A/N: Your comments have been so great that I decided to reward you with the next part early. I hope you're happy- this really cuts into my buffer! ;-) And for those that read but don't stop… please drop a word or two; after all, if I didn't want to know what you think, I'd write in a vacuum! And now, it is my pleasure to present to you, most esteemed reader, chapter eight. g
(Director… cue the music please)

Ch 8 – Disclosure


Lois watched the scene inside the hospital room with a small smile on her face.

A pale woman lay in the bed, gazing under low eyelids at the small girl sitting in the visitor's chair. The little girl had pulled the chair next to the bed and was telling her mother a story from a large picture book. The mother smiled at a picture her daughter held up for her to see and then closed her eyes. Not noticing her mother had drifted to sleep, the little girl continued with her story.

Lois reached to brush a tear away. The little girl had no idea that her mother wasn't going to wake up again.

"Lois."

Lois jumped at the sound of her mother's voice. She shook her head- that wasn't possible. The little girl in the room looked up from her book, but the woman in the bed remained still.

"Lois, honey," her mother said again.

This time, a hand shaking her arm made her spin around wildly. As she saw that no one was next to her, the pieces fell into place. She closed her eyes and willed herself to wake up.

The arm shook her again, and she groaned in protest.

"I know sweetie, I'm sorry," Martha Kent said softly, gently brushing the hair off of Lois' forehead. "Doctor's orders. Do you know where you are?"

"…Hospital," Lois grunted, blinking as the light from the bedside lamp assaulted her senses.

Martha frowned. "Who is the president?"

"Patrick Stewart."

At Martha's concerned look, Lois amended her answer. "Well, that's who I would have voted for if he'd been a candidate."

Martha smirked, and tried another question. "What's your middle name?"

"Joanne. Lois Joanne Lane," she sighed, moving to sit up. "And this is the Kent Farm. In Smallville."

Lois grimaced as she moved the covers back and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She was amazed at how weak and tired she was feeling. It seemed odd that a person who had slept for almost an entire week would have little energy.

"I hate having to get you up like this, but the doctors want to make sure you don't relapse on us."

Lois shook her head. No, she didn't like getting the 1am wake up call, but she couldn't fault Martha. She was giving up her own rest to make sure that Lois was okay.

"No, don't worry about it. I'm sorry you have to do this." Lois yawned, and rubbed her eyes. "You must be tired."

Martha tenderly touched the bump on the back of Lois' head. "How're you feeling?"

"Woozy." They exchanged a smile. "But I'm glad that knot is back there. I'd hate to have seen the bruise that would have left anywhere else."

"Here, I brought you some tea. Hopefully it will help you get back to sleep." Martha picked up a mug from the nightstand and handed it to her. "You need to stay awake for at least 10 more minutes, okay?"

Lois nodded and sipped the drink. Fragments of her dream popped up in her mind. "Um… I don't want to keep you up, but would you mind sitting with me for a little while?"

"Sure," Martha replied, moving to sit next to her. "So, Patrick Stewart, huh?"

"Yeah. I love his accent. He's kind of sexy for a bald guy. Then again, I haven't met Lex Luthor face to face yet."

Feeling better, Lois joined in when Martha began laughing.


"So what do you expect me to tell her?" Clark asked dejectedly, looking across the table at his father.

Jonathan rubbed his jaw with a calloused hand. "Son, we've been hiding your secret for 14 years. Can't you see that I'm just trying to protect you? We'll come up with something to explain the whole thing. Lois is the only person who saw you in Metropolis. No one would believe that she knew what was going on, especially not after she suffered head trauma."

Clark poked at his scrambled eggs with his fork. In the kitchen, Martha frowned.

"I'm tired of lying, Dad."

"What? Now you just want everyone to know about you? Your abilities?"

"No. I just mean, I'm tired of having to back peddle to cover up stuff. She remembers us jumping off the roof! Even if no one else would believe what she says… if she tries to figure it out, it might make people start asking questions again."

Jonathan frowned and rose from his seat. Lacing his hands behind his neck, he looked up to the ceiling in frustration.

"I don't see why you felt the need to bail her out after she broke into LuthorCorp. Couldn't you have just let her talk her way out?"

Martha's mouth opened in surprise at her husband's comment.

