Lana sat in the Kent's living room staring absentmindedly at the wall in front of her. A million thoughts raced through her mind. Clark and her had talked and they both admitted to still loving each other. But what about Lois? Was Clark going to leave her?
Failing to hear the front door open, Lana was surprised when Johnathan took a seat next to her. Slightly shaking her head to clear her mind, she turned and gave him a bright and very fake smile, "Hey Mr. Kent, I didn't hear you come in."
Smiling fatherly at her, he nodded, "You did seem to have something on your mind. Care to share?"
Lana scrunched her nose in thought and closed her eyes, "It's best if I don't."
"Are you sure about that? A good confession leaves the heart feeling lighter, and it looks like you really need it."
"Am I that transparent?" Lana asked, a small smile on her face. Glancing at Johnathan, she saw him merely nod his head to answer and she let out a soft laugh, "I'm worse than Clark when it comes to fibbing sometimes."
Johnathan chuckled, "I wouldn't be so sure about that." Letting a peaceful silence come between them for a moment, Johnathan spoke up again, "So I, um, I saw you and Clark out in the driveway together."
Immediately blushing, Lana's head dropped, "I…I don't know what to say really. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come back to Smallville to disrupt anyone's life," her voice began to crack and her eyes glistened as emotions began to bubble to the surface. "Honestly all I wanted was to be happy again…" gulping and trying to fight off tears, Lana looked into the older man' face, "I wanted to be whole again. I'm sorry if you hate me now. I know Lois and Clark are together, I should have never kissed him. I just…I just couldn't stop myself. I'm so sorry"
Seeing the tears that began to fall, Johnathan quickly embraced the young girl and patted her gently on the back. "There's nothing to be sorry for Lana" he reassured her, "never be sorry for being in love. It's what makes you happy and whole."
"Yeah, but I'm in love with a man that no longer is mine," Lana cried harshly on his shoulder, letting her emotions pour out.
"Lana, you've always held Clark's heart. That's one thing I am sure of. My son fell in love once and only once. From the moment he laid eyes on you, no other girl stood a chance. I've never seen him look at anyone else the way he looks at you. Now understand this, I'm not big on mushy things, but when I saw you and Clark out there, my heart warmed and I couldn't picture any other woman being my daughter. All you have to do is stop worrying," Johnathan spoke with an emotion laced in his voice that Lana had never heard before.
Pulling away and rubbing her nose and wiping her eyes, Lana sniffed, "But what about Lois? You guys all seem to love her so much, I don't want to come in between."
"Lana, you could never do that," Johnathan laughed, raising an eyebrow with a slight smirk, "all I want is for my son to be happy and I know that he truly is when it comes to you. And I'm sure if you let him, Clark will be yours again. After all, he wants to be whole again too."
Johnathan left Lana sitting on the couch to mull around her thoughts some more when he heard Martha calling his name from outside, probably wondering where he'd gone. When she heard the screen door open and close, Lana looked over shoulder expecting to see Johnathan again, but instead was met with the most beautifully piercing pair of eyes staring right at her.
Without a word, Clark walked into the living room ad then crouched in front of Lana, grasping her small hands with his. Lana's tore her eyes away from him and tried to act like the antique lamp in the corner of the room had her attention.
"Lana," Clark's voice pleaded, "please look at me."
Breathing in deeply, Lana slowly turned her head. Looking at his gorgeous face, Lana knew her feelings for this man would last a lifetime, "Clark," she whispered, "what happens now?"
A look of slight relief flickered over Clark's face. At first he had feared Lana was going to say they couldn't be together, but now she had put the ball in his court, giving him the choice, and he already had his mind made up. "What happens now? Well, I was thinking somewhere along the lines that you and I get back together and live happily ever after," he laughed, half joking, half serious. "I love you Lana, and I want to be with you."
"But Lois, she…" Lana started, trying to look away from Clark. He was too quick though, and grabbed her chin gently, keeping her from turning.
Interrupting her, Clark stared straight into Lana's eyes, sending chills down her spine, "Lois doesn't capture my heart the way you do. I don't get weak in the knees every time I see her and I don't imagine growing old with her. I don't have dreams about Lois, and I don't…I don't love Lois."
"You don't love her?" Lana asked, joyful tears silently trickling down her cheeks.
Clark shook his head, "No I don't. I love only one woman and that's you Lana. I believe in us Lana, all I need is for you to believe also. We can make it this time."
"I do, I do believe in us," Lana smiled before wrapping her arms around him, "Did you talk to Lois about any of this at all when she called?"
"No, not yet, but I will first thing tomorrow when I go back to Metropolis," Clark pulled away from Lana and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, "Everything is going to be fine."
"I just don't want Lois to hurt because of us," Lana admitted.
Earnestly, Clark held Lana's hands once again and said, "She might a little, but I just don't want to hurt myself anymore by putting others happiness before mine. Lois is a strong woman, she will get over it, but I know for a fact that if I couldn't be with you, the hurt I'd feel would be a thousand times worse." Clark's face then lit up with a bright smile and he jumped to his feet, bringing Lana with him. His entire tone changed and his Kent smile turned on a little charm, "Now, Miss Lang. I understand you haven't been in these parts for quite awhile. How bout I take you out on a date?"
Lana laughed whole heartily and beamed up at Clark, "A date huh?"
"Yup, the Carnival is in town this weekend. I haven't been to it in years. It just didn't seem right going without you since it was pretty much our tradition to go together."
"The Carnival? Oh, I've missed it so much! It's definitely a date then," Lana giggled, beginning to feel like her old teenage self again when Clark had asked her out for the first time. It was also then that a strange feeling overcame her. Like she knew everything was going to turn out ok. Things might be a little rough with a Lois, but other than that, everything was going to be just fine.