess up any future they could have.

She didn't think Lex would be the type to sit around and wait for her, despite how nice of a guy he actually was. A lot of guys and girls left their significant other when they were deployed because they didn't want to wait for them to come back. If they came back. She also wouldn't want to put that on him, but she wanted him in her life even if it meant being just friends.

It was times like this that she missed her mother. She would know what to do or say to make things better for everyone.

Things with Lana didn't go well that night. Nell was told of Kelly's plans earlier that afternoon, but she was indifferent to her niece's news. Lana knew it wasn't going to be good when she saw Nell before dinner and how she acted as if Kelly was already gone.

When Kelly finally sat down with Lana and told her when she needed to report back for duty, she was shocked at first, and then she got very upset very quickly. She cried, screamed, and pushed Kelly a few times. Before ultimately storming out of the room, she screamed how she hated her sister. Kelly tried not to cry, but when Lana told her that she hated her, her wall cracked, a few tears escaping her eyes. She grabbed her keys and left the house, getting in her car, and driving over to the mansion.

Lex was sitting behind his desk when Kelly walked in, working on something on his laptop.

"I wasn't expecting you just yet. I'll be finished in a minute," he told her.

"Plans kind of got shifted, I hoped you wouldn't mind," she replied.

"Not at all. Did Lana cancel on you?" he inquired.

Kelly shook her head, "No, uh, it didn't exactly go well."

Her voice cracked when she spoke, making Lex close the laptop and look up at her, noting that her face was blotchy as if she had been crying.

He stood and walked over to her, placing a hand on her cheek and examining her face, "What happened?"

She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, tears streaking down her cheeks.

"Kelly, talk to me."

"I got my papers today. My return date," she told him.

"And you told Lana?"

She nodded, "She got so mad. She started screaming and pushing me. The last thing she said to me was that she hates me."

Kelly pulled away from Lex, going to stare out the window, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. Lex watched after her. If she got the day she was supposed to return for duty and Lana reacted so poorly, then it must be soon.

"When do you have to go?" he asked a bit shakily.

"Nine days," she whispered.

He frowned, his brain shellshocked at what she had just told him. She had to leave in nine days. That gave him nine more days to spend with her. He was upset since it seemed like things were just starting for them, and now she had to go.

"You know, Lana doesn't hate you. She's upset, but she loves you. I can't say I blame her for being upset," he told Kelly.

"You can't?"

She turned to look at him, Lex putting his hands on her hips.

"No. It's upsetting. You just got here, and now you have to go. Just when something's starting here."

"What do you mean?"

"It hasn't been long, I know. But I feel something great between us. I don't want that to slip away."

"I feel it too."

He moved his hands back to her face, kissing her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, not wanting it to end.

Hours later, Kelly laid in bed with Lex, her head on his chest while he toyed with her hair.

"How long are you going to be gone?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Probably a year before they let me have leave," she answered.

"We're going to have to make the most of these next few days, then."

She smiled, "I don't see that being a problem."

She ended up rolling onto her back, tracing the lines in Lex's palm. He wrapped his fingers around her hand and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss on the inside of her wrist. She leaned over and kissed him before laying back down, curling up next to him and closing her eyes.

Over the next several days, Kelly spent most of her time with Lex. Lana was giving her the silent treatment, and Kelly figured it would last until the day she left. She spent a bit of time with the Kents on the farm when they needed her, but since hearing that she was leaving, they tried not to bother her, insisting she spend time with friends or Lana instead.

After her trip to Metropolis, some of her friends from her unit came down to Smallville, so she was with them when she wasn't with anyone else.

"I'm telling you unless he's ready to commit, break it off," her friend Parker told her.

They were playing a game of cards at a local bar, Kelly mentioning her time spent with Lex. A few of them suggested it be a fling, and they go their separate ways when she redeploys. But two of them thought she should give him the option and see what he says.

"Parker, how am I going to ask him for something like that when I probably wouldn't say yes?" she retorted.

"Says the one who got married barely a year in," stated Quinn.

"And look at where we are now," she retorted.

"Either way. I guess Parker makes a point," Jaqueline began, "If he's going to just cheat on you or sleep with other women or whatever, leave it as friends. But if he's one of the good ones, keep him."

"There's no such thing as a good one," grumbled Adam.

"No, it's called you have a shitty taste in women," teased Davis.

They all laughed as Adam flipped off Davis.

They finished their game and went their separate ways. Knowing that when they saw each other the next day, it would be going back to base. From the bar, Kelly went to Lex's figuring that if she was going to put the metaphorical cards on the table, she'd rather get it over with.

"Hey, you have a minute?" she asked him.

"As many as you want," he replied with a smile.

She walked in and sat on the arm of the sofa, not meeting his eyes.

"Everything alright?"

She finally looked up at him, "Lex, I like you. A lot. More than I think I ever liked anyone. And I care about you and I trust you."

"Kelly-"

She put up her hand to stop him from talking, "I've seen a lot of people get hurt because the people they choose can't handle being with someone like me. And I know you. You just attract people to you. It's who you are"

"Are you telling me you want to end this?"

"No. I just don't want to stop you from living your life over me."

"I don't understand."

"I'm leaving tomorrow. And when I come back, I want us to decide if we really want to go for this. There's a lot that comes with being with me Lex. You have to know that."

"Do you think I don't know that? I know what comes with being with you, and you know what comes with being with me. What are you doing?"

"I'm giving us time!" she snapped, "Excuse me if it's a little crazy, but I'm thinking long-term. Yeah, you can handle it now. But what about down the line? When one year becomes two or three or more than that, and all we have are letters and a few phone calls?"

He stared at her, not answering.

"Take time. Think about it. I'll be back."

She stood up and kissed his cheek before leaving. Lex watched her go, wanting to call out to her and make her stay. But he knew he couldn't.

Early the next morning, Kelly stood at the bus station with Lana, waiting until it was time to say their goodbyes and she had to board. She said goodbye to Nell and the Kents the day before, Martha making her promise that she'd come back soon and in one piece. Things were still tense between the sisters and she hoped that Lex would come to say goodbye, helping lift the tension a bit, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Listen, Lana, I know you don't like me much right now. But you know that I love you, right?" she said to her sister.

Lana sighed, "I don't hate you. I just… It hurts watching you leave. It's like I'm losing some of the last family I have left."

"You're not losing me. I always come back. I always will."

Lana cleared her throat, "What happened with Lex?"

Kelly huffed, "Uh, I like him. A lot. And I told him. But I also told him that we should take the time that I'm gone and think about if we really want to give 'us' a chance."

"What do you think he's gonna do?"

"I don't know. But I just want it to be what he wants, you know?"

The voice on the intercom called for her bus to begin boarding.

"This is it," Kelly stated.

Lana hugged her tightly, "Please be safe."

"I promise," Kelly whispered.

They broke apart, and Kelly quickly wiped her eyes.

"Listen, I told Clark to keep an eye on you while I'm gone. Just be careful and be good, ok?" Kelly told Lana.

"I will," Lana nodded.

Kelly nodded back and kissed the side of her sister's head, grabbing her bag and throwing it over her shoulder. She turned to start boarding, waving a last goodbye to her sister.

The rest of her friends were already on the bus, Davis calling her over. He moved out of the seat, letting her slide in next to the window. The doors closed, and before the driver could take off, Kelly heard her name being yelled from outside. She looked out the window and saw Lana telling someone to hurry up, looking at her sister to make sure she was looking. The next thing Kelly saw was Lex running up to the window, calling out to her. She quickly opened the window and stuck her arm out, their hands coming together.

"I'll see you soon," he said, his voice muffled by the glass.

"Soon," she nodded.

Reluctantly, they let go as the bus began to move. Kelly pulled her arm in and placed her hands on the glass, watching until Lex and Lana disappeared from her line of sight.

A/N: We got to learn a little bit more about Kelly in this chapter, which we will definitely dive deeper into. And Lex went after her! He didn't just let her go!