Eleusinian Mystery

Disclaimer: I own none of the Smallville characters. They are owned by DC Comics, the WB and the CW.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, left comments or had questions… It means a lot. I will be sending out PM's this week, but I wanted to go ahead and get this this chapter up.

Everyone had a lot of interesting comments and/or questions…I'll address the most prominent one now. It seems most people want to know what happened to Lois of 2007. Right? :) Okay, I do have an explanation for that, but I really don't want to give it away. I mean it's time-travel... Not an exact science, right? A lot of things could have happened. They could have merged as one, as one reviewer said. Or, the Lois of 2007 could have been sucked into the portal when Lois of 2009 came through it and now she's in the future... Or...maybe that Kryptonian came through the portal after Lois did, and she snatched 2007 Lois up and then jumped back into the portal! ;) lol!

Anyhow, basically what I'm saying is 2007 Lois is *not* in 2007… It'll be explained what happened, but I don't want to say much more than that, because everyone knows you're not supposed to change the past or it will affect the future, but in this fic—everything—changes for Lois and Clark.

So, on that note, on with the show…

***********************************Clois********** ***************************

Part 2: Surprise.

Fort Ryan, Hangar 44.

While Lois had been getting captured, Clark and Chloe had tracked down the fight club's promoter. A man named Richter Maddox. Clark had found him that evening outside Belle Reve and in a rare exhibition of his powers he'd caught the bullet Maddox had aimed his way. As expected, catching a live bullet had impressed the greedy promoter and he'd agreed to let Clark fight live in his arena.

Now, as Clark and the promoter walked down the corridor leading to the arena, Clark listened as Maddox explained how the fights went down.

"The rules are—there are no rules. It's do or die," Maddox said. "And you need a moniker." He paused and then snapped his fingers, "Hey what do you think of 'The Man of Steel'?"

"Man of Steel?" It sounded a little ridiculous to Clark, but truthfully, he didn't care what he was called as long as he got a hold of Titan.

"Trust me kid," Maddox said, "it's a name people will never forget. Now this is your first fight, so I want you to really play it up for the cameras. People are forking over top dollar to see these fights on-line. Alright?"

"Where's the crowd?" Clark asked.

"Crowd? What crowd? Can't keep it a secret if you have a crowd. Now, like I was saying, for your first bout I want it to be hot, titillating even and I have the perfect opponent for you…"

"Where's Titan? I thought I'd be fighting him," Clark told the promoter.

"Titan?" Maddox chuckled. "Unh-unh. That's the 'Main Event'. We need to warm the crowd up first. Get 'em primed and like I said I have the perfect opponent. Some nosy reporter we caught snooping around. She's smoking hot though," Maddox leered adding a wolf whistle. "So, like I said, play it up…make it a show for the cameras. Hell, enjoy the bitch a little if you want, but just make sure she doesn't leave this ring alive," the promoter finished with a deadly seriousness.

Clark's eyes had gone wide. "She? Who am I fighting?" He had a sinking feeling in his stomach, and even before Lois was thrust into the ring snarling at her handler to 'get off her!' he just knew she was there.

"I hope you like the taste of leather honey," Lois snapped, "coz you're about to get a fistful of vinyl!"

"Lois?" Clark blurted out, "What are you doing here?"

"Smallville?" Lois replied instead of answering, just as shocked to see him as he was to see her.

Maddox turned to Clark, suddenly suspicious. "You know her?"

Clark had to think quickly. He needed to get to Titan, but if the promoter shut everything down right now—he might miss his chance, and Lois could end up hurt or...worse. Thanks to his slip, Maddox knew that he and Lois weren't strangers, so Clark was forced to come up with a story that would keep Lois alive.

He went with the first one that popped into his head.

"Actually, I do. She's the bane of my existence most of the time, but I kind of have a thing for her…" he told the promoter, hoping he could wager on keeping Lois and still getting the fight with Titan. "But she's been a little difficult to persuade."

Maddox glanced over at Lois, eyeing her figure up and down. "Oh yeah, my man, I can see why. Like I said, she's smoking hot. A little lippy for my taste..."

