I'm continuing to go through the chapters one at a time and, hopefully, making things smoother.

By the way, I'm trying to break up chapters starting now – Lois' Birthday will be a separate interlude…

TOXIC TWO

Ace of Clubs, August 2008

Things were not in place. Nothing was going according to plan- at least not according to Lois' loose outline of a plan. Instead, everything was completely screwed up. Just a few weeks ago, she had some strategies in place. Now nothing was right, especially with Clark. They continued to be friends and co-workers and… nothing else.

To top it off, she was waiting outside of the Ace of Clubs for Oliver so that she could attend this charity event as his date, while Clark was inside with his best friend, Chloe. Could she have gotten any more off track?

It wasn't as if Lois was ignoring her duty. She'd continued bantering with Clark, even given him compliments, but the man was like a rock. One problem was that she really didn't know what would work. The only two romantic relationships in Clark's life involved Lana and Alicia. Since there was no way Lois could ever act like Lana, using her as an example was out. Alicia wasn't really around enough for Lois to get an idea of what her secret was, although the thought of drugging Clark and taking him to Vegas for a quickie wedding had briefly crossed her mind. At least she could call the mission accomplished.

Lois sighed; who was she kidding?

It should be easier if you know it was meant to be …

Imra's words taunted her. Was it meant to be? Lois had never believed in fate. As far as she was concerned, each person created their own. What kind of crazy fate hooked her up with Clark anyway? He was quiet, polite and mild mannered. Lois, well, she was none of those things.

So, she'd fallen subject to her impatient nature. Now, it was as if the harder she pushed, the more Clark retreated. If it was meant to be, why did Clark have to make it so difficult? He was driving her crazy.

Oliver, on the other hand, had come on to her during their first work-out at the gym. She tried ignoring him until he brought up this charity event- then she remembered what happened three years ago and agreed to attend. If she couldn't connect with Clark, she could at least help Oliver.

The flash of the cameras heralded Oliver's arrival as Lois stood waiting for him on the first floor. She'd called Oliver and agreed to meet him after Tess had dumped her with a last-minute assignment. It had taken everything she had to finish it and get ready on time.

For the tropical theme, Lois had chosen a sleeveless silver blouse, with ankle length skirt black skirt, to contrast with Chloe's strapless gold dress. Evidently the theme extended to the temperature in the club as well.

"Hey there, beautiful," Oliver said, walking into the lobby next to the elevator, slowly giving Lois' an appreciate once-over. When he leaned into plant a kiss on her cheek, Lois could smell the alcohol on his breath. He straightened, grinning like an idiot.

"Oliver, have you been drinking?" Lois whispered furiously. He'd promised her he wouldn't drink any alcohol tonight.

"The representative I was meeting with wanted to toast our new venture," Oliver whispered back, and Lois noticed that his words were starting to slur.

"With what, a gallon of Jack Daniels?" she asked him, grabbing him by the arm and escorting him on the elevator. By the time it opened on the top floor, beads of sweat had appeared on Oliver's lip and forehead. By the time Lois scooted him over to the men's room before the paparazzi could spot them, he was starting to sway.

"Wait here," she told him, shoving him through the door as his eyes were starting to glaze over. "I'll get some help." Oliver grabbed her arm before she could shut the door.

"I'm not drunk," he told her, having trouble forming the words. "I've been poisoned."

"I know," Lois told him as he staggered back and she shut the door, hurrying into the bar to find Chloe and Clark.

Isis Foundation, same night

"Look, Oliver specifically said no hospitals, and I know he had a good reason for that," Lois told Chloe and Clark, just as Clark sat Oliver on the chaise in the outer office.

"What reason?" Clark asked her, looking unconvinced.

"I don't know exactly but I think it has to do with the type of poison," Lois told him, frustrated by her lack of memory and Oliver's secretiveness. "Oliver seemed to know something about it. Maybe we could research?" Lois looked at Chloe.

"I'm on it," she said, "but I think we should call Davis."

"No!" Lois shouted.

"Why not?" Clark asked her, both he and Chloe looking stunned at her outburst.

"Wouldn't he be required to take Oliver to the hospital?" Lois asked. "If not, we'd still have to argue with him about it, wasting time that we could be using to find the antidote."

With a little more persuading, Lois was able to convince the two that it wasn't her hospital phobia talking and to at least try to do a little research before calling in Davis or anyone else. While Lois settled in to watch Oliver, Chloe disappeared into her inner sanctum to research and Clark left the building with a blood sample. Lois knew that if the poison progressed as it had last time, they had only a few hours before Oliver's condition became critical.

Unfortunately, that was the extent of her memory.

