"He had discovered a great law of human action- namely, that in order to make a man covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to obtain."

Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain

ADVERSE ATTRACTION

Daily Planet, Monday, November 24, 2008

"So, is that all?" asked Davis, handing Lois her overnight bag.

"Yeah, uhm … thanks. I appreciate the ride and everything," she told him waving her hand to make her point. She wasn't sure why she let Davis drive her, but it felt great to be back to work and out of the hospital. Extra fluids and warming blankets had taken care of her mild case of hypothermia in rapid time.

"So, this is where you work, huh?" Davis asked in his low voice, taking note of the noise and bustle of the place with some trepidation.

"Yeah, welcome to the Bullpen." She looked around with affection. Personally she thought it was pretty quiet, given that it was lunch time.

"The Bullpen?" Davis repeated with a small smile on his face. After a minute he lowered his head uncomfortably and continued while looking at her through his lashes, "Well, I guess you are crammed in here like cattle. I'm not sure I could work this closely with so many other people."

Lois caught his dark eyes and for a second time noted the loneliness that seemed to surround him. The first time had been when he'd dropped off Chloe. He'd seemed comfortable but isolated. Like Clark, loneliness practically shimmered in the air around him.

At the thought of Clark, she looked over at his desk speculatively. He wasn't there, not that she expected him to be. He was supposed to pick her up from the hospital but failed to show. Her best guess was that he was on Blur business, although he could be avoiding her. She hoped not, but he'd been blowing hot and cold at the hospital, starting out with the hot. She shivered a little at the memory.

When Lois woke up, Clark was standing by the window with his hands in his pockets, staring out into the dark. For a minute, she wondered what he was looking at and then it hit her- he was brooding.

She sat up and cleared her throat. "Hey," she said, wincing at the croaking sound.

Clark turned around, his face inscrutable in the dim hospital light. "How are you feeling?"

She stretched and closed her eyes, taking stock of her condition. She was surprised and pleased with the results. "Good," she marveled. "I feel… good."

Opening her eyes, ready to smile in relief, her smile froze when she saw his expression. Through the poor lighting she could see his wide eyes shimmer as his lips parted. He stepped forward and the heat behind his baby blues took her breath.

You make me feel … good.

Her body started tingling and she could feel her temperature rise. Suddenly needing air, she sucked in a breath and damped her lips. The blue in Clark's eyes turned dark and stormy right before they focused on her mouth.

Another step forward and Clark was within reach. Lois felt her body respond by leaning toward him, her hand itching to reach out and touch-

Davis cleared his throat and Lois jumped, trying to bring her attention back to her surroundings.

"Well, I don't want to get in your way so, if there's nothing else," Davis told her, starting to back away.

Lois was torn. At first, she'd been convinced that Davis was evil, having killed a decent, honest kid like Jimmy. Now, something was telling her different. He seemed like regular guy, better than regular, actually. After all, he'd brought Chloe back to them, and Lois would be eternally grateful for that.

It was possible she didn't know the whole story. She hadn't been there when Jimmy was killed and didn't know a lot about his death. Chloe went into hiding afterwards and the newspaper article was sketchy at best.

At first, it seemed that ignoring Davis was the way to protect her cousin and Jimmy. Now, she wasn't convinced. After saving Chloe, Davis seemed part of their circle somehow and when he'd stopped by her hospital room, asking about Chloe and offering her a ride, she'd been willing to go. What if taking the time to know him and let him know them was the way to avoid tragedy in the future?

Making up her mind, Lois stepped forward. "Hey, how about an ambulance ride sometime? I bet you see things on your rounds that would make for a great story."

"I don't know, Lois." Davis' body tensed and he stopped. "That didn't work out too well for Jimmy."

The guilt was radiating off of him in waves and Lois found herself fascinated by this additional reminder of Clark. No wonder Chloe felt comfortable with the guy; he had a lot in common with her best friend. In fact Lois felt herself being drawn to him. What was it about tall, dark and lonely?

She couldn't resist smiling at the thought, stepping closer until his eyes rose to meet hers. "Hey, I'm tougher than Olsen," she smirked, holding onto his gaze.

