Almost Lovers (Chapter Sixteen)

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Muchas gracias to AV/Silversnikle for the beta-assist!

Chapter 16

The afternoon hadn’t gone as planned. Rather than cozily listening to the receiver in her pocket while warm in her car, she’d been basically kidnapped by Diana, who definitely was not as considerate a flyer as Clark. She would be surprised she was kidnapped at all. But the gang had pretty much stopped surprising her by now. Of course, she was hijacked in the middle of her investigation. Of course. She bet, if Clark knew what she was doing, he’d be first in line to nab her.

But this wasn’t Clark. He was still in deep cover. This was all Victor, pacing in front of her and demanding answers as to what she was doing on Luthor grounds.

“… a dangerous man to start with, but now an unbalanced one. Just what were you doing?”

She may not be surprised, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t annoyed. She crossed her arms and looked him straight in the eye. “I can ask you the same thing? Seriously, what gives you the right to have me followed?”

“What?”

“Don't put on that offended tone,” she huffed, standing. “I expect this kind of overprotective paranoia from… Well, maybe Clark. But you’ve never treated me like a child. Now I find out you have me tailed and…”

“I did not have you tailed,” he scoffed.

“Sure, you didn’t,” she drawled. “You seemed awfully curious about what I was doing this morning.”

“Because you were being so squirrelly about it. Story, my ass.”

“Still, it gives you no right to…”

“No one was following you,” Victor said, almost wearily this time. “You came up on my feed.”

“Your feed?”

He sighed and moved to his monitors, pressing a few buttons before she saw not only Luthor’s front gate, but his front hall, his study, his bedroom, his driveway. “We set these out before the whole Met Vista thing went… well, in another direction. But I thought it was best to keep Lex monitored just in case.” 

She moved to the monitors, but he shut them off.

“Now you,” he went on. “You said you were done with contacting him. You know by now that no good comes of contacting…”

“I wasn’t contacting Lex.”

“So that wasn’t you at his gates demanding an interview?”

“It only looked that way. Hell, if I actually wanted Luthor to talk to me, I know better than to storm his fortress and yell a lot. Please!”

Victor shook his head. “Then what were you doing there?”

This was tricky. She didn’t want to tell anyone about Lana, not until she’d gathered more info. She wanted enough, this time, that Clark couldn’t just argue it away. But Victor wasn’t Clark. He might see what she did. 

It also didn’t hurt that Victor had footage of Lana herself in Luthor Manor. If she wanted to see it, she might have to pony up what she knew.

“Lois, what were you doing there?” he asked again.

“A better question,” she finally said, “might be what Lana Lang is doing there.”

******************

“What are you doing? Slacking off, Clemp?”

Clark shoved yet another load of wet plaster debris into the dumpster in the alleyway before turning to Tiny. “You told me to…”

“I’m just messing with you,” Tiny said, his eyes flashing red as he leaned against the wall.

“Jones,” he hissed. “Don’t do that.”

“Hard to help.” Jones grinned, still with Tiny’s face.

“You seem happy.”

“Everything’s going according to plan. Goodness is confirmed to show up and receive the giant check, whether it’s worth anything seems to be immaterial. We all know they’re after more than a photo op.”

“And Desaad?”

“He’ll be sure to come tumbling after.”

“You seem awfully sure of that.”

“Kal-El…” He took Clark by the shoulders, which was rather unnerving in Tiny’s form. “I’ll handle this. I know the technology by now. All you need to do is keep as you are.”

He felt like that summed up this entire operation. The police and now Jones both seemed to think he was just some cog in the wheel of something bigger. And it wasn’t as if he minded that. It wasn’t as if he wanted to hog all the dubious glory here. But he thought, when Jones contacted him, that he’d be doing more than what he’d been doing before.

“You just keep the police out of the way,” Jones went on. The door to the alleyway opened and Jones quickly clapped him on the shoulder. “And I want every glass polished. Hear me, Clemp?”