"You have no idea." Clark bit back an inappropriate smile.

Lois looked outraged. "Smallville! What the hell are you talking about?" she huffed, glaring. "Difficult...I'll show you difficult!"

Clark ignored her, keeping his eyes on Maddox. Lois's life depended on him selling his story. He rolled his eyes and leered at Lois crudely, knowing he was going to pay for this later. "See what I mean? She shoots me down, teases me and calls me names like Smallville. I'd love to get my hands on her…if you know what I'm saying?"

It took everything Clark had in him not to blush at making such a ribald statement, but luckily for him, Maddox bought it.

"Yeah, that broad does have a mouth on her!"

Clark forced a laugh. It was true, but still…hearing Maddox say it pissed him off. He kept his expression neutral however, needing to get the promoter to agree with his idea.

"How about…we change the plan? When I win, instead of killing her...I get to keep her." He let his eyes trail down her body again, which was on display in that red vinyl cat-suit. He licked his lips as if in anticipation. "That is…as long as I beat Titan."

The promoter's eyes widened, but he paused as if thinking it over. Finally a lewd grin broke out on his face. "For a pretty boy, you're one sick puppy aren't you?"

Clark felt dirty even having the conversation he was having, but he simply shrugged-playing the role he'd given himself. "If you say so."

"Fine, you got a deal. As long as my viewers get their money's worth. I don't care what you do with the bitch. Take her on the mat here if you wanna. I bet she's a real screamer…but remember…to keep her, you gotta beat the 'Big Guy' first!"

Clark's mind was reeling from the promoter's comments. They made him sick, but he managed to keep his cool. "I don't think that'll be a problem. You've seen what I can do."

"But have you seen what Titan can do?"

Clark nodded. "Oh yeah. It's a challenge I'm looking forward to. I've never met anyone with my abilities before."

Maddox glanced to Lois, who looked angry enough to spit nails, and shrugged. "Whatever you say 'Man of Steel'. Make this fight a good show for my viewers and then you'll get Titan, but remember—if you lose against Titan, you and your sexy vixen over there both die tonight. Clear?"

"As crystal. Not really worried," he nodded, realizing as he said those words it just might be the biggest lie he'd ever told in his life. He wasn't worried about himself, but fear for Lois's safety made his stomach clench with anxiety.

Not to mention, how the hell was he going to get Lois to go along with this wild scheme? Clark had no idea and no time to plan anymore, or warn Lois, because Maddox was ready to begin the show.

The technician said they were live and Maddox took center stage.

"Hey, fight fans! Are you ready? Tonight's undercard is a special matchup introducing two new combatants who have a score to settle. In this corner… She's a firecracker, ladies and gents. A real feisty minx. Give it up for the voluptuous... the vicious... Vixen!"

Cheers, applause and wolf whistles were suddenly blasted out of the massive speakers surrounding the arena as the cameras panned to Lois.

Maddox's smile was smarmy. "Yummy," he said. Then he turned his attention to Clark. "And now... the man who's dying to get his hands on the luscious Vixen...don't let the pretty face fool you, ladies and gentlemen," Maddox added with a flash of a grin, "this is one twisted and tough hombre. So, please welcome to our arena for the first time... the all-powerful, the all-American... Man of Steel!"

More cheers and applause were heard and Maddox smirked at Clark. "Okay, you've got your shot. Good luck pretty boy," he said, before exiting the arena and leaving Clark and Lois alone in the cage.

Lois and Clark began to circle each other, each of them trying to figure a way out of the situation.

"Lois!" Clark hissed angrily, "What are you doing here?!"

"Working on a story. What are *you* doing here?!" She glared. "Besides trying to sell me into slavery that is?!" she bit out. "And, what the hell do you mean telling that creep you've been wanting to get your hands on me?!" Lois looked ready to combust. "Try it and you'll draw back a nub, Smallville! I guarantee it!"

