A/N: First point. I'm sorry this one took so long but as I was working with my four favourite characters, I really wanted to do them justice. I hope I've managed to achieve that.

Second point. I just got back from London yesterday where, due to a tremendous amount of luck, four suicide bombs failed to go off. This chapter is dedicated to all the brave members of the London emergency units, who acted with such fearlessness and bravery on 7/7, and to the people of London for showing that, despite the threat, we shall not be terrorised. These are the real heroes.

Disclaimer: Sloppiness aside I still own nothing, not even the Aeroplane 'Surely' gag. But I have added David Duchovny to my collection, as well as making Welling and Bale perform the Superman/Batman battle in Hush. It wasn't pretty, forgot neither of them really have superpowers. Well Batman doesn't really have superpowers anyway but that's not the point.

The smell of fresh, morning coffee wafted out of the Talon, enticing hassled commuters in with its promise of a quick pick-me-up.

"What is this?" A frustrated solicitor barked at the young woman behind the counter. "What the hell is this!"

Lois sighed, she was drained and worn out, and was not in the mood for this. It may have been the Christmas holidays, but festive cheer was not something she eagerly engaged in. She looked, with heavy eyes, straight at the customer.

"It's coffee." She said pointedly.

"It's crap." He replied.

Something in Lois snapped. She was too tired and too emotional to be dealing with petty complaints. Her body ached from the lack of sleep. She'd been up all night weeping silent tears for the manner in which she had rejected Clark. Thankful at least that Lex was away on business and could not question her on her mood. She didn't want to have to talk; she didn't want to have to stand. She just wanted to fall down in a heap and cry her heart out. But she wouldn't, Lois Lane was stronger than that.

Her mind had plagued her all night with images of her meeting with Clark. She tried to work out what had gone wrong. Tried to justify her mind's decision to her wounded heart. She knew that at some point she must have fallen asleep, as she had woken up to a sodden pillow. She hadn't dreamed, only remembered, which brought more tears.

A long, warm bath had helped her to regain her composure. She managed to convince herself that she had made the right decision. Well, almost managed to.

It was odd, but the less Lois tried to think about the night before, the more she found herself needing to. She remembered as clear as daylight the touch of Clark's skin against hers has his hand had brushed against her cheek. Clark and her had always touched each other before, for a hug or a bit of play fighting, but this time it was different. His touch had been so intimate, so tender. And the kiss…

Lois had felt more love in that kiss than she'd ever felt before in her life. It felt right, as if everything up to that kiss had been wrong. As if his kiss was meant for her, and hers for him.

Lex never kissed her like that. Lex's kisses made her feel desired, yes, but not loved. And still, Lex did love her, in the only way he knew how. And she loved him, but she loved Clark more. Much more.

Lex would buy her the world if she did but ask for it, but Clark… Clark would make her the world. And the sun, and the moon, and the stars…

But that's what wrong. Her head told her. If you let him get close, you'll only end up hurting him, and yourself. And love is not worth that.

She sighed and looked back at the customer. She needed to vent off some pent up frustration, and this self-obsessed, lard-arse seemed as good a target as any.

"Sir," She said sweetly. "I'm sorry if the coffee is not to your liking, but perhaps if you managed to get up off your fat ass five minutes earlier each morning you could make it to your own standards."

She took a deep breath. "Although, judging by your substantial girth, I can see that you probably need those extra five minutes to locate your legs under that mass of blubber you call a stomach. Now, back your considerable backside out of my queue and waddle your way onto whatever brainless moron hired you."

She turned on her heel and stormed into the storage room, knowing that, had Lana been there she would have been in for a serious telling off. But, as she was not, Lois afforded herself a sly smirk. Perhaps things weren't that bad after all.

As the morning dragged on the cold winter sun travelled higher into the sky. The overworked commuters were slowly replaced by hungry teens. Lois had just successfully broken her seventh cup of the day.

Martha sighed as she placed the phone back on its receiver. She had been hoping for a quiet week away from the hassle of managing the Talon, in order get some much needed house work done, but from what her head waitress had just told her, that was a luxury she just couldn't afford. In the space of twelve hours, her assistant manager had run off to Metropolis while Lois had launched a one-woman war on the cup supply.

Martha put her hand to her head and let out another heartfelt sigh. She loved running the Talon, but at the moment it just seemed to be taking up more time than she had. On top of that, she had planned to spend the day trying to work out what was wrong with Clark.

Of course, her son had denied that anything was wrong with him that morning, but his mother knew better. And she felt that, somehow, Clark's withdrawn demeanour, Lana's sudden departure and Lois' new found hatred of crockery must be connected. And she also felt that she had a pretty good idea how. All she needed to do now was confirm her theory and to do that, she would need to spend sometime alone with Clark.

Well, perhaps the glass was half full after all.

"Clark?" She shouted, knowing that, despite her son being on the other side of the farm, he would still hear her.

"Clark, I need you to drive me into town."

The phrase 'soul mates' has always been very loosely defined. The one constant definition is of two souls, perfectly matched to one another, destined to fall in love again and again, thought out the sands of time.

How two souls match each other perfectly however is not so easy to explain. Most people would think that for two people to fall totally in love they must be similar in almost every way. They must have the same likes and dislikes, the same out looks on life, meet every obstacle in a matching manner. In short, the two must be identical.

Martha had never believed in that particular train of thought. In fact, she believed the opposite. For two souls to match perfectly they must complement, not copy, each other. In this way, both members of the relationship feed of the other's strengths, learn new philosophies and, ultimately, ensure emotional growth. This is the only way to allow for a full and lasting relationship. After all, what two souls could seem more different than the one belonging to a big-city law student and the one within a small-town farmer?

It then stands to reason that if one soul really doesn't want to talk about something, then its partner really does.

"I just can't understand how it all managed to go so wrong." Clark muttered as he pulled the truck into a near by space.

"I'm sure Lana didn't mean to act so rashly." Martha tried to reassure her son, but the truth was, she didn't know how.

"I know." He half-smiled back. "I just wish it was the Lana thing that was really upsetting me. At least I'd almost predicted her reaction…"

Clark's voice trailed off as he let his hands slip from the steering wheel. Memories from the previous night suddenly came rushing back to him. He had no intention of stopping them, he never had. Since they'd changed from actions to images he'd tried to find something that could change the situation he was currently in. He tried to find something in Lois' voice that would indicate a lie. He tried to visualise the flicker of her eye, or hear the skip of her heartbeat. But it was no good. No matter how much effort he put in he always reached the same conclusion. Lois' conviction had been too strong. Maybe she really doesn't love me?

No, her kiss. No person could show that much tenderness to another without some kind of love being involved. It was never a matter of if she loved him, but how.

Clark had heard on so many occasions from Lois how she wouldn't allow herself to love. He'd wanted to tell her that was nonsense. He'd wanted to show her how to love. He wanted to now more than ever. But how can I help her to feel love? He caught himself thinking. I don't know if I can even feel love. Is what I feel for Lois just an imitation of human love?

Martha looked to the young man sitting next to her, obviously lost in his own thoughts.

"I don't suppose I can convince you to come in?"

"Lois won't want to talk."

"Well, then you'll have to make her." Martha smiled. "Come on, I'm not getting out until I know you're coming with me."

And for the first time that day, Clark smiled. A warm, heartfelt smile. After all, he knew he loved Martha and Jonathon, so his feeling for Lois had to be real. Love does not discriminate for race.

"Okay." He laughed. "But don't blame me when she starts hurling mugs at the walls."

"I don't suppose I can help you with that?"

Lois looked up from the spilt coffee she had been mopping up to the caring face of Clark Kent, his expression masking his true feelings. To any onlooker it would appear that he was just offering to help a friend, but Lois wasn't just any onlooker. She could see right through Clark, just as well as Clark could, well, see right through anyone else.

She sneered at his outstretched hand.

"I can manage perfectly well be myself Smallville." She snapped. "If you're looking for a damsel in distress I suggest you go find Lana because I am not in the mood for chivalry.

She picked herself up and dusted off her hands, not courageous enough to look Clark in the eye. All her conviction from the previous night had been spent.

Clark put his hand back in his pocket and followed her to the counter.

"We need to talk." He said with the utmost seriousness. His was the only voice that could make Lois feel like a naughty school girl, silly and diminutive. Oh, how she hated and loved that voice.

"Talk about what?" Came the curious call from across the room.

Lois and Clark looked at each other. Each knowing what the other was thinking. Fighting or not their innate connection could not be silenced.

Not here. Not now.

"Talk about what?" Chloe asked again as she sat herself down besides her two best friends.

Lois and Clark stood silent; each hoping the other would come up with the excuse. None came.

Chloe didn't need here journalistic instincts to tell her that something was wrong. She learnt back smiling, emitting confidence.

"Surely, you're not wanting to talk about the suffocating tension now are you?"

"No we're not." Lois said quickly, stifling Clark's comment to the contrary. "And don't call me Shirley." She added for good measure.

"Good." Chloe said in a business like manner. "Then maybe you were wanting to talk about the two very eerie deaths that happened last night?" Happy that she had now captured her audience, and, as such, stopped them tearing each other limb from limb.

"What deaths?" Lois asked, happy now that her talk with Clark had been postponed.

"Well, my source at the hospital told me…"

"With source would this be?" Clark said. He knew how Chloe got her sources and, despite his overwhelming feelings for Lois, he still felt protective over her younger cousin, in a sort of older brotherly way.

"The one who said I have hair like the rays of the sun." Chloe answered matter-of-factly, earning a smile from her cousin in the process. "Anyway, he said they brought in a couple late last night, about our age. He couldn't give me any names." She added, pre-empting Lois and Clark's question. "One had been bitten by his pet spider, the other had some toxin in her bloodstream, they didn't know what though."

"I'm guessing from the didn't that they never got a chance to find out." Said Clark.

"Well no." Chloe continued. "But while the poisoned girl did die, her boyfriend with the bite didn't."

"Why's that unusual?" Lois asked as she finished serving a customer.

"Because, he was bitten by a Black Widow spider." Chloe answered triumphantly.

"Aren't they about fifteen times more deadly than a rattle snake?" Clark remarked.

"Wow, looks and brains." Lois jibbed. "Wherever did Lana find you Smallville?"

Uh-oh Chloe thought. I've stumbled into a Lane-Kent mine field.

Not wanting to incite any more arguments, she quickly rushed in the rest of her explanation, just as Clark was about to return Lois' comment.

"Yes, exactly, so he doesn't die. But the other death was a nurse who was attending him. And both her and the girlfriend had the same poison in their veins. And, get this, guy bitten by Black Widow spider, his girlfriend and an attractive young nurse both dead, bitten guys lips were reported to be meteor-rock green."

Chloe caught a look in Clark's eyes and knew that he was no doubt blaming himself for this.

"So…" Lois said, turning from the coffee maker, totally oblivious to any connection between the meteors and her lover. "…A kiss of death. That's convenient."

She doesn't miss a beat does she. Clark found himself thinking.

"Well that's certainly one possibility." Chloe answered, quick to ease the tension.

"I'm sure he had no intention of causing any harm." Clark shot back.

"Yes, but the point is he did." Lois glared.

Oh no. Chloe sighed.

"He can't be victimised for expressing his feelings."

"But his feelings had dire consequences."

"Nobody purposely sets out to hurt someone."

"But they do Smallville. Everyday, out there in the big, wide world, people do hurt each other. Whether they mean to or not."

"So, anyway." Chloe jumped in as Lois and Clark glared at each other. "I know you two didn't get set a project for over Christmas, but over at Met U they wanted me to find and write a story and I know you two don't need the extra credit or anything but it can't hurt getting a bit of practice in. So why don't me and Clark head over to the hospital and see what we can find out and Lois, you can…"

"…I'm meeting Lex." Lois looked down at her watch, avoiding Clark's gaze. He was the only person who could make her feel ashamed. "We're picking out the cake today." She offered as an explanation.

"Right then, I'll take Clark and we'll meet you later." Chloe said as she grabbed Clark's arm. "Have fun."

But even as the words left her mouth Chloe know she had made a mistake. The desperate look on Clark's face, and the distraught one on Lois' signalled that she was going to have anything but fun.