For a reporter whose job was to get the details, her memory was remarkably vague; she didn't know how the poison had been administered, why Oliver was poisoned, or how to find the antidote. Round two and she was still in the dark.

At least Lois knew how to treat the fever. In the small office kitchen, she collected ice and some cold compresses and placed them strategically on Oliver's head and chest. According to the thermometer in Chloe's bathroom, Oliver's fever wasn't as high as last time but it was going to be harder to monitor without the equipment Davis provided last time. Lois sighed. If Oliver's condition worsened, they may have no choice but to seek Davis' help.

That's all she needed, a killer lurking around.

The throbbing pain hit her temples.

Oh no, not now.

With a small groan, Lois put her head in her hands and closed her eyes.

She was walking into her small apartment, muttering to herself about the new curfew. Didn't they realize a girl needed to make a living?

Right now, she was working on something big, she was sure of it. Whatever had taken over in Metropolis was spreading to Star City. People were reporting a dark figure that flew through the night. If he got to you, you were never the same.

A loud moan sounded as she turned on the light. Oliver was lying on the floor, blood everywhere.

"Oliver?" she said, startled, running over to him. "What the hell ...?"

"Lois," he said weakly. "Lois, help."

Somehow she managed to get him to the couch. His injuries were extensive; cuts, bruises and what looked like puncture wounds in his left side. He refused to go to the hospital. Instead, he told her to call "a friend." His friend Victor was there within the hour, stitching up the wounds.

While she helped, Lois peppered Victor with questions. To her surprise, he answered them. He told her a little about the Darkness and how humans who were infected succumbed to their darkest impulses. Evidently, Metropolis was lost despite the best efforts of fighters like he Oliver. They were both leading resistance teams in the final battle when they became separated.

Oliver's objective in the final battle had been to take out the weapon of the Darkness, the figure in black who flew through the night. The dark figure had certain powers and Victor explained them to her. It was a wonder that Oliver had made it out of Metropolis alive after facing the weapon.

The more Lois listened, the more she started to suspect that Victor knew this weapon. It was something in his tone of voice - fear tinged with respect and sadness.

After a few days, Lois heard rumors that the weapon was coming to Star City. She worked around the clock and finally, armed with eyewitness descriptions and other information, she wrote her article naming the mysterious figure.

Victor stayed with she and Oliver until Lois' article was finished. After that he started leaving the apartment as soon as Lois got home, returning only in the early morning hours to care for Oliver, while Lois returned to work. Lois was usually happy to get back to work, given that Oliver had withdrawn into himself, shutting out her attempts to get him to talk to her. Evidently, he was suffering emotionally as well as physically. The only time he was using more than monosyllables was when he was arguing with Victor.

Two weeks after Lois discovered Oliver bleeding on the floor, she awakened to the raised voices of Victor and Oliver. She swung her legs over the side of the bed with a sigh and headed toward the bedroom door. Not again.

"Damnit, Victor, he's more powerful than you, and he won't hold back!" Oliver shouted.

"I know, but I'm the closest match. I have to try." Victor replied calmly.

"Don't give me that crap," Oliver's response was bitter. "You're not going out there to fight him; you're trying to save him."

"Shouldn't I return the favor?" Victor asked quietly.

"He's not the Boy Scout anymore, Victor; he's a ruthless killing machine."

"The Darkness controls him; he's not himself, Oliver," Victor argued.

"That was his choice, he gave up!" Oliver's voice was rising.

"He was part of the team; Clark deserves it," Victor finished with a sigh. Lois could hear Victor move to the door and open it but she couldn't respond. Clark was with the Darkness? That was impossible. She stood at the threshold to her bedroom as Victor's voice faded.

"What about the others - Impulse, Zatana, Watchtower? They were team members, too, and they were killed because of him," Oliver spat out. "Victor, the Blur is dead."

Lois felt her heart stop. No, it couldn't be. Granted, she hadn't talked to him in ten months or so but the Blur seemed indestructible. What was going on?

"If I don't come back, take Lois and get out of here," Victor urged, his tone even more serious. "You know he'll come looking for you and for her, eventually."

"Why do you think I crashed here?" Oliver said with a sigh. "You be careful. We'll be gone when you get back. I agree; it's time to leave."

"See you, man."

Oliver didn't reply or, if he did, it was too low to hear. Lois stood at her bedroom door for a few minutes before she was finally able to walk toward the couch.

"What was that all about?" Lois demanded. She was tired of Oliver being so distant and disagreeable. It was time for some answers.

He closed his eyes in frustration. "Let it go, Lois-" he started, but she cut him off.

"No, Oliver," she argued. "This has been put off long enough. I heard Victor; this has something to do with the Darkness. I have a right- no, I need to know. Tell me."

