A Matter of Destiny Part One 
By ML Thompson <thomplaw@tbaytel.net> 
Rating: PG-13 
Submitted: July 2001


This is an alternate universe - one which we have not visited 
previously. If you notice some changes in our heroes (and you 
will), please bear with me. Everything will reveal itself in 
good time. I made one little (almost insignificant) change and 
suddenly I had this domino effect taking place. You'll 
understand once you've read the story.

My thanks to Gerry Anklewicz and Carol Malo for all their help 
with this story. Their hard work made this story much better. I 
would also like to thank everyone who responded to my request 
for information about mustard gas on Zoomway's message boards 
and by e-mail. Additional information about mustard gas was 
found in various internet sites, most of which I can no longer 
find. My thanks to Julie Gibson for editing this story for the 
archives.

No copyright infringement is intended. I recognize that the 
characters are not mine. I am just borrowing them for a little 
fun and not for any profit.

* * * * * * * * 
A MATTER OF DESTINY PART ONE 
By: ML Thompson 
* * * * * * * * *

Jessica stopped on the corner across from the Daily Planet and 
looked up at the large globe that marked its entrance. A small 
smile crept onto the corners of her lips as she recalled a much 
younger version of herself standing on this same corner 
dreaming of the day when she too would be part of this team of 
heroes - combating evil with the power of the written word.

After so many years, she could hardly believe it might actually 
happen. Perry White had called her, inviting her to come for an 
interview. She knew it was dangerous returning to Metropolis, 
even after all this time. Still... How could she possibly turn 
down the chance to work at the Daily Planet?

Of course, given the risk, she would have to continue living 
under her assumed name - Jessica Miller. And she would have to 
be careful not to run into her family. She snorted. Family. 
That was an overstatement. She missed Lucy. As for the rest of 
her family... the less contact the better. After all, her 
mother had never been able to accept her and if it hadn't been 
for her father... Jessica sighed.

She watched for a moment as people filed in through the front 
entrance to the Planet. Most of them had that resigned look 
that announced to the world that another work day had begun. 
Considering where these people worked, Jessica could hardly 
believe they could be so blase. She couldn't imagine being 
blase working for the greatest newspaper in the world. There 
were other papers that were just about as good as the Daily 
Planet, but none quite measured up in Jessica's mind with this 
one. This one stood for integrity in journalistic reporting. It 
was a voice for the people. Oh, heck, when you thought about it 
the Daily Planet stood for nothing less than truth, justice and 
the American way. To Jessica's way of thinking, you couldn't 
top that.

Now, if everything went as planned, she'd actually be working 
here. It was almost too good to let herself believe. She took a 
deep breath, steadied her trembling nerves, and walked across 
the street.

The majority of the morning crowd had already arrived so there 
weren't many people in the lobby when Jessica finally entered. 
She stopped just inside, looking around. There was a 
confectionary, but Jessica was too nervous to even indulge 
herself in a Double Fudge Crunch Bar - her favorite. On the 
other hand, a quick look at the candy displayed informed her 
that if she did get a job here, she would have ready access to 
her favorite addiction.

She walked past the confectionary to the elevators. There were 
two men already waiting there. She fell into place beside them. 
Since the up button was already illuminated, Jessica raised her 
eyes to watch the numbers - anxious to get to her destination.

"So what did she say?" asked the one man, obviously speaking to 
the other.

"What do you think she said?" the man responded. "That she was 
waiting for Clark Kent to ask her out."

The first man snorted. "If I hear that man's name one more 
time... Don't they know he's only after one thing? That man 
goes through more women... I remember one time when a woman 
slapped him across the face in front of the entire newsroom."

"What did he do?"

"I think he said something like, 'Don't make such a big deal 
out of it,' before walking away."

The second man shook his head. "You know I heard that a few 
weeks ago, he actually had three women in one night. Two 
together and then one later on."

"So why do they put up with it?"

The second man shook his head and then gave a slight laugh. 
"And how do we get some?"

"No kidding," snorted the first man. "You know, I've got to 
admit that no matter how miserable Clark Kent has made our 
lives, I can't say I know of one man who wouldn't trade places 
with him in a heartbeat."

"Ain't that the truth," said the second man.

Jessica impatiently tapped her foot on the floor. How long 
could it possibly take an elevator to get here?

Ding.

Jessica let out a breath and quickly stepped into the elevator. 
The men stepped in beside her and the doors slid closed. 
Jessica pressed the appropriate button and then watched as one 
of the men absentmindedly pressed the same button. She focused 
her eyes on the numbers as the elevator began to ascend. It 
wasn't long before the elevator doors opened and she 
disembarked.

"Hey, Clark," she heard a young man yell across the newsroom. 
After having heard about this Clark Kent from her elevator 
companions, she wanted to get a look at this man who was 
apparently irresistible to women.

She noticed a man in glasses turn and respond. She took a long 
look at him. Okay, so he was certainly good looking enough. 
And, of course, anyone who read the Daily Planet knew that 
Clark Kent was the best reporter at the paper. Still, he was 
certainly not irresistible - at least not to her. And given 
what she'd learned today, she intended to give Clark Kent a 
wide berth.

* * * * * * * * *

Jessica knocked softly on the door marked 'Perry White, Editor-
in-Chief.'

"Come in," growled a man's voice.

Jessica cautiously opened the door and looked inside. "I'm 
Jessica Miller," she informed the man behind the desk when he 
looked up. "I'm here for an interview."

He stared at her blankly for a moment before it suddenly seemed 
to sink in what she was saying. "Right, right," he said, rising 
from behind his desk. He offered her his hand which she 
immediately took. "I'm Perry White," he said before releasing 
her hand and fumbling on his desk for a moment. "I have your 
resume right here," he continued, pulling out a few sheets of 
paper. "So you'd like to work for the Daily Planet, would you?"

"Yes, sir," Jessica replied.

Perry smiled. They all started out the same. At first it was 
'sir' and 'Mr. White' and then soon they were calling him 
'Perry' or even 'Chief'. He reminded himself that he had to 
inspire more fear in the newsroom. "Have a seat," he said, 
gesturing to a chair in front of his desk and going over to 
close the door to his office.

"Now," said Perry as he settled back into his chair, "I wanted 
you to come here for two reasons. First, that was a pretty 
impressive piece of work you did exposing government corruption 
in Borneo. You were working for the Borneo Gazette at the time, 
weren't you?"

"Yes, Mr. White. I still am working there in fact."

"Do you mind telling me how you got that information?"

Jessica shifted uncomfortably in her chair. It took her a 
moment to meet his eyes. "Actually, sir, I do," she finally 
said.

The edges of Perry's mouth went down as he studied her eyes. 
He'd been an old newspaper hound for a long time. And her eyes 
told him there was no point in pushing. She wasn't going to 
tell him anything about how she broke that story - a story 
which had been picked up by every large news organization in 
the world. Still...

Jessica held her breath. There was no way she could tell him 
how she got the story. It would raise too many unwanted 
questions. Still... Had she just ended any possibility of 
working for the Daily Planet? She kept her eyes firmly on his, 
hoping that was not the case.

"Look, Mr. White," Jessica continued when he didn't respond, 
"you know as well as I do that there are always some things 
about a story that aren't meant for public consumption. I'm 
sorry, but..."

"Are you saying I'm the public?" Perry growled.

"Of course not," gasped Jessica. This really wasn't going well. 
"I just meant..."

Suddenly, Perry's face broke into a smile. He'd tortured her 
long enough. She obviously wasn't about to give him that 
information. "Way to go, Ms. Miller," he said. "Never tell them 
how you broke a story. It gives them an advantage."

Jessica looked confused for a moment. "So does this mean you 
might still be interested in giving me a job?" she asked.

Perry chuckled. "More than ever. However..." His smile faded 
and he directed his attention to the resume she'd sent him. 
"...I do have some concerns. I notice here that you've been 
working for the Borneo Gazette for about a year. Is that 
correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"But other than that, you have no training in the newspaper 
business. You also have a lot of gaps in your resume. I assume 
that means the Borneo Gazette is your only journalism 
experience. Is journalism something you're really interested in 
or is it just a job to you?"

Jessica pulled in a deep breath. How could she convince Perry 
White that journalism was something she was really interested 
in or that she'd always dreamed of working for the Daily Planet 
without telling him everything that had happened to her?

Perry saw her hesitate. The expected response, whether it was 
true or not, was for her to immediately jump in and tell him 
that although she was relatively new to journalism, she had 
finally found her calling. He was fascinated by her hesitancy.

Jessica raised her eyes slowly from where they were focused on 
the desk in front of her and met Perry White's eyes. When she 
finally spoke, her words were calculated.

"Mr. White, sometimes life doesn't go exactly the way we want 
it to. There is no reason that I can think of that you should 
believe this, given my resume, but being a reporter for the 
Daily Planet has been a dream of mine all my life."

Perry studied her eyes. In spite of the improbability of what 
she was saying, he found himself believing her. There was a 
hidden sadness in her eyes when she talked about life not going 
the way she wanted it to and the flicker of an old dream, 
almost abandoned, when she spoke of being a reporter for the 
Daily Planet. In that instant, his decision was made. He rose 
from his chair and offered her his hand.

"Jessica Miller," he said, "welcome to the Daily Planet."

She gasped and rose, taking his hand in hers as she stammered, 
"You mean I've got the job."

"You've got the job. When can you start?"

"As soon as you want me."

"What about Friday? Or do you need more time than that to give 
notice to the Borneo Gazette and get settled here in 
Metropolis?"

Jessica's face broke into a huge smile that instantly melted 
his heart.

"Friday would be great, Mr. White. I took my holidays before 
coming here, so that should take care of notice."

"Perry," said Perry. "Please, call me Perry." Now why had he 
done that? After all, wasn't he trying to get people to fear 
him more? "Everyone else does," he conceded.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark stood with the other reporters just outside the roped off 
area as they all stared at the open doors to Lex Labs. Given 
the brightness of the day and the darkness of the interior of 
the building, the doors looked like the entrance to an ancient 
tomb. And today they might as well have been. Some sort of 
chemical accident at Lex Labs had apparently injured - no one 
knew how badly - a number of people.

Clark's eyes focused on the entrance as something came into 
view. He let out a breath when he realized what it was. It was 
a body, being brought out in a body bag by some men or women 
dressed fully in protective gear. He heard the cries of some of 
the women nearby when they too realized what they were seeing. 
Why did things like this have to happen?

He watched as the first body bag was followed by several more, 
each loaded into an ambulance. Clark found something odd about 
this picture and studied the ambulances carefully for a moment. 
Suddenly it hit him. The ambulances were from Lex Corp 
Ambulance Services. He hadn't known Lex Luthor had an ambulance 
service. He wasn't sure why that surprised him. After all, 
Luthor had his finger in a lot of pies in Metropolis these 
days.

Clark noticed one of those who'd brought the bodies out wander 
away from the rest of the emergency team.

The person - who turned out to be a man - removed his 
protective head gear, revealing to Clark his ashen face. The 
man ran a hand through his sweat drenched hair as he made his 
way over to a nearby hose. After taking a moment to steady 
himself, he turned on the hose and let it run over his head.

Clark made his way over to the man. None of his colleagues 
seemed to have noticed - their attention being focused on the 
bodies still being brought out.

"Pretty rough?" Clark half asked, half said.

"You have no idea," the man responded, taking a quick glance at 
Clark.

"How many are dead?" Clark asked.

"I'm not sure. All I know is that there were a number of bodies 
in that room. I don't think anyone who was in there at the time 
survived."

"Any idea what happened?" Clark asked.

The man looked over at Clark, for the first time taking a good 
look at the man questioning him. He noticed the suit Clark was 
wearing and the notebook in his hands.

"You're a reporter, aren't you?" the man said, his tone going 
from friendly to suspicious.

"Yes," Clark confirmed. "I'm Clark Kent. I'm a reporter for the 
Daily Planet."

"I'm not talking to a reporter," the man said, grabbing his 
things.

"Listen," said Clark quickly, "if you don't want to go on the 
record, I promise to keep your name out of it. I just want to 
find out what happened so that, hopefully, nothing like this 
will happen again. The company is saying that one of the 
employees was conducting some sort of unauthorized chemical 
experiment that went bad. I just want to know if that's true."

The man looked around quickly. Then he shrugged. "I really 
don't know what happened. I assume that the information you 
were given is correct."

"Then would you be willing to at least tell me what it was like 
in there?"

The man grabbed a towel and ran it through his hair while he 
thought about the request. He slowly made his way over to a 
nearby bench. Clark followed.

"Well, it would probably do me good to talk about it," the man 
finally said.

Clark smiled. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Frank MacKenzie," the man answered before giving Clark the 
details of what he'd seen and done. The bodies were apparently 
covered with what appeared to be burns. They were bleeding from 
their eyes and mouths. No one had been allowed into the room 
without protective gear. Mackenzie had no idea what chemical 
had caused such devastation. All he did know was that he had to 
get out of there quickly. He felt bad about leaving the job of 
taking the bodies out to others, but he knew he was in no shape 
to help in his current condition. He'd never before seen 
anything so horrifying. Clark wrote furiously, knowing 
instantly that he had a great story - even if it was an 
insider's devastating view into a terrible chemical accident.

As they finished talking, Clark observed a middle-aged man with 
a receding hairline being taken out by the police in handcuffs. 
Clark made his way over to Inspector Henderson.

"Who is that, Inspector?" asked Clark, gesturing to the man in 
handcuffs.

"His name's Stanley Gables. He's being charged with negligent 
homicide in the deaths of twelve people."

"Twelve," gasped Clark.

Henderson nodded. "Apparently he was conducting a series of 
unauthorized experiments. Something went wrong and twelve 
people are now dead."

"What was the experiment?"

"Does it matter?" Henderson responded, before walking away.

