"God this is awkward." Lois blurted out whilst Martha drove them back towards Smallville.
Martha gave her a reassuring smile. "Honey, if you want to talk about it, I am listening, but that is up to you. I am pleased I have seen Lionel for the person he really is. I hate the way he treats his son; it is so heart-breaking to watch his little face crumble into disappointment when his father repeatedly rejects him. "
Lois grimaced. "I would say Lex will grow up with some major issues. I don't know what to say about the working girl thing, except it is not true and I have never taken drugs in my life…. Well apart from one joint at a party last year. Actually Clark is my first serious boyfriend."
"Clark?"
Lois stayed calm, and took a deep breath. "Sorry I mean, Tom. I am getting confused with your maiden name."
"Do you want me to take you back to the farm?"
"Yes… that would be great."
"Lucy, for what it is worth, I believe you, and even if all that gossip was true, it would not make any difference to me."
Lois smiled, as they continued along the road.
Meanwhile at the farm, Clark was just finishing up his chores. Although he was trying not to use his powers, he could not help himself and ended up cutting a few corners whenever Jonathan went out.
"Tom, do you need a hand with anything?" Jonathan asked as he entered the paddock.
"No, I am almost done!"
"I thought we could get takeout tonight." His dad suggested.
"Actually I meant to tell you that Lucy and I will be away for the night as I have managed to score some tickets to a band out of town. How about we shout you dinner tomorrow night to say thank you for your hospitality?"
"That sounds great." Jonathan smiled and patted him on the back.
Just then, Martha's car drove up to the farmhouse. Lois got out. "Are you sure you don't want to come in for a coffee?"
"No,thanks!" Martha looked at Jonathan. "I will give it a miss. Thank you for coming with me."
She headed off, much to the disappoint of Jonathan.
"I am just going to pop into town for a few items." His dad announced as he climbed into his car.
As soon as he had left, Clark turned to kiss Lois but noticed the look of anger on her face.
"Right…. I want to see the Legion now. You said you could call for them anytime." Lois stated.
"Lo, what has happened?"
"You will find out…." She replied.
Clark went up to the barn where he had hidden the Legion Ring. Although he had been told that it would only transport them back once his parents were back together, he was still nervous about handling it. He pressed the ring and said the names of the Legion members.
Rokk and Garth appeared within seconds. "What has happened?"
Lois did not speak , but without warning she launched a punch at Rokk. "You…"
Clark managed to intercept her hand. "Lois, let's not resort to violence." He said trying to calm her down.
"So you are as hot headed as your reputation describes." Garth announced, but then panicked when he saw the unimpressed look on Lois's face at his attempt at humour.
"Why did you make me a hooker?"
Clark shot a look of puzzlement at Lois. "What do you mean?"
"Lionel has been digging up my past or should I say the past of Lucy Mason, and it turns out she is a drug addict who works the streets."
Clark glared at a guilty looking Rokk. "We're waiting!"
"You have to understand that having that vocation often makes it hard to be traced. After all working girls tend not to advertise their job to their friends and family. I did not expect anyone to look so much into your background. Of course, if you were keeping a lower profile, Ms Lane, maybe this would not have happened."
Lois's frosty glare was getting even icier. "Don't you turn this back on me! We are doing everything we can to change history back to the way it should be. Anyway let's face it, it was an event from your time which originally changed the timeline, so if you want someone to blame, I think you should be looking a little closer to the 31st Century."
Rokk could not fight back. "Ok, can we put an end to this and just discuss what your plan is?"
Lois told them her plan to get Martha and Jonathan back together. Clark looked at her in disbelief. "Lois, that could make things worse. What happens if it backfires?"
She smiled at him. "And do you have a better plan?"
Rokk interrupted. "Actually I think that could work. When are you putting it into action?"
Lois could not believe what she was hearing; Rokk was actually agreeing with her. "Well Martha is heading out of town for 5 days or so, so it will be a perfect opportunity to convince Jonathan it is the way forward."
Clark shook his head. "I get a bad feeling about this."
"Stop being so pessimistic…" Lois grinned at him.
Rokk and Garth looked at one another. "We are heading back to the Fortress. Hopefully within the next week, you will both be safely back in 2006 getting on with your lives as though nothing has happened." They disappeared.
Clark led Lois down the stairs from the hayloft. "I think you are right to have suspicions about them wiping our minds. I just hope Star's mind trick has worked on you, I never want to forget what we have…"
As he said that, she whispered. "Time for a sequel."
His mischievous grin said it all. He picked her up and sped her into the house.
"Where are you taking me?" Lois asked, as she knelt on the end of the bed, trying to convince Clark to tell her.
"Lo, why do they call it a secret?" he replied, attempting to keep a straight face.
"I'll let you come back to bed if you tell me." She fluttered her eyelids at him, but it was not having any effect.
"Tempting, but no…." he smiled at her.
"When are we leaving?" she asked.
"In 10 minutes."
She jumped off the bed. "My god, I need to pack."
"Lo…calm down." He put his hands in the air to stop her. "All your clothes are at the hotel."
