A MATTER OF DESTINY PART TWO
By ML Thompson <thomplaw@tbaytel.net>
Rating: PG-13
Submitted: July 2001


This is the second part of 'A Matter of Destiny.' You need to read part one 
first or this part of the story won't make any sense.

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 TWO
By: ML Thompson
* * * * * * * * *

Lois sat staring absently into the mirror. She had no idea how long she'd been 
here. Days had no real meaning. They were a never ending succession that ran 
together, one after another, in an uninterrupted stream. She didn't eat. She 
hadn't slept. But she did find that if she stared at her reflection long enough, 
the image blurred and she was staring into empty holes where her eyes had 
previously been. 

She knew she should be searching for a new identity - for a child who would have 
been approximately her age had it survived infancy. She should be ordering a 
birth certificate for that child, which Lois could then use to start a new life 
by taking that child's identity. But so far, she'd made no efforts in that 
regard.

The reason she'd done nothing was simple enough. The agony in her heart was 
almost unendurable. She kept waiting for the pain to abate, but it seemed only 
to grow worse with each passing day. She felt as if she were falling into a 
dark, bottomless pit. She kept waiting to hit bottom, but even that seemed 
unattainable. Every day, the darkness only crowded closer - black, all consuming 
darkness.

It was her own fault, of course. She'd broken all her own rules. She had allowed 
herself to hope, to dream. She had let someone get close to her. She had even 
allowed herself to fall in love. The emptiness that consumed her now was her 
just penance.

Her hand came up and absently ran over her lips as she got lost in memories of 
Clark kissing her. That had been a defining moment in her life. For the first 
time in years, her heart had reached out to another human being. She snorted. 
If, of course, she was a human being. 

Creature. That was how Trask had referred to her. The man who had tried to rape 
her had used a different term. He'd called her a freak. Although she 
intellectually rejected both terms, they seeped into her subconscious - slowly, 
but steadily, eroding the way she thought about herself. Until that kiss. Her 
chin trembled and a tear slowly found a path over her cheek, but Lois didn't 
even notice. Kissing Clark had let her almost believe that she was a woman. A 
human woman. 

The only times she had truly felt human were when she was with Clark. When 
they'd danced, she'd felt like a woman. When he'd kissed her, she'd responded to 
him as a woman. When she was with him she could almost let herself believe that 
she was a part of the human race. Since she'd left home, she'd been drowning in 
a sea of isolation and loneliness. She'd never let anyone get too close. She 
knew people saw her as cold. But it wasn't that she didn't want to be close to 
people. It was an act of self-preservation - guarding against the inevitable 
pain that would come when she once again had to sever all ties and start over.

Always living in fear, always staying in shadows had eaten away at Lois over the 
years. Until Borneo she had stayed out of the spotlight, staying among the lost 
people of the world, in dread of what would happen if she were found. She had 
always hated starting over. She hated trying to make a new life for herself 
without being able to refer to anything she'd done in the past. That always made 
getting a job tough. This time it was going to be worse. This time she had a job 
she loved. And she couldn't risk another job in the newspaper business. It would 
be too easy to track her if she did that.

She'd known it was only a matter of time before they caught up to her again. 
They always did. Sometimes it was because someone noticed something unusual 
about her - like the time she'd been staying at a hostel and had been caught 
floating in her sleep. Other times, she had no idea how they'd managed to track 
her down. And she'd disappear only to find a new identity and start a new life.

Kissing Clark had been a mistake - a dangerous mistake. She had always known she 
couldn't have him. Yet still she'd kissed him. She was now paying for that 
single moment of weakness. Until she'd understood what most people took for 
granted in life, she hadn't realized just how much she was missing. Now that she 
knew, she didn't think she could go on. She didn't think she had one more fresh 
start left in her. What was the point of living without friendship, without 
love, without even the hope of finding either?

She was used to losing things - jobs, acquaintances, possessions. She could 
leave behind most things without much more than a momentary feeling of regret. 
But this time was different. This time she'd lost her dream job and, even more 
importantly, she'd lost Clark - whom she instinctively knew was the only great 
love she'd have in life. She'd had everything only to lose it all. A thorn had 
embedded itself deep in her heart only to fester more with each passing day. The 
infection it caused continued to spread, quickly poisoning her will to live.

Over the years, Lois had learned to live without hope, without any dreams for 
the future. This time was different. This time she'd finally and disastrously 
allowed herself to aspire for something more. She'd never let herself forget 
that a life with Clark was impossible, but she'd allowed herself to think she 
might be allowed some happiness. Maybe she could have a job she loved and even a 
friend or two. That had been the biggest mistake. To hope only to have it 
snatched away was agonizing torture. The anguish was unbearable.

This wasn't living. She hadn't had much of a life since her father had published 
that article. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was knowing that 
she never would.

The darkness began to push in again - smothering her - and she continued to 
fall, crying out in vain against the black, hopelessness that condemned her more 
with each passing moment. It was as if she was being consumed in quicksand. The 
harder she struggled to regain the surface, the quicker she sunk.

Suddenly, the answer was clear. She blinked and could once again see her image. 
There was only one possible solution. Her Kryptonian parents had obviously made 
a mistake in sending her to Earth. She should have died with the rest of her 
race. Well, that was one mistake she could correct. Her Earth father kept the 
kryptonite here. It was in a lead lined box, of course, and although she didn't 
know exactly where it was, it had to be here somewhere. She had never needed it 
as much as she did at this moment.

* * * * * * * * *

Perry glanced out the window of his office into the newsroom and frowned. Clark 
was sitting at his desk, staring intently at his computer screen. There was 
nothing unusual about that except that toasters were flying across the screen.

Perry's hand went to the door of his office. His first instinct was to yell out 
the office door in an effort to bring Clark back to reality. Then he stopped. 
Clark had been getting distracted more and more often during the past couple of 
weeks - ever since he'd come into work to find out that Jessica had handed in 
her resignation. Perry thought back to that moment.

* * * * * * * * *

"Kent! My office now!" Perry yelled into the newsroom when Clark stepped off the 
elevator.

A scruffy looking Clark Kent made his way to Perry's office. Perry blinked a 
couple of times. Clark always took great care to look presentable. Yet today, 
he'd obviously not bothered to shave. Although his suit was one Perry had seen 
on him many times in the past, as were the shirt and tie, there was something 
about the way Clark was wearing them today that made him seem untidy. There were 
dark lines under Clark's eyes, indicating a definite lack of sleep and the eyes 
themselves had lost their twinkle. There was only one explanation that Perry 
could think of for this change in Clark.

"I take it you know something about this," Perry said, holding up an open 
envelope.

Clark glanced at the envelope and shook his head. "What is it, Chief?" he asked.

"Jessica's resignation," Perry said.

"What?" gasped Clark. 

Then, in a very un-Clark like gesture, Clark tore the envelope out of Perry's 
hands. A second later, Clark's eyes were tearing over the contents of the 
letter. Perry watched all the color drain from Clark's face as he read. When 
he'd finished, he looked at Perry.

"When?" Clark asked. 

"It was on my desk when I came in this morning," Perry replied. "Do you really 
mean you don't know anything about this?"

"No. I..." Clark said, before his voice trailed off. 

"Judging by your appearance, I'd say you know a lot more than you're telling 
me."

Clark looked at his boss. "Well, we did have a long talk last night. It didn't 
go as well as it could have, but... I mean, I never thought... Oh, God," Clark 
finally gasped as the full implications of Lois' resignation set in. She'd 
changed names, jobs and even whole identities before. Still, he hadn't expected 
this. He stumbled back slightly. Quickly glancing for something to steady 
himself, he saw a chair and collapsed into it.

Perry let out a breath. He'd figured out some time ago that Clark had fallen in 
love. Until this moment, he'd thought the emotion was mutual. He took a seat on 
the corner of his desk.

"She's probably at her apartment, son. Why don't you go see if she'll 
reconsider?" Perry asked.

Clark looked at Perry. He knew there wasn't much chance that she was still in 
Metropolis. If he knew Jessica, she wouldn't have handed in her resignation 
until she was ready to leave. And from what he'd learned last night, by now she 
was probably in another part of the world, living under another name. Still... 
He nodded and rose to his feet before heading for the door.

* * * * * * * * *

Later that day, Clark returned to the Planet looking even more defeated than he 
had before - if that were possible. He told Perry that Jessica had already left. 
Perry was stunned. How had she managed to get out of Metropolis so quickly? 
After all, from Clark's earlier comments, it seemed he and Jessica had only had 
their fight last night. Besides, only the day before Jessica had been all fired 
up about investigating the accident at Lex Labs. 

That had reminded Perry. He asked Clark if they had found anything that 
justified continuing the investigation into the accident. Clark told him that 
they hadn't. When Perry closed down the investigation as a result, Clark simply 
nodded. That scared Perry. Clark hadn't even tried to put up a fight. Jessica 
might be a lot louder when she wanted something, but Clark seldom gave up when 
he believed he was on to a story.

He looked out into the newsroom again. Clark was once again typing. He let out a 
sigh of relief. Maybe time would work its magic. The loss of Jessica Miller left 
a hole in the newsroom and not only by her absence. He hoped Clark would snap 
out of it soon.

He turned when he heard his computer beep. He walked over to the computer and 
saw that Clark had finally sent his story. A movement in the corner of his eye 
caught his attention. He looked up to see Clark grab his jacket and head out of 
the newsroom. Perry briefly considered stopping him. After all, a reporter's 
story wasn't finished until Perry signed off on it. Then he decided to let Clark 
go. Maybe Clark would snap out of it after a good night's sleep. He doubted it, 
but he could always hope.

* * * * * * * * *

Luthor was pouring himself a glass of champagne when Nigel entered his office.

"Are we celebrating, sir?" asked Nigel.

Luthor smiled and proceeded to pour a second glass.

"Yes, Nigel. We are," said Luthor, handing Nigel a glass. "When Ms. Lane 
disappeared, I was afraid I'd pushed too hard. But since then, Kent has backed 
off the story."

"How do you know that, sir?" asked Nigel.

"I just got a call from Mayson Drake. She went down to the Planet today and 
talked to Kent. He gave her the file back."

"Why do you think Mr. Kent backed off?"

"I don't know, Nigel. At first I thought he was heartbroken about Ms. Lane's 
departure, but Mayson told me that Lane was the one who set her and Kent up in 
the first place. No. It seems he just decided to kill the story - or should I 
say kill the gabbles. It was nonsense after all," Luthor said, amusing himself 
with a word play using Stanley Gables' name.

"Very droll, sir," responded Nigel, although he didn't find it particularly 
amusing. But then he often didn't appreciate Luthor's sense of humor.

"Apparently, Mayson also made arrangements to go to a ball game with Kent 
tomorrow. So now it seems that we have a woman in place to keep an eye on Kent." 
Luthor took a sip of his champaign. "And," Luthor continued, raising his glass 
as if giving a toast, "as the coup d'etat, Sandra Wojick has set up an interview 
with Time Magazine. She assures me that this reporter can be trusted. Now the 
world will have my version of my past and Kent won't have anything else to look 
for."

* * * * * * * * *

Clark wandered into his apartment and threw his jacket in the general direction 
of the couch. He missed. He sighed, staring at the jacket for a moment. He knew 
he should go over and pick it up, but he really couldn't be bothered. Besides, 
in the time since Lois had left, he hadn't done much housekeeping. His apartment 
was quickly becoming something of a disaster zone. He just didn't have the 
energy to do anything about it. He shrugged. Did it really matter anyway?

He still couldn't believe that she hadn't even said goodbye. He would have 
backed off. He could live without their being involved romantically. He wasn't 
completely insensitive. Her leaving only proved one thing - just how little she 
cared about him. If she couldn't even be bothered saying good-bye, had they 
really had anything worthwhile in the first place? Still... he could hardly 
believe how much he missed his best friend.

Another thing he was having problems with was that he'd ever thought Jessica was 
his basherteh. She obviously wasn't if she could just walk out of his life 
without so much as a backward glance. He had been a fool to think that soulmates 
existed. He knew better now. There was no perfect woman out there waiting for 
him. He'd been taken in twice now; he wouldn't make that mistake again. Still... 
he could hardly believe how much he missed her face.

He'd gone to her place after finding out that she'd handed in her resignation, 
but she was already gone. The landlord had taken Clark to her apartment. There 
were still a lot of her things there. The landlord had been about to throw them 
out so Clark had packed them into his jeep and brought them here. He assured 
himself that he just thought throwing them out was a waste. He'd take them to 
the shelter - when he got a round to it.

He thought briefly about his meeting with Mayson today. She'd invited him to a 
baseball game. Clark really wasn't interested, but she'd seemed so hopeful that 
he'd finally agreed just to get her to quit talking. His solution to the 
immediate crisis, however, had left him dreading tomorrow night. He loved 
baseball. It was the idea of spending quality time with any woman but Lois that 
left him feeling cold. 

He pushed that thought out of his mind. Lois' leaving was probably for the best. 
He really didn't need a woman in his life with so much baggage. They would never 
be able to make love anyway and in spite of his comments to Lois when she'd told 
him, it did matter to him. Not that it would have prevented him from wanting her 
in his life. Still... Maybe she had done the right thing. After all, he would 
never be able to get involved with another woman if she were in his life - in 
any capacity.

He thought again about Mayson. She really wasn't so bad. Attractive, smart and 
crazy about him really wasn't such a bad combination, was it? And spending 
tomorrow evening with her had to be better than sitting at home thinking about 
Lois. Besides, he loved baseball. Maybe it was time for him to put Lois behind 
him and get on with his life.

