Before Sunset (Part 32)

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So sorry I've been away. Real life and job stuff took precedence lately and I just didn't have the time or inclination to get into fic. Things should be clearing up more after the weekend. 

Relevant mentions of Sacred and Commencement and Arrival (actual canon, that is). Some bits are from Mortal, just reworked a little. This fic is more relationship than action-oriented, so I hope you'll forgive me if I deal with some of that before getting plotty. 

PART 32 

Lana wasn't getting it. 

The day after the barbecue, Day Two as he called it, he'd gone to the Talon after sundown, hanging his head like a dog after the scolding his mother gave him. Apparently, Lana had been in good spirits as they worked together, now that she and Clark were back together! 

"And I saw you with Chloe at the barbecue," his mother had said as she shoveled two giant spoonfuls of green beans on his plate at dinner in their mostly functional kitchen. With the crops coming in and no farmer's market to sell at, she was using every opportunity to shove vegetables and fruit down his gullet. And he thought the green beans were an especially cruel choice as she knew he hated them. "You were flirting with her!" 

"She wasn't flirting back," he'd muttered, which only made her add another spoonful to the heap. 

"You're eating every bite," she said stiffly, sitting down. "Your body has an immune system now and it needs nutrients." 

And I need punishment, he mentally added bitterly, but didn't say. Why was every woman picking on him? He'd had a hard day of work and he was sore, darn it! As annoyed as he was, he did kind of like having that excuse to be grouchy. But he knew better than to be grouchy with his mom. 

His father came in from the bathroom, shaking water off his hands. "Oh, Martha. Don't make him eat all that. You've already given him one of every supplement in the medicine cabinet." 

"Well, his body is almost brand new," she said firmly. "We have no idea if he's built up a resistance to infection or..." 

"And he can go to the doctor like the rest of us and get some penicillin." 

"Yeah, Mom." He shoved some of the green beans onto his father's plate. He didn't protest, which meant he was on his side. "I feel fine." 

"I suppose you'd have to to be flirting with half the girls in town." 

"What?" His father turned to him. 

"I am not," he muttered, feeling his face redden. "Maybe Chloe a little. And Lana and I are not back together," he added hotly. 

"Well..." His mother took a thoughtful bite of the chicken Ben Hubbard had given them in exchange for helping sort out his barn. "But she said you came and told her how much everyone needed the Talon and that the two of you were..." 

"I never told her that. I just... I didn't not tell her that... yet." 

"Clark," his father sighed. 

"But I'm gonna," he said quickly. "I just need to find the right way and the right time..." 

"There's no right time for something like that," his mother said tiredly. "You can't lead her on. Not for another second." 

He looked down at his plate, at all the green beans still there. He wondered what was worse. It was a testament to his hatred for green beans that he stood. "I'll go to the Tal..." 

"Yes, you will," his mother cut in. "After you finish your dinner. Every bite." 

"Mom, I hate..." 

"Antioxidants," she said firmly. 

That word stupidly echoed in his head by the time he trudged slowly across Main Street as if it were made of deep mud. She'd been throwing lots of silly-sounding vitamin words at him these last days and, really, he'd never before had to think of why he'd need fiber or vitamins A to whatever or flavonoids. So he pretty much had to take her word for it when she shoved every pill, potion, and leaf known to man down his throat. 

He hadn't been downtown all day, with all the work for Hubbard. Most of the farmers had an agreement to help each other, with the town homes more functional than most farms now. He'd walked, even though his legs were aching. He'd got sort of used to walking endlessly anyway, in the Yukon, so there was no real suffering. Besides that, he needed the time to clear his head, or maybe fill it with some brilliant speech that would simultaneously end this relationship and restore Lana to her old self. 

And he gave her that speech, or his best idea of it. He sat her down and gave her a rundown of all the reasons starting again would be a bad idea. They'd just been through a traumatic experience. They were in transition to adulthood. They needed to figure out who they wanted to be. The town was in shambles... Somewhere in the middle of it, he started to realize he was practically repeating all of what Chloe said to him, except this one was true. The only problem was he left out one thing -- that he just didn't want to be with her. With some satisfaction, he noted that Chloe hadn't added that part in her version, either. 

