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Stars and Water

Chapter 27

Kate hurried to hug her daughter when she came in the door. "Maria, I'm so glad you're home! Are you okay? How are you feeling?" She asked, pulling back to look into Maria's face, concerned at the dark circles she saw under her eyes.

Maria clung to her mom. "It's just so unfair mom, how could that monster walk free like that." she was near tears but held them back. Maria was sick of crying.

"You're right sweetheart, it's horribly unfair. People like Lex twist our justice system and get whatever they want but never what they deserve." Kate could feel Maria shaking but she didn't know it wasn't from fear. "Maria, you're safe here. You just lay low awhile and we'll figure something out."

Maria pulled away from her mom and started pacing. "No. I know I would be safe but I don't want to put my life on hold. I want to go to college." She stopped pacing and looked her mother in the eye. "I finally know what I want to major in Mom. I'm changing my major to Law. I want to fight people like Lex. Maybe someday he'll be dealing with a judge who knows him all too well." Kate was surprised by the steel she heard in Maria's voice. Where was her shy, dreamy girl who avoided conflict at every turn?

She looked into Maria's eyes, worried she would see damage there from all the things her girl had been through lately. Instead she saw hope. There was anger and hurt of course but as she listened to Maria talk about what it would take to achieve her goals Kate saw the woman Maria would become. She was excited about her future and passionate about her new direction for the first time in far too long. She also noted the frequency of the words, "Clark said…" so she had a pretty good idea who had inspired the change. She sent a silent thank you to God for Clark Kent, and not for the first time.

"Maria, whatever you decide to do I'll support you, you know that." said Kate. "If you feel this strongly and want to start school again then we shouldn't let fear stop you." She smiled ruefully at her daughter, "you know there's a part of me that wants to keep you here and safe forever as my little girl." Kate pulled Maria back into a hug "I know you need to go, but promise to call as often as you can? I'm going to need to hear your voice if I'm going to get any sleep."

"Of course I'll call, Mom. I'm just going to Metropolis. I'm not going to war." she felt her mom take a breath to speak, "Yes, I know it's dangerous but I'll be with friends and we'll keep each other safe." she patted her mom's back. "Now I need to pack!"

"And shop." said Kate, smiling and blinking back the threatening tears.

Clark watched as the boy hugged Shelby. Even though he was in a wheelchair he got a lot of dog in his arms as Shelby leaned into him. The boy looked up at Clark with sparkling eyes. "Thanks Mr. Kent, I'll take good care of him, and you can come see him anytime."

"You're welcome Daniel, I know you will." Clark reached out to pat his dog on the head one last time. He had to swallow hard and remind himself that he would hardly see the dog once he started school anyway. It was for the best; Shelby was lonely whenever he was gone, even for an hour. Now, without his Mom there, Shelby would be alone for days with someone just feeding him and going out to work the farm. For a loving dog like this one it would be awful and Clark had to find a new home for him. His Mom had suggested Daniel and once he met the boy and saw him with Shelby he knew she was right. Shelby liked Daniel and was amazingly sensitive to the boys needs already. Clark knew it wouldn't be long before they were inseparable.

As Clark drove away he had to blink back tears. Leaving home had been hard but the house had become empty and didn't feel like home without his mom. Telling his mom he was going back to school had been easy, she was thrilled and he knew he could go to her just as quickly from Metropolis as from Smallville. Somehow giving up Shelby felt like the last connection had been cut.

Chloe packed up her things and carried them down to her car. She was going to miss this apartment and especially the easy availability of good coffee. She had to admit, the main appeal of this apartment was that it was in Smallville, and so was Clark. With Clark gone there was no reason for her to keep resisting Jimmy's suggestion of an apartment in Metropolis. He wouldn't be very happy when he found out her roommate would be Lois, but he'd have to deal.

Chloe looked at a case of pepper spray, a parting gift from her Uncle the General, and thought about Maria. Maria was going to be living in Lex's crosshairs, just like Chloe. She grabbed a few extra for her and resolved to teach Maria some self defense moves as soon as possible.

Lex smiled as he worked, he felt like the conductor of a great symphony, shifting the pieces and weaving them together into one perfect whole. If events went as planned it would all come together on his birthday. Really, what better present could you give to yourself than the total annihilation of your enemies? He was counting the days with gleeful anticipation.