* * * * * * * * *

"You wanted to see me, Chief?" Clark asked at the door to 
Perry's office the first thing Friday morning.

"Yes, son," said Perry. "We have a new reporter starting here 
today. She doesn't have a lot of experience, but I've got a 
feeling she's got good instincts. I want you to take her under 
your wing, so to speak."

"Sure, Perry," Clark responded. "Does that mean you don't want 
me to follow up on the accident at Lex Labs?"

"Take her with you," Perry replied. "She might as well jump in 
with both feet. That was a great story, by the way. Almost had 
me crying. What's next on that?"

"Well, there's supposed to be an announcement sometime today 
about the cause of the accident. All we have so far is what the 
company is saying."

"Do they give anything to back up their story?"

Clark shook his head. "I guess we'll know more when the report 
is provided by..." He was interrupted by someone else entering 
the room. He turned to face the intruder. All ability to form a 
coherent thought suddenly vanished when Clark found himself 
staring into a pair of the deepest brown eyes he'd ever seen.

"Jessica," said Perry, apparently oblivious of the effect this 
young woman's presence was having on his star reporter. "This 
is Clark Kent. I'm going to be partnering you up with him. At 
least for the time being. Clark, this is Jessica Miller. She's 
the one who broke open that Borneo corruption story."

Perry might have been unaware of the effect Jessica was having 
on Clark, but Jessica was not. In spite of her belief that she 
was looking at the Daily Planet's playboy, her heart still 
skipped a beat at the look of wonder in his eyes. She quickly 
looked down. She suddenly understood where his success with 
women came from. After all, she wasn't the least bit interested 
in a relationship with anyone.

When Jessica broke eye contact, Clark finally realized he was 
staring. He cleared his throat, trying to focus on what Perry 
had just said. "Jessica Miller... Borneo corruption story... 
Right!" he finally exclaimed. "That was some impressive work, 
Ms. Miller. Mind telling me how you managed to break that 
story?"

Jessica took a brief glance at Perry. He had an amused look on 
his face.

"Someone told me that a reporter should never give away her 
secrets," she responded.

"Okay, kids. Clark here is looking into the cause of the 
chemical tragedy at Lex Labs," Perry said.

"I read Mr. Kent's story about that this morning," Jessica 
replied.

"Then I'll let him fill you in on the details," Perry 
continued. "Now git. Bring me an award-winning story."

* * * * * * * * *

Lex Luthor was opening the ornate box on the corner of his desk 
when the door to his office opened. He looked up to see Mrs. 
Cox appear in the doorway.

"Sandra Wojick is here," she informed Luthor. "You asked to be 
notified as soon as she arrived."

"Yes, Mrs. Cox. Send her in," Luthor responded, removing a 
cigar from the box in front of him. He had just chomped down on 
the end of it when a woman entered the room. The formality of 
her suit was undermined somewhat by the shortness of her skirt. 
Not that Lex Luthor minded the view. He ran his eyes slowly up 
her legs before looking at her face.

He smiled at her, gesturing her to a chair before taking a seat 
on the corner of his desk. He lit his cigar before speaking.

"Do you know why you're here?" asked Luthor, removing the cigar 
from his mouth.

"I assume if you want to hire a public relations advisor, it 
has something to do with revising your image."

"Very good, my dear," said Luthor. "Yes. During the past year, 
I've managed to become one of the most powerful men in 
Metropolis. Now I want people to see me as its greatest 
benefactor as well. I've been told that you can make that 
happen."

"I can," said Sandra.

Luthor regarded her critically. "Of course, I never simply 
accept what others tell me."

Sandra smiled. "I would have expected nothing less from such a 
successful businessman."

"So who else's image have you remade?"

"I was the one hired by the royal family when the marriage of 
Charles and Di fell apart. They hired me to make her seem like 
a ditzy blond. Then after her death, I was hired by her estate. 
I'm the one who turned her from a ditzy blond into a saint."

Luthor smiled. He was indeed impressed. "So, what do you think 
you can do for me?"

"There are two aspects to dealing with your image. There are 
the positive aspects and the negative aspects. What I mean by 
that is that there is positive press coverage and negative 
press coverage. In order to create an image for you, we need to 
deal with both aspects. However, before you commit to this, you 
need to be aware that to do this right will cost you a great 
deal of money."

"Good things cost money."

Sandra smiled. "Now, if you're willing to spend money - and by 
that I mean making a number of large charitable donations - I 
can use that to get you positive press coverage."

"Fine."

"Also, we need to deal with negative press coverage. On that 
front, I can spin most stories. Of course, the best thing is 
not to expose yourself to possible negative press coverage in 
the first place."

"What sort of negative coverage are you talking about? I've 
made a habit of avoiding all press coverage."

"Well, a good example would be the story in the Daily Planet 
about the accident at Lex Labs. The article written by Clark 
Kent focused on the people who died. Now, I know that the 
accident wasn't your fault, but..."

"So what do I do about that type of story?"

"I will find a way to put a positive spin on that story. Maybe 
by having Lex Labs do something for the families of those 
killed. Of course, the best thing would be if you can find a 
way to control the stories that make it into the Daily Planet 
in the first place. After all, the world follows their lead on 
stories about Metropolis. If you control them, you control the 
world. I'll get to work right away on positive image 
reformation and will see what I can do to put a better spin on 
the accident at Lex Labs."

Lex smiled. This woman obviously thought much the same way he 
did. She didn't care what he did, just that the negative 
stories either not get out or have the right spin put on them.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark was having serious problems concentrating. Well, at least 
he was having problems concentrating on his job - especially 
while driving his jeep to the press conference with Jessica 
Miller sitting beside him. She wasn't wearing perfume, but it 
felt as if the smell of her mixed with her shampoo... or was it 
soap? ...was filling his nostrils - making him slightly drunk. 
He shook his head. Nothing like this had ever happened to him 
before. Not even the one time he'd thought he was in love.

"Wasn't that where we were supposed to turn?" asked Jessica.

"Umm... Oh right. I guess. Well..." Clark pulled the jeep into 
a parking lot. He was silent as he got the car turned around 
and back onto the road. He could hardly believe what a fool he 
was making of himself. 'Think of something to say,' he told 
himself firmly. 'She's going to think you're a complete fool. 
Come on, boy. Pull yourself together. It's not exactly as if 
you haven't been attracted to a woman before. Surely you can 
think of something intelligent to say.'

"So, where are you from, Jessica?" Clark asked. He relaxed. 
That sounded intelligent enough.

"Look out!" Jessica exclaimed as a car almost slammed into the 
side of Clark's jeep.

Clark spun the wheel and got out of the way at the last 
possible moment. The rest of the trip was made in silence.

When they arrived at their destination, they got out of the 
jeep and made their way to the press conference. Most of the 
press were already there. They listened in silence as the 
spokesman for the Metropolis Police Department read his 
prepared statement, confirming the company's previous claim. 
The tragedy had been caused by one Stanley Gables - conducting 
an unauthorized experiment. He was now in custody and awaiting 
trial. Jessica and Clark both made notes and asked questions of 
clarification.

They returned to the jeep afterwards, still not having spoken 
to each other directly. Clark was feeling so incredibly 
sheepish. He had never before made a fool of himself in front 
of a woman. But there was no other way to describe what had 
happened on the way there. He pulled out his keys and was just 
about to open the driver's door when a hand stopped him, prying 
the keys from him.

"I think I should drive," said Jessica. "I don't know how 
you've managed to live as long as you have with your driving 
abilities." She pushed past him and climbed into the driver's 
seat.

Clark watched her in stunned silence for a moment. Suddenly, he 
broke out laughing.

"What?" asked Jessica.

"I'm sorry. I just... You're right. I guess I have been acting 
a little out of it today. I've just been a little distracted."

Jessica regarded him for a moment before nodding. When Clark 
had climbed into the passenger's seat, she spoke.

"So what's got you so distracted?" Jessica asked in an effort 
to make casual conversation, while putting on the blinker, 
checking over her shoulder and pulling the jeep into the 
traffic.

"Your shampoo," Clark muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Jessica asked, realizing she wasn't supposed to 
have heard Clark's comment.

"Nothing," said Clark immediately. "I just didn't get a lot of 
sleep last night."

Jessica nodded. "So what do we do now?" she asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"With the story," Jessica clarified.

"Oh. Well, I think we go back to the Planet and type it up."

"So you believe what they said at the press conference?"

"I think so. I was there just after the accident took place. 
That was the company's claim at the time. I also talked to one 
of the emergency workers. He didn't seem to see anything that 
would contradict the company's claim. And I saw them take the 
man responsible into custody."

Jessica nodded. There didn't seem to be anything more to this 
story. It was a little disappointing, but then not every story 
could be an award winner.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark glanced at Jessica as she was shown around the newsroom. 
What was it about that woman that had the effect of making him 
behave as if he were a teenager experiencing his first crush? 
He had to admit she was beautiful, but he'd known lots of 
beautiful women in his life. His inability to control his 
feelings when this woman was nearby scared him. They'd managed 
to get the story written up, but he was grateful when Susan 
came by to take Jessica on a tour of the newsroom.

"So do you have a date for Lex Luthor's ball?" asked Jimmy, 
interrupting Clark's thoughts. Then, before Clark had a chance 
to respond, Jimmy continued. "What am I saying? You're Clark 
Kent. Ladies' man extraordinare," Jimmy concluded in obvious 
awe.

"Give it a rest, Jimmy," Clark responded, a definite note of 
resignation in his voice.

"Olsen!" yelled Perry.

"Gotta go," said Jimmy making his way to the chief's office, 
still puzzling over Clark's reaction.

Clark watched Jimmy go, wondering why he seemed unable to shake 
his reputation. As he usually did, after a moment wondering 
about it, he turned his attention to another issue. Jimmy was 
right about one thing. He needed a date for tonight. His eyes 
drifted across the newsroom floor until they found Jessica.

No. He would find a date for tonight - anyone was better than 
Jessica. He didn't need the complication of being rattled 
tonight. Not if he was planning to use the occasion to get the 
first one-on-one Lex Luthor interview.

His address book was full of women who would love to go to Lex 
Luthor's ball. He pulled out the book from his desk drawer and 
opened it randomly. 'Arlene Smith.' He smiled. She was always a 
good time. He picked up the phone before he once again caught 
sight of Jessica. He set the phone back down and watched 
Jessica for a moment.

No! He opened the book again, glancing at it. 'Vicky Nicol.' 
Yeah. She'd be perfect. He quickly picked up the phone and 
dialed the number - hanging it up again before it was answered.

He never made the decision to do so, but before he could stop 
himself he was on his feet and on his way to Jessica's desk - 
as if drawn there by some unseen force.

"Jessica," Clark said as he arrived by the side of her desk.

Jessica looked up. She'd been going by the name Jessica Miller 
for the past couple of years so she had no problems responding 
to it.

Clark's heart began pounding hard. He could hardly believe how 
nervous he was. It wasn't as if asking a woman out was a new 
experience for him. He swallowed hard before speaking.

"Lex Luthor's ball is tonight and I was wondering if you might 
like to accompany me," he said. He was unable to meet her eyes 
as he spoke, and to his horror, his voice trembled slightly on 
the last words. Still, it was out now. There was nothing to do 
but wait for her reply.

Jessica studied Clark for a moment. For a playboy, he sure 
lacked the smooth delivery she'd have expected. But then his 
behavior in the jeep earlier had surprised her. Still...

"Like a date?" she asked.

Clark finally met her eyes. "Well, yeah," he responded.

"I don't think so," Jessica responded immediately. Jessica had 
no intention of going out with Clark. The last thing she 
intended was to become Clark Kent's latest target. And if 
anyone could turn him down, she could. He'd obviously counted 
on those looks of his all his life. Well, that wasn't about to 
work with her.

Clark stood there for a long moment, looking at Jessica in 
disbelief.

"What? No one ever turn you down before?" asked Jessica, a 
sparkle of amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Of course I've been turned..." Clark paused. "Well... 
actually, I think this is the first time that I've been turned 
down," said Clark, trying to think of an occasion that would 
prove him wrong.

"Well, think of it as a learning experience then," said 
Jessica, rising from her chair and heading for the coat rack.

Clark followed. "Look," said Clark as he watched Jessica pull 
on her coat, "why don't we just think of it as a work 
assignment?" When Jessica just raised her eyebrows, he 
continued, "No one had even heard of Lex Luthor until about a 
year ago. He showed up in Metropolis and purchased Star Labs - 
immediately renaming it Lex Labs. Since then he's been taking 
over business after business. Then, about six months ago, there 
was a horrible series of fires on the south side - all of them 
still unsolved. Luthor purchased the land at fire sale prices. 
He cleared it and built Lex Towers, the highest building in 
Metropolis, in record time - as well as using the rest of the 
land for a number of other building projects."

Clark now had Jessica's full attention.

"Still," continued Clark, "no one knows where he came from or 
where he got his money - and he's ignored all my requests for a 
personal interview. It's almost as if he's the invisible man.

"Then, a few weeks ago, all of Metropolis' leading citizens 
were invited to a ball at Lex Towers - to be hosted by the 
phantom businessman himself. I guess you could call this his 
coming out party. The Daily Planet got a few of these 
invitations. Perry gave me two. He hopes I can use the occasion 
to convince Luthor to agree to an interview."

Jessica narrowed her eyes. His story about Lex Luthor had 
certainly sparked her interest, but was this just a ploy to get 
her out on a date? "You don't need me to help you do that," she 
said.

"Actually, I do. If I show up to this shindig alone, it will 
look suspicious," he said in his most innocent voice. "I'm 
hoping for a chance to get some information from Luthor before 
he realizes who I am. Having a woman with me will make me seem 
less like a reporter and more like one of the guests."

Jessica actually chuckled. "So, I'd be what? Camouflage?"

