Disclaimer: Characters belong to DC, WB, AlMiles, etc. etc. etc. I only own the story.

Chapter 5

"Thanks for helping with the dishes, Lois. The boys never want to help with any of this."

"It's not a problem, Mrs. Kent. I don't mind."

And she didn't. She was thankful, after the awkwardness that was dinner, for the opportunity to gather her thoughts, which didn't go unnoticed by Mrs. Kent.

"Lois, are you sure everything's alright? You've been awfully quiet tonight."

Lois sighed and stopped drying the freshly washed plate. She leaned back against the countertop, holding the plate to her chest, and looked to the floor to find the right words.

Should she tell her? What's the harm? She just didn't want pity. She didn't want people making a fuss about it. After all, she'd dealt with it this long, and it became easier every year. Right?

Mrs. Kent took her hands out of the warm sudsy water and dried them on the nearby dishtowel. She placed a hand on Lois' arm.

"Lois, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But, in my experience, talking usually helps."

She was trying to help. And Lois appreciated it. She trusted Mrs. Kent. She would just give her the basic facts. No details. She wasn't ready to cry again.

She lifted her head up and took a deep breath.

"Yesterday…yesterday was the anniversary of the day my mom died."

"Oh, Lois. I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"It's okay. That's kinda part of the reason Clark stayed over last night. I wasn't exactly in the best mood when he showed up with your food, but by the end of the night he had somehow made me feel better." She paused as a puzzled grin crept across her face. "It was weird."

Mrs. Kent quietly laughed.

"Clark can do that to you if you're around him long enough."

Smallville? Ha! There was no way she was going to hang around that long to find out. She couldn't stand to spend that much time with him.

"Oh, no, Mrs. Kent. Not when he and I are together. I promise you will not find two people on the planet that are as different as night and day. We can't stand each other."

She hated to put the wall up around Mrs. Kent, but she could feel it rising.

Mrs. Kent smiled. Lois could tell what the woman was thinking, but hoped she would keep it to herself. Please don't say it out loud. That would make it real.

"Sometimes the best ones start out that way."

Oh, no. She did not just say that.

Lois laughed.

"Please, Mrs. Kent." She sighed. "I don't think Clark and I will ever be more than what we are right now. And that's barely friends." She paused, leaned in to Mrs. Kent, who had resumed washing a plate, and smirked. "Besides, Clark couldn't handle me."

Mrs. Kent smiled. If Lois only knew.

"Lois, I think you'd be amazed at the way life can turn out." She turned and looked at Lois, who took the clean wet plate from her hand. "And don't underestimate Clark. Trust me. He can definitely surprise you when you least expect it."

Lois sighed. She knew that to be true. She was more than surprised last night when he was going through her photos.

She honestly didn't think he cared. But, for some reason, he did.

Lois finished drying the last plate and put it in the cabinet with the others. Mrs. Kent dried her hands on the old dishrag and hung it on the back of the barstool to dry.

Now she had no choice. Dinner was over. Mrs. Kent's famous apple pie a la mode had been served. The dishes were clean. There was nothing left.

She had to say something to him about last night. She couldn't just let it go. He knew too much.

She didn't know why he wanted to know. She wasn't sure why he cared. And that bothered her. No one else in the last thirteen years had ever wanted to know. But he did.

She walked to the living room and grabbed her coat she'd earlier flung over the recliner and swiped her keys off the coffee table. She turned and headed back into the kitchen, pulling her coat on as she walked.

"Thanks for dinner, Mrs. Kent. It was delicious."

Mrs. Kent set her coffee cup on the countertop. She walked over to Lois standing by the door and pulled the young woman into a hug.

"You're welcome, Lois. There's always a home-cooked meal here for you whenever you like."

Lois smiled a heart-felt smile. Why was this family so nice to her? She knew she didn't deserve it.

"Thanks."

She pulled away from Mrs. Kent. She had to go now while she still had some strands of courage dangling. She had to talk to him.

She started to walk out the door, but stopped and turned back to Mrs. Kent.

"Do you know if Clark went up to his loft? I just needed to tell him something before I leave."

"Yeah, I think he was going up there. That's where he usually winds up after dinner."

"Okay, thanks. I'll see ya later."

