The end of this chapter remains one of my favorite parts of this story. By the way, the first posting of this was written in a day! It just poured out of me. Still, it needed some revision.

COMMITTED COMPLETE

Engagement party, 2 hours later

"Are you sure?" Chloe asked for the hundredth time, as Jimmy helped her on with her coat. "Clark was supposed to help you tonight. With the escaped jeweler running around, you shouldn't be left alone…" her voice trailed off at a wave of Lois' hand.

"If the jeweler was going to make his move, he would have done it by now," Lois scoffed. "Besides, it's your night. You guys go ahead and I'll take care of things here." She held up her broom and dustpan, "See, I'm armed and dangerous."

Jimmy chuckled but Chloe looked concerned.

"I don't know," she said, and Jimmy started pulling on her arm. Lois could see that the prospective groom definitely had something special planned.

"Go," Lois told her cousin, helping Jimmy to get her out the door. "I promise to lock up and run to my car when I'm done."

Reluctantly, Chloe let herself be led out by her fiancé and, when the door was finally closed and locked, Lois released a heavy sigh. Her feet were killing her. She slipped off her shoes and put on a CD of her favorites. Letting her mind go blank, she leaned against the stereo and listened to the familiar tunes.

After a while she straightened up, refusing to brood. Action was what was best for Lois; so she quickly started moving around the room picking up paper plates, plastic utensils and other garbage.

With Def Leppard blasting in the stereo, it took a few minutes before she heard the knock on the door. Ironically singing, "Is anybody out there?" she froze at the glass entry and dropped the garbage when she saw who was on the other side.

She blinked to clear her vision, but then he raised his hand to knock again and she reluctantly unlocked the door.

"I thought you could use a hand," Clark said, giving her his sheepish smile and puppy-dog eyes.

The smile wasn't returned. Lois wasn't ready to go back to acting like "buddies" just yet. Instead, she handed him the garbage bag, "Chloe called you, huh?"

"Does it matter?" Clark's face lost its sheepish expression and he ran his hand through his hair.

Lois shrugged. "Not as long as you do your share of the work," she added, nodding toward the garbage bag in his hand.

She didn't wait for his response but turned to get back to her work.

You must continue to support and challen-

Quickly she cut off the memory of those words with a shake of her head. Those memories weren't helping right now. In fact, thinking about her purpose was making things worse. She felt like she was being torn in two. How was she supposed to support Clark when her own heart was in tatters?

She needed to forget about meant to be.

At this point, it was all she could do to keep cleaning so she shoved her emotions aside, willed her mind to go blank, and started singing along with the music. Keeping busy had always worked for her in the past.

With her mind on her work, it was easy to ignore Clark… until she bumped into him.

"Watch it!" Lois said, irritated by her own clumsiness.

When he didn't answer she looked at him, only to see the look he wore when he was trying to figure out what she was thinking.

"What?" she asked, irritated by his look, his presence, his… everything. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her pain.

"Nothing," he muttered looking back at the garbage in his hand, but then his face grew determined and his gaze returned to hers. "Look, Lois about earlier tonight-"

Not wanting to be close to him or listen to his excuses, Lois walked quickly over to the stereo and cut him off by turning up the volume. It was immature, she knew, but she wasn't ready for this. She wasn't sure if her heart could stand it. Burying the hurt had been working so far…

A large, warm hand reached around to cover hers, turning down the music. In another childish move, she refused to let go. Her hand battled with Clark's until he reacted.

"What are you doing?" He demanded, grabbing her shoulders and spinning her around to face him.

"I don't want to hear it," Lois said, moving her hands up in an attempt to break his grip on her shoulders while her eyes darted around the room.

He leaned down to catch her eyes with his but she turned her head away.

Clark's sigh practically parted her hair. "You may not want to hear it but I want to explain. Lana had an appointment and needed a ride to her Aunt Nell's. I left to take her there-"

"What you do with Lana is your own business," Lois responded, trying to hang on to her dignity. She couldn't let him see how hurt she was; she just couldn't. "And I have enough going on without riding that roller coaster. No offense."

"None taken." Clark released her, seeming disconcerted at her response.

Quickly, she backed away before his touch could break down her resistance and turned to walk off. She grabbed the garbage bag, intending to get outside, but his next question stopped her in her tracks.

"What if I don't want to ride that roller coaster either?"