That satisfaction might have made him complacent, might have made him kiss Lana on the cheek and tell her he'd be there for her. It made him smile as he left for home, happy that Lana was taking it so well, think that if there was some kind of ranking of amicable break-ups, this might go in the top twenty, at least. He'd also gone to Chloe's, only to be informed she was off taking Lois to the airport. He thought of waiting around, but he was damned tired after all the work, not to mention the walking. He'd catch her tomorrow. Tell her the good news. See what she thought of this month now. He'd even whistled as he walked away. 

It wasn't until Day Three that he found out Lana didn't get it. 

He'd found out from Chloe, of all people, when he called her after a long day, thinking that there was still nothing to do in town yet, but maybe they could catch a movie in Shelbyville. Then he could share the happy news... and maybe find a seat in the back of the theater. 

"I can't, Clark. I'm still knee-deep in Torch scans. Besides, aren't you tired? I heard you've been working so hard." 

He had, but... "Where'd you hear that." 

"From Lana," she said, a strange, hollow sort of chirp in her voice. "She's so proud of all the work you're doing." 

"Oh... that's good. She's... she's dealing very well." And that was a good thing. So why did Chloe sound so brittle? "Are you mad at me?" 

"No," she chirped. "Of course not. I told you before..." 

"You are mad at me." Damn it, he knew by now. 

"I am not mad at you," she sighed. "I think this is... great. Like Lana said, once the two of you sort everything out, you can be together." 

"But..." 

"Clark. I really have to go. I didn't get anything done with the all the hammering in the high school." 

"But I..." 

"We'll get started on the special project by the weekend. I swear." 

"Damn it, Chloe!" Of course, he said it to no one as she'd hung up. And, really, what was he to say? That he'd kind of broke up with Lana and now they were free to make out during a Shelbyville showing of Cinderella Man? He was starting to get it. 

So Lana thought they were just holding off being together. His mother confirmed that. And he had to fix that. Until Lana got it, Chloe wouldn't get it. And he wouldn't get it... Chloe, that is. Not in the back of a theater or anywhere else. And he swore on all that was holy that it wasn't just about groping her and all the other perks. But some of it was. It was hard on a boy... No. It was hard on a man, having all kinds, or at least six distinctly different kinds, of sex, then nothing. 

But as he was a man, he would take it like a man and man up and remember that a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. All that man stuff he'd decided he really understood now that he could grouse about women withholding sex... and use power tools. 

And so, on Day Six (he'd been pretty damned busy all over town and country, after all), he made his way to The Talon again. His parents had only just reinstated his cell, so he'd had several messages from Lana (and absolutely none from Chloe even though it was almost the weekend) and each one ended with. "Love you. Bye." 

So he'd decided that, this time, he would be blunt... Maybe not blunt, like cruelly so. He would just be clear. He and Lana were... friends. Very good friends who cared for each other, but no more than friends. Honestly, when had they even been friends? He pined for her, she pined for him, sometimes both at once. They had never actually been plain old friends. Never even tried it without one of them, usually him, having an ulterior motive. So this would be a new start! As friends! He thought that sounded very nice. And very positive. And it seemed to work! 

She did grow teary eyed and everything, but she smiled and said she understood, that being friends was the most important thing. That this could truly be a fresh start for them. She sniffled and hugged him and, most importantly, really seemed to get it. 

Except for how she didn't, as he learned, not from Chloe this time, but from Jessica Jensen, who he vaguely remembered as being one of Dawn Stiles' gaggle. She'd been very artistic in high school, probably why Dawn had let her into her inner circle -- for the poster and promotion help as Clark had always thought she was too nice to hang with that crowd. He tried to remember that, and how nice it was of her to paint little animals in a Noah's ark theme all over the Steinbrenner's rebuilt nursery, so he didn't yell at her. 

