Switch Chapter 5, a smallville fanfic

Disclaimer: I don't own Smallville… if I did, some of my stories would've been episodes. :P

A/N: Right off the bat, I just wanted to make it clear that the conversation about Martha being pregnant won't lead to Clark having a sibling in the future or anything. I just wanted to touch on that subject to see Lois' reaction about Martha having a pregnancy. There will be some more of it in this chapter. And I realize that it was a little insensitive of Lois to ask in front of Martha, but you all know Lois – she tends to put her foot in her mouth a lot. ) Martha didn't take any offense, I can assure you… you'll see that in this chapter.

Though, I hope I didn't disappoint anybody with there being no Clark sibling in the future… there will be changes from their switch, but it's not a sibling. ) Sorry to any of you who thought that what was going to happen…

Wow! You guys really liked Lane & Kent's interaction. There will be more of that to come. I'll continue to alternate in between 2003 and 2011. 8-) I hope you guys are enjoying this story. Chapter 5 is below… it's only about 7 pages in MS Word. That's pretty good, right?

Enjoy Chapter 5 of Switch…

Previously in Switch...

They both hung up. Lois looked to Martha, "I didn't mean to be shocked, I just… I-I didn't know."

"It's okay, Lois," Martha gave her a small smile, "This pregnancy was a gift and I'll accept anything that happens."

"At least you know what caused the switch now," Jonathan thought it wise to change the subject.

"Yeah," Lois nodded, "The only problem is, the key to getting back is in the future."

Now in Switch...

Chapter 5

2011

"This is Watchtower?," Kent looked around, "Wow, this place is incredible."

"Eh, it's a place to work," Chloe shrugged it off and started typing on the computer, "I'm just gonna see if I can find any strange weather anomalies that could have caused this."

"I don't think it was anything with the weather, Chloe," Oliver shot down that idea, "It was a clear night last night."

"Maybe it wasn't back where they're from," Chloe kept typing.

"No, he's right, Chlo," Lane said, "It was clear last night."

She stopped typing, "Okay, well then… I've got nothing since I don't think kryptonite was involved."

"Kryptonite?," Lane was confused, "What's that?"

"Uh, it's just a nickname for the meteor rock that came down in the meteor shower," Oliver thought quickly on his feet, glaring at Chloe, "Right, Clark?"

"Yeah," Kent nodded. He silently thanked Oliver for covering for him and furrowed his eyebrows. Apparently more people knew about him in the future – weird.

"Oh," Lane bought it, "That's weird… but I don't think any of that is the reason behind this switch."

"Well I can't think of anything else," Chloe let her arm fall to her side with a slap. Whoa, what a case of déjà vu.

"Wow, way to give up quickly," Lane couldn't believe it, "How about you, Blondie? You got any ideas?"

"Not really," the nickname didn't even faze him. He shook his head, and looked down and noticed, "Lois? Where'd you get that watch?"

Lane lifted up her wrist, "This? How would I know? I don't really wear watches. I just figured my future self does… why? Do you think this watch is the culprit?" She looked at him like he was crazy.

"We've seen crazier things," Oliver replied.

"Take it off, maybe we'll convert back," Kent tried.

"Oh yeah, cause that's how this whole thing works," Lane rolled her eyes. Kent gave her a look. She let out a dramatic sigh, closed her eyes tightly, and took the watch off. She opened one eye slowly and noticed everything was still the same. She opened both her eyes, "See? Told you nothing would happen."

"It was worth a shot," Kent stuck his hands in his pockets, dejectedly. Lane put the watch back on.

"Wait a second, Lois," Oliver grabbed her wrist, "Take the watch off again, maybe something might be inside it or engraved on it that could give us a clue."

"You're really gonna stick with this crazy theory that this watch is what caused this insane switch?," Lane shook her head while she took the watch off once again. She held it up and dropped it in Oliver's hand, "Suit yourself."

"I was right," Oliver smiled and looked up at everyone, "It's engraved."

"What's it say?," Kent asked. Oliver didn't say anything. They knew way too much about the future already.

"Well?," Lane prodded him.

"It doesn't matter what the engraving says," Oliver replied, "The only thing that matters is I know who we need to see to figure out how to get you guys switched back to your own time."

"Who?," Lane and Kent asked in unison.

"Zatanna," Oliver said.

"Zatanna?," Chloe grabbed the watch from Oliver, "Was this her engagement gift?"

"Must've been," Oliver shrugged, "I'm guessing Lois opened it early and made a wish."

"That really doesn't surprise me," Chloe commented and looked to Lane.

"What? It wasn't me," Lane shook her head, "Well, technically it was… you know what I mean."

