The next morning came and Lois was up at the crack of dawn pushing Clark down the stairs.
"Geez, do you think you could move a little slower there Smallville?" Lois joked, heading towards the front door.
"Actually I can, if you'd really like me too," Clark mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
Rolling her eyes, Lois retorted, "Shut up. But seriously, lets go Clark. It's already 6:30. I have to be back by 10:00 to meet my contact." Lois grabbed his hands and pulled him with her out into the chilly morning air and to the red pickup in the driveway. Quickly sliding into the passenger seat, Lois anxiously kept glancing at her wrist watch.
Starting the engine, Clark looked over at her and shook his head in silent laughter. Lois was always eager and itching for good stories and when they came along, she just couldn't take a break from it until she was finished with it. "Lois, will you just calm down. Stop looking at your watch and don't worry! You will be there on time."
Lois crossed her arms in front of her and laid her head back, "Whatever. Just drive. It's times like this I wish I could fly." As the words left her mouth unintentionally, a dreamy look appeared across her face and she closed her eyes, determined to get a little rest before reaching Metropolis.
Keeping his eyes on the road, Clark inaudibly gulped at Lois's wishful confession.
It was 9:30 when Lana found herself pulling up the familiar Kent driveway. She knew it was still early and she didn't know for sure what time Clark had left with Lois, but she also was pretty sure that Martha and Johnathan would be wide awake. Throwing the car in park, her assumption was correct when she saw Martha walk onto the porch with a bright smile.
"Lana dear, I wasn't expecting to see you so early. Clark shouldn't be back for a few more hours," Martha informed while engulfing Lana in a hug the minute she got close enough.
"Yeah, I kind of figured, I um actually, I…" Lana began, removing some fly away hair away from her face before laughing embarrassedly, "well, I was wanting to spend some time with you. I didn't get to see you too much yesterday because I kind of left for awhile." Lana had really wanted to spend time reacquainting herself with Martha Kent. She was the mother she never had and Lana would remember the way Martha spoiled her when Clark and her were young children, taking her shopping from time to time for quality "girl time."
Joy was evident in Martha's eyes and she once again flung her arms around Lana, "Oh Lana that would be so wonderful. I was just on my way into town to get some things for Johnathan, would you like to come with me?"
"Of course," Lana replied, feeling happier than she had started out yesterday. Today was going to be a good day.
"We're here!" Clark exclaimed, pulling in front of the small café in Metropolis.
It was 9:45 and Lois had been harping at Clark for the past half hour about how she better not be late. "Bout time!" Lois said, anxiously throwing open the door and jumping out in order to straighten herself out. Looking over at Clark, she leaned back into the truck indicating Clark to meet her halfway. Clark slid over in the seat, moving closer to Lois and she gave him a quick peck on the lips. After only a second, she backed away and shut the door, smiling, "Thanks again, sorry about this weekend. Don't be mad at me baby."
Clark gave her one of his many Kent smiles and shook his head, "I wont, you know that. Now you better get going."
Lois looked at her watch again and then back up at Clark, "You're right. Bye, I love you."
With that, she walked away and left Clark staring after her. A lump forming in his throat. He didn't say it back, why couldn't he say it back?
Lana and Martha sat out on the porch drinking in the warmth of the sun. It was almost 12:30 and Clark called saying he was almost back. A ding was heard from the kitchen and Martha excused herself.
Walking back outside only minutes later, Martha carried a glass of lemonade and a plate of cookies, "Here's a bit of a snack for us."
"Thanks," Lana laughed, accepting the drink and food. Taking a bite, Lana moaned at how great the cookie tasted, "Oh my, I forgot just how much I loved your homemade cookies Mrs. Kent."
"Now Lana, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Martha. We've known each other long enough, that you are entitled to call me by my first name," Martha smiled, resuming her seat next to Lana.
Taking a drink of the cool lemonade to clear out her throat, Lana sat back and half smiled, "I know, it's just that you've been 'Mrs. Kent' so long to me, since I was about 4 years old. It's hard for me to call you anything else."
Martha nodded, knowing what she meant, "Yeah, I suppose old habits are hard to break." She grinned as she began to reminisce, "I still remember the first time I ever saw you was in preschool. I was leaving Clark so he could learn to play with other kids. He spent so much time with me and Johnathan, and he wasn't having any of it."
Lana agreed, and smirked, "Clark was always mommy's boy. I remember he was throwing quite a fit."
They both laughed and Martha continued with her story, "Yeah, you saw that he was upset and did the sweetest thing right out of nowhere. You gave him a huge hug, helping ease his tears. I'd never seen you before, but I fell in love with you that very instant. And I think Clark did too. Even then, I always imagined you two would…" Martha came to a halt when she realized what she had been about to say. She hadn't meant to bring up anything that might have been too painful for the younger woman.
"Would what? End up married?" Lana asked, the smile on her face falling and her eyes filling with such hurt and sadness.
Shaking her head, Martha felt embarrassed, "I don't know. It was a silly notion. You kids grew up together and…"
Before she could finish, Lana interrupted, "It's not like I didn't have my chance," she smiled remembering all the intimate moments between herself and Clark. Lana suddenly felt guilty for moving away, maybe things could have worked out if she had just stayed. "I don't know. After Clark left, I just couldn't bring myself to stay here anymore. I had a lot of craziness to get out of my system, with all the memories that Smallville held. The good and the bad. Every where I turned I saw Clark, and I was definitely hurt. All I could think about was getting a fresh start, where I could go walk around and not be reminded of how the love of my life left me." A sad smile appeared on Lana's face as she gazed out at the stretch of land in front of her, "After being away for so long, I understand more why he had to leave. I mean, I understood back then too, it's just that I was so heart broken. Sometimes I wish I could go back though, and stay instead of moving. Maybe things would have been different." Sighing, she propped her head in her hand on the side of the chair.