It wasn't her fault, after all. It was his. If Jessica thought it was "so romantic, you know? Starting over as friends? I mean, Lana did say the best relationships grow from friendships and all. You guys are so cute!" If she thought that, it was all his doing. He'd been around Lana and she hadn't been kissing him or even hugging him much, hadn't even been leaving voice mails. So he really hadn't a clue what was going on in her head until Jessica told him, then his mother sheepishly confirmed it. 

"Well, she did indicate something like that to me," Martha had sighed. "She told me that I'd raised such a sensitive boy and how I should be so proud of his willingness to... build a relationship from friendship." 

"Mom, I swear to God! I'm trying!" 

So fine! He hadn't been clear enough. 

So first, Lana thought it was just a break. Second, Lana thought it was some kind of fresh start to building their relationship. This time, he had to be clear. 

It took him until Day Ten to find the right words, ones that would make this clear without hurting her or driving her further into craziness... or toward Lex. Lex had still been around, sending Lana rare astronomy books or NASA level charts. These were mere baubles, really, probably nothing to Lex as he knew Lex had something bigger, though he couldn't prove it. He'd barely seen Lex himself as Lex seemed as keen on avoiding him these days as he'd been eager to see him before. Clark suspected that his questioning of Lex, actually mentioning the spaceship, had hit home. But Lex seemed pretty determined to stay in touch with Lana, maybe to remind her of whatever it is he owed her. Lana had said he was talking about The Talon, but Clark didn't think so. Lex barely looked around the place except when his coffee wasn't just right. 

It was all the more reason for him to keep in touch with Lana, show her real things, like her town and her work and reminding her to eat. He and Chloe had both been fairly committed to visiting her in the shop or the apartment, mostly separately. Chloe seemed to check in with him whenever she was going to see Lana as she seemed to think it was the most horrible idea in the world for them to see her together. 

"I think it would just be too awkward right now," she'd said. 

And he knew why. Lana had probably been rhapsodizing about his sensitivity to her, too. It certainly explained why Operation Rocketship (which Chloe kept calling Operation Spaceship, which didn't sound even a tenth as cool) had been mostly hemming and hawing over the phone even on her promised weekend. Try as he might, he could not get the girl alone in even a public space. Really, he tried not to bring up the Lana issue--or anything about the two of them--with Chloe. Whenever he tried, she had a tendency to shut him down and brush him off with her precious month, which was only a little more than a week in and still torture. 

Still, that twenty days... Sometimes he saw it as a gift. Maybe that was enough time for Lana to get it without him having to actually say it. Maybe if he could just be there for her as a friend, she'll see him that way and stop seeing him those other ways. But then... What would he be doing? Just what his mom said. He'd be stringing her along while knowing she had feelings for him. And maybe he was stringing her along to spare her feelings, but that didn't make him less of a jerk. He'd done that before, really. Chloe had brought it up after that first night together. 

"At least not right now." That's what he'd said to her when she asked if he had feelings for her at the beginning of senior year. "God, I hated those words. I wish you'd never said them. Because, even later, every time I thought there was nothing between us, I heard those words. And I thought maybe... There's no point in even bringing it up. You're a damned tease, Clark Kent, and you always were." 

Of course, she was definitely the tease these days with her precious month. Anyway, he just couldn't let Lana think that this was just some holding pattern until they got back together. There was no "at least not right now" about it. The difference with Chloe then and Lana now was that he was sure it wasn't just not right now. When he looked at her, he didn't see possibilities anymore. He saw sameness, the same problems being played out endlessly. The funny thing was, even that day on the football field with Chloe, he hadn't seen that. Mostly, he'd felt afraid. 

Because Chloe did represent possibilities and a different life than the one he'd led. He might have been nearly reluctant every time he got dragged into saving people, might not have chosen that life for himself. Maybe he never asked for his powers but they showed him a different way to be... a way to do good and help people. And sometimes, with Chloe, with how passionate and single-minded she got, he wondered that he ever whined about having the ability to do more. Sometimes he wanted it all back. It would certainly make investigating easier. 