"So we're in this situation because of a wish?," Kent couldn't quite believe it.

"Yeah, we have to find Zatanna to see what she says to see if we can fix it," Oliver said, "I remember her saying something about a time lock being on the gift."

"Well, it better not have passed yet," Lane's eyes widened, "I'm not getting married to a guy I just met."

"And I'm not getting married to an annoying girl," Kent muttered.

"I heard that," Lane whipped her head around at Kent.

Chloe and Oliver watched amused at the sight. It had been awhile since they saw them banter where they weren't flirting. Oliver broke up the banter-fest, "Why don't we find Zatanna now, huh?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Lane said, "The sooner I get switched back to normal the better."

"I?," Kent couldn't believe this girl's audacity.

"We," Lane muttered as a small correction. Chloe and Oliver ushered them out as they held in their laughter.

2003

"Do you think our Clark and your past self will be able to figure out what's happened?," Martha asked, concerned that their situation wouldn't get straightened out.

"I'm sure they will," Lois nodded, "We've always made a great team. Plus, we've got a lot of friends who can help."

"So, we don't have to worry about this arrangement being permanent?," Jonathan asked.

"No," Lois shook her head, "I'm pretty sure as soon as they woke up they knew something was up and they're doing everything they can to figure out what."

Jonathan and Martha nodded as an uncomfortable silence brewed. Over the years, Lois never gained immunity for her being uncomfortable with uncomfortable silences so she broke it, "I really am sorry for bringing up the baby thing. Clark never told me. Plus, I have this disorder – 'foot-in-mouth disease'… I really am sorry."

"There's no need for an apology, Lois," Martha assured her, "Like I said before… it was a miracle to begin with and we can take anything that happens. We already have a great son that we love very much."

Lois smiled and then Jonathan continued, "And it seems to me… that we'll be gaining a daughter-in-law that we'll love very much."

Tears started welling up in Lois' eyes – she was extremely touched. She couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and enveloped Jonathan in the world's biggest bear hug and he returned the favor, "I can tell you're good for our son."

"Thank you, Mr. Kent," Lois came out of the hug, wiping tears from her eyes. She missed being able to hug him.

"Think nothing of it, Lois," Martha came up behind her and rubbed her shoulder, "We can tell these things… Clark has good taste."

Lois laughed, "Thanks."

"Did I miss something?," Clark came through the kitchen door and saw his parents on either side of a crying Lois, "Is everything okay?"

"Smallville," Lois noticed his entrance, "No, nothing's wrong… your parents were just welcoming me into the family."

"Oh," Clark was a little taken aback. He paused for a second and looked to his mom, "Listen, mom… about before with my hesitance to reply about your pregnancy, I…"

"Don't worry about it, honey," Martha cut him off, "I know everything will be okay with you and your father by my side."

Clark gave her a sympathetic smile and looked back to Lois, "Now that we know the cause of our switch… what do we do now?"

"Considering that our ticket to return to normal is in the future," Lois sighed, "All we can do… wait."

2011

"So you can just take off to anywhere on the planet whenever you want?," Lane asked. The four of them were in one of Oliver's smaller jets on their way to find Zatanna. Thanks to Chloe keeping tabs on everyone, they knew where she was located.

"Pretty much," Oliver shrugged, "But some people are luckier than I am in that department." He looked to Kent who didn't understand his joke.

"Is there any chance this Zatanna will be able to tell us what the wish was?," Kent wondered.

"She's not that good," Chloe shook her head, "But I might be able to tell you."

"You'd be able to tell us?," Lane raised an eyebrow, "How? I hope you weren't in the room with us."

Chloe looked at Lois like she lost her mind at even suggesting that, "No."

"Then how would you be able to tell them?," Oliver was even confused.

"I, uh," Chloe was hesitant.

"Chloe, if you can help us… please," Kent pleaded.

"I sorta have your house bugged," Chloe replied.

"You what?," Lane and Kent couldn't believe it. They looked at each other after timing that so well. Apparently, they were better in sync with each other than they thought.

"You still have their house bugged?," Oliver asked, "I thought you got rid of it months ago."

"I got rid of the cameras but not the audio feed," Chloe admitted, "I couldn't help it. I needed to know if they were in trouble."

"Oliver," Lane got his attention, "After we're switched back, please remind me to throttle my cousin."

"Will do," Oliver nodded.

"You have the house bugged? What did you do that for?," Kent still was in shock at what his best friend did.

"The reasoning was last year, but I don't know," Chloe couldn't think of an excuse to validate her actions.

"So with your sanity notwithstanding, you said that you might be able to tell us what the wish was…," Lane was a little hesitant to finish her sentence, "I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but did you have the bedroom bugged?"

