Chapter 16:

Daily Planet lobby, an hour later: (Completely Lois' POV)

I've got a killer of a headache and Clark just won't shut up. We've been at each other's throats since our roof top reunion. I really want things to be out in the open with us but Clark seems to be pushing all my buttons. He reaches out to press the up button on the elevator but I push his hand away and stab at it. He puts his hands up in a surrender gesture. I give him a 'damn right' look and then stare at the elevator doors…zoning out. Clarks yanks me into the car, "Quit manhandling me Clarkie."

"I don't like Clarkie."

"Still bitter about the name I see Smallville." He runs a hand over his face in frustration.

"I still wanna talk to you once we get to the bull pen." I keep my tone even and neutral.

"Can't wait." He replies dryly. "There's a few things I want to talk to you about too." He adds heatedly.

I keep staring ahead. I tap my foot impatiently, clearly aggravating Smallville. The elevator dings and I dart out. Smallville taking his time. I grab his arm and tug him towards the unused conference room, leaving many staring after us. I slam the door shut. Clark jumps, agitated further.

"What is your problem?" He demands.

"Isn't it obvious, I'm looking at it?" I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose, attempting to halt the growing migraine. "Look, let's get serious Clark."

"Serious? Do you really want serious Lois?" I glare at him as he goes on, "Fine, I'll get serious then. I'm angry at you Lois, I've been angry for a long time."

I'm shocked… "Well why did you leave Smallville?"

"Why did I leave? You want to know why I left? Then answer me this…why did you sleep with Kal?"

"What do you want me to say Clark, because no matter how I say this you're not going to understand." I wished he was you, I add silently.

"Well if you're not going to answer that question, then why follow me and then sleep with Kal?"

"Right now I think I like Kal a lot better than I like you." I yell, instantly regretting it.

"Well then, let's keep this," he gestures between me and him, "strictly professional."

"Fine!" I walk to the door, staring out at the faces turned to us. I open the door, whispering as I step out, "I didn't mean to hurt you Clark."

Chloe instantly runs to me, hugging me tight. "Oh my God Lo, are you alright?"

I hug her back tight. "I'm fine baby."

"Was that you know who earlier?"

I nod my head, "Yeah."

Clark steps out of the conference room, Chloe looks at him for a second, "Clark?"

"Hey Chlo, you're looking good." He smiles unsurely.

Chloe walks towards him and hugs him awkwardly, "Where have you been?"

"I'll, ah, tell you all about it later. Look, I need to go get some fresh air. I'll call you later Chlo." He starts to walk off. "It was good seeing you."

"Like wise." Chloe calls out after him.

"Doesn't everybody have work they're supposed to be doing?" I snap at the gawking crowd.

"Well that was awkward." What an understatement.

"Sure was Chlo." I supply heading towards my desk.

"Did you tell him?" I look at her shocked.

"No Chlo, I didn't tell him."

"Why not?" Damn, why does she have to push the subject?

"Because he didn't give me a chance."

Chlo looks at me unimpressed. "I'll talk to you later Lo, I'm gonna go check in with Jimmy again."

"Ok." I lower my head into my hands and start massaging my temples.

"LANE!" Perry yells, well isn't that just great…


Early that Evening:

Stupid Jimmy and Chloe finally getting a social life…why now all of a sudden? I sigh to myself, all I want is to spend time with my most favourite people in the world, get Chlo, Jimmy and Hannah over and have dinner with the munchkins and Martha. Oh well, at least the munchkins are home waiting for me. I smile as I walk the last block to my apartment building. Nodding as I pass other tenants.

I step into the lobby, Rollin, the clerk greets me, "How was your day today Lois?"

"Good thanks Rollin, yours?"

"Can't complain. Have a nice night."

"You too. Don't party too hard tonight." I wink as I step into the awaiting elevator. 'Don't Cha' comes on in the elevator, I shake my head but start singing along, nothing is going to break my good mood after today's train wreck and it's not like it's a bad song. I'm quickly swept up in a memory from that night, chuckling at Smallville's discomfort. I chuckle to myself, shaking my head as I leave the elevator, key already in hand.

I travel the few feet to the door, placing the key in the lock when the door swings open…

"Oh hey… Martha, where are you guys going?"

"Lois, how's everything? We heard all about it on the news earlier."

"Um…" I look at Martha, and the munchkins all dressed up, Alfred not far behind them.

"I'm fine. Thank you…did you see you know who?" Martha's about to answer when I cut her off…

"Where are you going?"

"Honey, it's Wednesday night, I'm taking Jack and Lara to see that show that they've been bugging us about."

"Oh." Damn, I forgot. "Well, have fun then, and you-" I point to Jack, "don't cause any trouble." Jack runs to me, gesturing to be picked up. I do so, not being able to refuse my little boy anything. He grabs my head and tilts it down and kisses where I have the butterfly stitches. I smile.

"All better Mommy. And I'm the good one remember, she's the bad one." He points his thumb over his shoulder at Lara. I smile wider.

