A/N: Boy… That last one was really short… More a filler than anything, huh? But I thought Clark's fear of heights should be explained… at least a little… and to my satisfaction… :D (Further comments are at the end of the chapter...)

Chapter 6

They touched down gently, outside of the farm house. Sounds could be heard from inside the barn, so they went investigating. Inside, Martha and Jonathan Kent were struggling to get the hay bales up into the loft. "Mom! Dad! I told you that I'd do that as soon as I got back!" Clark stalked forward, his hands on his hips as he scolded them.

"Clark, it's not like we haven't done this before…" Jonathan blustered, trying manfully to hide the limp that still plagued him from the broken leg he'd received during the meteor shower. Chloe could feel Clark's frustration emanating from him and she put her hand on his arm to remind him that perhaps now wasn't the best time to confront his parents.

Martha walked up to them and almost bowed low, which threw Chloe for a loop. It was like she wasn't even trying to maintain normality. But at least she checked it before she actually bowed… "Are you hungry, Clark? I've been working on your favorites all day…"

"Mom, you didn't even know I'd be back today!" Clark was practically exploding with frustration and Chloe was surprised that his parents weren't picking up on it. She stomped on his foot, which didn't hurt himbut at least got his attention. He smiled at his mother. "I really appreciate it, Mom. What's on tap?"

"Well, I have a pot roast in the crock pot, an apple pie cooling in the window…" she walked toward the house, listing enough food to feed an army, let alone the one teen it was all intended for. The two friends followed her into the house reluctantly. Clark looked back at his father, who just made shooing motions with his hands.

Chloe took his hand and hurried him toward the door in response to Martha's look of impatience, like Chloe was the one holding up the show. "Clark," she said in undertones only someone of his powers could hear. In fact, she could hardly hear herself. "We're not going to be able to talk openly here. After 'breakfast', we'll go into town and you can hold court at the Torch and I'll nose around a bit. We can consult this evening in the loft."

He nodded infinitesimally and they walked in the door. They both gasped at the amount of food Martha Kent had provided. All of Clark's favorite dishes, from any of the three meals, were placed all over the kitchen and the table groaned from the amount of food on it. In the corner, a small round table was set as if they were in a romantic bistro. "What do you think, Clark?" Martha hovered anxiously, practically wringing her hands together. "Your father put together the table yesterday. We thought you'd enjoy buffet style."

Clark's silence only increased his mother's anxiety and Chloe nudged him sharply in the side to prod him into action. "Mom, you didn't have to do all this…" he trailed off lamely.

Chloe had to bite back an irritated sigh. Why does he have to be so dense sometimes? Even I know that isn't the right answer in this situation and he only told me about it. Of course, witnessing it first hand is even more shocking.

"I certainly did, Clark. You've been training in the Fortress and expending energy flying around on your errands. I have to keep your strength up." Martha's face was taking on a depressed quality and she'd hardly meet the two teens' eyes.

"Ummmm…" Clark began. Chloe stomped hard on his foot since she knew Martha wasn't watching. "Oh, Mom. It's totally great! All my favorite things! And I'm starving! This is gonna' be great!"

Those few words, delivered in a halting manner, produced immediate results. "I'm so glad!" She started fluttering about the kitchen in a tizzy. "Now you two sit down and I'll bring you some plates and you can tell me what you want."

"You don't have to do that, Mom. We can get our own food…" Chloe glared at him and motioned for him to sit down. The fact that he didn't get how he should act in this situation would have been obvious to Helen Keller.

"Mrs. Kent, could I help you with that?" Chloe came up to the older woman and put on her brightest smile.

Martha returned it, but shook her head. "Chloe, you're so sweet to offer, but you've just come home with Clark. You're going to be our guest for a little while. Let me serve you…"

Chloe didn't let her smile waver one iota, but her eyes did narrow slightly. Her mind went off in a million different directions as she made her way to the table and, when the answer hit her, she felt like she'd just been hit with a ton of bricks. Oh, no! Clark bringing me home in his unique way has made his parents think I'm his… what? Girlfriend? Chloe leaned onto her hand in semi-misery. Clark had barely shown any interest in her as a girl duringtheir freshman year. And they, in their brainwashed state, think that now, three and a half years later, Clark is into her? Oh, this is going to be a fun day…

Since the two teens couldn't talk openly, they just tucked into the food and ate as much as they possibly could… which took Clark much longer considering he'd always had the proverbial hollow leg. However, the time they spent at the table just made Martha happier and, with each new helping, she actually began humming happily around the room. Finally Clark had eaten as much as he possibly could and they stood to leave. Martha's happy attitude crumbled about her. "You're leaving? Are you sure you don't want another piece of pecan pie? How about apple? It's almost finished baking…"

Clark actually groaned at the thought of more food. He sidestepped Chloe's elbow before it connected and rolled his eyes. "Mom, it was fabulous, but I couldn't possibly eat another bite right now. How about we save the apple pie for dinner tonight?" Clark had high hopes that they could find out what was wrong before the day closed. With Chloe beside him, he was sure they could figure out what the problem was within hours. That was always the nicest thing about being around Chloe. When they were together, he felt as if there was no problem too big for them to solve. I mean, look at how we'd worked together when Lee and the Wonder Twins had kidnapped my family. He looked at her and smiled. He could tell that she was already trying to work the problem out in his head.