Clark ran a hand across his face. He hadn't shaved since Lois had left. It was 
just another thing that he couldn't be bothered with. His beard was getting to 
the stage where it itched horribly. He briefly considered shaving but then 
decided not to be bothered. It would keep until later. He walked into his room, 
pulled his tie from around his neck and threw himself backwards onto his bed to 
stare absently at the ceiling. 

He didn't have as much as a picture of her. Not that he needed one. All he had 
to do was close his eyes to look into hers. Her face, her body, her voice, were 
ingrained into his psyche. He growled in frustration. He wasn't going to think 
about her anymore. She was gone. She didn't love him. There was nothing he could 
do about either of those very simple and very painful facts. He would push her 
out of his mind if it was the last thing he ever did.

He got up and wandered around his apartment until he finally found himself at 
the doorway to his spare room. He switched on the light, but didn't enter. This 
was the only room in his apartment that didn't look like a hurricane had swept 
through it. It was the room in which Clark had put Lois' things. His breathing 
became heavy as he struggled to force back the weight of his emotions. He 
steadied himself against the doorframe. He was in trouble and he knew it. He 
needed help to figure out what to do now.

He knew who he wanted to talk to. The problem was that after his big fight with 
his parents about Cat, he had consistently refused to discuss his love life with 
them. At first, it was because, although he knew they would love him no matter 
what, he also knew they didn't approve of his relationship with Cat. After that, 
he was very aware that they wouldn't have approved of his lifestyle. 

Then, once he gave up his playboy activities, there really hadn't been much to 
say. Besides, by then it was a subject which they had come to understand was off 
limits. As a result he had never mentioned Lois. Of course, until now there 
really hadn't been much to tell them - except perhaps that he'd fallen in love 
with a woman who wanted nothing to do with him. And that would just make him 
feel like a fool. But he was hurting terribly. He needed them now.

* * * * * * * * *

Martha was just putting supper on the table when the phone rang. She set down 
the water jug and made her way to the phone, wiping her hands on her apron as 
she went.

"Hello," she said, picking up the phone.

"Mom," came the strangled sound of a man's voice from the other end of the line.

"Clark," gasped Martha, the sound of his voice telling her that something was 
dreadfully wrong.

Jonathan emerged from the washroom where he had been getting cleaned up for 
dinner when he heard his wife say their only child's name. He hustled over to 
another phone and picked it up.

"Hi, son," he said into it.

"Dad," came a relieved sounding voice.

"What's wrong, son?" Jonathan responded, the tone of Clark's voice, even with 
just that single word told Jonathan the same thing that Martha had already 
picked up on.

Clark didn't respond immediately. Instead, Jonathan and Martha could hear his 
labored breathing. Since Martha was holding the cordless phone, she entered the 
kitchen, where Jonathan was sitting at the table, and took a seat next to him. 
She reached out to him and he responded by taking her hand.

"It's okay," said Martha. "Take your time."

Clark was silent for a moment more. "Do you think our past sins come back to 
haunt us?" he finally asked in a subdued voice.

"What's wrong?" Martha asked.

"I met someone," Clark whispered.

"That's great, son," replied Jonathan, struggling to try to understand why 
meeting someone was making Clark so clearly miserable.

"Are you talking about Jessica Miller?" asked Martha.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before Clark 
whispered, "How did you know?"

"I still read you articles every day, Clark. You really didn't think your old 
mom has forgotten how to read between the lines, did you?" Martha said with a 
smile. 

Jonathan looked at his wife with appreciation. Her intuition never ceased to 
amaze him.

"Do you think everyone knows?" asked Clark.

Martha smiled. "It's only obvious to someone who burped you, changed your 
diapers, brought you into the world," Martha responded, in an obvious effort to 
lighten the mood. It worked.

"Mom," Clark groaned, in a voice that sounded much more normal.

"I've noticed that she hasn't written anything for a couple of weeks," Martha 
continued. "What happened?"

"She's gone," Clark said simply. 

Martha and Jonathan waited for a moment for him to continue, but he didn't. 
Martha looked at her husband and was struck once again by the similarity between 
father and son. If Jonathan was amazed by her intuition, it was only because 
years of living with him had perfected it in her. She had to drag every detail 
out of him too.

"Do you mean that she left the Daily Planet or that she left you?" Martha 
inquired. Although she suspected she already knew the answer, she saw the 
question as a way to get Clark to elaborate.

"Both," Clark replied. "I don't..." His voice broke. "This just hurts so badly," 
he finally whispered.

"Do you love her, son?" asked Jonathan.

"Yes," came Clark's strangled reply.

"You know, Clark," she said, "sometimes people leave because they want to be 
alone. Other times they leave because they want to know if anyone will follow."

"But I don't know where she's gone," responded Clark. "How can I..."

"You don't have any idea?" asked Jonathan. "You know, Clark, when your mother 
and I were dating, she left me."

"I didn't leave you, Jonathan," Martha objected. "I just went to university for 
a year."

"You left me," Jonathan insisted. "I knew you were never coming back, and you 
wouldn't have either if I hadn't come to get you. You got involved with that Ivy 
league guy."

"You were being ridiculous then and you're being ridiculous now," Martha said. 
"Just because I wanted to see what else the world had to offer didn't mean I'd 
forgotten about you. I dated Spenser a few times. It wasn't serious. I was 
always coming back to you. Although, I must admit that when the year ended and 
you showed up in that old truck of yours, I was sort of swept off my feet." She 
smiled and for a moment was caught up in the past. "I can still remember seeing 
you standing there in that suit you'd dug out of somewhere. You looked so 
uncomfortable in it. And that look in your eyes..." Martha smiled.

Clark actually smiled. It was so good to hear his parents teasing each other.

"Anyway, Clark," said Jonathan, "if you really love her, go after her."

"But I don't know where she's gone," Clark said again.

"You're sure?" asked Martha. "You must know something," she prompted.

Clark thought about that for a moment. He probably knew more about Lois than 
anyone had since her parents. And there had to be some advantage to being an 
award winning investigative reporter. If anyone could find her... "Thanks," he 
said, with new confidence in his voice. "I've got to go."

"Keep us informed?" Martha asked.

"I will, Mom," Clark promised.

Martha squeezed Jonathan's hand. "We're looking forward to meeting her," Martha 
said, before everyone said their goodbyes and hung up. 

"Do you think he's going to be okay?" asked Jonathan.

"That depends," said Martha.

"On what?"

"Whether she left because she wanted to be alone or if she left to find out if 
Clark would follow. Given Clark's past, she probably does need to know that."

* * * * * * * * *

Perry got up from behind his desk and stretched. It was after midnight. The 
morning edition had been put to bed some time ago. The newsroom was quiet. Perry 
just wanted to finish up some paperwork before going home himself. He looked 
into the newsroom when he heard the 'ding' of the elevator. He saw Clark enter.

Perry started for the door of his office almost immediately - this might be a 
good time to have a serious talk with Clark - but then he hesitated. There was a 
determined look on Clark's face. The listlessness he'd seen in his reporter 
since Jessica left wasn't there. He walked back to his desk. He'd watch for a 
while to see what Clark was up to.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark went directly to his desk and switched on the light sitting atop it. He 
then turned on his computer. He removed his jacket as he waited for the computer 
to warm up. He had already looked through the things he'd removed from Lois' 
apartment and had gone to see her former landlord again. Now he was here - to 
see what Daily Planet resources could tell him.

He took a seat at his desk and thought about the problem. Where could Jessica... 
Umm, Lois, be? What did he know about her that might allow him to find her? 
Maybe she really did leave to get away from him. That would certainly be her 
choice. But at the very least, he wanted to say goodbye. She owed him that much.

Lois Lane. She said that her parents were Samuel and Ellen Lane. Her father was 
a doctor. Clark grabbed the phone book and looked up 'physicians.' There were 
two Dr. Lanes. But only one of them had the initial 'S'. From what Lois had told 
him, he doubted she would have gone to her parents. Still... He picked up the 
phone, punched in star sixty-nine - just in case Dr. Lane had call display - and 
then dialed the number. When an answering machine picked up, he hung up. What 
type of message could he leave, after all?

He thought for a moment before turning to the white pages in the phone book. 
There were a number of S. Lane's in the phone book, but only one doctor. Clark 
was surprised to see that the number there was different from the one in the 
yellow pages. It seemed the good doctor had provided his home phone number. 

He looked at the clock. It really was too late to call. Still, he found himself 
picking up the phone. Something inside told him that he'd waited too long to 
find her already. He couldn't waste anymore time. Still, he had to be careful. 
He punched in star sixty-nine before dialing the number and then listened as the 
phone rang.

"'Ello," came a man's sleepy voice over the phone.

"Dr. Lane," said Clark, "I'm sorry to wake you. It's just..." He hesitated. He 
couldn't just come out and tell Dr. Lane what was going on. After all, if Lois 
hadn't gone to her family - and Clark would be surprised if she had - Clark 
could be jeopardizing Lois' safety by telling her father anything. Suddenly, 
Clark had an inspiration. "Well, I'm looking for your daughter."

"Lucy lives in California," responded the doctor.

"I mean, Lois," Clark said.

There was a moment of silence before a now suspicious sounding voice asked, "Who 
did you say you were?"

"My name's Clark... umm, Miller," responded Clark. He figured that name would 
tell Lois who was looking for her if she contacted her father. At the same time, 
the name couldn't be tracked to him.

"Why are you looking for Lois?"

"Well... I knew Lois back in high school. Before my family moved us to 
Philadelphia. Anyway, I'm in town. I know it's been a long time, I just 
thought... Well, I sort of wondered... Could you tell me where I might find 
her?"

"I'm afraid I can't help you," said a sad voice. "I haven't heard from her in 
years."

"Oh," said Clark. "I'm sorry. If you do hear from her, could you tell her I 
called?"

"Sure," responded Sam Lane.

Clark stared at the phone for a long time. If Dr. Lane did know where Lois was, 
he wasn't likely to tell a stranger over the phone. However, he would likely 
tell Lois about this man who had called. If that happened, Lois would know he 
was trying to get in touch with her. There wasn't much more he could do on that 
front.

So what now? The article! The article Dr. Lane had written about Lois. Where was 
it published again? UFO... UFO... UFO what? UFO Today. Right. He could remember 
thinking how close it sounded to USA Today. He headed for the archives, hoping 
they had such an obscure publication.

Clark was amazed to find what he was looking for. He walked back to his desk 
already deeply engrossed in the article. It was well written, giving the 
information in scientific lingo as well as providing explanations that made the 
information understandable for the non-scientific reader. Normally, such an 
article would be discarded by Clark after the first couple of paragraphs as pure 
fiction. But knowing that it was true...

He devoured the article not only once, but twice. It gave details about Lois 
that she hadn't provided during their conversation. The second time through, a 
line caught his attention. 'In my lab I conducted a number of tests on...' His 
lab. Hadn't Lois said something about his lab. What was it now? A cabin, but 
where was it? It was somewhere isolated. Minnesota. He snorted. Minnesota was a 
pretty big piece of real estate to search. But she had said something else. 
Suddenly it came back to him. Northern Minnesota. North shore of Lake Superior. 
Near a little place called... What was the name? He racked his brain for a 
moment, but it wouldn't come back. Maybe if he looked at some maps and saw the 
name, he'd remember.

Clark quickly returned the magazine to the archives. He didn't want anyone to 
accidently come across it and wonder why he was looking at it. He then returned 
to his computer and called up maps on the internet. He found the little place 
she had mentioned. It was called Lutsen. At least, he thought that was it. He 
printed out a copy of the map - as well as a number of other road maps between 
Metropolis and Lutsen.

He stared at them for a moment. She had commented that she went there whenever 
she was found, in order to come up with a new identity. It was a long shot 
thinking she'd still be there - given the length of time it had been since she'd 
left Metropolis. After all, with her abilities, she could certainly come up with 
a new cover quickly. 

Still... It was the only shot he had. Besides, even if she wasn't there, maybe 
she'd left something behind that would tell him where she'd gone or how to find 
her. He spotted Perry. He made his way to his boss' office, knocked and entered.

"What is it, son?" asked Perry.

"I need some time off," Clark said.

Perry thought about Clark's request, trying to decide if time off was really 
what Clark needed. Then he noticed the maps Clark was still holding. 

"When you find her, tell her... Tell her she still has a job," Perry said. "Good 
reporters like her are hard to find."

Clark smiled. "I'll tell her."

"It's about time you got your butt in gear. Bring her back, Clark," Perry 
instructed.

"I'm sure as hell going to try," Clark responded. "And thanks, Chief," Clark 
said, before heading for the elevator. When it took too long coming, he headed 
for the stairs.

Perry nodded as he watched Clark leave. It was good to see Clark finally take 
some action. He only hoped this turned out the way Clark obviously wanted it to.

* * * * * * * * *

Dr. Sam Lane was unable to get back to sleep. That phone call had raised a lot 
of still unresolved issues inside him. He looked at the woman sleeping next to 
him with a feeling of contempt, even though he knew it wasn't her fault. 
Quietly, he pushed the covers back and crawled out of bed. He made his way to 
the door.

"Everything all right, hon?" came the woman's sleepy voice.

"Fine. Go back to sleep," Sam replied, before exiting the room, closing the door 
softly behind him.

Sam went to the kitchen and fixed himself a drink before walking to the window 
and staring absently out it. It had been about ten years now since he'd made 
that fateful decision to publish an article about his daughter. He'd done 
everything he could think of to atone for his sin. However, it hadn't been 
enough.

His daughter had disappeared. His wife, blaming him entirely, had divorced him - 
taking their youngest daughter with her. It amazed him how heart-broken Ellen 
had actually been after Lois' disappearance. He had always thought she resented 
Lois, but the woman had completely come apart when Lois had vanished. 

