For the following month, Hannah tried her best to convince Emmeline to move to New York with her, but Emmeline was adamant that her home was in Smallville. She couldn't just up and leave all her friends and her parents. Emmeline tried to make Hannah understand that what she was seeing now was not how she had always been. If she moved to New York, she didn't know how long it would take her to make any friends again.

Lana was out of the hospital and was now in the painful hours of physical therapy. Emmeline and Chloe took turns taking her there since she wasn't fit to drive yet. Chloe usually didn't stay because she was so busy with the Torch, but every now and again, Emmeline would sit in and watch Lana's attempts at getting her leg working again. It was a long, long road but with each session, Lana improved more and more.

On one occasion, Emmeline and Chloe had just dropped Lana off at physical therapy and were alone in Emmeline's car.

"Chloe," Emmeline said gently. "Lana may be the one who's been in the hospital and physical therapy, but I'm more worried about you. For the last month, you have been distant and weighed down. Just talk to me."

Chloe sighed and turned to look at her best friend. "Remember when Lex came into the Torch and warned me about what I was getting into?"

Emmeline nodded.

"Well, I went to go see him after that, and he promised me that he would protect me from Lionel. He said he was the only one who could, and I believed him. But now…with him being in Belle Reve…he can't even protect himself. So who's going to protect me now?"


Emmeline and Chloe walked into the Torch office late at night to find Clark using one of the computers.

"Clark, turn a light on," Chloe told him as she flipped the switch on the desk lamp. "It's bad for your eyes. What are you doing burning the midnight oil?"

"Trying to prove Lex doesn't belong in Belle Reve," Clark answered.

"What'd you find on Lex?"

Clark handed them a file. "Well, I have his medical record. Dr. Foster's definitely drugging him."

Chloe and Emmeline began flipping through the file. "Clark, there are millions of reasons why should could be administering this drug. Psychotherapy is just trial and error. This doesn't prove anything."

"We're not saying you're wrong, we're just saying that you need some more solid proof," Emmeline added. "Unfortunately, we have to play devil's advocate."

"I know," Clark said. "But I got to do something."

"Well, why don't we work on this in the morning, okay?" Chloe said gently. "This is just a pit stop. We have to pick up Lana on our way home."

Clark paused and looked up from the computer. "How is Lana?"

"It's been really tough. She could use some moral support."

"I sent her a card."

Chloe smirked. "Nothing says 'I love you' more than a $1.50 piece of cardboard."

"If she wanted me there, Chloe, I'd be there. Right now, I'm just trying to keep my promises for once."

Chloe and Emmeline looked at each other sadly. "Well, keep us posted on the 'Free Lex' front."

"Chloe, Em, wait," Clark called before the two girls could make it out the door. "Dr. Foster has recommended Lex for radical electroshock therapy."

"That's a little extreme, don't you think?"

The two of them came back over to him and stood on either side of him. "It is. Memory loss is almost a given, and if everything doesn't go exactly as planned, Lex could turn out a vegetable."

"When does this happen?"

"24 hours."


Clark, Chloe, and Emmeline went to the hospital and went to the room of one of Dr. Foster's patients. The same thing had been done to him what they planned on doing to Lex.

As they peeked in, they saw the poor man lying on the bed in a permanent vegetative state.

"Is this what you're planning on doing to Lex?" Clark asked furiously.

Dr. Foster looked up to find the three teens in the doorway.

"There's nothing wrong with Lex," he continued. "You've been drugging him. That's why he's having paranoid delusions."

"If you're here to accuse me of criminal malpractice, I hope you have the facts to back it up," Dr. Foster said hardly.

"Oh, I'm sure you could talk your way out of Lex's dubious drug regime," Chloe said. "But what about the existing lawsuit for radical electric shock therapy?"

Dr. Foster looked down at the motionless patient. "What happened to Mr. Watkins was unfortunate. But for your information, that suit was dropped."

"Because Lionel Luthor paid it off," Clark stated.

"I'm very busy. So if you two will excuse me."

She walked out the door, but Clark wasn't letting her off that easily. "Do you think if you turn Lex into a vegetable that Lionel Luthor's gonna let you off the hook?"

Dr. Foster looked at them but didn't say anything. It was clear that she knew the answer to that question.

"You have all the power here, Doctor," Chloe pleaded. "Please, help Lex and yourself."


Emmeline waited for Lana to finish up her daily physical therapy. She had certainly improved a lot, but she still wasn't totally there yet.

Once her trainer was gone, Lana grabbed her crutches and began hobbling over to Emmeline.

"Ready to go?" Lana asked.

Emmeline smiled a little. "Uh-uh. You're not done just yet."

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember? My dad went through the exact same thing. So lose the crutches. We're going to take a walk around the room."

"Em, I can barely even stand without these things."

"I know."

Emmeline held out her hands. Lana sighed and put down her crutches before grasping Emmeline's hands tightly.

"Good," Emmeline said. "Now we're just going to walk around the room slowly. Do the best you can. I won't let anything happen."

Lana took a deep breath and tried to walk. She cried out in pain as she walked on her bad leg.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Emmeline said quickly, clutching her hands even tighter to keep her from faltering. "I've got you. I'm not gonna let you fall. One step at a time, okay?"

Lana took a step on her good leg and then took another step on her bad leg. Her face contorted again from the pain, but she remained standing.

"Good."

The two of them ended up making almost a full lap around the physical therapy room before Lana insisted that she couldn't go on.

Emmeline set her down on a bench and grabbed her crutches for her.

"I know it hurts, but as the saying goes, 'No pain, no gain'."

Lana smirked as she took a couple of deep breaths. "Funny, you sound like someone else I know."


Emmeline and Chloe walked into the Torch office, their faces ashen.

"What's wrong?" Clark asked.

"Claire Foster's dead," Chloe said numbly. "They found her car wrapped around a tree off highway 54."

"I feel the invisible hand of Lionel Luthor," Pete said coldly. "You three had better back off before he sets his sights on you. I am not losing my girlfriend to that man."

Pete stormed out of the office.

Chloe quickly went up to Clark. "Now, I know you were just trying to help Lex, but I think you've made matters worse."

"No, there's got to be another way to stop the procedure," Clark said firmly.

"Clark, Dr. Foster tried to stop it, and look what happened to her. Lionel Luthor is gonna make sure this procedure happens."


And Chloe was right. The procedure did happen. Lex didn't turn into a vegetable, but he did lose seven weeks of his memory. And that meant he could no longer help Chloe and Emmeline bust Lionel on the murder of his parents. Chloe was terrified about what Lionel was going to do to her if he ever found out that she was the one who supplied him with the information. Emmeline knew that Lionel wouldn't hesitate to come after her just because of her close friendship with Chloe.

Now…the two girls were on their own once again.

The night of Lana's welcome back party at the Talon, Emmeline was sitting alone in a corner.

Pete came over and sat down next to her. "What's up?"

"Nothing."

"Is that any way to treat your boyfriend? Come on, you tell me everything."

Emmeline sighed and looked up at him. "Hannah is suing my parents for custody of me."