Clark wanted to roll his eyes at her, he really did. "I'm trying to keep you alive!" he growled back, frustrated. "Maddox knows you're a reporter…" The crowd started to boo and Clark quickly glanced Maddox's way and noticed the man scowling. "Damn it!" he cursed softly, surprising Lois, whose eyes widened at hearing Clark curse. He didn't notice. He was too busy panicking. "Look, Lois just go with what I'm about to do, okay?"

Not liking the sound of that at all, Lois danced away from him, fists raised. "No!" she snapped. "I'm not playing some sick little game for the cameras. Just punch me Smallville and I'll go to the mat and then—mmmmphh!" Lois's last words ended up muffled as Clark suddenly yanked her forward and kissed her. Stunned and caught completely off guard, Lois went totally still for a moment, before a memory from the dreams she'd been having was triggered. It flashed in her brain red hot. It was her and Clark rolling around on a mattress, naked and making love. It was so sensual, that for a moment, she responded, melting against him and kissing him back.

Clark moaned softly when her tongue entwined with his. It sent shockwaves throughout his body and he pulled her even closer, groaning intro her mouth as they kissed heatedly for a second. Just as Clark was getting lost in the kiss, Lois suddenly ripped her mouth from his.

"Smallville! What the hell?!" she snapped, shoving him away from her.

To Clark's (and Lois's) surprise, he flew across the entire arena from the force of her shove. He bounced off the cage that surrounded the mat, to land flat on his back, the wind momentarily knocked out of him.

Lois stalked over to him and glared down into his stunned face. "Why did you just kiss me?!" she demanded, hands on her hips.

Clark got to his feet, shaking his head, still a little dazed at the force with which she'd just tossed him across the ring. "Lois, how did you do that?"

Lois was at a loss, however, before she could even try and come up with an answer, a huge commotion could be heard from outside the arena. Alarms started going off and suddenly Titan appeared—all seven feet of bald-headed muscle glaring menacingly at Clark.

"Kal-El," he snarled, tearing into the cage.

Maddox tried to intervene, but Titan simply grabbed him up and tossed him aside like a discarded toy, breaking the man's neck and killing the fight promoter instantly.

Clark used his heat vision to take out the broadcasting equipment, cutting off the live feed as technicians went scrambling about, trying to get away from the chaos Titan was causing.

Titan immediately snatched up Clark and threw him across the arena. Lois tried to defend Clark when the behemoth attacked. She spun about and delivered a roundhouse kick to the massive Zoner that actually sent the huge monster staggering back.

Obviously surprised at how strong she was, Titan leveled his deadly gaze on Lois. "What are you, another Kryptonian?"

"Another Krypto-what?" Lois replied, puzzled, but still in a fighting stance, fists up and ready to defend herself.

"Get away from her!" Clark shouted, getting to his feet to face off with Titan.

Titan's lip curled as he said, "You would bring your mate with you to fight me Kal-El?"

Both Lois and Clark's eyes bulged at that statement.

"She's not—"

"I'm not his mate!" Lois snapped and kicked Titan in the back of his knee, making his knee buckle and sending the towering wall of muscle to the canvas.

Clark was so stunned at Lois's sudden show of power tonight that it took him a second to react, but in that second, Titan was back on his feet and had managed to grab Lois up by her neck in one meaty paw. "Don't lie to me girl," he growled. "You're too strong to be a human!"

Clark went on the offensive then. He rushed Titan at super speed, but Titan seemed to anticipate his move, and turned, meeting Clark's attack with a huge hand to Clark's chest. He shoved hard and used Clark's own momentum to send him flying backwards again to crash through the steel cage.

Lois's hands went to where he had her by the neck, suspended in mid-air. She tried to break his hold, but it was like the brute's fingers were made of steel! She didn't lose her tenacity though and tried to kick at him with her legs. "I don't know what kind of steroids you're on, buddy," Lois choked out, barely managing to keep the mountain of muscle from strangling her, "but they've affected you're brain! I'm all Earth-girl here!"

Outside the ring, Clark had just gotten back to his feet in time to witness Titan shake Lois; her slender body swung wildly from side to side, like a broken puppet with its strings cut. Clark's heart leapt to his throat and rage overcame him. If Lois died…he couldn't even think of it.