"Okay. Bye. And be careful driving back tonight."

Lois smiled. That was something else that separated the Kents from anyone else she knew. They always told her to be careful. She cherished the fact that they even bothered to care.

Lois walked out the door and slowly sauntered down the porch steps, stuffing her hands in her coat's pockets.

She wanted to talk to him, but she didn't. But she had to explain it. She had to explain herself. She felt like an idiot. But her gut was telling her to do it and Lois Lane rarely ignored her gut.

She walked across the driveway, gravel crunching under her feet the whole way towards the barn.

Mrs. Kent watched the young woman from the kitchen window. She saw her hesitate at the barn's entrance for a few seconds before finally stepping in. The older woman smiled as she turned and left the kitchen to walk up the stairs.

Okay, Lane. One foot in front of the other. Just like walking the white line. Remember that? You've done it enough.

She stopped at the base of the old wooden stairs that led to his shack of seclusion. She breathed in the cold barn air. She wouldn't shout this time. Oh, no. This time, the element of surprise was in her favor.

She took a deep breath and quietly climbed the stairs. He didn't see her. He sat at his desk with his back to her, pouring over a textbook.

"See, this is why you need a door. So people can knock. That way they can't sneak in when you least expect it."

He knew that voice. It was always there when he didn't want it, yet always there when he needed it.

"Lois. I thought you would've left by now."

He turned in his chair and grinned the Kent grin. He actually heard her when she stopped at the barn door and debated on entering, but she didn't need to know. He also heard when her heartbeat increased dramatically as she entered the barn door. But she didn't need to know that either.

"Well, I might have, but I had to help your mother clean the dishes. She said something about you helping with that, but apparently dishwashing is an art that's lost on you. I figured if you knew how, you would've cleaned the dirty dishes you left at my place this morning."

He laughed and shook his head.

"Well, I wanted to get away because I know the only time I can get rid of you is when you're asleep."

She smirked. He had some comebacks. She had to admit he could give as good as he got.

"Yeah, about that. Thanks for waking me up this morning, Smallville. Or leaving a note or something to tell me you'd left." She crossed her arms and cocked her hips to one side. "Because, you know, that would've been the considerate thing to do."

She couldn't wait to hear his excuse. He always had one. Even Chloe admitted that.

He dropped the beaming Kent smile and looked at the old wooden boards that made up the loft floor.

"Lois, I'm sorry. I had a class this morning. Plus, I had chores to do here. And I had to call Chloe about something." He looked up at her. "I tried to be quiet because I didn't want to wake you. I knew yesterday must've been rough for you. I thought you needed to sleep."

Needed to sleep? Wow. He really did care. Well, he had to care a little. After all, he did stay last night and talked until three in the morning. And she was glad.

It was the first time in those thirteen years that she hadn't cried herself to sleep on the anniversary. Why? Maybe he just distracted her. But he actually wanted to know things about her family. No one else ever thought to ask the questions he did. Not even Chloe, the intrepid investigative reporter. And she was family. Lucy didn't even ask.

She smiled halfheartedly and looked away from him.

"Yeah, well. Yesterday was rough. As much as I never want to remember that day, it always shows up once a year."

He studied her and gave her a weak smile as she took a few steps closer to him.

She was about to say what she came there to say. About to look him in the eye. But she turned.

She strolled over to the massive window, stood next to his telescope and looked out into the immense and clear night sky.

There. She could say what she needed without having to make direct eye contact. Not now. She couldn't do that now.

She took a deep breath. These things didn't come easily, no matter who she was talking to.

"And last night, when you walked in, I was just…I guess I was just trying to remember."

He stood and walked closer to where she was. She trembled slightly at his close proximity. She tried to tell herself it was just the cold and that Mrs. Kent's earlier words had nothing to do with it.

"Your mom?"

"Everything. Anything. I haven't even seen her grave in ten years. I, uh…I thought I would go this summer when my dad and I were looking for my wayward sister in Germany, but…that didn't happen."

There she goes again. Clark Kent should work for the CIA. He'd get those terrorists to talk.

She sighed and looked high into the dark sky. He placed his hand on her shoulder and slightly massaged it.

Where was that wall when she needed it?