A/N:- sorry about the long wait but uni has started again and i promised myself i would actually put some effort in to not failing so updates will not be often. enjoy this short chapter and i hope it tides you over.

Chapter 12: Basements and Secrets.

This sucked. And not in any of the good ways.

Lois wriggled around on the cold floor, uselessly trying to loosen the ropes binding her hands and feet. She froze when she heard something moving across the room. She strained her ears to catch the sound again. It sounded like whimpering. Lois almost laughed; she wasn't alone down here like she'd thought.

'Hey,' Lois called quietly.

Immediately the whimpering stopped. She turned in the direction the whimpering had originated from and saw a shape shuffle towards her. She wished there was better light down here.

'Hello?'

Sounded like a girl, a young girl judging by the size of the shuffling form.

'What's your name, kid?'

'Emma.'

The shuffling girl came into view and Lois saw she couldn't be more than fourteen. She was covered in dirt and her red hair was caked with dried mud. She obviously put up a fight before getting dragged down here. When the shuffling and wriggling stopped the girl was sitting hunched over just a few feet away. She was tied up, hands and feet bound, just like Lois.

'I'm Lois,' she introduced herself with tired smile. 'How long have you been down here?'

'Four days, I think.'

'Oh.' Lois frowned. 'If it makes you feel better I have a date in five minutes and when I don't show he'll come looking for me.'

'Won't your boyfriend just think you've flaked?'

Lois laughed. 'I have a tendency to get kidnapped and attacked, a lot, if I don't show he'll come looking.'

'He won't find us.'

'This is what he does. I get kidnapped and he rescues me.'

'That's all very romantic but how will he know where to look?'

Lois turned to study Emma. The kid seemed more than a little jaded. Then again she had been locked down here for four days. Lois wondered why no one had found her, had they even come looking?

'My cousin is writing an article about the freak that did this. That's how he'll find us.'

They sat in silence for ten minutes and just when Lois opened her mouth to ask about Emma's family there was a scraping and the door was thrown open. Lois struggled with her bonds but there was no chance of getting free without some form of help. The lights came on and Lois caught a glimpse of their captor before someone else was shoved into the room and the door was slammed shut. At least he'd left the lights on.

'Chloe, so nice of you to join us.'

'Hey, Lois.'

'Your cousin?' Emma asked, and Lois could just see what she was thinking.

It wasn't like Lois could expect the kid to just believe some unknown guy was going to rescue her in half an hour when the police and her own family hadn't managed to do it days.

'Does Smallville know where you are?'

Chloe shook her head.

'There were half a dozen buildings to check.'

'He knows which ones you were checking, right?'

'Yeah,' Chloe confirmed. 'But it's going to be a while before he finds us.'

'If he finds us,' Emma muttered.

Lois shot her a look that quite clearly told her to shut up or they'd leave her behind. Another fifteen minutes went by and Lois' stomach grumbled. She groaned in annoyance. Yes, let's starve the pregnant woman.

'Dinner date?' Emma guessed with a cheeky smile.

She seemed to be livening up now that she was no longer alone. Even if she didn't think they were getting out of there anytime soon.

'Chinese on the couch and a movie,' Lois sighed.

'That's such a cheap date.'

Lois shrugged. 'Maybe we have more important things to be spending our money on.'

'Like what?' Emma snorted, clearly of the opinion that there was nothing more important than taking your girlfriend out for a nice dinner.

Lois merely shrugged; Chloe didn't even know she was dating Clark she wasn't going to throw in a baby just to prove this kid wrong.

'You had a date?' Chloe asked.

'Yes, let's pick apart my love life while trapped in a basement with a meteor freak after us.'

'I thought it was rather timely,' Chloe joked.

Twenty minutes past.

'Ugh, that's it,' Lois grumbled. 'Cover your ears.'

'What? Why?' Chloe and Emma asked.

'Just do it, this is going to be loud.'

Chloe and Emma exchanged looks but did what they could to cover their ears. Lois took a deep breath and put her lungs to good use.

'Smallville!'

Once the sound of her voice had faded away and they had uncovered their ears Emma snorted.

'Cause that's going to work.'

'Trust me, Smallville, can hear me within a fifteen block radius.'

'Really?' Chloe asked.

'He listens to my heartbeat when he works on the farm.'

'Your boyfriend sounds like a freak.'

'Thank you, Emma, please, continue to insult the person who is going to rescue you.'

'Your date was with Clark?!'

Lois never got the chance to respond. A loud bang sounded outside the room and mere moments later the basement door was ripped off its hinges and tossed aside. Clark appeared in the doorway a look of absolute relief on his face.

'Told ya,' Lois smirked.