I separated these 2 chapters and added some of Clark's POV. It was one of the biggest requests I had when writing this but I wasn't quite prepared to tackle it then. I feel more comfortable now. I hope you like it.

SILENT REFLECTION

Metropolis General, nighttime

Lois drifted in and out of consciousness, drifting in the memories of the past.

She was being held in cold arms as the wind rushed past, cooling her skin. In fact, she felt cool everywhere, except for her neck. It was on fire. She whimpered and opened her eyes.

His face was just above hers and she could see something like anguish in his expression. He looked so much like Clark that she blinked, her vision blurred from the pain. Their eyes met and she felt a tear slide from one eye. The pain was excruciating- not all of it physical.

Suddenly, his mouth lowered and she felt his breath on her neck. Like the feel of his arms, his breath was ice cold. It felt incredible as it hit her overheated neck and she sighed in relief, closing her eyes again.

The next time her eyes opened, he had landed. She was still in his arms, his face above hers. Her vision clearer, she could see the lack of expression on his face. Maybe she had imagined the concern before. The heat was slowly creeping back into her neck. As Night carried her indoors, the burning sensation returned. She gasped and grabbed at his arms. He stopped and lowered his mouth to her neck, blowing gently to cool the heat and dull the pain.

Lois could see that they were in a large apartment. A family crest became visible and she realized they were in Oliver's penthouse in Star City. She would have snorted if her throat wasn't so sore. Oliver would be furious if he found out Night was using the penthouse as his local hideout…

Her throat hurt. Lois moved her hand to touch her neck and felt smooth skin. She was sure her memories of the future were starting to mess with her perceptions of the present until she tried to groan in response to the pain. It was excruciating. She drifted again, her mind on the same memory.

She was being lowered on to the bed when the nausea hit. Her head landed on the pillow and she gripped the satin sheets, breathing quick and shallow to avoid vomiting. She had a feeling her tender throat would not appreciate the sensation. As a distraction, Lois focused on the feel of the satin and her thoughts strayed. These sheets were a far cry from the flannel at the farm. She wondered which one Clar- Night preferred. Maybe evil had a need for the finer things?

She closed her eyes, continuing to ignore the bile rising in her throat. Just when she was sure she would be decorating the expensive sheets, she felt a cool cloth touch her neck and smelled the ointment that covered it. Lois kept her eyes closed while he wrapped the bandage loosely around her burned flesh and then covered her with a blanket.

The ointment was soothing, the blanket was warm, and Lois felt herself drift toward sleep. Her mind shifted gears as the pain lessened. Why was he taking care of her? What did he plan to do with her? Something about the last question caused her to shiver. She would need to escape eventually but right now, she had a chance to heal and she would take it…

She heard voices.

There shouldn't be voices; just cool hands and soothing ointment…

"Clark, I got your message. What happened?"

What was Chloe doing here? Why was she talking to Clark?

Her own voice was barely a whisper, "Night."

She listened for one voice. Where was he?

"Lois, look at me; can you look at me?" A strange voice directed. "I need you to open your eyes."

Lois drifted. She wasn't interested in the stranger. Where was Night?

"Are you sure she didn't hit her head?" The strange voice asked no one in particular.

"I don't know," Lois heard the answer felt relieved at the sound of the voice. "The attacker had her by the throat when I got there."

Attacker?

Her mind continued to clear, and when she swallowed, the sensation jolted her memory- Clark was himself and she'd been attacked by some Amazon alien.

"She should be opening her eyes by now," the stranger said.

Easy for him to say.

"Lois, can you hear me? You need to open your eyes if you can hear me," Clark's calm, low voice sounded closer now and Lois felt a warm hand on her arm.

It was a struggle but she managed to squint enough to see Clark standing over her. She smiled. "We need to stop meeting like this," she said and was shocked at the weak, raspy sound of her voice.

So was Clark, if his anxious expression was any indication. She caught a glimpse of it before a doctor pushed in front of him to begin his examination. Lois was busy watching Clark and Chloe walk behind the curtain and didn't pay attention to the doctor until he told her that her larynx may have been damaged.

"That means you shouldn't talk for the next day or two, then keep conversation limited until your follow up appointment," he told her.

She barely controlled a snort, remembering the pain in her throat, and instead looked past the doctor as Chloe walked over just in time to hear the doctor's advice. Lois looked at her in panic.

Seriously?

She must have recognized the desperation in her cousin's eyes because Chloe stepped forward and put her hand on Lois' arm. "It will be okay, Lois. We'll all help."

"It's usually easiest if you can isolate yourself from others, stay in your room, maybe read or watch some television," the doctor said with a smile of sympathy. "I know it's hard but if you don't protect your larynx you could cause permanent damage."