"Then I'd say that's one of the smartest decisions you've made in a while, Smallville," she told him, trying to keep her heart from racing as she unlocked the front door and continued outside.

It wasn't until she reached the dumpster that she released a shaky breath. Was it possible that Clark Kent was over Lana Lang? While her mind was telling her "no," hope was blooming again in her traitorous heart. She stood at the smelly dumpster for a few minutes wondering how she could possibly go back inside. That's when she noticed the car headlights.

"Hey, do you mind?" Lois shouted, still thinking about Clark. "Your high beams are drilling holes in my skull-"

She felt the sting of the taser in her side.

"Oh, shit."

As Lois was collapsing she heard Clark's voice, "Lois? Where are you?"

No, not Clark.

That was her last thought.

Metropolis warehouse, same night

Pain.

The burning sensation was coming from her side again. For a while everything remained blurry but then things began to focus. Lois grimaced as she looked around the dark but cavernous room. It was the sight of corrugated metal that confirmed she was being held in a warehouse.

It was probably a sad commentary on the state of her life that she could recognize a dark warehouse so quickly.

The voice, when it came out of the blackness, crawled over her skin.

"You said it yourself, Ms. Lane, actions speak louder than words," the jeweler told her. It took a minute for Lois's eyes to adjust enough to see that the crazy man was standing in the shadows about ten feet away.

Great, psychopaths actually listen to me.

Instinctively, Lois tried to move and discovered that she was chained to a concrete post, probably one of the support posts in the large structure. There were windows in the warehouse positioned about fifteen feet off the ground, but they had been painted black. The only light was from a single bulb situated somewhere above Lois and she couldn't shake the feeling that this time the jeweler was trying to recreate a horror movie.

She tried to move and felt a sticky sensation on parts of her skin. Looking down, she discovered that she had wires attached to most of the pressure points on her body.

"What, I'm a human light bulb now?" She muttered, struggling to see the jeweler in the shadows, wondering how she was going to get out of this one.

Lies ... pain.

As always, the memory of those words hit her like a jolt of electricity. Her chest tightened as the static filled her mind and black surrounded the edges of her vision. Lois blinked and took deep breaths trying to calm her racing heart.

She was not about to let this crazy guy get to her again. Not again, never again.

"... it's always about the truth, Ms. Lane," the jeweler responded. "But with deeds, not words. You were so right."

"Glad I could help," she told him sarcastically- wishing her voice sounded stronger- while she systematically applied pressure to the chains to test for weak spots.

There weren't any.

"Oh you didn't help me, just yourself," the jeweler told her. "You'll thank me for this later."

"Right, I'll thank you when I'm dead," she told him, fighting the shiver in her voice as the words sank in. Then she heard the sound of another voice and her entire body started to shake.

"Lois?" his voice was weak but recognizable.

"Clark?" Lois called. "Clark, where are you?" Lois looked around in the dim light and spotted movement against the post about twenty feet away.

"Good, you're awake," the jeweler said and she heard the sound of a switch. Instantly, the dim light from single bulb shone above Clark and Lois could see him for the first time.

He was in the same condition as her, chained to a post but instead of wires, there was green rock in a small box at his feet. It had clearly weakened him because his head rested loosely on his chest and his eyes were closed.

Frantic, Lois yelled at the jeweler, "What have you done?"

"I haven't done anything yet, Ms. Lane, but soon I'll be doing you both a favor."

"What …" Lois stopped, scared to hear the answer, "what do you mean?"

"Actions, Ms. Lane," the jeweler said, moving between Lois and Clark, quietly adjusting the various knobs and levers on his equipment. "I've watched the two of you together. You've got something special between you, but you haven't been able to act on it because of the secrets."

"There's nothing between us, no secrets and... nothing else," Lois told him, fighting to keep the fear and panic out of her voice. "Let him go, please," she begged.

"Lois, stop," Clark said weakly. "Let her go," he said more strongly to the jeweler. "You can do whatever you want to me but leave her alone."

"See," the jeweler said, stepping back to look between them. "You're already protecting one another. Like I said, you'll thank me later."

"Who are you?" Clark asked, his voice not much more than a whisper.

The jeweler left Lois to walk over to Clark, "Oh, that's right, we haven't met. Ms. Lane named me the Truth or Dare Murderer, although I don't like the word murderer. I prefer 'helper' myself."

"No," Clark groaned, beginning to struggle against his chains.

