Chapter 17

He was relieved to see that Lois had changed into a pair of comfortable sweats.

"There you go, milady." He set the glass of water on the nightstand and was rewarded by only a roll of her eyes. His next move surprised her. He went into the bathroom and came out with a warm, wet wash cloth and handed it to her.

"What's this for?"

"The make-up. You've piled on so much today to cover up those dark circles that I barely recognize you. I'd like to see the real you before you pass out on me."

She huffed again but obediently wiped her face clean with the cloth. She had to admit, the heat felt good and soothing, and she was awfully tired, tired of thinking, tired of being afraid of the future, just plain old tired.

When she had finished, he took the cloth from her. Returning from the bathroom, he found her curled up on the bedcovers apparently asleep. As he took a blanket from her closet and covered her, she mumbled, "Thanks, Smallville."

"Anytime, partner."

Clark sat down on the couch in the living room and took out his notepad and pen. While Lois slept, he would finish his story longhand and check out some leads via his abilities. His hearing tuned in on a meeting between two of Intergang's top men. He'd have to do the legwork later, but it was something to do while he made sure Lois caught up on her sleep.

Four hours later and still at it, he heard her breathing change as she slipped into another stage of sleep. He knew she'd be hungry when she awoke. She had barely touched her food at lunch and he knew breakfast was usually just a cup of coffee for her.

So he got up and went to the kitchen. He expected to find hardly anything there with which to prepare a decent dinner for her, but he was surprised to see the refrigerator stocked with all kinds of fresh produce, a carton of eggs and even milk.

Puzzled, he opened a cupboard. A full range of spices greeted him. He looked in the cabinets below the counter and found pots, pans, a wok, and all manner of cooking equipment. The drawers yielded every kitchen gadget imaginable.

"Weird." He said the word aloud and looked around, fully expecting to have walked through a wall into someone else's apartment. This couldn't be the kitchen of Lois Lane, career reporter.

He heard a muffled cough from the bedroom and immediately felt like he was trespassing, so he quickly removed the omelet pan from the cabinet and the other things he'd need from their places.

********

Lois followed her nose into the kitchen to find Clark preparing a very tasty smelling meal.

"Whatcha doin', Smallville?" she said around a yawn.

"I thought you'd be hungry. This isn't five-star restaurant stuff, but it will be filling, I promise."

"Mmm." Lois inhaled the smell of fresh bacon. "Smells good. I'll make some coffee."

"No, you won't. I'm not letting caffeine interfere with your going back to sleep tonight and getting a good night's rest. You'll have what I'm having – milk."

"Aye, Aye, sir." Lois saluted him and grinned. "What's with the testosterone display? You know it would be a lot more effective if you weren't in a kitchen cooking while doing it."

"Lois, just sit down at the table. This will be ready in a minute." His tone left no room for argument.

"I'm sorry, Smallville. I know I shouldn't have talked to Oliver about Star Labs. I should have stayed out of it. You're absolutely right. None of this is any of my business. I don't want you mad at me over it. You know, I would have called you. I wanted to call you. You're my best friend."

"Lois, sit."

She did as he told her, but groaned as she sank into the chair. "Oh, god, you are mad."

"I'm not mad." But he didn't smile as he set the plate in front of her. It smelled so good, she started eating before he was finished bringing the rest of the things to the table.

Sitting down across from her at the small table for two, he could see she was famished, but her natural color was back, and the circles surrounding those hazel eyes were beginning to fade.

"Smallville, you are just as good a cook as your mom. Did I ever tell you that?"

"Repeatedly. And she was my teacher. She always said I'd need to know how to cook since I ate so much."

"Yeah, I did notice you love to eat. How you keep that—" She stopped abruptly and changed the subject. "I can't believe you let me sleep that long. Perry is going to kill me. As soon as I finish this, we've got to get back to the Planet."

"No, we don't. I finished the story on Intergang. I'll run it by the Planet on my way home. I'd rather it be under my byline anyway, since it's rather explosive stuff. You can have the senator thing."

"But that's going to be the bigger story!"

"I don't mind." He saw her surprise. "Really. Besides, once we're in the new office, the byline's changing anyway, so what's the difference?

She eyed him warily. "Yeah, about that. I think Perry's right. 'Lane and Kent' sounds better."

She saw him look upwards as if considering it. "For now," was all he said.

Author's note: Thanks everyone for your reviews! You know I love them!

JOUNOUCHI sama – I think I had Perry say both in one chapter, but I'm not sure which chapter it was in now. Saying "great Caesar's ghost" is definitely iconic and belongs in every incarnation, but I also love the "great shades of Elvis" too since I'm an old Elvis fan. My take on Perry is so much an amalgam – While I was writing some of these scenes, I was really picturing Frank Langella in my mind. He seemed a bit more serious about jumping on his reporters.

Niakbor – I wish I'd thought about that! I actually have been in an office that had one plaid wall and it was really, really horrible looking. That would have been hysterical, but Lois would have painted over it within an hour!