Lois watched as Clark pulled the curtain aside following Chloe into the examination area. She knew she was probably looking at him like a deer caught in the headlights, but she couldn't help it.

Not talk for two days? And she'd thought this day couldn't get any worse.

It was when Lois noticed Detective J'onn Jones followed behind Clark that she wanted to weep with frustration. The one man she'd been looking for all day and now there was nothing she could tell him.

"Miss Lane, I heard what the doctor said about remaining quiet, are you up for giving a written statement?" he asked.

She shook her head in the negative, not wanted to make a written record about what she wanted to tell J'onn. Since her attacker was evidently some sort of intergalactic traveler it wasn't like time was an issue anymore. Lois didn't have a solid lead on her whereabouts, even if J'onn could catch her. Already frustrated by her inability to communicate, she felt tears fill her eyes.

Undeterred, she steeled herself and caught Chloe's eyes, holding up two fingers and nodding toward J'onn. Chloe looked puzzled, so Lois repeated her movements with Clark, closing her eyes for a second and resting her head on her hands.

Clark's eyes narrowed in concentration. "She'll get back to you in a couple of days, Detective," he told J'onn. "In the meantime, she should probably go home and rest."

Lois nodded vigorously and caught Chloe's look of amazement, which soon changed to amusement, while J'onn made arrangements with Clark to get an interview after the weekend.

It was when Clark pulled Chloe to the side of the curtain that J'onn leaned over to give Lois his card. "I'm sorry Lois," he said, "I'll be sure to stop by the Planet next week for that interview."

Lois just smiled and nodded as J'onn patted her arm. Chloe and Clark came back in as the detective pulled the curtain aside to leave.

"I should go take care of my fallen fiancé now," Chloe said, hugging Lois. "Be careful Lo, and I'll see you later." She glanced at Clark, raising her eyebrows suggestively. "I think you two have some things to talk about anyway." Clark just looked pointedly at Chloe as she left.

Lois gestured toward the curtain with a questioning glance.

"Jimmy was admitted earlier today with injuries, but he's going to be fine," Clark answered part of her unspoken question. She didn't follow up on Chloe's other comment. If Clark had something to talk to her about, he would get to it eventually. After everything that had happened today, she wasn't sure she wanted to delve into all right now.

Lois swung her legs off the bed and started grabbing her things. At least she was going to get out of here tonight. When Clark didn't move, Lois stopped and looked at him. He was watching her with his hands in his pockets.

"I heard the doctor say that your recovery would be faster if you were some place quiet," Clark commented, pulling one hand out of his pocket and running it through his hair.

"I know you weren't sleeping at the apartment and, well, if you want your old room back at the farm, it's yours," He finally smiled but the look in his eyes was one of confusion and doubt. He wasn't sure that this was a good idea, she could tell.

Lois smiled back as she nodded anyway. She had her own doubts but pushed them aside. It was important that she get closer to Clark, if for no other reason than he needed someone to keep an eye out for him. The blue crystal was still out there.

Kent farm, two days later

"Lois, what are you doing?" Clark's voice came from the direction of the stairs.

Even with her head stuck in the freezer, Lois considered rolling her eyes. Clark was such a mother hen. It'd been two days and he was already making her crazy …

Lois, don't lift that! Lois, shouldn't you be resting? Lois, are you muttering under your breath?

He would make anyone mutter.

She schooled her features and turned toward his voice, tub of Ben & Jerry's in one hand, spoon in the other. Holding them up as evidence, she lifted her brows …

What does it look like?

His facial expression told her he wasn't ready to back down.

"Shouldn't you be resting?"

She couldn't stop from rolling her eyes at him this time, even punching him in the arm for emphasis, when she passed him on her way to the couch.

Once she was settled with her ice cream, she couldn't seem to control her gaze, which continued to wander from the movie to the kitchen where Clark was making his own snack. His movements were easy and she questioned how he controlled his strength so naturally. He must have had years of practice; he looked so comfortable moving around in his plain white t-shirt and gray sweats.

Lois only wished she could feel as relaxed. The incident with the raging redhead had left her with uncertainties and concerns.Her memory of the redhead's hands on Clark as she told him there would never be a better match …What if Clark had needs a human female couldn't handle? Lois choked on a bit of ice cream at the thought.

As her eyes glanced back at the kitchen, she saw Clark stretching with his arms over his head, his t-shirt tightened against his chest and biceps, revealing every sinewy muscle. She almost dropped her spoon.

Get it together, Lane.

"How did you manage to fit all that stuff in to that little Talon apartment?" Clark asked, finishing his stretch and dropping his arms to look at Lois. "Don't answer that," he said quickly, putting his hands in the air when she opened her mouth.