Oliver looked her in the eyes and nodded. "Fine," he said, expression pained. "You know that character you've named Night? He's … well, he's Clark Kent."

As with the other waking memory, Lois returned to the present slowly. Her mind took in her surroundings, but her emotions were fueled by the fear and despair she'd felt from the sting of every word Oliver had said.

She was fighting tears when Clark entered the outer office, hair tousled and tie askew. A remote part of her brain wondered if he'd been flying.

Sensing him as he walked up behind her, she swiped at her eyes, feeling the wet that lingered. His hand landed on her shoulder.

"Lois, how's he doing?" Clark asked quietly.

Lois shook her head and moved her lips, but no sound emerged. Her fears and inadequacies were choking her and so she sat there saying nothing. When he squeezed her shoulder lightly, she wondered why she was shutting herself away.

Wasn't she supposed to be getting close to Clark?

Letting go of her vulnerabilities, she stood up and threw her arms around him. She had wanted this, more than anything, after Oliver had revealed him as Night. She had yelled at Oliver, called him a liar, tried to call Clark, threatened to go see him. She knew she was being ridiculous even then. It was her choice to separate herself from Clark; why should she care what he had become? Still, she did. He was a constant; maybe the constant in her world. She owed him- needed him that way.

Clark didn't push her away this time but circled his arms lightly around her. Lois breathed deep, needing to feel his strength and draw from it. It was so natural to be in his arms and yet hugging was something they didn't do very often. She could remember vividly the few times they had- once in the hospital after the second meteor shower, once after she'd split with Oliver, and then that time after Clark watched Lana's goodbye video.

"Lois," he said, his voice rumbling in her ear. "Is he all right?"

She nodded against his chest, not willing to let go yet.

"And you?" Clark asked; he was always good at the comfort thing. After Oliver left …

Crap.

He probably thought she was distraught over Oliver, a reasonable conclusion given that she was Oliver's date tonight. Why did she agree to that? She hadn't succeeded in keeping him from being poisoned and now Clark probably thought she still had feelings for her ex. Just something to add to all of the other bad decisions she'd made lately.

Before she could respond, Chloe interrupted.

"Clark, can I talk to you for a second?" Chloe asked softly.

Lois pulled away and nodded, staring at his chest, unable to look at his face. After she felt more collected she snuck over to the door of the other room. She was tired of being in the dark.

"…couldn't identify the poison at the hospital."

"That's because the profile doesn't match any public data-base." Chloe responded quickly. "I discovered that Oliver was stranded for two years on an uncharted island in the South Pacific. His blood contains bacteria with a similar makeup to a flower species on the island." Lois could hear paper rustling. "Here it is," Chloe finished, providing a Latin name that Lois couldn't pronounce or understand.

"I'm looking for an antidote now," Chloe continued. "Thanks to Lex's obsession with toxins and viruses, Luthorcorp has the most comprehensive collection of organic material on the planet." Lois could hear the tapping of computer keys.

"You're reading all of these, aren't you?" Clark's voice sounded sullen.

There was a pause when Chloe didn't answer.

"There it is," Chloe said.

Just then, Oliver moaned and Lois walked over to check the monitors. His condition was the same. On the way back, she could hear Chloe's raised voice from across the room.

"…like it or not, I can read and process data at lightning fast speed." Chloe's voice lowered as Lois got closer. "I know you think this is your fault but, please, don't."

"If this is because of Brainiac, then we don't know what could happen," Clark responded.

Brainiac, what's a Brainiac?

"Exactly," Chloe responded, her voice louder than before, "No one knows, so let's not worry about it until we have to. Clark, this is my life, and for once something good came from something horrible. I'm choosing to look at this as a gift, one that could help us save Oliver's life. Right now, I think it's time you called in a favor with your new boss."

When Clark left, his face told Lois that, as far as he was concerned, the discussion with Chloe wasn't over yet. Lois couldn't help but wonder if this had anything to do with Chloe's abduction or Jimmy's murder. It was even worse being in the dark when you knew that you should know the answers.

After twenty minutes, Oliver's fever started to spike and Chloe urged her to call Davis. Lois didn't respond but kept her eyes on Oliver, her friend and fellow fighter. Even when he was being a pain in the -, he was truly one of the good guys. If she failed, he would be needed. She considered Chloe's comments while she waited for Clark.

"Davis can help," Chloe repeated. "I'm going to contact him if Clark isn't back in five."

Three minutes later, Clark burst through the door.

"Use this," he said, showing them a needle filled with clear liquid. "It's the antidote."

"According to the research, this needs to be administered in the chest," Chloe told Clark, waving toward the syringe in Clark's family. "I don't think Lois or I have the strength. You'll have to do it."

