Thanks for the reviews, guys! This is my first fanfic so I hope it goes over well!
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to anything Smallville.
Chapter 2
Lois and Clark made their way back to The Daily Planet. Jimmy and Chloe were huddled in a corner pouring over a pile of papers. When they entered Chloe approached them with an anxious look on her face.
"So, what happened? Did Lex tell you anything?"
"It's Lex Luthor, Chloe. What do you think?" Lois replied.
"You're right," Chloe said in a defeated yet strong tone. "Well, did you get anything out of him?"
"Just that he didn't see the guy's face because he had a mask. He couldn't recognize him or figure out how he got past security."
"Well, speaking of security, we tried all of the cameras that Lex has posted around the mansion," Chloe explained. "It looks as if there is a puddle of ink on the floor. When Lex saw it he turned around. Then all of a sudden someone comes out and shoots him."
"Lex mentioned something about the ink." said Clark. "He said there was no ink in the room at the beginning."
"Maybe the person put it in there as a distraction," suggested Jimmy simply.
"This is Smallville, Jimmy. Things rarely turn out cut and dry," Chloe said to her boyfriend.
"Well, it would make sense."
"I don't think we should totally rule it out, cuz," said Lois.
"Ok, whatever you guys say." Chloe said, giving in.
"So, what do you have so far?" asked Clark, trying to get back on track.
"Well, I checked into the police reports, but they could not find any DNA around the scene," Chloe explained, showing them a set of papers that had been printed online. "But they do have some surveillance videos in their file. For example, they only place that Lex had been to outside of the mansion this morning was one of his laboratories. He was seen conversing with a doctor in there."
"Who is the doctor?" asked Lois.
"According to police reports, his name is Dr. Timothy Rosenthal."
"Where can we find him?" She asked her cousin. If he did shoot Lex he probably would not be at the laboratory where he was working for him.
"Well, that's the kicker," said Chloe. " I hacked in to his bank account an email to see if he has had any activity since the shooting. Turns out, he has." She held up what appeared to be an email confirmation. "To American Airlines. He is going on a short trip to Bolivia. The ticket was purchased last week, but he took off not half an hour after the shooting. He may have had this all planned."
"Really?" said Lois intrigued, looking over all of Chloe's papers.
In the meantime there was someone walking by who didn't look familiar to Clark.
"Hey, who's that guy?" he asked.
"Oh, that's Curtis. He just started here last week. He seems okay so far," Chloe replied, not thinking much of the subject.
"So what are we going to do about this doctor? We need to speak to him," said Jimmy.
"Are the police questioning him?" asked Lois.
"They already did," replied Chloe. "Said what he was doing with Lex was purely business and he did not know what else Lex was doing that day or who would have shot him. He knows not many people like him, but he could not personally name anybody."
"His flight returns tomorrow," said Clark, also taking a gander at Chloe's discovery . "Maybe we could speak with him then. We could stop by the lab then if he is so innocent."
"Sounds like a plan," said Chloe.
That night Clark went back to the farm alone. It was decided that they would all meet at The Daily Planet in the morning and then they would meet with the doctor once his flight got in. He was sitting down at the kitchen table thinking about Lana. It was so lonely without her there. He had always had someone at the farm with him. Then his father died and his mother left to be a Senator in Washington. At least he had Lana to come home to after his parents left. Now he was by himself and the farm never felt bigger. This was how he had felt ever since Lana left.
Clark had decided that he would just lay down on the couch for a while. Maybe after some time he would just drift off to sleep. The silence in the house made the emptiness of his stomach sound louder. But Clark did not even feel like eating. He just closed his eyes and slipped into his new routine. Then he heard a knock on the door.
It was Lois. She wore a big smile on her face and had two bags of food in her hands. He opened the door.
"Hey Lois," he said, confused.
"Hey," she said. "I know you didn't have dinner either. So I figured we could eat together. I'm sure you can use a friend."
"Thanks Lois," he said, with a slight smile on his face. It did feel good to know she cared, and he did not want to be alone.
"Where are Chloe and Jimmy?" he asked, not realizing the mistake he made.
"They wanted to be alone," she said upset. "Besides, I know you are going through a rough time and I wanted to be there fore you. I thought that is why you confided in me?"
"Yea, it was," Clark said defensively.
"So, excuse me if I like being the only one who you go to for once. Excuse me for having a vulnerable side."
He had realized his mistake.
"Look, Lois, I didn't know. I just assumed, since we are all friends and are all working on this together. I really am glad I came to you today." He was so sincere that she couldn't help but stare into his eyes before giving him a big hug. As she was doing so, she couldn't help but realize how green and beautiful they were. She had never noticed it before.
"I'm sorry, I was being too hard on you," she said after they broke apart. "You're going through a hard time."
"Don't apologize. I'm glad you're here." He couldn't believe he said it, but it was true.
"Thank you, Smallville," she said with a small smile. With that, they grabbed the chicken and french fries from the bags that Lois brought and sat down at the kitchen table.