Since his wife had left, Sam had gone through an endless succession of 
mistresses. There seemed to be no end to the young women who were willing to 
share his bed in hopes of snagging a doctor. The one in there now was not much 
older than Lois would be. He smiled sadly. His arrogance in publishing that 
article had cost him, not only his eldest daughter, but also the only woman he'd 
ever truly loved.

He knew most people considered Ellen a difficult woman. And in many ways, they 
were right. But she was also the most passionate and exciting woman Sam had ever 
known. There was hardly a day that went by when Dr. Sam Lane didn't miss every 
member of his family.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark tapped his hands impatiently on the steering wheel. He'd been sitting here 
now for a couple of hours. The whole time, the police continued to claim it 
would only be a few more minutes before they had the road ahead cleared. 
Apparently a truck had overturned and they had had to close the road to get it 
moved out of the way. Clark would have found another route if he'd known how 
long it was going to take.

After leaving the Daily Planet, Clark had immediately headed out of Metropolis, 
not even going back to his place to get a change of clothes. He'd driven through 
the night and had been making good time until this. Now it was mid-afternoon the 
next day. He was tired and cranky and kept thinking that he had to hurry - that 
somehow time was running out. Yet here he was sitting waiting. 

* * * * * * * * *

Mayson ran up the steps to Clark's apartment. She was running behind. She knew 
he wouldn't want to miss the start of the ball game. After all, tickets to this 
game had been hard to come by. She pounded on the door and waited. After a 
moment, she knocked again. Still, no one came. She glanced around. His jeep 
wasn't parked out front. Where could he be?

* * * * * * * * *

The sun was setting by the time Clark pulled his jeep into a resort just outside 
Lutsen. He got out of the car and looked at the sunset through the trees. 
Suddenly, he flashed back to the day Lois had told him that she was falling in 
love with him. He could clearly remember looking out across Hobbs Bay as she 
cried in his arms - watching the sun set. The pain he'd felt for her then he 
understood now.

He swallowed hard as he thought about her carrying this burden alone for so many 
years. To feel everything he was feeling, but to know that she was incapable of 
physical intimacy, had to be devastating. It really was no wonder she was 
constantly sending him mixed messages. And it was no wonder she'd run away. 

Suddenly, a new pain invaded Clark's thoughts. She was in trouble now. He didn't 
know how he knew that, but he did. He could feel it in his heart. He quickly 
made his way into the lodge.

The log structure was beautifully done. There was of course the obligatory moose 
head on the wall, but the furniture around could only be described as antique, 
giving the occupant the feeling that he had just walked into the past. The fall 
day was nippy, but the chill of the night air was cut by the fire roaring in the 
fireplace.

Clark quickly removed his apartment key from his key ring before walking up to 
the counter. 

"Can I help you?" asked a casually dressed man, who slipped behind the counter 
as Clark approached.

"I'm looking for the cabin of a Dr. Sam Lane," Clark said. Being from a small 
town himself, he suspected that they were all much the same - that everyone knew 
everybody else's business. That meant if the Lane cabin was in this area, one of 
the locals would know where it was. All he had to do was find that person and 
then convince that person to tell him.

"Dr. Lane?" the man asked.

Clark nodded.

"Sean," the man behind the counter yelled, "ever heard of a cabin owned by Dr. 
Sam Lane?"

"Who wants to know?" the man, obviously Sean, asked, joining Clark by the 
counter.

Clark glanced over at the man. He was wearing a bush shirt and jeans. Clark 
suddenly realized just how much he looked like a tourist in his dress shirt and 
pants - although he figured he was quite a sight, having been on the road since 
midnight. 

"My name's Stanley Davidson," said Clark. "Since Sam is thinking of selling the 
cabin, he suggested I come up here and check it out." He figured calling Dr. 
Lane by his first name would make it seem as if they were friends. He reached 
into his pocket and removed his apartment key. He laid it on the counter. "I 
have the key, if you don't believe me."

"If he gave you the key, why is it that you don't know where the cabin is?" Sean 
asked.

"He wrote down the instructions, but I seem to have misplaced the piece of 
paper." When they still hesitated, Clark played his last card. "Look, it's 
obvious you guys don't believe me. If I could just use a phone, I'll give Sam a 
call myself. He can give me the directions."

"That's not necessary," said Sean, before proceeding to give Clark the 
information he needed.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark cautiously maneuvered his jeep up the overgrown dirt road. Given the 
condition of the road and the darkness of the night, Clark had to drive 
carefully. His slow movements contrasted sharply with the feeling deep inside 
that Lois was in trouble - that he needed to get there now. 

He put his foot on the gas to speed up and then abruptly hit the brake when he 
suddenly emerged around a corner to find that the road in front of him had 
disappeared. When Clark looked again, he realized that the road continued twenty 
feet away. Between the two portions of the road was a large hole where the road 
had obviously washed out. He took a moment to get his breathing under control. 

He switched the jeep into four wheel drive and cautiously moved himself into the 
hole. The vehicle kicked up large amounts of dirt, but a few moments later, he 
was emerging from the hole onto the road on the other side. He had never been so 
glad he had a jeep. 

He took the following unfamiliar turns cautiously. The road was in really rough 
shape. It had obviously not been used much in a long time. Every turn was made 
in fear that he'd get around the corner to find that the road had again 
disappeared. After five or ten more miles of tense driving, the forest cleared 
and Clark saw a cabin.

His heart sank. The lights were out. It was still early. If she was here, surely 
she'd have a light on. This place was secluded enough that she wouldn't have to 
worry about someone seeing. And the wires running to the cabin informed Clark 
that there was electricity here. He hesitated. If this cabin wasn't being used, 
the electricity might not be working. So there was still a chance she was here.

He got out of the car and made his way to the cabin. He was just about to knock 
on the door when he realized it was ajar. He pushed on the door and it slowly 
creaked open.

"Jess," he said into the cabin. There was no response.

The light from the moon allowed Clark to see a little bit in the cabin. Clark 
tried the light switch but, as he expected, nothing happened. He glanced around 
the room and noticed a lantern. He made his way over. A box of matches was 
sitting beside it. He took a minute to light the lantern. 

Light flooded into the room, giving Clark his first real look at the interior of 
the cabin. It was a mess. There had been a rug on the floor which had been 
pulled up. Every drawer and closet had been opened and items were scattered 
throughout the cabin - as if someone had been looking for something specific. He 
cautiously stepped between the various items.

It was then that he heard a sound behind him. He spun around and saw a doorway 
leading into another room. He made his way to what was obviously a bedroom. 
Stepping inside, he looked around for a moment before he spotted the source of 
the noise. His heart clenched in his chest at the sight before him.

* * * * * * * * *

In 1952, due to concerns about a potential threat to national security, the 
United States Air Force, in a program which was called Project Blue Book, began 
investigating UFO reports. This task was assigned to Bureau 39.

Although officially the Air Force had gotten out of the UFO business in 1969 due 
to a lack of evidence that there was any threat to national security, Bureau 39 
had continued to operate unofficially into the early eighties. At that point, 
the Air Force shut down the bureau completely. The men from Bureau 39 were 
reassigned elsewhere. However, a small group of hardcore fanatics had refused to 
abandon the search.

The military had clamped down when they discovered the group was continuing to 
operate. And gradually, one by one, they had all dropped off. All, that is, 
except Jason Trask. He continued the work on his own time and often late into 
the night. He was determined that if it was the only accomplishment in his life, 
he'd save the world from one alien, namely, Lois Lane.

Until Brad had found this latest lead on Lois Lane, it had been almost two years 
since Trask had had anything to follow up on. This time she had disappeared 
longer than she ever had before. He was almost beginning to think she'd finally 
managed to disappear for good.

Trask took a look over at Brad and smiled. Brad hadn't been part of Bureau
39, but he was as dedicated to the mission of saving the world from alien
invasion as any soldier Trask had ever known.

Brad followed Trask around for more than six months, begging to get involved. At 
first, Trask had been concerned that he was a military plant assigned to keep an 
eye on his activities, but Brad had proven himself again and again. So Trask had 
taken to grooming Brad to continue this mission in the event that for some 
reason Trask failed. Now that they were once again hot on the trail, Trask 
decided to share everything with his young protege.

As Trask placed a lockbox on the desk, he could see the interest in Brad's eyes. 
He inserted the key in the lock and turned it. He waited for a moment before 
lifting the lid. Brad's eyes widened when he saw the two rocks inside. Both had 
an eery glow to them.

"What are they?" asked Brad.

"They're kryptonite. This is the only thing that can kill Lois Lane."

"Why are they different colors?" 

"We don't know. The smaller one, we stole from Dr. Lane - the one who raised the 
creature. It's the one he referred to in his article. The larger one we found 
when we searched the area around a cabin Lane owned in northern Minnesota.

"We aren't sure if there is any difference between the two rocks," continued 
Trask. "Our scientist said they have the same properties, so I assume they'll 
have the same effect."

"Why are you telling me?"

"If anything happens to me, I want to be sure someone will continue the job."

"You can count on me, sir," Brad assured his hero while lighting up a cigarette.

Trask coughed and brushed the air in an effort to get the smoke to leave him 
alone. "You really should give up that filthy habit," he informed Brad.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark quickly made his way over to the huddled form curled up in the corner of 
the room. She was almost completely still - not even looking up when he entered 
the room as if still oblivious to his presence. 

"Jess," he whispered softly, kneeling down beside her and gently brushing the 
hair off her face. Her eyes came up to his face, but Clark wasn't certain she 
recognized him. Her gaze was clouded over as if she was in a drug induced stupor

"Can't... right," she whispered, her voice dry and cracked.

"What?" asked Clark. "Jess, please. Tell me what's wrong."

She didn't answer him. Instead, she mumbled the same phrase again. It almost 
sounded to Clark as if she'd said, "Can't even die right."

He didn't understand. He pushed her words to the back of his mind - he'd worry 
about them later. There was a more immediate concern. He needed to know how to 
help her. 

The article he'd read said only one thing could hurt this woman. Was it possible 
she'd been exposed to this kryptonite substance? Was it possible that there was 
some here? Was that what was affecting Lois this way?

"Look at me, Jess," he demanded. His words were accompanied by a slight shaking 
of her shoulders.

She seemed to revive slightly. She looked into his eyes and he saw her 
expression clear for a moment. "Clark," she whispered, before throwing her arms 
around his neck.

He gathered her in his arms and held her close, rocking her gently back and 
forth. "Is there kryptonite here?" he asked.

He felt her shake her head slightly. "No. Needed kryptonite but couldn't find," 
she whispered.

"Oh, God," Clark breathed as the implications of everything she was telling him 
began to sink in. The words created a pit in Clark's stomach that would have 
rivaled the city of Metropolis in size. She had looked for kryptonite. She was 
probably responsible for the shape the cabin was in. Suddenly, her comment about 
not being able to die right made sense. She must want to die. He wasn't about to 
let that happen. He couldn't. At least there wasn't kryptonite here. But that 
left him with no idea about what was wrong with her.

"Tell me how to help you?" he begged. "Let me get a doctor, or something?"

She made a noise that Clark understood immediately, especially since it was 
accompanied by the woman in his arms suddenly becoming stiff with fear.

"Okay, okay," Clark assured her. "No doctors."

She relaxed in his arms. 

"Let me help you. Tell me what to do," Clark said.

"Don't let go," Lois finally managed to say, tightening her grip around his 
neck.

Clark immediately pulled her over so that she was sitting in his lap. He shifted 
position so that his back was now against the wall. "I won't," he promised into 
her hair. He kissed her hair before saying again, "I won't." He heard her 
whimper slightly in response.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark held her, comforted only by her movement against him with each breath she 
took. Then he'd hold his own breath until he'd feel the next one. He considered 
breaking his promise and going into Lutsen to get a doctor. However, he doubted 
a doctor would have any idea what to do for her - even if he told the doctor 
everything he knew. And that would be dangerous for Lois.

He supposed he could try calling Lois' father, but after reading Dr. Lane's 
article, it was obvious that the only thing he thought could hurt Lois was 
kryptonite. Lois had said there was no kryptonite here, and he believed her. So 
it was unlikely her father would have any idea what he should do. Besides, 
calling Dr. Lane could put Lois in even more danger. Even a phone call which was 
blocked with star sixty-nine could be traced. For all Clark knew, Dr. Lane might 
have contracted Trask following his last phone call. And Clark wouldn't even 
know that the call had been traced until it was too late.

And for a reason Clark couldn't quite fathom, he believed that Lois would die 
should he release her long enough for him to drive them to town - as if he were 
what was currently keeping Lois alive. It made no sense to the logical part of 
his brain, but it resonated in his heart. She had begged him to hold her. It was 
the only instruction she had given him. So he struggled - a battle between his 
mind and his heart.

For the first time in years, Clark prayed. He prayed with a fervor he hadn't 
known he possessed. He prayed that she would live. He prayed that he was making 
the right decision in keeping her here. 

She wanted to die. That was clear enough from her comments. He couldn't let that 
happen. He would have to get to the bottom of it. Otherwise, she'd just try 
again. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind. There would be plenty of 
time to deal with that - if she lived.

Clark soon noticed that Lois' breathing, although still weak, became more 
regular. As that realization set in, Clark began to relax convinced that staying 
here, with her in his arms, was the right thing to do. He would only take her to 
town if she didn't continue to get stronger.

After a time, he picked her up and carried her to the bed. When he laid her down 
and tried to move away, Lois' arms tightened around his neck. He looked down at 
her closed eyes for a moment before crawling onto the bed beside her. He pulled 
her into his arms and felt her once again relax. He tried closing his own eyes, 
but couldn't sleep.