"Like I said, just audio," Chloe nodded, "But I only listen if something sounds stressful."

"Didn't need to know that," Oliver shut his eyes. He couldn't believe Chloe sometimes – well most of the time, "Maybe we can figure out the exact time Lois made her wish without listening in on anything too private."

"Agreed," Lane and Kent said in unison once again. They knew how they woke up and it didn't take a genius to figure out what occurred last night between their future selves. They'd rather avoid hearing the throes of passion of their future selves.

Kent looked over at the watch still in Oliver's hand when an uncomfortable silence settled over the group, "Oliver?"

"Huh?," Oliver looked up.

"Is the watch working? The hands don't look like they're moving," Kent pointed.

"Good eye, Boy Scout," Oliver smiled. At Kent's confused tilt of the head at the nickname, Oliver just waved it off and got to the point, "I'm guessing that Lois made the wish at this time or maybe a few seconds before."

He handed the watch to Chloe. She looked at the time and opened up her laptop, "Let's see."

The quartet listened intently as Chloe pressed play at the designated time. They were in luck, it was the conversation they had after the events of the evening were finished:

"Something the matter, Lois?," Clark shifted his position so he could look at her, but they were still in each other's arms.

"Nothing really," Lois shook her head.

"Come on, Lo," Clark prodded, "I know something's troubling you. You're not engaging me with your verbal marathon of pillow-talk like usual."

"I don't know if you're going to be lying here long enough for me to say anything," Lois said barely above a whisper.

"What do you mean by that, Lois?," Clark furrowed his brows.

"I know that I have to share you with the world…," Lois started.

"I'm sensing a 'but' here," Clark looked concerned.

"No, there's no 'but'," Lois said, "It's just sometimes I wish that we could be together in a time where you don't have to go rush off and save the day. All you'd have to worry about is being with me."

"I want that too, Lois," Clark stroked her bare shoulder with his thumb, "But it's part of who I am."

"I'm not asking you to change, Smallville," Lois wanted to make sure that was abundantly clear, "I love you just the way you are and I would never make you give up a part of yourself. That's not what I want. I guess… I just…"

"Lois," Clark lifted her chin and looked into her hazel eyes as she looked up into his, "You know, I always come back. You'll never get left behind."

"I know that, Clark and that's what gets me through everything," Lois hugged him and snuggled him closer as he wrapped his arms around her tighter, "But it doesn't stop me from wishing."

Clark sighed and petted her hair, "I know."

"I love you, Smallville," Lois mumbled into his chest. She was on the brink of sleep. He kissed the top of her head, "I love you too, Lo."

Lane and Kent looked to each other as they listened. Neither one knew what to say. It sounded like they had a beautiful relationship in the future.

Oliver noticed and thought it might be best to get to the matter at hand. He thought he was intruding on their love life enough, "Rewind it a little… I heard her wish in there."

Chloe did just that and pressed play once again:

"I'm sensing a 'but' here," Clark looked concerned.

"That's it," Lane said, "Sounds like future me wanted to spend some quality time with her fiancée."

"So Zatanna's watch took it literally and sent the two of them back to a time where Clark wouldn't have to…," Chloe started and then stopped. It was really hard to not give any future information away.

"To?," Lane nodded for her to continue.

"To have to work too much," Chloe finished lamely.

"Maybe you might just have to wish for everything to go back to normal," Oliver hypothesized and handed the watch back to Lane who put it back on her wrist.

"Something tells me it's not going to be that simple," Kent said.

"You always a Debbie-Downer?," Lane asked.

"No, I just like to be realistic," Kent replied, "And after all the crazy situations I've been in, I've learned that nothing is simple."

"We'll find out soon enough," Oliver said, "We're nearing our destination. Let's hope Zatanna will be able to shine some light on the situation."

TBC

Well, at least Lane & Kent know that it was the watch… and they're on their way to see Zatanna. They're one step closer to switching back. ) Switch has received a bigger response than I thought possible. To be honest, I was actually hesitant to even write this idea. There are so many story ideas that I just toss out the window. I'm glad I decided to write this one. ;)

Oh, and the other day when I was walking to class, I was thinking about another Clois story idea… I'm trying to avoid another time travel one, but I might just go with it. I'll have to see. I'll try to think of a non-time travel story too as backup. ;) :P

My Castle story is coming along just fine as well. :) I was on a real roll! It's on page 38 right now and I'm still not done yet. I hope it'll be a long one. :P

Jovi finished the poster for it! If you'd like to see it, you can just go to my profile page. :D

Please comment and tell me what you think! I hope you guys are enjoying this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. :) :D

Thanks to everybody who's also just reading. I appreciate you too! :D

Clois Forever! :D