"Great." Bruce muttered, as they reached the top of the steps. "He's on Kara's trail now. You do really have relatives in California, right, Clark?"
"Dad's brother and his wife. They did die early this year, just after Dad. Car accident." Clark said, clearly telling the truth.
"Well, that's a start." Bruce sighed, relieved. He took out his own phone. "Alfred, that information on Kara Kent? Get it planted. Now. I'll be in Smallville for a little longer. Yes, I'll tell them." Sliding the phone into his pocket, Bruce looked over at Clark. "Alfred says your mother's recipe for chicken and dumplings made the cook cry, it was that good."
Clark grinned. "I'll let Mom know." They walked into the apartment to find Chloe and Lois waist deep in boxes. "What is all this?"
"Clark," Chloe licked her lips, excited. You are so not going to believe this. These are my mother's journals. "Twenty-five years worth."
"You're right, I don't believe it." Clark said, picking up the General's file. He flipped through it, and then pulled Chloe away from the others. "This is Kryptonian, Chloe."
"I know. Apparently Mom found your caves while she was living at the Kiwatchee reservation." Chloe said, dropping her voice. "Lois doesn't realize what she's looking at. All of her journals from that point on are in Kryptonian, except the last two or three years worth."
"But she does." Clark pointed to Kara, who was reading one of the journals, her lips moving silently. Kara looked up at Clark, and holding her place with her finger, she walked to him, and opened the book again.
"See this?" She pointed to the cluster of Kryptonian symbols. "This is the start of a poem, by one of the great poets of our world. It was Mother's favorite." Kara nodded. "Where did you get these, Chloe?"
"They were my mothers, Kara." Chloe looked up at Clark. "How did my mother get to be an expert on Kryptonian poetry?"
"I'd say the caves had something to do with it." Clark looked around, and gestured to Bruce. The billionaire came over, his eyes sliding to where Lois sat, sifting through a box of photos.
"What do you have?" Bruce asked, looking down. "This is Kryptonian."
'We know, genius." Chloe grinned, "We need you to distract Lois, so we can get this stuff out of here. She doesn't know Clark's secret and…. "
"I think it is too late for that…" Kara said, her voice low. "Look."
They all looked over at Lois. She had her hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with shock. In the other hand, she held a picture. Slowly, Lois looked up at Clark, and then down at the picture again.
"I'd swear this was you, Smallville, except the picture is from 1980, and you weren't even born." Lois stood and flipped the picture over. "Sara, Joe and Sonny, The Caves. Summer, 1980." She frowned. "Maybe this is your birth father, Smallville, look."
Clark took the picture and studied it. Chloe's mother stood between two men, and Clark could not fail to recognize his father and his uncle Zor-El. "No..I mean, I could see where you'd think he looked like me, but we're totally different, right Chloe?" Clark quickly handed the picture to Chloe who also studied it intently. She looked up at Lois, nodding at Clark urgently.
"Oh, yes, Clark, absolutely right, he doesn't look a thing like you…" Chloe slid the picture into Bruce's hand and he swiftly pocketed it. "Who wants lunch?"
"Lunch is a great idea, come on Lois…" Bruce took Lois by the hand. "We'll get it. Stuff for sandwiches, right?"
"Oh, yeah..right!" Clark, Chloe and Kara answered in unison, and Lois pulled her hand away from Bruce, shooting him a dark glare.
"Wait a second." She eyed Clark. "That guy looks JUST like you. Almost like it was you, but since that's not possible…."
"No, he had blue eyes." Kara's voice broke the tension. "And his hair was shorter."
They all turned to look at Kara. She had not seen the picture as far as Clark knew, but she stood there her brow wrinkled. "Also, I think he was not as handsome as Clark." Her grin was electric. "May I see the picture?" Bruce handed Kara the photo, and she studied it, her eyes lighting up as she took in the faces of her uncle and father. "No, there is no resemblance at all. I will take mayonnaise as my sandwich."
"What else, Boss?" Bruce asked, steering the conversation to lunch as Kara hid the picture. "Can't just eat mayo."
"Why?" Kara's eyes were wide. "I like it. It reminds me of something we ate…."