Instead, he lay there with her in his arms, stroking her hair and whispering 
endearments into her ear. Although she didn't respond verbally, Clark felt as if 
she was responding to him on a subconscious level. He whispered his hopes and 
dreams. He spoke of the wonderful life they'd have and of them growing old 
together. He told her that he loved her and even made promises. It felt to Clark 
as if she got stronger with each promise. And as he spoke, Clark realized, 
almost to his own surprise, that he meant every word. When he looked at the 
future these days, she was always there.

He looked down at the woman sleeping in his arms and shook his head in absolute 
wonderment. How was it possible that one little brunette could send him into an 
emotional whirlwind? Since he'd met her, he'd been taken to both highs and lows 
of which he had never believed himself capable. She could, with no more than a 
look, send his heart soaring or plummeting. He leaned over and planted a soft 
kiss on her hair.

Since her father's article had made it clear that the sun provided her with her 
energy, when the darkness began to abate, Clark picked Lois up in his arms and 
carried her outside. He was amazed by how light she seemed in his arms 
considering the density of her molecular structure. He settled the two of them 
into a swing on the front step of the cabin, keeping her in his arms, thus 
providing her with both his presence and the sun in an effort to ensure that she 
had both sources of strength.

In spite of his own exhaustion, Clark was still too wired to sleep. He was sure 
he would collapse as soon as he knew Lois would be okay. Right now he lived from 
breath to breath.

He was beginning to have problems following any thought through to its logical 
conclusion as he watched the sun rise. He'd been up for almost forty-eight hours 
now and was surviving solely on adrenalin. Only two things were clear to him. 
The first was that their breaths were connected. He had no doubt, as he brought 
his breathing in sync with hers, that her last breath would also be his. The 
other was that she was his basherteh. This fact had never been more clear to him 
than it was now. All his efforts to deny that since she'd left Metropolis faded 
to nothing. He finally understood in his heart that he could live without ever 
consummating their relationship. What he couldn't live without was her. If she 
survived, he'd do whatever he had to do to make her understand that.

Clark had a lot of regrets in his life. He regretted ever having gotten involved 
in a sexual relationship with Cat. He regretted each and every women he'd hurt 
in the aftermath of that affair. He refused to regret what he could have had 
with Lois by focusing on what he couldn't have. 

Her breathing seemed to become stronger the higher the sun rose in the sky. As 
she improved, Clark's anxiety began to abate and as it did, the adrenalin began 
to drain from his body. When the sun passed the midway point between the horizon 
and its zenith, Clark's eyes finally drifted closed. 

* * * * * * * * *

Lois first thought was how warm she felt. She didn't even try to open her eyes. 
For the first time since she'd left Metropolis, she felt whole. She snuggled up 
tighter against what she instinctively knew was the source of that comfort. As 
she did, she realized that it was moving. She reached up a blind hand and laid 
it on the surface she was leaning against and felt a regular back and forth 
movement. It took her a moment to realize that she was touching a man's chest.

She forced open her caked eyes and strained to look up. When she saw Clark's 
bearded face and closed eyes, she relaxed, letting her eyes once again drift 
shut. Whether her eyes were closed for a moment or an hour or more, she'd never 
know. But when she again opened them, she felt stronger.

"Clark," her parched voice said, cracking on his name.

Clark was instantly awake. He looked down into her open eyes and felt a tremor 
ripple though his body. Without his realizing it, tears began slipping down his 
cheeks. She was alive. The feelings of relief were overwhelming.

"Jessica," he whispered.

Unlike Clark, Lois noticed the tears on Clark's cheeks. She reached up and ran 
her fingers gently down the path some of the tears had taken. 

Clark shifted slightly and then winced in pain.

"Are you okay?" Lois asked, her voice a little stronger.

Clark almost laughed at the irony of her question. When he'd been awake, he'd 
been able to change positions, but when he'd fallen asleep with Lois curled up 
on his lap, his legs had fallen asleep. 

"My legs are asleep," he said.

Lois required Clark's help to have enough strength to move off him. When they 
finally got her settled on the swing beside him, Lois spoke. "Sorry," she said, 
shivering slightly from the loss of contact with him.

Pins and needles shot through his legs and it took him a moment before he was 
able to rise off the swing. He moved to sit on the handrail across from her 
before speaking.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She nodded slowly, not looking at him.

"What happened?" he continued. "Do you have any idea how much you scared me?"

"Could I have some water?" she asked.

"Of course!" Clark exclaimed, horrified that he'd been so insensitive to her 
needs.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois drank the water slowly before insisting that she needed a bath. Clark tried 
to get her to wait until she was stronger, but when Lois insisted that she 
couldn't stand feeling this grubby a moment longer, he gave in. It took Clark 
some time to heat enough water from the well for her to bathe - during which 
time he insisted on having her rest. It did briefly occur to her that she could 
heat the water a lot faster if she used her heat vision, but it just seemed like 
to much of an effort even to suggest it. Once she finally got her wish, she sat 
in the soothing water until it turned cold. Not that the cold particularly 
bothered her. 

When she took too long, Clark finally came to check on her. She was too 
exhausted to answer him through the door. It was not so much an exhaustion of 
the body, but of the soul. When he entered in response to her failure to 
respond, she only had the strength to be mildly embarrassed. He wrapped her in a 
towel and helped her from the tub. She noted in the back of her mind that he 
seemed to avoid looking at her. She was grateful for his attempt to respect her 
privacy.

After he finally got her into bed, he gave her a light kiss on the forehead. He 
went to her suitcases and dug through them until he found her a pair of sweats 
and a sweat shirt. He laid them on the bed, for when she felt up to getting 
dressed. Then she watched as he rummaged through the dresser. He removed some of 
her father's clothes and took them into the other room. As she was drifting off 
to sleep, she could hear him in the washroom.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark cleaned himself up before bringing some small measure of order to the 
bathroom. He also took some time to tidy up the cabin - although there were some 
repairs needed that he didn't want to attempt with Lois sleeping. He also 
brought in firewood. He had to keep moving or risk again seeing Lois' naked body 
in his mind. He had tried not to look. He really had, but it had been impossible 
not to get the odd glimpse. He knew it wasn't right for him to be thinking about 
it. She was sick. Still...

He ate the half sandwich he'd left in the car after his trip up here yesterday. 
She didn't have any food here, and although she had told him she didn't need to 
eat, he did. Besides, he suspected that food was as comforting for a Kryptonian 
as it was for someone from Earth. He still had a bag of pretzels which he 
decided to save until they could eat them together. He would go into Lutsen for 
food either later today - when she was awake - or tomorrow. 

He was still at a complete loss about what could have made Lois so miserable 
that she would no longer want to live. She was the one, after all, who had left. 
He knew he was going to have to deal with it eventually so that he could help 
her. He doubted it would be a particularly pleasant discussion. But only if they 
talked could he help her to find a way to fix it.

When he finally managed to exhaust himself completely, he went back into the 
bedroom. Lois was still sound asleep. He looked back at the couch in the main 
part of the cabin. It looked incredibly uncomfortable. After only a moments 
hesitation, he went over and crawled onto the bed next to Lois, being careful to 
lie on the covers. He was sound asleep in a matter of minutes.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois slept until the sun was beginning to set. This time when she woke, she was 
feeling almost normal, but as normalcy returned, the shame set in. She really 
wasn't sure how to tell Clark what had happened. She hardly understood it 
herself. When she'd realized what she'd given up, what she would never have, the 
despair had been unbearable. She had torn the cabin apart looking for the 
kryptonite - her only thought to put an end to the pain. When she hadn't found 
it, she'd sunk down into the spot where Clark had found her - the will to live 
gone.

What Lois understood for the first time was that kryptonite wasn't the only way 
to kill a Kryptonian. Like a human, a Kryptonian could suffer from a sickness of 
the heart that is as deadly as any substance in existence. Just as the will to 
live can make an individual survive against all odds, the loss of hope can just 
as surely make an individual give up and die. She suddenly realized that a 
broken heart was as capable of killing a Kryptonian as it had always been of 
killing a human.

But how could she tell Clark that? How could she admit to him what losing him 
had done to her without making him feel bound to her? 

Lois' enhanced hearing picked up the sounds of Clark in the other room. It was 
amazing, considering how close she'd come to dying, but her powers hadn't been 
affected at all. As she thought about that, she realized that it made sense to 
her. What had been killing her was not a sickness of the body, but of the soul. 
What had brought her back was not the sun, it was the warmth of Clark's body - 
her connection with humanity. 

There was only one way she'd be able to go on. She had to find a way to become 
part of the human race she'd been avoiding all her life. The question was 
whether she dared to do so - and at the moment, she didn't have the answer to 
that question. The risk was great, but so was the potential payoff. But either 
way, before she could answer that question, there was Clark to face. 

If she was going to take that risk, she wished she could take it with Clark. Of 
course, now that Luthor knew she was running from the military, joining the 
human race could never include having Clark in her life on anything like a full 
time basis. Still, it was time for her to admit that she needed help. She needed 
Clark's help.

* * * * * * * * *

When Lois finally had enough nerve to emerge from the bedroom, she found Clark 
in the kitchen heating some water to make tea. She sank down into a chair at the 
table and watched him work. He looked slightly comical in his current attire - 
her father's clothes. On the other hand, to Lois, he had never looked better.

"Are you sure you should be up?" Clark asked. "I could always bring the tea to 
the bedroom."

"I'm okay," she responded.

Clark looked at her for a moment before nodding and returning to his task of 
making tea.

"What are you doing here?" Lois finally asked.

He glanced over his shoulder and grinned at her. "You not happy to see me or 
something?"

She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean," she responded.

He turned around and leaned back against the counter. "You didn't say goodbye," 
he finally said. He held eye contact with her for a long moment. Finally, she 
broke it by looking down.

"I couldn't," she whispered. 

Clark came over, sat down at the table and picked up her hand. "What's going on 
here?" he asked, gesturing around at the state of the cabin. However, Lois knew 
he was referring to more than the cabin.

When she didn't respond, he continued, "Last night you said something. I think 
we need to talk about it."

She shifted uncomfortably, withdrawing her hand from his. She still didn't 
speak.

"Jess, why would you want to die?"

She closed her eyes. She was hoping he hadn't figured it out. She couldn't quite 
remember what she'd said to him when he'd first arrived. Obviously, she had said 
more than she intended. Well, now that it was out, she knew she had no choice 
but to respond.

"I just didn't see the point anymore," she said softly. "I don't know why my 
parents - my Kryptonian parents - bothered. I mean, it isn't as if I can have a 
life here. I can't make friends or have a family. I can't even keep a job that I 
love."

"But then why did you run away? All you had to do was tell me to back off and I 
would have done it. You could have kept your job, your friends. Come back. I 
promise we'll work it out."

Lois was stunned. It had never occurred to her to consider what he thought her 
reasons were for leaving. He believed she'd left because of him - because of 
what had happened on their last night together. But of course, he knew nothing 
about what Luthor had said.

"Clark, Lex knows," she said.

"What? What does Luthor know?"

"He knows my name. He knows I'm running from the military. I don't know how much 
else he might know. Clark, I had to leave."

"How did you find this out?" 

"He was waiting for me when I got home that night after we talked. He told me 
that unless I... well, we actually... stayed away from any story that cast him 
in a bad light, he would contact the military."

"So that's why you left?" Clark asked. "You didn't leave to get away from me? 
But I thought..."

Her hand came up to his hairy face. "I never wanted to get away from you," she 
assured him. "So you can see why I can't go back," she concluded.

Clark let out a slow breath. "But that means we must have been on to something," 
said Clark, ignoring, for the time being, her objection to coming back. He got 
up and poured them both a cup of tea.

"Oh, God," said Lois. "I didn't tell you."

"Tell me what?" Clark asked, handing Lois her tea and again taking a seat at the 
table. 

"What Pasco told me," said Lois. "With everything else that had happened, I 
completely forgot. Have you done any more research?"

Clark shook his head. "I didn't have anything solid, so Perry took me off the 
story. What did Pasco say?"

Lois proceeded to fill Clark in on everything Andre Pasco had told her.

"All right," said Clark. "We finally have a lead."

"Clark, didn't you hear what I said. There is no we. I can't go back."

"You have to come back," Clark objected. "I have specific instructions from 
Perry to bring you back. You don't want me to lose my job do you," he added, a 
note of humor in his voice as he attempted to put her at ease.

"You mean I still have my job?" Lois gasped.

Clark nodded. "Perry told me good reporters like you are hard to find. I think 
he was just waiting for me to get over feeling sorry for myself so that I'd get 
off my butt and do something about your leaving."

She smiled. "Is that why the beard? Is it part of your feeling sorry for 
yourself? I mean, I'm not complaining, but it is a little scruffy."

"Well, I wasn't sure I trusted myself to have a razor at my throat after you 
left," Clark said with a chuckle. "I'm sorry," he said when her expression 
darkened at the words. He'd obviously reminded her how close she'd come to 
dying. Joking about taking his life at a time like this was in very bad taste. 

"No," injected Lois. "I just... I'm sorry, Clark. I at least owed you an 
explanation. I shouldn't have just left like that. I guess I didn't think."

"It's okay. Just come back with me and I'll forget about the whole thing."

"Clark, I can't. You know I can't. I do want to continue to be friends. I think 
I need that. But I can't come back."

Clark considered the situation for a moment. "You don't know exactly what Luthor 
knows, right?"

"Right, but..."

"Well, I was just thinking. As far as Luthor knows you're gone. So he isn't 
going to do anything with the information he has. There'd be no point."

"How does that help us?"

"He's only going to use the information if he knows you're back and working to 
bring him down. After all, it's the only hold he has on you."

"Right, but..."

"So we make sure he doesn't know you're back," said Clark. "At least not until 
after we've brought him down."

"I don't see..."