Clark gave her his most charming smile before saying, 
"Precisely." He did, however, briefly wonder if a woman with 
Jessica's looks could ever properly be considered camouflage.

Jessica shook her head slightly. "Sorry, Clark. I don't have 
anything to wear. Even if I had time to find something before 
tonight, I don't have any money to..."

"No problem," said Clark, taking her elbow and directing her 
back to his desk. He picked up the phone and placed a quick 
call before saying, "You're all set. Just go down to La Elle's. 
They're expecting you. I'll pick you up at eight." With those 
final words, he quickly left her to head out of the newsroom - 
afraid that if he didn't leave now, she'd find another reason 
not to go.

Jessica watched in stunned silence as he departed. Had she 
really accepted a date with Clark Kent? No. It was just a work 
assignment. Still, in spite of his behavior earlier today, he 
was good at getting what he wanted. Okay, so they'd go to the 
ball and she'd do what she could to help him get the interview. 
But if he expected anything more... Well, he wouldn't be the 
first man who'd had to limp away at the end of a date with her.

As the elevator doors closed, taking him out of the newsroom, 
Clark watched Lois. He wasn't quite sure why he had just done 
that. He didn't date in the office anymore! He just didn't! And 
he certainly never pressured a reluctant woman into going out 
with him. He pushed the thought aside. This was a work 
assignment - nothing more.

It wasn't until the doors closed that Clark realized he didn't 
have Jessica's address. He shook his head in frustration. Well, 
he couldn't go back in there. So once he got home, he'd give 
Perry a call. Perry would give it to him.

* * * * * * * * *

"You sent for me, sir," asked a man with an English accent.

"Yes, Nigel," responded Luthor. "I need you to get me a list of 
all Daily Planet reporters who have done damage to my 
reputation or the reputation of Lex Corp over the past year."

"Sir?"

"I've been thinking about how to control the Daily Planet's 
press coverage."

"Why not just find a way to control Perry White? After all, he 
could see that no unflattering stories make it into the paper."

"Because from my research, Perry White has proven himself 
incorruptible. A number of people have tried it over the years. 
All of whom are now behind bars. He is both unbribable and 
unthreatenable."

"Then why not just have him replaced?"

"I thought of that. But if Perry White is killed, it will 
attract too much attention. And from what I hear, being editor 
of the Daily Planet is what he lives for. So there's no way to 
convince him to take a different job. Apparently he even turned 
down a promotion that would take him out of the newsroom. And 
he has no family. His wife died years ago, leaving him without 
children. No. The way to control Perry White is to control the 
information he's given. In order to do that, I need to control 
the reporters under him."

"Do you just want their names?"

"Of course not, Nigel. I want everything you can find out about 
them - including their weaknesses. Of course, I'm sure you know 
who the primary problem is."

"Clark Kent, sir?"

"Precisely."

"I'll get right on it," Nigel promised.

* * * * * * * * *

Jessica looked at herself in the little mirror in the bathroom 
and sighed. It would be very helpful to have a full length 
mirror at the moment.

As Clark had suggested, she'd gone to La Elle's after work. The 
owner, Mrs. Lang, had been more than helpful. She had actually, 
as a favor to Clark, loaned Jessica an evening gown for tonight 
- as well as appropriate shoes, a purse and a wrap. Mrs. Lang 
said something about Clark and her daughter dating at one 
point. Jessica found it remarkable that the mother of a former 
girlfriend of Clark's would be inclined to help a woman who was 
preparing for a date with him. It must have been the most 
amenable breakup in the history of interpersonal relationships.

Jessica had found the most magnificent dress. She could hardly 
believe how much she was looking forward to tonight. It had 
been a long time since she had last been to an affair like this 
one... Actually, she didn't think she'd ever been to an affair 
like this one. Of course, it was only business. But did that 
really mean she couldn't have a little fun too?

She spun in front of the mirror and for a moment imagined what 
it would be like to be on the dance floor in Clark's arms - 
actually, in any man's arms. It would be nice. She smiled 
slightly. She was glad Clark had talked her into this. Maybe 
for one evening she would try to forget so that she could enjoy 
herself. Surely even the fates wouldn't deny her one evening of 
pleasure.

Of course, she would have to be careful not to send Clark the 
wrong message. On the other hand, he was used to being the 
heartbreaker. Maybe it was time that someone gave him a taste 
of his own medicine - and she was just the girl to do it. She 
let herself relax. Tonight she was going to have a good time. 
Let Clark think whatever he wanted. She would make it clear 
when he dropped her off afterwards that she was not interested 
in anything more.

Hearing a knock, Jessica smiled, grabbed her wrap and headed 
for the door.

* * * * * * * * *

"Do you have it?" Luthor asked.

"Yes, sir. There are only three reporters who have done any 
serious damage to Lex Corp's reputation over the past year. 
Eduardo Romero, Ralph Cooke and, of course, Clark Kent."

"Do you have files on them?"

"They are still in the process of being prepared. I'll also try 
to get you some information about a new reporter who was just 
hired. Her name is..." Nigel fumbled with a file for a moment 
before saying, "Jessica Miller."

"Isn't that the reporter who got that story about corruption in 
Borneo?"

"I believe so, sir."

Luthor nodded. "Okay, get me what you can on her too."

"Very good, sir."

"Now, Nigel, we better get ready for the ball. Wouldn't want to 
keep Metropolis' finest waiting too long."

* * * * * * * * *

Clark felt as if he were the luckiest man in the world when he 
entered the grand ball room with Jessica Miller on his arm. He 
knew that she was less than enthused about coming to Luthor's 
ball with him, but on the drive here, they'd actually had a 
pleasant conversation. It was not about anything important, but 
he was glad he was no longer quite as tongue-tied as he had 
been earlier in the day. Not that there hadn't been moments. 
When she'd opened that door, giving him his first glimpse of 
her in that evening gown, he'd felt his heart momentarily come 
to a complete stop.

He still couldn't figure out why he'd so desperately wanted to 
come here with her. It was baffling. It was also terrifying. 
The last thing he needed was to get his heart broken, and for a 
reason he couldn't quite explain, Clark suspected that the 
woman with him now had the power to cause him real pain. He'd 
gone through that pain once before - it had been devastating. 
How could he risk it again? Still, ever since she'd slipped her 
arm through his, he'd been unable to keep the grin off his 
face.

* * * * * * * * *

Jessica was actually surprised by how comfortable she had been 
in the jeep on the drive here. She might know Clark was a 
playboy. Still, she couldn't help but appreciate his sharp mind 
and quick sense of humor - not to mention that killer body. She 
was thoroughly enjoying herself by the time they arrived at the 
ball. She'd automatically slipped her arm through Clark's as 
they'd ascended the stairs into the building and couldn't help 
but be flattered by the goofy grin that he'd been wearing ever 
since.

As they entered the ballroom, a photographer stepped forward 
and took their picture. Jessica cringed slightly. She really 
didn't like to be photographed. She'd have to see what she 
could do to confiscate that picture. After all, if it ended up 
in the wrong hands, it could cause her some serious problems.

"Lois," Jessica heard a man call. She quickly looked for the 
source and then let out a sigh of relief when she realized that 
the man was addressing someone else. She redirected her 
attention to Clark who was leading them over to the coat check.

"Would you like to dance?" Clark asked when they'd dispensed 
with their coats. What was he doing? This was just a fake date. 
They were just here to get the interview with Lex Luthor. He 
had to keep his mind on the goal. She wasn't interested in him. 
That was fairly obvious. And until he was in control of these 
unusual feelings, he really shouldn't complicate things by 
dancing with her!

"Shouldn't we be trying to talk to Mr. Luthor?" she asked.

"I don't think he's here yet," said Clark, looking around. He 
ignored that part of his mind that realized she'd just given 
him a way out. "From what I've heard, he likes to make an 
entrance."

Jessica bit her lower lip. "Okay, then," she said after a 
moment - after all she had been looking forward to doing some 
dancing tonight.

Clark smiled and offered her his hand. When she slipped her 
hand in his, she was startled by the unexpected spark of 
electricity that seemed to accompany the touch of skin to skin. 
She quickly looked down, but then followed as he led the way to 
the dance floor.

Clark's hand lightly touched her side and then slowly slipped 
around her waist as her hand moved up his arm to settle on his 
shoulder. Their free hands found each other and suddenly they 
were dancing. The music was slow and they moved in time to its 
gentle lead.

For Clark, the entire world seemed to disappear when this woman 
crept into his arms. She seemed to fit against him in a way he 
was at a loss to describe. He was completely helpless to 
prevent the rush of emotions that immediately overwhelmed him. 
His head dropped slightly against the side of her head in order 
to feel her hair brush the side of his face. He fought back a 
groan. God, he loved the way she smelled. His arm, of its own 
will, pulled her slightly closer.

Jessica unexpectedly found herself getting caught up in the 
moment. It had been so long since she'd felt like a woman. The 
way Clark's arm wrapped around her was almost enough to make 
her forget everything and just lose herself in his embrace - 
almost, but not quite. She could never let herself completely 
forget.

Suddenly, the music stopped. Jessica was out of Clark's arms 
almost instantly. She refused to make eye contact, afraid that 
if she did, he'd understand exactly how much she'd felt when 
they'd been dancing. There was a moment of awkward silence.

"So, is Mr. Luthor here yet?" Jessica asked.

"Umm..." Clark began looking around. He'd almost forgotten why 
they were here. "There he is," he said after a moment.

Jessica turned around to see an attractive man in a very 
expensive looking tuxedo standing at the top of the staircase 
which led into the ballroom. He was looking out over the crowd. 
A man at his elbow leaned over and whispered something to him. 
He nodded and began making his way down the staircase, greeting 
people as he went. Jessica watched in fascination. Although she 
didn't hear what he was saying, she could tell that he was 
saying it brilliantly. The familiarity with which he shook 
people's hands, the way he looked at them as if each was the 
most important person in the room, saying the most brilliant 
thing, was remarkable. Clark was right. This guy was smooth. He 
was so smooth that he had to be hiding something. She'd bet on 
it. There was definitely a story here.

"Come on," she said to Clark, heading in the direction of Lex 
Luthor.

Clark was surprised by her sudden departure. It took him a 
moment before he followed. She was at the bottom of the stairs 
before he could catch up.

Luthor spotted Clark Kent as he approached the bottom of the 
staircase. He also noticed the beautiful young woman at his 
side. His eyes slowly crept over her body as he approached. 
When he arrived where they were standing, his eyes immediately 
found Clark's.

"Mr. Kent from the Daily Planet, I believe," said Luthor.

"Yes, Mr. Luthor," replied Clark. "I'm surprised you know who I 
am. I don't believe we've met before."

"I asked," Luthor replied. "Considering the number of phone 
messages you've left for me over the past few months, I almost 
feel as if we already know each other. I'm glad you could join 
us this evening. I hope you're enjoying the party."

"Actually, Mr. Luthor, I came here tonight to make my appeal 
for an interview in person." Clark had hoped to speak to Luthor 
in cognito before letting Luthor know who he was. However, now 
that his cover was blown, Clark figured the best approach was 
the direct one. Therefore, he'd made his appeal for an 
interview. "I'm hoping you might be willing to give the press 
some information about your background."

Luthor regarded Clark for a moment before replying, "I'm sorry, 
Mr. Kent. I really don't think I have time in the immediate 
future."

"But surely you could fit in a half hour," responded Jessica.

"And you are?" asked Luthor, turning his attention to the young 
woman.

"I'm sorry," said Clark. "This is Jessica Miller. She's our 
newest reporter." Clark then cringed as Luthor picked up 
Jessica's hand and raised it to his lips. What made it worse 
was that Jessica didn't seem to mind the attention.

"You're a reporter for the Daily Planet?" Luthor asked, even 
though the question was redundant since Clark had already said 
she was.

"I just started there today," said Jessica, giving Luthor her 
warmest smile. "So couldn't you find a way to spare us a few 
minutes for an interview?"

Luthor paused. "Well, I'll tell you what, Ms. Miller. I'm not 
sure I have time for an interview, but I never like to 
disappoint a beautiful woman. Why don't I call you and we'll 
see what we can work out?"

Jessica's smile widened. "I'll look forward to it."

"Good," said Luthor. "Now, since this is supposed to be a 
party, I suggest we leave business talk for another time. Would 
you care to dance?"

"I'd love to," said Jessica, noticing, in her peripheral 
vision, Clark's expression darken as Luthor led her out to the 
dance floor.

Clark found a place by the wall and leaned back against it. 
Shoving his hands deep in the pockets, he watched as Jessica 
danced with Luthor. He really didn't like this. It was obvious 
to him that Luthor's intention was not to give them an 
interview; it was to make a play for Jessica. He wasn't 
jealous. He wasn't! He had heard about Luthor's reputation with 
women and just couldn't stand the idea of Luthor making Jessica 
another one of his trophies. And by the look on her face as 
they talked and danced, Jessica was definitely interested. She 
was his partner. He just didn't want his partner compromised.

Clark ignored the little voice in the back of his mind that 
reminded him of his reputation. After all, more than anyone, he 
ought to know that rumors could be very misleading. Still, in 
Luthor's case, he believed the rumors. The irony would have 
been almost funny if it wasn't so painful watching Jessica 
dance with Luthor.

"Hey, stranger," came a woman's voice, interrupting Clark's 
depressing thoughts.

Clark turned to the woman addressing him and a smile lit up his 
face at the sight of Lana Lang. He and Lana had dated when he 
was in high school and then for about a year after that. She'd 
been heartbroken when he'd ended the relationship. However, in 
the years that followed, she'd come to accept it. They had even 
restored their friendship, for which Clark was grateful.

"Hi, Lana. I didn't know you'd be here tonight," Clark 
responded. "So," he continued, looking around, "where's that 
boyfriend of yours? Just come to rub it in?"