Clark dropped his head. "I guess… maybe… No. I dropped from the ceiling and there she was! It scared me… I wasn't expecting to see her of all people. If I had left her there, they probably would have pinned those explosions on her. Now that Lionel is out, she could have ended up a lot worse… maybe even dead. I was just doing what I thought was right…"

Martha narrowed her eyes and leaned against the kitchen counter, waiting for husband's response. Jonathan glanced at his wife and turned to look at Clark again.

"You're right, Son. You did your best. It just puts us in a bad position." He rested his hands on the back of the chair he'd just vacated. "I just don't know that we can risk it."

"So, more lies," Clark sighed.

"Clark, I'm trying to protect your secret."

Clark met his father's gaze and answered in a wry tone. "Yeah, but you're not the one living the lies, are you?"

Martha's eyebrow rose at her son's reply. It wasn't often that Clark allowed anger to break through his mild persona. If it were another day and a different conversation, she might have stepped in and demanded that he mind his manners… but he was growing up... And he had something on his mind.


Lois reached the bottom of the stairs and felt the weight of the tension in the room. Clark was sitting at the table, engaged in a silent war of wills with his father, and Martha was leaning against a counter waiting to declare a winner.

This family's non-verbals were going to drive her insane, she thought, sighing.

Martha looked up at the sound.

"Lois, come get some breakfast."

Lois glanced toward the pair at the table. "You know… I'm not really a breakfast person. I think I'm going to get out of your hair for a while… maybe go over to the school and work out my classes or something."

"Well, get yourself some coffee at least. It's fresh!" Martha began pouring some of the brew into a mug.

Lois fought the temptation to give in to the craving and shook her head, taking a final glance at Jonathan. "No, thanks. I think I better go…"

She moved toward the door. Behind her, Martha caught her husband's eye and glared. Jonathan caught her meaning.

"Lois," he called, as she pushed the door open.

She halted and turned around, standing half outside the house.

"Come, sit down. Please."


Lois nodded her gratitude as Martha placed the mug of coffee on the table in front of her.

"So this is where you pull out that little pen thingy and make me forget everything, right?" Lois quipped once everyone was seated.

Jonathan's brow creased in confusion while Clark and Martha smirked.

"I mean, this is the ideal setting for the Vulcan Mind Meld, you know." When Jonathan's expression didn't change, Lois looked under the table.

"What are you looking for?" Jonathan was perplexed by her behavior.

Lois' head popped back up. "My sign. You know, the one with an arrow pointing to my mouth that says 'Insert Foot Here'."

Martha laughed and Jonathan smiled in spite of himself. At least she had succeeded in relieving some of the tension in the room. Having accomplished that, Lois sat back and wrapped her hands around the coffee mug. Clark was studiously avoiding any eye contact with her.

Jonathan cleared his throat, and glanced at Clark before returning his attention to Lois.

"Clark told us that you remember jumping from the roof of LuthorCorp. Why haven't you said anything to anyone about that?"

Lois stole another glance at Clark, but he still did not look up.

"Not many people would believe that I did that and lived." She smiled and continued. "The truth is… I have an insatiable curiosity. It gets me into trouble sometimes, but I've learned that not everything needs to be public domain. From what I can tell, whatever is going on with this family… it's… good. I guess, I'm willing to put it on the back burner…"

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Clark finally look up. She could only guess what kind of look he was giving her.

Sheepishly shrugging, she added, "Well, for a while anyway."

Lois blushed in response to the smile that Martha was giving her, and moved to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"Well, I have to get going. Clark, try not to be late for school," Martha said, putting her mug in the sink and taking an Apple Pie from the counter.

Jonathan stood and walked with Martha to the door. Before they exited, he turned around.

"Clark," he began, locking eyes with his son. "Whatever you decide, we'll support you."

Lois took a sip of her coffee. "Those were kind of heavy parting words," she noted, her eyebrows raised.

Clark rose and took his plate to the sink. "Yeah. Lois…"

"No," she interrupted him. "That sounds like the beginning of a Real World confessional. Clark, I'm serious. I saw your face at the hospital. It's okay. Besides, I kind of like the mystery." The smile she gave him was pure Lois Lane.

"So you really don't want to know?" Clark asked quizzically.

"Of course I want to know!" she exclaimed. "But I want you to be ready for me to know… I am actually going to head over to LCC, though." She rose from the table. "Just bite the bullet, right? I'm going to go sign up for my classes. Do you need a ride?"

Clark shook his head. "No. I've got it covered." He grinned, a mischievous gleam in his eye.

Lois' smile grew wider. "Oh, I get it! Can I watch you run?"

Clark's only response was to laugh.


tbc