"Of course, your name couldn't appear on the story," said Clark, musing out 
loud. "But once Luthor's in jail, he's going to have too much on his mind to 
worry about you. And if all he knows is that you're avoiding the military, maybe 
we can use the time to neutralize that particular threat," continued Clark.

"How?"

"I haven't figured that out yet," Clark admitted.

"Look, Clark, I appreciate the sentiment, but it won't work."

"Why?"

"Well, for one thing I don't have a place to live in Metropolis."

"You can stay with me."

"What?"

"Relax, would you. It's an above board offer. Well, at the moment." He grinned 
when she lightly slapped his arm in response. "Anyway..." he continued, "I have 
a spare room. You can stay in there. It will help to have you there, anyway. 
That way we can work together without anyone knowing. We'd tell Perry, of 
course. But as far as everyone else would be concerned, you wouldn't be at the 
Planet anymore."

"Look..."

Clark got out of his seat and knelt down in front of her. He took both her hands 
in his and continued, "Isn't it worth a shot? Jess, what are you going to do if 
you don't take me up on my offer? I'm not about to let you succeed next time in 
taking your own life. You mean far too much to me to allow that to happen." He 
let out a slow breath before continuing, "I have a lot of regrets in my life. 
I'm not about to allow you to become another one of them."

She studied his eyes for a long time. "Clark..." she began in a voice that told 
Clark she was about to turn him down. His fingers came up to her lips, cutting 
her off.

"I miss my best friend something terrible," he informed her, once again taking 
her hands. "Maybe it won't work, but don't we at least have to take the chance?"

Lois visibly softened. He'd called her his best friend. She wouldn't have 
believed how much those simple words could mean to her. Still... "It could take 
a long time to bring Lex down," Lois said.

A slow, mischievous grin spread across Clark's face. "So what you're telling me 
is that we might be living together for a long time. Now why is it that that 
prospect doesn't exactly bother me?"

She chuckled. She looked down at their joined hands before nodding. "Okay, I 
guess it couldn't hurt to try. But you have to realize that we might just be 
delaying the inevitable."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Clark responded.

Lois hesitated for a second. Was this fair to Clark? Was she just setting them 
both up for more heartbreak in the future? Then she pushed the thought out of 
her mind. He understood the risks as well as she did. It was a risk they both 
had to take.

* * * * * * * * *

"So he stood you up?" asked Luthor, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"No," stated Mayson. "He's just really busy these days."

"Doing what?" asked Luthor, suddenly quite concerned.

"Would you quit worrying," exclaimed Mayson. "I went by the Planet. It seems 
Clark has taken a short vacation. That's all."

Luthor eyed her for a long moment before speaking, "You better make sure that's 
all it is. After all, you have a lot to lose here too."

* * * * * * * * *

It had been a long drive back to Metropolis in Clark's jeep. They had stayed at 
the cabin for several days, just enjoying each other's company and repairing the 
damage Lois had done to the cabin during her rampage. It had been kept friendly 
and casual, but it had been so very essential and so incredibly sweet getting to 
know each other again - letting old wounds heal. 

But during the time they'd spent alone, Lois had also become aware of Clark in a 
way she had only had hints of before now. He would emerge from the bathroom 
wearing only a pair of her father's old sweat pants and she'd find herself 
breaking into a sweat. Her mouth would suddenly be dry and her heart rate would 
speed up. He'd touch her in passing, the way he had so many times before and she 
would feel the sparks through her entire body. She only hoped he wasn't aware of 
the effect he had on her. After all, they were going to be living in the same 
apartment - at least for a time. It was critical that she not reveal these 
feelings to Clark. It would only increase his frustration to know the extent of 
hers.

Lois looked around the familiar apartment as if seeing it for the first time. 
Clark was almost anal about keeping his apartment presentable. It was the first 
time she'd ever seen it in such a mess. She glanced over at him, a question in 
her eyes. He shrugged in response before pushing past her to carry her suitcases 
into the spare room.

She walked behind him, deep in thought. She leaned against the doorframe as he 
placed her suitcases on the bed. It was sort of ridiculous, given her strength, 
to have him carry them, but, on the other hand, it also seemed natural. So when 
he'd opened the back of the jeep, removed her suitcases and started carrying 
them inside, she'd let him. After he'd put down the suitcases and walked back to 
the door of her room - making as if to pass her - she laid a hand on his arm. 

Even after he stopped, it took her a moment to meet his eyes. The state of his 
apartment made her realize once again how badly she'd hurt him. She'd known it, 
but to see it demonstrated so clearly was still a bit of a shock.

"I'm sorry I hurt you, Clark," she whispered.

He smiled. "Just don't make a habit of it," he responded lightly.

"I'm serious."

He let out a breath realizing that she was wanting a serious response. "I know 
you didn't mean to," he said softly. He paused for a moment before saying, "Just 
promise me two things and I'll forget all about it."

"What?"

"Promise me that you won't try to kill yourself again."

She looked down.

"I'm not joking, Jess. I need you to promise this."

"I promise," she said without looking up.

"Good."

"What's the second promise?" Lois asked.

"That you won't just disappear out of my life again."

Lois smiled at that one. "I promise, Clark. Whatever happens, I won't just 
disappear without talking to you first. I mean, we're friends right? I never 
should have left last time without saying goodbye."

Clark smiled. "Then, let's just put it behind us and see what we can do to get 
this all sorted out and then..."

"Then?"

"Then, you and I are going to sit down and have a serious talk about the 
future."

"Clark..."

He placed a finger on her lips. "Later."

She really shouldn't let him continue to think this way, but she had no idea how 
to stop him. Besides, listening to him almost gave her hope that they could have 
a future. She diverted her gaze to the floor.

"Good," Clark continued, ignoring the look on her face. They'd worry about their 
relationship when the time was right. Right now she needed a place where she 
could feel safe, and if he pressured her for more than she felt able to give, 
that safe place would vanish. And more than he wanted them to be together, he 
wanted her to be all right. He'd never known such unqualified love. "Why don't 
you get unpacked while I see what I can do to make this place a little more 
presentable?" he suggested, before leaving to tend to his apartment.

Lois watched him go before turning her attention to the room. She walked over to 
the closet. When she opened it she noticed a number of boxes pilled inside. 
Taking a quick look in one of the boxes, she gasped. Inside were the things 
she'd left in her apartment during her hasty departure. She steadied herself 
against the frame of the closet as she considered the implications of finding 
her stuff here. It took her a moment before she felt able to unpack.

* * * * * * * * *

"You wanted to see me, sir?" asked Nigel.

"Yes, Nigel. I've been thinking about Kent. We seem to have derailed his story 
about the accident at Lex Labs, but it's only a matter of time before he 
stumbles across something else."

"I thought you had Ms. Drake in place to keep an eye on him."

"I've been having second thoughts about that. I'm not convinced that Kent is as 
taken with Mayson as she would have me believe. I had hoped that she'd be able 
to slowly corrupt him. Given his past with women, I figured he was susceptible 
to corruption. Now I'm beginning to wonder if the rumors are exaggerated."

"So what would you have me do, sir?"

"I want him kept under surveillance. Unfortunately, being such an accomplished 
reporter, he'd probably notice any tails. So I want electronic surveillance. 
Make arrangements to bug his apartment, his car and his workplace."

"Very good, sir."

* * * * * * * * *

Lois was frustrated when Clark left for work in the morning. But she agreed with 
him. The only way she'd be safe was if Luthor didn't know she was here. What 
that meant was, no matter how irritating it was, she had to stay out of sight. 
After fuming around the apartment for a few minutes, she pulled out Clark's 
laptop. If she was stuck here, the best thing she could do was to get working. 
The sooner they brought down Luthor, the sooner she could try to resume her 
life.

She turned on Clark's laptop and waited for it to boot up. She tapped her finger 
on the table beside her as she waited. She could hardly wait for the day there 
was an instant computer. 

As she sat there, she heard some noise at the door. Clark must have forgotten 
something. A small smile made its way on to her lips. She shook her head 
slightly. She had to be going crazy if the thought of seeing Clark for another 
minute could cause her heart to take flight. Suddenly, the smile faded. Her 
hearing told her that there was more than one person outside Clark's door. She 
supposed it could have been Clark with Perry, but she didn't think he'd had 
enough time to get to the Planet and back again. 

She hesitated for a moment, listening carefully. That wasn't Clark's heartbeat. 
Then, given the urgency, she looked through the door. There was a man fiddling 
with the door while another glanced around nervously. It was a break in.

She heard the computer beep. She glanced at it. It was still not finished 
booting up. Well, she couldn't be found here and a computer just being booted up 
would announce her presence. She quickly grabbed the power cord and pulled it 
out. There wasn't time to shut it down properly. She'd have to worry about 
damage to the computer later. She glanced at the computer again. It hadn't 
turned off. The battery! She flipped the computer over to pull out the battery 
when she heard the lock click. She slammed the computer shut and shoved it under 
the couch.

Then she looked around the apartment. She needed a place to hide, but without 
knowing what the men outside were looking for, she didn't know where they'd be 
looking. 

She spotted the drapes on the window. Chances were they wouldn't steal the 
drapes - would they? She looked around again but couldn't come up with a better 
idea. She slipped behind the drapes just as the door opened. Realizing that her 
feet could be seen, she floated up slightly. It was the ultimate risk. After 
all, if they did choose to move the drapes and found her floating here... She 
held her breath, looking through the curtains.

The men slipped quietly into the apartment, closing the door behind them.

"You're sure no one saw us?" the man who'd picked the door asked.

"Nah. Everyone who works has already left. Everyone else is still asleep," 
replied a second man.

"Well, let's not hang around here. Let's get these bugs in place like St. John 
said and then get out of here."

"I'm for that," said the second man before the two of them directed their 
attention to planting a number of surveillance devices around Clark's apartment. 
Lois held her breath when one of the men squatted down beside the couch. If they 
found the computer there, it would certainly make them suspicious. She let out 
her breath in relief when instead of looking under the couch he planted a bug 
under the coffee table. It wasn't much longer before they were finished. Once 
they were, they left as quickly and quietly as possible.

Lois stayed motionless behind the curtain. Not only had the men installed 
listening devices, they had also installed two small cameras. She wasn't sure 
what to do. If she lowered herself back to the floor, she'd be caught on camera. 
She'd taken a risk floating. Now it seemed as if she was stuck here. 

Of course, she couldn't stay here either. After all, when Clark returned, he'd 
certainly call for her. When he did that, whoever was bugging his apartment - 
and that was probably Luthor - would know she was still around. She thought 
about the problem. She could very quickly gather up all the devices, but no 
matter how quickly she moved, there would be a streak seen by the cameras. 
Besides, she used her powers so little that she wasn't sure how long it would 
take her to get up to full speed, and even a moment's hesitation would be fatal. 

Okay, so what should she do? Suddenly, she had an idea. It was something she 
only did for cutting her hair and shaving, but it was the only thing she could 
think of. She could destroy the devices from where she was using her heat 
vision. That is if she didn't manage to burn down the entire apartment in the 
process. 

She used her x-ray vision to examine both cameras. All she needed to do was burn 
one wire in each to disable them. The people watching the devices should think 
that they had failed. They might wonder about both of them going out at the same 
time, but there was nothing she could do about that. The way they were 
positioned she couldn't get out from behind this curtain until both were out of 
commission.

She swallowed hard. The trickiest part was that she would have to burn small 
holes in the curtains to get at the devices. She thought about how she was going 
to burn holes without setting the curtains on fire. Finally she had a plan she 
hoped would work. She used her freezing breath to freeze the curtain and then 
directed her heat vision at a chosen spot. She burned the holes quickly. She let 
out a sigh of relief when the frozen curtains didn't catch on fire. Of course, 
she figured she'd ruined the curtains. Not only did they now have holes in them, 
but the freezing process would probably do some damage of its own. 

She put thoughts of the curtains out of her mind. She still had to disable the 
cameras. She hoped her aim was good enough for her to do this. The farthest 
she'd thrown her heat vision in years was into a mirror immediately in front of 
her. She looked at the first device. It was on the other side of the room. 

She took a deep breath and held it, as she would do if she were taking a 
picture. She looked at the camera and focused all her energies on it. She 
silently cursed when she missed. She let out her breath and took another one 
before trying again. This time she hit the camera casing. The outer casing 
smoked a bit and soon a small hole appeared. She continued, quickly burning the 
wire. She then directed her attention to the other camera and did the same.

She paused for a moment, x-raying the cameras to be sure they were no longer 
working. Once she was satisfied, she quietly floated to the floor and stepped 
out from behind the curtain. There was still the matter of the other 
surveillance devices. She thought about them for a moment. The men who'd planted 
these devices would doubtless be confused if all their equipment quit working.

Okay, so she wouldn't destroy them. She'd merely disable them for the time 
being. That way they could let them hear the odd thing, giving those listening 
in the impression that they were still working. Deciding that was her best 
option, she quickly made her way around the room. She quietly gathered up the 
various devices and wrapped them in a number of towels. Once she was satisfied 
that nothing could be heard through her packaging, she returned to the computer.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark stuck his head in Perry's office.

"Got a minute?" he asked.

Perry looked up from his papers and smiled. He gestured Clark into his office 
before speaking. 

"You look better. I take it the trip went well."

"It did, Perry. But... Well, I need you to come with me."

Perry crinkled his eyebrows. "Now?"

Clark nodded.

Perry leaned back in his chair. It was the beginning of the work day. With 
anyone else he would simply order them out of his office. But this was Clark.

Jimmy stuck his head in the office. "They need you in that budget meeting," 
Jimmy said.

"You go, Jimmy," Perry responded. "If anyone has a problem with that tell them 
I'll be back in..." He looked at Clark.

"An hour or so," Clark assured him.

