Part 11

Clark trudged on the cool moist grass on the way to the marker he visited often. In his fist he clutched the bunch of flowers he brought with him from his mother's garden. Behind him, walking silently, was his partner Lois. When he informed her that he was leaving for Smallville, she had thrown her accessories and wallets into her large shoulder bag.

"What are you doing?" Clark had asked her.

"I'm going with you, Kent," she stated matter-of-factly, as though there was no question about it.

"Lois, I'm just visiting home."

She held his eyes for a full minute before scoffing, "You're a bad liar, Kent. Now I'm coming with you to Smallville, whatever your purpose is. I know it involves a big story."

His brows furrowed. "What big story?"

"Whatever's going on involves Lex Luthor. I heard you on the phone, Kent. Luthor stories are a huge deal. I'm not letting this slip."

Clark took off his eyeglasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Lois, Lex Luthor is here in Metropolis. I'm not going to Smallville to interview the guy."

"Give me a break, Kent!"

He heaved a sigh. "Fine, Lois. What makes you think there's anything I'm going to do in Smallville that involves the man? He's staying right here in the city."

His partner had smirked at him, brilliant eyes shining. "Let's see. What possible connection could there be?" she drawled. Clark waited patiently until she said firmly, "What about Chloe Sullivan?"

Clark's entire body tensed. Lois could almost taste the and animosity that suddenly took over her partner. "What about her?" he asked softly.

"I heard you, Kent. You were arguing about her with Luthor."

"That doesn't mean anything. What makes you think that has to do with going home?"

She cocked her finger at him and directed his gaze towards her computer screen. Clark found himself looking at the full page picture of himself and Chloe, in her pink princess gown, dancing closely and full of smiles. "Because you and Chloe Sullivan were somehow connected in Smallville High, Kent," she deduced. "And I will eventually find out what you've got against Luthor. She probably knows. I swear, if you don't get me an interview with her, I will-I will- Just don't mess this up for me."

Lois had never seen Clark Kent's eyes as shuttered as they were when he told her, "Fine. Get your stuff and meet me at the lobby in five."

So now here they were, not really talking, and Lois could feel this hostility coming off Clark Kent in waves. Clark Kent never got mad or pissed with anyone. She was flustered when he parked the car by the cemetery, and even more nervous when he stepped out. From the backseat, he took the bouquet of flowers that she cursed herself at not having noticed before.

She had to jog a few times just to catch up with her partner. When it seemed that her thighs would start screaming in pain, she bumped into Clark. He'd stopped now and was staring at a fixed point ahead of him. "So who're we visiting?" she prodded, eager to go off and search for her story.

It was a trait that she both loved and loathed-this preoccupation with a possible scoop that blinded her to everything else going on around her. Clark didn't answer her. Instead, he stepped forward and placed the bouquet on the ground. "Hey you." Clark hadn't been speaking all the way from Metropolis that Lois almost jumped at the sound of his voice. "Someone here wants to interview you," he said quietly. And then he looked at Lois. "I don't think she's up for it."

Lois Lane's lips parted in disbelief. She sidestepped Clark and glanced down at the marker that held the name that she had been repeating over and over since she heard it from his private call. Oh shit, her brain repeated. "Clark," she began, "I'm. Clark, I'm sorry."

"Yeah," he said after a while. "Sorry too. Didn't mean to act like such a jerk."

She reached out a hand and rested in on his upper arm. "I was stupid and rude. I didn't know." He nodded. "So were you two close?"

"Lois, I-" he began, not wanting to talk about his private life. But when he looked down at her she looked so sincere that he answered simply, "She was my best friend."

Lois smiled. "She must have been special to put up with you."

"She adored me," Clark said lightly. "She was my first kiss."

Lois moistened her lips, knowing that she was assuming too much to even ask. "How. What happened to her?" When she saw the date on the marble stone again, she winced. "That's just way too young."

"I happened," he muttered. Lois looked at him, confused. He knew there was no way he would share that his descent to earth brought the meteor slabs that ultimately caused Chloe her life. He clarified, "She was in a car accident with her fiancé, on the way back to their place after telling my family that they were engaged."

