CHAPTER 7: Aftermath
Lois sat quietly next to the hospital bed, listening to the beeping of Lana's heart. She really didn't know why she was doing it, Lana had been nothing short of evil towards her and Chloe for a long time now. But here she sat, by the bed of an old friend, out of loyalties she thought long dead. Lana coughed and slowly opened her eyes before she let out a moan. Lois bolted up to her bedside.
"Lana! You're awake! How do you feel?" she gushed. Lana looked confused and then recalled what happened.
"Lois. How did I get here? I thought I was going to die."
"Clark and I brought you to the nearest hospital. We thought it was the right thing to do."
"Why? After the way I've treated you. Both of you. Why would you do that?" Lana asked, years of being with Lex had made her paranoid of being indebted to other people.
"Lana. You and Clark used to be really close. You know him. Would he EVER turn his back on anybody completely? Well the truth is neither would I. We were good friends once and Clark loved you once. We weren't going to let you die alone in some muddy clearing." Tears started to fall silently from Lana's eyes.
"Lois. That thing. It showed me what I've become. I knew when I started dating Lex that I was losing sight of who I was but I just couldn't stop it until I had changed and I didn't know who I used to be. I'm so sorry for everything I've done. I'm so sorry for how I treated you and Chloe. Can you ever forgive me?" Lois smiled.
"Well that depends. You really think you're gonna get back together with Lex?" Lois teased. Lana smiled through her tears.
"I guess I really should have expected that huh? Not the best night for me, my boyfriend uses me as a human shield. I thought when Clark and I's break-up was the most painful one I'd ever have to go through. The truth is I haven't been in love with Lex for a long time. I won't miss him. I think its time I make up for the person I've been."
"Thats a good plan Lana." Lois smiled at her. "Well I've been deprived of caffeine for just a little bit too long so I'm going to go get some coffee from downstairs and then I'll come back up here and make sure you're okay." As Lois walked out of the door she heard Lana shout.
"Lois. Thanks."
----
Lex flagged down a pickup that was driving through the woods along a narrow two lane highway. "How'd you get way out here buddy?" The friendly truck driver inquired. Lex glared at the man. He was covered in mud, had scratches across his face from the branches and felt like his hands were burned even though they appeared to be fine.
"Take me to the nearest phone. Now. You'll be compensated for your trouble." Lex snapped.
"Geez no problem buddy." The driver returned his attention to the road. "Asshole..." he muttered under his breath.
----
Clark walked down the brightly lit hallway towards Lana's room. He was hoping to catch Lois. A lot had happened and he was in the middle of something important when the world went temporarily crazy. He looked in and saw that Lois was no-where to be found. Clark let out a deep sigh and then walked into the room. Lana turned her head to the six foot tall farm-boy who had just walked in.
"Clark. Hi." she said, unable to take her eyes off of him. She couldn't, the fire of the Rider had shown her how wrongly she had treated Clark all of those years, all the things about him that if she had taken a minute to realize would have made her never let him go. Lana was only alive because Clark Kent loved her, had been there every time someone was about to hurt her. "Clark. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for the way I've treated you all along. I never gave you a chance." She was crying. Clark didn't know where the sudden apology was coming from but he smiled.
"I just came to see if you were okay Lana. I didn't think I'd be getting a tearful apology."
"But I owe you one. Clark how many times have you saved my life? How many times were you there for me when I needed you most. Instead of loving you for all of those times I didn't trust you, I asked you how you were always there and I never understood why."
"Lana. Come on..." Clark said trying to get off the uncomfortable subject. Clark had long ago forgotten any romantic feelings for Lana. He cared about her and was saddened by her change but he had grown up and realized that you couldn't save everyone.
"No Clark. Just listen. I realized tonight the error of my ways. I'm still in love with you. Clark please give me another chance. I promise I'll never hurt you like I did ever again." Clark couldn't believe what he was hearing. He opened his mouth to respond. Neither Clark nor Lana noticed the tall brunette standing in the doorway with a cup of coffee.
----
Lex stood in the parking lot of a truck stop. The wind picked up as a helicopter descended from dark clouds. Lex smiled. 'Its good to be me.' He boarded the copter without a second thought of the people he left in the woods. He saw what the fireball did to Lana and had no doubt she was probably dead. 'Oh well. She'd been far too moody lately anyway. I hope that thing took care of Clark and Lois too. Why not do the work for me?' He felt the pull of gravity as he lifted off towards home. How Johnny Blaze became that thing was only one question the night presented. How Clark Kent had managed to arrive to the rescue in Massachusetts from Kansas in such a short span of time was another.
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Lois stood stunned by what she was hearing. "I'm still in love with you Clark." Lana was saying inside. 'I'm going to have to rethink this friendship thing with that bitch.' Lois slowly backed out of the doorframe but sat in a chair next to it, making sure she could hear every word. Clark didn't speak for what to Lois felt like an eternity. Finally he said something. Lois hung on his every word.
"Lana. You and I have had a rollercoaster of a relationship. I'll always care about you but I can't go down that road ever again. It wouldn't be fair to me and even more importantly it wouldn't be fair to you. I can't lie to you and tell you that I still love you. I haven't loved you in a long time. The truth is Lana, I am uncontrollably in love with some one else. I don't think I'll ever love anyone else again." An enormous smile filled Lois's face. She was so happy she started to shake. 'Calm down Lane. Just calm down.'
Inside she heard more sobs from Lana. Then quietly Lana spoke. "Then I have one question for you Clark. What are you doing in here with me. Go find her and don't ever let her go." Clark smiled at Lana and bolted out of the room. Right past the person he was looking for.