Lois watched as the jeweler held his green bracelet up to Clark's face. Immediately, Clark's struggles ceased as his complexion turned the color of the stone glowing in the bracelet. Clark tried to pull his head away.

"Oh, yes," the jeweler told Clark as he stepped back and lowered the bracelet. "Just one of your little secrets I happened to notice when you and the detective rushed in to rescue Ms. Lane. You were so eager you didn't hide your reaction very well. I knew then that you were the one- the one who cared, the one who needed to be honest with her," the jeweler paused and looked at Clark. "But you haven't been honest, have you? Don't you know that you'll never truly have her love unless you're honest with her?" The jeweler stepped over to his instruments. "Of course," he commented casually, "most couples don't come close to carrying the secrets you do."

"It was you," Lois whispered, realizing that she'd been aware of him watching her all along. She'd had the feeling she was being watched several times during the past few weeks but the feeling had been strongest when she was on her way to meet Jimmy and Clark for their Blur hunting. She'd assumed that it had been the guy who tried to take her for the crystal. Finding out that it was the jeweler all along made her feel sick. The jeweler must have seen the whole Blur bungle and her rescue in the alley.

The thought that this man knew even a little about Clark made her want to cry.

The whine of the instruments interrupted the sob that wanted to escape, making her body tense at the thought of the pain. Pain.

How was she going to get them out of this?

"You came crashing in to save her last time, so I'll give you the chance to do it again. Of course, this time you'll be required to reveal your secrets," the jeweler said, moving to stand in front of Clark. "I've plugged Ms. Lane into enough electricity to power your little home town. I'm going to set the timer for five seconds," the jeweler instructed, adjusting one of the devices closest to Clark. "You'll have to use your, uhm, special talents if you want to save her."

"What?" Lois shouted. "What talents? Look, Clark is just a normal guy." Lois cried out in panic at the thought of her partner having to reveal himself to the jeweler. It would be disastrous.

Her eyes had adjusted to the light and she could see the same fear reflected in Clark's eyes.

The jeweler turned his body toward Lois. "Oh Miss Lane, I told you you'd thank me. Everyone has secrets," he told her. "Your friend Clark just has more than his fair share. Don't worry; I'll give you some time to talk things over first. The alarm will announce the activation of the device," the jeweler calmly walked over to stand in front of Lois. "You have only five seconds to live after that but, if he saves you then trust me… you're more important to him than you realize."

At the jeweler's words Lois struggled against her chains but they didn't move. Moaning as they cut into her, she stopped, breathing heavily, watching as the twisted man walked out the door. For a minute her mind went blank and she just hung there. What could she do? Clark was the only one who could break these chains but if he did his identity would be compromised.

The whir and tick of the jeweler's devices blurred her concentration even more. She shook her head to clear it and her attention was caught by the glow on the other side of the room.

"Clark?" Lois called and watched as he weakly lifted his head to look at her. "Can you move your feet?"

He looked down and seemed to understand what Lois was talking about. As she watched, he moved each foot slowly up and down and side to side within the chains, trying to loosen them. After a few minutes the toe of his boot lightly grazed the top of the box of meteor rock.

Shut it; shut it.

"You almost had it," Lois said softly, trying to encourage him without breaking his concentration. Clark continued to move his feet for another second before he stopped.

"Wire," he told her. Squinting in the dim light Lois finally saw what Clark was referring to. The lid of the box was connected to a trip wire of some sort.

"Just leave it," Lois told him, voice quivering. If an explosion was triggered before the lid closed-

She looked into Clark's eyes and ached with the pain she saw there. Her mind flashed to the roof of the Chronicle, where pain-filled steel eyes turned to blue and faded-

And then the sharp stabbing behind her eyes caused her to cry out as she was transported to the future.

Night grabbed her by the arms, the cold not as shocking to her senses any more, and shook her like he was trying to shake some sense into her. All Lois could do was stare back at him in wonder as each reaction- anger, frustration, concern- crossed his face and color returned to his complexion. Soon, the cold in his hands lessened as he fought to slow his breathing, get control, just as a shadowy darkness slithered in through the balcony doors. Lois gasped when the shadow took shape, appearing as a second Night, only this one with blood red eyes.

The hands on her arms lowered as Night turned to face… himself.

"Well, well," a slithering, sardonic voice emerged from the red-eyed Night, as bits of shadow seem to dance around the creature. "What have we here?"