Lana laughed. "Well, I couldn't sit around waiting for you 
forever. Steve's not here tonight. He's off to somewhere or 
other. You know how it is."

"Yeah, I know. So how are things going between you two?"

"Great. We've started talking about getting married."

"Congratulations," said Clark.

"Hey, it's not for sure yet. But what about you? When I came 
over, you were looking a little like you'd just lost your best 
friend."

Clark's eyes involuntarily drifted back to the woman in 
Luthor's arms.

"Who is she?" asked Lana, following Clark's gaze.

"Who?" asked Clark.

Lana laughed. "Okay, none of my business," she conceded. "Does 
she know what she's in for? After all, you should come with a 
warning label."

Clark looked over at Lana and smiled. Unlike Jimmy's comments 
earlier, he knew Lana was just teasing. After all, they'd been 
friends since high school. As a result, she more or less knew 
what was real and what was nothing more than idle gossip. "And 
what would it say?" Clark asked.

Lana thought about that for a moment. "Warning: Do not operate 
machinery without large quantities of alcohol at home."

Clark crinkled his eyebrows. "Why large quantities of alcohol?"

"So that a girl has something to dull the pain when you break 
her heart. Maybe I should warn her."

"No need," said Clark.

The tone of his voice caused Lana to raise her eyebrows.

"She's made it quite clear that she's not interested," Clark 
pouted.

This time, Lana really laughed. "Turnabout's fair play," she 
responded. At Clark's look, she continued, "Look, let's dance. 
Maybe it will give her something to think about."

Clark smiled and reached out to take Lana's hand.

Jessica had been keeping an eye on Clark as she danced with 
Luthor. It wasn't hard seeing just how much her dancing with 
Luthor upset him. It was as if a dark cloud hovered over the 
area Clark was occupying. However, this time when she looked 
over, she couldn't see him. Where could he have gone? It was 
then that a movement in the corner of her eye caught her 
attention and she pulled in a sharp breath when she noticed 
Clark with another woman in his arms. So much for that. She 
should have known that Clark Kent didn't really have serious 
feelings for her. He was a playboy. She was a potential 
conquest. That was all.

Jessica had never intended to get involved with Clark so it 
surprised her just how much she didn't like the idea of him 
dancing with another woman. She pushed the thought out of her 
mind and turned her attention back to the man she was dancing 
with. At least it was looking more and more as if she was going 
to be granted an interview. If it wasn't for that possibility, 
she would never have agreed to dance with this man. Evil seemed 
to ooze out of his every pore.

* * * * * * * * *

The jeep pulled to a stop in front of Jessica's apartment 
building and Jessica quickly opened the door. Clark reached 
over and put a hand on her arm. When Jessica looked at him, he 
spoke.

"Watch out for Luthor," he said intensely, keeping his eyes 
firmly on hers. "He has quite a reputation with women."

'You're one to talk,' was the retort that immediately sprang to 
Jessica's mind, but she didn't say it. After all, she agreed 
with Clark that Lex Luthor was a dangerous man. "I will," she 
replied. "And thanks for tonight. I had a good time."

"I'd like to walk you to your apartment. I mean this isn't the 
safest neighborhood," said Clark.

"That's really not necessary," objected Jessica.

"But it would be my pleasure," Clark said with a smile that 
sent an unexpected, and quite unwelcome, flutter through 
Jessica's stomach. Without waiting for an answer, Clark opened 
his door and got out of the jeep.

Jessica continued to sit in the jeep - lost in thought. This 
was where he would come up to her apartment. He would ask to 
come in for a drink, making it sound innocent enough. The 
problem, in Jessica's mind, was that she was really starting to 
enjoy Clark's company. And if she truly believed that he just 
wanted to come in for a drink, she'd like to get know him 
better. But she knew this man's reputation. He wouldn't merely 
be coming in for a drink. And she couldn't allow anything to 
happen between them.

"Coming?" asked Clark, offering her his hand.

She looked at his hand for a moment before ignoring it to get 
out of the jeep on her own. She closed the door and, without 
looking at Clark, headed into her apartment building. When she 
arrived at her door, she fished in her purse, locating her 
keys. She opened the door to her apartment before turning to 
Clark - preparing to turn him down.

"I had a really nice time tonight," Clark said, before she 
could say anything. "Thank you for coming with me."

He hesitated, wanting to kiss her goodnight, but entirely 
unsure that such a move would be appreciated. He glanced at her 
lips before deciding against it.

"I'd really like to do it again sometime, Jessica," Clark 
finally said instead.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Clark," said Jessica, not 
meeting his eyes.

Clark had expected her to say that. But knowing that they were 
coming didn't make the words any more pleasant. "Goodnight, 
Jessica," he said softly.

"Goodnight," replied Jessica, still avoiding eye contact.

Clark stood there for a moment more before nodding, turning and 
making his way to the stairs.

Jessica stood in the doorway of her apartment and watched him 
go. It surprised her how disappointed she was by his departure. 
When he was finally out of sight, she rolled her eyes. "What do 
you think you're doing?" she asked herself in disbelief before 
walking into her apartment and slamming the door shut behind 
her.

* * * * * * * * *

"What is it, Nigel?" asked Luthor.

"I've got the information you requested," Nigel said, handing 
Luthor some files. Luthor laid the files on his desk before 
opening the first one.

"Eduardo Romero," he said. He reviewed the file quickly. "It 
appears that he has family. Two little girls." He thought about 
that. "Get pictures of the two girls. Perhaps outside their 
school. I'm sure when Mr. Romero realizes just how easily we 
can get to his family, he'll cooperate."

"Of course, sir."

Luthor picked up the second file. "Ralph Cooke." After 
reviewing this file he spoke again. "It seems Mr. Cooke has 
quite a gambling problem. I'm sure you know how to use that to 
our advantage."

"Yes, sir."

The third file had the name of Clark Kent marked on it. "So, 
what did you find out about our good friend, Mr. Kent?" he 
asked as he opened it. He studied it for a moment. "Doesn't 
smoke. Seldom drinks. Doesn't gamble. Lives within his means. 
Uhhhh... Likes the ladies, does he?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well then, maybe we can get a woman in place to keep an eye on 
Mr. Kent's activities. Or at least one who can distract him if 
he gets close to uncovering any of our operations." Luthor laid 
down the file and looked at Nigel. "What about Ms. Miller? What 
did you find on her?"

"Not much," said Nigel. When Luthor looked disappointed, Nigel 
continued. "It seems that Jessica Miller was a reporter for the 
Borneo Gazette. Before that, she didn't exist."

"What?"

"I managed to obtain her date of birth from a copy of the 
resume she sent to the Daily Planet. There was a Jessica 
Miller, born in Philadelphia, on the date she gave. That 
Jessica Miller also has a death certificate issued for her six 
months later."

"So she's hiding something," said Luthor, with a grin at Nigel. 
"Well, let's find out exactly what that is. But be careful. We 
don't want to alert her or anyone else to what we've found 
until we're able to decide how best to use it."

"Very good, sir."

* * * * * * * * *

Jessica was at the Daily Planet first thing Saturday morning. 
As a senior journalist, Clark had most weekends off. As his 
partner, Jessica was granted the same privileges. However, 
since she had just started yesterday, she wanted a chance to 
familiarize herself with Daily Planet resources. So she had 
come in to explore the Daily Planet archives and computer 
banks.

It was mid-afternoon when she was told she had a phone call.

"Jessica Miller," Jessica said, picking up the phone.

"Ms. Miller, Lex Luthor here," said the voice on the other end 
of the line.

"Mr. Luthor," said Jessica. "I didn't expect to hear from you 
so soon."

"Well, I've been thinking about your request for an interview. 
What do you say we get together tonight and discuss it 
further?"

"Mr. Kent isn't in today," Jessica said, not particularly 
liking what he was suggesting. After all, he wasn't saying he 
would give them an interview, just that they would discuss it 
further.

"I don't think we need to involve Mr. Kent at this point. After 
all, he's a busy man. Why don't we see what we can work out? 
Then, if we come to an acceptable arrangement, we'll involve 
him."

Jessica seriously doubted Lex Luthor had any intention for this 
to be anything more than a date. Still, if there was a 
chance...

"What time do you want me there?" Jessica asked.

"I'll send a car by your apartment at seven o'clock. Oh, and I 
hope you don't mind, but I usually eat supper around that time. 
I'd be honored if you'd join me."

* * * * * * * * *

"Hey, C.K.," said Jimmy when he noticed Clark enter the 
newsroom. "I thought you were off today."

"I am, Jimmy. I just couldn't seem to think of anything to do, 
so I decided to come in here to see if there was anything going 
on." He had actually come here in an effort to quit obsessing 
about Jessica. He looked around the nearly empty newsroom. "I 
guess there's not much happening here either."

Jimmy looked around the newsroom with him. "Nah. We got the 
paper to bed a few minutes ago. Most people have already left 
for the night. Hey, do you want to go get a drink or 
something?"

Clark nodded. Spending the evening with Jimmy would definitely 
help him keep his mind off how badly things were going with 
Jessica.

"By the way, you know that new reporter? Jessica. I think 
that's her name," said Jimmy.

"What about her?"

"Well, she's really dedicated. I understand she had today off," 
he said, grabbing his jacket.

"She was here today?" asked Clark, suddenly very interested.

"Yeah. Well, until she got a call from Lex Luthor."

"What did she do then?" Clark insisted.

Jimmy regarded Clark curiously. "She left. She said something 
about having supper with him. Boy, talk about a fast mover. 
She's only been working here for a day and already she has a 
date with... Hey, what about going to get a drink?" Jimmy asked 
when Clark spun around and headed out of the newsroom.

"Next time, Jimmy," Clark called over his shoulder.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark looked at his watch again. It was almost midnight. He'd 
been driving around, trying to avoid going over to Jessica's.

The problem was that Clark couldn't quite figure out his 
motives. He believed that Luthor was a dangerous man and Clark 
spent most of his time telling himself that he was just 
concerned about her partner's safety. After all, safety was one 
of the reasons a person had a partner. And, to be honest, part 
of him was angry. Lex Luthor was his story. Was she trying to 
steal it?

He had almost managed to convince himself that he was just 
upset because she was trying to steal his story when he 
realized that his reasoning had a fatal flaw - that the belief 
that she was trying to steal his story made him feel better. He 
growled in frustration. He was obsessing because he was worried 
that she had feelings for Luthor.

Well, he wasn't going to stalk her! If she wasn't interested in 
him, that was her loss. Still, a few minutes later, he found 
himself driving down her street. He quickly pulled off to the 
side when he noticed a long black limo sitting in front of her 
apartment building. He turned off the lights and scrunched down 
further into his seat. The lights on the limo were still on as 
it idled there.

"Please, please, please, please," Clark muttered as he waited 
to find out if Jessica would emerge from the car. He seemed to 
resume breathing when she did, followed by a tightening in his 
chest when Luthor also emerged. He sat silently watching as 
Jessica waited for Luthor to make his way around the car to 
escort her into her apartment building. He felt almost ill when 
Luthor placed his hand on the small of Jessica's back. He was 
bothered even more by Jessica's apparent lack of displeasure at 
this gesture.

When they disappeared into the building, Clark knew he should 
go. She had obviously made it home all right. He could talk to 
her about trying to steal his story on Monday. He should go 
home - yet he continued sitting in front of her apartment 
building. He just had to know. Would she let Luthor come into 
her apartment? Would he spend the night? He really should go 
home. This was wrong. He was dangerously close to becoming a 
stalker.

He let out a breath when Luthor exited her apartment building 
alone. He watched cautiously as Luthor's car pulled back onto 
the street and drove past him. Clark closed his eyes in relief.

Bang, bang, bang.

Clark jumped at the sound of someone banging on the driver's 
side window of his jeep. Looking to see who was there, he 
cringed. He lowered the window - not making eye contact with 
the person standing there.

"Get out here, Kent!" said Jessica's irritated voice.

Clark raised the window and, opening the door, stepped out of 
the vehicle. Since he was preparing himself for a 
confrontation, he was surprised when Jessica began walking 
away. He stood by the side of his jeep, watching her walk 
across the street. When she arrived on the other side, she 
looked back.

"Are you coming?" she asked.

"Yeah," stuttered Clark, quickly locking the door and following 
her.

When he reached her, she spoke again. "I figure there's about 
to be some yelling. I don't particularly want the whole 
neighborhood overhearing. I just moved here." With those words, 
Jessica spun away from Clark, stomping into her building.

Clark swallowed hard before following. She was obviously not 
pleased to find him sitting outside her apartment building. But 
then how would he feel to return from one of his dates to find 
another woman checking up on him?

But that wasn't what this was, Clark assured himself again. She 
had no right trying to hone in on his story - even if they were 
partners. Besides, Luthor could be dangerous. As mad as she 
was, she couldn't be as angry as he.

Jessica's hands were trembling as she inserted the key in her 
door to unlock it. She knew she had a hair trigger temper. 
She'd worked for years to get control of it. But seeing Clark 
sitting across from her apartment when she'd emerged from Lex's 
limo had pushed all her buttons. It took her a moment to 
finally get the door open. She walked in, flicking on the light 
switch as she went. Clark followed.

When they were both safely ensconced inside, Jessica spun 
around. "What the hell do you think you're doing sitting 
outside my apartment building in the middle of the night? What? 
I turn you down, so you figure you have the right to stalk me?" 
Even as she said it, she knew the words weren't fair. She'd 
seen him drive up just before she got out. Still, it was easier 
lashing out at him than it was to admit what really had her 
angry.

"Stalk you?" exclaimed Clark - ignoring the nagging little 
voice in the back of his mind that had categorized his behavior 
in just that fashion only minutes before. "Jimmy told me that 
you were meeting with Luthor tonight. You had no right meeting 
with him. Luthor's my story! That's why I'm here."

