A bell jingled as Chloe pushed open the door of the Talon. The place was pretty busy for the late evening and Chloe searched through the crowd for a sight of Clark. She saw a flash of a red jacket and followed it towards the back of the room. There she found Clark sitting at a table in the corner.

"Hey." She called, tossing her bag down and pulling up a seat. "I got your message and came here as soon as I could. Were you able to decipher anything from the phone message?"

A waitress appeared their table and set down two steaming mugs of coffee. "I already ordered us drinks."

"Oh—thanks." Chloe smiled as the waitress passed it to her.

Clark handed the girl a wad of bills and she scurried over to the next table. "The woman in the background was paging a Dr. Rosenbaum." Clark said, taking a sip.

"Dr. Rosenbaum?" Chloe said, scrunching her forehead in thought. "I swear I've heard that name before—but where?"

"Well, I don't know," Clark said. "There are two major hospitals in Metropolis—maybe he works for one of them?"

'Maybe," Chloe mumbled. "I'll look into it."

"Maybe your source will get in touch with you again—you just have to be patient." Clark offered, watching curiously as Chloe reached for a nearby salt shaker.

"Maybe—or I can find him first."

Clark watched her smirk; he had no doubt she would try. "So," He said cautiously after watching her pour salt from the shaker into her cup, stirring the drink mindlessly. "Is everything alright?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, seeing as how you've just dumped salt into your coffee—I'd say your mind is elsewhere tonight."

Chloe's eyes darted down to her hands. "Oh great," She muttered, pushing the cup away from her. "I've been like this all day. I guess I have a lot on my mind."

"Is it because of—"

"The giant, completely awkward fight I had with Jimmy this morning?"

"Yeah."

"It's just that," Chloe stalled and began to bite the nail on her thumb nervously. "He's been a bit frustrated with me lately. All work and no play makes Chloe a dull girlfriend I suppose."

Clark leaned back in his chair, watching as she fidgeted. "But Jimmy knows how important your work is to you—being a reporter is who you are. Besides, it's not like you forgot about your plans on purpose."

"I tried to tell him that but," Chloe reached into her purse. She unzipped a pocket inside and pulled out something that was tiny enough to be obscured by her hand. "He wanted me to prove how much he meant to me. So he proposed—"

"What!!?!"

"—proposed that I move in with him." She finished slowly, amused by Clark's reaction. She gave him a moment to recover before she continued. "I guess I didn't phrase that right, did I?"

Clark shook his head, letting out a breath of relief. "Not exactly."

"Well, to be honest that's what I thought he was going to do when he reached into his pocket and told me he had an important question to ask me." She opened her hand and let a small, silver key clatter onto the table. "But instead of a ring he gave me this."

"Oh, wow." Was all Clark could muster as he picked up the key, twirling it in his fingers. "So he's serious then?"

Chloe nodded.

"What are you gonna do?" He asked, sliding it back across the table to her.

"He said living with him would make more sense then living with Lois and commuting everyday." Chloe snatched the key and tossed it back into her bag. "He also said it would give us guaranteed time together outside the Planet—so that he didn't have to compete to spend time with me anymore."

"Are you going to accept?" Clark asked, hoping she hadn't made a rash decision.

"I don't know. But if this will make him happy then maybe—" She couldn't bring herself to finish the thought; for a minute it felt as if someone else was in her body, making her say these things. It all felt wrong, but she wasn't ready to admit it. Quickly she changed the subject. "So how are you and Lana? Still blissfully, sickeningly happy?"

Clark shook his head and took a long sip from his cup. "I wouldn't say that."

"Trouble in paradise so soon?"

"Let's just say that Jimmy and Lana have a lot more in common then I'd ever imagined."

Chloe's eyebrows shot upwards. "Uh oh. What does that mean?"

"She asked me to quit the Planet and take a job at the Ledger instead."

Chloe laughed. "The Ledger? Why would she want you to leave the best newspaper in the world for the Ledger?"

Clark leaned across the table, dropping his voice down low. "Lana thinks working in Metropolis is risky—that is presents more opportunities for me to use my powers."

Chloe blinked back in disbelief. "What?"

"She thinks it would be easier," He continued, a bitter edge to his voice." To be discovered in Metropolis. While in Smallville I can basically stay under the radar."

Chloe couldn't resist the urge and rolled her eyes. "She can't be serious? Your powers are who you are," She whispered. "How could she ask you not to use them? That's basically asking for you to change everything you are—you're not seriously considering it are you?"

Clark stared at her thoughtfully for a moment. "Looks like we're in the same boat, aren't we?"

"Touche." The words hit Chloe hard; she knew exactly what he meant and she couldn't help feeling a bit like a hypocrite. "Well, I guess relationships are about give and take, right? Compromises?" She asked hopefully, trying to convince herself more than anything. "Maybe this will all just work out for the best."

Clark shrugged his shoulders and looked out the window into the dark night. It bothered him to hear Chloe struggling to justify what was happening. It bothered him ever more the way he was doing the exact same thing. "Maybe. I mean, I want things to work out with Lana."

"And I want things to work out with Jimmy."

"But it's just so—"

"So—"

"Overwhelming." They both said at the same time. They looked back at each other, surprised by their confession.

It was the first time Chloe had let herself say what she had been feeling out loud, and she suspected it was the first for Clark as well. Suddenly she couldn't hold it in any longer. "What I don't understand Clark, is how much is too much? How far do you go to please the one you care about before you, you—" She paused and Clark watched her intently, a mutual understanding passing between them. "Lose yourself?"

The two sat, contemplating her words for a few moments before two distinct beeps simultaneously cut through the silence. Chloe reached into her bag and pulled out her cell. She looked down at the display.

Clark pulled his cell from his coat pocket.

They waited until their phones rang again before they answered, there voices tense and uneasy.

"Hey Jimmy."

"Hey Lana."