Lois didn't respond. She couldn't. Fear, unlike any she had known, clamped around her heart until she felt frozen.

"Ah, the prize, I see," continued the creature, as he turned to Night. "I know what I promised, Kryptonian, but I expect your companion not to interfere with your duties."

The creature looked at Night until something in him was satisfied, then turned his red eyes to Lois and she fought the urge to cover her fully-clothed body with her hands.

"Hmmm, not bad for your second choice," the creature added and Lois watched as a slim sliver of a shadow danced around her ear. The Darkness was looking for a way in. She tried to ignore the creature's words.

"Oh, didn't you know? In every incarnation of Clark Kent, you are his second choice," the creature chuckled as Lois felt the words hit home. Her weakness, her heartache exploited, Lois fought against it as shadowy slivers danced in front of her vision, the Darkness' last attempt to claim her-

The continuous beeping of an alarm brought Lois slowly back to the present, where she heard Clark calling her name.

"Lois," he cried out weakly. "It's the alarm. I'm going to try to get us out of here."

"No, no," Lois shook her head as she became aware of her surroundings. This could not be happening. It was all too much. Just then she realized that tears were streaming down her face, the memories opening old wounds and heightening new ones-

"Lois," Clark repeated and her eyes were drawn to his. She saw fear and pain, as well as the frustration he felt at being helpless. He must have seen the tears on her face because his eyes softened just before he began battling with the chains.

"I'll get us out of this," Clark kept saying as he struggled and, for once, Lois had no retort. Feeling drained and defeated, she let her head drop.

The small snap of the lid closing over the box brought her eyes back to Clark's.

Almost immediately, Lois watched the pain leave his expression. The chains seemed to simply fall away from his body as his strength returned. Her eyes never left him and watched him blur to her side, breaking her chains with similar ease. It took longer to remove the wires and, for just a minute their eyes met.

Clark looked away first, focusing on the job at hand.

It all happened exceedingly fast but to Lois time seemed to stand still, part of her mind failing to grasp that Clark was risking himself for her.

When Lois was free, he pulled her bruised and battered body to his chest and sped out into the dark of the early morning, while electricity pulsed and crackled through the wires left behind.

Kent farmhouse, next evening

The sun was starting to set behind the barn, painting the sky in soft, golden colors when Lois reached for her jacket for a third time. She could see the building from the kitchen window and suspected Clark was hiding in there, brooding. As far as she knew, he'd been out there all day.

After their escape, he had immediately taken her to the hospital and left her while he went back for the jeweler. In the early morning hours, Chloe arrived with coffee and a worried expression. She'd apologized again and again for leaving her cousin but Lois waved her off distractedly, concerned about Clark facing someone who knew his secrets.

They'd fought about it.

From the hospital bed, Lois reached out a hand to stop him.

"Don't Clark," she whispered. "He can weaken you-"

"It's all right Lois," Clark interrupted with a reassuring smile. "I'll be careful." But his eyes contained an anger that Lois had never seen…

It was J'onn who called to tell her about the jeweler's capture. He didn't go into details but he did mention that the Blur was involved. After talking to the Detective, out of Chloe's earshot, Lois was finally able to let herself relax. The jeweler was caught, Clark was alive, and J'onn was taking care of whatever the jeweler thought he knew.

The relaxed feeling didn't last long. Not long after J'onn's call, Lois realized she was sitting on an exclusive story. She convinced a reluctant Chloe to take her to work and finished her second story on the Truth or Dare Murderer in record time. Randall was thrilled and even Tess was impressed. The only thing missing was Clark.

It was Jimmy who told her that her partner had taken a personal day.

Picking up her car from the gallery, Lois quickly drove back to the farm, reviewing the night's events. By the time she pulled up to the yellow house, she was stressed all over again, thinking about Clark's reaction and his anger. Was he upset with her? She could hear someone working in the barn but she was too frazzled to talk.

Instead of going in, she'd turned to wait in the house.

She'd been waiting for over an hour now and she couldn't settle.

With a sigh, she hung her jacket back on the hook, thinking about Lana's earlier phone call. She'd called looking for Clark and left a message when Lois told her Clark was working in the barn.

The phone call provided the perfect excuse for her to visit the barn, but every time she grabbed her jacket, she hesitated and put it back. She'd already done this three times; sat down at the table, got up, looked out the window, grabbed her jacket, and hung it up, until the entire process repeated itself.

