The sun was now high in the afternoon sky, beating down on Clark as he finished up the last of his daily farm chores. As he bent down to grab a bale of hay he heard a car pull up the gravel drive. He stopped and turned to see Lana hop out of her car and head towards him.

"Hey, I was just thinking of you." He called as he bent down and grabbed a bale of hay with one hand, slinging it effortlessly over his right shoulder into the bed of the truck behind him. It landed with a thud and a few loose pieces came showering down.

"Hey," Lana said coolly, flicking away a piece that landed in her hair. "I came to see how your first day at The Planet went?"

"Oh, it was pretty good." He smiled, wiping his hands against his jeans. "The job is pretty minor. But it's a foot in the door so I can't beat that."

"So that's it? Nothing exciting happened?"

"No. Well, unless you count finding fifty cents in the vending machine exciting."

"I see." She nodded, leaning up against his truck. "Well, I did call you last night to see how your day went," Her eyes narrowed slightly and she paused for effect. "And imagine my surprise when I find you hadn't come home yet—at ten o'clock at night. Those are quite some hours for someone who only works in the mailroom."

Clark picked up another bale of hay. "Oh, well after work I went out with Chloe to meet a source." He tossed the hay behind him. "He said he had information for her story on Lex, but he didn't show up. I didn't get home till early in the morning."

Lana rolled her eyes, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. "This is exactly why I didn't want you working at The Daily Planet."

"What?"

"Because you can't just go to work, do your job and come home."

"I'm sorry I wasn't around," Clark said softly, stepping forward and reaching out for her hand. As his fingers grazed her skin she jerked away. "But I promise I'll make it up to you."

"You just don't get it, do you?" She spat, exasperated. "Now that you're working at The Daily Planet with Chloe you're probably going to be out every night investigating and getting into trouble."

"Not every night," He said, inching closer towards her. He went in for a kiss but she twitched her head away. "Besides," He sighed, frustrated. He picked up the last barrel of hay and hurled it over his shoulder, badly missing the truck. "We didn't get into trouble last night; we just sat in a car for hours and cruised around the alleys of Metropolis. Pretty harmless stuff." Clark mumbled as he watched the bale crash into a tree fifty yards away.

"But it's just a matter of time," Lana argued. "Lex is a dangerous man—we all know that pretty well. Working on a story to expose him is dangerous. Sooner or later you're going to be out working on this little story of yours when all hell breaks lose and you'll get shot or—"

"But Lana, you know that can't hurt me."

'I know, and that's the problem."

Clark took a moment to let it all sink in. Lana was looking back at him with an almost wild look in her eyes. He mentally scolded himself for not realizing what this was all about sooner. "So all of this is about my powers again?"

"You already know how I feel about this." She stated matter -of -factly. "You know I think it's a bad idea to run off to Metropolis—where there are just too many opportunities to use your powers—instead of staying in Smallville where it's safe."

"Safe?" Clark choked. "Have you been living in a different town all this time? What about all the meteor freaks?"

"That's different. Here weird things have been happening for years, and Chloe was the only one to ever look into any of it." She said. "But Metropolis is full of nosy reporters like her—you seriously think someone like you won't go unnoticed for long?"

Clark flinched. He took offense to the term nosy reporter. After all, he did want to be one someday. "I think you're being a bit paranoid Lana. And I don't think Chloe would like you calling her—""

" Clark," Lana cut him off, her voice going from angry to suddenly soft and sweet. She took a step forward, reaching out to stroke his arm. "Maybe I am being a bit paranoid. But we're finally together and I don't want anything to jeopardize that." She reached for the collar of his shirt, pulling his head down to kiss him deeply. "If someone ever found out about you and what you can do—I just," She moaned, pulling away. "I just couldn't bear to lose you."

Clark knew the chances of him being found out because of working at The Daily Planet were slim at best. "I'd never let that happen." He said firmly, doing his best to dissuade her fears.

"Then prove it." She demanded, her grip on his shirt growing stronger. "Prove to me that you want the same things I do—a peaceful, normal life here in Smallville."