Either way, he might not have abilities or big secrets anymore, but he was no less dedicated to something bigger when there was a world out there that needed help, and that went beyond the immediate danger of this town. And Chloe was a part of that picture. Lana just wasn't. So he wasn't waiting till the end of those twenty days to be clear with Lana. That part started today. 

He moved into the Talon, trying to take care not to slam the door open. That was the thing about not having powers. It didn't make it any easier not to destroy things. He'd spent so many years, concentrating so hard at not using his full strength that he'd found a new freedom in not having to worry about it. He threw balls as hard as he could, he jumped down the last three steps without denting the floor, he tossed hay bales without fearing they would end up on the freeway, and, until recently, he slammed doors open and shut with wild abandon. Then he did it to the front door and realized that any eighteen-year-old, even one without superpowers, could wreak destruction when four pictures and a mirror fell from the newly-redone front entryway and shattered and cracked. He'd had three helpings of asparagus that night. 

But it wasn't just for the fear of punishment--and vegetables--that he crept as softly as he could into The Talon. He just really wanted to be the one to start the conversation rather than have Lana just creep up (he'd never realized it before, but she had an abnormally quiet walk... and voice) and start talking and make him forget all the things he'd carefully planned to say. He'd tossed and turned last night, trying to think of some way to say it that wouldn't leave her feeling rejected. 

He spied her at a far table, bent over a book, probably one of Lex's new gifts. He ignored that as there wasn't anything he could do about that now. There weren't a lot of people in the cafe right now, probably wouldn't be until lunch as most town businesses had started keeping normal hours again. Between 11 and 12. This was the time, if any. He started to approach her, but was distracted by his mother coming out of the kitchen. 

"Lana, we don't have any monterey jack. I called Spanish Gardens and convinced them we aren't still a war zone, but they can't send anything until..." His mother stilled, seeing Clark behind Lana.

Lana turned to her, then seemed to see where she was looking. "Clark." She smiled widely and he'd have been encouraged by that if he didn't know that smile really meant that she still didn't get it. "I was just hoping you'd..." 

"Lana, we need to talk," he said, not wanting to let her derail this discussion--or his carefully-worded speech. He glanced at his mother, but she quickly ducked back into the kitchen. She'd made it pretty clear this was something he had to do himself. She wouldn't even let him practice his speeches on her, which he thought was really unfair. He might have been able to get this done on Day Two if he had a female ear. 

Lana gestured him to the table. "I know. I think the both of us have been waiting to really talk this out. Now that the town's more settled and I've figured out what I want to do and..." 

"Oh, yeah. Astronomy," he said dully. He didn't approve as he thought that would only drag her deeper into alien paranoia. But Chloe seemed to disagree there. "Maybe it makes her feel safer," Chloe had said, "knowing what's beyond a little. You know she won't get as far as Krypton, as that's kind of off the books. Maybe it'll help her feel secure, knowing nothing's coming." 

"I'm actually really excited," Lana was saying. "I just need to pick a college that offers a major in it. Lex said he could help with..." 

"I didn't actually want to talk about that... I mean, not right now." He flinched at the words and reminded himself not to use them when dropping the bomb. "But that's good. Good for you. So Lana..." He sat down and she took a seat across, still smiling. He hated to ruin that, but it was time. "Lana, we've been through a lot together." Even as he said it, he knew it wasn't half of what he'd been through with Chloe by his side, but it stood. "We've been through so much, but this time..." 

"I know we have, Clark." She kept her smile, but her eyes grew moist. "We've also been through so much apart. I've been to so many dark places, things I barely remember, without you. I'm so glad that's over. That you're here with me." 

"For you," he corrected. "I am here for you." But that dark places talk was a little worrying. And he had some idea of things she barely remembered as he did have a little tussle in his barn, in the caves, and even in China with a witch named Isobel in Lana's body. "You know, those dark things... you just shouldn't think about them. Because you're right. They're over. They're all over." He was getting off-track, but that needed to be said. 

"Yes. Because you're with me again." 

