"That's an interesting question," Lois said.

"With an interesting answer," Clark said, desperately trying to think of that answer.

"We took a taxi," Lois quickly filled in.

"Why'd you take a taxi to the Planet when you could have taken one of your vehicles?" Martha asked.

There was no denying Martha Kent was a sharp lady.

"We didn't have enough gas," Clark answered.

Lois had to admit it wasn't a bad reply. If they could just work on the blush that appeared when he was lying to his mother.

Martha stopped unpacking the bag and turned around to face them directly. "I'm trying to give you two an opportunity to come clean on your own," she gave them a few moments to say something and then she said, "I know."

Clark and even Lois had been rendered speechless.

"What I don't know is why you want to keep it a secret from me," Martha continued.

"Well, we weren't sure how you'd take it," Clark said nervously.

"For the record, I wanted to tell you from the beginning," Lois interjected.

Clark shot her a look of annoyance. She playfully stuck her tongue out at him.

"I think it's great that Lois knows your secret," Martha told Clark and with a smile directed toward Lois, she said "If there's one person on this planet that's capable of handling your secret responsibly, I think it's Lois." After giving that comment a chance to sink in, she asked, "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"

Clark and Lois looked at each other. Was it possible she still didn't know about their newfound relationship?

Clark treaded cautiously, "What else would there be to tell you, Mom? I think my secret takes the cake."

"How did you find out, Lois?" Martha asked curiously. "It wasn't because your cars were out of gas, was it?"

Clark beat her to the answer, "Well, we've been friends for awhile now. I just thought it was time to tell her. Good friends shouldn't have secrets like that."

"Thank you, Lois," Martha told Clark with a twinkle in her eye and then she gave them their napkins.

Lois didn't know whether to be relieved that Martha didn't know the bigger secret or disappointed that it hadn't all been laid on the table. Lying to Clark's mother was neither easy, nor comfortable. It was strange, because she could lie to her own parent all day long.

Tess came back onto the floor and introduced herself to Martha and then told Clark and Lois they could go home and get some sleep. Clark, Lois, and Martha got into the elevator. Clark and Lois sighed audible breaths of relief when the door shut. They had been afraid Tess would say something revealing in front of Martha.

"Something tells me you two don't like your boss," Martha said.

"She's a female version of Lex," Lois responded.

Clark smiled. "I guess that's one way of putting it."

"It's just that you know she's up to something no good," Lois continued, "but you just can't catch her red-handed, at least not in a way that's going to hold up in court. She must have had lessons from Lex."

"She doesn't seem to be a pleasant person to work for," Martha said sympathetically.

"She has no idea what she's doing," Lois said, venting. "She's has no experience on a paper. She's interested in the Planet because Lex was and her total lack of knowledge is making sales drop. If we don't get a real newspaperman or woman as editor soon, I don't think the Planet's going to be one of the world's leading paper's much longer."

They rode back home with Martha. When they got there, Lois was still venting about Tess. "Did you know she just drops by the farm whenever she wants? Who does that? She's not a friend, she's not even an okay boss. Of course, she did give me a raise out of the blue, and not that I'm complaining because it saved me from moving onto the farm ironically, but--"

Clark looked at his mom apologetically. "She gets like this when she's tired. She can't shut up," he started leading her upstairs.

Martha smiled.

"I'm tired, not deaf, Smallville. Your mother needs to know Tess is a crazy stalker, so she'll be prepared."

Clark nodded reassuringly, as he continued pushing her up the stairs.

"Lois?" Martha called. They both stopped on the stairs. "I really am happy that you know about Clark's powers and heritage and I know I've told you this before, but I think of you as a daughter. You're more a part of the family than ever now and healthy families can tell each other anything because there's a bond that's strong enough to keep them together. So if you ever want or need to talk, remember that I'm ready to listen."

Lois smiled back at her. Part of the reason she had been rambling on was because she was nervous. Nervous that the lie would change her relationship with Martha, but she felt reassured now and more guilty than ever for hiding the truth from Martha.

As if afraid that Martha was starting to melt Lois' resolve, and she was, Clark hurried her up the stairs. He looked back at his mother, but she had already left the room. He counted on his fingers. 3 more full days until his mother had to be back in Washington. If they could just make it 3 more days.

TBC