"But I thought it was the other way around, and she's not bad… just misunderstood."

Lara smiles and jumps at me, I catch her and lift her up so I have a child on each hip.

"Not gonna be able to do this for much longer munchkins."

"She's the heavy one."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Do you two want to go to the show?" Martha reprimands. I silently plead that they'll continue and get told off so I can spend more time with them but heaven forbid they listened for once.

"We'll be good Grandma." They reply in unison.

"Say bye to Mommy because we have to go now or we'll be late."

"Bye Mommy." Lara says, kissing me on the cheek and then dropping down.

"Love you Mommy." Jack hugs me and lightly kisses me on the lips.

"Love you guys and be good for Grandma. Bye Martha, have fun."

"Bye Lois." I wave. Alfred walks past me.

"Miss Lois, I'll be back shortly to pick up Master Bruce. Good evening."

"Bye Alfred, see ya soon." The door clicks shut. Damn.

"Bruce!"

"Yeah, I'm in the bathroom."

"Ok, are you going out tonight?" I call out again.

"Yeah, I have to make an appearance at that thing Lex is holding." Eloquent isn't he. "Oh ok."

"Why?"

"Just asking."

"Ok."

I drop my bag on the table in the hall and wander into the kitchen; I pause in the middle and wonder what to do. I spy the Jim Beam on a shelf and reach for it and a glass. Pouring some as I grab the cordless phone; scrolling through the address book looking for my father's number. I take a sip of my drink and press dial on the phone. Listening to it ring…and ring and ring. I'm about to hang up when Dad answers hurriedly,

"General Lane."

"Hi Daddy."

"Hi Lo, how are you? I saw the news earlier."

"I'm fine thanks. How are you?"

"Better now that you called. Was that the Kent boy in those ridiculous tights?"

"Yeah."

"Did you talk to him about you know?"

"Ah…no."

"Why not?"

"Wasn't really an appropriate time."

Dad sighs; I can tell he's unimpressed with my answer. "Well Lo, as much as I love talking to you I have to go, I have to be at that thing Luthor's holding. Was there anything you wanted from me?"

I try to mask my disappointment, "No, just wanted to talk."

"Oh… it was nice to hear from you Lo. I'm glad you're alright and is there any point in lecturing you about keeping quiet?"

"No Daddy, you know it never quite sinks in… in one ear, out the other."

"Tell me about it. Night Lo."

"Night Daddy." There's a click in my ear. Great, even the General's busy, tonight of all nights.

I drop the phone in disgust, no one else to call, other than Lana. But I am so not bringing that upon myself. I grab my glass and wander into the bedroom to change into more comfortable pants and my bunny slippers. I wander out of the bedroom, placing my empty glass on the bench and turning to look in the fridge, hmm… ooh pie! I spot Martha's apple and blue berry pie. I pull it out and slice a large portion; I put that on a plate and put it back in the fridge, grabbing the tinned whipped cream as I do so. I pour myself another drink. I grab the drink in my left, placing the whipped cream and bottle of Beam under my arm, grabbing the pie dish in my right. I head to the sofa and sit down turning the TV on. I wiggle into the sofa to get comfy, munching on the pie already. I take turns at sipping my drink, eating the pie and changing the channel. Nothing good's on. I decide to stop on Fox News channel, catching the end of the story about today's hijinx at the Luthor Plaza.

"Did you leave any pie for the rest of us?" Bruce stands behind the couch.

I smile, "How long ya gonna be?"

"Why?"

"Curious."

"You know what they say about curiosity and cats?"

"You're lucky it's not bats."

Bruce rolls his eyes. "That's real original."

"I'm quite proud of that one."

"Don't quit your day job. I'll be back in about an hour." He looks at his watch. "Look I gotta go... Alfred will be waiting down stairs. I promise we'll talk when I get back."

"Kay, have fun."

"At a Luthor bash, I doubt it."

"Sure, sure." The door slams shut. I'm left all alone, my thoughts running randomly rampant. I look to my bunny slippers; they appear to be mocking me. "Well, because you're so nice I'm gonna go put joggers on." I stick my tongue out at the bunny slippers. I down my drink and then head to my bedroom.


2 hours later:

I check my watch yet again, still another hour until Martha and the munchkins get back and where the hell is Bruce? I lay back on the couch, the sound of keys jangling and then being put in a lock alert me. Bruce steps into the hallway, I pop up over the couch and run to him, "Oh thank God, I was going crazy!"

"Going?"

"Very funny."

"Much better than your bats comment."

"Nuh-huh."

"I'm not getting into an argument like this with you."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm not, now what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Huh, oh nothing." Bruce steps closer, invading my personal space.

"It wasn't nothing Lois."

I look at Bruce, curiosity peaked, I stand on my tip toes and kiss him. He's shocked to begin with but then quickly pushes me away. "What the hell is wrong with you? How much have you had to drink?"