Tilting his head forward, Davis looked uncertain but finally returned her smile. "It's a date then," he said, just as Lois heard a cough at her elbow.

"Lois," Clark interrupted, clearing his throat again as his eyes darted between her and the paramedic. "Davis," he remarked, holding out his hand. The other man shook it but Clark's eyes narrowed slightly before he turned to Lois.

"I'm sorry," he told her apologetically, eyes softening as they rested on her. "I got caught up with a, uhm, a source. I, uh, it was an emergency," he continued, raising his brows to let her know it was Blur business.

"That's okay, Clark; emergencies happen," she told him with a knowing look. Still, he looked pained as she continued. "Besides, Davis was gracious enough to give me a ride."

Lois turned to the paramedic. "Hey, I'll call you later, okay?"

"Sure," Davis said, smiling at her before acknowledging Clark and walking away.

Her partner watched the figure with a clenched jaw. "How did you hook up with him?"

"Well, I didn't 'hook up' with him," Lois told him using air quotes and rolling her eyes. "He stopped by my room to see how I was doing and offered me a ride." She turned away to go through the papers on her desk. "He does work at the hospital, you know."

"Yeah, I know." His voice was low and ominous.

Lois gave him a surprised look and his face reddened slightly, his chin jutting outward as he tried to hide his discomfort. "He said something about a date?"

Lois kept her smile to herself. "We were just talking about an ambulance ride."

Clark's eyes narrowed. "That didn't turn out too well for Jimmy," he said. This time Lois couldn't hide her smile.

"That's what Davis said," she told Clark, unable to resist moving closer and patting Clark's chest. "But I reminded him that I'm tougher than Olsen," she grinned.

"I don't know," Clark told her, taking his own step closer. "Maybe I should go with you." His voice was lower in octave, sending tremors through Lois and she watched his eyes flash. What was this? His expression now was so like the one at the hospital.

Eyes wide and stormy, Clark reached out his hand to Lois but dropped it. Jerkily he turned away and went to stand back at the window. She felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured on her.

"Lois, the Fortress is corrupted," Clark told her, his eyes moving away from hers, fixing on a point above her head. "Kara thinks that something got into the crystals- either through Chloe or…" his eyes glanced back at hers and she could see the question.

"Or me," she breathed in understanding. Furrowing her brow as she concentrated, she tried to remember what happened right before things went dark. "I don't think it was me," Lois told him sincerely. "I do have certain, I mean, I have memories that are protected but nothing that could infect that fortress of ice."

"Lois," Clark paused. "Who was it who told you about your, uhm, destiny?"

Her heart stuttered. Crap, she hadn't really thought this through. She hated explaining herself and now- she didn't want to lie to Clark but she couldn't give him the truth, either. She needed to stall.

Clark stepped away and Lois forgot about the hospital feeling as her hand dropped back to her side. Again, he'd shut her out and was frowning in the direction Davis had gone. What was up with him? Suddenly, she could practically see the guilt gnawing at him. No one, not even Davis, could do guilt better than Clark.

"Hey," she told him. "It's okay. I can take care of myself and even you can't be everywhere at once." Lois turned to her desk to check her messages. By the time she sat down, Clark had moved around and was staring at her.

"You shouldn't have to rely on someone else, Lois."

She leaned forward, astonished and amused. "You are not my personal slave, Smallville, as much as I might want you to be." She wiggled her eyebrows, watching in delight as Clark's face reddened. Lowering her voice, she turned serious, "I know you have other obligations."

At his conflicted expression, Lois raised her brows in question. She hoped he wasn't planning on asking any more questions about her destiny. They'd talked enough about that at the hospital.

She sighed, wondering if she could ease his concerns about her 'destiny'.". "Look, Clark, it's not a Krypton thing, okay?" She continued, watching as Clark pressed his lips together. "This is nothing you need to worry about."

His look was both frustrated and skeptical.

She continued before he could interrupt. "It doesn't matter who told me because in the end, I accepted." She stumbled at little as her next words caught in her throat. "But that, that doesn't mean that you have to… accept it, I mean."