He felt the shiver that ran through her body. "That's. I'm sorry, Clark. I don't even have words for that."

"The ironic thing about it is that she always said in high school that my crush had perfected this act of being so betrayed by the world. But Chloe said that she wasn't born to be a tragedy."

Lois bit her lip as she looked down on the marker again. And then she squeezed her partner's hand. "I'll leave you alone here for a while. I'll wait in the car," she offered. She regretted having pressured him to let her tag along. She knew from experience that some things must be kept private to be sacred.

As she waited in the passenger seat, her thoughts were suddenly running like crazy. True, Clark's story made sense. He was uncomfortable when he was asked about Chloe Sullivan because he still hadn't fully gotten over his best friend's early demise. But that still didn't explain why he was arguing with Lex Luthor, the elusive billionaire himself, about her. Even though she respected Clark's private life so much, there were still things that didn't quite add up. Why would a phone conversation with Luthor induce Clark to just up and leave for Smallville? The more she thought about the questions, the more curious she became about Chloe Sullivan.

For his part, Clark took deep steadying breaths. This was it. This was what he came for, but he didn't think he would actually gather up the courage and strength to do this. But the phone call had made him think. If it had only been one of his paramours, why would she specifically have asked for him? And why did the sound of her voice send an amazing thrill through his body.

Silently apologizing to his friend if he were wrong about this, Clark focused his eyes down on the grass, boring a deep deep hole in his vision and looking underneath the layers and layers of soil.

Lois abruptly slammed out of the car when she saw Clark stumble away from the grave and onto his knees. She ran towards him and dropped beside him. She could feel the tremors racking his entire body. She gathered him in an embrace. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Clark, are you okay?"

"She's gone," he muttered. "She's not here. She's gone."

Lois gently ran her hand up and down his back and gently consoled him, "I know. I'm sorry, Clark. It's been two years. It's going to be fine."

Clark still seemed to be in shock. She led him to the car and got into the driver's seat himself. "Listen, Kent. I need directions to your folks' place. I think you need to talk to them. I'll make myself scarce and pick you up later so we can head back to Metropolis."

She was going to find out the truth no matter what.

After dropping Clark off and telling his parents what had happened earlier, she asked to be excused. It was hard to say no to Martha Kent's invitation, but she assured the older woman that she would be by later for dinner and Clark. Lois told them that they needed some private time to speak with their son, and asked for directions to the local library.

She asked for the newspaper films from around the date written on the marble marker. She was prepared to browse through each and every page on the film to look for even a mention of Chloe Sullivan's accident. She was awestruck by what she found. Instead of a brief mention of the accident, she saw tons of features on the young woman's life. Lois wondered why the newspapers would spend so much time and focus on a local girl who gets killed in a car accident. True, it was a tragic story worthy of note. But not this much, she thought to herself.

She fast forwarded to a story of the burial. Again, she was shocked to find the story printed on the front page. The photograph on the cover caught her interest. There was a small gathering of people, and with an ache in her heart, she saw her partner standing in front of the crowd beside a tired looking old man, in such pain. Another face on the blurred picture caught her eyes. "No," she whispered. "It can't be," Lois rationalized. It was too much of a coincidence. But that head was unmistakable. Lois read the caption and everything clicked into place.

Back. Back. Back. Back. She ran through days and weeks, looking for a story about the accident itself. Surely something like that would merit news coverage. She was amazed at what she found in the weeks before the burial. Chloe Sullivan had apparently been on life support for a few months before finally dying. Finally, she stopped on a front page picture of a car wreck.

Lois Lane swallowed as she read the red headline. LUTHOR HEIR IN MIDNIGHT CRASH. And the subtitle, in bold black letters. Fiancé in Critical Condition.

It was surreal, she thought, to see the pictures that followed. There was a series of snapshots that captured what was perhaps the most hellish minutes of the man's life. There was a reason why the man hated the press, she thought, as she surveyed the scenes. Lex Luthor appeared on the brink of insanity, and she shuddered at the thought of a photographer just snapping pictures of the billionaire at a time like that.