"I… I'm sorry Bruce." I bolt for the door, grabbing my purse and keys from the table as I do so. I run for the elevator, Bruce calling after me. The elevator seems to be moving slower than molasses, the music making me feel nauseous. It dings and I race out, heading for the garage. I run straight for the car jumping inside and taking off as quick as I can. I look in my rear view mirror to see Bruce running after me. I join in with the late traffic and start driving aimlessly, trying to clear my head. Why the hell did I just kiss Bruce? What is wrong with me?

I slam my hands into the steering wheel, the pain a reminder of reality. I am such an idiot. I continue to drive around for twenty minutes until a small bar catches my eye, simply called Joe's. I pull in to the parking lot. Just sitting in the car, collecting myself before wandering in. I pull my hair back into a pony tail, check my mascara and enter. It's a nice little place, the atmosphere warm and welcoming, a place where you can come to chill or to just sit by yourself and drown your sorrows like I'm about to do. I head straight for the bar, pondering whether I should stick to the Beam or try something else.

"Hey, could I get a double shot of Jim please?"

"Sure thing little lady." What is it with bartenders and patronizing me?

A fake smile graces my face as the barkeep places the drink down in front of me, "Keep 'em coming, thanks." I place a few bills on the bar and he nods. I roll up my sleeves and get settled for some serious drinking…


1 ½ hours later:

There's a hand on my shoulder, I tense, so not in the mood for being hit on. What is wrong with everybody tonight? I try to turn and twist the strangers arm but end up on my butt on the floor. So not how I saw things going, I'm not that drunk am I? My vision blurs as I try to stand, an arm coming into my fuzzy line of vision. I swat it away and try to stand myself, I sway and start to fall, and someone steadies me.

"Look buddy, just leave me a- oh, it's you!" I come face to face with Clark. "We better stop meeting like this."

"Like what?" He asks puzzled.

I laugh, a good long bitter laugh, "Never mind, I don't need your help." I reach for my stool but miss. Damn, I am drunk. Hehe…

"Look Lois, Chloe called me because Bruce called her and said that you were acting strange and ran away."

"Besides the fact that I'm a big girl and can take care of myself, I don't need anybody's help." I indicate to the barkeep that I want another drink. He shakes his head. Well isn't that fan-freaking-tastic!

"Well, fine then." I snatch my purse off the bar and unsteadily try to leave.

"I got you."

"Quit manhandling me Smallville." I try to swat him away again.

"Like it or not Lois, I'm helping you get home, now give me your keys and quit whining."

I pout, I, twenty-seven year old Lois Lane, pout like a three year old that's just had her favorite toy taken away and told that she can never have it again. I let Clark lead me to the car, he opens the door, ushers me in and buckles my seat belt up.

"I'm not a child you know."

"Well quit acting like it."

"Snarky tonight aren't we?"

"I have every reason to be Lois."

"Sure you do."

"I'm not doing this tonight Lois."

"Not doing what?"

"The banter Lois, trying to pretend that nothing's changed when everything clearly has."

I swallow, a lump forming in my throat. "Oh." The rest of the car ride is in silence, a rather uncomfortable silence. I fidget, and I fidget in a big way, twisting this knob and pushing that button. I then discover that the light goes on and off when I flick my phone open and closed, repeatedly.

"Do you mind?"

"Not really, no." I continue to flip my phone open and closed.

"Lois, stop that." He snatches the phone out of my hand. Well fine then. I start flicking through the radio stations, stopping on a random one, "… take me to the gay bar, gay bar…" Clark quickly turns the radio off.

"What's wrong with that song?"

"I'm not comfortable with it, alright."

"But I wanna listen to some music."

"Fine, but I'm driving so it's my choice."

"Whatever." He turns the radio back on and presses random, "… don't cha wish…"

"But this song?"

"I happen to like this song."

"Sure you do." I fold my arms and face the window. This time sitting silently. Clark turns the radio off and continues driving. He pulls into the garage and I direct him to my parking space.

"Well, here we are."

"Yeah." I undo the belt and stumble out of the car. Clark's at my side in the blink of an eye.

"You alright?"

I look up into his face, his eyes so full of love and concern. His lips beckoning to be consumed. I lean forward, capturing his lips in a sweet kiss. Clark returns it, shocked at first. I deepen the kiss, he responds, our tongues dancing. The kiss comes to its natural end, my lips on fire from the contact, Clark leans his forehead against my own. "I hate to ruin the moment, but what about Bruce?"

I look deep into his eyes, so much sadness… "We're not together."

"But what about the kids?"

I move my lips next to his left ear and whisper, "The twins, Lara Martha and Johnathan Samuel…" I trail off licking my lips…"they're yours Clark."

He looks at me shocked, for the first time ever I can't read Clark's expression. I have no idea what he's thinking. Suddenly I'm completely sober.

"I, ah… I gotta go Lois."

"Clark wait." He keeps walking away, "Please don't leave again."

He turns around, unshed tears glistening in his eyes, "Never, never again Lois, I just… I just need some time to think."

"Don't shut me out." He smiles, a small sad smile.

"Never." And with that he's gone.


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