Their dinner went pretty quietly, mostly because Clark was not one to hold long conversations. After they ate and cleaned up.
"Thanks again for coming, Lois" he said, in a tone that suggested he thought she was leaving.
"O no you don't, Clark. You are not getting rid of me that easily. I'm staying with you tonight."
"No, Lois, you don't have to-"
"I know that, Clark. I want to. And besides, I lived here at one point and we've been here alone before. We'll stay in separate rooms just like then."
He did have to admit, he liked the idea of not being by himself. He smiled slightly and sat down on the couch. Lois got them some drinks from the fridge and joined him.
"I know that some people want to be alone when they are in a situation like yours, Clark. But I figured you have been alone enough the past few nights."
"That's exactly how I feel, Lois," he said. It was crazy to him how she could understand him so well. He had never seen this side of her before. She had always appeared so fearless.
He must have been staring at her blankly, because she said, "take a picture, Smallville."
He snapped back into reality. "Sorry, Lois. It's just, um…"
"What? I don't strike you as the nurturing type?"
"No, not exactly," he said shyly.
"Well, maybe I'm not as hardened as I come off. I have feelings too, you know."
"I know you do." His tone was incredibly sweet.
"Sometimes it's just easier to not show how you feel. That way it's easier for people not to get hurt."
"I know what you mean."
"Is that what happened with you and Lana?"
He got a sad look on his face, and Lois caught herself. "I'm sorry, Clark. Sometimes I let my mouth get the better of me."
He paused for a little while before he started talking again. "She decided to end it. She felt that she was not right for me." He hated lying to her after she had been so nice to him.
"Wow. That's so harsh. I'm sorry you had to go through that, Clark. But, you know, you'll find someone."
"It just seems harder for me."
"A lot of people think that, Clark. Look at me and Oliver. I thought I had the worst luck when he left. But you helped me feel better and now I am resigned to the fact that I may or may not find someone else."
"You will, Lois."
"Well, thanks Clark. But this is not about me, it's about you."
"Still, you're smart and you're fun to be around. Any guy would be lucky to have you."
"Thanks, Clark. That's quite a compliment. We've really come a long way since we've met."
"Yeah, I guess we have." He then looked at the ground.
It was true. When Clark had first met Lois, he couldn't stand her. He thought she was bossy, rude, and arrogant. And now he realized that she was just strong. He liked that about her.
She then decided to ruffle Clark's hair playfully. As she did this he turned his head to face her. Then she leaned in closer to his face, as if she was about to press her lips to his. This shocked him. She realized after a couple of moments what she had done and she backed away and took her hand out of Clark's hair.
"Well, I um, need to use the restroom," she said as she hastily left.
Clark felt confused as she left. Did Lois have feelings for him? And if so, how did he feel about that? He had just broken up with Lana. He wasn't sure if he could love anyone like that ever again. Besides, given who he was, it would only lead to heartache. He could not go through that again.
As Lois walked to the bathroom, she felt embarrassed. And for Lois Lane to feel embarrassed, well, that was something. But she couldn't understand what had gone on in her head. She knew Clark was vulnerable and she did not want to take advantage of him or to hurt him. But she really did want to kiss him. And that scared her.
Lois walked back into the room where Clark was sitting and was saying that that she thought it better that she left when Clark stood up awkwardly in protest.
"You don't have to go, Lois. Nothing happened."
"I just feel like such an idiot. I'm really sorry, Clark. I never meant to take advantage of you, and…" She would not let him see her cry.
He took her hand. "It's okay. I want you to stay. I don't want to be alone." He pulled her into a fierce hug. "We'll keep each other sane," he said as they broke apart. She laughed.
They sat around talking for a while longer. When neither of them seemed to be able to keep their eyes open much longer, they went to their rooms to sleep.
The next morning Clark awoke to a scream. He ran downstairs to see what it was. He laughed when he saw the source. Lois was in the kitchen, her back to him, and grease from the bacon she was frying was splattering over her. She heard Clark's laugh and turned to face him.
"Oh, so you think this is funny? Well, I guess it's not a secret anymore that my culinary skills are shoddy." She placed the bacon on a paper towel.
"Are you okay?" he said, still laughing slightly. "Do you need anything?"
"I think I'll live," she replied.
"You didn't have to do all of this, Lois. You've already helped me out a lot."
" I know, but I guess this is my way of saying thank you for not thinking I am a total psycho."
"Well, not toally.."
"Hey!" she said and threw a dish towel at him. They both laughed.
They had a decent breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. After, Lois set the dishes in the sink and asked Clark hesitatingly, "So, um, do you need help with like, the cows or something?"
Clark burst out laughing at the way she asked the question.
"What's so funny?"
"You? Help me take care of the cows?" He was still laughing.
"Hey, I'm just trying to be nice."
He stopped laughing. "I know you are. And I appreciate that. Really, I do."
She couldn't help but forgive him. "Well, I know I don't seem like the farm girl type. So you can go do the farm work while I clean up in here."
"Okay," he said and left to do some work.