Unable to respond to Clark's question, Lois turned back to the television and waited while Clark walked over carrying his sandwich. Soon, she felt her lips pressing together, although she wasn't sure how that physical response was going to help control her wayward thoughts. She groaned internally when Clark sat next to her on the couch.

"Star Wars," he said, turning to her with a smile, "and no running commentary for once."

Lois glared back at him, letting her frustration show. Clark just laughed and looked back at the television, while Lois continued to eat her ice cream. Soon her eyes were drawn back to him, only to find him looking at her. She glanced down quickly, staring at her almost empty container of ice cream. Lately, she'd started to notice these little questioning looks from Clark, but she couldn't be sure what questions he was trying to get answered.

Why was this so difficult? She felt the need to reassess her strategy, again. The alien chick's words kept playing over and over in her head.

No one on this planet will be a better match …

What if that were true? The idea that she might not be enough for Clark was making her nervous. Yet she'd always known that he had a passionate side. Otherwise why would she constantly challenge him, if it wasn't to draw him out, get him to let go?

Just then, Clark leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes with a sigh. He looked exhausted. How much control did he exert every day? How much did he keep stored away for just the right woman? She couldn't stop the shudder that went through her body as she contemplated the answer to that last question.

"Are you cold?" Clark asked her, turning away from the movie at her movement. He grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and threw it over both of them. Then he lifted his feet to the coffee table, crossed his arms over his stomach, and settled into the couch. Lois couldn't stop her smile as she remembered Clark and Mr. Kent napping like this almost every Sunday, at least until Mrs. K yelled at them to get their feet off the table.

She poked him in the shoulder and watched as he frowned without opening his eyes and moved his feet to the floor. She scooted closer to Clark's warmth with a sigh.

As always, her memories of the farm soothed her. When Lois leaned back to snuggle under the blanket, her eyes moved around, taking in the comfortable living room. She was always so content here. No matter the trouble, the farm magically put it into perspective. She could almost hear Mrs. Kent telling her softly that no intergalactic female was going to understand Clark, at least not the way he was raised. Clark would need more than passion; he would want an emotional attachment, a connection with someone like his parents had.

You understand; he's so much like his father …

As she sidled just a little closer, Clark's warmth washed over her and she remembered his touch, his kiss. In her memory she relived all the little details and felt her body heat. She turned her back to him and closed her eyes, hoping to shut out the memories. Instead, all she could see was Clark with that woman at the end.

My destiny's here and you're not part of it.

Destiny.

Are you Lois Lane?

Destiny.

Then this will work.

She released a shuddering breath at the realization that she could grow to crave Clark's passionate side if she wasn't careful.

Passion she could handle; it was the emotional attachment he needed that scared the living daylights out of her.

Kent farm, one hour later

Clark shifted on the couch, adjusting his arm and the woman lying on it. In response, Lois snorted and moved closer to his side. He had to stop himself from laughing when he heard her start to snore, part of him looking forward to teasing her about it.

The urge to laugh left him as soon as he realized that her new position had exposed her neck and the slowly fading bruises. They were a reminder of the danger she faced in being his partner.

What was he going to do?

Clark sighed, holding her a little more tightly while he had the chance. He knew Lois didn't like it when he got all overprotective but he was beginning to realize that she was even more of a danger magnet than he'd realized.

There was something different about her as well and trying to figure it out was making him crazy. Sometimes she was the same irascible Lois that he knew, but other times she seemed more vulnerable- softer- somehow.

She never would have snuggled up against him like this before.

Then, there were the kisses. The first time she'd blown him away. Shocked and aroused in equal measure, he found himself returning the kiss rather than pushing her away. The second time- well, he had no one to blame but himself. He tried to tell himself that it was the endorphins racing through his blood stream but, if he was being honest, he'd been looking for a chance to see if the passion was really as intense as he'd remembered.

Clark leaned his head back against the couch with a sigh. He knew he needed to put a stop to the kissing. Not only was it passionate and all too distracting, it was risky. He couldn't allow Lois to get that close. She might get hurt again.

He couldn't let that happen.

Besides, they were friends. Right now, with Chloe engaged and going off in support of the meteor-infected, Lois was fast becoming one of his best friends. He didn't want to risk their friendship over a couple of kisses, no matter how much they may plague him.

Besides, he knew she was still getting over Oliver, no matter what she said, and he knew he wasn't over Lana. He still loved Lana. He expected he always would.

Was that fair to Lois?

He closed his eyes. How had everything gotten so tangled up?

It was going to be hard to step back while she was living at the farm but somehow he would manage. He didn't want anything like this to happen again.

He would continue to be her friend. He would work with her as a partner.

Anything else simply wasn't in the cards. Lois and Clark were not destined for romance.