"Me?" asked Jimmy. "But I don't..." His voice trailed off at a look from Perry. 
"I do as I'm told," said Jimmy, heading out of the office.

"Jimmy!" said Perry, stopping Jimmy in his tracks. When Jimmy turned back to 
face him, Perry clarified his instructions. "Just take notes," he told Jimmy.

* * * * * * * * *

The men who had been in Clark's apartment snuck down into the Daily Planet 
parking garage. St. John had told them to plant bugs in three places. They had 
successfully completed the task at Clark's apartment. Next was Kent's jeep. They 
found the jeep easily enough. They had just inserted a long wire to open the 
door when...

Ding.

The men quickly removed the wire and jumped back into the shadows. They watched 
as two men exited the elevator.

"So what's this all about?" asked Perry as he and Clark made his way to Clark's 
jeep.

"I'd prefer to wait until I can show you," Clark said.

Perry snorted. He really didn't like being kept in the dark about anything.

"This better be important, son," said Perry.

"It is," Clark replied, unlocking the passenger's door for Perry. It was only a 
moment more before they were in the jeep and on their way.

"Damn," said one of the men. "Well, let's see what we can do about his work 
station while we're here."

* * * * * * * * *

Perry pried and prodded Clark the entire trip to Clark's apartment, but Clark 
steadfastly refused to tell him what was so important. It had to have something 
to do with Jessica, but Perry wasn't able to convince Clark to say as much as 
one word about Jessica or about his little unscheduled vacation.

Clark opened the door to his apartment and gestured Perry inside. Perry stepped 
in and looked around before he spotted Jessica. His face broke into a smile. 

"Are you a sight for sore eyes," said Perry. "I'm glad you decided to come back. 
I thought for a while there that I was going to have to fire Clark. All he could 
do was mope around, thinking about you."

"Perry!" exclaimed Clark.

"Relax, son," said Perry. "I'm just funnin' with ya."

"It's good to see you too, Perry," said Lois, coming over and giving a startled 
Perry a kiss on the cheek.

Perry noticed Clark tense at this expression of affection on the part of Lois. 
Seeing that helped Perry figure out very quickly how to respond. He placed an 
arm around Lois and, walking with her further into the apartment, spoke. "So 
what do you say we dump junior here and get to know each other better?" he 
asked.

Lois laughed and glanced over at Clark. He was obviously trying not to let their 
teasing bother him, but he had the same expression on his face now that he'd had 
on it the night she'd danced with Lex Luthor. Seeing that, she decided not to 
torment him.

"Sorry, Perry," said Lois. "But my heart lies elsewhere."

Perry glanced over at Clark before looking back at Lois. "Anyone I know?" he 
asked.

"Perhaps," said Lois.

Perry laughed. "So would someone mind telling me why I'm here and not in my 
office," he demanded, returning them to the subject at hand.

"Before we get into that, there's something you should know," said Lois.

"What?"

"Well, after you left this morning," she began, looking at Clark, "two men broke 
in here and bugged the apartment."

"What?" exclaimed both Clark and Perry in unison.

Lois nodded. "Don't worry," she said. She walked over and picked up the parcel 
containing the bugs - she'd tell Clark about the cameras later. She laid the 
parcel on the kitchen table and raised her finger to her lips before opening the 
parcel to show them the bugs inside. She then began to rewrap them in the 
towels, but Perry stopped her.

He opened the towels again before mouthing to Lois, 'Are they active?' When Lois 
nodded, Perry spoke.

"Well, son," said Perry, "Are you going to make us coffee or do I have to die of 
thirst?"

"Sorry, Chief," said Clark in response. "It should just take a few minutes."

Perry grumbled slightly before rewrapping the bugs.

"Does one of you want to tell me what this is all about?" he asked.

Lois and Clark looked at each other for a moment, silently communicating, before 
Lois spoke. "Perry, the reason I left so abruptly was... Well, you know that 
Clark and I were investigating the accident at Lex Labs. Anyway, I came across 
some information that strongly suggests that Lex is producing chemicals for 
chemical warfare."

"You're saying that Lex Luthor is involved in chemical warfare?" Perry asked 
clearly skeptical. When they nodded, he continued, "We are talking about the 
same Lex Luthor?"

They nodded again. 

"Even if that's true, why would that make you leave?" Perry asked.

Lois glanced over at Clark before continuing. "I left because... Lex came to see 
me the night before I handed in my resignation. He found out something about me. 
Please don't ask what. But he threatened to use it unless I backed off the 
story. He also expected me to find a way to get Clark to back off as well. 
That's why I left."

"When I get my hands on that..." Perry began, obviously no longer a fan of Lex 
Luthor. He didn't doubt what Jessica had said about Luthor's threat - and he 
tended to take threats to his reporters personally. "So what are you going to 
do?" he asked instead of finishing his threat.

"Well," said Clark, "we're going to find a way to bring Luthor down. But until 
we do, he can't know that Jessica is back."

Perry nodded slightly. "Just tell me this: what he knows, is it... Well, how 
much damage can he do to you?"

"He can destroy my life, Perry," Lois said.

Perry was impressed by her honesty and her integrity. She had left rather than 
compromise the story and she was prepared to admit just how badly Luthor could 
hurt her. Yet here she was. Making the decision to stay and fight took a lot of 
courage.

"Okay," said Perry. "I'm assigning both you and Clark to look into this full 
time. I assume you'll be working out of Clark's apartment."

"Yes," said Lois.

"You both have my full support. If there's anything you need, just ask. Also, 
Jessica, I'm not officially putting you back on payroll - so that no one will 
know you're back. But when you two break the story... Well, let's just say 
you'll be receiving back pay - back to the day you left."

"Perry..." Lois began.

Perry raised his hand to silence her. "In the meantime," he continued, "if you 
need any money, just let me know."

"Thanks, Perry," Lois responded.

"Also," Perry said, "I assume you think Luthor's behind the bugs."

"I do," Lois responded. "But they didn't mention Lex. They said something about 
someone named St. John. Any idea who they're talking about?"

Clark and Perry both shook their heads, unfamiliar with the name.

"Then I suggest you assume that other places are bugged and that the apartment 
is under surveillance," said Perry. "So if we need to discuss the story, we'll 
do it here. Now, unless there's anything else, I suggest we give a performance 
for the benefit of our audience." When nobody objected, Perry once again 
unwrapped the bugs and he and Clark had a conversation that had nothing to do 
with the investigation before leaving.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark settled into the chair at his office. As was his habit, he switched on his 
computer and reviewed his phone messages while waiting for it to boot up. He 
flipped through them casually until he came across one from Inspector Henderson. 
The last time he'd spoken to Henderson, the cop had hung up on him. He studied 
the message for a moment before picking up the phone and dialing. The message 
was about three days old.

"Henderson here," answered a gruff voice on the other end of the line. 

"Inspector, it's Clark Kent. You were trying to get a hold of me," Clark said.

"Right," said Henderson. "I got to thinking after our last conversation. I know 
I was a bit defensive, but I got to thinking about what you said. I want to 
clarify that with you. You said you got the file from the District Attorney, 
correct?"

"Yes. I got the file from Mayson Drake. She was the attorney assigned to deal 
with the case against Stanley Gables."

"And that there were no autopsy notes, no pictures and no witness statements?"

"Well, there were a couple of witness statements. But they were just from the 
emergency workers who cleaned up the bodies. There were no statements from 
anyone who worked at Lex Labs. Nothing from Gables' supervisor. Nothing like 
that."

There was a moment of silence. "Well, I can tell you that I probably interviewed 
thirty people. Their statements were in the file when I sent it to the D.A. I 
also had pictures. But what really got me suspicious was the lack of any autopsy 
reports. So I got to wondering what had happened to the autopsy notes. I 
couldn't remember even seeing any reports from the coroner. And it had certainly 
been long enough. After all, it was a few months between the accident at Lex 
Labs and the death of Gables. Anyway, I called the doctor who did the autopsies 
and asked about it. He told me that he'd done the reports and sent them over. 
But I never got them. Do you know what's going on here, Kent?" Henderson asked 
in conclusion.

"Not for sure, Henderson. I have the feeling that someone has been tampering 
with the file. I'm still not sure who or why. Do you still have any of the 
documents or did you send them all to the D.A.? I'd like to look into it," Clark 
responded. He didn't want to mention Luthor at this point. He knew Henderson 
wasn't likely to believe him.

Henderson hesitated. "I have my notes. And I have the negatives from the 
pictures. I'll make you a copy, but I intend to hold onto the originals. Even if 
Gables is dead, I think we might have an obstruction of justice case. I just 
don't have any idea where to even start looking. Or, since it could be linked to 
the station, who I can even trust. I'll give you a copy as long as you keep me 
in the loop."

"Will do, Inspector. But it would be helpful if you could let me know if you 
come across anything else," responded Clark.

"Fine," Henderson responded. "Do you want me to have someone drop this stuff off 
for you."

"The fewer people who know, the better. I'll drop by later and get it if you 
don't mind."

"Good enough."

Clark had just hung up when the phone rang. 

"Clark Kent here," Clark said, quickly grabbing the phone again.

"Mr. Kent, my name's Frank MacKenzie. You probably don't remember but..."

"Of course, I remember," Clark said. Frank was the emergency worker who had 
spoken to him after the accident at Lex Labs.

The man coughed before saying, "Could we meet somewhere?"

"Certainly," said Clark. He hadn't expected to hear from this man again. Given 
who he was, he could definitely have some important information for Clark. 
"When?" asked Clark.

The man responded by giving Clark a time and a place. When Clark tried to find 
out more specifically what this was about, the man refused, saying that he 
didn't trust the phones.

Clark thought about what Frank had said about the phones as he hung up. He was 
horrified that he hadn't thought about that possibility before calling 
Henderson. He quickly dissembled the phone and breathed a sigh of relief when he 
didn't find anything.

* * * * * * * * *

Lois decided to start her computer search by finding out all she could about 
mustard gas. Could mustard gas really have done the damage at Lex Labs like 
Pasco claimed? And if Lex was behind it, what exactly was the plan?

As soon as she was on line, she typed 'chemical warfare' into her search engine. 
She was amazed at how much information she found. In ancient times, fires were 
lit so that the smoke would choke the other side, but gas itself was used in war 
for the first time by the British during World War One. The race was soon on to 
see who could develop the most deadly gas and the most efficient delivery 
devices. In 1917, the German's won the race with the use of mustard gas.

It became the most effective chemical weapon of World War One for a number of 
reasons. It was difficult to detect. It penetrated most of the early gas masks 
and was easy to deliver. In many cases, people survived exposure - at least 
initially. It took almost twelve hours to take effect. It attacked the moist 
areas of the body - eyes, respiratory tract, scrotum, armpits, etc. The eyes 
would water uncontrollably. There would be difficulty swallowing and shortness 
of breath. The skin would blister. In the most extreme cases of exposure, the 
victims died. Even those who didn't, often suffered the effects for years to 
come.

She came across a poem by Wilfred Owen written during the first World War that 
caught her attention. Part of it read:

	'Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! An ecstasy of fumbling,
	Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time,
	But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
	And floundering like a man in fire or lime.
	Dim through the misty panes and thick green light,
	As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
	In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
	He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

	'If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace
	Behind the wagon that we flung him in.
	And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
	His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
	If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
	Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs...'

Lois broke off reading and took a moment to compose herself. The idea that 
someone in Metropolis was profiting off this substance made her sick to her 
stomach. When she finally managed to steady herself, she continued her research.

Soon she had managed to turn up more facts. She found out that mustard gas was 
produced by many countries after the first world war - including the United 
States. However, it didn't appear that the States had ever used this particular 
chemical compound in warfare. Although they had certainly manufactured and 
stockpiled enough of the substance between the first and second world wars. 
Other countries, however, had used it in warfare. For example, both Iran and 
Iraq used it during their war. It was also believed that Sadam Hussein had used 
it on Kurds in his own country. Evidence even suggested that U.S. service men 
were exposed to this insidious substance during the Gulf War. 

By the time Lois had finished reading, she felt seriously ill. How could people 
do this to each other? If this was being produced by Lex Labs, it had to be 
stopped.

It seemed that there was some hope, however. The United States government had, 
within the last few years begun destroying all of its stockpiles. According to 
the information Lois had, disposing of these dangerous chemicals was a lucrative 
business for the companies who got the contracts.

There was one thing that confused Lois. The people at Lex Labs had died 
instantly. However, if Lois recalled correctly, the skin had blistered and eyes 
had been affected. But she hadn't found anything in her research that talked 
about the eyes of the victims actually bleeding.

Lois leaned back in her chair. Maybe Pasco was wrong. Maybe this wasn't mustard 
gas. Suddenly, she was struck with a horrifying thought. What if Gables was 
creating an even more deadly form of mustard gas? And if he was, what were Lex's 
plans for it?

If her hunch was right and Lex was creating an improved - or was that the right 
word - form of mustard gas, was it any wonder that he had blackmailed her to get 
her and Clark off the story? She was disgusted with herself. Lex could very well 
be responsible for or planning to kill hundreds or even thousands of people, and 
she'd almost let him get away with it. She might not know much about what the 
future might hold for her, but she did know that, whatever else happened, she 
was going to get to the bottom of this story.

Suddenly a question seemed to find its way into Lois' mind. If Lex had 
blackmailed her, who else might he have gotten to? She flashed back to the first 
time she'd gone to Casey's after work with the Planet crew. Before Clark had 
left with that woman, he'd talked to Ralph. The idea seemed to float around on 
the edge of her mind as she struggled to get a grip on it. Why had she thought 
of that right now?

It was something about the way Ralph had seemed uncomfortable that had stayed 
with her. What had Clark asked? Did it have something to do with Lex? It was a 
long shot, but...