"Uh... You know, I don't think that's why. I think it's because... you." He took a deep breath. "Lana, I don't want you to think you're only okay because I'm around. I mean, I am around. I am definitely here for you." He emphasized the last words carefully. Because it was time. She had gone through some horrible, scarring things in that day and, as much as he knew they went back to him, he just couldn't let her make him be the reason she was okay. As much as he wanted to be there for her, less involvement with him and the world that was driving her to paranoia would be for the best. He couldn't expect her to handle it like Chloe did. "Lana, I think you can be strong all on your own. I don't think you should need anyone to get through this. I don't think you should need me." 

She let out a slightly uneven laugh. "Clark, what are you..." 

"I am here for you, Lana. I always will be, but I can't be with you," he said in a rush. 

Her brow furrowed and she drew back. "You mean now. Because... After we figure everything out..." 

"I'll still feel the same way then. You and me... It never works out." 

"But that's just because... we were just kids. We're growing up now, Clark. We could try now, try for real." 

She almost made it sound reasonable. "Lana, I've probably dreamed up a million reasons why we never work out and thought of how to change each one. In the end, we just... don't. I think we need to face that." More than that, that he no longer wanted them to. 

She shook her head. "But it's different now. I'm literally facing my demons and, Clark... I feel like, all along, you were always hiding something and, this time, you really mean what you say. Don't you see it? We can be honest now..." 

"I am being honest," he said softly to the table. "I care about you." He winced as he met her eyes. "I know that seems like that's just something I'm saying, but it's true. I want to be friends, Lana." He held her eyes, thought of touching her hand before he though better of it. "I want to be friends, but... no more than that." 

She huffed out a laugh. "For now. Yes." 

"Lana..." 

She let out a hoarse laugh and stood. "You know, there's a lunch rush coming and... I have so much to do." 

He stood as he watched her disappear into the kitchen and wondered what more he could say. He thought Lana might be on her way to getting it, but outside of him actively pushing her away, she seemed to think there was still something there. Now he kind of understood, just barely, why Chloe seemed to demand this month. She probably meant it for him to sort out his feelings, but his were fairly well organized. It was Lana that needed sorting out. He wondered if he should be even clearer, tell Lana it was Chloe he wanted... and then? Lana would push Chloe away. And Chloe would push him away. Because he and Chloe were nothing near official and for him to start spreading the idea of them around without even assurance that there was a them... 

He was saved from further entertaining the idea by Chloe herself... or a text from her. 

Operation LHASS development!!! 911!!! 

*************************** 

"Operation L-HASS?" 

"L.H.A.S.S," Chloe said in a rush, holding her front door wide. "I meant to separate the letters, but..." 

"But what does it..." 

"Lex has a space ship." 

"Why can't we ever call it a rocket ship?" Clark groaned. 

"Because we're not ten." 

"Like space ship is so mature." 

"Would you just get in here?" 

He leaned in the doorway. "I don't know. It feels so weird, actually seeing you in person. I feel like we should have code words, just so I actually know you're really Chloe Sullivan and not..." 

"Oh, shut up!" She gripped his arm and tugged him in, kicking the door shut behind her as she prodded him toward the stairs. 

"So we're not even going to talk about you avoiding me and..." 

"I have not been avoiding you." 

"Sure." He went up the stairs, anyway. It was toward her bedroom, after all, and once there... 

"I've had better things to do." 

He turned at her bedroom door, but she prodded him in, wondered if he should tell her about Lana today. But something told him it wasn't enough. And, by the time, he moved into her room, all that went away. He had, up until this moment, had some ideas about Chloe. He'd thought of her as some sort of omniscient presence over his dealings with Lana, as if she was judging each step, finding it wanting, checking off points on some invisible scoreboard. The fact that this had NOT been happening didn't make him feel any better. 

She'd built up an arsenal instead. 

"What the..." 

"I told you. I had better things to do." She gestured to to the massive stockpile on her bedroom's window seat, a mass of black and silver right spread among throw pillows and scattered stuffed animals. Some items looked more innocuous, like telescopes, cameras, and two-way radios, but some looked downright dangerous... and really cool. 

He picked up a red tube with a ring. "Hey! Is that a flash bang grenade?" She might be the coolest girlfriend ever... if she'd let him call her that. 

