A.N.: This a long time coming. Enjoy.

CHAPTER FIVE

"Lois, what do you think you're doing?" he said.

After Lois hopped over him he quickly went after her. He was now standing right behind her, grabbing at her arm and whispering forcefully in her ear.

Lois just brushed him off, putting her hand over his mouth to prevent him from speaking. "I … do I … know you?"

He shifted in his seat. An extremely familiar sight before him. Her eyes piercing through him and despite the fact they were about the same age as him, he couldn't help feeling as small as a pea. Like he had to answer to them. After all they were his parents.

xxxxxxxx

She had ran out of gas. She was just entering Metropolis and the car decided to fail on her. She had no money but her parents had trained her well, so to speak. The early morning starts, the jogging, the ballet lessons, the hikes, martial arts. She could fend for herself. And besides, from where she was, it was only a short jog to Metropolis.

But then what to do in Metropolis? She still needed to get to the East Coast. And by ditching the car she knew that they would instantly find where she was. They were going to track down the car. She wondered if Lois reported it stolen. Because that's what she did. Stole. Her mother would be slightly proud of the little criminal streak. Her dad would chastise her.

She wondered if he had come after her. She was sure he would. And if he did, where would he end up. Would he go to Metropolis? Gotham? Smallville? When she went into the time machine she just wanted to be where he was and it took her to Smallville. She knew she had to get to Gotham and by going to Smallville, it made the journey to Gotham longer. Would he go to Gotham? Or would he want to go see his parents in this time? Whatever he did, she knew he was in this time. It was something she could feel in her bones.

xxxxxxxx

"I'm sorry … she's just a bit out of it," Clark said, as he pried Lois' hand off his mouth. Trying to pull Lois from her spot but she wouldn't budge.

"I'm not out of it Smallville," she said. "Don't tell me he doesn't look familiar?"

Clark searched the stranger's face for any semblance of familiarity. The eyes he had seen somewhere before. The shape of his face, the colour of his hair, his nose, his mouth.

"He does look like someone I know," he replied. "But I can't place the face."

He shifted in his seat. This wasn't going to go down well. But what were the choices that he had? Tell them outright that he was their son from the future who was her to find his girlfriend that had travelled back in time after, it appears, that she was trying to flee some kind of criminal trying to use the time machine for no good? Right … and ruin the future that had yet to happen. He took a deep breath and swallowed … he could at least partly tell the truth? He didn't have to reveal who he was. It really wasn't that necessary.

"It doesn't matter who I am …" he began.

xxxxxxxx

Metropolis police had found Lois' car ditched in a side street on the fringe of Metropolis. Nothing had been taken from the car and the car itself was in pretty good condition except for the few scratches that Lois had told the officer were caused by her and her tendency to crash into things. Bruce had flown them back to Metropolis. Their search narrowed with this new piece of information. But it wasn't the only thing that was new.

"It doesn't matter who I am …" he began.

"Why do I feel like I've heard this before?" Lois wondered aloud.

"Maybe you should take a seat," he suggested.

Lois felt inclined to agree as she sat on the chair Clark pulled out for her.

"There is no easy way to put this. Or no way to say this and have you believe me."

Lois was rubbing her temples with her fingers. She had been in Smallville for almost two years and dealt with a lot of stuff but she had a sneaking suspicion that this kid was going to make all those meteor freaks seem tame. There was just something about him that screamed … not trouble … but something. It wasn't right, she felt. That she should be meeting him in The Talon, in Smallville, of all places. It made her uneasy. He didn't belong here and she could feel it.

"Are you another time traveller?" she put bluntly.

"Another?"

"Yeah, we had a girl appear out of nowhere last night. Claimed she was a time traveller. Do you know each other?" Clark asked.

" She's Ellie. Well, I call her Ellie. If we're talking about the same girl."

"Ellie … what is it short for?" Lois asked.

He was about to answer when Bruce had approached them.

He sat up and straightened himself as Bruce reached them.

"They found the car."