Suddenly what had been playing on the outskirts of her mind came into focus. 
Clark had asked about a rumor that Lex Corp had coerced the takeover of a 
company. Was it possible that Ralph Cooke was being blackmailed or in some other 
way controlled by Lex Luthor?

She pulled out a pad of paper and tried to think of all the ways Lex might try 
to control someone. She finally managed to come up with three. One was to 
blackmail them - as he'd done with her. A second was to threaten them. A third 
was to bribe them. Of the three, the third way would be the easiest to check 
out. It was also the one way that would make the person a co-conspirator as 
opposed to a victim. So she decided to start with that.

Having lived the way she had, Lois had learned a lot of different things over 
the years - one of which she was finding very useful right now. She had worked 
for a time as a computer hacker. As a result, she was able to hack into a number 
of databanks. She soon discovered that Ralph had had a huge debt until a few 
months ago. Then all his debts were paid off and his finances went from 
desperate to healthy. The money had come from a company Lois had never heard of. 
It was called R.T.W. Inc.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark sat down at the coffee shop and looked around. He didn't see Frank, but he 
carefully scanned faces as he thought about the bugging of his apartment. Was it 
possible that Luthor was having him followed too? He didn't see any faces that 
looked familiar, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. He'd have to keep 
his eyes open.

Just then the door opened and in walked Frank MacKenzie. He seemed to have a 
cold - at least his nose was red, as if he'd been blowing it a lot, and his eyes 
seemed puffy. Clark rose from his chair as Frank approached. The two men shook 
hands before taking seats at the table. Frank waited until the waitress took his 
order - coffee, just as Clark was having - before speaking.

"I'll probably get in trouble for meeting with you. We're under strict orders 
not to say anything," began Frank. "But we're getting a little desperate."

"Who's we?" asked Clark.

"All of us. All of us who were involved in hauling the dead out of Lex Labs 
after the accident," said Frank. "We've talked about it. We know that going to 
the press will probably get us all fired, but we figure better fired than dead, 
right?"

"I don't understand," said Clark.

Frank dissolved in a fit of coughing. When he finally recovered, he spoke again. 
"All of us have started getting sick. Everyone who was involved in that 
operation."

"And you think it's because of the accident at Lex Labs?" gasped Clark.

Frank nodded. "It's the only operation all of us were involved with. And then 
there's this," he said, before proceeding to pull up his sleeve. His arms had a 
number of blisters on it.

"But how is that possible? You were all completely covered in full protective 
garb."

"That's what our superiors said. They claim that we're all just suffering 
psychosomatic symptoms, but..." Frank gestured to his arm, "does that look 
psychosomatic to you."

Clark wasn't sure what to make of Frank's comments. He knew that the mind was 
able to produced symptoms.

"Why would your superiors be so reluctant to accept your complaints?" asked 
Clark.

Frank snorted. "Do you think anyone would be willing to do what we do if they 
knew that the gas that killed those men could get through the suits?"

Clark had to agree with that. The whole idea was horrifying - especially if the 
gas got into the wrong hands. And if Luthor was in charge, it was definitely in 
the wrong hands.

* * * * * * * * *

After promising Frank that he'd do what he could, he went to see Henderson. He 
filled Henderson in on what Frank had told him. He was tempted to also tell him 
about what Pasco had said, but Lois had told him how scared Pasco was. Instead, 
he told Henderson that they had reason to believe it was mustard gas that had 
killed the men in Lex Labs.

"Who exactly are you working with on this?" asked Henderson.

"What do you mean?" Clark stuttered in response.

Henderson looked at Clark speculatively. "I just meant, has White assigned you a 
partner?"

"Umm... No."

Henderson knew instantly that there was something Clark wasn't telling him, but 
there wasn't much he could do about it for now. He gave Clark a copy of the 
information he still had about the investigation.

"What's the name of the coroner responsible for the autopsies of the people who 
died?" asked Clark.

"His name's Dr. Joseph Pritchard," Henderson informed him.

Clark nodded. "I think I'll have a talk with him next," said Clark.

"Good luck," Henderson responded. Then to Clark's look, he continued, "I've 
tried talking to the guy. He's about as helpful as a snowball would be at 
putting out a forest fire."

"Why's he being such a problem?" Clark asked.

Henderson shrugged. "I have no idea, but if I never have to work with the guy 
again it will be one day too soon."

"Is this how he normally operates?"

"I have no idea. I've never had the pleasure..." He emphasized the word. 
"...before now."

* * * * * * * * *

"There's some news, sir," said Nigel.

"From the surveillance devices?" asked Luthor.

Nigel nodded. He put the tape recorder he was carrying on the desk and hit 
'play.' Kent's voice came clearly over the line.

'Inspector, it's Clark Kent. You were trying to get a hold of me... Yes. I got 
the file from Mayson Drake. She was the attorney assigned to deal with the case 
against Stanley Gables... Well, there were a couple of witness statements. But 
they were just from the emergency workers who cleaned up the bodies. There were 
no statements from anyone who worked at Lex Labs. Nothing from Gables' 
supervisor. Nothing like that.'

Luthor flicked the recorder off. "Why are we only hearing one side of the 
conversation?" Luthor demanded.

"My men weren't able to get a bug in the phone. There were too many people 
around. We were, however, able to get one under his desk."

Luthor glared at Nigel for a moment.

"I'm going to try sending my men back tonight. It should be quieter in there 
then," he continued.

Luthor snorted, before turning the recorder back on.

'Not for sure, Henderson,' Clark's voice continued. 'I have the feeling that 
someone has been tampering with the file. I'm still not sure who or why. Do you 
still have any of the documents or did you send them all to the D.A.? I'd like 
to look into it...Will do, Inspector. But it would be helpful if you could let 
me know if you come across anything else... The fewer people who know, the 
better. I'll drop by later and get it if you don't mind.'

When Clark said goodbye, Luthor reached over and was about to turn the recorder 
off when he heard the phone ring again. He paused and listened to the second, 
much shorter, conversation.

'Clark Kent here... Of course, I remember... Certainly. When? Okay, but would 
you mind telling me what this is all about? Fine. I'll see you then.'

"What was that all about?" asked Luthor. 

"I don't know, sir. But from the first conversation, it seems that Mr. Kent has 
figured out that there are problems with the file Mayson Drake gave him. And he 
appears to be back working on the story about the accident at Lex Labs," said 
Nigel.

"Tell Mrs. Cox to get Mayson over here," demanded Luthor.

"Certainly, sir," Nigel replied, turning and leaving the room.

* * * * * * * * *

Brad's camera clicked again. From the empty apartment across the street, he had 
a great view of the front entrance of Lex Towers. Trask thought he'd be able to 
recognize St. John if he saw him, so Brad's task was to get pictures of everyone 
who entered or exited the building - everyone, both men and women. After all, if 
St. John was still working for Luthor and he was looking for information about 
Lois Lane, she might be here too. So Brad took pictures of everyone.

* * * * * * * * *

Clark took the steps to his apartment two at a time. He could hardly believe how 
much he liked the idea of coming home to Lois. In one hand was a bag and in the 
other was a large pizza box. He balanced the bag on the box as he fumbled with 
the key. Before he could unlock the door, it mysteriously opened. He didn't see 
Lois, but still he pushed the door and it swung open. He entered, closing the 
door behind him, before yelling, "Hi, honey. I'm home."

Lois stepped into view, a smile making its way across her face. "You enjoyed 
saying that, didn't you," she said.

"More than you can possibly believe," he responded. "Maybe you should consider a 
career change."

"What type of career change did you have in mind?" Lois asked.

"Well, you could stay home, make me my supper and bring me my slippers every 
night," he said with a grin.

"In your dreams, Kent," Lois responded.

He smiled before handing her the pizza and heading past her for the kitchen. She 
followed.

She set down the pizza. "What's in the bag?" she asked.

He smiled and pulled out a video. She took it and looked at the cover.

"Lethal Weapon Three," she said.

Clark shrugged. "I don't know why. I mean, I've seen parts one and two, but for 
some reason I've never gotten around to watching part three. I hope you don't 
mind."

Lois shook her head. "I guess it's okay. After all, you get your car chases and 
special effects and I get Mel Gibson."

"Umm..." said Clark, reaching towards her to take the video back. "Maybe that 
wasn't such a good choice."

Lois laughed, holding the video out of his reach. "Too late," she said. "So what 
else have you got there?"

Clark pulled out the next item - a wig and a pair of sun glasses.

"What are those for?" asked Lois.

"In case for some reason you need to go outside," he explained. 

She smiled and pulled the wig on over her head. "You like blondes or something?" 
she asked.

He laughed. "And I thought you'd want to see this," he said, his tone much more 
subdued. He pulled a magazine out of the bag and handed it to her.

She met his eyes for a moment before looking down at the magazine. On the front 
cover of Time was Lex Luthor, smiling like a Cheshire cat. The title under the 
picture read, 'Rags to Riches: A True American Success Story.'

She threw the magazine on the table and looked up at Clark in disgust. "Does it 
give any real information?" she asked.

Clark shook his head. "It's nothing but a puff piece," he said. 

"Figures," she responded. "Tell me you didn't save the worst for last," she 
said.

Clark smiled. "Of course not," he said, pulling out the remaining item from the 
bag. 

Lois moaned. It was a Double Fudge Crunch bar. 

"Now, if you don't want it, I could always..." Clark's words were cut off by 
Lois grabbing the bar from his hand. Clark laughed in response.

While eating their pizza, they shared with each other what they'd discovered 
during the day. He filled her in on his meeting with Henderson and Frank 
MacKenzie and she told him her suspicions about Ralph. He also told her about 
his meeting with the coroner.

"I could hardly believe how unhelpful he was," Clark said. "Every question I 
asked, he responded by saying that he couldn't give me that information. That it 
was confidential."

"Couldn't Henderson get that information?" asked Lois.

Clark shook his head. "He's been giving Henderson the same run around."

"What if he got a call from someone he couldn't ignore?" Lois said after a 
moment's reflection.

"Like?"

"Lana's boyfriend. Steven Brockovich. He's on the city council. The man couldn't 
very well ignore Steve, could he?"

"Good idea," Clark responded. "I'll give him a call in the morning."

"You know," said Lois, "I've been thinking..."

"Oh, oh," said Clark, earning himself a slap on the arm. He grinned in response.

"Well, the information I found about mustard gas doesn't quite jive with what 
happened at Lex Labs."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, mustard gas takes some time before symptoms are seen. The people at Lex 
Labs died immediately. Also, I couldn't find anything that suggests that people 
bleed from the eyes or mouth. The eyes and mouth are affected, but not to that 
extent."

"So you think Pasco was wrong?" Clark asked.

Lois shook her head. "I was just thinking that maybe Lex had Gables working on 
some sort of advanced formula of mustard gas."

Clark considered that for a moment. "Tell me something. Would someone who's eyes 
were puffy, had burn type marks on their arms, and who were coughing... Would 
that sound like someone affected by mustard gas?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, I met with Frank MacKenzie today. You know, the emergency worker who gave 
me the story after the accident at Lex Labs." When Lois nodded, Clark continued, 
"Those are the symptoms the emergency workers are suffering."

"Didn't they have some sort of protective wear?" Lois asked in horror.

Clark nodded. "Yeah, they did. That's what seems so weird."

Lois was suddenly frantically searching for a document from the papers she'd 
printed off the computer. In a moment she found what she was looking for.

"The reason," she began, handing Clark the document she'd found, "that mustard 
gas was considered the most deadly gas in World War One... Or, one of the 
reasons, anyway... was that it could penetrate clothing and most gas masks of 
the time. If this in an advanced version of mustard gas, maybe it penetrates the 
masks and clothing of this time."

Clark let out a breath. "I hate to admit it, but it does make sense."

"And the reason the emergency workers didn't die immediately," continued Lois, 
now on a roll, "was that they didn't get the same level of exposure as the rest. 
You know, because of the suits."

Clark nodded slightly. It was all just theory at the moment, but it was at least 
a working theory.

Lois looked at Clark for a long moment. "By the way, did you find any bugs at 
the office?"

Clark shook his head. "I checked the phone. It was clean."

Lois narrowed her eyes. "That doesn't make any sense to me, Clark. Why would 
they plant bugs here and not at the office? After all, it's more likely that 
you'd be doing work there than here."

"Unless it isn't Luthor behind the bugs at all," said Clark.

"What are you saying, Clark?" Lois asked with a chuckle. "That it's a jealous 
ex-girlfriend wanting to know who you're seeing?"

"No, of course not. I just meant..." Clark paused. "Maybe I should check my work 
area more thoroughly tomorrow."

"If you do find anything, you might be smart to leave them and just conduct any 
sensitive conversations where they can't overhear."

Clark looked at her for a moment. "Speaking of which, where are the bugs they 
planted here?"

Lois got up and brought over her parcel. 

"What do you say we let them listen in when we watch the video? We'd have to be 
very careful not to say anything, but it might make whoever is listening in 
think that the devices are operating."

Lois nodded. It probably would seem odd if Clark was here all evening without 
making any noise at all. Still, they were both going to have to be very careful.

Clark went over and unwrapped the bugs. He then walked over to the television 
and turned it on. He inserted the video and he and Lois settled themselves on 
opposite ends of the couch.

"Do you want a blanket?" Clark mouthed.

Lois looked at him oddly and he silently repeated his words. She nodded, but 
when he started to get up, she gestured him back down and went to fetch them a 
couple of blankets. When she returned he'd turned off all the lights. She handed 
him his blanket and settled back on the couch with her own. 

Clark put his feet up on the coffee table and leaned back into the couch to 
watch the movie. He glanced over at Lois and noticed that she was curled up on 
the far end of the couch, with her legs under her and her blanket wrapped around 
her. He sighed. What he wouldn't give to have her curled up next to him. 

