"I broke up with Whitney," she said. Her voice cracked on the name and he knew that she was distraught. "Just now. Just five, ten minutes ago…!" Her eyes began to fill.

"Hold on, now, hold on," he said, leaving his chair and coming around to where she stood. She sobbed once and took a deep breath. "Hey," he said. "How do you feel about that?"

She looked totally helpless. "I don't know…" The last word was almost a wail. She took a breath that was sort of a hiccup. "I tried to tell Clark, but he wasn't home and then I remembered that you said I could come if I needed to talk and-" She took another breath, eyes about to spill. Her nose was turning red. "I just don't know what to do!" She shook her head and bit her lip. "That sounds so stupid, I-"

"No," he said softly. "No, it doesn't, not at all. Shh…" He reached out and rubbed her arm supportively. With a wail she flew into his arms and broke down, sobbing hysterically. Lex tried not to fall over with the imbalance and patted her back awkwardly as it seemed like the appropriate thing to do. "Uh," he said. She didn't hear him. "H-how'd you get here?" he asked, clearing his throat.

She stepped back and wiped her eyes. "I took Nell's car," she said, sniffing loudly. "She still think's I'm at Whitney's." Her face crumpled again and she put her face in her hands. Lex crossed the room quickly and found a tissue dispenser on a shelf.

"Here," he said, offering one to her.

She took it and wiped her eyes with disjointed little gasps. Then she blew her nose and asked, looking at him with red eyes, "Do you have…?" He nodded and took the tissue. As he threw it away, he heard her take several deep, shuddering breaths and let them out. When he turned back, she looked a little calmer. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just feeling so… helpless…" She bit her lip trying not to cry again.

He shook his head. "It's fine," he said gently. "I understand. It's a big thing you just did." He smiled. "Want some water?" he asked.

She nodded after a moment. He got a blue bottle from his miniature refrigerator and handed it to her. "Thanks," she said.

"No problem," he responded. Feeling inexplicably tired, he gestured to the bottle on his desk. "You mind if I…?"

She shook her head. "No, go ahead." She sniffed and opened her water as he filled the shotglass to the brim. His housekeeper would kill him if he had more than one, so he had to make it last. As he sipped she watched him. "I wonder where Whitney and I went wrong," she said softly.

He looked up. "Well, some relationships just aren't meant to be," he said. "The odds don't favor happy couples."

Lana smiled bitterly. "Yeah," she said. "I just don't know what I'm going to do now." She breathed out. Her voice was trembling.

"Well, for what it's worth," he tried, "I think you made the right decision."

She gave him a flat look. "I know you do," she said. "You've been singing Clark's praises for a month now."

Lex shrugged. "Always trying to help out a couple friends." He felt better now that she wasn't crying. Crying made him uncomfortable. He felt out of control when someone was weeping, and that he hated most of all.

She shook her head. "I can't talk to Clark yet. Not for a few days, anyway. It's a little soon to be thinking about new relationships," she said, voice teetering on the point of hysterical.

He nodded understandingly. "It's up to you." She nodded, smiling tightly. Looking down at her water, she unscrewed the cap and drank some. That reminded him of the glass he held in his hand. He took another sip and when she wasn't looking, downed the rest.