They had all clambered onto the Wayne Industries helicopter headed to Metropolis. It was a 3-hour drive but it was much less than that by air.

They had all piled into the helicopter. Bringing along this second timet raveller. Clark had taken the window seat, Lois the middle and the stranger next to her. Chloe was left behind because of the lack of room in the vehicle.

Lois kept sneaking glances at the boy. She could feel him being uncomfortable beside her. As if he was scared that she would discover who he really was.

"Can you at least give me a name?" she asked at last.

"Jon."

"Is that your real name? You're not going to tell me your last name is Smith?"

He shook his head. He could believe that the woman beside him was his mother. Correction, will be his mother. Although they were the same person there was a difference. The Lois Lane in this time was harder around the edges. He had only been around her for a short time but he could almost feel the walls she had made around herself.

They were due to land at Metropolis Airport shortly. He hoped that a quick search of the city would bear fruitful results. That he would be able to take her home without revealing other vital information.

xxxxxxxx

She stood in front of the screens that were displaying the departure times at Metropolis airport. She couldn't figure out a way to get onto the plane. She felt defeated. She thought that she would be more resilient than this. She sighed and sat down in a nearby chair. She would just wait for them to come and find her. It was only a matter of time. The car would have been discovered. They would have tracked her to Metropolis. So she would sit and wait and see what fate had in store for her.

xxxxxxxx

He couldn't believe that his simple – to him it was simple – rescue mission of his girlfriend had turned into the time travel trip from hell. The danger it posed to meet his parents before they were his parents was enormous. And then there was Bruce.

Bruce hadn't even noticed him. Dismissed him and only saw him as a means to an end. He couldn't help but be relived. He didn't want to have to deal with Bruce's probing questions and his elite detective skills. This wasn't the time nor the place. But despite the fact that in their present he was only just a few years younger did not ease the unease he felt at Bruce's presence. He hoped no one else would have noticed. No doubt that would have drawn more suspicious glances in his direction. And a couple of thousand by Lois was already more than enough.

"So, Jon," he said, drawing out his name. "What's your connection to this missing girl?"

"Excuse me, sir?" he said by reflex. Bruce was always 'sir' to him. No matter how old or in whatever space of time. He was sure Bruce could snap him like a twig.

Bruce turned to face Jon in his seat. Face impassive. Radiating complete class and superiority.

"How do you know, the girl … Ellie," he repeated. His eyes boring into Jon's.

"She's a good friend of mine."

"How good of a friend?"

"Bruce …" Lois warned.

"They must be pretty good friends if he went back in time to rescue her," he reasoned.

"And she went back in time to save him too, don't forget," Clark said, remembering the distant yet determined look in Ellie's eyes when recounting her story.

"We're really good friends," Jon stressed. They didn't need to know more than was necessary. Being there was already bad enough.

Bruce smirked. Not believing Jon. "Well, you'll forgive me if I don't believe you."

Lois put her hand on Jon's arm. "Don't mind him. He's just PMSing."

Bruce rolled his eyes. "I just like having all the facts."

"You always think you're the only one entitled to these facts," Lois said. "It's not like you're so forthcoming with information."

"Lois …" Clark warned. He didn't want a fight to break out when they several hundred feet above the ground.

"Don't worry, Clark. I won't be pushing him out of the helicopter. Unfortunately we need him alive," Lois teased.

Jon watched as Bruce and Lois tried to outstare each other. A non-verbal battle was being played out. Clark was as perplexed as Jon was. There was a history between them and it seemed, some unfinished business.

Jon wondered what it was because in the future Lois and Bruce's relationship was quite amicable.

Clark, in an attempt to dissolve the tension, in the now claustrophobic helicopter, peered through the window and announced, "I think we're here."

xxxxxxxx

Ellie watched the multitude of people flooding the terminal. Departing. Arriving. With loved ones to greet them. She watched them. Searching through them, trying to spot Jon. Her eyes spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.

"It couldn't be …" she whispered.

"Ellie!" he called.

It was. Excited and relieved she ran up to him, pushing the crowd away and jumped straight into his arms.