"SMALLVILLE!" Lois shouted, annoyed that he had totally missed her. Clark spun round and saw the beautiful face of Lois, beaming at him. He slowly walked over and offered her his hand. She took it with a grin as Clark pulled her to her feet.
"Lets get you home Ms. Lane. Its been a long night." Lois smiled as Clark turned to leave the hospital. She leaned in closer to him as they walked. Their fingers still entwined.
As they walked out into the cold parking lot one question rose to Lois' mind. "Clark. How do you plan on getting to Metropolis from Massachusetts tonight?" Clark paused for a second, looking Lois in the face, remembering every detail. Holding her hands he took a deep breath.
"Lois. There are a lot of things about me you don't know." Lois stared deep into Clark's eyes.
"Oh come one Farmboy. You're not that mysterious." She joked in an effort to get him to smile. Normally he would have flashed his wonderful smile at her but this time he didn't instead she saw how worried and nervous he was. A little bit more quietly she placed her hand on his cheek and looked him in the eyes. "Hey. Clark its me. You can tell me anything." Clark finally cracked a bit of a smile.
"Lois I think I've fallen in love with you..." he started.
"Think or know? Come on farmboy!" Lois sighed exasperatedly. They would have to work on his communication skills. "Clark I swear..." she was about to lecture him about how he needed to be more clear if he was going to say things like that. Clark cut her off by leaning in and kissing her. The shock quickly subsided. In every dream she had about this moment she could never had expected how good it was. She felt herself melting into Clark and then kissing him back. Finally the kiss broke. Lois was speechless for the moment. Clark Kent had finally figured out how to shut her up.
"I know I love you Lois." Lois smiled hugely, which Clark returned.
"Clark I love you too! I love you so much!" She bursted as she fell into an enormous hug from Clark. "But now Smallville. I want you to tell me how I'm getting home tonight? Because we could always get a hotel room..." Lois suggested with a wink to Clark. Clark considered this for a second before picking Lois up in his arms. She yelped with pleasure at how easily he picked her up.
"Hold on Lo." he whispered in her ear. Lois gazed in his eyes and she felt like she was floating. Looking down her eyes went wide. She WAS floating. "Don't worry. I've got you." Clark said, sensing her worry. Clark held her tightly as he blasted off into the night sky, towards Metropolis.
----
Lex Luthor sat alone in front of his fireplace, a glass of Scotch in his hand. The events of the night had angered him to his breaking point. He tossed the Scotch into the fire. The flames grew huge as he expected them to but when they didn't subside Lex backed up. The fire roared in height as Lex watched a cloud of black smoke pour out in front of him. The smoke consolidated into the form of a man. Lex continued to back up till he reach a sword that was hanging on the wall. The smoke consolidated into a pale man wearing a black suit. Footstep echoed across the room as the man lumbered towards Lex. In a knee-jerk reaction Lex swung the sword right at the man's neck, severing it. A dark laughter filled the room as the man's head instantly reattached itself. Lex stared at the sword and the man in shock as the sword dissolved into dust in his hands. "What the hell are you!" Lex shouted. The voice of the man echoed all around the room, but his lips never moved. Lex was transfixed by his red eyes. "I'm a friend Lex. I've come to talk business. We seem to have a mutual enemy." The man moved his hand and chair flew across the room and slammed behind Lex, forcing him to sit.
----
Clark landed on Lois's balcony light as a feather. Lois stared at him with amazement. "Clark. How..." Clark silenced her with a quick kiss.
"Lois I want you to know everything about me. If you're really going to be in a relationship with me you need to know who I really am."
"I'm listening Clark." She smiled at her handsome farmboy. Her handsome farmboy who could fly.
"Lois I wasn't born on earth. When I was just a baby the planet that I'm from was destroyed. My father managed to send me here in a spaceship, that crash-landed during the first meteor shower in Smallville. As fate would have it I crashed right in front of my mom and dad. They took me in and raised me as one of them. Except that I'm not. I can lift a bus over my head with one finger, I can run to Florida and back from here in about five minutes, I can start fires with my eyes, I can hear a pin drop 7 miles away, I can see through things, I can freeze things with my breath and I can fly. Oh yeah and I'm sorta invulnerable. Except to the meteor rocks, Chloe and I call them Kryptonite and they can kill me."
"Wow. Clark that was a lot really fast." Clark blushed and then seemed worried. Lois quickly kissed him. "Hey. All those times you disappeared or showed up at just the right moment. You're a hero and you've never taken credit for it. Clark I fell in love with the man you are. Now I know what your secret is I think I'm more in love with you than I ever thought I could be." Lois hugged him tightly. "I'll never let you go Smallville."
"Lois I'll never let anything hurt you. I'll never stop protecting you. I'll never stop loving you." Clark kissed Lois on the top of the head and stood there holding her close, memorizing what her heart sounded like. For the first time in his life everything was perfect. Bathed in the starlight of the Metropolis skyline Clark knew he had found his soul-mate. The one promised to him on the cave wall. And he had to thank a man with a flaming skull for a head for making him realize how much he loved her. In the distance Clark thought he saw a trail of flame streaking across of rooftop. 'Thanks Johnny. I hope we meet again.' Clark thought. He felt Lois pull away from him and grab his hand.
"C'mon Smallville. I think its time we tried out some other applications of your powers." she smiled as she dragged him into her apartment and drew the shades.
well that it for this story. THANKS SO MUCH TO EVERYONE for reading it! Yes I did set up a sequel. I think I'm gonna take a bit of a break and maybe write a short fun little fic that I've been brewing up before I get started on that one. I hope you enjoyed this one!