Having finished that declaration she couldn't hold Clark's surprised look and lowered her eyes to her heavy blanket, discovering that her hands nervously picking at it. With a renewed sense of determination- knowing that this is what he needed to hear- she released her grip and smoothed out the thick material.

"Everyone should have options," she muttered, handing his words back to him.

It was a minute before she heard him clear his throat. "That's, that's not what I asked."

Lois raised her eyes quickly, narrowing them in disbelief.

"Okay, I mean … you're right, everyone should have options and I … I don't want you forced into anything," he sighed at her annoyed expression and ran his hands through his hair. "Ever since I discovered my origins, my birth father has pushed me toward the destiny he envisioned, imposing some stiff penalties when I refused to go along," Clark lowered his gaze and his hands, stepping back and stuffing them into his pockets. "I know what it's like to feel like you don't have a choice and to fight, only to have your freedom taken from you." Through his lashes, his eyes managed to convey his fear.

"That's not what happened to me, Smallville," she told him, tilting her head sideways as she thought about his words. Was this one of the things that pushed Clark to the dark side- rejecting his destiny? If so, he needed to work on that.

"Look, I'm not going to repeat myself …" Lois told him, knowing that she wasn't about to make some loving declaration in the hospital. "But I didn't say what I said to start a 'brood fest' or to guilt you in any way." Lois glanced up out of the corner of her eye to see Clark's eyes narrowed as he processed her words. He was clearly frustrated that she wasn't answering his question directly. "You have options, Clark, all the same ones that were available before."

"Lois-"

Not to be deterred, she plowed forward even when some of the words stuck in her throat. "Say the word, Smallville, and we'll forget all about what I told you at the Fortress," she plucked at the blanket all the while trying to smile. "We can go back to being friends… you know, keeping the game on the field."

Clark stared at her dumbly. Eventually, Lois looked back down at her blanket, her fingers unable to stay still. What did he want from her? It was different at the Fortress, where his isolation and his power called to her.

"Why?"

"Why, what?" Lois asked, confused by his one-word question.

His face was calm but Lois could see the tension in Clark's body, "Why me?"

Lois looked at him in amazement. "Are you serious or are you just fishing for compliments?"

"Yes, no; I mean I'm trying to understand," he explained, stepping closer as his wide eyes conveyed his confusion.

Lois rolled her eyes at him- would the man never understand his worth?

After giving her his most frustrated look, Clark changed tactics. "Okay…why you, then?"

She didn't hesitate this time, "Because you need me, Smallville."

Coming back to the now, Lois tried to forget the hurt she felt when the nurse interrupted and Clark simply left. She'd told herself he needed time.

"Planning on doing some work today, Clark?"

She started to chuckle at the startled look on his face but was inexplicably hit with a powerful wave of bitterness. Why was it that she had to wait? Lois Lane didn't do patient. Why did Clark get to overanalyze? Couldn't he just respond? He hadn't even come back for her at the hospital, the jerk-

Shocked at her sudden burst of resentment, she down before Clark could see the wrath in her eyes and sucked in a breath through gritted teeth. As quickly at the feelings hit, they was gone and Lois felt immediate relief.

What the….

She glanced back at Clark but he was still in a world of his own. She watched him for a minute but the feelings of resentment and anger didn't return. Shaking her head at her own scattered emotions, she tried to concentrate on her work.

For the rest of the day, she found her eyes drawn to Clark who, in turn, seemed to be doing a lot of staring off into space. She wondered which of her confessions was freaking him out more, telling him that loving him was "her destiny" or telling him that he "needed her." Either way, his lack of response was bothering her.

She knew him well enough that she understood that impulsive was not a word in his vocabulary. Still, patience was not a word in hers. Part of her wanted to haul him out of his chair and take him to the copy room for a little convincing, while another part wanted the time to consider her own wishes. Was she ready for a relationship with the many facets of Clark- farm boy, Blur, Kal-El?

Just the thought was enough to curb her otherwise impatient nature. At least Clark was thinking about what she'd told him. There was something satisfying about that. She'd have to trust that he'd let her know when he figured things out.

In the meantime she needed time for her own emotions to settle.

