Clark was just setting the table when Lois arrived back. "Hi Lois, have a seat!" he pulled out a chair for her.
She looked at him suspiciously. "You're not going to admit you are in love with me, are you?"
"No, what would make you think that." He looked back with a horrified look on his face, wondering if he had overdone it with cooking and gave her the wrong impression.
"I am only kidding. Your face is a picture." She laughed as she sat down.
He brought over the salad he had made. "There you go. I risked getting in trouble with the police to get us a bottle of wine."
"Thanks…I promise not to drink too much."
"After Christmas last year that would not be a bad idea." Clark smirked.
"So spill… Smallville. What have you got to tell me?" she pushed him, desperate to be put out of her misery.
"Lois, can I just ask why you have not questioned anything. I mean here we are 16 years in the past, sent by people you have never met and you have barely reacted. Lana is always pushing me to reveal my secret."
Lois looked at him with a serious expression. "Clark…Firstly I am not Lana and secondly however much I enjoy winding you up, I trust you 100% and I always will. I do have some questions but I am sure you will tell me some answers when I need to know."
For some inexplicable reason, Clark felt his heart skip a beat when she admitted the amount of trust she placed in him. He brushed it to one side and took a deep breath. "Ok, what I am about to tell you will change the way you feel about me, but I have kept it hidden for a reason."
Lois saw his nervousness and took hold of his hand. "Go on… I am listening."
"Ok….here goes! At the present time, the younger version of myself is hurtling towards Earth amongst the meteor rocks from my home planet. I landed on the 16th October in Miller's Field and was found by a young couple who were driving past. They took me home, and raised them as their own."
Lois did not react except to squeeze his hand, urging him to continue.
"Apparently the time line has now changed, and my mom is with Lionel when they find me in the field. Lionel sees my abilities and claims me as his own son. I think my mom only marries him to protect me. Over the next few years, my father will try to help my mom and the other Clark escape but they are both my parents are brutally murdered during one of the attempts." Lois could see his emotion when describing what would happen if they did not change things.
"Lois, if I am brought up by the Luthor's, I will become the most deadly weapon this planet has ever seen. We need to stop this from happening." He announced.
She remained calm. "So what exactly are your powers?"
"I am invulnerable, well apart from the green meteor rocks which can kill me, and I have superspeed, x-ray vision and superhearing. I seem to be developing more abilities as I get older and there is a chance I may be able to fly at some point in the future."
"Are you the only one from… Where is it you are from?" she asked.
"Yeah I am the only one from Krypton.. I am Kryptonian, and my real name is Kal-el."
There was recognition on her face. "So you were the person those weird guys were looking for in the hospital last year."
"Yes… I am so sorry that I never told you this." He pleaded with her to accept his apology.
Her face changed; she looked annoyed. "Clark, don't you ever apologise for keeping your secret. This must have been such a burden to carry around. I am honoured that you chose to tell me, and I will do whatever I can to help you get time back on track. I did not have a right to know… I am not your girlfriend."
Without thinking he announced. "I wish you were…" he became flustered when he realised what he had said. "I mean I wish Lana would accept me as easily as you do. I have a feeling when I tell her that she will freak and treat me differently."
"Are you going to tell her?" Lois asked.
"Well that was the plan just before we got transported here. I was going to take her to my fortress and tell her everything before proposing. The fortress is a place in the Arctic which was created by a crystal my Kryptonian father left for me. It is a place I can go to speak to an artificial intelligence version of Jor-el."
Lois smiled. "That would be a marriage proposal with a difference."
"I guess so. It is my last chance to save my relationship with her."
Lois heard his desperation again. She decided not to challenge his reasons for proposing to Lana. After all, the way things were going in Smallville, they could be stuck in this time until the meteor shower. What puzzled her was why the thought of spending the next four months living with Clark was not bothering her more….
Clark told Lois about his childhood and how his powers had made him feel different. She listened intently to his every word, totally spellbound by the amazing person Clark Kent was turning out to be.
Suddenly he stood up. "Imra is coming."
"Can you hear her?" Lois asked, curious how he knew.