“Hey, why don’t you practice some of that cleanliness on yourself?” Cat quipped, struggling with two garbage bags. 

“You get back to work… you,” Jones finished lamely before passing her, tossing Clark a wink.

Clark rushed to take her bags. “Let me…”

“See, that’s how you handle guys like that, Kent,” she sighed, shouldering past him and tossing them in the dumpster. “I told him what was what and I’m still standing. Why do you let everyone just walk all over you?”

Clark wasn’t sure he agreed. If that had really been Tiny… Hell, Cat had been giving everyone all kinds of attitude from the start and no one had struck her down. He leaned heavily against the wall, wondering if she had a point. “Force of habit?”

She fished in her pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “That’s no way to live. Now, I’ve got a proposition for you.”

He sighed. “Once again, I don’t think we’re compatible in that…”

“Please. Don’t flatter yourself,” she said, lighting up and blowing out a long stream of smoke. “I know when to call it a draw. I’m talking about my special assignment with Vincent Edge. I’m thinking you and me can get our story and go.”

He plucked the cigarette out of her fingers. “First, you said you quit. And second, we can’t just…”

“If we can tie Intergang to Galaxy Communications, then we have a story.”

“But what about the police?”

“What about them?” she snapped. “They make us work these crappy jobs and keep our ears open and treat us like… Just give the cigarette. I swear, it’s just this one and then…”

“Like we’re in the way,” he said, still holding it away. “But you said you wanted to do something that matters,” he said firmly. “Listen, I don’t like this any more than you do.” And he’d like to think he had more reason, just considering… “But what matters is that the bad guys are put away.” Or sent out of the galaxy. “After that…” He crushed her cigarette against the wall and tossed it in the dumpster, telling himself as much as her. “Only after that… That’s when the story gets told.”

*******************

“So what’s the story here?” Lois rubbed her eyes. “This is a lot to get through.”

Victor sighed. “I guess, to sum up…”

“He’s crazypants,” Bart piped up from the corner. 

“Bart, it’s not that...”

“What? He’s off his rocker. All he does is eat, sleep, mutter to himself, and hoard. Not gonna lie. Best reality show ever.”

“So why are you still monitoring him?” Lois asked, almost absently, sifting through the archived footage.

Victor shrugged. “You don’t spend this much time fighting the same guy just to let your guard down at the end.”

Lois kept sifting, trying to get to this afternoon. 

“I’ll take a sandwich run,” Bart said. “Hey, Lois. Take note of the bathroom time for me. I’ve got a count going.”

“Bart, stop with the bathroom thing. It’s weird.”

Bart scoffed. “He spends, like, all his time in the bathroom. That’s the weird part. I’m telling you. We should get a camera in there.”

“Thanks. I think we’re good.” He turned to Lois as Bart moved out. “But yes. More than half his time is spent in the bathroom. I’m thinking he’s gone germophobe.”

“Howard Hughes,” she sighed. She may have made the odd joke, but it seemed almost too fitting by now.

It was almost sad, by the time she found the footage containing Lana’s little visit. He seemed so eager, showing the Doctor around, actually proudly showing off a collection of water bottle caps. 

“I almost have enough,” she heard him say.

“Enough for what?”

“You just… you never know.”

Lois sucked in a breath as he bumped into Nurse Leery. But “Excuse me… Ma’am,” was all he said before rushing past to show the doctor his plant. 

Apparently, there’d been some kind of test set forth where he was supposed to keep a plant alive. Lois could barely stand to watch as he showed the doctor a pot of dried, barren dirt, arguing about how lush the foliage was. 

She sighed and pushed her chair away. “Yeah. He’s pretty far gone. Still, why would she chance it?”

“Maybe to make sure,” Victor said. “Is that what she was doing with Grady, too?”

It seemed to fit, just Lana making sure Lex didn’t remember she was alive somewhere. It could all come down to self-preservation. 