Kent farm, Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Lois was working at the counter in the kitchen while Mrs. Kent moved around the warm, well-lit room preparing for the holiday. Thanksgiving was still a couple of days away but there were pies to bake, side dishes to prepare, and the good china to clean. Mrs. Kent was not a woman to let those things wait if she could get them done.

The smell of apple pie was making Lois' mouth water and she squirmed on the stool, trying to focus on her school work. When the oven door opened, Lois gave up and pushed her computer aside, thoughts of pie killing her concentration.

Looking at the time- twenty minutes to cool before she indulged- Lois was surprised by the hour. "Where's Kara?"

"I think she went to check on the Fortress." Lois smiled, still astonished by the fact that they could talk so freely about everything. Not long after Mrs. Kent came home, she could tell that things had changed, so she'd sat down with Clark, Lois and Kara and dragged the story out of them.

If she didn't know better, Lois would think that Mrs. K was the source of Clark's powers. The woman was amazing.

"Oh, I thought Clark didn't want her up there in case it was that Brainiac thing that corrupted it," Lois commented absentmindedly, taking in a whiff of the pie as Clark's mom sat it on the table to cool.

Mrs. Kent smiled at Lois' non-too-subtle interest in the pastry. "She told me she might have an idea about how to extract the corruption and she wanted to check it out before she told Clark about it." Mrs. Kent wiped her hands on her apron and checked the time. "Now that you mention it, she has been gone for a while."

"So has Clark," Lois commented, checking the clock again. Her partner had blurred out of the Planet almost four hours ago. What disaster could be taking this long? "Maybe I should give him a call."

"I'm sure he's all right," the older woman told her and there was a knowing glint in her comforting gaze.

Lois shrugged, uncomfortable with that look. "Well, a hero's work is never done," she quipped, unable to keep her brow from furrowing. Four hours was a long time. A little uncertain, she looked up and caught the woman's look. "You probably never expected to have this kind of conversation with me, huh?"

Mrs. Kent smiled and laid a hand on Lois' arm. "Actually, I'm not surprised at all and, I have to say, it's nice to have someone else to share my concerns with."

"I'll never tell anyone," she vowed earnestly.

"I know, Lois," the older woman said, squeezing Lois' arm. "I'm not worried about that-"

Just then, Lois' phone rang and she looked at Mrs. Kent in relief, assuming it was Clark. Her reprieve was short lived, however. It was Chloe on the phone.

"It's the blushing bride," she told Mrs. Kent with a grin. "She probably wants to talk to me about the bridal shower… again. I swear if she changes the color scheme one more time-"

"Hello," Lois said with eyebrows raised to Mrs. Kent, watching as the older woman shook her head and walked back to the stove.

"Lo, I need you." Chloe's tearful whisper on the phone was barely audible.

"What's the matter; what is it?" Lois lowered her voice before retreating to the living room.

A soft sob followed her question before Chloe responded, "It's Jimmy; uhm, he's gone."

"Gone?" she repeated, lowering her voice further when she caught Mrs. Kent turn to her in surprise. "Gone where?"

"Well, we had an argument and he said he wanted to go home for the holidays. He said he needed a little time to, you know, clear his head and get things in perspective."

"What things?" Lois was starting to get angry.

"Well, he's been a little freaked out that I, uh, stabbed him," Chloe hiccupped.

"Chloe, you thought there was a stranger in your bed, touching you. I would have done the same thing," Lois whispered.

"Yeah, he's struggling with the fact that I didn't recognize him. I, uhm I think the weirdness; you know, the unusual things that happen to me that are, well, starting to freak him out."

"Oh, honey, you don't know that," she told her cousin sincerely, silently cursing Jimmy three ways to Sunday. How could he abandon Chloe over the holidays?

"Could you come and stay with me while he's gone?" Lois could hear her take a deep breath. "I just… I don't want to be alone right now."

She didn't hesitate. "Of course, I'll be over tonight."

After giving Mrs. Kent a condensed version of events, telling her simply that Jimmy had decided to spend the holidays with family, Lois packed up her school work and went upstairs to put some clothes together. Already concerned about Chloe, she breathed a sigh of relief when she left her room and heard Clark's voice downstairs. At least he was okay.

Trying to juggle her luggage- she'd packed for a full week- she stilled when she heard how tired and worried Clark's voice sounded.

