Chapter 23

Lois squeezed his hand like she would her mothers as a young girl. Something about his presence brought out all the bliss she could muster, filling her heart to the brink and her eyes almost to tears. Even though she loved the feeling, there was some resentment to it that lay dormant and stewed at the back of her mind. She thought herself a hard resilient person, but Clark turned her into a swooning mush pot of teenage emotion and silliness. She was twenty-two, definitely not a teenager.

"You can go sit, I'll get your breakfast for you," Clark said as he walked her towards the large table where Jimmy and Chloe were sitting.

"I can get my own food, Smallville." She glared over at him.

Clark grinned and let go of her hand. "Just let me, Lois. I know exactly what you want."

She gave in reluctantly, but she knew he was right. He knew exactly what she ate for breakfast. "Okay, but remember, just make sure you get enough bacon." He laughed slightly and left for the brunch line, leaving her to walk the rest of the way to the table by herself. The closer she got, the faster her heart beat. It had taken them almost an hour to get downstairs, what if they suspected they had had sex?

Not one to blush, she found it almost impossible to keep her cheeks from turning red as she pulled back a chair and seated herself. The others around the table weren't paying much attention to her though; they seemed occupied with an incredible staring match. Candice was staring heatedly at Chloe and Jimmy, while her cousin and the young photographer were glaring right back. They would look to each other every couple of seconds before they went back to staring at the tall black haired woman across the table.

Her nervousness disappeared as she cleared her throat and said. "Something wrong?"

Chloe was the first to hear her, turning her head, but keeping her eyes on Candice. "Yes, as a matter of fact there is."

"Oh." Lois smiled to a hotel staffer who put a picture of water on the table. She hastily filled her cup and took a sip. Things seemed heated and the cool water certainly wasn't helping. "So, what seems to be the problem?"

Candice finally spoke up. "I asked your cousin and her boyfriend about who Clark was with last night at the robbery."

Lois nodded dumbly and took another drink. "And?"

"All they told me is that he was a friend of his, named John."

She nodded again. "That's true."

Candice glared at Lois as she felt everyone was being too vague. "There has to be more, the man could do the same things Clark did."

Lois leaned forward and whispered. "I suggest you keep your voice down or we'll have to ask you to leave." The woman's eyes went harder than they already were, as if she was about to erupt. She was surprised though, Candice nodded and smiled.

"Sorry, I'm a sucker for the details. I just get the feeling that there's more to this fellow than what the two of them are saying." She looked back to the other two with her glare suddenly returning. "I know I'm not your close friend and all, but I do have the ability to help."

"All Clark will tell us is what you already know. You have no less information on this man than we do."

Candice studied the woman to her right. Lois didn't seem like the type of woman to lie, plus, she could see it in her eyes that she was telling the truth. "Okay, I believe you, but don't blame me for being skeptical. I want to help when there is trouble."

Lois nodded. "You'll have to talk to Clark about that. He tends to take off abruptly and leave everyone in the dark when it comes to saving the world." That brought out a round of small laughs, relieving the tension that had built up between them all.

"What's going on here?" Clark asked as he slipped Lois her plate. He pulled up a chair beside her and sat down as he put his own plate on the table.

"Nothing Smallville, we were just discussing your heroics last night." She smiled at him, but directed her gaze to Candice and squinted. The tall woman nodded in understanding.

Candice had already finished her meal and was sipping on a warm coffee along with Jimmy and Chloe. Clark got to his feet suddenly and rushed away, leaving them staring at him in surprise.

"Where did he go?" Chloe asked.

"He forgot my coffee," Lois said as she poked her fork into the mound of scrambled eggs in front of her.

"It's nice to have your very own waiter, isn't it?" Candice asked as she took a drink from her mug.

"Yes, it really is," Lois grinned wildly and bit vigorously into her food. "That being said, he's not too bad a boyfriend either."

Candice laughed at Lois's remark. She enjoyed the woman's sense of humor and attitude. She couldn't say the exact same for Chloe though. Clark's best friend had an unsettling quality about her that she didn't necessarily like. It wasn't that she was unpleasant, but her eyes always gave away something that hinted at dishonesty and apprehension. "So, what kind of a boyfriend is he?" Clark always seemed like an interesting topic of conversation with Lois.