"You are more than a human! Tell me who you are to the House of El!" the Zoner snarled, taking out his anger on her.

"No!" Clark screamed, sure Lois was about to be killed. He concentrated all his energy and was about to attack, but before Clark even took a step towards them, something completely bizarre happened. A burst of light from Lois's stomach illuminated her body, and before Titan could slam her against the canvass, the light surged forth creating a huge torrent of pure energy. It struck the behemoth and sent him staggering backwards. He dropped Lois, and fell to the floor on his knees, obviously disorientated.

Clark experienced a myriad of emotions as Lois fell to the floor with a thud. But somehow, she was still alive. Clark watched as she curled into a fetal position as if to protect herself. Her body radiated that golden glow again for a second, before it dimmed. That's when Lois moaned softly and passed out.

Seeing her nearly murdered by Titan spurred Clark into action, and he attacked the much larger creature with everything he had. It was a brutal fight. At the beginning, Titan got the better of Clark, beating his face into a bloody mess as he pounded him from one end of the arena to the next. After a severely debilitating blow, Clark was on his back and Titan stood over him, seemingly victorious.

"Time to die Kryptonian," he told Clark, pulling his blade out of the arm band he wore. "And after I kill you. I will finish off your mate." He drove the blade down.

Clark caught Titan's arm and they struggled to gain advantage for a moment before Clark finally threw the bigger man to the floor.

Clark leapt to his feet. "My turn," he said. And then, using his superior speed to his advantage, he attacked Titan in a rapid succession of blows that sent the huge Zoner stumbling around like a drunk. Clark beat him back again and again, until finally landing an epic punch that sent Titan soaring into the air. When the massive brute landed, he landed on his own blade, succinctly delivering the killing blow himself.

Clark watched as Titan slowly dragged himself to his feet, the deadly blade embedded and broken off in chest. "Good fight," the Zoner said, before falling face first to the mat—dead.

Clark took a second to make sure he was no longer a threat, before rushing to Lois's side. She was indeed alive and miraculously, she appeared unscathed. Clark sagged with relief as he took her into his arms. It wasn't just a miracle. It was a brand new puzzle for him. Lois had hit him almost as hard as Titan had, and Clark could not even begin to fathom what had happened to her that had suddenly given her the powers that only he, or others like him, possessed.

He cradled her to his chest and exited the destroyed arena, but one thing was running through his mind, almost as if on a loop. It was his mother's advice from weeks ago—after Valentine's Day—reminding him to be more honest with himself and his feelings. And, (albeit unwillingly) Clark finally had to admit, he had feelings for Lois. What exactly they were, he was still unwilling to look at too deeply, but he did know that when he thought she was about to die—a part of him had felt like he was about to die with her. Clark couldn't ignore how terrified he was, nor how gut wrenching the pain had been.

Somehow, between all their arguments, Lois Lane had gotten under his skin.

He hurried from Fort Ryan, keeping Lois protectively tucked close to his body. Once they got clear of the area, Clark super sped his way to Smallville Medical Center, needing to make sure she was indeed alright…

***************Clois**************

Kent Farm:

Later that night, Martha Kent entered the loft, concerned for her son. Clark was looking at some satellite images of meteor craters.

"How's Lois?" Martha asked, her brow creasing with worry for the girl she loved like a daughter.

Clark set the papers down. "Amazingly, she seems completely fine. Angry that the doctors' won't release her until tomorrow."

Martha chuckled softly at that. "I'm sure."

"But," Clark went on, "she demanded I bring her laptop to her and before I even left her room tonight, she was already working on her article about the fight club."

Martha looked concerned and Clark hastened to reassure her. "Don't worry, mom, she didn't actually see me do anything newsworthy. I won't be making Lois's headline. I promise."

"That's good, and I'm glad Lois is fine. How are you?"

Clark sighed. "I don't know," he admitted. "I killed someone today."

"Clark... from what you told me, that was an accident."

Clark didn't look convinced. "That's what I keep telling myself."