"You think I'm trying to steal your story?" Jessica asked in 
disbelief. "I thought we were partners." She calmed herself 
before continuing. "Look, Lex called and said that he wanted to 
discuss giving us..." She emphasized the last word. "...the 
interview. What did you want me to do? Tell him that I couldn't 
discuss it with him because my partner might be offended. Isn't 
the point here to get the story for the Daily Planet?"

Clark was silent for a moment as what she said began to sink 
in. "I jumped to the wrong conclusion, didn't I?" he said after 
a moment. "God, what is it about you that makes me act like 
such a fool?" asked Clark in disbelief.

Jessica looked at him for a moment before bursting out 
laughing.

"Great," said Clark, throwing up his hands. "I act like an 
idiot and she finds it amusing."

"I'm sorry," said Jessica, trying to get her laughter under 
control.

"At least tell me that Luthor agreed to an interview," Clark 
continued.

She snorted. "No. He was more interested in a date than an 
interview."

Clark smiled. The tone of her last comment laid to rest a 
number of his fears. "Well now that we've established what an 
idiot I am, maybe I should say goodnight." He turned towards 
the door.

Jessica followed him. When he opened the door, she spoke. 
"Clark, I really am looking forward to being your partner at 
the Planet. I know you're one of the best. I think I could 
learn a lot from you. Please believe me. I wasn't trying to 
steal the Luthor story."

"Jessica, I overreacted. It was stupid. I guess... I think 
Luthor's dangerous. I just don't want you getting in over your 
head." When she looked as if she was about to respond, he 
raised a hand. "What do you say we just forget about it?"

Jessica smiled. "Deal," she responded.

"Friends?" he asked, offering her his hand.

"I think I'd like that," she responded after a moment of 
contemplation.

* * * * * * * * *

Lex Luthor handed the plastic bag containing a dirty wine glass 
to Nigel.

"Her fingerprints are on this," he assured Nigel. "Find out who 
she is and what she's running from."

"Very good, sir," Nigel responded, taking the bag. "How did 
your dinner go?"

"Not very well, Nigel. She isn't as easily seduced as most 
women. That's why we need to find out everything we can about 
her. In the mean time, how are you doing with finding a woman 
who can keep an eye on Kent?"

"I've found a number who are interested. One of them should 
catch his interest. After all, they are all intelligent and 
beautiful - the type Mr. Kent seems to like."

"Good, Nigel. Get one of them in place quickly. I want someone 
keeping us informed of Kent's movements. At least that way we 
can defuse any bombs he might find before he has a chance to 
detonate them."

* * * * * * * * *

Clark drove back to his place on automatic pilot - his mind 
being occupied with what had happened tonight. Jessica wasn't 
interested in Lex Luthor. That was the good news. The bad news 
was that she didn't seem interested in him either. But there 
was something about the way she wasn't interested that confused 
him.

Clark felt at a complete loss about how to handle the 
situation. He hadn't allowed himself to get emotionally 
attached to a woman in years. And the last time he had, it had 
been devastating. So how was it that, in just two days, he'd 
managed to lose control of his feelings so completely? It was 
utterly baffling. And, if he were honest with himself, 
absolutely terrifying.

There was only one possible explanation for it. She was his 
basherteh. He hadn't been sure she even existed until now, but 
it was the only explanation Clark could come up with for how 
easily she was able to break through all his barriers. Although 
he'd believed, when he was younger, that someday he'd meet his 
basherteh, the years had made him much more cynical. Yet here 
she was - in the flesh.

But if that was true, if she was his basherteh, why did she 
seem so oblivious to the connection between them? But what else 
could it be? The way the swirl of her hair captivated him; the 
way looking into her eyes could make his heart skip a beat; the 
way her smell intoxicated him, all of it told him that she was 
his basherteh.

So what was he to do now? If he asked her out again, he was 
sure she'd only turned him down again. So where did that leave 
him?

Still, he couldn't walk away. Everything about her spoke to 
him. Every movement, every look, touched him.

A car horn sounding behind him alerted Clark to the fact that 
he was sitting at a green light. He took his foot off the brake 
and placed it on the gas.

So why didn't she feel the same way? Maybe if he could figure 
that out he'd... Suddenly, his breath caught in his throat. 
Maybe she'd heard about his reputation with women. What was he 
thinking? Of course she'd heard about his reputation with 
women. It was one of the most constant staples of office 
gossip, after all. No wonder she didn't want to get involved 
with him - if she were at all interested in him in the first 
place, that is. And what could he say? Denying the rumors that 
weren't true would only confirm, by implication, the ones that 
were.

He growled in frustration. So what should he do now? There was 
really only one option. She just wanted to be friends. Then 
that's what he would do - for now anyways. Maybe if they became 
friends he'd find a way to get her to see past his reputation.

* * * * * * * * *

Jessica walked into her room and changed for bed. This place 
had been a disaster zone only days before. But as a result, 
she'd gotten it for a reasonable price - with the understanding 
that she could fix it up. She was pleased with the result.

Once ready for bed, she crawled in between the fresh sheets and 
stuffed her pillow under her head. 'Go to sleep,' she told 
herself firmly. She closed her eyes and began concentrating on 
counting backwards from a hundred.

One hundred. Ninety-nine. Ninety-eight. Ninety-seven. Ninety-
five. Ninety...

When she'd spotted Clark drive up in his jeep as she'd been 
preparing to get out of the limo, she'd felt her heart skip a 
beat. Her anger at him had more to do with anger at herself for 
being glad to see him. And how could she possibly be glad to 
see the Daily Planet's resident womanizer?

She had to admit that he was kind of cute. She smiled. That 
goofy expression on his face when she'd slipped her arm through 
his at Lex's ball was priceless. She even liked the hang-dog 
look on his face when he'd watched her dance with Lex. She 
shook her head firmly. She wasn't doing this. She wasn't going 
to think about Clark Kent.

Where was she now? Right. Ninety-two. Ninety-one. Ninety. 
Eighty-seven. Eighty- three.

She probably shouldn't have let him believe that they could be 
friends. After all, could a man like him really just be friends 
with a woman? Then she thought back to the woman Clark had 
danced with at Lex's ball. After dancing with Lex, she'd asked 
Clark - casually, of course - who the woman was. He'd 
immediately insisted on introducing them. She was amazed, and 
even a little jealous, when she realized what good friends the 
two of them were. And, after so many years alone, she really 
could use a friend. What was she doing? She wasn't thinking 
about Clark!

Eighty-seven. Eighty...

A small smile crept on to her lips when she remembered what it 
felt like to dance with Clark. She'd felt so much like a woman. 
He smelt so much like a man. No! She wouldn't do this. She 
rolled over onto her other side. She really wished this bed 
wasn't so lumpy. That was the only reason she was having 
problems sleeping. Besides, he wasn't really that cute. She'd 
prove it.

She turned on a lamp, crawled out of bed and rifled through her 
underwear drawer until she found what she was looking for. She 
pulled out the picture taken of her and Clark at the ball. She 
had confiscated it from the photographer when Clark had left 
her to take a trip to the washroom. She looked at the picture 
and sighed. So much for that. He was even cuter than she 
remembered. And that goofy grin was more endearing than ever. 
She lay back in bed and ran her finger lightly over Clark's 
image. If only...

But that was impossible. It couldn't be. And if she didn't find 
a way to get control over her emotions, she was seriously going 
to hurt both of them. She couldn't send him mixed signals. It 
really wouldn't be fair. She knew that. She closed her eyes. A 
tear escaped from the corner of one eye and ran down her cheek. 
She reached up and frantically brushed it away.

She briefly considered his reputation. He was a playboy. If he 
didn't get what he wanted from her, he'd just go on to his next 
victim, wouldn't he? Still, she didn't want him to get the 
wrong - or was it the right? - message. They had to work 
together and she really could use a friend.

* * * * * * * * *

The following weeks passed quickly. Jessica and Clark had been 
assigned a number of different stories and were beginning to 
develop a working relationship. Her instincts and his logic 
complemented each other nicely. Perry had commented a few times 
that they had the potential to be the best news team since 
Woodward and Bernstein. Jessica had basked in glory at the 
comparison. Perry even liked the work they produced together so 
much that he'd teamed them up on a quasi- permanent basis.

Luthor had been given the keys to the city of Metropolis after 
a very generous contribution by Lex Corp to Metropolis General 
Hospital for the construction of a children's wing. Jessica and 
Clark covered that story, but couldn't find anything in it to 
criticize Luthor for. That contribution was followed by others. 
And although Jessica and Clark were both suspicious of his 
motives, the majority of the city was coming to love their new 
benefactor. Luthor had asked Jessica out on a couple of 
occasions since then, but, much to Clark's obvious 
satisfaction, she'd turned him down each time.

Unlike her relationship with Luthor, Jessica's relationship 
with Clark grew. They had eaten supper together on many 
occasions - just as friends. He had even cooked for her at his 
place once. Of course, after that, she'd taken over any cooking 
that needed to be done. Jessica was convinced Clark could find 
a way to burn water. He hadn't objected. Since Clark had all 
the appropriate cooking utensils and Jessica had all the skill, 
they would often end up back at his place after work. Jessica 
was responsible for cooking and he was on clean up detail. 
After supper, they'd often settle on the couch to watch a video 
or just talk.

It amazed Jessica that they always seemed to be able to find 
things to talk about. Sometimes, of course, when they were in 
the middle of a story, the evening would be spent discussing 
work. Other times, however, they would talk about politics or 
movies or music. On one occasion they'd actually spent the 
whole evening discussing Hallowe'en candy. Clark had been 
adamant that the best Hallowe'en candy was chips. She had 
objected that chocolate bars were better. He'd rolled his eyes 
- commenting that he should have known better than to expect 
rational arguments from a chocoholic. They had spent the whole 
evening debating the issue - often laughing so hard that tears 
would roll down their cheeks at the insanity of their 
arguments.

Clark had taken to calling her Jess. She had never before let 
anyone shorten her name - not that he'd asked, of course. But 
then, she'd never really been close enough to anyone before for 
them to feel comfortable doing it. She had to admit that she 
liked the familiarity of the shortened name.

Still, Clark hadn't as much as suggested pursuing anything more 
than a friendship. On those few occasions when Jessica was 
feeling particularly insecure, she'd wondered if that meant he 
was no longer attracted to her. But then she'd see that look in 
his eyes and her fears - or was that the right word? - would be 
put to rest.

Sometimes, Jessica would catch herself noticing the cut of his 
pants or the way his shirt stretched across his muscular chest. 
Her reaction was instinctive. Of course, when she'd realize 
where her thoughts were taking her, she'd immediately push them 
away. Her self-control, however, didn't help her when she was 
asleep. Her dreams of Clark were getting to be a regular 
occurrence. Sometimes, after such a dream, she'd find herself 
trying not to wake up.

Jessica noticed that Clark hadn't dated since they'd become 
partners. Considering the number of women who seemed to be 
constantly throwing themselves at him, Jessica found his lack 
of interest astonishing - and, in the privacy of her own 
thoughts, flattering.

Not that anything could ever come of it, of course - given her 
particular situation. And that did occasionally cause her to 
worry about what would happen when he finally came to 
understand that they would never be together, but most of the 
time she still found it slightly amusing. The lady killer 
seemed to have been tamed by the one woman he could never have.

Besides, there was nothing she could say to convince him that 
they would never be more than friends - not without telling him 
everything. And that was the one thing she could never do. How 
would he react if he knew the truth? Would he still want to be 
her friend? She couldn't bear to lose both her partner and the 
only real friend she'd had in more than ten years.

* * * * * * * * *

Jessica doodled absently on a pad of paper as the reporters 
gathered around the conference room table. Assignments were 
handed out and discussed. She found she listened better when 
she had something to occupy her hands.

"...Also," said Perry, "there's a new art exhibit opening at 
the Metropolis Museum this evening. Michael Daniels called in 
sick this morning, so we need someone to cover that."

"Who's Michael Daniels?" Jessica whispered to Jimmy who was 
seated beside her.

"He's the Planet's art critic," Jimmy responded.

Jessica returned to her doodling. There was a moment of silence 
when Perry must have looked at Clark because he responded.

"No," objected Clark.

"You know more about art than..."

"Don't do this to me, Perry," Clark pleaded.

Jessica looked up in shock. She had never heard Clark object to 
an assignment. Granted, covering an exhibit at the museum might 
not be the most challenging assignment, but...

"Sorry, son, but I'm going to have to insist on this one," 
Perry said. "Now, Eduardo..."

Jessica tuned Perry out and watched Clark. He was obviously 
distressed. For some reason, Perry seemed to know he would be. 
What was it about this assignment he found so distasteful?

The meeting broke up shortly afterwards. Clark didn't even 
notice her as he walked out of the conference room. That wasn't 
usual. He always seemed to notice her. She watched as he made 
his way back to his desk. Given the nature of the assignment, 
it really was a one person story. And although they were 
normally partners, they would handle smaller stories by 
themselves. But this time was different. The exhibit opening 
was happening this evening - after normal working hours. There 
was only one way for her to get to the bottom of this. She 
walked over to Clark's desk.

"Clark?" Jessica said.

"Huhh? Oh, sorry. What is it, Jess?" Clark responded.

"Relax, Clark," Jessica said, taking a seat on the corner of 
his desk.

Clark pulled in a sharp breath at the sight of what that action 
did to shorten her already short skirt. Jessica smiled. 
Whatever else was bothering Clark, it was good to know that he 
wasn't so far gone that he didn't notice her legs.

"I was just wondering if you'd like some company this evening 
when you go to cover the exhibit opening."

"No," Clark replied immediately. The one thing he didn't want 
was to have Jessica there. It would be bad enough, he was sure, 
going alone. The last thing he needed was to have to worry 
about Jessica too.

