Next and final part ... Part 3 ...

Heart pounding in his chest Clark met Lois's gaze and she paused at the edge of the kitchen.

"Merry Christmas!" he spoke.

"Merry Christmas," she replied with a frown. Stepping forwards tentatively she opened her mouth to ask a question but then closed it again. Clark watched as she slid into a chair and then rested her elbows on the table. Clark placed himself opposite her and watched as the confusion and pain travelled across her face. He couldn't bear to see her in pain. And to think that he'd caused her confusion; it caused him pain.

"Clark?" she looked up slowly and winced. "Did anything weird happen last night?"

"Weird?" he asked carefully.

"You know. Odd, out of the ordinary, um …" she grabbed her lower lip in her teeth then released it. "Did something happen on the couch."

"Yeah!" he laughed. "We opened the presents."

"No," she frowned and looked confused again. "I mean, did we, uh." She looked away. "Did we …" She nodded suggestively and Clark's eyes boggled.

"What? No." Now it was his turn to look confused. He'd expected her questions to revolve around the events that had happened, but that most definitely didn't. "I know they say that the bartender gets more handsome as the night goes on and you definitely drank a lot," he picked up the empty wine bottle which had been left on the kitchen table, "but I don't think there's enough alcohol in the world that would get you to look at me in that way."

Clark noticed Lois's expression as she glanced back at him. After last night he began to suspect that his statement was as far from the truth as possible. In fact, there had been many situations over the last year that had shifted the dynamic of his and Lois's relationship. It was difficult to define now, and that left him confused more often than not.

"Yeah, what was in that wine, Smallville? Pure ethanol? 'Cause I sure as hell have never experienced the 'Revenge of the night before' to this extent before." She reached out and lifted the bottle up bringing it towards her: label first. "Dessert Wine. 20%." Lois groaned and dropped the bottle back down then her head hit her arms on the table. "No wonder it went down so easy but hit so hard!"

"Lois, are you alright?" Clark stretched out his hand, concerned. When he touched her arm her head shot up.

"Sure, I'm just living in a cross between The Notebook and The Princess Bride." Her tone started off light but ended on a note that reinforced her confusion. Clark saw her narrow her eyes and look at him again. He hated that look; when people tried to figure him out. Well, that's what Lois was doing now. Trying to figure him out, or at least, figure out her 'memories' of him and it automatically put him on the defensive.

"Lois, are you sure you haven't been at more of the wine this morning, cause you know that's not a good idea." Clark picked up the bottle and carried it away, strolling over to the sink. "You know you need coffee first thing in the morning."

"Coffee! Yes," came a sudden surprised voice from behind him. He turned to find her with her head resting back on one arm and the other raised in the air. "I'll take one of them to go."

"To go! Lois, you aren't going anywhere. Don't you remember the snow?"

"Snow." Her head shot up and she jumped out of her seat and ran to the kitchen door. "Trails in the snow." When she jerked open the door and ran out still in her pyjamas Clark ran after her, worried. Lois waded to the edge of the house and looked around the side then stopped. Clark could see the shocked look on her face.

She turned to look at him, her face was frozen in the shocked expression. "You … you made those last night."

"Lois, what? I did that this morning when I made my way up to the main road to see how clear it was." She blinked and shuddered. "Come back in, it's cold out, Lois. Please." Clark turned and tried to walk back into the house a casually as he could, not making a big deal of the trails in the snow.

Why did I leave them? I could have disguised them, or even filled them in completely.

"If you didn't do that till this morning then how come I was dreaming about them last night?"

Clark made it back to the kitchen and lent on the table with his palms purposefully ignoring her question as if he hadn't heard it. He heard Lois enter behind him and the soft click of the door as it latched shut. A little peer over his shoulder saw her slowly walk forwards staring at the floor. He looked down to see tiny pieces of wrapping paper scattered in a trail.

"Paper," she muttered and began to follow it.

Lois retraced her steps back to the living room by following the paper that must have escaped her fist on the way to the kitchen. She wandered to the centre of the room and closed her eyes. If she thought about it really hard she could imagine the paper landing all around her softly.

"You did this." She opened her eyes and spun around only to crash into Clark's chest. "You were the one who did this. At superspeed." She looked up at him wide-eyed.

Clark blinked and frowned down at her. "Lois, you were the one who decided you wanted it to snow inside as much as it was outside. You sat there for like an hour and tore off tiny piece after tiny piece."

"Then why do I remember them raining down on me?" she challenged, wanting to trust her own memory wanting to believe the dream, which was gradually revealing itself to her, that all her dreams could come true.

"Because you danced around the room throwing handfuls in the air. I even joined you at one point." Clark smiled down at her with a glint in his eye. "Your happiness is infectious you know." Lois stared into his sweet, innocent face; so boyish and full of love.

Love, her eyes widened. I'm definitely in dreamland if I'm attributing that emotion to Clark. As she stared into his eyes she felt herself falling back into the hazy memories.

"Oh Clark, they're beautiful. Just the colour of your eyes." She looked up at him and then planted her lips squarely on his. Her heart swelled with love as she snaked her arms around his neck. When she felt his hands begin to slide up her back and into her hair she moaned a little.

The sound of something landing on the floor with a light clatter shocked Lois and she broke away from Clark. "I dropped them!" she squeaked and knelt on the floor to begin searching although it was impossible with the covering of paper snow.

"My present," Lois blurted out and then blinked. "Where's my present?" Her voice reflected the terror she felt at not knowing, or remembering where it was. The thought that she had lost the precious sapphire earrings was horrible.