Lois shook her head. “I just don’t know. I just… I feel like this is more than just some stake in whether he remembers or not. Why not just stay away? Why come back now? There’s more to it. There has to be.”

“The only person that could tell us for sure is Lana,” Victor grunted, rewinding the footage again. 

“If she wanted to tell us, she wouldn’t have hidden from me,” Lois said, staring at the screen. “Hell, why wouldn’t she tell Clark? This has been going on since before Christmas. She should have told him if…”

“I don’t even know if we should tell Clark just yet. I mean, what Lana’s doing… Well, this might not be a bad idea, making sure he’s not a danger or…”

“But there’s got to be more to it. We haven’t heard all the…” She stopped herself. She might have told him some, but she hadn’t told him everything. She’d told him about her Lana investigation, but she hadn’t told him she’d succeeded in bugging Doctor Carson. Something told her to keep that close for now.

“All the what?”

“I was just thinking we should look at more footage. But what’s the point? He’s crazy. If she’s trying to test that… then… Well, maybe that’s not a bad idea. But you’re right,” she conceded. “We shouldn’t bring this to Clark.”

“He’s off the grid, anyhow. No way to contact him.”

And she supposed he was off the grid, officially. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t see him tonight… barring some catastrophe. But there was someone else she had to see first.

She went back to work, telling Perry about at least some of her day. She knew that she couldn’t spend this much time on her little side project during work hours without giving him more than “chasing a lead.” Besides, she was seen at Luthor Manor.

“I couldn’t get in, but I do know he’s being psychologically evaluated on a regular basis and… Well, his board might not be too confident in his abilities to be a figurehead, even in name only.”

Considering how Perry felt about Luthors, he looked a tiny bit thrilled. “How do you know all this?”

“I have sources and… Let’s just say they’re reliable.” Being her own eyes and ears and all that, with a side of Eve Tessmacher’s inside info. “I’ve got more to look into, but I’m going to need a few more days on this to get all my facts straight.”

“A Luthor falls. I never thought I’d see the day.” He nodded. “Do what you need to.”

What she needed to do was gather as much information as possible because, as thrilled as both Perry and Victor seemed about Lex’s fall from corporate grace, she couldn’t help feeling there was more to it. 

By the time she got home and plugged the receiver into her computer, she was also debating on whether or not Victor was right about telling Clark. If anyone knew Lana, it was Clark. She and Victor could theorize about why she might be doing this and whether it was a “good idea” forever. But Clark would have more insight into this than anyone.

Clark also had too much on his plate to be bothered with something that might not even be an emergency. Either way, she still needed more info.

The recording didn’t provide as many answers as she’d hoped. By the time she got through twenty minutes of Doctor Carson droning about the traffic and *****ing about his daughter wanting to drop out of college, also the first few minutes damning Lois personally for blocking the gate, she was ready to call the whole trip a waste… if it hadn’t been for her kidnapping, at least, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. 

Then… “Do you think we’re looking at full commitment?”

Lois sat up straighter at that. It was the first time Lana did something more than half-heartedly sympathize. 

“I’m not sure there’s call for that,” Carson said. “I see no reason not to let him live out the remainder of his days safely in his family home.”

There was silence. But then… “But it’s such a large estate. He could easily harm himself or…”

“Oh, I’m sure there could be more staff hired, well trained, of course, for the special circumstances surrounding....”

“Yes, but an institution would leave no question about his safety. Also, if his board votes him out, it won’t be too long before his estate is in question.” Lana took a deep breath. “I defer to your judgment, obviously, but I’m just wondering if it’s best to make a place for him at Belle Reve.”

“Well, that is a fair point, but if his problems don’t seem to be rooted in self-harming or…”

Nothing. That was it. She’d thought that half hour was more than enough. She damned Doctor Carson’s daughter just a little as she rewound. Still, she feared she’d got all she could and at least it added up to one more piece of the puzzle. Lana wasn’t just checking up on Lex. She was working to put him away. A few more listens and that seemed clear as day. Was that enough now? Enough to tell Clark?