"No… it seems she has just told me telepathically." He said with amazement.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Clark went to open it. It was a smiling Imra. "Hello Tom!"
"Hi, come in. " she walked past him and headed into the lounge. "I see you have already told Lois your secret."
Clark looked at her. "How do you know? Have you been listening in?"
"No, I read your thoughts." She replied.
He became annoyed. "You are telling me that you have been reading my mind."
"Yes of course! That is what telepathics do!" She said as though it was the most normal thing to do.
"Well Imra, I would appreciate if you did not violate my thoughts without my permission or unless it is a matter of life and death." He replied forcefully.
Lois smirked in the background.
Imra looked at him sheepishly. "Ok…I am sorry."
"Thank you." He replied. "So what have you found out?"
"Aren't you going to introduce me to Lois Lane?" Imra asked looking across the room.
"Lois, I would like to you to meet Imra."
Lois shook her hand. "Nice to meet you!"
"So did you find out anything more?" Clark asked, trying not to sound impatient.
"We know you have discovered what drove your parents apart and have done well to get into positions to find out more." Imra announced. "We do now know that Martha married Lionel Luthor on the 14th February 1990, and that she and Jonathan Kent were murdered on the 16th October 1991 on the second anniversary of your arrival."
"How bad are things on Earth?" Lois asked.
"The planet is on the verge of civil war. Many American cities have already been wiped out by a nuclear war which ravaged almost the whole planet in 2003. Billions of people have died, and for the rest of Earth's survivors life is not worth living. Nothing can stop you from completing this mission." Imra explained.
"My god, and all of this is because Lionel found me." Clark exclaimed, blown away by how much he could alter history.
"Is there anything else we can do to change history for the better?" Lois asked.
Imra paused, something in her expression told Lois that she was hiding something. "No, just do what you are doing, and make sure the Kent's find baby Kal-el. I must go now. Rokk will be in touch soon."
After she had gone, Lois turned to Clark. "She is hiding something."
"I know she is, but what. Pity I am not telepathic." He smiled, but deep down he was concerned.
"She is a bit overpowering isn't she?" Lois laughed.
"Tell me about it. I didn't get a chance to tell you that I was going to be working on the farm for the next few weeks."
"I bet you cannot wait to get back into that plaid shirt again."
"I feel lost without it." He joked.
"Well why don't you wear it for Saturday night. We are going to the shindig." She announced, expecting some opposition.
He started to beam. "That should be an experience. They stopped having them after the town hall was destroyed in the meteor shower. My parents always told me about them."
Lois was gobsmacked. "I thought you would freak."
"No, I am looking forward to it, but one thing you will need some cowboys boots to do some line dancing."
Lois wondered what had happened to the real Clark. He was so animate compared to his usual stressed self, who spent most ofl his time worrying about the latest status of his relationship with Lana.
Meanwhile at the Fortress of Solitude, Imra told Rokk, Garth and Jor-el of her concerns.
"You did not see them…" she protested.
Rokk shook his head. "But we all know that Clark Kent and Lois Lane barely tolerated each other in the early years."
She continued. "If you don't believe me, go and see for yourself. They may not be aware of their feelings yet but I can tell you now it won't be long before they know."
Garth interrupted. "I think Imra is right. The only thing that kept them apart for so long was the spectre of Lana Lang and with her gone there is nothing to stop them."
Jor-el's voice boomed across the structure. "Well we need to find a way to interrupt their feelings. We do not know what will happen in the future if they bond before it is meant to happen."
"As far as I see it, we have two options." Rokk explained. "We either send Lois back to the future. She will probably be killed but it does not matter as the original Lois Lane is still living in West Germany with her parents in 1989. The other option is that we wipe both their memories during the jump."
"Rokk, there is no way you can send Lois back, Kal-el will not allow it, and I may be able to wipe Lois's memory but I would have no effect on Kal-el's. Could you do it, Jor-el?"
"I do not know. It may be possible." Clark's father replied from the console.
"There is one more option." Imra commented. "We could lie about events in the future and lead them both to believe that Lana is Clark's future soul mate. There is no way they will pursue a relationship if they are told that."
Rokk smiled. "That could work! Let's do it."
