Lana's POV

I stand surrounded by chaos. The sky is filled with angry dark clouds, swirling high above the city. From the ground, the tall skyscrapers and buildings look to be towering, monstrous objects. Buildings and apartment complexes are on fire, smoke adding to the dark sky. Men, women, and children of all ages are frantically running around, avoiding large cracks in the sidewalks. Running from what, it is impossible to tell.

Cars veer into each other, cries for help filling the sky. Yet, am rooted to the spot, not a trickle of fear running through me. I raise my head to the heavens and gradually, my eyes spot a growing light gleaming through the angry clouds.

I smile and close my eyes, feeling the light bathing me. My eyes snap open in time to see a flash of red and blue streak from the firmament. Suddenly, everything stops.

The red and blue figure dashes around to remove cars from the tops of others, put out fires, and fix cracks in the streets and sidewalks. People seem to sense this mysterious figure's presence and they stop fleeing from an invisible enemy. Children smile once more and mothers and father admire their smiles.

I look up once again and notice the clouds clearing to reveal the sun. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the red and blue figure make his way toward me.

"Are you alright, Miss?" His voice is deep and masculine, sending shivers down my spine.

"I am now, Superman," I reply, holding out my arms to him.

His lips curl into a smile and he takes me into his arms. I close my eyes and feel his head lower, his lips meeting mine. His lips dance against mine, making my heart flutter.

When he pulls away, I finally get a good look at him. I smile once I recognize who it is.

"You're safe now, Miss."

"I know am," I whisper back, my eyes closed, "because you're here with me, Clark."

I open my eyes and am met with sunlight spilling from behind the curtains of my apartment. I lay in bed, taking in the powerful emotion from the dream that has seeped its way into reality.

"Superman?" I whisper aloud. I smile as the hazy memory of Clark's face close to mine resurfaces. I always knew Clark would save a lot of people in the future, but in blue tights and a red cape? Leave it to my over-active imagination to conjure such an odd dream.

I lean back against the pillows for a few more minutes, trying to fall back to sleep. But it's a fruitless attempt. The sun is high above the horizon now, reminding me that I have a full day ahead of me.

I get dressed, jeans and a simple white shirt. From the bottom of the closet, I pull out a pair of comfortable walking shoes. After my daily hygiene has been taken care of, I slip out of the apartment, grabbing my purse and keys on the way out.

I check my cell for any messages and am relieved to find one from Martha Kent. After listening to it, I smile and run out the front doors of the coffee shop, heading for my car.

Clark's home and safe, Martha's message had confirmed; which means that I'm wearing sneakers, instead of heels, for nothing.

Clark's POV

"'Morning, Mom," I say, passing her on my way to the fridge for a glass of juice. Once the fridge door is out of the way, I am greeted by an icebox full with fruits, vegetables, and meats. Our financial situation has definitely worked out for the best.

I grab the jug of orange juice that Mom took the liberty to squeeze herself and bring it over to the counter. I pour myself some juice and take a large drink from it, having not eaten anything since breakfast yesterday—not that I need food to survive.

"'Morning, Mom? Is that all you can think to say?"

I turn around and place my glass on the counter. Mom is at the sink, taking off the gloves—the yellow gloves used to wash the dishes, that is.

"Umm…how are you?" I say pathetically.

Mom places her hands on her hips, something that I've only seen a few times when she's mad at me. The first time was when I was seven and I came in covered head to toe with mud. The last time was when I was twelve and I had gotten into that whole punk rocker phase with Pete—yeah, I know, hard to imagine.

"How am I?" Mom repeats. "Clark, I have been out of my mind with worry and all you can say is 'morning, Mom' and 'how are you?'"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I want an explanation of what went down yesterday! You come home at midnight and tell me that you don't want to talk…" Mom ushers me to the dining table and I follow her, knowing that I have no choice.

"Clark, now, I have tried to be patient and give you space until you're ready to come to me, but do you have any idea how hard that is for me? For me as a mother to have no idea what is going on in her son's life?"

"I'm sorry, Mom," I say, feeling a twinge of guilt.

Mom smiles and places a hand over mine. "Now, would you like to tell me what's going on with you and Jor-El?"

"Well, about three weeks ago, after prom, I got a message from Jor-El saying that I had until my commencement before I had to return to him. And─"

"Three weeks ago?" Mom asks, startled. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

"Because Dad was in the hospital and I didn't think that it would be a good time," I say honestly. "But Mom, don't worry. I had Lana to help me figure this all out."

"Well, I'm just glad that you didn't suffer through this alone."

"There's more. Jor-El clarified the message that he left for me in the ship. I interpreted it wrong. I think that I was sent to protect, not conquer."

Mom's eyes widen. "To protect? Clark, well, that's not that far off."

"I know. Yesterday was graduation—my commencement. Jor-El called out to me again and when I got to the caves, Jor-El decided to send me to alternate realities."

"Alternate realities?" Mom squeezes my hand. "What were they like?"