Martha wanted to soothe her son's guilty conscious. "Well, what if it wasn't? He would have killed you and Lois.

"So, I just killed him first? How does that make me any different than Titan?

Martha smiled gently at him. "What you're feeling right now is what makes you different …regret, remorse for a vicious creature who would have murdered you and Lois without a second thought. Those feelings are what make you human, no matter how much you deny it."

Clark swallowed hard, his emotions welling up again. "And what about the anger?" he asked softly. Clark couldn't begin to describe what he'd felt the moment Titan had gone after Lois. It had been an explosion of pure violent fury. "I wanted to kill him, mom. I wanted to kill him with my bare hands. I've never felt anything like that before," he confessed.

Martha Kent looked seriously at her son. "Is this about tonight, or is this about Lana and Lex, Clark?"

"I know I've been angry about Lana, and I still can't understand how she could marry Lex, but what happened tonight...it wasn't about Lana or Lex. It'd almost be easier if it was." He paused, seeming to try and find his words, finally he sighed long and hard. "It's about Lois..." he admitted softly.

"What about her?"

After a moment, Clark met his mother's worried gaze. "Mom, when I thought Titan was going to hurt her or worse…" His throat closed and Clark shook his head, the scene replaying in his head and he felt the same terror flood him all over again. "I wanted to rip him apart limb from limb." He ran a hand through his hair. "I've never felt so angry before. It scared me."

Martha's eyes widened as she read between the lines of what Clark wasn't saying. "You have feelings for Lois…"

"I was thinking about what you said a few weeks ago…" He shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "You know? After Valentine's Day…and I think you might be right." He steadfastly avoided his mother's probing gaze.

Martha took her son's hand and led him to the couch. "Clark, why are you so afraid of admitting it? You've never had a problem saying you loved Lana."

"I don't know. Maybe it's because I've loved Lana before I even knew what the word meant," he said, his voice full of the frustration he was feeling. "Lois, on the other hand…" He gave a short, but bitter laugh. "Lois thinks of me as a…and I quote "dorky farm-boy". She likes to tease me. She practically takes joy in tormenting me and I'm frequently the punch-line to most of her jokes." He shook his head, looking like he was ready to pull his hair out. "I don't know, but you tell me, mom...does that sound like a recipe for any kind of relationship?"

Martha bit back a knowing grin. "Sweetheart, a lot of times people hide their feelings…just like you are right now, right?" He nodded slowly, his face still glum. "Well, have you ever thought that maybe Lois is too?" That got his attention and Clark tilted his head, intent on what his mom was saying now. "I know she picks on you, but instead of looking at *what* she's saying, look at *how* she's saying it." Clark frowned and Martha added, "Clark, think of it like the boy that pulls a girls pig-tails in school. He does it because—"

"He likes her," Clark jumped in, realization dawning in his eyes and making them widen. "You think Lois teases me so much because she likes me?"

Martha nodded. "I've suspected it for a while, but never brought it up because…"

"Because I was always so focused on Lana," Clark supplied for her.

It was then that Clark remembered the other thing he'd wanted to talk to his mother about. "Something else happened tonight. Something weird."

"What? What happened?" Martha asked, concern and worry flooding her features again.

"It was with Lois again. She had…powers," he said slowly.

"What do you mean powers?"

"I mean powers like mine. Like Titan's. Titan killed Maddox without even trying, but he shook Lois like a rag doll, and yet, she survived."

Martha seemed truly puzzled for a moment, before she replied. "Well, maybe Lois just had better luck. She does seem to get into an awful lot of trouble, yet always manages to come out of it."

Clark shook his head. "No, mom, this was different. Titan really shook her hard. I thought he was going to kill her, but then…"

"Then what?" Martha prodded.

"She started to glow with this kind of energy. It started from her belly and just burst out of her. It literally knocked Titan to his knees."

"Do you think she's meteor infected?"

"How?" Clark shook his head, unable to explain it. "She wasn't here when the meteor shower happened."

"But, she has been exposed to kryptonite on many occasions. Maybe it's changed her somehow."