Martha was well aware of what Lana had went through. She watched the poor girl break down when she found out Clark had left. Wanting to leave that subject alone for the time being, Martha put on a bright smile, "Well I'm glad you're back. I've missed you so much. Are you thinking of moving back to Smallville?"
"I don't know, I haven't really thought about it. But I don't think so. If I were to movie back to Kansas, the most logical place to live for career purposes would be Metropolis." Lana thought aloud, pondering to herself whether she wanted to move back.
Martha's eyes widened and exclaimed, "Well, you'll be near Clark again if you do!" A very visible frown displayed on Lana's face, and Martha instantly regretted what she said. Looking down, she softly spoke, "I'm sorry, I didn't think that would be a such a sore subject."
Lana shook her head gently and crookedly smiled, "Oh, it's fine. I was just thinking that I would probably live somewhere in the suburbs, so if I were to move back, I wouldn't be near Clark anyways. Besides, it would be for the best if I did live near him. It seems he's in love with Lois and I don't want to intrude into their relationship and make things difficult and awkward between them just because of mine and Clark's past." drawing in a deep breath, Lana added for good measure, "Because that's all it is, the past."
Noticing the strain in her voice at the last bit Lana spoke, Martha reached over and very motherly, held her hand, "Well technically speaking, you're never too far away from Clark. He's so fast you know." They both giggled and Martha continued, "I'm betting Clark wouldn't mind you living so close. You were once best friends, I'm sure you can work on that again. And he does love Lois. We all do."
"As much as you love me?" Lana asked questionably with her eyebrows raised, sarcasm scarcely detected in her voice.
Martha frowned, how was she supposed to answer that? Removing her hand, she was shocked Lana would ask such a thing! She loved Lana like a daughter and Lois was beginning to earn that title as well.
Lana felt Martha pull away and saw the shocked expression the elder woman was wearing. She was instantly embarrassed. Her cheeks went red and it was Lana's turn to look away, "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. That wasn't…That was a joke that came out wrong. I didn't mean to upset you."
Martha cocked her head slightly to the side and stared at the lovely woman before her, a warm smile once again graced her features, deciding to answer Lana's question, even if it was meant as a joke, she explained, "It's just different. We love her spunk, and Clark seems to love her tremendously."
Trying to do her best to cover up the hurt in her voice, Lana nodded, "That's all that matters then isn't it?" It seemed to be that Clark did love Lois. Lana hadn't been able to really see them together except for a few times yesterday, and they had been comfortable with each other.
"So how has your love life been Lana? Any special man in your life?" Martha wondered, hoping Lana had moved on from her son so she didn't have to watch the young woman suffer from hearing about Clark being happy.
"Actually, there was this one guy. His name was Brent and we were together for almost 3 years," Lana answered truthfully.
"Really? What happened," Martha inquired, she knew she was being a bit nosy, but she was really interested in what Lana had been up to the past 6 years.
"Well about 5 months ago, he proposed to me and to say I was shocked was an understatement," Lana paused, collecting her thoughts, she hadn't really spoken to anyone about Brent but it was doing her some good. But she didn't know how to explain really what happened between herself and Brent.
Noticing that Lana was somewhat struggling, trying to figure out a way to say what she needed, Martha decided to help her, "You said no?"
Lana stared at the spot in front of her, knowing that what she was about to say might expose some things about herself, she wasn't sure she wanted to disclose yet. But then again, this was Mrs. Kent, the one woman she had been able to talk to about anything, and if anyone would understand, it would be her. It was also at this moment that Johnathan Kent made his way up the steps and leaned against the porch railing. Listening to the two women converse. "Um, not really, I didn't really give him an answer. I told him I needed some time to think. He got angry with me saying if I really loved him, I wouldn't need to think about it, I would know the answer immediately," Lana took a in large breath and breathed out slowly, "Brent also said that he was tired of competing with the memory of some old ex. He told me he could tell I always of thinking someone else and even though he knew I would never cheat on him, he didn't want to feel second best to anyone. He said he was in a competition with a memory and he was tired of losing, so we ended our relationship. Brent tried working it out a week later, but I realized I couldn't keep hurting him."
"Oh honey, I'm so sorry," Martha said, placing a comforting hand on her back and rubbed it gently.
"It's ok. It was for the best really, Brent was honest though, if I had truly loved him, I wouldn't have needed time. He was right about always being in competition. A competition he lost before we even met," Lana glanced down at her hands and suddenly felt nervous. Hopefully the Kents wouldn't pick up the part about her still in love with an "ex." But the Kents were smart people…
Johnathan had a good idea what she was talking about, and knew it'd be good for her to just get it off of her chest so he thought he'd just ask. Placing a hand on her shoulder fatherly, he watched her closely, "Forgive me if this is a rude question, but I think with our history, we should all be honest with one another. I know there are many reason for leaving someone, but is one of the reasons…"
"Johnathan!" Martha warned, knowing her husband all to well and what he was getting ready to ask.
But Johnathan, being the stubborn man that he was, continued on with his question, "Did you leave Brent because you're still in love with Clark?"
Lana looked away, a silent tear strolled down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. Maybe confessing would help her move on. Turning back towards Martha and Johnathan, Lana looked wide eyed and sad at them, and they could see the essence of tears lingering, "How can an ordinary man compete with Superman, Mr. Kent? And I know he's with Lois and I'll stay away because I'm here for closure. We didn't have a chance to get it before he left, and that's all that I want. But…" sniffing slightly as another tear slid down her cheek, "How could I NOT love Clark still with all my heart?" Lana finally admitted it…she was still in love with him and it was at that moment in time she realized, she always would be, she understood that now.