Chloe grabbed it back. "Careful! It was a graduation present from Lois. I'm saving it for a special occasion." 

He wondered if this occasion would end up special enough... and if he'd get to pull the ring. "Where did you get all this?" 

"Some, I got from Lois and Uncle Sam. You make your Christmas and birthday wish lists very specific and it kind of pays off." She picked up what looked like a small black box. "The rest?" She shrugged. "Ebay." 

"Well, why didn't you tell me about all this stuff?" 

"You had your secrets, I had mine." She moved to her bed and knelt on the side, opening her laptop. "Now, the only one we need right now is this." She held up the black box. "It's technically a pet tracker. You attach it to your dog's collar and it can tell you where he is if he runs away, up to 100 miles, which I figured was all we'd need to track our bad dog." 

His eyes widened as she woke up her screen. "That's kind of... brilliant." 

Her face reddened slightly. "Thanks." 

"But don't you think Lex would notice if we lojacked him?" 

She chuckled. "Not Lex. His cars. Maybe his helicopter if they don't pan out." 

"Something tells me if Lex needs a helicopter to get to the rocketship..." 

"It's not a rocketship," she groaned. 

"Oh, then you saw it?" 

"No. But neither did you." 

He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, if he needs a helicopter to get to it, that might go beyond that 100 miles." 

She pursed her lips and nodded. "You're right. Just the cars. We only have three possible pet trackers, anyway. But something tells me Lex would want to keep his new toy close. How many cars does Lex have?" 

"Too many." 

She sighed. "So we just kind of stake him out a little, try to tag the top three. I can keep a look out at Luthorcorp when I'm in the city for Met U business tomorrow. And you... maybe stake out the Talon. I'm sure you'll be hanging with Lana, anyway." 

He glared at the top of her head. Because she didn't have to say it like... Well, he wasn't sure how she said it. But it just felt like, any time she mentioned Lana, it was as if they were some foregone conclusion. "You know, we're not back together." 

"Clark, it's none of my..." 

"Maybe I haven't made it as clear as I want to with her, but I'm working on..." 

"Clark, I think we really need to focus on the work, here." 

"Fine! You don't want to talk about Lana. But..." 

"Actually, I do want to talk about Lana," she said, then took a deep breath, looking up at him. "I think we need to talk about Lana and Lex." 

He sat hard on the bed. "I've actually had my suspicions, but she says..." 

"No. Don't worry. It's not about that." 

He narrowed his eyes. "I wasn't worried." Except he was, just not for the reasons Chloe thought. 

"I managed to get some footage from the hospital in the days following the new shower," she sighed. "I was actually trying to get the stuff that applied to our alien visitors, see if it gave as anything to work with, but that part was strangely unavailable." 

"Or Lex has it." 

"Exactly. But I was hoping to get something tied to it, so I talked someone into letting me grab some of the archived footage, nothing exciting, set for deletion and all..." 

He turned to her. "How?" 

She shrugged. "I know someone." 

"You always know someone, but how did you get them to let you download footage?" She'd sometimes bragged about flirting with some guard or clerk and, though it was mildly annoying then, it sent hot stabs of anger through him now. 

"I said it was for Lana." 

He deflated. "Lana?" 

"Yeah. Said I wanted to make a nice video with footage of everyone safe in their hospital rooms, town healing and all that. Everyone knows she's been dealing badly and since the male population is downright obsessed with her..." 

"Not all the male..." 

"Anyway, I wasn't actually trying to get her footage. I was hoping to get something from your mom's room since Lois said that was where it started. But I got hers, too and..." She sighed and brought up a video screen. It showed what he knew must be Lana from behind, opening a paper. Chloe paused and zoomed in on the paper. "You owe me one. L," she read aloud. 

He could read that much, scrawled boldly over the article. He was afraid to look at the rest because he was having some idea of what he'd see, those dark days Lana seemed afraid to give more than the barest whisper to. "Well... she said Lex said she owed him." 