Oliver's body started shaking. "Hurry," Lois told them. "I think he's having a seizure."

Clark hesitated and looked at Chloe. Lois could see the question in his eyes - are you sure? Chloe's nod was barely visible but it was enough. Clark leaned forward and stabbed the needle into Oliver's chest depressing the plunger until the antidote was gone. By the time he removed the needle, Oliver's eyes were open.

"Mercy, you have to find Mercy." He was barely coherent.

"What?" Clark asked him.

"Tess Mercer… go … go after her," Oliver said, his voice rising.

"You know Tess." It was more of a statement than a question, but Lois could tell that Clark was surprised.

"… no time!" Oliver choked out.

"She's working late; she's at the Daily Planet," Clark muttered to himself and took off. Lois wondered if Clark would manage to save their new boss, again.

"Clark will find her," Lois said to Oliver, who was still looking upset, his head thrashing on the pillow.

"Lois?" he said softly, his movements slowing and his eyes clearing. "With you acting as nurse," he mumbled. "No poison would dare get me." Lois noticed that his face was flushed and his words slurred. The symptoms weren't gone completely.

She smiled briefly at him and turned to Chloe, serious again. "Maybe we should call Davis now."

When Davis arrived, he performed a basic exam on Oliver and, to Lois' surprise, didn't recommend the hospital. Instead, after talking with Oliver about the history of the poison, he suggested an overnight private nurse.

Lois told Chloe to call a very young, very attractive one. "That way we can be sure he follows the instructions." She grinned at Oliver's chagrined expression. At least the color was returning to his face.

"No nurse could be as good as you, Legs," Oliver said seriously, putting his hand on hers. Lois gently pulled away.

"This was an emergency, Oliver," she told him seriously. "And that includes earlier in the evening. I was just helping a friend."

She waited until Oliver nodded, saddened by the disappointment in his face, even though she knew it was for the best. When she turned away, she ignored Chloe's questioning look.

Daily Planet, next morning

"Hey, Smallville, figures this is this how Tess Mercer rewards you for saving her life- early hours and more work, huh?"

"Lois, what are you doing here?" Clark looked up, surprise clear on his face.

Lois raised her eyebrows at the question, "I work here remember?"

"I know that," he scowled. "What about Oliver?"

"Well, he should be home right now playing nurse with his very own, very attractive Florence Nightingale," she told him, picking up some notes on her desk.

"Oh, I thought, I mean … I figured you would stay with him."

"I may have played nurse, Clark, but it was never going to progress to doctor," Lois stared across the desk. "Ollie and I were over long ago." She didn't let her gaze waver as she stared into Clark's eyes.

He blinked.

"Uhm, wow, I mean, I thought that after-"

Lois shook her head at Clark's assumption. It was reasonable but she wanted to clear it up now, for everyone's sake. "No, I was just helping him out, as a friend," Lois responded firmly, knowing that Clark didn't always get subtlety.

"How can you be so sure it's over?" Clark asked her, clearly intrigued by Lois' certainty.

Lois blinked in response. How could she answer that? There were lots of reasons, most of which she couldn't share with Clark. In the future, she'd learned a lot about Oliver that convinced her they weren't meant to be. There had been plenty of opportunities for them while fighting the Darkness but they'd kept their friendship status through it all.

"I just know he's not the one," Lois said, shuffling some more papers. It was as much of the truth as she could give him. Last night's events forced her to accept the fact that she was using Oliver like a safety net. She needed to stop it. If she was going to complete her mission it was time to be all in, no more back up.

"Must be nice to be so sure," she heard Clark murmur.

"It is," she responded succinctly, watching his surprised glance meet hers.

Just when she was thinking he understood more than she realized, a haunted look crossed his face. Her heart sank. Maybe Clark's resistance didn't have anything to do with Oliver.

If it's Lana …

Knowing that it was best if Clark got off that roller coaster now, Lois told him, "You should try it sometime."

A doubtful look was suddenly followed by the Kent smile, rocking Lois to the core. Abruptly, she sat down, weak in the knees. He really needed to stop doing that.

"Ah, Lois," he teased. "You care."

Her first reaction was to respond with, "you wish," but she wasn't sure she was ready to hear his answer to that. Instead she shrugged, "You're not in Smallville anymore."

He looked around the Bullpen. "That's for sure," he said, looking at his computer. "Better get back to work, then."

Lois studied her own computer screen for a while, trying to collect her thoughts. She'd done what she could to make her status clear; what would happen now? She glanced around her screen to study Clark.

All in; what would that be like?

Her body shivered at the thought.

She turned back to her computer thoughts returning to the night before. Is she was going to go for it, she needed a better understanding of Clark's world. She hesitated for just a minute before entering her search:

Brainiac.