Martha's voice jolted him out of his reverie. "I suppose that's true, Clark. Why don't you take the truck for the day and we'll see you when we get home."

"Oh, that's okay, Mom. I know you and Dad are going to need it…" He shook his head at how stupid he'd been. If he'd been thinking, he would have driven to Smallville in Chloe's Beetle. Instead, he'd been too anxious to fly with her to think that far ahead. Considering how concerned he was with keeping his abilities a secret, he'd sure left out some important thoughts. Everyone that didn't already know or show that they knew his secret was going to question how Chloe got down there… or at the very least why they would walk into town when it was at least five miles. A quick glance in Chloe's direction revealed that she was thinking much the same thing.

Martha just smiled at him. "We'll be able to handle it, Clark. And we know how concerned you are about keeping your abilities a secret, although we still aren't sure why you're being so insistent about that…"

Chloe felt she had to jump in at this point. After all, if I left it to Mr. Subtle over there, I'd still have to pick up all the pieces! "Oh, I'm sure Clark doesn't want to give up his privacy yet, Mrs. Kent. After all, look at all the attention those Hollywood stars get and they're not even half as impressive as Clark."

Martha was silent for a moment and Chloe wondered if she'd laid it on a little too thick. "You know, I'd never thought of it that way. Of course, this won't stay a secret forever, but I respect your desire to keep a private life for a little longer, Clark."

Clark gaped at her until he could pull himself together again. "Thanks, Mom. I knew you'd understand." He half-expected her to say "That's what moms are for" but it never came. Suddenly he realized that since he'd come back from the Fortress, neither of his parents have called him "son". With that realization came a depression so deep as to overwhelm him. He'd never felt adopted and had wished more than once that he'd been Jonathan and Martha's natural son. At least they haven't started insisting I call them by their first names…

Chloe looked over at Clark as he'd fallen silent and decided that discretion was the better part of valor at this point. She grabbed his arm and started tugging him toward the door. "We knew you'd understand, Mrs. Kent. We'll see you tonight!" She babbled this in a falsely bright voice so they could just get out the door. When the front door separated them from Martha, she heaved a sigh of relief. "Clark, let's just get the keys and we can talk on the way into town," she said tightly, cutting him off before he could talk about what had depressed him so much. She practically ran into the barn. "Mr. Kent, Mrs. Kent said we could take the truck into town. Is that okay with you?"

Jonathan smiled down at her in a rather fatherly manner. She'd always liked the Kents, but this whole-hearted approval of her and Clark's supposed relationship that was in their perception only was rather unnerving. "Why certainly, Chloe. Don't you worry about a thing. You kids go have fun and we'll see you when we see you."

"Don't you want to know when we'll be back, Dad?" Clark asked, and Chloe could hear the yearning in his voice. She could totally empathize. These people looked and sounded like Clark's parents, but their behavior was more than a little unnerving.

"Clark, you're a grown man with responsibilities. You'll be back when you need us. That's all we need to know." Jonathan nodded in agreement with his own reasoning and calmly handed Chloe the keys before turning back to his chores.

"Do you need some help before we go?" Clark was starting to feel desperate for normality and Chloe was getting more than a little worried that he was going to blow their cover.

"We're fine, Clark. You and Chloe go and have fun." Jonathan just tossed the last comment over his shoulder and Chloe took his inattention to drag Clark from the barn.

"Clark, she hissed sub-vocally. "Don't push it. We're on the case. You just have to be patient!" They quickly reached the car and Chloe almost died of shock when Clark opened her door for her. She had always known that he'd been raised to be the perfect gentleman, but he rarely displayed that while they were together. The last time… She cut off that line of thought as fast as she could. She had given up on wishing things had been different. Besides, she had to acknowledge that the reason they hadn't pursued a possible relationship was because she'd shot him down so quickly after that summer break. She hadn't known what Whitney had asked of Clark and that Lana would have died if he hadn't jumped into the tornado to save her. If only I'd been more patient… more understanding… She sighed deeply. It seemed that her list of "if onlys" grew daily.