Jessica narrowed her eyes. She spent a moment studying the way 
he wasn't looking at her. His refusal told her she was right - 
there was more to this than just a trip to the museum. After 
all, he never objected to spending time with her. It made her 
more determined than ever to go.

"You know I could always just show up. It is open to the 
public, after all," Jessica informed him.

Clark looked up in response to her comment. There was obvious 
shock in his eyes. Almost immediately, he looked away. Then she 
watched his shoulders slump slightly. Finally, he shrugged. 
"Suit yourself," he said.

"Well, if I'm going to suit myself, I'm going with you."

"Fine," Clark said. His voice sounded resigned. Still, it was 
acceptance. He might not be happy about it, but going with him 
was still better than going on her own.

Jessica was just finishing up her story for the day - nothing 
important, but something that had to be covered - when Perry 
walked up to her desk. "Could I speak to you for a moment?" he 
asked.

Jessica looked at him curiously. He was her boss. He could just 
demand to speak to her. The phrasing of the question told her 
that this was important. She got up from her desk and followed 
him into his office. He closed the door before speaking.

"I understand you are going with Clark to the opening of the 
exhibit tonight," he said.

"Yes," Jessica responded cautiously.

"Good," said Perry. "I didn't like assigning him that story, 
but I really had no choice. Clark's the only reporter other 
than Michael who has any real knowledge about art. He took a 
minor in Art History while getting his journalism degree."

"What's this all about, Perry?" Jessica asked.

Perry studied her before shaking his head. "It's Clark's place 
to tell you. I can't. Just make sure he's okay."

"I'll do my best, but it would be helpful to know..."

Perry shook his head again. "Just keep an eye on him."

* * * * * * * * *

Jessica noticed Clark wipe his hands against his pants as they 
stepped through the doors of the museum. He'd been getting 
progressively more nervous the closer they got to their 
destination. They asked for directions to the new exhibit and 
were gestured in the appropriate direction.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" asked Jessica as they 
approached the room.

"What do you mean?" Clark responded.

"Clark, I know..."

"Here we are," Clark interrupted, placing a hand on the small 
of Jessica's back as he directed her into the room.

She sighed. Okay, so he wasn't going to tell her. Hopefully the 
answer would reveal itself soon enough.

"Clark," said a man's voice.

Jessica and Clark turned to see an older, distinguished looking 
gentleman with a full head of white hair approaching. The man 
wore an expensive suit and a relaxed smile.

"George," said Clark, offering the man his hand. "It's good to 
see you."

"I sort of suspected we wouldn't see you around these parts 
again. I'm glad I was wrong. So, who's this?" the man asked, 
turning his attention to Jessica.

"This is Jessica Miller," Clark said. "And this is George 
McDonald. He's the museum's curator."

Jessica took the man's hand in greeting, wondering why everyone 
except her seemed to know what was going on.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Miller. Please," he gestured to the 
exhibit. "Take a look around. Andre Pasco is one of Metropolis' 
newest artists. But I think he's going to be one of the 
greatest we've ever produced."

Jessica and Clark followed George over to a painting that 
wasn't much more than a complicated swirl of colors and 
textures.

"As you can see, he's got a unique outlook on the world."

"Is he here tonight?" asked Clark.

The curator shook his head. "It's strange, but he adamantly 
refused to be here for the exhibit opening."

"There's a lot of pain in these pictures," Jessica commented 
distractedly. "I don't know why, but it's almost as if the 
artist is predicting the end of the world or something."

George raised his eyebrows. "Very good, Ms. Miller. Yes, the 
artist has captured some sort of future pain. It's hard to 
describe. As you said, it's as if he's seen the end of the 
world and has captured the emotions on canvas. Until about a 
year ago his paintings were amateurish. Then he seemed to find 
this unusual pain. Since then he's become one of the most 
sought after young artists Metropolis has."

"Anything happen to him about a year ago?" asked Clark.

"Not that I know of," George responded.

"Clark," a woman's voice suddenly purred behind them.

Jessica turned to see a woman in her mid-thirties approaching. 
Although Jessica couldn't say quite why, since her clothing was 
certainly appropriate to the occasion, but she gave off the air 
of... hooker was the word that came to mind. The sexual air 
around her as she came closer was impossible not to notice. 
George immediately excused himself to make his way over to some 
other guests.

Jessica felt Clark tense as the woman approached and knew 
instantly that whoever this woman was, she was the reason Clark 
had not wanted to come here tonight.

"Hi, Cat," said Clark. There was a definite note of anxiety in 
his voice.

"And you are?" Cat asked, no longer purring as she turned to 
face Jessica.

"Jessica Miller," Jessica responded, beginning to put some of 
the pieces together. There was obviously some history between 
Clark and this woman - history Clark wasn't very happy to 
relive.

The woman didn't even listen to Jessica's reply. She stepped up 
to Clark, reaching out to place her hands on his chest. He 
immediately took a step back. She seemed slightly shocked by 
his rejection, but recovered quickly.

"We need to talk," said Cat. "I'm sure your girlfriend won't 
mind."

"Actually, I do," said Jessica, choosing to ignore the woman's 
assumption about her relationship with Clark, but once again 
the woman wasn't listening. Instead, she grabbed Clark's arm 
and proceeded to pull him away.

Clark didn't know what to do. He glanced helplessly at Jessica. 
He knew the instant he heard Cat's voice that she was going to 
insist on speaking to him. And if they had to do this again, he 
didn't want to do it in front of Jessica. He really didn't want 
Jessica to know what a fool he'd made of himself. Still...

"It's okay, Clark," said Jessica.

Clark gave a slight nod, before following Cat to a more 
secluded section of the room. Jessica turned to look at the 
pictures, but it wasn't long before curiosity got the best of 
her. She focused on hearing the conversation taking place 
between the woman and Clark.

"...mean that," said Cat's voice seductively. "We were perfect 
for each other."

"Perfect?" Clark gasped in disbelief. "If we were so perfect, 
why was it that I had to come home to find you in bed with 
another man?"

Jessica tensed. She really had no right to be listening to 
this. Yet she couldn't stop. It was like watching a car wreck. 
There was a kind of fascinated horror that kept Jessica 
transfixed. Clark had obviously been involved with this woman. 
It even seemed as if they had lived together for a time. 
Jessica felt an unfamiliar stirring in the pit in her stomach. 
There was something about the idea of this woman, a woman who 
had obviously not appreciated what she had in Clark, in the 
type of relationship with him that Jessica could only have in 
her dreams, that sickened Jessica. But she wasn't jealous. She 
wasn't! She snorted. Okay, so maybe she was jealous.

"Are you never going to let me forget that?" Cat responded. "I 
make one little mistake and..."

"From what I've heard, he wasn't the first and I seriously 
doubt he would have been the last," Clark responded.

"That doesn't change how I felt... still feel about you," Cat 
purred, her hands coming up to run down his chest. Clark 
stopped her exploration, holding her hands away from his body.

"Maybe not," Clark conceded. "But I can't live like that, Cat. 
I never could. Besides, we were young. We were never right for 
each other. Living together was a mistake."

"How can you say that?" Cat demanded. Then her voice went back 
to seductive. "Don't you remember what it was like between us? 
God, Clark, you can't have forgotten how we couldn't keep our 
hands off each other. Don't you remember the time we were at 
the symphony and we..."

"Let it go, Cat," Clark interrupted, his voice resigned.

"It's because of her, isn't it?" Cat responded, gesturing 
towards where Jessica was standing. Jessica concentrated on the 
painting in front of her.

"Cat," Clark warned.

"God, Clark. I thought you had better taste than that."

Clark's temper snapped. "Jessica has more class in her little 
finger than..." His voice trailed off. He really didn't want 
Cat to know how he felt about Jessica. "Besides, we're just 
partners," he concluded weakly.

"Yeah, right," snorted Cat. "But, after what we had..."

"We didn't have anything, Cat. And I really don't want to take 
this little trip down memory lane with you."

"Then why did you come here tonight?" demanded Cat. "The last 
time we spoke you said you'd never be back. Yet here you are. 
It's not as if you didn't know I'd be here this evening. You 
must have come here for something. Was it just to rub her in my 
face?"

"Michael's sick. Perry told me to cover the exhibit opening. 
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get back to work," Clark 
concluded, turning and walking away.

"Are you okay?" asked Jessica softly when Clark arrived back.

"Let's get out of here," Clark responded briskly. Then, without 
waiting for a reply, he headed for the door.

Jessica looked at the fuming Cat before turning and following 
Clark who was walking out of the museum without his coat. By 
the time Jessica had collected their coats and walked out of 
the museum, he had disappeared. She stopped outside and looked 
around. She spotted him sitting on a park bench near the 
fountain that graced the front of the Metropolis Museum. She 
approached quietly, taking a seat beside him and handing him 
his jacket.

"Thanks," he said softly, continuing to stare at the cascading 
water while his hands played nervously with his jacket.

Jessica shifted slightly so that her arm was resting on the 
back of the bench, before slowly running her fingers through 
his hair. Part of her wondered about the wisdom of this, but a 
larger part desperately needed to find some way to ease his 
pain.

"I suppose you want to know what that was all about," he said 
after a long moment.

"Only if you want to tell me," she responded. She figured she 
already knew most of it, but she still hoped he'd tell her. She 
knew he needed to talk about it. However, pressuring him to do 
so before he was ready would probably be counter- productive. 
Besides, there was a part of her that really didn't want to 
know.

He let out a shaky breath, not saying anything for a time. When 
he finally did speak, his voice was soft.

"Her name's Catherine Grant. She's a designer with the museum. 
We met just after I moved to Metropolis. I was young and a 
little naive. She was exciting. I'd never known anyone like 
her." His voice trailed off for a moment. "Well, one thing led 
to another and after dating for less than a month, we moved in 
together." He gave a humorless laugh. "Everyone except me 
seemed to know I was in over my head. Even Perry knew I was 
heading for disaster. He took me aside and gave me some inane 
speech about Elvis and the wrong woman. I really don't remember 
it. My parents met her once, and they were less than thrilled 
about our relationship. But I was so convinced that everyone 
was wrong about her. I even had a huge fight with my parents 
over the issue."

They sat in silence for a long time before Clark could bring 
himself to continue, but her hand gently making its way through 
his hair had a calming effect. He closed his eyes and drew 
strength from her pacifying touch before continuing. "I thought 
I was in love. I was even enough of a fool to think she loved 
me. Then one day I came home from work and..." He swallowed 
hard, fighting against the pain that even now accompanied a 
retelling of the story.

"It's okay, Clark," came Jessica's tender voice as she leaned 
over and touched her forehead to the side of his face.

"She was with another man," Clark finally said. "She told me 
not to make such a big deal out of it. She claimed it had never 
happened before and..." He snorted. "I almost believed her. I 
wanted so much for it to be true. I moved out briefly, but 
couldn't seem to stay away. Well, one day Perry and I were at 
Casey's. After a few drinks, I broke down and told him the 
whole story and that I was thinking of moving back in with her 
on a full time basis. That's when he pulled out all the stops. 
He conducted his own little investigation.

"I was furious. He practically had to tie me down to get me to 
listen to what he'd found. Fortunately, he finally forced me to 
listen - under the threat of firing me. It seems Cat was... 
indiscrete more than once. In fact, he had evidence that she'd 
been with several men during the few months we had been living 
together."

He paused for a moment. He'd come this far. He might as well 
finish. "She was the first woman I'd ever... been intimate 
with. I guess..." He snorted. "Maybe I was in love. Maybe I 
just confused love with lust. I really don't know anymore." He 
shook his head. "I went a little crazy after that." He glanced 
over at her, but looked away again before continuing. "There 
were a lot of women, Jess. A lot," he said with obvious shame 
in his voice. He was silent for a long moment. "I remember the 
day I suddenly realized what I was doing. I had gone out a few 
times with a reporter from the Star. Her name was Linda King. 
Well, we finally spent the night together. In the morning, I 
told her that I'd call her. Of course, I never did. About a 
week later, she showed up at the Planet."

* * * * * * * * *

"Oh, oh," said Ralph. "Trouble at five o'clock."

Clark glanced up to see Linda King heading at full steam across 
the newsroom - bearing straight for him. She was obviously 
steamed. He sucked in a breath. He really hated this type of 
confrontation. She'd slept with him of her own free will. If 
she chose to interpret it as a life commitment, that was her 
problem, not his.

"Linda," he said. "What brings you here?" he asked, hoping he 
was wrong about her reason for being here.

"You know exactly why I'm here," she spat.

"Actually, no."

"Tell me something, Clark. We went out several times before you 
broke up with me. Why is it that you waited until after we'd 
spent the night together before dumping me?" When Clark didn't 
respond, she continued. "I heard about your reputation, but I 
chose not to believe it. But they were right about you, weren't 
they? You were just using me, weren't you?"

Clark heard Ralph snort.

"Look, Linda," responded Clark. "I enjoyed the time we spent 
together. I thought you did too. But we were never meant to be 
long term. I thought you understood that. You've got to learn 
not to make such a big deal out of things."

Linda's hand landed hard across Clark's cheek before she turned 
and stormed out of the newsroom. Clark raised a hand to his 
cheek as he watched her go. He glanced around the newsroom and 
realized that their argument had been the focus of attention.

"What's everyone looking at?" he demanded. When everyone 
returned to what he or she had been doing before, Clark made 
his way back to his desk and sank down into his chair. It 
wasn't until that moment that it finally sunk in what he'd said 
just before she slapped him.

* * * * * * * * *

"You used the same words to her that Cat had used to you?" 
Jessica asked.

"Don't make such a big deal out of things. Yeah, I did," Clark 
responded. "That's when it hit me. I had become exactly what I 
had hated about Cat." He pulled off his glasses to rub the 
bridge of his nose before returning his glasses and continuing. 
"Those women... I used them, Jess. Just like Cat had used me."