Clark looked doubtful. "I don't know, mom. I guess that could be it, but it was just…really strange. At one point Titan even asked her if she was a Kryptonian," he said, his brows drawing down. "Why would he ask her that?"

Martha was quiet a moment before she said, "Well, that is…different, but I wouldn't rule out her being infected by kryptonite just yet. A simple blood test would show traces of the meteor rock in her blood stream, right?"

Clark nodded. "I know. That's why I'm having Chloe hack into her medical files. That way, I can see what the doctors have to say without facing the wrath of Lois by asking," he admitted with a small smile.

Martha chuckled huskily. "Well, let me know if there's anything I can do to help," she said, patting his hand before hugging him. "I'm just glad you both made it out of that place okay."

Clark's smile lit up his face, making his blue/green eyes sparkle. "Thanks mom. Actually, just talking to you about everything has already helped."

As she rose to her feet, Martha gave her son a warm, loving smile. "There's meatloaf in the oven for you. Come in and eat while you wait for Chloe to call. Okay?"

"I will. I promise and mom…" he said, stopping her before she left. "Thanks. I think I'll take your advice and see if Lois 'pulls my pigtails' because she likes me, or see if she does it because she really does think I'm just a dork!" he joked.

Martha gave him a sly smile. "I think you already know the answer to that one, sweetie."

Clark watched her walk down the stairs, a slight frown on his face and wishing he felt as confident in that as his mother seemed to be.

****************Clois**************

As Martha Kent left the barn, she was smiling. She was worried about Lois possibly being meteor infected, but she was pleased to see her son moving on from his unhealthy relationship with Lana Lang. She liked Lana, she did, but Clark was never really happy with the young woman. Their relationship had always been filled with pain and anguish. Lana was always pressuring Clark to unveil all of his hidden secrets to her in order to be with her and it weighed heavily on him. Martha wouldn't mind it at all if Clark decided Lois was the better choice for him. She and Jonathan had already come to that conclusion last year when Lois was running Jonathan's campaign. They had both been so proud of the woman Lois was becoming…they'd wished Clark would open his eyes to what was right in front of him and quit chasing after a girl that only made him miserable.

********************************Clois************* *****************

Same night: Smallville Medical Center:

"I'm what?!" Lois exclaimed, staring at the nurse as if she'd suddenly sprouted horns from her head. "You better go and run that test again, because it isn't possible! I'm not pregnant!" Lois snorted as she thought of all her and Oliver's aborted attempts at actually 'sealing the deal'. "Trust me. Your tester is on the fritz. Once you run that sucker again, you'll see I'm right," Lois said confidently.

Not entirely unused to such responses, the nurse held her ground. "Ms. Lane. We always repeat a pregnancy test, especially when it comes up positive. That's why we took your blood earlier, to confirm the first test. The results were the same. You are definitely pregnant."

Lois's jaw dropped and her head spun. "But-but how?"

The nurse started to smile and Lois gave her a snarky smirk in return. "I didn't mean it like that. I know *how*. I meant…" Her words trailed off as the enormity of the situation hit her. She was pregnant and had absolutely *no* idea how she came to be so. "Oh my God…" she said softly, her entire body sagging with shock.

"How far along am I?"

The nurse got out a chart. "Well let's see. When was your last menstrual cycle?"

Lois thought long and hard and when it hit her that she hadn't had a period the entire time she'd been in Florida, she felt dizzy. "Um…Oh God…January," she said, numb as she remembered the wooziness and throwing up every morning while on assignment in the Everglades.

"Do you remember an exact date, Ms. Lane?"

"I don't know exactly, but it's usually around the 20th, no later than the 22nd."

"And how long does it last?"

"About five days." She answered the questions as if on auto pilot.

The nurse flipped her chart, aligning Lois's last menstrual cycle with possible dates of conception. "And when was your last sexual intercourse?"

Lois swallowed hard. "That's just it…I haven't had sex in over a year!"