"All of them. "
"You don't exactly have many…well not in this time anyway. Of course, 2006 is a different matter." He smirked.
"I am going to have a quick shower."
Clark looked at his watch and noticed it was already 5pm. Luckily the place they were heading was on the same time-zone. "Keep it under 30 mins." He shouted after her, as she headed into the bathroom.
An hour later, she appeared from the bathroom, her hair dripping went. "Stand still." He ordered.
She did as he said, completely puzzled. Clark blew gentle for a moment or two until her hair was dry. "We need to go now or we are going to be late."
She opened her towel playfully. "Does it really matter if we are late?"
"For me…no, but for you…yes." He replied cryptically.
"Ok. I get it. You would not turn me down unless it was important."
"We have plenty of time for that at the hotel later." He grinned.
Lois was finally ready by 6.10pm so he picked her up, and told her to close her eyes. She was excited by the mystery and wondered where they were going to end up. Minutes later, she felt her feet making contact with the ground once again.
"Keep your eyes shut until I tell you." He said.
She could hear lots of people milling about and cars driving past. She realised they were walking up a small ramp. They went through some doors where she was faced with the smell of burgers. "You brought me to a burger bar, didn't you?"
"You can open your eyes now."
She slowly opened them unsure of what to expect. The first thing she noticed was how busy the restaurant was. Clark took her hand and led her to an empty booth in the corner. "Do you want something to eat or drink?"
Lois smiled. "Yeah… I am starving after my workout this afternoon." She stretched her hand out to pick up the menu.
"Don't…" Clark ordered. "Just tell me what you want. It sells the usual burgers."
"Ok, I'll have a cheeseburger and fries with a coke." She replied, enjoying the mystery. There was an atmosphere in the place, but she did not know why. Everyone seemed to be on some sort of high, although they were anticipating something.
The waitress came and took their order.
"So when are you going to tell me where we are?"
"You will have to wait."
"I am more interested in your checkered history." He grinned. "You never told me about your vocation in life."
"Clark, that is not funny. When I realised that your mom had overheard what Lionel had said, I just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me." She was red.
"So you haven't been such a busy girl." He continued his teasing.
"No, you are the only one."
He was surprised. "I thought you had some serious boyfriends."
"Oh I did, but my father's presence was always enough to deter them from making a move on me."
"I hope he does not find out about us." Clark replied, actually nervous at the thought of a confrontation with the General.
"He will be fine… as long as he never finds out." She said with a concerned look on her face and then as soon as she saw the panic on his face, she started to laugh. "Your face is a picture!"
"Lo, don't worry me like." He remarked. "Anyway, I am still not convinced about your plan to get my parents back together."
He realised his relationship with Lois was so much more equal than it had been with Lana. With her, he would not have dared question her for fear she would leave him. He could challenge Lois's judgement without that fear. After all, Lois gave as good as she got.
She rolled her eyes at him. "So are you telling me that your mom is going to accept that your dad was impersonated by an alien android with evil intentions?"
He thought for a moment. "I guess not! But there has to be another way."
"Your dad needs to change tact and admit to something he did not do. He can pretend he was really drunk that night and was pissed at her father's interference."
"He won't go for that!"
"Clark, your parents have spent years dishing tough love out to you, now this is your chance to dish it back. Tell him like it is. He loves Martha more than anything and if he thinks this is the only way to get her back, he will do it."
He sat back, knowing she had won him over. "Ok, you're right, but he is going to have to do some major grovelling."
"Yes, he will, and then some…" She was distracted when she noticed a man approaching the table with a pile of t-shirts in his hand.
"Hello, mom. Would you like on?"
Clark grabbed his wallet and gave him a $20 dollar bill. "We will have one!"
The man smiled and handed Clark a t-shirt. As the man left, Lois stood up briefly and looked over the top of the seat. She realised that half the people were wearing the same black t-shirt. Then she saw it… the familiar cobra's head on the front of them.
"Oh my god." She looked back at Clark with her mouth gaping wide open. She looked at the t-shirt. It was a Whitesnake t-shirt.
"Clark, thank you. You have bought me to a Whitesnake convention, haven't you.? I have always wanted to go to one of these." She shrieked with excitement.
He just looked at her in amazement. "Lois, what is the date?"
She thought for a moment. "It is Sunday the 18th June 1989."
"Where are we?" Clark asked.
"I don't know…Metropolis." She guessed then she took the menu off him, and studied it for any clues of their whereabouts.
She was shocked to read 'Doris's Diner….The best burger bar in Houston.'
"Clark, you are so sweet. You bring me all the way to Texas to hang out with some Whitesnake fans. I love you!" She leant over the table and kissed him.
All of a sudden, a girl shouted out. "The doors are about to open." A cheer went up in the room.
"Doors to what?" Lois asked, completely perplexed.
"Lois, look at the back of your t-shirt." He ordered.
She straightened it out and noticed a list of dates from the Slip of the Tongue US Tour. She scanned down until she noticed the words '18thJune…..Houston Astrodome!'
She screamed!