After all of the work was done Lois decided to go back home and get ready for when they met up at The Daily Planet later. As she walked out the door Clark thanked her again for all that she had done. She hugged him again and he kissed her on the cheek. She walked out the door when Clark saw out of the corner of his eye a silver pendant on a chain. He went to pick it up and realized the pendant was in the shape of an L.
"Lois, is this yours?"
"Huh?" Lois asked dumbfounded as she stood in the doorway. She eyed the necklace in Clark's hand and then clutched her bear neck. "Oh yeah. Thanks, Clark. My dad gave my sister Lucy and I each one for Christmas one year when we were little girls. I take it off when I sleep." She went to retrieve it from his grasp and their hands touched slightly, causing an electric current to run through them that neither could ignore.
They stood frozen in place for a couple moments. "Well, glad I could help," Clark finally said shyly as Lois finished walking out the door. As she did so he could not help notice a pleasant sent of vanilla and honey. Lois's scent, he noticed. Thoughts buzzed through his mind about why in the world he would find her scent so intoxicating.
Three hours later the four of them were in front of The Daily Planet building. They went over the plan, to check out the laboratory first to see if the doctor was there. If not, then they would hack into the airport security cameras and see if they could track down where the doctor went. That would be a more difficult task, so they would just try the obvious place he would be first. Of course, Clark could just use his powers, but that would look suspicious in front of Jimmy and Lois.
They walked over to the laboratory and it turned out that luck was on their side. The doctor had placed a box on a table and sat down on a stool when they walked in.
"Hello, Doctor Rosenthal, I presume?" asked Chloe.
"That depends. Who wants to know?"
"I'm Chloe Sullivan, I'm a reporter at The Daily Planet." She showed him her badge. "And this is Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane, they also work for the paper." They showed the doctor their identification. "And this is Clark Kent, our assistant." She could not think of a better lie, and Clark had no badge.
"Well, what is this about?"
"We were just inquiring as to what you knew about the shooting of Lex Luthor," Chloe replied.
"I've already spoken to the police and other reporters about it and have given them the same information-"
"I know, we were just wondering if you could describe your relationship with Lex. Maybe that will lead to who had motive to shoot him."
"What, do you think I did it?"
"No, we're just trying to get as much information as we can."
"Look, I don't like Luthor. He's threatening and arrogant." His tone was angry and hardened.
"So, why are you working for him?" Lois piped in.
"He pays well," the doctor replied simply. "But believe me, I would never shoot anyone."
"So, why did you take off so soon after Lex's shooting?" asked Chloe.
"It was for a business trip. I needed to pick up something for a project that Lex is having me work on."
"Is that what's in this box?" She stepped closer to it, but he pulled it closer to him.
"That is none of your business," he replied coldly.
"Why not?" asked Jimmy. "What's so secretive about it?"
"I don't think Lex would want you to know, and I don't want to get on his bad side."
His fierce tone made them all silent for a couple of moments. Then the doctor said, "I think it's time for you to leave. You don't know what you're getting involved in."
"We've all had experience with Lex Luthor. You should be the one to be careful," said Clark. With that, they all walked out.
They made their way back to The Daily Planet. The inside was abuzz with its usual hustle and bustle. Curtis made their way to them and immediately turned his eyes on Lois.
"Hey, Lois" he said shyly.
"Oh, hey Curtis," she replied, smiling.
"How's it going?"
"Not bad, and yourself?"
"Not bad. Well, I'd better get back to work," he said awkwardly as he started to leave.
"Yeah, me too."
He walked away and Chloe smiled at Lois. "So, the new guy, huh? He's pretty cute."
"I guess so," Lois replied, and then turned to look at Clark.
Clark found his feeling on the situation awkward. He did not like the idea of Lois with the new guy. Maybe he felt he couldn't be trusted. Maybe he just felt protective. After all, Lois had been so good to him. Or maybe it was something more than that. But he didn't want to believe that.
Lois, meanwhile, noticed how strong Curtis's scent was. It was musky. It was definitely not as sweet and clean as Clark's. Wait she thought to herself. Why am I thinking of Clark's scent?
Her thoughts were broken up by Jimmy speaking. "So, what do you guys think? Is the doc a suspect?"
"I think so," said Chloe. "He professed his dislike for Lex. And it seems as if he used a ticket bought to create an alibi."
" I agree," said Clark, who was still slightly distracted by his thoughts.
"What do you think, Lois?" asked Jimmy.
"What? Oh, yeah, I think you guys are right," she said distractedly.
Chloe smiled. "You'll have to ignore her. She only has Curtis on the brain."
"No, it's just-"
"It's okay, Lois. You don't have to be embarrassed."
Lois decided to drop it. Chloe was just as stubborn and persistent as her. They all decided to keep tabs on the doctor periodically to see if he became more suspicious, while also looking out for any more evidence. With that, Clark left, since he did not work there. As he was leaving, Curtis approached the others and seemed particularly attentive to Lois. Clark, however, felt Lois would get upset if he pried into her business so he walked out of the building.