The nurse's eyes widened, before a look of sympathy came over her features. "Ms. Lane…there's no easy way for me to ask this…and please don't think I'm prying, but…was there ever a chance that maybe you were drinking or maybe you were drugged and you…um…don't remember having intercourse?"

At that Lois's eyes snapped wide open and she gasped. "Valentine's Day!"

"Okay, so there was a time—?"

"Oh my God!" Lois said numbly, no longer listening. The room spun wildly and Lois had to grab the bed in order not to spin with it. There was only one guy she'd been even close to being intimate with in the last two months. The same guy she'd been having dreams about; dreams that were so vivid, that Lois was suddenly wondering if they were dreams at all. Maybe they were actually memories of Valentine's Day.

Her temper flared and Lois saw red! 'Smallville was so-so dead!'

Lois somehow managed to keep the sheer fury off her face as she answered, "Yeah. I just remembered. I lost my memory that night even though I hadn't been drinking."

"Do you know who did this to you?"

Realizing this could turn into a police investigation, Lois thought quickly. "Well, it kind of happened to me and the guy I was dating at the time…so…obviously it must be his and even though neither of us remembered it, we must have had sex that night."

"Then that would make you approximately five weeks along Ms. Lane."

Lois barely heard, she was remembering the day after her V-Day disaster. She'd been sore, but Clark had been adamant that nothing had happened, so she'd chalked it up to getting a little too frisky with her B.O.B (battery operated boyfriend) after her and Smallville had almost hit the sheets. Little did she know that apparently they'd been quite busy after all!

"I can't believe this…" Lois moaned, covering her face with her hands.

"Would you like to meet with one of our counselors?" the nurse asked seeing Lois's obvious distress.

Lois shook her head. "I…um…no. Can I go home now? I just really need to…absorb all this," she said quietly.

The nurse looked sympathetic, but shook her head. "I'm afraid not. You're still under evaluation until tomorrow. What you really need is some rest."

Lois rolled her eyes. "Like I'm going to rest now," she muttered, but she waved the nurse away. "Fine," she said, crawling back under her covers of her hospital bed. When the nurse hovered, Lois got snippy. "Look, you just dropped a bombshell on me. I can't really take anymore questioning right now. Okay?"

"I understand this has been a shock, Ms. Lane. Just please try and get some sleep and tomorrow I would really suggest you speak with someone. You have options and a counselor could go over them with you," she said as she opened the door to leave.

"Yeah fine…I'm sorry to be rude, but…as you said this is a shock. I promise I'll think about it," Lois said, hoping that if she agreed, the nosy, but well-meaning nurse would just go. Lois didn't want to talk to some shrink, she wanted to kick Smallville's ass from one side of Kansas to the next!

As soon as the door shut, Lois waited a few minutes, before she gathered up her clothes and snuck out of the room. She glanced down the hall, looking this way and that, trying to spot anyone who might stop her. When the coast was clear, Lois waltzed right out of the medical center—still in her medical gown. As soon as she was outside, she went around back and dug her red vinyl pants out of her hospital bag. As she tugged her pants on, Lois got on her cell phone and called a cab, telling the woman on the other end where to pick her up and where she wanted to go. Her first choice would have been to call Chloe, but she knew her cousin well enough to know she wouldn't be an accomplice to a hospital break-out. Not to mention, Chloe would warn Clark. Lois loved her cousin and knew Chloe loved her too, but for some reason, Chloe's first allegiance was to Clark, and Lois had finally accepted that.

That was why Chloe would be kept in the dark for tonight's mission.

As Lois waited for her cab to arrive, she was so angry she could swear her eyes were on fire with her rage. And then, to her utter shock, fire did shoot out of her eyes, blasting short bursts of heated torpedoes into the building next to the Hospital and scorching the brick siding.

Lois gaped; wide eyed and slack jawed at what she'd just done. "Oh my God…Smallville, what the hell did you do to me?" she muttered, just as her Taxi pulled up.

******************Clois*****************

The Kent Farm: Clark's Loft.

Lois was just hopping into her cab when Clark got the call from Chloe.

"Hey Chloe, what's up? Did you find out anything from Lois's hospital records?"