"Umm…I'm not sure. Everything's sort of hazy," I lie. I hate to do this to her, but I can't risk telling her about the details of yesterday for fear of screwing up the future. Who knows the amount of damage I caused yesterday already.

"But in one of them, I was a hero. I could fly and everything," I say, hoping that I'm not giving too much away. "Maybe that's what I was sent to do. To protect and save people."

"That makes perfect sense. You've already saved so many people in Smallville alone."

"But…the thing that gets me is what does Jor-El want me to do?" I sigh, playing with a loose thread on my flannel shirt.

"You don't have to do anything that Jor-El says you have to do. Remember what your father said? You choose your own destiny," Mom reminds me gently.

"I know that…but maybe this time, I really do need Jor-El," I say quietly, shocking both me and my mom. "Maybe I can't do this alone…. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do or who I want to become."

"Clark," Mom begins, taking both my hands into hers, "don't make any hasty decisions just yet. I mean, this is a tremendous amount of information that Jor-El has dumped on you. No one expects you to just up into a costume and fly around protecting everyone. That kind of thing takes time and commitment. You need to know yourself before you can do that."

I nod. "But what if I don't have time? Just before Jor-El left, he said to me that my decision will affect everyone I love. What if I make the wrong one?"

"You won't. Your father and I raised you to become the man you are today." Mom pauses and smiles. "Clark, whatever decision you make, it will be the right one. Just trust your gut."

"Right now, my gut isn't working too well," I joke. Mom laughs and pulls me into a hug. We break apart once we hear the kitchen door swing open.

"I hope that I'm not interrupting anything," Lana says, smiling at the sight of me.

Mom gets up from the table. "No, not at all. In fact, I was just making breakfast. Would you like to join us?"

Lana meets my eye and nods. "Sure, I'd like that."

After breakfast, Lana offers to do the dishes for Mom since she's running late for her shift at the Talon.

"Thanks, sweetie," Mom says to Lana on her way out to the door. "Clark, I won't be home until late tonight so I left some tuna casserole for you in the refrigerator. Don't order pizza." The door slams shut, announcing her departure.

"Looks like we have the house to ourselves." I make my way to Lana who's standing by the sink, my arms snaking around her waist.

I hear her giggle. "Clark, as much as I would love to make out with you all day, we really need to talk."

I sigh, knowing that this was coming. "Okay, but can we talk after your surprise?"

"My surprise?" Lana turns around, shutting off the water and pulling off the yellow gloves.

"The surprise you were supposed to get yesterday," I remind her, grinning.

"Ah, yes, the one that you were so mysterious about." Lana watches as I head to the fridge and pull out a picnic basket.

"I hope the food isn't spoiled. I got my mom to prepare all of this yesterday morning, before graduation. But we never did get around to eating it," I explain, holding up the basket.

"Is that all? Just a picnic?" Lana teases. "You're losing your touch."

"We'll see about that." I hold out my hand and she takes it willingly.

Fifteen minutes later, we're at the Smallville Stables. Lana is off to the side, under the shade of a small elm tree that I suggested while I go in and get our horses.

"Hey, Erne." I approach the owner and manager of the stables. "Look, I know that I reserved two horses for yesterday, but can I have them today?"

"No can do, Clark. You know the rules." Erne goes on chopping up a mixture of vegetables and fruit in a pail. "You're going to need to reserve them again."

"But you know that it'll be days before an opening," I say desperately. "Lana's outside with me right now…."

"I'm sorry, Clark," Erne says, shaking his head, not even bothering to look up from his carrots.

I pull out my wallet from my back pocket, glancing around. "I'll give you a ten."

Erne laughs. "A ten? Son, I'd think you'd be better off saving up your money. Jonathon wouldn't want you to go around spending it on something as trivial as this."

"Then why don't you give me two horses for the day so that I don't have to spend my money?" I persist.

Erne lowers the carrot and knife, thinking about my comment.

"You know, Dad really helped you out that one time when he let you house your horses in our stables after the fire," I say casually, knowing that I have him.

Erne sighs and throws the carrots and knife in the pail. "Okay, okay. You get your horses. But only this once."

"Thanks, Erne." I watch as he goes to get them. Moments later, he emerges with two of them.

I take the reins and lead them to the elm tree. I call for Lana to close her eyes.

"Clark, I think know what you're going to bring out. We're at the Smallville Stables after all," Lana calls back, but obliges anyway.

"Okay, go ahead. Open your eyes." She does and smiles nonetheless at the sight of two horses.

"Which one do you want?"

"The white one."

I hand her the reins and grin at the wide smile on her face. I watch as she strokes the horse's head, making cooing sounds. I bend to pick up the picnic basket and manage to attach it to the saddle of the brown horse.

"I haven't gone riding in a while. Since my accident, I mean," Lana comments, turning from her horse to look at me. "It's been nearly over a year since I've been on a horse."

I shove my hands in my pockets, feelings of guilt rushing throughout me. Lana seems to notice this and returns her full attention to me.

"Oh, Clark…I didn't mean…it wasn't your fault, Clark." Lana reaches up to touch my face.