She still wasn’t sure how to feel. Maybe Victor was right and maybe even this was for the good. With all Lex Luthor had done, maybe he needed to be safely away. Hell, he didn’t seem the picture of sanity and maybe Belle Reve was just the place to put him.

But why would Lana do it this way, sneaking and hiding? Why not talk to Clark, tell him that Lex was dangerous to others and himself, tell him what she was doing and why she was doing it? Why not talk to Martha, if Lana felt so close to her? And what might Clark think of all this?

The answer was arriving, barring a catastrophe, in the form of Clark… in less than an hour. Putting all thoughts of Lana aside, she hopped in the shower, determined to shave and pluck and perfume every inch of herself. This was still a second date. And she didn’t want it to end like the first, with her left standing on her doorstep like an idiot.

Whatever they did tonight, it ended here. That was why she was wearing the tightest jeans she could squeeze herself into, a top so low-cut she had to pull it up to cover her bra, and a possible pound of makeup.

She was on her fourth coat of mascara, determined to achieve the ultimate bedroom eyes, when there was a knock on her door.Damn Clark. He must have bypassed her front entrance completely. She’d really been hoping for that buzzer as a nice one-minute warning. Still, a man with super speed might not even give her that. Regardless, she took her time. She fanned her eyes, blotted her lipstick, and gave her mirror what she felt was at least three passable come-hither glances before clicking her heels to the door, taking a deep breath.

Through all the confusion, one thing was clear -- she wanted him and he wanted her. And she’d like to think that people, especially people with stressful jobs, should, if at all possible, have what they wanted. Tonight.

She waited for just one more knock before she opened, carefully arching her back and pasting on what she hoped was a sultry smile. “Wow. You’re right on time. No catastrophe?”

He smiled back. “Nope. Not tonight. Ready to go?”

Her smile dropped. To be honest, she’d actually been hoping that they wouldn’t be going anywhere, that he’d take one look at her and just tear her horribly uncomfortable push-up bra right off. Then she wouldn’t have to think about whether to tell him until -- fast forwarding to the bedroom -- some time later. He wasn’t even ogling her.

“Yes. Ready,” she ground out. “Let me just… get my coat.” Maybe this was a sign. Maybe there was no fast-forward button… as much as she really wished there was. And maybe she shouldn’t tell him. Did she even know enough now? As much as she wanted to analyze the facts, how could she? Did she have enough distance and perspective?

So they left. They got Chinese takeout and sat on a bench.

Well, there was more to it than that. They got it from China and the bench was in Paris and, even with the cold weather, it was all pretty impressive and, as much as she wanted to be snippy about him putting her off last night, she couldn’t, not with this food and that view. It almost annoyed her that she couldn’t.

“I’m not high maintenance,” she found herself saying, “just so you know.”

“Uh…”

“I mean, a date with me doesn’t have to be a U.S. pizza tour or involve multiple continents or…”

“Oh, no. I wasn’t… I mean, I didn’t think… I wasn’t trying to imply…”

“No. I mean, it’s amazing.” That annoyed her, too, that he took this to be a criticism. “I just mean that I don’t expect that, just because of who you are. That’s all I meant.” Jeez, Clark!

He poked at his noodles. “Well, you know… You want to make an impression.”

“I think the impression’s there,” she said on a chuckle. “I mean, you can fly, make toast with your eyes, all that…” She laughed outright. “Hell, you can hear me almost all the time. It took a while, adjusting to that idea.”

“What? I don’t…”

“Oh, no.” Damn him, he seemed to be ready to take everything the wrong way. “Well, just when I’m scared and all. I have been trying so hard not to get even a little freaked out…”

“No. That’s not how it is. I mean, if I wanted to, I could hear you all the time. But I’d never just… listen. I’d never do that to you.”