"There were two explosions on the docks," he was telling his mother. "I think they were deliberate."

"Deliberate?" Mrs. Kent sounded like she was still moving around in the kitchen.

"Yes, I almost called for Kara's help but someone else showed up."

At the tone of Clark's voice- caution mixed with a little shock- Lois's carefully put down her luggage. Something more was going on and she wanted to know what it was.

"Someone else… who?" Mrs. Kent asked. "Was it Oliver?"

Even though she was alone, Lois shook her head. Oliver was out of town. It couldn't have been him. When Clark didn't answer right away, she felt her gut tighten with stress.

"Clark, are you all right? You look a little pale, honey." Mrs. Kent's voice was growing concerned and Lois leaned back, resting her shoulders against the wall in anticipation of bad news.

"It wasn't Oliver, Mom. It was Lana. She did something to herself and now she has powers."

At the brunette's name, Lois felt her stomach sink. The urge to leave grew strong but curiosity kept her in place. What did Clark mean by powers?

"Powers?" Evidently Mrs. Kent was asking herself the same questions. "What powers?"

"Like mine, or sort of like mine." Suddenly the words started pouring out. "She had speed and strength, at least and I'm not sure about the rest… How could this happen?"

"What did Lana tell you?" Mrs. Kent asked when it seemed Clark had run out of words.

"Evidently, Lex developed some type of super suit, like a second skin," Clark told her. "Lana's been preparing herself and it was grafted to her body the day after Kara's party."

"And is this permanent?" Somehow, Mrs. K managed to sound calm but Lois felt herself starting to freak out. Who puts on a skin suit? How did someone prepare for that?

"I think so," Clark said uncertainly. "Mom, she told me that she did this for me- for us- so we could get back together as a couple again."

At those words, Lois' felt her heart stop. Legs suddenly weak, she slid down the wall until she was sitting on the hard floor, trying to remember to breathe.

"How do you feel about that?"

"I don't know. What if this is permanent?" Clark told her hesitantly. "That's a lot to sacrifice to be with me." His voice was fading in and out and Lois could practically seem him pacing the room. "She says we can work together… help people together. That's why she did it."

Upstairs, Lois put her head down as her breathing grew heavier. She was feeling hot and cold and sick to her stomach. The fact that she wasn't as surprised as she should be didn't make it any easier.

"Honey, did Lana talk to you or consult with you at all before she did this to herself?"

"No."

"Then this was her choice and you're not bound by it. You need to think about how you feel," Clark's mom told him firmly. "If you let guilt influence you," she paused for emphasis. "I'm afraid you'll make a mistake."

"You sound like Lois."

Still trying to breathe deeply, Lois jumped at the sound of her name.

Mrs. Kent's voice was firm. "That's another thing… what about Lois?"

"What do you mean?" Clark sounded defensive and Lois wondered what he'd told his mom about them.

"You told me that you two have been getting closer, that she expressed certain feelings for you. What are you going to do about that?"

"I don't know." His voice sounded frustrated and a bit frightened. "What Lois told me at the Fortress, Mom. I didn't … I can't believe it," he stuttered. "Still, I know I've felt closer to her than anyone else this year." He paused and Lois could hear his sigh up the stairs. "What I have with her; what I feel… it's so different."

"Different, how?"

"I can't explain it. Most the time we're still friends but …" Clark's voice faded away and Lois felt her own face heat as she considered what he might be thinking.

We're friends… and partners… and this.

"Clark, it sounds like you have two women who want a relationship with you. Have you considered that- one way or the other- you'll have to choose?"

"What do you mean?" Now he sounded panicked and, as sick as she was, Lois couldn't resist rolling her eyes at the man's avoidance.

Mrs. Kent was evidently feeling the same way because her tone was exasperated. "Clark, both of these women have expressed a desire to be more than friends with you. You have to tell them how you feel."

There was silence and then his desperate question. "Mom, what am I going to do?"

"This is your decision, honey," his mother told him sympathetically. "Just … just make sure you search your feelings carefully before you decide anything," Lois heard her voice coming closer to the stairs. "Don't wait too long or you may lose them both."