"You're wearing them, Lois." Clark nodded at her and she quickly brought her hands up to her ears and carefully felt. Her fingers encountered something and then fumbled to unclip it. When she brought her hand down after searching both ears she saw the earrings in her palm.

"I remember," she said in a monotone voice. "I said they were the colour of your eyes."

"You said they were the colour of the sky, Lois." She looked up into his eyes and frowned. That's not right. She turned round and took a few steps away from Clark. She found it hard to think coherently and logically when he looked at her in that loving way. Yes, it was loving, but Lois was under no delusion about the type of love that Clark held for her. She'd long accepted that they were life-long best friends and that came with a certain amount of love and affection. But was as far as it went.

Free from his gaze and surrounded by the remnants of last night's paper snow storm she began to succumb to the memories, living in them, experiencing them, believing them.

"No, Clark. I remember. You were gone. You came back and you were the Blur. You kissed me and pushed me onto the couch. Then you ripped off my blouse and made love to me, then we opened the presents and you made the red snow and we danced around the room." Lois was so lost in her memories that she didn't realise how much she had revealed during her monologue. A hand on her shoulder snapped her out of her dream and had her twirling around.

"Lois!" An utterly shocked Clark was staring at her. "Lois, we didn't … uh I didn't … um." He pointed at her blouse. "I think I can finally prove to you that you're just remembering a dream. I didn't rip off your blouse, Lois. I didn't. Look at it."

She peered down at her chest even though she already knew what she'd see. "I know that Clark. I can't explain why my buttons aren't scattered all over the floor, but I do have an explanation for the rid tissue paper snow all over the floor, and it doesn't match yours."

"Lois, you're not making any sense." Clark spoke with a pleading tone.

"No, you are the one not making any sense. You have all these explanations that sound great, but it just doesn't match the evidence … and my memory."

"Which we have already established is not to be trusted." He raised his eyebrows and nodded back down at her blouse.

"Maybe …" She paused, suddenly feeling deflated. "Actually, maybe you are right. Clark, I have this memory of you looking for my earrings when I dropped them on the floor. But …" she sighed and pressed her fingers to her temple. "You," she laughed, "you used your 'x-ray vision' whatever that means."

Lois saw Clark smirk and then burst out laughing. "That is just ridiculous, Lois," he guffawed, but she noticed that there had been a slight pause before his reaction. "How about I go and get you that coffee you ordered?"

She nodded at him and watched him walk away. Her brow wrinkled in concentration. Why didn't he call me out on the kissing and making love, or the Blur thing? Surely he wants to make fun of the fact that I dreamt all those things.

She nibbled on her lip and blinked a few times. Turning around slowly she dragged her feet through the layer of paper on the floor and her foot clipped something. She crouched down and brushed aside the shredded wrapping paper revealing her present to Clark.

She smiled. Her dream memory supplied her with the perfect reaction from Clark when he slid open the top to reveal the old fashioned wood and leather telescope.

Lois was giggling, her head turned up towards the ceiling letting the snowflakes land on her face. "Oh, Lois," came a sexy voice from beside her. "It's lovely. Wherever did you get this?"

She looked back at him. "Not telling. It's a secret," she grinned childishly.

"Really," he raised his eyebrows. "Well, I think I can get you to change your mind." He looked at her with a dangerous and cheeky expression and she felt her heart race in anticipation. His mouth began to descend slowly and her eyes fluttered closed. Just as she expected them to meet she jumped in shock when Clark's fingers suddenly attacked her.

Scooting away as quickly as possible she opened her eyes to see his cheeky face. "Oh no you don't," she warned. When he stood up she squealed and ran off.

He caught her within a second and she found herself pinned on the floor succumbing to a tickle attack.

"Clark, no. Clark please. Ahhh. Stop it. Please. Ahhh. Clark, my present," she tried. "What about … ahh … mine?"

He stopped and rolled away reaching for a small package.

Lois tapped her hand with the box feeling a little melancholy. Maybe I want it to be real so much that I'm ignoring Clark's explanations. I'm just desperate to believe that I finally got my dream.

Glancing down at the box she noticed a blemish that hadn't been there when she'd bought and wrapped the present. She lifted it up and then took in a shocked breath.

Clark stood in the kitchen pouring out a coffee for Lois whilst mentally chastising himself.

You've made the wrong decision, Clark, he told himself. She'll never forgive you for this. He put the pot back down on the counter. It's obvious what you really wanted. I mean, come on. Why the heck didn't you tidy up? You left the superspeed snow trails and the wrapping paper snowflakes for her to see.

He sighed and rested on the counter, his palms either side of the mug of coffee. He took in a deep breath and the aroma instantly made him think of Lois.

You want her to know. You want her; the Lois from last night. The one that so freely accepted you, yet still challenged you. Lois … that kissed you abandondly and wantonly. Lois that laughed and danced and teased and cheated and …

He groaned at the realisation of his stupidity but knew it was too late now. Without even realising it he fixed on the sound of her in the living room.

He listened to the rustling of the paper.

He heard the 'in and out' of her breath.

He was so focussed on her that he could tell the moment her heart skipped a beat and she breathed in: shocked. He felt his heart begin to race as she came back down the hallway. When she stopped in front of him and put one hand on her hips he knew he was in trouble somehow.

Her other hand rose up and he could see that she clutched the red leather box; the box which had contained her present to him. She slowly turned around her hand to reveal the underside.

"Explain your way out of this, Houdini."

Clark looked away from her face to see the 'heat-vision' scorch mark he'd left in the base of the box in the all too revealing shape of the Blur's 'S' shield.

THE END

So did she make a good choice? And did I write that choice well? And what about the ending?

Merry Christmas, hope you liked it, and laughed. Leave a comment. Thanks