"You know the type I'm sure," Lois replied. "Always bumbling around for the right thing to say, can't find his socks, doesn't know which leg to put into his pants first." She smiled as she continued to chew her food.

Everyone was laughing as Clark dropped Lois's coffee on the table in front of her. "Yes, but that's only because you were naked, Lois."

She turned a slight shade of red at Clark's words, his boldness catching her off guard as she almost choked on her food. Everyone except Chloe was laughing.

Chloe almost spit out her coffee after she heard what Clark had said. "Clark!" she said in a warning tone of voice.

"What?" he asked, turning a sly eye her way and grinning.

Candice, seeing that Chloe was completely shocked and that Lois was trying to hide a tight grin, said. "I get the feeling someone is getting a little bolder." When Clark grinned back at her, her mind finally came to a conclusion. "Oh, Clark, Lois, you didn't?" She stared at them mischievously, danger and mirth playing in her eyes.

Clark went darker than a tomato as Lois swallowed her food as hard as she could. Candice looked over to the two other people at the table. Chloe and Jimmy clearly didn't get what she was talking about it, so she dropped it. "So, Jimmy, have you taken any great pictures of this place yet."

Jimmy jumped over his confusion quickly and answered. "Not yet, but I might take some at the end of the week before we leave. It's a vacation and I tend to leave my camera behind while we do things. Keeps my hands free and lets me enjoy everything along with everyone else."

Candice nodded her head in understanding as she took another glance in the direction of Lois and Clark. They had each calmed down, but only Lois was looking at her. Clark had his head down to his plate as he looked to be ignoring everyone. He was shoveling his food into his mouth like a hungry dog. She smiled at Lois as the woman rolled her eyes at her. "Well, my friends are probably wondering where I am, so I best get going."

"Oh, so soon?" Lois asked dangerously, smiling evilly as she took a sip from her mug. The tall woman stood up and left her mug on the table. She smiled back and winked.

"Don't worry you two, just remember to protect yourself."

Clark coughed up a hash-brown and put his hand over his mouth. He could barely hear Lois grumble as his he stared at Candice walking away, his eyes wider than golf balls.

Jimmy looked from the tall retreating woman and back to Lois and Clark. "What's she talking about?"

"Nothing," Lois responded, keeping her voice as even as possible as she put on a mask of steel emotion. By the looks of it though, Clark was having considerable difficulty doing the same. "You okay?" she asked.

He nodded and cleared his throat, getting rid of the last piece of food that had stuck to it. "Just had a piece of food go down the wrong pipe."

Chloe exchanged a weird look with her boyfriend and was about to say something, but she was quieted by Jimmy's hand on her arm.

He shook his head and motioned for her to keep quiet. "Actually, let's go back up to the room, maybe I'll take those pictures now." He tilted his for Chloe to follow. She picked up on it and stood. He put his hand on her back and led her away, turning his head back to Lois and Clark one last time and grinning wide. Lois mouthed a thank you and he just nodded in return.

As Clark watched the two of them disappear form view, he dropped his fork on his plate and leaned his head back in exasperation. "That was awkward."

"Tell me about it," Lois said in return, taking another sip form her coffee mug.

"Well," Clark began, "we were sitting here and Candice said-."

"Shut up, Smallville." Lois rolled her eyes as he grinned like an idiot. "It was just a figure of speech."

"I know," Clark replied as he slipped a piece of bacon into his mouth. She continued to shake her head in wonder as he took a drink from his glass. "What? Am I not allowed to have a sense of humor?"

"Oh, a sense of humor is one thing you're definitely going to need if you want to survive in this relationship, but that was really lame."

Clark snorted and shoveled in more food. "I thought it was funny."

Lois ignored him as he wouldn't stop. She quickly finished her plate and smiled. "I like Candice, she lives dangerously."

"Seems like the two of you have a lot in common," Clark mumbled through a mouthful of eggs and bacon. She glared at him for his lack of manners. "What?" he asked, a piece of bacon falling out of his mouth and back down onto his plate. "Oops."