Lois set up her desk at the Daily Planet. Granted it was on the ground floor, with a view of the closet. The desk was scarred and the chair creaked but the computer was state of the art and according to her press pass she was a reporter for the Planet.

The articles she had written lately on Lex were largely responsible for her new job and she thanked her unknown hero for the help she had received. The information had been amazingly accurate, the leads solid and she had run with it right to this desk at one of the most prestigious newspapers in the country.

Lois stroked her desk possessively, ahhhh, to have the power of a real newspaper behind her when she conducted interviews. The thing that capped it all for her was Chloe. Chloe was thrilled for her and hadn't shown an ounce of jealousy. Of course she had taken the credit for pushing Lois into journalism in the first place, and she also bragged that she was Lois first editor. Working together was going to be such a blast, thought Lois, and she twirled her chair until she was dizzy.

Maria struggled with her trunk full of clothes. The wheels would have been a lot more help if she hadn't been dealing with stairs, she thought, you would think the dorm would have an elevator. Resting against the wall she dropped her trunk, closed her eyes and breathed deeply, her arm muscles still shaking from the strain. One more flight of steps and three boxes of books left, she groaned and opened her eyes at the sound of a familiar voice. "Clark!" she cheered and all her exhaustion was gone as she leapt into his arms.

Clark was delighted at her reaction. Part of him was still in shock that he had a girlfriend. "Hey Maria," he laughed as he caught her mid leap, "uh, it's good to see you too." and he hugged her back. "Do you need some help with your stuff? I've already got mine put away and I thought I'd come see if you needed a hand."

Maria wrestled with her pride and lost. "Thank god, yes! Please help me. I think this thing weighs more than I do." and she slid back down his body, causing all kinds of distracting thoughts to roam through Clark's mind, and gestured towards her overstuffed trunk.

Clark hefted it easily with one hand, "Nope, you weigh more." he said without thinking, and then at her expression he tried to back pedal. "Not that you weigh a lot, I mean you aren't very heavy and um, you look good. Well, great actually," and he continued to fumble around until Maria took pity on him.

"It's okay Clark." and she laughed at the look of relief on his face. "You can make it up to me by carrying my books up to my room and then taking me out to eat." She gave him a kiss on his cheek and whispered, "Thank you for coming to help me."

Clark had all of her things in her room in practically no time, literally, and they headed off on foot to a place Clark knew that served great Thai food. As they walked Maria noticed that Clark s eyes got an intense look occasionally and he seemed to be scanning their surrounding, then he would relax for a while. He continued to laugh and talk with her as though nothing was wrong and she realized he didn't want her to notice that he was watching for danger. He wrapped his arm protectively around her shoulders and she smiled up at him and leaned close. Here in his arms she was safe from anything, she thought.

At the restaurant, after Clark helped Maria finish her shrimp, he pulled a small box out of his pocket and placed it on the table in front of her. Maria stared at it in surprise and looked at Clark's blushing face. "What's this? It isn't my birthday or anything." and she picked up the box and pulled the ribbon to untie the bow.

"It's just something I want you to have." said Clark softly, looking away a moment and then looking back to lock eyes with her. "It's to keep you safe but I also wanted it to be beautiful."

Maria opened the box and pulled out a delicate heart shaped locket. Flipping it over she read:

To Maria,

I'll always be there for you.

Love, Clark

Maria looked up at Clark, "It's beautiful. I love it." she said, "Help me put it on?" and she held her hair out of the way so he could fasten the clasp.

"It has a tracking device inside so that no matter what happens I can find you." said Clark solemnly. "I hope that's okay?"

Maria turned her head and looked up, startled. "Yes, I guess its okay." she said doubtfully, then she thought about it and stroking the locket she said, "Thank you Clark, I wont ever take it off."

Clark nodded, "I was hoping you'd say that Maria." and he leaned down and planted a kiss on her cheek. "I don't ever want to loose you."

To be continued…

I would like to just say for the record that I wrote this story and posted it on a Smallville website, under the same title. I started it in July 2007. It's complete but I am revising it as I go along because I'm finding all kinds of little (and big) errors. Um, also in its original form its NC 17 and I didn't want to post that here. Some of the things in this chapter may seem familiar to people who have watched Smallville lately but that's just coincidence, unless the writers read my story and got some ideas…I wish!! Anyhow, please read and review! It makes me so happy when I see new comments! Thanks for reading!!!