Chloe Sullivan had never been so angry at her best friend—ever! She'd literally had to take several deep breaths before calling him.

"Um…yeah, Clark. As a matter of fact I did," she replied, unable to completely keep the bite out of her tone.

Clark frowned, hearing the anger in her voice. "What is it? Is something wrong with Lois?"

Chloe's eyes rolled on the other end of the line and then she simply lost it. "I'd say. And I think you know exactly what's wrong with her Clark!" She almost growled at him. "How could you?!"

Shocked at her unprovoked attack, Clark tried to figure out what was wrong. "Chloe, calm down. What are you talking about? How could I what?"

"Don't play innocent with me, Clark Kent! You and your super-powered swimmers have really screwed the pooch this time!" she snapped.

Completely confused, Clark tried to make sense of what she was saying. ""Chloe, what are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," she replied indignantly. "Lois is pregnant... *Pregnant* Clark! Why didn't you tell me the truth about the two of you and what happened on Valentine's Day?"

Clark was quiet for a long moment, stunned into speechlessness at the news, but then, his brain caught up with his ears, and he realized Chloe was accusing *him* of being responsible for Lois's situation. "Whoa Chloe, slow down!" he all but yelped, "Who said I was the father? Are you forgetting she was with Oliver?"

"That might be viable if the date of conception wasn't in February!"

"And that automatically makes it mine?!" he all but shouted back at her.

"No, but you said yourself she had powers like yours!" Chloe replied sarcastically and there was a 'duh!' implied there, but not actually said.

That reminder mentally slapped him upside the head and Clark's knees went weak. He sagged backwards, falling onto his couch heavily. "Are you sure?" he asked very, very softly, all the while wracking his brain for a memory… *any* recollection of him and Lois getting further than some really heavy petting and kissing.

He drew a blank.

"Oh, I'm sure," Chloe griped, bringing him back to the conversation at hand. "As a matter of fact they made a notation in her chart in regards to something being very strange about her blood, Clark. As in something they'd never seen before…So, I suggest you get your super-speedy butt down there and steal that sample…" She exhaled loudly, the anger practically vibrating through the phone. "Because, if someone like Lex Luthor gets a hold of it, then both you *and* my cousin are going to become a couple of very famous lab rats!"

Stunned once again into radio silence, Clark could barely form a coherent thought, but the very real fear of his secret getting out to the world spurred him into action. "I'll get the blood," he said quickly, "but Chloe…I swear to you we didn't…"

Chloe cut him off. "Save it for when we can talk face to face, will ya? For now, just get over to the Medical Center and get that blood so we can have it analyzed."

"I will," Clark mumbled.

"Good, and take care of Lois, too," Chloe snapped. "If this baby is going to give her super powers—she's going to really need you, and you *better* be there for her!" And with that last parting shot, she hung up without saying goodbye-or anything.

Clark stared at the phone in his hand as if it was a foreign object he'd never seen before. He was totally and utterly confused. First of all, Chloe had never talked to him quite like that; but then again,Chloe had never accused him of getting her cousin pregnant before either!

Clark remembered how Lois had exhibited enormous strength earlier, and how Titan had asked if she were Kryptonian. All of that was damning, except Clark was 100 % sure that he and Lois had never rounded anything more than third base. There was no way he could have gotten her pregnant! He may have told Lois he didn't remember, but he did; and they had *not* had sex on Valentine's Day. His mother's words from earlier came back to him and Clark thought that maybe Lois had indeed become meteor infected. He'd never heard of meteor rock impregnating someone before, but there had to be a reasonable explanation for Lois's pregnancy.

Something that made more sense than either him doing the deed or an immaculate conception!

Clark grabbed his jacket and slung it on. He had to get that blood. That would be the only way to really know. In a flash he was gone—zipping down the highway so fast that he passed Lois's cab in a blur, not realizing who was in the taxi or where it was headed...

***********************Clois********************** ****

Thanks again for reading. Reviews and questions are welcome and appreciated like little 'boxes of chocolates'. Hugs guys…the next chapter will be up in a couple of days.

Taz