Lois shook her head in wonder and brought her cup back to her lips. After taking a long draught she set it back down on the table. "I guess we do have a lot in common. She's a little more daring than me though."

"There's someone more daring than Lois Lane?" He swallowed the last piece of his breakfast and took a drink from his glass.

"It looks like it." She saw the smile that crept onto his face and returned it. "I don't have to worry about her stealing my man, do I?"

Clark shook his head. "No, she doesn't kiss quite like you do."

Lois laughed as she caught the gleam in his eye. She held no past grudges about him kissing Candice. She even knew that it was probably the reason why he had admitted his love for her in the first place. "Too bad, I'm sure she would have been dynamite in bed. Well, considering that the super strength." She expected him to blush and fidget, but his eyes went hard as he stared holes into her. "What?"

Clark took a deep breath and felt the mirth in the air disintegrate. "Please don't joke like that, Lois. I love you, that won't change, but please don't even joke about that."

"Why not?" She didn't like his sudden seriousness. There was more to Clark Kent than she thought there was.

"I have lines that I don't cross, and joking about sex with other people is not one I will step even remotely close to." He could see her eyes drop to the table as if she was a wounded pup. He felt bad, even thought he knew it was her fault. "Look, I'm sorry I pulled things down, but I just want to let you know that monogamy is very important to me."

Lois scooted her chair closer to his and kissed his cheek. He pulled back and looked at her with a pair of surprised eyebrows. "I know you do Clark. You were raised properly. The time I lived with you and your parents taught me a lot about what a real home was meant to be like."

Clark smiled warmly and squeezed her knee with his left hand. "It sounds like a wasted opportunity now that I think back to it." He winked.

She chuckled softly and grabbed his hand in on her knee. "Let's go," she said suddenly.

"Where?"

"Anywhere, a walk maybe?"

"A walk where?" Clark asked with his eyebrows still high up on his forehead.

Lois tugged him to his feet and led him away from the table, her hand still firmly tucked inside of his. "I don't where, I just feel like walking."

Clark bobbed his head up and down like a blundering idiot. "Sounds good enough for me."

"That's what I thought," she replied with a laugh as she led them out of the restaurant and into the main lobby.

-

"Jimmy?" Chloe asked as they entered their room and closed the door. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," he replied as he took off his shoes and dropped onto the bed, taking a deep breath. Truth was that there was something wrong, but he really didn't want to talk about it while they were on vacation.

"You're lying." She sat down on the edge of the bed with him as he continued to lay back. "What is it?"

Jimmy relented and took another deep breath before he spoke. "Did you not understand what was going on down at the restaurant?" When she frowned down at him, he smiled weakly. "It took me a bit too, but once I understood, it really got to me."

Chloe, not liking his tone of voice and his sudden painful expression, put her hand on his arm. "What was happening down at the restaurant?"

Jimmy sat up and looked at her. "How long were Lois and Clark up here before they showed up downstairs?"

"Almost an hour, why?"

"Does it usually take an hour to shower?"

Chloe frowned. "It usually takes Lois even longer when she knows she doesn't have to be somewhere important."

"Exactly," Jimmy replied as he stared right at her. "Now, Clark looked like he just got out of the shower too, so that means…" He left the sentence hanging as he saw her puzzled eyes squinting, showing how her mind was trying hard to connect the dots. He saddened when her eyes suddenly went wide.

"They showered together!" she exclaimed. Her eyes went even wider as she finally linked the last piece together. "Oh."

"Oh, is right," Jimmy replied as he fell back down onto the bed and let out a large exhale.

"Jimmy," Chloe said evenly, turning over to look at him. "I know what you're upset about. You're upset that we've been together longer than Lois and Clark and we still haven't had sex."

Jimmy closed his eyes and nodded. "It's frustrating, but I understand your reservations, I really do, but it's not like we haven't done it before."

"That was a mistake, we agreed on that remember?"

He nodded and opened his eyes. "It may have been a mistake then, but what would make it a mistake now? We love each other, but that shouldn't mean you have to be afraid."

"I'm not afraid," She argued.

"Then what is it?" He challenged, sitting up again and looking at her.

Chloe sighed heavily and stood up, throwing her hands in the air. "I don't know, I guess I'm just – I don't know." She gave up and leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.

