Lana's POV

The beam of light emitting from the flashlight doesn't do much to help calm my nerves. The paintings on the cave walls stand out, seemingly mocking me, their eyes following my every movement.

I clear my throat, wondering how I'm going to go about this. "Lara?"

There's no reply at my first attempt, but then I try again and this time, there's a response.

"Hello, Lana. Thank you for coming."

Her words sound like they express gratitude for me showing up to a dinner party or something. Nevertheless, I remain polite. "Your welcome."

"You're probably wondering as to why you're stuck in a cave talking to a voice with no body instead of romancing the night away with my son."

"It crossed my mind," I admit, surprised at how conversational she sounds compared to her husband.

"Yes, well, I'll get straight to the point then. As you have probably heard from my husband, we possess great concerns for Kal-El's future and the well-being of your planet. My husband has expressed how much he wants you to push Kal-El to leave to travel the world."

"Unfortunately, from the state of things, it looks like he failed in convincing you. Kal-El is still here, in Smallville."

Her voice has a touch of disappointment in it and I wonder if it's for Jor-El or me.

"No, he did a pretty good job of convincing me…it's just…" I pause, feeling an immense need for her to understand. "I just can't seem to let Clark go. I know how much he needs to go, but…"

"I had the same problem when I had to place Kal-El in the ship that would send him galaxies away from us."

I swallow. "It must have been hard for you…you had no idea if he would have made it or not."

"It was the most difficult thing I've ever had to do as a mother. But I knew that he would never have a chance to reach his full potential if I kept him to myself. So, I let him go, in hopes that one day, he would remember and return to me."

Her words ring my head, trying to get a reaction out of me. Is it just me or is Lara trying to tell me something?

"Lana, I can't tell you what to do and what not to do. I can only share my past experiences with you and hope that whatever decision you make, you and Kal-El will both be able to live with it."

Clark's POV

I check my watch again, pacing around the loft. Where is she?

It's half past eight…there's plenty of reasons why she's thirty minutes late, right? Hair…make-up…dress not sexy enough…

I exhale and try to calm my nerves. I take a seat on the couch, away from the romantic atmosphere that the candlelit table and the seafood linguine give off.

Okay, maybe she's still in the security of her apartment, frantically getting ready. Or, even experiencing car trouble. There's no need to send out the National Guard for her yet….

Oh, God, what if she's been mugged on her way to the Talon? Or even worse…ra─"

"Don't go there, Kent," I mutter, closing my eyes. I take a few calming breaths. "It's only been thirty minutes…if she was really in trouble, she would have called me."

I get up from the couch and start pacing again, only to sit back down a few minutes later. Unconsciously, I pull out a velvet box from the right pocket of my black dress pants.

I slip the ring from the velvet and hold it up in the candle light. The thin silver band and tiny diamond in the center shine brightly in the light. It took me a month of careful saving and budgeting, but I finally scraped enough for it.

Footsteps sound from the bottom of the steps and I quickly place the ring back in the box, snapping it shut and shoving it back into my pocket. I don't want her or anyone else for that matter to know just yet.

"Lana?" I call out, padding toward the stairs. From where I'm standing, I can see her head as she takes the stairs, one at a time.

"Hey," Lana breathes when she comes face to face with me. From the faint light from the candles and stars, it looks like she's been crying. Her eyes are swollen red and her attire hasn't changed from this afternoon at the bookstore.

"What happened?" I ask, concern dripping in my voice.

"Clark…" She sniffs and tries to smile for me, but fails miserably.

I take a step toward her and she suddenly runs into my arms. I hold her, a sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach.

I pull back slightly and smooth the hair away from her face. "Lana, what happened?"

She shakes her head and I immediately fear the worst. "Did something happen to you? When you were walking home from the bookstore?"

Realization finally dawns on her to what I'm getting at. "No, no…nothing like that, Clark." She sniffs and wipes away some tears.

The sensation in my stomach fades away for the time being. I help her wipe her tears away and wait for her to regain her composure. When she does, she pulls away from me and notices the rose petals surrounding the candlelit table.

"Oh, Clark. It's beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you," voicing the first thing that comes to mind. She gives me a teary smile and I lead her to the couch where we sit in silence. Finally, she breaks the silence.

"Clark…I need to tell you something."

I turn to her, glad that I don't have to devise a plan to get her to open up. It's funny how the tables have turned in our relationship.

"I don't exactly know how to say this…" Lana trails off and looks away. I take her hand into mine and give her a patient smile. Instead of encouraging her to go on, it does the opposite.

"Oh, Clark…I love you so much," Lana chokes, trying her best to keep her voice steady.

I gather her up in my arms and place a kiss on her head. "Hey, it's okay. I love you, too."

"I know you do…which makes what I'm about to do even harder," Lana whispers, glancing up.

I swallow, unsure if I heard correctly. "What's going on, Lana?"

"I…I haven't exactly been honest with you lately."

My heart sinks to the bottom of my stomach. I try my best not to jump to conclusions. "What do you mean?"

Lana breaks down again and I hold her tighter and closer to me. I decide to ask her, hoping that it'll make things easier for the both of us.

"Are you seeing someone else?"

Her sobs stop for a second and her head lifts from my shoulder. "What?"

"I mean…" I pause, not knowing how to put it. I look away from her gaze.