Clark didn't say a word until they were on the road. "Patience isn't one of my strong suits, Chlo." He said it with nary a preamble and Chloe almost had to wrack her brain to figure out what he was talking about.

"I know, Clark, but we're investigating the situation. We should be able to figure out the cause today and then we can work on fixing it." She knew she was being overly optimistic, but she had to break through his depression somehow.

"They aren't even acknowledging me as their son anymore, Chloe." If he hadn't been driving, he would have put his head in his hands. He could feel this cold blackness surrounding him and could barely see her point. He hadn't felt this hopeless since his mother had been in the hospital because of the explosion from the destruction of his ship. He'd used red Kryptonite to escape that time, but this was different… more pervasive to the community that he loved.

"Clark, if it's like you thought and they're being corrupted by the entity that wanted you to rule the world, why would you be surprised?" She was getting really tired of his self-loathing attitude. "While it's true that with great power comes great responsibility, Clark, you can't blame yourself for every little thing that happens in Smallville or the world for that matter. Did you ever, in your wildest dreams, wish for something like this to happen?"

He was so shocked at the question that he actually stared at her until he realized he was driving. "Of course not. That would be criminal!"

Chloe smiled. "Exactly, Clark. So you can't even blame yourself for quietly wishing it. It's not your fault… Now we just have to find out what's going on."

The smile Clark turned Chloe's way almost blinded her with its brilliance. "Thanks, Chlo. What would I ever do without you?"

"Shrivel up and die, obviously," she snarked, relieved that he was coming out of it. She couldn't do anything if he decided to hide in his own pain. They laughed together and any awkwardness or depression dissipated entirely.

They drove up to the Talon. It had miraculously escaped the meteor storm unscathed and its popularity as a community hot spot had actually increased. Clark pulled into a spot that was miraculously right in front of the door. "Wow, Clark! It's incredible that we found such a great spot!"

Clark blushed hotly. "Well, it's not really a coincidence…"

Chloe opened up her door and hopped down. That's when she saw the sign and started to laugh until tears were in her eyes. "You have to be kidding me?" she gasped.

"I wish I was," Clark muttered ruefully. "And if I don't park here, people have actually pushed the truck to the spot."

Chloe wiped at her eyes and stared at the sign. It read "Reserved for the Hero of Smallville". She looked at Clark blearily. "It's not like you don't deserve it, Clark, but this…"

"It's too much, I know…" He sighed. "At least it's not decorated with gifts from the grateful again. I almost had a coronary the last time I came here…"

Chloe pulled herself together and threaded her arm through Clark's to communicate her sympathy, but it didn't stop her from teasing him some more. "They actually proffered gifts to their Savior?"

"Chloe! It's not like that!" Clark almost whined in his desperation to get off the subject.

"I know, Clark." She sobered up. Laughing at the situation really wasn't helping him, but she'd definitely write it down so she could giggle about it to her heart's content later. "And you'd never encourage that sort of thing. Clark, you never would… not even for a lark." On impulse, she got on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek.

Before she'd found her steady footing again, she was shoved to the floor. Gasping from the pain in her backside, she looked up to identify her attacker. But it wasn't just one, even though they spoke in unison. "How dare you! He's mine!"

A/N: It's really starting to come together, isn't it? And finally a longer chapter! Huzzah! And one little continuity error from the series… Jonathan didn't receive a broken leg from the meteor shower, but considering his being prone to injury, don't you think he should have?

MarkMark261: Thank you for the constructive comments. I guess I thought that the flying would be the power that would make him feel like the biggest freak. Everything else could possibly be explained away (Jolt of adrenaline, lucky guess of what was behind that wall…) but flying… Flying under your own power is something that people don't "normally" do, although I do dream about it and think it would be AWESOME! Maybe that's why I just let it become a fantastic passion of his… one he could share with Chloe… :D

I could have left him with the phobia, but I don't know… I thought it was a humorous solution… I didn't address that he wasn't freaked out at first… Maybe he was. But I'm thinking that after a couple of months (per my story at least), he psychoanalyzed himself and thought that was the reason for the fear… Oh, and by the way, I'm sorry if I spoiled anything for you… and he hasn't started flying yet. In fact, he's already reiterated once that he's still afraid of heights. ;D

KentCharm: As always, I appreciate your supportive comments. But now, as the chapters (hopefully) continue to be longer, I hope you'll still enjoy it.

iluvsmallville1: Thank you for your lovely review. I definitely plan on keeping the story up. I do write a bit ahead, but don't want to overload ya'll with chapters. This will probably be going up today, but I'm already working on Chapter 11… Wait! I've said too much… Is that bad of me:D Thanks for reading!