Jimmy smiled weakly and walked over, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I can wait as long as you want me to. I love you and I've told you before that I would wait as long as you wanted to, but I would like a better explanation as to why."

"What happened to letting it go and not dwelling on it like we said a while ago"

"That was almost six months ago, it wasn't just a while ago." He rubbed her arms and dropped his hands, sticking them into his pant pockets.

She slipped around him and sat on the bed, looking down at her hands as she displayed them on her lap. "I'm scared." She said simply, not strong enough to look at him.

"Scared of what?" he asked as he sat down beside her. He smiled faintly as he grabbed her right hand and held in his. He grinned wider when she squeezed it lovingly.

"I guess I'm scared that we could be making a mistake. We both know that we were too young when we first did it."

"That doesn't mean we're too young now," he said in return. He wasn't trying to persuade her into sex. All he wanted was a better explanation to why she was so scared of it.

"I know," she agreed. "But, I-I, I just don't know what it is. Maybe I don't want to do it again until I'm married." She looked pleadingly to his eyes, but instead of him acting sad, he smiled. It brightened her hopes just a little.

"Are you telling me you think we should get married?"

"What!" She almost screamed. "No, no, that's not what I'm saying. I'm sorry if I-."

He cut her off by kissing her. "Don't worry; I know things are still too early before we begin to think about anything like that. We love each other, but there are still a lot of things we need to work out before we jump head first into a long term commitment."

Chloe took a few deep breaths as she put a hand to her chest to steady herself. "Like what?"

"Maybe living with me in Metropolis?" He asked quietly, shrugging just a little.

She stared at him as he looked away, almost as if he was embarrassed. "You want me to move in with you, with your parents?"

"No," he replied laughing. "I mean go out and find an apartment of our own. We could both be closer to the Planet and we wouldn't have to schedule time to go out with one another."

Chloe smiled suddenly, liking his exuberance. "I think that's a great idea." She leaned over and kissed him again, making sure to harden it. When she pulled back, he gave her a frown.

"What about Lois?" he asked.

"What about her?"

"She'll have the entire apartment to herself. Don't you think she might get lonely?"

"This was your Idea," she protested.

"I know, but the more I think about it…"

Chloe laughed suddenly and said. "I'm sure Lois will more than likely be happy to have the place to her self. She and Clark will not have to sneak off to some sleazy motel if they want to be intimate."

Jimmy smiled suddenly, realizing she was right.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she moved back to the farm."

"Whoa," Jimmy said as he raised his hands in the air. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. This is Lois we're talking about."

"No," Chloe replied with a grin, "this is Lois and Clark we're talking about. Those two have something special, and I'm sure that Martha would welcome Lois back into her house with open arms. His mom loves Lois like a daughter. Plus, she's the biggest Lois and Clark supporter I know."

"Even bigger than me and you?" he asked with a laugh, his eyebrows rising.

"Much bigger. She was the one that suggested that we bring the two of them along with us."

"You lied when you came and told me you had come up with the idea?"

She shrugged, but smiled wide. "What can I say? Mrs. Kent has some wit about her."

"She is a state Senator."

"That she is, and she's been well informed over how things have been going on here. I've been calling her and giving her updates for the past few days."

"Chloe," Jimmy said with a shocked expression. "You're delightfully evil."

"I know," she giggled.

"That's good; I like a woman who knows so much about herself."

Chloe shut him by kissing him again, her worries about sex a long distant memory as she lost herself in the lips of the man she loved. He was the one, much like Lois was the one for Clark, and that made her happier than anything else in the world possibly could.

-

Clark walked alongside Lois, his left hand holding firmly to her right as she directed them on their path. It wasn't a path per say, but rather a hallway of the hotel. They had no specific destination, their treading leading them to god knows where. Their happiness was the only important thing on his mind and he would try to enjoy it for as long as possible.

Lois pulled Clark through a large door and into a huge conference room. Actually, it was more of a dining hall. The room was massive, covered tables lined up symmetrically and a small stage at the front.

"What's this?" Clark asked.

"It's a dining hall. See, there's a dance floor by the stage and stereo equipment even set up." She pointed to he corners of the room.

"It looks like someone is having a party."