"Okay, get some tomatoes too, Bruce." Chloe added quickly, "I'll have a tomato sandwich with mayonnaise. Good call, Kara." Chloe and Bruce shared a significant stare, and then Bruce nodded. Lois frowned and looked at her cousin as if she'd lost her mind.
"But you don't even like tomatoes…" Lois said, as Bruce grabbed her hand and pulled her from the apartment.
"We have to get this stuff out of here, now." Clark said, picking up two boxes. "Can you carry any of that down to the truck, Kara?" She nodded, and sped off with Clark, making short work of the boxes, in relatively few quick trips. Clark returned, brushed Chloe's head with a kiss. "I'm off to the farm. I'll put all this in the barn. Tell Lois you can work there and not disturb her or something."
"Right." Chloe saluted Clark briskly. "Any other instructions, sir?"
Clark grinned. "Stay out of trouble." He looked over at Kara, as she sat on Lois' couch looking at her hijacked picture. "And keep Kara away from Lex. We bumped into him downstairs.."
"In all the excitement, I forgot about Lex." Chloe gasped. "What are you going to do?"
"Bruce set up an identity for Kara. It's all handled." Clark looked over at his cousin again. "She's still shaky with the details.."
"I know, mayonnaise sandwiches, I heard. It'll be okay, Clark. Go ahead." Chloe stood on tip toe to kiss him. "We'll be fine."
"I'll be back." Clark left quickly, and after what seemed only a minute, there was a knock on the door.
"Okay, Clark, what did you forget? You took your…." Chloe opened the door and found herself face to face with Lana Lang, whose surprised expression almost exactly matched Chloe's. "Hi, Lana."
"Hi, Chloe." Lana collected herself, and smiled brightly. "I was looking for Lois and Bruce. I wanted to ask them if they wanted to go to the movies or something while Bruce was in town… you and Clark too. Can I come in?" Lana looked around the doorframe. "Is Lois around?"
"She just went with Bruce to get sandwich stuff. Yeah, off course." Chloe pushed the door open so Lana could enter. "Clark went back to the farm to check on the cattle, with the rain coming…"
"Yeah, it's getting pretty dark." Lana replied, thinking of the gathering storm. "I'm glad I ran into you, though. I wanted to go shopping for things for the loft, and I can always count on you to find the most unusual, cool thing. I thought we could go shopping tomorrow and lunch...on Lex." Lana grinned, and Chloe smiled, too. "Please say you don't have plans. It's been so long since we did anything fun."
"She can't." Kara spoke quietly from the doorway, an odd expression on her face. "The festival at the Kiwatchee reservation." She studied Lana seriously. "We're going to the benefit tomorrow night, too."
Lana turned, smiling. "Hello. I'm sorry, Chloe, I thought you were alone. Is this another Lane cousin? I'm Lana Lang."
"Lana, this is Clark's cousin, Kara. She's come to live with Martha." Chloe said, going to Kara and putting her arm around her. "Mrs. Kent has her enrolled at Smallville Middle School."
"A Kent cousin?" Lana asked, her eyebrows high. "I didn't know Morgan Kent ever married."
"My parents are dead." Kara said simply. "In an explosion."
"Car accident…"Chloe whispered, and Lana nodded, sympathy clear on her pretty face.
Without any hesitation at all, Lana smiled and gracefully extended her hand.
"I'm so sorry about your parents, Kara. My parents died when I was young…I know how hard it is." Lana said gently, and Kara nodded, her internal lie detector ticking Finding Lana sincere, she smiled and took Lana's hand in her own.
"Are you and Clark friends? I want to get to know everyone he knows." Kara said, and Lana laughed.
"We're nothing if not friends." Lana looked at Chloe, who nodded, laughing. "Well, if we all get the movies coordinated, then you are more than welcome to come. You can help me get Lex to see something that doesn't involve a foreign language."
"We'd love it. I'll talk to the others when they get back and I'll call you." Chloe said, and Lana nodded.
"Great. I'd better go. I have to make sure that the new girl is making the espresso strong enough." Lana smiled at Kara. "Promise, a movie that we can all understand?"
The younger girl nodded eagerly and when Lana left, she turned to Chloe with a question on her lips. "Chloe? What's a movie?"