He turned his attention to the movie. As he watched the dog biscuit eating 
Sargent Riggs, played by Mel Gibson, Clark found himself wondering what exactly 
it was that women seemed to find so irresistible about the actor. Unable to 
figure it out, he turned his attention to the plot and was, for a time, 
engrossed in the movie. It had just the right mixture of excitement and humor to 
keep Clark captivated.

That ended when Riggs and Lorna Cole ended up back at her place. At first, Lorna 
tended to a wound Riggs had recently obtained in their efforts to stop the bad 
guys. The competition between them to prove who had taken more risks in their 
careers on the police force reached new heights as they began comparing their 
respective scars. Clark's mind was suddenly occupied with thoughts of the woman 
beside him. He swallowed hard as he watched the actors began removing clothing 
to show each other their scars. It wasn't long before scars weren't the only 
things they were interested in.

Clark didn't dare look at the woman beside him, although she was suddenly 
occupying his mind completely. The urge to reach out and take her in his arms 
was almost irresistible. At the same time, he didn't have the nerve. He really 
had no idea how she'd react. Even if they couldn't make love, all at once Clark 
was painfully aware that there was a great deal they could still do together. 

Half of him desperately wanted to force the issue, but in some strange way he 
was almost relieved that he couldn't. This pull she had on his heart was 
terrifying because there were still so many question marks in their 
relationship. If Luthor found out about Lois' presence and called the military, 
she might suddenly disappear from his life. Even if that didn't happen, she 
might well decide to maintain her previous position that they couldn't get 
involved. And, when it came right down to it, he didn't really know if she 
returned his feelings.

She had told him, the day after their first kiss, that she was falling in love 
with him. But since then, she'd never repeated the sentiment. He'd said it to 
her on a few occasions. She didn't seem to mind; on the other hand she never 
said it back. He knew she was fond of him, but beyond that... He really didn't 
know. What if she really didn't share his feelings?

He shifted uncomfortably on the sofa. He finally worked up the nerve to just 
glance at the woman on the far end of the couch, wondering if the movie had 
taken her thoughts in the same direction his had taken. Suddenly, he smiled. 
Whereas he had quit watching the movie because he'd been thinking about her, she 
hadn't been watching the movie for an entirely different reason. She was sound 
asleep.

Clark got up and wrapped the surveillance devices back up again before going 
over and turning off the movie. Lois was still asleep. For a moment he was 
tempted to pick her up and carry her to bed, but he wasn't sure he trusted 
himself to do that. So instead, he leaned over and gently touched her face.

"Jess," he said.

She slowly opened her eyes. She blinked a couple of times, obviously trying to 
wake up. "Huh?" she asked.

"It's time to go to bed," he said softly, before picking up and folding the 
blankets. 

She rose to her feet and began making her way to her bedroom. "Night," she said 
sleepily over her shoulder before walking into her room and closing the door.

"Night," Clark responded, before putting the blankets back in the closet and 
heading for his own room.

* * * * * * * * *

"It's been a long time, Sam," said Ellen Lane, taking a seat at the restaurant 
table for a late supper. She'd forgotten how late supper often turned out to be 
when you were eating with a doctor. 

"Too long," said Sam, taking a chair across from her. 

"So what's this about? Are you wanting me to agree to lower your spousal support 
payments so that your latest mistress has more of your money to spend?"

Sam dropped his head. It was amazing how easily they could fall into the same 
old patterns.

"Actually," said Sam, without having the nerve to look her in the eyes, "I was 
wanting to apologize."

"What?" gasped Ellen.

"I was wrong. I know I should have told you this a long time ago, but I never 
should have published that article. I know it cost us our daughter. If I could 
I'd do things differently..."

Ellen looked at him in silence for a long time. Whatever she'd been expecting 
when he'd invited her out to dinner, it hadn't been this. He usually asked her 
out to dinner when he wanted to break bad news. He still hadn't learned that 
just being in a public place wouldn't stop her from making a scene. This was 
completely unexpected. He had always adamantly refused to accept responsibility 
for his part in Lois' disappearance. 

Suddenly, Ellen felt ashamed. She knew she had contributed to the problem. After 
all, it had been her, when Lois had been found that first time, who had insisted 
that they had to contact Colonel Trask. At the time she had still believed in 
the government of the United States. And if they thought it was important to 
talk to Lois, she had believed that they should be allowed to do so. The years 
had made her much more skeptical.

"It wasn't all your fault," she finally admitted.

Sam looked up then and met her eyes. They held eye contact for a long moment 
before Ellen broke it.

"Well, that was different," said Ellen.

Sam chuckled slightly.

"So where do we go from here?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well... I was just sort of wondering... I mean, Lois isn't the only member of 
my family that I miss."

"What are you saying, Sam?"

"Well... Would you consider... I mean, this sounds crazy. After all, we were 
married, but... Well, would you consider dating me?"

Ellen studied him carefully. He really did appear to be serious. "Okay," she 
finally said, somewhat shyly.

Sam's face broke into a huge smile. "So, why don't we start tonight? What are 
you going to order?"

* * * * * * * * *

Trask looked at picture after picture - discarding them on the table one by one 
after he had done so. Suddenly he stopped and looked up at Brad. He smiled. 

"This is St. John," he informed the young man, waving the picture.

"So what do we do now?" asked Brad.

Trask thought for a moment. If St. John had formerly been with MI-6, he 
undoubtedly had some training. He would not break easily. They needed more 
people to do this than just him and Brad. He decided that before making a 
decision, he'd look through the rest of the pictures. If Lois Lane's picture was 
among them, maybe they could skip the middle man all together.

Once he had determined that Lois Lane's picture was not among those Brad had 
taken during his surveillance, he carefully pilled all the pictures up while he 
considered the problem. He was a Colonel in the United States Air Force. That 
had to be worth something. He had men under his command. Although they were not 
involved in his pursuit of the alien, he could surely come up with another 
explanation for why St. John had to be detained and questioned.

After a moment of pondering the problem, he smiled. The solution was amazingly 
simple. MI-6 was looking for St. John. He could use that as their reason for 
detaining him. And, of course, before returning him to MI-6, St. John would have 
to be... debriefed. And Trask was just the man to do it. 

Once he had the information he wanted, he could arrange for St. John to escape, 
or, even better, to have a little accident. After all, Trask didn't particularly 
want his superiors getting wind of this little unauthorized operation.

* * * * * * * * *

Jimmy smiled when he came over to Clark's desk to find Clark on his hands and 
knees under it.

"Lose something, C.K.?" Jimmy asked.

Clark quickly pulled himself from under the desk, bumping his head in the 
process. He silently cursed and then, looking up at Jimmy, raised a finger to 
his lips. 

"Yeah, my pen," Clark said, for the benefit of the surveillance device he'd 
found under the desk.

He sat down at his desk and looked around at it. He stared at the phone for a 
minute before picking it up. He opened it and found that there was a bug inside. 
Jimmy looked over his shoulder and gasped. Clark turned towards the young man, a 
finger once again raised to his lips. He quickly put the phone back together and 
made his way to Perry's office - Jimmy trailing close behind.

"What is it, Clark?" asked Perry.

Clark raised a finger to his lips and gestured for Perry to follow. The three 
men made their way to the stairs. Once they were inside the stairwell, Clark 
spoke.

"My work area and phone have been bugged, Perry," Clark said. "I looked in the 
phone yesterday and it wasn't. So I'd assume they did it last night."

Perry nodded. It made sense. "So someone must know you're back on the story," he 
commented.

"What story?" asked Jimmy.

"I think we have to assume that your office is bugged too. I don't want to 
disturb the bugs, it will let them know that we're on to them," said Clark.

"Who's on to you?" asked Jimmy.

"On the other hand," continued Clark, "I need a safe place to work."

Perry thought about the problem for a moment. "Jimmy, it seems to me that you 
are always going to that spy store."

"You mean, 'Spys R Us?' Yeah, why?" asked Jimmy.

"I want you to go down there and find something that can be used to check for 
surveillance devices - if they have something like that." He looked straight 
into Jimmy's eyes before saying, "And if it's expensive, rent don't buy - unless 
there's no other choice."

"But, Chief, if we remove the devices..." began Clark.

"I don't intend to remove all the devices. I just want to give you one room 
that's bug free. I was thinking the conference room. But be careful to use your 
desk for unrelated or unimportant phone calls. That way they'll have something 
to listen to at the end of the day."

* * * * * * * * *

The color drained from Mayson's face as she listened to the recording of Clark's 
side of the phone conversation with Henderson. 

"It seems you might have a problem," Luthor said. "He knows something was wrong 
with the file you gave him."

"I can tell that for myself," Mayson shot back.

"Since you're the one who could go down for this, it's your responsibility to 
take care of it," Luthor continued.

"I'm not the only one that could go down," Mayson responded.

Luthor's eyes flashed and he approached Mayson quickly. "Don't ever threaten 
me," he hissed. "I could make being arrested seem like a walk in the park." Then 
he backed off. "Fortunately for you, I have a plan."

"What's the plan?"

Luthor proceeded to fill her in. Mayson smiled. It just might work.

* * * * * * * * *

Jimmy didn't find any surveillance devices in the conference room, but he did 
locate a couple in the Chief's office. Perry grumbled and fumed for quite a 
while, but when he finally calmed down, he decided to leave them where they 
were. Now that he was aware of them, he could operate around them. 

Clark got himself settled in the conference room and picked up the phone. It was 
only a few minutes before he had Councilman Steven Brockovich on the line. They 
exchanged the usual pleasantries and talked about Lana for a couple of minutes 
before Clark got down to business.

"I'll give him a call," Steve said when Clark told him about the problems he was 
having with the coroner.

"Thanks, Steve," Clark said in response. "There's something else I'd like you to 
look into."

"What's that?"

"Well, I have reason to believe that the city's emergency workers - the one who 
were involved in the accident at Lex Labs - are starting to experience some of 
the same symptoms as the people who died."

"What?" exclaimed Steve. "Why hasn't city counsel been told about this?"

"I have no idea, except that I understand that their supervisor is dismissing 
their concerns."

"Thanks for the heads up, Clark. I'll get my staff on that right away."

* * * * * * * * *

Picking Nigel up wasn't nearly as difficult as Trask had feared. When Trask's 
men approached Nigel, showed their military identification and 'requested' that 
he accompany them, Nigel had come without resistance. However, it was probably 
the prudent course of action since there had been one of him and seven of 
Trask's men.

Trask informed his men that this was being done as a favor to British 
intelligence and, so far, no one questioned the legitimacy of the assignment. 
Still, Trask was concerned that news of this would leak to his superiors who 
would know there had been no such request. That meant he had to get the 
information quickly. If he thought torture would work, he'd use that, but he had 
another idea. MI-6 seemed to want St. John back just a little too much. Given 
that, he had an idea.

He entered the room where Nigel was being held. He stood on the far side and 
looked at the man seated at the table. After a moment Nigel looked up.

"Don't I know you?" asked Nigel, obviously struggling to remember how he knew 
the man.

"Yes, Mr. St. John, you do," Trask responded. "You're still working for Luthor, 
I see."

"Yes, but... Trask! Colonel Jason Trask," said Nigel.

"Correct," Trask responded.

"Why am I here?" St. John asked.

"Well, Mr. St. John," Trask began, opening a file as he walked over to take a 
seat on the corner of the table beside Nigel, "it seems that you aren't exactly 
in America legally."

"What concern could that be to the military?" asked Nigel. "If this is about my 
immigration status, shouldn't immigration be talking to me?"

"Normally," said Trask. He laid down the file and looked directly at Nigel 
before continuing. "But it has come to our attention that MI-6 is looking for 
you." He saw Nigel flinch and instantly knew that his hunch was right. Whatever 
the reasons were that MI-6 was looking for him, it was obvious St. John was as 
anxious to avoid them as they were to catch up with him.

"They approached my government and I was ordered to bring you in," Trask 
continued.

"Look," said Nigel, "I want a lawyer. I know my rights. You have to go through a 
deportation hearing before..."

Trask smiled. "Actually, that's not exactly true. These type of... shall we say 
covert exchanges take place all the time between America and its allies - 
sometimes even between America and its enemies. It's all done nice and quietly 
and no one ever hears about them."

Nigel's face seemed to lose all its color.

"However," continued Trask, "I'm willing to arrange a little... shall we say 
escape for you. For old times' sake. That is if you can do me one little favor."

"What do you want?" Nigel said, trying to hide his desperation.

Trask smiled. "Why were you looking into Lois Lane's background?"

"What?" gasped Nigel.

"You tell me all about that and I'll find a way to let you walk right out of 
here," said Trask.

Had Nigel not been so concerned about being turned over to MI-6, he might well 
have been suspicious of Trask's promise. As it was, it seemed like a gift - and 
Nigel stepped right into it.

"A new reporter showed up at the Daily Planet named Jessica Miller. My 
employer..." He hesitated. If he could tell his interrogator what he wanted to 
know without betraying Luthor, he would. After all, Luthor could be as dangerous 
as MI-6. "My employer dated her once and wanted to know more about her. It 
wasn't anything more than that."

Trask smiled. He had what he needed. He got up and headed for the door.

"Wait a minute," said Nigel. "What about your promise to release me?"

"I lied," said Trask.

He exited the room, prepared to implement his plan for Nigel to have a little 
accident, when some men approached.

"Mr. Trask," said the first one, pulling out some identification, "I'm with 
Immigration and Naturalization. We understand that you have a Nigel St. John 
here."

"What?" gasped Trask. He hadn't expected them to get wind of this - at least not 
so soon.

"We have a warrant to take him into custody," the man concluded, handing Trask a 
paper.

"I'm afraid I don't t