"Indeed we are, Mr. Kent." A familiar voice replied.

Clark turned around suddenly, his jaw dropping to the floor as he stared up and down at the man before him. "Perry?"

"Close the mouth kid, don't drool on the floor or we might slip on it." He grinned wide as he shook the young man's hand. By the look of Clark's stupid grin, he could tell he had surprised him quite easily.

"What are you doing here?" Clark asked suddenly, not sure why strange things kept popping up right and left.

"That's not important. Please, tell me who this lovely young lady is." He glanced to the woman as she stepped closer to Clark.

"I'm Lois, Lois lane," she said as she extended her hand and pumped it vigorously.

"Nice to meet you Lois, I'm Perry White." He nodded his head a little at the strength she possessed. "A mighty firm grim you have there. I guess a woman needs one to handle this young man." He grinned as Lois broke out in laughter.

"Sometimes I wonder how his mother puts up with him." She smiled as Clark rolled his eyes.

"Speaking of which Clark, I'm sorry to have heard about your father. I'm sure he would have made a good senator." Perry gripped his shoulder compassionately.

"He would have made a great one," Lois said as she touched Clark's arm. He gave her and Perry both a weak smile and said thank you.

"So!" Perry said quickly, picking the mood up from the saddened level it had dropped too. "What brings you two here?"

Lois responded as she could see that Clark was thinking solemnly about his deceased father. His death still hurt her, but Clark had taken it quite hard. "Vacation actually, but we're here with some friends as well."

"Chloe Sullivan?" Perry asked.

"Yeah, but how-."

Perry waved away her question and explained. "You two don't read the back page of the Saturday edition of the Daily Planet do you?"

Clark, getting over the thoughts of his father, shook his head. "No. Why?"

"On the last Saturday of each month I write an article as the ombudsman of the Daily Planet. I give my personal opinion of the journalistic integrity and quality of the paper."
"I'll make sure to give it a read," Lois said with a smile.

"Thanks," Perry replied. "But, the reason why I'm here is to attend a journalist convention."

"Journalist convention?" Clark asked with a skeptical eyebrow. "Here?"

"Yes, here."

"Are you sure?" Clark asked.

"I've been sober for more than two years, Kent," Perry frowned.

"That's great to hear. Sorry I was a little skeptical." Clark stuck his hands in his pockets. "Wait, that means that this vacation that Chloe won was not simply for fun, but it included a free pass to the convention?"

"Looks like it, Smallville."

Clark shook his head in wonder and said. "No wonder why my mom made me take my good clothes." His eyes hardened suddenly. "Chloe and she have been speaking to one another." He formed his words out of speculation and wonder.

"I'd bet on it." Lois smiled as she placed a hand on his arm again and squeezed.
"How long have you known?" he asked Lois, turning his head to her as Perry began to grin.

"Since yesterday afternoon when we she and I went shopping with Candice. I already bought myself a nice dress for tonight too."

Clark stared at her sparkling eyes and shook his head again. "This has been one hell of a coincidental week, but everything makes a little more sense now."

Perry laughed and grabbed Clark by the shoulder. "The young are so gullible." When Clark stared back at him as if he was injured, he let out another booming laugh. "Here are the tickets." He slipped them out of his coat pocket and handed them to Lois.

"Thank you," she replied.

"You're more than welcome."

"Tell me, Perry, how do you and Clark know each other?"

The older man adjusted his brown coat and grinned. "I'll let the young man explain that one since I don't remember most of it. I was a little intoxicated at the time."

"Oh."

Perry smiled one last time and turned around, walking towards the large doors. "See you both tonight. And Clark?"

Clark, taking his eyes off the tickets, looked up. "What?
"
"Remember, I still owe you one." He nodded to Lois and walked out the doors, leaving a very stunned young man in his wake.

"So Smallville, care to explain how you know one of the most influential men in journalism?"

He shook his head in wonder as he took the tickets from her and slipped them into his right pocket. "It's not a very good story."

Lois laughed and grabbed his hand, hauling him out the doors and towards the elevator. "Humor me," she said as the doors opened and they entered the elevator.

"Okay," he said reluctantly, the metal doors sliding closed in front of them.