Another twenty minutes went by and still no Clark.

Finally tired of waiting and wondering, Lois made one last grab for her jacket and put it on before she could second-guess herself. Barreling out the kitchen door, she stormed in the barn, only to discover Clark in his shirt-sleeves working on the tractor.

By the time she made it, she was all worked up and muttering under her breath.

"Okay, I'm sorry!" she cried, when Clark didn't look up from his work. Just the sight of him calmly working when she'd been inside fretting sent her over the edge.

He looked up, clearly surprised, "For what?"

"For everything! I don't know," her voice faded with uncertainty. "For whatever it is that has you brooding out here."

Clark stood and watched Lois pace in front of him. "I'm not brooding," he told her, but his expression contradicted his words.

"Oh, yes you are," Lois said, stopping about three feet in front of him and planting her hands on her hips. "I can tell. I mean, I've known you for four years. I've lived with you. I know when you're-"

"Five," he interrupted.

"What?" Lois sputtered.

"You've known me for five years." Avoiding her eyes, he reached for one of the work towels to wipe his hands.

"Well, yeah… okay, but the point is I know you-"

"Do you?" He asked, body growing still as he waited for her answer while staring at the towel in his hands.

"Of course I do…" Lois told him, slowing down her words. She was thrown by Clark's demeanor and the turn in the conversation. "Smallville, what is this about?"

"Me, Lois," Clark responded, continuing to wipe his hands. "You saw what I am, what I can do, and what I've hidden from you." Clark threw his work towel onto the floor and shoved his hands nervously into his pockets. "I've kept things from you, lied to you and, and I guess I'm sick of it." His shoulders slumped in defeat. "I'm just so sick of it all-"

"Then stop it," Lois said calmly, feeling her heart swell at the idea he was ready to open up to her; she'd expected his fear and anger but not this fierce honesty.

His blue eyes met hers and held.

Lois watched as self-loathing and longing crossed his expression. Her heart was racing and she held her breath, suddenly recognizing how important this moment was for Clark... and for her. Afraid to change the dynamic, she held his gaze and waited, wanting so desperately for him to tell her, for him to make the first move-

"How?" The question that interrupted her thoughts was barely more than a whisper. "People who know my secret are at risk-"

"I'm a reporter, Clark, and I plan on being a damn good one," she told him. "I'm at risk every day." She smirked when he winced at the truth of her statement. "You can't let that stop you if you really want to be honest with me."

Clark was silent for so long that Lois became anxious. She'd never been a patient person. Walking slowly so as not to spook him, she reached out for Clark's hand. Surprisingly he let her lead him to a nearby hay bale. Sitting down, she patted the place next to her and watched as he took a seat.

Taking pity on him, she spoke. His eyes stayed glued to the floor. "Look if you're sick of lying, then just… just tell me something about yourself, something true."

"You saw some of what I can do," Clark said, taking a deep breath. "I can also run really fast and I'm super strong. I can hear from great distances, shoot fire from my eyes, have super breath, and x-ray vision." Once he got started, Clark blurted the rest of it out rapid-fire, finally taking a deep breath and hold it in reaction.

"That's all great, Clark, but I'd already figured out that you have powers," she told him. "Tell me something from here," and Lois laid her hand lightly over his heart, feeling it speed up with her touch.

His brows furrowed in confusion, "What do you mean?" He exclaimed, sounding exasperated by her response or lack of one. "Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"Yes, Clark and I've known lots of guys with special abilities, believe it or not. Unfortunately, most of them threw their talents away because they didn't know how to handle them," she continued, trying to make him understand that his secret was about so much more than what he could do. "Tell me what's in your heart. That's what's important."

Clark studied her face. Some part of Lois relished the fact that she'd stunned him; the other part was saddened that he'd apparently not expected any compassion. It helped her patience that she already knew most of it.

He'd probably expected the rapid-fire grilling from her reporter side.

Not this time. She waited.

After a moment, Clark squeezed her hand, closed his eyes and started to speak.

"I'm one of the last of my kind, from a planet destroyed…"

For the next hour, Lois listened with growing fascination as Clark told her the story of a little boy who was placed in a space ship and sent to earth, of the people who found and raised him, of the tribe who put him in their legends, and of others with abilities who had become his friends.

It didn't' matter that she'd heard parts of it before. She listened intently while Clark opened himself to her, showing her his heart with each and every word.