A/N So I wanted to get this chapter out before tonight. I'm so excited. It sucks because I have dance class so I'm going to miss the beginning but that's what DVR's are for I suppose! I'm hoping that this episode is not a letdown because quite frankly I want to see lots of Chlark moments especially if this is Allison's last season as Chloe! Thanks so much for the replies and I hope you like this chapter… sort of my take on the conversation between Clark and Rokk. Replies are always welcome.

It's All in the Timing

Chapter Six: Countdown to Doomsday

Day of Doom…Metropolis

Pray God you can cope I stand outside

This woman's work…This woman's work…

She always knew that she would die for him… not because of him but always for him. Somehow in her mind she pictured it differently. She always imagined going out in a blazing inferno, perhaps a rapid succession of gunfire or at least in his arms. In truth she always thought she would take her last breath in his arms. That his face would be the last that she would ever see… the world would fade to black and all she would remember were the blueness of his eyes. In truth that's the way she wanted it to be. That's how she had always wanted to leave this world because in her heart she knew that she was meant to die for him.

Looking down at the gaping hole in her stomach, the blood covering her fingertips as she tried to stop the flow, she swallowed hard as her body slumped against the wall and she slid to the floor. She was alone and the world was fading fast. She was alone and there were no strong arms encircling her, no words of comfort and he was nowhere in sight. She was alone and she was dying. Closing her eyes she felt the tears on her cheeks and suddenly she could see his face… she could see his blue eyes and she wasn't afraid to die alone. Because just as sure as she knew that she was meant to die for him… she realized that even if he were a thousand miles away, in the end… his eyes would be the last thing she saw… the world was fading to black but all she could see were the blueness of his eyes staring back at her.

72 hours earlier… Daily Planet

Oh it's hard on a man Now his part is over

Now starts the Craft of the Father…

Standing above the world on the roof the Daily Planet he wasn't sure why but for some reason he felt closer to her. It had been six days since he had gotten her phone call at the Isis Foundation, six days since Oliver had been trying to trace her call and still they were no closer to finding her. There had been a reason why Chloe had called on the landline at the Foundation. There was security systems put in place by her for her own protection in case for any reason she needed to disappear and apparently she had used that the night she called Clark. Somehow she had blocked her call, found a way to scramble the signal as to where her call had come from. She had Oliver's team running around trying to find which satellite tower had been used to originate the call and there had been so many leads, all turning out to be false. They had the call coming from all over the world, the last being Singapore. It had been a long shot but still he had gone and found nothing.

He was starting to lose hope which was unlike him. He felt as if he were running out of time and her voice kept echoing in his ears…

"You're meant to save him Clark… you're meant to save Davis."

"Which is why you need to be smart and forget about rescuing me and find a way to rescue him."

He felt his hands tense at his sides because he didn't feel like saving Davis… he didn't feel like being the hero. He was angry… with Davis, Lex, with the world for trying to once again take away something precious to him. It had started with Jor-El the day he took his father away, and then Lex who had ripped Lana and any future they may have had right from his fingertips and now here he was again watching his future being ripped from his grasp. For the first time he was tired or saving the bad guy because that was what was expected of him. He was tired of watching those he loved leave his life because some sadistic bastard with an ax to grind decided to take a sledgehammer to his life. He wanted Chloe back by any means necessary and for the first time in his life he wasn't sure he would be able to be the good guy and do what was right if he didn't get what he wanted. For once he wasn't so sure about being a hero and it was tearing him up inside.

Running his hand through his hair he sighed staring out onto Metropolis. He just wanted her back in his arms… he wanted her love, her warmth, her embrace.

"Clark you of all people know that in the end… it's not about you and it's not about me or our wants… it's about doing what's best for the world…"

So caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't feel the shift in the wind or hear the sound of footsteps until the hand was on his shoulder. Turning around sharply he stared at the man before him, confusion furrowing his brow.

"Rokk… what are you doing here?"

"Kal-el… there is much we need to discuss… there has been a change in my time." He sighed staring into his eyes. "There is a battle coming… one that is going to affect the entire world and change the future for everyone."

"You mean Davis… Davis and I are going to fight."

He shook his head. "It is not a fight… it is a battle, The battle. It is called the Day of Doom."

"The day of Doom; I don't understand."

"It is the day the beast is released. It is Doomsday Kal-El. Seventy-two hours from now is the day that you fight the beast… It is the day you die." He remarked gravely.

He stared at him for a long moment. "Wait a minute. You said that you saw my future… that I would become some great superhero."

"And if you had allowed us to terminate Brainiac when we were here you would have but because we did not… because Chloe Sullivan was allowed to live it has altered my future and your present. Chloe Sullivan was meant to die that day, she was meant to perish so that her connection with the one you call Davis would be severed. Because she lives… you will perish."

"I can't believe that. I can't believe that Chloe was meant to die… not like that."

"She was." He affirmed.

"NO!" He shouted losing his patience. He took a step back feeling that nauseating feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was as if something horrible was coming, something that once again was about to rip his life apart and there was nothing that he could do to stop it. "There was a reason I saved Chloe… there was a reason I was able to. The future was altered and Brainiac was destroyed which means that there has to be another way to fix this. I mean he was meant to kill me in your future but he didn't. We stopped him so that means we can stop Davis."

Rokk stared at him, his eyes revealing a sympathy that felt as odd as it looked upon his face. "I do not know how to fix this. I am here simply to warn you. You cannot take on the beast. You cannot fight him. He will kill you."

"Then there must be another way… there has to be." He remarked desperately.

Reaching into the compartment of his shirt he pulled out the Legion Ring. "I hear that yours was destroyed… this may be the only way. We can go back… and terminate Brainiac the way we were meant to." He remarked.

Clark shook his head furiously. "No! I will not allow you to kill her. I will stop you. My past self will stop you!" He exhaled a deep breath. "Besides…there are always consequences for going back in time. There will be one just because of this visit and you know that."

"It had to be done… our world is in peril. We are on the verge of mass destruction because of that beast. I am the only one left of the Legion!" He snapped.

"And what about Chloe; in the future… what happens to her?" He had to know. Looking up in to his eyes he saw the regret and felt the pain run through him. She still would die… there was no saving her.

"I understand that this Chloe Sullivan holds great meaning to you but…"

"I love her." He stated in a hoarse whisper. There were tears shining in his eyes creating an eerie effect within his blue orbs. The words meant so much and seemed to convey so little. He didn't just love her… he needed her, he had to save her. Why was that so hard for people to understand? Why couldn't they see that it wasn't just a want… it was an essential, integral part of the man he was and who he would become. Without her, his world just didn't work. Without her, he couldn't save anything.

"Then find another way Kal-El. Our world has no future without you in it… she has no future." He finished softly.

Reaching up he took the ring from his fingertips staring at the small jewel with so much power. "Then I'll find a way."

I know you've got a little life in you left

I know you've got a lot of strength left…

Song Used: "This Woman's Work" by: Maxwell