His words were spoken with such remorse that Jessica felt a 
tear trickle slowly down her cheek.

"Anyway, I tried calling Linda back to apologize, but she 
refused to take my calls. After that... Well, I haven't... 
umm..."

"Made love?" Jessica asked.

Clark snorted. "I don't think you could call what I was doing 
making love. But, yeah... or no." Clark looked slightly 
confused, wondering if the answer was yes or no. "Well, I 
haven't been with a woman. I mean, I've dated. But only 
casually. I haven't let myself..." his voice trailed off.

"Afterwards, I ended up with something of a reputation. Once 
you have a reputation, it's a little hard to get anyone to see 
you as anything other than..."

"A lady killer?" Jessica asked, when he didn't continue.

"I guess that's as good a term as any. Actually, it's probably 
more charitable than I deserve. I have no idea why that 
reputation keeps following me around. Maybe no one wants to 
admit that she is the one woman who wasn't able to get me into 
bed or... Maybe it's because I don't give the Planet gossips 
enough that's real so they have to invent things. I just don't 
know. I mean, it's been years since..." He snorted. "I really 
have no right to complain. After what I did to those women, 
it's not as if I don't deserve it."

"So I'm guessing your reputation is not something you're too 
proud off," Jessica said, having some problems believing that 
any man wouldn't want to be known as a 'lady killer'.

"Proud?" gasped Clark. "Jess, how could I possibly be proud of 
a reputation that claims I treat women like... playthings?"

Jessica almost smiled. She should have known that Clark would 
feel that way. It was one of the things she liked most about 
Clark - how he saw the world. Unlike most men, who would have 
been tempted to brag about their 'conquests', Clark saw them as 
a matter of shame.

"I really don't understand why women still want to go out with 
me," Clark continued when she didn't respond. "Given my 
reputation. Maybe they see it as a challenge or something. You 
know, tame the beast." He was silent for a moment before 
turning to look at her fully. "Besides, I have a feeling that 
I'm really paying for my reputation now," he said significantly 
keeping his eyes locked with hers.

Jessica looked down - her hand stilling in his hair. She 
understood what he was implying. He'd obviously come to the 
conclusion that she was unwilling to get involved with him 
because of his reputation. Nothing could be further from the 
truth. Oh sure, his reputation would have been an issue in the 
beginning, but she'd gotten to know the man behind the 
reputation - a good, kind, caring man. A man she had fallen 
in... She stopped her thought - as she'd been doing more and 
more lately - before finally facing the truth. She might not 
like it. She might not want it to be true, but the reality was 
that somewhere along the line - she couldn't say exactly when - 
she'd fallen in love with Clark Kent.

She quickly glanced at the man sitting beside her before again 
looking away. It really didn't matter how she felt. She 
couldn't give him what he wanted and she couldn't even tell him 
why, so what good had it done to admit her feelings - even if 
only to herself.

After a long moment of awkward silence, Clark sighed. She 
obviously had no intention of responding. Then he shrugged. 
"That's why I didn't want to come here tonight. Every time I 
see her it's the same thing."

"She wants to get back together," Jessica said.

Clark nodded. "It's not going to happen. I'd give almost 
anything to take back the few months we were together. Or how I 
responded to it. Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way." He 
glanced back towards the museum. "I guess we should go back in 
there. I do have a story to get, after all."

Jessica shook her head. "I'll go back. You just wait here. I 
shouldn't be long. Then we'll go back to your place and get the 
story written up."

"Jess, you don't have to..."

"Let me do this, Clark," Jessica said, rising to her feet. When 
he finally nodded she turned and left, leaving him alone with 
his tortured thoughts.

Clark didn't watch her go. He couldn't bear to. Telling her all 
that had probably been a mistake. He had certainly ruined 
whatever chance he had with her now. He'd confirmed his own 
reputation. She hadn't even been able to hold eye contact since 
his confession. She obviously found him as despicable as he 
found himself.

He'd always known if he wanted a relationship with Jessica, 
they'd have to talk about this eventually. He had, however, 
hoped to wait until he had proven his feelings for her. How 
could he expect her to believe that what he wanted from her... 
What did he want from her? He gave a wry smile. He wanted to 
fall asleep beside her every night and wake up to her face 
every morning. Now, thanks to Perry's insistence that he cover 
this story, Cat's full court press, and his inability to keep 
Jessica from accompanying him... He ran his hands through his 
hair in frustration.

* * * * * * * * *

It didn't take Jessica long to get the information they needed 
about the artist, Andre Pasco. Apparently, like many artists, 
he had a job to keep himself fed while he worked on his 
paintings. Like his father before him, he worked at Lex Labs as 
a security guard. The job suited him because working the night 
shift allowed him to avoid contact with most strangers and from 
what Jessica was able to find out, he was very introverted. 
Apparently, that was why he hadn't come to his own opening. The 
reclusiveness of the artist was as much a draw for Metropolis' 
social set as the paintings themselves.

She was just finishing up when she heard a voice behind her.

"Where's Clark?" came Cat's voice.

Jessica turned around slowly, running her eyes over the woman 
standing there. She had never known such intense dislike. This 
woman had had the most remarkable man in love with her and 
she'd thrown it away and hurt him in the process.

"What can I do for you, Ms. Grant?" said Jessica.

"I asked where Clark is," Cat repeated.

Jessica ignored the question. "Can I ask you something?" she 
asked instead.

"What?" asked Cat, looking around for Clark.

"Why do you want him back? I mean, if you're just going to do 
to him what you did the last time. Or are you trying to claim 
that you've changed?"

Cat suddenly took notice of the woman addressing her. She 
looked Jessica over, as if sizing her up and finding her 
wanting. "You've obviously never slept with him," she said. 
"Otherwise, you wouldn't be asking."

Jessica clenched her teeth, but otherwise didn't react.

"I might need variety," Cat continued. "But that doesn't mean I 
don't want to come home to a great lover afterwards." She then 
moved closer to Jessica and lowered her voice as if she was 
about to impart some great secret and said, "Just remember this 
when he's taking you to heights you never dreamed possible. I 
taught him everything he knows."

"I doubt that," Jessica responded as calmly as she could, even 
if Cat's words made her feel sick to her stomach.

Cat narrowed her eyes. "Take my advice. You can't handle Clark. 
Oh, he might tell you he loves you and that he's never felt 
this way about anyone. You might even be able to get him to 
marry you, but he'll never be faithful. I taught him well. 
He'll be out looking for the next conquest before the ink is 
even dry on your marriage license."

"Do you have any idea how pathetic you sound?" Jessica 
responded, fighting to control her temper. "You had someone 
like Clark and you threw him away. Admit it, he's gone," 
Jessica concluded before turning around and beginning to walk 
away. However, before she'd gone far, she turned back around 
and returned. "And you're wrong," Jessica said. "You didn't 
teach him as much as you think. Clark is nothing like you." 
With those final words, she spun around and left the room as 
quickly as possible - before she seriously hurt Cat.

Once she had left the room, Jessica leaned up against the wall. 
She needed a moment to calm down before going back to Clark.

Clark. She closed her eyes. He believed that his reputation was 
the reason she was unwilling to get involved with him. He was 
so wrong. During the past few weeks, she'd been given a glimpse 
of his heart. And she loved it. She loved the way he cared 
about the truth. She loved the way he cared about people. She 
loved the way he cared about her. The problem wasn't his past. 
It was hers.

There was another problem. It was daily getting more difficult 
to hide her true feelings from Clark. She'd fallen in love with 
him. That fact would probably condemn them both.

Suddenly there was nothing at all amusing about Clark's 
attraction to her. Up until tonight, although she'd been 
falling for him, she'd never really worried much about how 
falling for her might effect him. He was a rogue. If she did 
manage to break his heart, she always suspected he'd just be 
out on the prowl the next day - hardly remembering her name. 
But that wasn't true.

There was only one way this could turn out - by her breaking 
his heart. She had to find a way to keep that from happening. 
But how?

Realizing she wasn't going to come up with any answers tonight 
- if there were answers - she grabbed some brochures about the 
exhibit and headed towards the door of the museum. She spotted 
a confectionary at the entrance - she desperately needed some 
chocolate - and made a quick trip inside before exiting the 
building.

"Hey, handsome," she said in a falsely cheerful voice as she 
approached Clark. When he turned, she smiled.

Clark smiled in response as he searched her eyes, but Jessica 
could tell immediately that his smile was as forced as the 
cheer in her voice and she guessed that he too sensed the 
pretence. She sat down on the bench beside him and handed him 
the pamphlets. She then handed him one of the two Double Fudge 
Crunch Bars she'd purchased. When he shook his head, she stuck 
his in her purse and unwrapped hers.

"So what did you find out?" he asked, dragging his mind away 
from his own self pity to focus on the story.

While eating her chocolate bar, Jessica proceeded to fill him 
in on what she had learned - saying nothing, of course, about 
her run in with Cat. The entire time, Clark fiddled with the 
pamphlets.

"Ouch!" Clark suddenly exclaimed, jumping slightly.

"What?" asked Jessica.

Clark growled, looking at the small cut on his finger. 
"Nothing," he said, "Just a paper cut." With that he stuck the 
finger in his mouth.

"Why do people do that?" Jessica asked.

"What?" asked Clark.

"Stick their finger in their mouth when they get a paper cut. I 
mean, if you think about it isn't that worse than doing 
nothing. After all, with the amount of germs the mouth 
produces, wouldn't you think that a person is only exposing the 
cut to germs by putting it in their mouth. I read somewhere 
that... What?" The last question was asked in response to the 
genuinely amused look that had appeared on Clark's face.

"I love it when you ramble," Clark whispered.

"I don't ramble," objected Jessica. "I just find it interesting 
that..." Her voice trailed off when Clark's hand came up to her 
face. She was completely powerless to stop him as his finger 
trailed slowly over her cheek. Her eyes came up and met his. 
She was instantly as lost in his eyes as he appeared to be in 
hers.

Clark pulled in a sharp breath at the look in her eyes. It was 
the look he had been searching for when she'd first come out of 
the museum. He didn't know where the courage had come from to 
touch her cheek. In fact, he wasn't sure it had been a 
conscious decision. Deciding to kiss her, on the other hand, 
was a conscious choice. The look in her eyes told him that she 
wanted to be kissed as much as he wanted to kiss her. He leaned 
in slowly - giving her the chance to pull away. He heard her 
breathing become shallow and rapid. He could feel the warmth of 
her breath against his lips.

Jessica's mind began screaming at her when he began to move 
closer. He was going to kiss her. She couldn't let it happen. 
She couldn't give him hope when she knew there was no hope. And 
how would he react when they finally caught up with her again 
and he found out that she'd been lying to him? How would he 
feel if she let him kiss her without telling him about herself?

Kissing him would be unforgivable. It would be as unforgivable 
as what Cat had done to him. But how could she pull away? He 
thought that she was reluctant to get involved with him because 
of his past - a past that he obviously felt incredible guilt 
for. Maybe a kiss would convince him that his past was not the 
problem.

She knew she was justifying her actions, but she couldn't seem 
to stop herself. Just one kiss. Just one soft touch of lips to 
lips. One small feeling of connection with another person. She 
hadn't been kissed in years - and never as a woman kissed by a 
man who at least cares about her. Surely she could have just 
this one moment.

No! No matter how much she wanted this, she couldn't let it 
happen. She had to stop this now.

Suddenly, she felt the soft brush of his lips against hers and 
every other thought was wiped from her mind. She gave one small 
moan of protest before her hand slipped into his hair. A tremor 
rippled through her body. A tremor that told her that she was a 
woman, responding to a man. That knowledge was as sweet as it 
was painful. She moved first to deepen the kiss - opening her 
mouth slightly in silent invitation.

Clark had never known such a sensation of pure bliss. He'd 
wanted to kiss Jessica from the moment he first saw her. Now he 
was doing it. When she opened her mouth to him, it was almost 
reluctantly that his tongue slipped in. He wanted to savor this 
moment - the moment of his first taste of her. And as he did, 
he instantly knew he was hooked. She tasted better than every 
fantasy he'd had of this moment. A groan escaped from the back 
of his throat. Her taste satisfied some need deep inside him - 
only to create new ones.

Suddenly, Jessica pulled back.

"Jess?" asked Clark, struggling to recover from the sudden 
cessation of the kiss.

"Please don't," she whispered, refusing to meet his eyes. Then 
when Clark acted as if he was going to ignore her, moving back 
in, she placed a hand on his chest. "I'm begging you," she 
whispered.

Clark stopped - his heart in his throat. He had thought the 
kiss was mutual - that it signaled a change in their 
relationship. A change he most definitely welcomed.

"Why?" It was only a single word, but in it Jessica could hear 
his confusion, his pain at her rejection.

"God, Clark, please don't ask me," she said, before rising from 
the bench and heading for the jeep.

Clark sat in stunned silence for a moment. He had no idea what 
had just happened. The kiss had been mutual - hadn't it? He 
hadn't misread the look of longing in her eyes - or had he? She 
had responded to his kiss - hadn't she? He glanced over at 
Jessica. She was standing by the passenger's door of the jeep, 
waiting to get in. He rose to his feet and, with a heavy heart, 
made his way to the vehicle.

* * * * * * * * *

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Jessica mentally kicked herself for what felt like the 
hundredth time during the past hour since Clark had dropped her 
off. They had gone back to his place to write up the story 
after their disastrous kiss. Then he had driven her home. 
Neither had said anything about the kiss since, but the tension 
that had existed between them told her very clearly just how 
stupid a mistake it had been. She had actually wanted to walk 
home and had suggested the same to Clark. But then he had 
looked so hurt - as if fearing that she didn't want the ride 
because she was afraid he'd try to make a move on her again - 
that she'd changed her mind.