"Yes, but we didn't know why." She tapped the screen. "Listen, I know it's hard to read... hard to even think about. But look at the article." 

"Socialite and son killed," he read dully. He couldn't hope to read the rest. And he really didn't want to. 

"Clark, I... I'm not saying it wasn't probably, even definitely, accidental or self defense or..." She moved slightly closer to him. "We know how Jason died from your parents. But I think Lana must... or she might have had something to do with Genevieve Teague's death. 

Clark squeezed his eyes shut. "When she found me in the barn, before I left or... I thought I was leaving, she gave me a stone. It had blood on it and... she talked about all the times I couldn't explain things. Said I needed to trust her then." He handed the laptop back to her. "And it was blood. Jor-El said human blood had stained one of the elements and awakened some great danger from space." 

"So that's why..." 

"The new shower. The ship. I mean, I knew that, but I never connected it to Lana." 

"I think I get why she's so jumpy." Chloe shook her head. "But I can't think Lana would kill someone in cold blood." 

"No, but Isobel might have." 

"Who?" 

Clark put the laptop aside and told Chloe all about it, about the witch he'd fought in China, but had first encountered at her birthday party and the general havoc of those days. 

"Now I get it," Chloe said breathlessly, then shook her head. "I feel like I'll be saying that a lot as all this behind-the-scenes info unfurls, but... yeah. I mean, I had the general Smallville post-possession malaise, but knowing a little more about the witch does clear things up a little. Also, the crazy Lana behavior. Possessed by a witch... a lot, apparently." 

"We talked about some of it, but... Well, I didn't let her in on how much I knew. But I didn't know she did this." 

"She didn't do this," Chloe said firmly. "A witch did it." Chloe let out a long sigh. "And I can't believe I just said that and it's totally true. But Lana can't be responsible for something she didn't actually do. People do crazy things on meteor powers. God knows I did with my little bout of truth breath. But doing those things... those are things that are in them to do. That power corrupts, but possession is a different thing. You should know that better than me." 

He bumped her with his elbow. "I might not have spent as much time analyzing Smallville phenomena as you do." 

"You mean you ignored it." 

He turned his gaze to her. "Tried to." 

"Kind of hard to do." 

He suddenly realized that he hadn't been alone with her for nearly two weeks, that they were sitting pretty damned close, had gotten closer by degrees and now her thigh was touching his thigh and her hand was barely an inch from his and if he leaned over just a little... He actually did, but she was gone, suddenly very interested in her little stockpile. 

"Anyway, now we know," she said. "That's what's important with... the work." 

He shook himself, feeling rather guilty for where his mind had been. As much as he'd been annoyed with Chloe putting him off, this was serious business. There were dire developments and all he could think of was if Chloe's lipgloss had a flavor and how long it might take for it to dissipate if he pulled her back to the bed and.... "So what does this mean?" he breathed, pushing those thoughts away. 

"It means a woman was killed," Chloe said firmly, toying with a pair of headsets, "by a witch, of all things. It also means that Lex is holding something Lana didn't do over her head." 

Clark stood. "He has to know she didn't do it. But... no wonder she thinks she owes him. Maybe that's why she's accepting these gifts from him, this help. So what do we do?" 

"We stick by Lana," Chloe held up her three collars. "But we stick with the plan. We're going to find that spaceship." She turned to Clark. "I can handle Metropolis, you can maybe drop off some produce at the mansion." She shrugged. "And handle the Talon, as usual."

He stared hard at her. "You know, I talked to Lana today." He wasn't going to say it. But damned if she didn't push him to it, with her little implications. 

"Yeah? I hear she's set on Met U." She stood a bit taller. "I think we're all grown-ups, so I look forward to... being closer to her and..."

"I told her I wanted to be friends. And nothing else."

Her eyes widened slightly. "I think that's very good for you two. You need to... maybe... start over and..."

"That's not why and I think you know it." 

"I don't..."

"But that's fine." He took two of the collars from her satisfyingly limp hands. "Twenty days to go."

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CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

More coming soon. And I promise for some Chloe POV next (Clark just seems to take over this fic).