"No, no, not Lois," Clark muttered. "She told me… she promised."

"Promised?"

"Never mind," he said, voice soft with embarrassment.

Lois felt her heart fall to her stomach. What had she promised? Had she somehow given him the perfect out in an effort to make sure he had options?

Say the word, Smallville, and we'll forget all about what I told you.

At the memory of those words, Lois felt a pain so sharp that she wanted to curl up in a ball on the floor. Instead she leaned her head back and fought for breath, focusing on controlling the stabbing near the area of her heart.

You are his second choice…

Looking at her luggage, she decided that leaving the farm would be easier than she first thought. She didn't want to be around when Clark made his preference known. She already knew what his decision would be.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The ice cream was gone, the popcorn was cold and the chic flicks all watched and laughed about. Lois sat on the couch in her pajamas listening to another story about Clark and wondering how she was going to survive the next few months like this.

Just hearing his name was torture. No wonder she'd stayed in Star City three years ago. Of course, that option was no longer available.

You can never leave him.

"… so as we're crawling through the air ducts, Clark's complaining the entire time and I said, 'I didn't know that super whining was one of your powers,'" Chloe laughed.

"Sounds like something I'd say," Lois could resist adding, despite the tightening in her chest.

"And still he ended up saving the day, even without his powers," her cousin added.

Wondering if she was a closet masochist, she felt compelled to ask, "How did Clark feel about his lack of abilities?"

"Well, he seemed to be on cloud nine at the time because he was with…." Chloe quickly changed direction. "I mean, he always wanted to be 'normal.'"

Lois looked at her cousin from beneath her lashes. "You can say her name, you know," she said with a small smile, grabbing a cold piece of popcorn from the bowl. "I take it you know about the 'suit'?"

Her cousin sighed. "I just don't get it. Why would she think that all she needed to do was put on a super suit?" Her cousin was clearly puzzled. "We all see that Clark has a greater destiny in this world but all he's ever wanted was to be like everyone else-"

"No," Lois interrupted, swallowing the bite while staring into her almost-empty bowl. "All Clark has ever wanted was to be accepted and loved." When Chloe didn't respond, she looked up to find her cousin staring at her slack-jawed.

"What?"

"Living with Clark has definitely given you some insight," Chloe told her, eyes wide and considering.

"Actually," she scoffed, irritated at her cousin's overreaction. "Anyone who know Clark knows that."

"I don't think that's true-"

Before Chloe could finish, Lois was jolted by a sense of fury so strong that it propelled her out of her seat. "Well, it doesn't matter, does it?" She started shouting. "We all know what's going to happen!" She started pacing, overwhelmed by this unexpected surge of agitation. "He's loved her since he was a kid. Now she's got powers like his; of course he's going to get back together with her."

Then, as suddenly as it appeared, the rage ended. Lois was left standing with her chest heaving, her body shaking, while she frowned at Chloe's wide-eyed expression.

What the…

Running her hands through her hair, she turned away, taking deep breaths and trying to recover from whatever was affecting her. After a few minutes her breathing slowed and she exhaled deeply. "Chloe, I'm sor-"

"Lo-" her cousin said at the same time.

Both were interrupted by a knock at the door. Looking reluctant, clearly wanting to finish up with Lois, Chloe walked across the room to answer.

"Davis," she exclaimed, tightening the belt on her bath robe. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, Chloe," he said quietly. "I stopped by the Isis Foundation today and when you weren't there, I got worried." Davis held up his phone. "I tried calling but your phone was turned off."

"Yeah," Chloe admitted sheepishly. "Lois and I were having a girl's day and I guess I forgot to turn it on." With that, Davis turned to look at Lois and smiled at her bunny slippers.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay," he said, looking embarrassed. "Given what happened on Sunday," he stammered. "Well, I just wanted to check."

"Fully functional," Chloe said, tapping at her temple. "My memory is good enough that I know enough to say 'thank you,'" she told him with a smile.

"It was the least I could do," he said, eyes filled with something Lois couldn't identify. She moved closer.

"Would you like some coffee?"

Taking another look at Lois' bunny slippers, he responded with a smile, "I, uhm, don't want to interrupt anything."

"Nonsense," Lois told him, limply waving her hand. "We were just having a good old-fashioned girl's day; at this point we probably need some testosterone in the room."

Davis chuckled and Lois smiled in return, grateful for the man's appearance. "I'll make the coffee, Chlo," she said, sighing at the promise in Chloe's eyes that they would talk about what happened later. Clearly, she'd flown off the handle but she didn't know why and didn't want to talk about it. Maybe she could work on an excuse while Davis distracted her cousin.

To Lois' surprise, she enjoyed Davis' company as much as Chloe. During the next half hour, they talked and laughed and Lois was struck even more by the characteristics that Davis shared with Clark. He was a bit shy, calm and caring and, given the nature of his job, definitely had a strong desire to help people.

At the end of the visit she and Davis were standing at the door ironing out the details of her ride-a-long when there was another knock. Without bothering to look, Lois reached out and opened it, surprised to see Clark on the other side. Her stomach dropped at the same time her heart sped up.

Why was he here?

He should be out saving the world with Lana.

For a minute, she could only stare. Then Davis cleared his throat.

"Davis, right," she told him, trying to remember what they'd been talking about. "I'll see you Friday night," she told him with a smile, turning to frown at Clark until he moved barely enough to let the other man pass.

Lois let her irritation show with a look.

y?

Clark ignored her expression, deliberately examining her wardrobe instead. "Lois, what are you doing here in your pajamas?"

Pressing her lips together in frustration, she blocked the door as she responded. "Didn't your Mom tell you?" She whispered frustratedly. "Jimmy left Chloe alone for the holidays. She's having a rough time and so I agreed to stay with her."

Clark leaned toward her, his expression a little desperate. "Why didn't you tell me? Is that why you weren't at work today?" His gaze drifted over her head to the apartment. Seeing Chloe he lowered his voice. "I was worried about you."

Lois felt her heart skip a beat. Taking a breath, she worked to keep her emotions under control. "I'm fine, Clark. It's Chloe who's upset that her fiancé is gone," she told him. "You know, rather than storm here and upset everyone, you could have just called." Her sarcasm surfaced with her emotions. "You have a phone, right?"

Clark squirmed uncomfortably. "It was busy today-"

"Blur busy?"

The guilt in his expression gave her the answer. While she understood it, she wasn't about to tell him that she'd eavesdropped on his conversation last night.

"I'm glad you were able to help some people before the holiday," she choked out, the effort to keep herself calm and in control closing her throat. "Look, Clark, Chloe needs me right now, and I can't talk to you-"

"Oh, but you can talk to Davis, is that it?" Eyes flashed as he pushed his large body into the doorway.

Lois took a step back in surprise. "What is your problem?" Feeling her anger slip free, she pushed herself forward rather than backing up.

"Problem? What are you talking about?" After stuttering, he choked out a question. "Did you just make a date with Davis?"

"Davis?" Lois asked, fighting against the onslaught of rage. She'd forgotten all about the paramedic.

"You heard me," Clark said through gritted teeth.

"What if I did?"

Clark's look was incredulous. "What? But Lois, you said… you told me-"

"Yeah, Clark," she answered, feeling the rage growing. "I said, I told, but what did you- oh, that's right. You said nothing!" Her temper was taking off now. "I'm a big girl," She shouted. "You don't need to spell it out for me. I. KNOW. WHEN. I'M. NOT. WANTED."

Clark jerked back as if he'd been slapped, his expression incredulous.

For a minute, she simply stood there her chest heaving with each breath. Inexplicably, at the look on his face, her anger drained away. Trembling, cursing her own lack of control at the same time she wondered what was happening to her, she reached out and closed the door in his face.

For a full minute, Lois contemplated the door like it could give her the answers she needed. It was the sound of water in the kitchen that brought her back to reality. She turned and saw her cousin leaning against the sink with a contemplative look on her face.

"Clark sounded upset."

Lois snorted.

Chloe gave her a small smile. "Okay, you sounded upset-"

"I'll get over it."

"Lo-"

"I'll get over it," she repeated, heading back to the bedroom to try to get control of her emotions and figure out what the- well- whatever it was that was making her act so volatile.