"No…no! Clark, I'm not cheating on you. It's nothing like that," Lana says quickly, sniffing. She lifts a hand to my cheek, caressing it.

"Then what is it?" I ask softly, looking into her eyes that can seemingly pierce through my soul.

She looks away, unable to stand my gaze. "I…I think that you should leave Smallville."

I blink, again, unsure that I heard correctly. "What?"

Lana glimpses my momentarily confused expression. "Clark…please try to understand."

My arms loosen their hold on her and I pull back slightly. "I'm trying here, Lana. I really am."

"You need to go…leave Smallville."

"Lana…if you're trying to break up with me…"

"No! It's nothing like that at all!" Lana shakes her head, her eyes pleading with me to understand.

"Then what is it? A guy sorta takes it that way when his girlfriend tells him to leave," I say harshly, recoiling from her a bit.

My words affect her deeply as she pulls away from me as well.

Regret plagues me as I notice her hurt expression. "Lana, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out that way."

She doesn't say anything for a while. She stares at the ground, lost in thought.

I try again. "Lana." I reach for her hand and I sigh in relief when she doesn't pull away.

Finally, she looks up, her eyes shining in the moonlight. "Clark, what do you see in the future?"

My brows come together in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"What do you picture ten years from now?"

I ponder the question for some time before answering. "I guess I see us."

"Is that all?"

"Well, we'd be married and you'd be pregnant with our second child."

Lana smiles at this, squeezing my hand. "What else?"

"A nice house…maybe close to Mom's so that she'd be able to take care of the kids when we need some time to ourselves."

"That's it?"

I think back to the alternate realities that Jor-El sent me to. The second reality is something that I could live without…but the first. My throat grows dry at the memory of the news bulletin of the girl in that fire.

"And I'd be helping people," I add, remembering the feeling of helplessness at not being able not to do anything at all for that little girl.

Lana seems to be happy with my reply for the time being and falls back into silence. I gently squeeze her hand to indicate that she should say something.

"Clark…you have no idea how hard this is for me…I love you so much and I wish that I didn't have to do this…"

I pull her toward me again, grateful that she doesn't recoil. "Do what, Lana?"

"Let you go…" she breathes, stroking my cheek. "The world needs you, Clark."

"I don't understand…"

"You said it yourself. When I asked you want you saw in the future. You said that you saw yourself helping people. Clark, you're not helping anyone by staying in Smallville. Practically all the meteor freaks in this town have been wiped out because of you."

"That's not true," I say, shaking my head. "Why are you doing this?"

"For you." Lana catches my eye and she leans up to kiss me. I savor the feeling of her lips against mine.

I wipe a tear from her right cheek. "Lana…when you asked me about the future, the first thing that came to mind was you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Sometimes, we can't have everything that we want. Sometimes we have to choose," Lana says tearfully, her voice shaking.

"Then I choose you," I whisper, gazing into her eyes.

She shakes her head, unable to keep her anguish in. "No, Clark. You can't choose me because I won't let you."

"Lana─"

"Think about it. Do you really think that you'll be happy knowing that you could be out there saving lives instead of taking care of me and a baby?"

"Yes, I would."

"No, I mean truly happy. Not torn apart between your life with me and to the world. I know you well enough to know that you wouldn't be. It's just in your nature…to help people. And no matter what you do or say, you can't convince me otherwise."

"I can balance both," I say desperately, knowing that she's right. The sense of duty that I felt for the girl in that fire was overwhelming…it was tearing me apart to know that I could do something, but I chose not to.

"Maybe you can…in the future. But not now. Not right this moment." Lana manages a small smile. "The world needs you, Clark. It would be selfish of me to keep you here in Smallville all to myself. I could never live with myself if I did."

"Screw the world," I say bitterly. "Lana…all I've ever wanted was you. I love you."

"I love you, too. That's why I'm doing this. For you. You need to do this, Clark. Whether you realize it or not."

I take a moment to think about her words. As much as I hate to admit it, she's right. I've been thinking about this ever since Jor-El sent me to those alternate realities. Wasn't I the one who confessed to Mom that I had no idea what I'm supposed to do or become? And Mom replied, "You need to know yourself before you know that," or something along the lines of that.

What if Lana is right? What if I need to do this? Would I ever be truly happy knowing that I could change so many other lives for the better but I chose not to?

Would it be such a bad thing to just travel the world and see what else there is out there? Maybe learn a thing or two about myself and what I was sent to do…

"Clark?"

I look up and am met with Lana's green eyes, her love for me shining brightly in them. "Lana, I want you to come with me."

"What? Where?" Lana breathes, confused.

"I don't know…anywhere." I shift on the couch and take both of her hands into mine. "Lana, if I'm going to do this, I want you to come with me."

"Oh, Clark…I can't." Her eyes start to water again and I gently rid her flushed cheeks of the tears.

"Please." I'm practically begging her now. "I don't need an answer now…. I just…please, will you think about it?"

She turns away, looking at the candles that have nearly burnt themselves out. Finally, she turns back to me, bringing a hand to my cheek. "Clark…I can't go with you. As much as I want to, I can't."

My heart breaks at her answer. I kiss her hard, knowing that this could be the last time that I do so. Tears begin to form in my eyes at this prospect. Why, just when my life was perfect, does the world always have to keep screwing me over?