How could she have let it happen? She brushed a tear off her 
cheek. She finally had a friend and she'd blown it by letting 
him kiss her. She snorted. Who did she think she was kidding? 
She hadn't only let him kiss her, she'd kissed him back.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

* * * * * * * * *

"...so on the last Friday of the month, a bunch of us often go 
to Casey's after work for a beer and a bite to eat," Jimmy was 
explaining to Jessica the next day. "I was wondering if you'd 
like to come."

"I don't know, Jimmy," Jessica replied, glancing at Clark. 
Other than work, they hadn't spoken to each other all day. She 
suspected he would be going to Casey's. Maybe it was better if 
she gave him a little room.

Jessica wasn't certain if giving Clark room was her real reason 
for not wanting to go to Casey's. She wondered if in reality 
she was the one who needed room. The kiss between her and Clark 
had made her feelings for Clark much too real. It had also 
brought up a lot of emotions she thought she'd come to terms 
with years ago. Given how close to the surface her own feelings 
were, she didn't have any idea how to respond to Clark without 
plunging both of them further into the abyss. No. It was better 
if she avoided Clark until her own emotions were under control.

"He's not coming," said Jimmy when he saw where she was 
looking.

"Who?" asked Jessica.

"Umm..." Jimmy said. He thought her hesitation had something to 
do with Clark. The tension between them today had been almost 
palpable.

"Maybe I will come," said Jessica. After all, the alternative 
was to go home and obsess about how badly she'd messed up with 
Clark and if he wasn't going to be there...

"Great!" exclaimed Jimmy. "Ten minutes. A bunch of us are 
taking the Daily Planet van."

"I'll be there," Jessica promised. She turned her attention to 
putting the finishing touches on her story. She was looking 
forward to tonight. Maybe a little fun would help her get her 
perspective back.

* * * * * * * * *

Jessica was surprised when Perry showed up at Casey's. He 
informed her that he came on occasion just to see what the 
younger set was up to these days, but Jessica suspected that he 
considered his reporters family.

She ate some chili and sipped a glass of wine. It wasn't her 
ideal supper, but the menu here was more that of a bar than a 
restaurant. The place was loud and noisy - just the type of 
thing Jessica needed to forget about Clark. It wasn't long 
before Jessica felt the tension begin to seep out of her 
shoulders and she began enjoying herself.

The people from the Planet were sitting at three tables. They 
would change positions periodically as people made use of the 
dance floor or pool table or decided to talk to someone new. 
Jessica felt as if she was finally getting to know her 
colleagues. Coming here tonight had been a good idea.

"Do you want to dance?"

Jessica turned to see Ralph standing there. Well, standing was 
a bit of an overstatement. He was already slightly inebriated. 
Ralph was a poor imitation of a playboy - leech might have been 
a better term. He obviously wanted to be as irresistible to 
women as Clark was - but, unlike Clark, he couldn't quite pull 
it off. He'd hit on her a number of times since she'd started 
working at the Planet. Yet, no matter how many times she said 
no, he didn't seem to get the message.

"I don't think so, Ralph," Jessica responded in exasperation.

Ralph shrugged before staggering off in search of easier 
pickings.

"You look like you've been rode hard and put away wet, honey," 
said Perry as he moved into a seat beside her.

Jessica laughed, looking over at Perry. "That's quite an image, 
Perry," she responded. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you 
were suggesting I need a shower."

"You wouldn't be avoiding the issue, now would you?" Perry 
asked.

Jessica sighed. "It's nothing. Just been a hard day, that's 
all."

"So it doesn't have anything to do with what happened at the 
museum last night?"

A shocked look passed through Jessica's eyes. Had Clark told 
Perry?

"Was Ms. Grant there?" Perry asked.

"Right," gasped Jessica in relief. "You wanted me to keep an 
eye on Clark." She'd almost forgotten about Catherine Grant 
with everything that had happened afterwards.

"What did you think I was talking about?" Perry asked.

"Nothing," Jessica responded too quickly.

Perry eyed her for a moment. There was something else going on 
here and he suspected he knew what it was. "You know, Clark's 
like a son to me," Perry informed her.

Jessica looked down. Clark was really not who she wanted to 
talk about - or think about for that matter - right now.

"I've always believed that with the right woman by his side, 
that boy could work miracles," Perry continued. When she still 
didn't respond, he continued. "I think he could be good for you 
too," he concluded.

"You've got the wrong woman, Perry," Jessica responded. 
"Besides, what makes you think..."

"You think I haven't noticed the way he looks at you? I'm not 
so old that I've forgotten the look."

Jessica glanced over at him. "I take it you've been in love 
then," she said, hoping to distract him. It worked. Perry got a 
far off look in his eyes.

"Her name was Alice," he said. "She was my wife. I loved her 
like I've never loved anyone before or since."

"What happened to her?" Jessica asked.

"She died in childbirth. So did our son."

"I'm so sorry."

Perry glanced at her. "Well, it was a long time ago," he said 
gruffly, before both fell silent - lost in their own thoughts.

Jessica was brought back to their surroundings by an increase 
in noise a couple of tables away. She glanced over and saw 
three young women at a table - probably no more than the 
twenty-one years that would be required to get admission to 
this place. They were giggling and whispering between glances 
at the door. Jessica turned to see what had caught their 
attention. She pulled in a sharp breath. Clark had just entered 
the establishment. But Jimmy said he wasn't going to be here. 
Part of her wanted to curl up under the table - and yet her 
heart leapt at the sight.

She quickly turned her attention to the dance floor to watch 
the couples dance.

"Hey, C.K.," said Jimmy, returning to the table Jessica and 
Perry were seated at.

"Hi, Jimmy," Clark responded.

"I didn't think you'd be here tonight."

"Changed my mind," said Clark. He'd gone home only to find that 
he was obsessing about Jessica. He'd thought to distract 
himself by coming here. Obviously not the smartest move. He 
pulled out a chair at the table.

"Hi, Perry," he said. "Jess."

"Clark," Jessica responded, a complete lack of inflection in 
her voice. It wasn't that she wanted to hurt Clark. It was that 
she didn't know how to respond - afraid that if she did let him 
see anything, he'd see too much. She couldn't let him know that 
his feelings were also hers. He had the right to find someone 
to love and be loved by and since that couldn't be her... It 
wouldn't be fair for her to do anything that might make him 
think there could be anything between them.

Clark noticed the lack of response from Jessica and felt the 
pain rip through his heart again. Surely he hadn't done 
anything so horrible. He'd kissed her - not raped her. If she 
wasn't interested, she at least owed it to him to let him prove 
that he could still be her friend. He wasn't sure if he was 
more hurt or angry.

Perry glanced between Jessica and Clark. Whatever was going on 
here was obviously serious. They could hardly look at each 
other. Still, there was a sadness coming from both of them. Was 
encouraging Jessica to go with Clark last night a mistake? He 
had known about Clark's relationship with Cat and had seen how 
it had changed the optimistic boy who'd first walked into his 
office into a hard man. He'd also watched as Jessica had pulled 
back layer after layer to find the man Perry had known was 
still hidden in there somewhere. Was it possible that Jessica 
was unable to see that man? What had happened last night that 
could have caused such problems between them?

Ralph rejoined the table as did a couple other reporters and 
soon the table seemed as if it were full of joyous people who 
didn't have a care in the world. Except if you looked closely. 
Two of the table's occupants were conspicuously quiet - except 
when directly spoken to.

"Excuse me," said one of the young women Jessica had observed 
when Clark entered the bar. She had come over to their table.

Everyone at the table quieted down and directed his or her 
attention to a very pretty young woman with long blond hair and 
a skin tight dress that barely covered enough of her to be 
decent.

"Yes," asked Ralph.

The woman ignored Ralph to address Clark. "Would you like to 
dance?" she asked.

* * * * * * * * * *

"What's happening with your efforts to get a woman close to 
Kent?" Luthor demanded of Nigel.

"So far we haven't had any luck. But we found out that Kent 
often goes to Casey's with the Planet staff. We've got a very 
pretty young woman there. If she can get Kent to take her home, 
I promise he'll find her very distracting."

"Why's that, Nigel?"

"She's HIV positive," Nigel responded.

Luthor smiled. That would certainly distract Kent. They could 
have her inform him of her condition the moment he started 
nosing around in something that didn't concern him.

"Very good, Nigel," Luthor said.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark looked up. She was asking him to dance. "Umm..." Clark 
glanced briefly at Jessica, before suddenly seeming to come to 
a decision. "I'd love to," he told the woman, rising to his 
feet and leading her to the dance floor.

"How does he do it?" asked Ralph in disbelief. "Look at that 
body. Ten bucks says he takes her home." He looked around. "No 
one prepared to take my bet?" he asked.

Suddenly, Jessica was furious. Clark was ashamed of his 
reputation. She knew why he'd accepted the woman's invitation. 
He was still hurting from her rejection last night. She had no 
idea what she was going to do about that, but she could make 
Ralph think twice before making that type of comment again.

"No," said Jessica. "But..." She took a moment to remove 
something from her purse. It was a twenty dollar bill. "...I 
will bet twenty dollars that Ralph goes home alone."

Perry immediately snorted. The remainder of the table was 
silent for a moment before, almost of one accord, bursting out 
laughing. All, except for Ralph, of course. He mumbled 
something which Jessica purposely ignored. Soon everyone had 
forgotten about both bets - no one prepared to take either one. 
They began talking and laughing about other things. It was only 
then that Jessica's eyes once again drifted to Clark.

Jessica watched as the woman slipped her hand into Clark's hair 
before pulling his head down so that she could place her lips 
next to his ear. She whispered something which caused Clark to 
frown for a moment, before smiling. He pulled his head back and 
nodded. The woman smiled in return and then slipped out of his 
arms, making her way back to her table. Jessica frowned 
slightly. What was going on?

Clark made his way back to the table. When he spotted Ralph, he 
spoke.

"What's happening on that story about the latest takeover by 
Lex Corp?" he asked.

Jessica noticed that Ralph seemed to shift in his chair at the 
question. He seemed uncomfortable.

"Come on, Clark," Ralph responded. "You know the rule. No 
business at Casey's."

"I just heard something about the buyout being coerced and 
wondered..."

"Look, I checked out that deal thoroughly. There was no 
coercion. The buyout was legit. The rumors are just that. 
Rumors."

Clark nodded.

"Coming?" asked a woman's voice behind Clark.

Clark quickly glanced at Jessica before grabbing his jacket. 
Pulling his wallet from his pants, he removed some money and 
tossed it on the table.

"That should pay for the drink," he said, gesturing to the 
drink he'd ordered but not yet touched. Without looking at 
Jessica again, he turned, allowed the young woman to take his 
arm and headed out of Casey's.

Jessica bit her lower lip as she stared intently at her glass 
of wine. She wasn't going to cry. She wasn't! A voice in the 
back of her head told her she should be angry. How could he be 
leaving with another woman after the kiss they'd shared last 
night? And anger had always been her primary defense mechanism 
against pain. But for some reason tonight she didn't have the 
energy to be angry. All she could feel was an incredible hole 
in her heart.

Besides, Clark could do whatever he wanted. If he wanted to... 
She forced her mind away from what he obviously wanted to do.

She knew why he was doing this. He was reacting to her 
rejection the same way he had reacted to Cat's betrayal. She'd 
hurt him. She hadn't meant to, of course, but did that really 
matter?

She was vaguely aware of the men at the table discussing 
Clark's virility. Ignoring them, she turned slightly so that 
she could look at the door Clark had exited through.

She'd come to terms with all of this years ago, but meeting 
Clark brought it all up again. She should have handled their 
obvious attraction for each other differently - before it got 
out of control. He was clearly in as much pain as she was. Yet 
he had no idea why she was rejecting him. If only she had 
another chance, she'd find a way to make him understand.

Jessica jumped when the door she was staring at suddenly 
opened. With a gasp of disbelief, she watched the woman who'd 
left with Clark reenter the bar - looking decidedly angry. 
Jessica vaguely heard Ralph make some comment when he spotted 
the woman. Jessica ignored him.

"Excuse me," she said instead. She rose to her feet and headed 
towards the door, unnoticed by everyone except Perry. She just 
wished she'd handled things differently. She wasn't about to 
waste this unexpected chance.

* * * * * * * * *

"Anything yet on Ms. Miller," asked Luthor.

"I'm expecting some results from our latest search tonight. 
I'll let you know if it gives us a clue as to her identity."

"What's taking so long with that?"

"We've had to move slowly in order to avoid having anyone 
figure out what we're looking for," Nigel informed him.

Luthor nodded. He might want Kent and Miller neutralized, but 
there was no hurry. Of course, that could change with their 
next assignment - depending on what that was. What he didn't 
want was someone finding out that they were gathering 
information on Ms. Miller. After all, if she was running from 
something, exposing her would not help control her. In fact, if 
she could be compromised and they couldn't get a woman in place 
to control Kent, she might be the one to keep him in his place. 
She was his partner, after all.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark leaned against the jeep and closed his eyes when he heard 
the door to the restaurant slam. He was unable to believe how 
close he'd almost come to taking that woman home. He didn't 
want that type of life - the casual, uncaring sex. He didn't 
want to live with the guilt and shame of that type of 
existence. He never again wanted to live with the fear that 
he'd contracted AIDS or some other sexually transmitted 
decease. And never again did he want to hurt anyone the way 
he'd been hurt.

Yet, when that beautiful, young woman - he didn't even know her 
name - had suggested going back to her place, he'd accepted. 
After telling Jessica last night how bad he felt about all the 
women he'd used, he'd almost used another one - used her as an 
analgesic to dull the pain in his heart.

It was only while opening the passenger's door of his jeep that 
he'd realized he couldn't go through with it. She had been 
furious. He shuddere