The following morning after an uncomfortable night sleeping on the sofa, Clark headed to the farm to help out with the chores.
"Hi Tom." His dad greeted him with a smile. "I will show you around. I have a meeting with my neighbour at 8am so if I can start you off working before then it will be great.
Clark smiled. "No problem. I know my way around most farm equipment."
Meanwhile back at the B&B, Lois was just finishing getting ready when there was a knock at the door.
She went to answer it. "Hi Imra. Come in!"
"Hi Lois. I just need to talk to you about a delicate matter. Clark isn't here, is he?"
"No, he is at the Kent Farm." Lois replied curiously.
Imra came in and sat down. "Ok, I am sorry to have to bring this up but at the moment there is a potential breach in the timeline."
"I know there is!" Lois announced. "Is that not why we are here?"
"No, apart from the Kent breakup. Ok…" she took a deep breath. "When I was here yesterday I noticed a connection between you and Clark, and I am worried where it might lead."
Lois looked at her in disbelief. "What is this connection between Clark and me? Everyone seems to have noticed it apart from us. We are only friends, and if I am honest, at times even that is a struggle."
"You have feelings for him. I can see it."
"Imra, read my mind. I have only feelings of annoyance for him." She protested.
"I am not here to argue with you Lois, only to let you know that nothing can come between Lana and Clark. They are meant to be."
Lois smirked. "Imra, the only thing which can come between Lana and Clark are Lana and Clark. I have never interfered in their relationship although sometimes it is hard to resist as I have to constantly hear about it."
"Lana is the love of his life and always will be." Imra said.
"So you keep telling me! You will no doubt be watching us from wherever you are staying, so you can make sure we don't get carried away." Lois laughed at the thought.
"Lois, we cannot observe you from where we are, only when we time travel to come and see you. It might be better if you do not tell Clark about this chat, as it could influence the future." Imra left, leaving a very intrigued Lois in her wake.
Clark was relishing his time on the farm; the biggest surprise was getting to drive the tractor he had spent most of his teenage years trying to fix but never quite succeeded.
He was in the barn when Rokk appeared from nowhere. "Hi Clark."
He turned around. "Rokk!"
"I bet you feel at home. Have you managed to find out anything else that will help?"
Clark looked at him. "I thought you would see everything that happens."
"No, not from where we are. The only way we knew of the progress you made was through Imra reading your thoughts."
"I would appreciate if you would tell her to stop that."
"Kal-el, she has agreed to do so. She means well, but she is young and can be a little presumptuous at times."
Rokk paused, looking some what nervous. "There is one thing I need to talk to you about… your feelings for Lois."
"Am I that obvious?" he went red.
"Apparently Imra thinks there is something between you."
Clark chuckled. "Something, as in intolerance you mean…right? I will try and tone down the play fighting."
"No, she thinks you are falling in love with her." Rokk stuttered nervously.
Clark just stood there, his mouth gaping open in shock. "Yeah right. Don't tell me Imra has been reading my mind again because she wants to get her radar checked, as she is so way off."
"She has seen you two together, the way you look at each other." Rokk said. "Anyway I am here to tell you that you are endangering the one relationship that will matter in the future."
"You mean…Lana." He asked.
"Yes, you are soul mates." Rokk announced although hating to lie. They had decided they would try and wipe Clark's mind before his return to the present, so he told himself whatever he told Clark now would not matter.
"Well, tell Imra from me that there is nothing between Lois and me." Clark said, not entirely sure what else to say.
Rokk patted him on the back. "Ok, as long as you know where your destiny lies. And it may be better to not to tell Lois about our conversation." And with that he left.
Clark stood there, taking in the weird implication that Rokk had just made. He would never admit it, but deep down he was more excited by the fact that everyone thought he and Lois were in love with each other, rather than Lana being his soul-mate.
Were they right? He could not move forward until he discovered whether there was any truth in everyone's suggestion.
Lois sat in the apartment before heading to work. Her head was swirling with the notion that she had hidden feelings for Clark. She thought back about what she and Clark could have done that would have triggered people's opinion. It was so way off base…her and Clark…it was laughable. Or was it?