She stared back at him. She believed every word. And it was kind of a relief to know. “You wouldn’t,” she said. It wasn’t even a question, but he answered even so.

“It’s the craziest thing, but, when you’ve wanted me to, even in a whisper, I’ve heard you. But never when you didn’t need me. But it’s only for you. It always was.” He planted his chopsticks in his box and leaned in. “Sometimes I wonder about that, how it started even before I knew…” He stopped then.

“What?” 

“I just mean that…” He took a deep breath. “That maybe there’s something between us.”

It didn’t seem like what he’d started to say. Regardless, he and his mom seemed to be on the same page, there. But there was something else about talking to Martha today that was still pulling at her. “Anyway, these dates… I just meant they don’t have to be diary fodder, like you’re… I mean that you don’t owe me some perfect date.” Every time he mentioned that notebook, it seemed like he was waiting for her to find it, this thing he wanted to fix, make up for… or he was waiting for her to run away. It made her think of Lana. He had to know that, whatever this was, she wasn’t the new guilty project. “Do you always pull out all the stops like this?”

“I don’t know.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I was still a teenager, the last time I went on an actual date.”

If there was ever a time to bring up her name… “You mean with Lana?”

“No. Her name was Alicia,” he said rather softly.

“Alicia?” With all her research, that name hadn’t come up. 

“Sometimes I forget all you don’t know,” he said, glancing at her, then away. 

“I didn’t read about her in the notebook.”

He shrugged. “I didn’t include it. Maybe I should have. I guess I didn’t want to complicate things, keep it about us. But… I guess she had more to do with us than I thought.” He took a deep breath. “She was a meteor mutant. She stalked me at first, then she went away and came back… better. Well, not completely better. She kind of drugged me with red kryptonite and we got illegally married in Vegas and then we ended up dating and… it was complicated. ”

“That does sound complicated,” she said, not knowing what else to say. “I take it you aren’t still friends.”

“I think we would be,” he said softly. “If she’d lived.”

She let out a shaky breath. “Did you… love her?”

“I don’t know. It didn’t start out that way. I was kind of afraid of her and then… I guess I did love her. I don’t know if it was made to last, but I always felt like, if I was there to keep her honest, help her do better things, then maybe…”

“You could fix her?” God, another one.

He turned to her, surprised. “No. That can’t be…” He let out a long breath. “Maybe it was part of it, but it wasn’t all of it. I don’t know. But being with her changed me, changed everything in the end. She was the reason you found out about my powers.” He gave her a sad smile. “I think she did it so you’d expose me, which you’d never have done, but… I don’t know. Maybe she knew, deep down that, if anyone needed to know, it was you. Just you.”

And there it was, just when she thought Clark was hopeless, he said things like that. She leaned forward, pressing a brief kiss to his lips.

“What was that for?”

She shrugged and sat back. “So what did you two do, on your dates? Or is that too sad to…”

“No. It’s alright. It’s been years now. We went ice skating, had cocoa.”

“At Rockefeller Center?”

He laughed lightly. “In Smallville. We also went to karaoke night at The Talon.”

“Tell me you didn’t sing.”

“No.” He grinned widely. “But you did.”

She scoffed. “I did not.”

“Did so. Ask Linda.”

She would not. She didn't want to know. “And what about Lana?” she asked, wondering if she was pushing it, but unable to stop herself. “Any destination dates with her?”

“No. She didn’t know about me and… every time I thought about telling her, it seemed wrong. She did find out on her own, eventually. But she married Lex, anyway and… Is this weird to talk about? It feels weird.”

“Well, we’re eating Chinese in Paris, so weird is relative.” She tried for a smile, feeling like she’d dragged enough of the past out of him for now. “But I guess you’re pulling out all the stops for our dates. How flattering.”

He smiled back. “Maybe you’re a special case.”

