To all the people who have been wanting more action from Emmeline, you will get your wish this season. In my defense, last season really didn't give me a lot to work with as far as Emmeline went. This season, however, is giving me a WHOLE lot, and I have got some big plans for our favorite girl!


It had been several days since Clark had decided to leave Smallville. School had let out and everyone was home for the summer.

Emmeline had spent nearly every day at Pete's house, seeking the comfort from him that Clark had taken away.

Currently, the two of them were sitting in front of the fireplace.

"Why do you think he did it?" Emmeline asked.

"Grief can make people do some crazy things. He was really beat up about losing the baby. And you know Clark. He blames himself for everything."

Emmeline looked over at Pete. "You've been his best friend for years. I can see why he thinks so much of you. You're always there when we need you."

"Yeah, that's me," Pete laughed lightly. "The moral support."

"You were always there for me. When I was still terrified to utter two words, when I was trying to get over what Greg did to me, when Mom got cancer…just everything."

"Emmeline, can I tell you something?"

Emmeline nodded slowly, taking note of the fact that he called her by her full name for the first time in months.

"Remember the Nicodemus flower?"

"How can I forget? It made me go nuts."

Pete laughed lightly. "Well…I'll never forget seeing you on the hospital bed unconscious. I was terrified you weren't going to make it. I took your hand, and I said that you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever laid eyes on. And you know…nothing's changed."

Emmeline couldn't believe what she was hearing. A part of her knew that she always liked Pete as more than a friend, but she never knew that he liked her before she liked him.

The two of them met eyes, and Emmeline realized how much they pulled her in. They drew closer to one another until the gap between them was nonexistent. As their lips caressed one another, Emmeline let her arms circle around his neck in what was the best moment of her life.


Three Months Later

Clark remained missing for the entirety of the summer. With the exception of Pete and Emmeline becoming an official couple and Chloe getting her own column at the Daily Planet, the past few months had been rather uneventful.

Chloe had been acting kind of weird, like there was some big secret she was keeping from Emmeline. But every time Emmeline questioned her about it, she insisted that there was nothing to tell.

The two girls headed down to the Talon for the first time in a while.

"Hey," Chloe greeted to Lana as she bussed some tables. "I haven't seen you in like a week. I was wondering if we still lived under the same roof."

"I'm swamped here," Lana answered. "Your dad said you spent the entire afternoon at the Daily Planet.

"Yeah, as far as my editor's concerned, picking up his dry cleaning is more of a priority than meeting face-to-face with the junior columnist. I thought maybe we could all have lunch."

"I'm gonna have to pass," Emmeline said. "Pete's taking me out to lunch in a couple hours."

"I can't either," Lana added. "With Lex gone the Talon's been relegated to LuthorCorp accountants who have no interest in a coffee shop in Smallville."

"Okay," Chloe said. "Uh, well, if you need a ride to Lex's funeral, I'm always available for chauffeuring and moral support."

"Thanks. I'm going with the Kents."

"Have you heard from Clark?"

Lana shook her head. "I was thinking of staying in Metropolis with Nell for a few days. I feel guilty I haven't spent more time searching for him."

"He's not lost, Lana."

"You both may have written him off, but I can't give up hope."

"That's not fair," Emmeline said. "We haven't written him off. We just know that we have to let him decide to come back on his own."

"Clark ran away," Chloe stated. "He made a conscious decision to leave his friends, his family, and the girl he claimed to love."

Lana looked at her hurt for a second before heading over to the counter.

Chloe quickly followed her, realizing she'd hit a nerve. "Lana, I know we've said our piece about what happened and we can continue doing the avoidance dance we've perfected all summer, but the fact is I'm worried about you."

"I'm the last person you need to worry about."

"Pining over Clark only leads to personal misery. Trust me, I wrote the book. Now you need to move on. He obviously has."

"I don't believe that. I just think he's waiting for the right person to find him."


Emmeline was in Clark's loft, slowly walking around, admiring all of his possessions. She heard footsteps on the stairs and saw Pete coming up.

"Mrs. Kent said I'd find you up here."

Emmeline looked up at him. "I miss him."

"Yeah…I do too."

"Tell me a story about Clark."

Pete motioned her over to the couch. "The first time I met him, I was a dorky little first-grader, scared to death at the large building where I was supposed to go to school. So Clark comes over to me, and even at the age of seven, he towered over me. I'm mentally freaking out, sure that he's coming to give me a piece of his mind. Instead he just smiles and says that he's scared too. The two of us walked into the building together and found out we were in the same classroom. We've been best friends ever since."

Emmeline smiled. "Clark hasn't changed very much."

Pete put his arm around her shoulders and they relaxed on the couch. "No. Despite it all, he really hasn't."


Emmeline and Chloe quickly went to Clark's apartment. Chloe knocked on the door, but no one answered. Just as she was peeking in to see if he was ignoring them, the elevator dinged and Clark stepped out.

"Clark, we need to talk to you about—"

Clark started coming for them and backed them into the railing. "Chloe, I told you both to never come back here again! Who else knows I'm here?"

"No one. Your secret's safe with us, but we need to talk."

He turned to go into the penthouse. "I'm busy."