I push my guilt away, not wanting to do this now. "We don't have to go riding if you're not up to it."

"I want to, Clark," Lana says stubbornly, turning back to her horse. "I used to love to ride…I want to be able to do that again."

Lana approaches her horse and after a moment's hesitation, mounts it gracefully.

"I'm taller than you," Lana teases, looking down at me from her added height from the horse.

"Not for long you aren't." I attempt to mount my horse just as gracefully as her, but fail. Lana giggles as I try again. It takes me four attempts to get it right.

"I guess I'm a little rusty," I admit, having gone horse back riding only a few times.

"Where to?"

"It's a surprise." I nudge my horse and it begins to trot. Lana and I ride side by side.

Twenty minutes later, we're at the infamous oak tree.

Despite my earlier struggles with mounting, I manage to get off my horse just fine. Even though she doesn't need my assistance, I help Lana dismount from her horse anyway.

I unfold the blanket that Mom packed for us in the basket and lay it under the shade of the majestic oak tree.

Almost by force of habit, Lana comes to sit between my legs and I hold her tightly.

"You know, you're going to have to come up with more ideas if you really want to surprise me," Lana remarks, turning her head to look me in the eyes.

"How's this for surprise?" I grin and swoop down, kissing her passionately on the lips.

"I definitely enjoyed that surprise," Lana says, sounding a little breathless once we pull away for air.

"I'm glad."

Lana smiles and leans against me. "So, we never did get around to talking about what happened to you yesterday."

"Jor-El called out to me again," I say simply, nuzzling my head against the contours of her neck.

"What did he want?"

"He told me that I interpreted the message in the ship wrong. I was sent to protect, not conquer."

Lana shifts so that she can face me in a more comfortable position. "Something tells me that's not all Jor-El said or did."

"Jor-El sent me to alternate universes. He said that it would help me create my own destiny. But I still haven't figured out what he meant by it," I tell her, my earlier frustrations coming back to me.

"Alternate universes?" Lana's forehead scrunches up at the idea of this. "What did you see?"

Remembering my vow to keep a lid on the things that I saw, I decide to tell her only the parts that won't hurt. "Well, in the first one I was married to you and you were pregnant."

Lana's eyes widen a considerable amount. "Pregnant? How far along was I?"

I think back to what alternate Lana told me. "You were three months away from having the baby. You looked amazing. It was like you had this glow."

"Well, I expect to hear all these wonderful things again in the future then," Lana says playfully.

I smile at the thought of experiencing being married to her again. Waking up to Lana, her swelling belly and all, was a sensation that I will never forget and hope to experience again.

"Did you see anything else in the alternate realities?"

"Umm…some bits and pieces, but they're pretty hazy." I hate lying to her, but it's for her own good. I have no idea how she would react if I told her that in the second reality I was dating a Lois Lane instead of her.

"Hey, speaking of hazy stuff…I had a strange dream last night," Lana announces out of the blue.

"A strange dream? Did it involve me?" I inquire.

Lana laughs. "Not that kind of dream, Clark."

"I'll let you know that my ego has reduced to the size of a grape."

Lana giggles and shifts in my arms again. "Actually, it did have you in it, but not in a kinky way. Well, if you exclude blue tights and a red cape as kinky."

I sit up straighter, making sure that I heard correctly. "Blue tights and a red cape?"

"Uh-huh. I remember that it was dark and you flew out of the clouds and suddenly everything was right again."

I stiffen at the mentioning of 'flew.' "Umm…Lana, you say that I was wearing blue tights and a red cape?"

"Yes." She frowns as if recalling something. "There was also an S on your chest. And I remember calling you 'Superman.'"

I gulp.

"What is it?" Lana asks, noticing my sudden discomfort.

"Lana…in one of the alternate realities, I was Superman."

She sits up straighter and turns her head in my direction. "You were…Superman?" She pauses, trying to comprehend all this. "So, are you saying that my dream is…a prediction?"

"Or maybe another sign from Jor-El," I say suddenly, voicing my thoughts. I immediately regret doing so when I glimpse the shocked and scared expression on Lana's countenance.

"Are you saying that Jor-El is planting dreams inside of my head?"

"No," I say hastily, trying to soothe her fears. "I was just thinking aloud. It doesn't mean that I'm right. There could be a lot of explanations…" I trail off once I notice the glare that Lana is sending my way.

"Clark, why is Jor-El taking a sudden interest in me?" Lana slides off my lap and sits to face me.

Missing the warmth of her on my lap, I move towards her, tucking strands of hair behind her ear. "I don't know, Lana. My guess is that he's trying to get to me." I clench my fists at the thought of Jor-El using Lana to get me to succumb to his demands. What ever happened to me creating my own destiny, I want to yell at Jor-El.

"Want does Jor-El want?" Lana asks me softly, her green eyes searching mine.

"To be honest, I have no idea." I pull her close to me again and kiss the top of her head. "But whatever he wants, he'd better leave you out of it."