“Still, I’d be just as happy eating Metropolis Chinese in the glow of a souvenir Eiffel Tower, just so you know. So,” she said brightly, putting her food aside, “how was your day?”

He seemed to tense up. “Frustrating.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“No,” he said with a smile. “How was yours?”

“About the same.”

“I don’t suppose you’d care to…”

“Nope.” Just stalking your ex-girlfriend, who’s stalking her ex, by the way. And she knew that this might be enough to tell him, but she just couldn’t. Besides, he had enough going on. She nodded at his food, untouched for some time now. “You done?”

“Oh. Yeah.” He stood. “Maybe we should move this date back to Metropolis.”

For a start. Then maybe indoors. To her place. With the energy she was expending to keep out of and keep him focused on his dangerous, possibly intergalactic, doings with that other alien pal of his, she could at least get a little something more than hand-holding and in flight cuddling for her trouble.

When they touched down, she was ready to take it. She kissed him. It was brief with closed lips, but she didn’t want to leave him in any doubt that it was just a start. “We should go to my place,” she whispered against his lips.

“Uh… You know, maybe. But I was thinking coffee.” He immediately moved out to the street. “Do you want coffee? I could go for some coffee or tea maybe or…”

“Well, I’ve got both at my place,” she said, trying to keep up. He wasn’t getting away this time. “And it’s warm in there.”

“I’m sure it is.” He stilled. “But it’s late for caffeine.”

“You just said you wanted coffee.”

“Well, for you, I mean…”

“Please. I’ve built up an immunity by now.” She stopped in front of him, pulling at his lapels with a smile.

“Oh, no. I just mean for me. I have to get up early.”

She pulled away and crossed her arms. “I thought caffeine didn’t affect you.”

“Well, it doesn’t, but the mental…”

“Uh-huh. Yeah. Got it,” she huffed, turning and walking away.

“What do you get?”

“You don’t want to come upstairs, then don’t come upstairs.” She saw her street ahead and turned down it quickly, aware of and annoyed by his steps behind her. 

“I didn’t say I didn’t want to come upstairs.”

She whirled on him at her steps. “Then come upstairs.”

“Well, it’s late and…”

"So you don't want to."

"Well, I do, but..."

“Then come up,” she almost yelled.

“Fine. I will.”

The walk up the stairs and down her hall was tense and silent and nothing at all like she’d thought it would be. She’d kind of thought they’d be wrapped around each other, kissing and groping shamelessly all the way there. So much for that. 

He even seemed angry. Well, damn it, so was she! Two dates now and the same pattern for each. They seemed to have a great time… up until the end. She was starting to think of putting the third off indefinitely. She was almost sure of it after ten minutes of sitting awkwardly on her couch, holding tea and not drinking it.

“You know what? You don’t have to stay here,” she finally said.

“Do you want me to go?” she heard, though she didn’t look at him. 

“I didn’t say that. I’m just saying you can leave if you want.”

“Well… I will. When I finish this tea.”

“Fine.”

“Fine, then.”

She tossed him an angry glance, then gulped half of hers down. It was cold by now. She caught him staring hard at his own and saw it steam up. Even that annoyed her right now. “You know, I feel like we have a lot going on right now.” 

“Uh-huh.”

She put her tea down, barely resisted slapping it on the coffee table. “I mean, you have a lot on your plate and I have my own work.”

“Uh-huh.”

She stood. “So maybe this isn’t the right time for dating.”

“What?” He stood as well, sloshing tea all over his shirt, which gave her some small, petty satisfaction. The only kind she was likely to have tonight.

“This isn’t working out.” 

He put his tea down, then wiped at his shirt with his coat. 

“Clark, that’s dry clean only, for crying out…”

“You can’t be serious.”

“Fine, pour tea all over it. What do I care?”

