TITLE: I'll Be There For You
AUTHOR: Louise Lois supports Clark and Martha after Jonathan passes away.
CLASSIFIED: Friendship/Angst
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters mentioned in this piece of fiction belong to me. They belong to the cast and crew of Smallville, WB, and DC Comics
DISTRIBUTION: Permission granted to Fanfiction Net, Prologue, and Happy Ending. If anyone else wants to archive it, please let me know.
FEEDBACK: Very much appreciated. Please e-mail me at
PAIRING: Lois/Clark
CHARACTERS: Lois, Clark, Chloe, Martha
SPOILER: Reckoning
DEDICATION: To Renee for beta reading this fan fiction and helping me with my English, and to the wonderful people from Clois, Forever Devoted 2 Clois, and the Clark/Lois threads on fan forum and DTS.
A/N: I wish We could have something like that in the episode...

Three days after Jonathan's death, Martha was cleaning the house, trying to keep herself from crying again.

She hadn't slept well in the last three days because she couldn't stop thinking about her beloved husband.

A soft knock at the door broke Martha from her thoughts, to her surprise it was Lois, Chloe's cousin and the young woman Martha considered like a daughter.

"Hi Mrs. Kent… Can I come in?" Lois asked shyly.

"Sure, Lois… Come in," Martha opened the door completely to let her in.

"Sorry to disturb you but I came to check in on you and Clark. How are you holding up?"

"I don't know. I guess sad and devastated would be the right words. I'm trying so hard to be strong for Clark but…" Martha couldn't help it and started to cry. "Oh god, I miss him so much."

"Shhhh…." Lois pulled Martha into a hug, trying to comfort her. "I know it's hard but you'll gonna okay."

Martha smiled at her wiping away her tears. "You look so tired. Did you sleep?"

"I can't. I couldn't."

"Well, you need to rest. I'll warm some milk and then you can lay down for a while okay?"

"Thanks Lois… you're wonderful."

After helping Martha up to her bedroom, Lois left after Martha finally fell asleep.

She went into the barn to find Clark looking very sad as he stared up at the stars in the clear night sky.

"Hey Clark!"

"Lois…" Clark looked at her surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check in on you, see how you're doing. I ordered you both to go lay down, I hope she can rest for a while."

"You did? Thanks Lois, you're a good friend."

"And how are you?"

"I'm…" Clark couldn't finish without tears starting to form in his eyes.

"It's okay, Clark. I'll give you some privacy. If you need me I'll be in the living room."

"Actually… Can you stay? I could use some company," Clark grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him.

"Of course," Lois sat down on the floor with him, as Clark began to throw a ball against the wall.

Lois followed the ball with her eyes before she interrupted Clark as she caught it in mid bounce, "Do you wanna talk?"

"No."

"Do you wanna drink something? I did warm milk."

"No."

"Do you wanna go to sleep?"

"No, can't you just stay here with me and not talk?" Clark said giving Lois a quirky smile.

"I can try that," Lois smiled back.

After a while the sound of the ball hitting the wall started to drive Lois crazy. Clark finally gave up and let the ball roll across the floor as he turned to look at her again, "It's just… so hard trying to deal with this."

Lois looked weaving her hand into his, to show her support.

"It's my fault!"

"It wasn't your fault, Clark. You can't blame yourself; your dad had a heart attack. There was nothing you could have done."

"I guess one man really can't make a difference, it doesn't matter how hard he tries."

"I don't agree with that. I believe that one man can make a difference in the world, but there are just some things we can't control. It was Mother Nature's call Clark, you can't fight death."

Clark looked at her and started to cry onto Lois' shoulder as she embraced him tenderly. "It's okay, Clark. It's gonna be okay," she whispered into his ear. "I loved him too. He was like a father to me, I'm gonna miss him too."

"I wish I had enough time to tell him how much I loved him one last time."

"He knew, Clark. Don't worry, he knew."

The next morning, Chloe entered the barn looking for Clark and to her surprise found Lois on the floor, Clark's head in her lap as he slept.

"Lois… what are you doing here?" Chloe asked confused.

"Shhhh," she whispered to her. "I came over last night to talk with him and offer my support. Clark finally opened up to me. He cried himself sleep and I didn't have the heart to move him."

"How about you, did you sleep?" Chloe asked concerned about her cousin.

"A little bit."

"How little?"

"One or two hours…I think."

"Lois, you need to rest too. You look exhausted."

"It was a long night but at least he finally got some rest," Lois pointed out as Clark opened his eyes and yawned.

"Good morning sleeping beauty," Lois smiled.

"Lois … Chloe?" Clark asked confused. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, you just fell asleep after our talk," Lois explained with a grin. "How do you feel?"

"A little better, I guess," Clark said wiping the dried tears from his face. "Wait a minute…did you spend the whole night here with me?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Lois… I don't know what to say. You're an amazing friend."

"Your welcome, Smallville. I just couldn't leave you."

"Lois, you should sleep now," Chloe suggested worriedly. "I'm here now, I can help out."

"That's okay, Chloe. I'm fine."

"Okay, I'll go since my back is killing me, but call me if you need me, all right?"

"Sure," he smiled at her before Lois stood up and left the barn.

Later on Clark walked through the cemetery a bunch of flowers in his hand. He stopped in front of Jonathan's grave, "Hi dad, it's me again," Clark knelt down and put the flowers on top of his father's grave.

"I wish I could have had the chance to tell you how much I loved you and how thankful I am for everything you taught me. I miss you so much."

"I'm sure he knows that."

Clark stood up and turned around to see Lois behind him holding a bouquet.

"Lois?"

"I didn't know you were here, Clark. I can come back if you want some privacy."

"No…please, stay!" Clark asked her as Lois turned back and nodded in silence.

Lois put her flowers on Jonathan's grave, "Mr. Kent, you were like a father to me, I wish my own father had been more like you." Lois looked down sadly, "It was an honor being your campaign manager, I just wish you had had the chance to show everyone what an amazing senator you would have been."

"Thanks, Lois," Clark smiled at her and she smiled back. Lois took his hand into hers without a word. He looked at her surprised, but smiled back at her. He knew in that moment that Lois would always be there for him, and that together they would get through the pain of losing the man that had meant so much to so many people.

The End