Chloe followed him and forbid him from closing the door before barging in. "Well, we're coming in. Now what's your deal? You come to Metropolis and you're a completely different person."

"Maybe it's the real me."

"I refuse to believe that," Emmeline said. "The real you was the one who saved me from Greg and from falling off a cliff while a demon flower poisoned me. The real you saved Chloe from Justin and Sean. The real you saved Lana from Tina and Ian."

"Em is right," Chloe told him. "If this is the real you, then I definitely prefer the country Clark." She looked around her at his apartment. "Now…how did you afford all this?"

"Why, Chloe?" Clark asked. "So you can put me in your column and write a big story about me? Maybe that's why you kept my secret."

"We kept your secret because you asked us to. We were hoping that if we left you alone, you'd get a grip and come home. Now there are people in Smallville that still haven't given up on the search."

"I've erased Smallville from my past," Clark told her as he sat down in a chair.

"Really? Is that why you're still wearing your school ring?"

Clark guiltily touched the ring around his finger, the red rock in it seeming to glow brighter than usual.

"You know, sooner or later someone else is gonna find you."

"You were lucky."

"Maybe so. But what are you gonna do if one day Lana shows up on your doorstep, or your dad? How are you gonna explain this to them?"

"I'm through explaining myself to anyone!"

"Clark, Lana is a wreck and your parents are losing the farm!"

Clark stood up and walked away from them. "What do I care? I'm never gonna go back anyway."

"Clark, you were not forced into exile. You ran away from your problems. You are not being noble, you're being a coward!"

Clark screamed in frustration and angrily pushed the both of them to the door with the scariest face Emmeline had ever seen. "Chloe, Emmeline, get out! If either of you tell anyone where I am, I'll go so far away from Metropolis that no one will ever find me!"

Chloe pulled herself out of his grip. "I don't even know who you are anymore."

"Get out!" Clark screamed in their faces.

Emmeline brought her hand up and slapped him hard on the face. "When you're done convincing yourself that you're someone you're not, feel free to come home."


Emmeline and Chloe looked over to find Lana coming down the stairs.

Chloe quickly ran over to her. "Lana, hey, the other day, I, uh, I didn't mean to push my own personal brand of self-denial on you."

"It's okay, Chloe," Lana said. "We're all dealing with Clark in our own way."

"Yeah, and my way is to pull the emotional ripcord and pretend like it didn't happen. It's a force of habit when people walk out of my life."

"I can't give up on him without a fight. I already blew it once."

"Blew it? How?"

"When Clark was leaving he asked me to go with him. I said no, but I can't help thinking that if I had gone, I could have convinced him to come home."

"Lana, you can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved."

"I love him." She looked up at the two girls, specifically Chloe, for their reactions.

"It's okay," Chloe said with a small smile. "Your feelings for Clark aren't exactly breaking news."

"And if you feel for him anything of what I feel for Pete, I completely understand," Emmeline told her.

"I saw him yesterday," Lana told them. "Just for a second at Lex's funeral."

"Are you sure?" Chloe asked.

"Positive. But he took off right away. I'm gonna go back up there and post these." She held up flyers with Clark's picture, and the words 'Have You Seen This Boy?' above it. "Could you give me a lift?"

Chloe looked over at Emmeline for a second. There was a brief pause as they made eye contact.

"What?" Lana asked as she noticed their silent interaction.

"I'll give you a lift," Chloe said. "But you don't need the fliers. We know where he is."

"What?"

"Yeah, okay, you're gonna totally hate us for this, but we found him two months ago. Some friends of mine from the Planet snuck us into this club and there he was, and I couldn't believe it was him. So we followed him back to his apartment."

"You both have known where he's been this entire time and you haven't said anything to anybody?"

"Well, we didn't have a choice. He said if anyone else found out, he'd run away to somewhere no one would find him."

"I can't believe you've been telling me to give up on him."

"Lana, he's not acting like himself. He could be dangerous."

"Chloe's right, Lana," Emmeline said. "When we saw him, I thought for sure he was going to hit one of us. He's extremely violent right now, and it's nearly impossible to get through to him."

"Just give me the address," Lana said shortly.

"Well, we'll take you," Chloe told her.

"I think you've done enough already."

The two girls watched in sadness as Lana stormed off.

"Well, that didn't go well at all," Emmeline remarked.


Pete and Emmeline were curled up on his couch watching T.V. when Emmeline looked up at him.

"Pete, I need to tell you something," she said quietly.

"Okay, what is it?"

"You have every right to be mad at me, but…I've known where Clark is for about two months now. I-I wanted to tell you, but he said that if anyone else found out where he was, he'd leave and go where he could never be found. I was afraid of losing him forever."

Pete paused for a second. "It's okay, Em. I knew where he was for a while too. I saw some articles in the newspaper and he was in a couple of the pictures. I wanted to tell you too, but I didn't want to give you false hope about him."

"Okay. From now on, we need to be honest with each other. No more hiding these kinds of secrets."

"Agreed. Let's SWAK."

"SWAK?"

"Seal with a kiss."

Emmeline smiled and pressed her lips to his. She never could've imagined when she started work at the Torch that she would one day be dating Pete Ross. But now that it had actually happened, she never wanted to let go.