“Not about the coat,” he growled, roughly tossing it off. “Is this just because I wasn’t sure about coming up? Here I thought we had a great time tonight and last night and now you suddenly…”

“Yes, we do. It’s all flights and giggles, but then there’s the end when you suddenly treat me like…” She threw up her hands. “It’s like we’re blood related, all of a sudden.”

“What? I do not!”

“I mean, isn’t part of dating actually being attracted to each other?”

“You know I’m attracted to you,” he growled.

“Not very much or you’d make a move,” she said evenly.

“I did! We kissed just last night!”

Well if he was going to yell… “Yes! Then you disappeared!”

“I was being a gentleman!”

“Well, maybe I don’t want you to be! Is it too much to hope that you’d be so unreasonably attracted to me that you’d just… do something about it?”

“Being unreasonably attracted to you is pretty much my default state,” he said, eyes narrowed, “so maybe I’ve gotten used to not doing anything about it.”

She let out a shaky breath. “So do something now.”

He took a step forward, hands clenching and unclenching… then just stopped. “Listen, it’s late and…”

“Unbelievable,” she sighed, moving away.

He caught her arm. “Lois…”

She pulled away. “No. Either you want me or you don’t. You were all over me when there was a red rock in the vicinity. But you don’t seem to want me sober, so what kind of relationship would this be, Clark?”

“This isn’t about whether I want you. The only difference when I’m on Red K is I don’t think of the consequences.”

“We’ve already slept together, for Christ’s sake! Is this about the homework?”

“Not all the way. That’s only a small part of…”

“What if I never read it?”

“Lois…”

“I’m serious, Clark. What if I told you, right now, that whatever’s in this book, whatever it is you think us,” she gestured between them, “hinges on… What if I told you I don’t want to know?”

He shook his head. “But you need to know.”

“No. I don’t. Because everything in that book happened to two completely different people. And that’s pretty much literal, in my case. And I hate the idea of it stopping the people we are right now, at this moment,” she stepped closer to him, “from being happy.”

His eyes softened. “Lois…”

“I feel things for you, Clark, all kinds of scary, wonderful things, but they feel…” She shrugged. “They feel right to me and, here you are, trying to tell me they’re wrong somehow.”

“That’s not what I mean to do. I just…”

“You want to be with me and I want to be with you and I feel like I have to keep arguing you into this and I’m so tired of it, Clark,” she breathed. “God!” She moved away. “You know what? I’m just plain tired.” She checked her watch. It was barely ten, but she was ready to tell him to go, regardless. Then she stared at that wrist and she turned back. “You know what? There’s one thing I want to know right now. And I want you to answer honestly.”

He opened and closed his mouth several times before speaking. “I’ll tell you anything.”

“That bracelet, Clark.”

He looked away. “Why do you want to know about that?”

“Because I think about it every damned day, for some stupid reason,” she burst out before she could think better of it. “Do you want to know how I found that notebook in the first place? Looking for that damned bracelet! And I know you know more than you’re telling me and… Why, Clark? I don’t even like turquoise and I am borderline obsessed with some banged up, dirty old…”

"Listen, that bracelet is... it’s something I think we should leave alone."

“That’s a non-answer,” she said irritably. “That’s what you said before. And you just promised to answer me honestly, so answer me!”

“I can’t answer you. You’re not ready to hear it.”

“Why don’t you let me decide what I’m ready to hear?”

“Lois, that bracelet might as well be cursed. I want you to have a choice about your future and…”

“And how does a piece of jewelry determine that?”

“I don’t know how exactly. It was made before I was even born, but I’m not going to let it trap you. Don’t you see? This is all for you, Lois. Please…”

“Trap me? Trap me into what? It’s an inanimate object!”

“With a mind of its own,” he said. He sounded dead serious. “Certain things should be by choice – conscious choice.”

“Things like what?”

He shook his head.

“Clark, tell me,” she pleaded.

He took a deep breath. “Like marriage. Okay?”

"WHAT?"

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN