Where were they?

Lois looked down at her phone for what felt like the hundredth time. No new messages, no missed calls, no voicemails. Nothing. She glanced down the hallway towards the elevators in hopes that they would open, but they stayed shut. Looking the other way, she saw that the door to Jimmy's door was still closed, meaning that the doctor had not come up and could not update her.

She hated not knowing. It was the one thing she couldn't deal with. Injury, death, kidnapping, natural disasters, meteor freaks—all of that and more were pieces of cake, but the fear of not knowing was unbearable. She didn't know how Jimmy was doing, where Chloe was, or if Clark was even alive. The last she'd seen him, he'd been sprinting towards the barn after telling her to stay in the house.

"I promise I'll come back. Just stay here. I can't lose you."

Those were the last words he said to her. She remembered deliberately disobeying his instructions not long after Clark had left her standing there, but she must have tripped or been thrown off her feet by the vibrations because next thing she knew, she was waking up on her back with a nasty gash on her head. Oliver had driven her and several other guests to the hospital not long after that. Lois had refused a doctor and argued with the staff for a good twenty minutes before reluctantly accepting a disinfectant wipe and a bandage.

The sound of a door shutting caused her head to whip up, but she was disappointed when she saw a doctor walking out of the room next to Jimmy's. Groaning, her head fell back into her hands. How the hell had this happened? How had what was supposed to be the happiest day of her cousin's life turn into the absolute worst? Though she didn't want to think about it, Lois realized there was a very real possibility that Chloe might lose her husband on her wedding day. Lois couldn't bear to think of Chloe as a widow this young. Lois didn't want to think about another funeral. After losing her mother, Wes, and Mr. Kent, she wasn't sure if her heart could take another loss.

"Miss Lane?"

Lois shot to her feet so quickly that it caused a rush a blood to hit her head. Wincing, she placed a tender hand to her head and looked at the doctor, who was wearing a very reprimanding look on his face.

"I really wish you would get looked at, Miss Lane," he said. She waved her hand in his face and huffed.

"I told you, I'm fine. Now, how's Jimmy?" she asked. The doctor sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose, a sign that Lois took not very positively.

"He's stable and sleeping right now, but Mr. Olsen is in an extremely bad shape, I won't lie to you. He's sustained severe head and lung trauma, his right arm and left leg are both broken, he has fractures in his ribs, and a fair amount of internal bruising. We're doing all that we can for him, but he's going to need to be transferred to Star City in order to have any chance at making it through this. We'll have the top surgeon in the state waiting for him."

Lois took a moment to process the information. Stable, but extremely hurt. The fact that he was being transferred wasn't a good sign, but at least Oliver could get him the top doctors there. Where the hell was he, anyhow? He was supposed to be back after stopping back by the farm.

"When is he going to be transferred?" she asked. The doctor looked down and flipped through his chart.

"It's looking like it won't be until tomorrow morning. There's a lot of—"

"He's leaving tonight on a private transfer. Oliver Queen will make sure of it as soon as I get a hold of him," she said. "Start getting him ready to go."

"Miss Lane, I'm not at liberty—"

"I promise you, Doc, he is leaving tonight, one way or another, and if he's not on a stretcher out the door by the time I get the call to confirm, I will tear this hospital, and its incompetent staff, apart in the next edition of the Daily Planet. Got it, buddy?"

It was a strangely cathartic feeling, seeing fear in the eyes of an authoritative male who could easily be your father, but one that Lois was used to. After watching the doctor scurry off, Lois tried calling Oliver again. Thankfully, he picked up this time. After explaining the situation to him, Oliver promised he'd handle Jimmy's transportation and medical situation in Star City. However, he was strangely short on the phone and she didn't have any time to ask about Chloe or Clark before he hung up. Resigning herself to playing the waiting game, Lois slumped down in her chair and closed her eyes.

Nothing felt real. Everything that happened today felt like a dream, or rather, a nightmare. What was that creature? Why did it target Chloe's wedding? Something just didn't add up. Why was it always her loved ones that were being targeted? It seemed like lately, trouble had been following her around like a shadow. In the back of her head, she heard a ding in the distance, but nothing really registered until she heard her name.

"Lois?"

Opening her eyes, she saw Clark walking down the hallway towards her. The weight in her chest dropped at the initial sight of him, but a new sense of panic overtook her when she saw the blood on his shirt. Leaping to her feet, she made her way quickly towards him.

"Clark! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" she asked while running her hands over him. His body was solid and warm beneath her hands, a slight assurance that despite his injuries, at least he was alive and well. Every time her fingers met his skin through various rips and tears in his white dress shirt, she felt a jolt of electricity. But her concern for his safety made her push those feelings to the side for the time being. Though she found lots of blood, she could not find any sources.

"It's not my blood, I'm okay, Lois," he said. It must not have registered with her though because next thing she knew, Clark was forcing her hands to stop and calling her name. His blue eyes caught hers and she halted her inspection of him immediately. "Are you okay? What happened to your head?"

"I fell, no big deal," she said. He frowned and lightly touched her hairline, causing her to shiver. She prayed he didn't notice.

"Oliver said he found you passed out," he said. "That's not 'no big deal.'"

"It's nothing, Clark. Nothing like Jimmy." That got Clark's attention. She felt his hand grip her wrist in reaction to her statement and took a sharp breath in.

"How bad is he?"

"It's not good, Clark. The doctor said he's stable, but he has multiple, severe injuries and that they don't have the resources here, so they're sending him to Star City," she explained. "I just got off the phone with Ollie and he's going to have him privately transferred there in the next hour."

"That's good," he said thickly. She watched his Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallowed nervously and knew it only meant one thing. Sliding her wrist out of his grip and replacing it with her fingers, she closed her eyes and asked the question she had been dreading to know the answer to.

"Is she alive?"

"I… I don't know. I couldn't find her, Lois."

The tears came quicker than she thought they would, but she felt Clark's arms around her before she could let them go. She buried her head in his shoulder and let a few tears roll out onto the fabric of his shirt. Large hands rubbed circles on her back and she relished the feeling of his body against hers, even if it was in poor circumstances.

"I'm gonna find her, Lo. I promise, I'm going to bring her back to you. To Jimmy," he whispered. She clutched him tighter, truly believing that he would, because that's just the type of person that Clark Kent was. If anyone could bring her home, it was him. Feeling her legs begin to shake, Lois released him from her embrace and stepped back a bit.

"I'm going with Jimmy," she told him. "Someone needs to be there for him when he wakes up."

"I agree, but… go in the morning Lois," he said. A response already forming on her lips, Clark plowed ahead. "I agree someone should be there, but you need to get checked out and sleep first. He won't be awake for at least another day from what you've told me, anyhow. I know Oliver said he was heading to Star City anyhow, so he can be there tonight for anything urgent and he can have a jet ready for you in the morning."

"Clark, I don't—"

"Please, Lois. Please stay tonight. For me," he said. The concern in both his baby blues and tone of voice both warmed her heart and crushed her willpower. With a slight nod, she silently agreed to his request. However, she immediately hunted down the nurse in charge of Jimmy's charts and memorized every detail she possibly could about his condition until Clark forcibly removed her from the hospital.

Once in the car, she asked him if they could stop by the Talon to pick up an overnight bag before heading to the farm. He had asked if she wanted to sleep at home, but she insisted on checking out the wreckage of the barn for any clues. Secretly, she also wanted to spend some more time with him. All of her feelings concerning Clark were wildly new and confusing to her, and combined with his reciprocity before the madness of tonight, she didn't know what she was feeling. The only thing she knew for sure was that she didn't want to let him out of her sight.

As they turned into his driveway, Clark's headlights caught some of the destruction. Red and brown pieces of wood were strewn across the property, tablecloths and wedding décor littered the yard, and general piles of debris were scattered about. Her throat caught a little looking at the destruction and she touched Clark's hand.

"I'm sorry, Clark. I know there are a lot of memories there for you…" she trailed, immediately thinking of the bright, smiling face of Jonathan Kent. Clark shrugged, but kept his eyes forward. Pulling up next to the house, he finally parked and cut the engine.

"It's just a barn. It's people that you can't replace, not places."

"I don't know… Smallville's pretty hard to replace."

Clark looked at her tenderly and smiled. She smiled back, fully aware of how his warm fingers were shooting jolts of lightning through her body and without realizing it, inched herself towards him. Squeezing her hand gently, he started to lean forward across the middle console. The butterflies in her stomach immediately came to life as she found herself being pulled towards him like a magnet. Seeing him pause midway, still unsure of whether to proceed, Lois slowly closed the distance until—

"Clark? Is that you?"

The two reporters jumped apart at the interruption and Lois knocked her already-injured head against the glass.

"Ouch! God, motherfu—"

"Lois! Are you okay?" Clark immediately asked. She felt his hand touch the side of her head, but she swatted it away in frustration.

"No, I'm not fine, Smallville! Jesus, who the hell—"

The question died on her lips. Standing on the front steps in an oversized Smallville High School Football t-shirt with a dish rag in her hands was none other than Lana Lang—an absolute vision of the stay-at-home farmer's wife. Of course, she was here. Why wouldn't she be here? Plastering a smile on her face, she turned away from Clark and climbed out of the door before he could say a word.

"Lana! So glad to see you're doing okay. Looks like you're healthy as ever! Me, I really need to take a shower, so I'm just gonna run upstairs and do that. Clark, you can just leave my bag in your room—I mean, your mom's room! You know what? I don't care. Leave it wherever! Okay, bye!"

Though her pounding head was starting to make navigation an issue, Lois made it up the stairs and into the bathroom before she heard the kitchen door open. After locking the door and starting the water, she immediately sat down and removed her heels. Her feet were aching so badly that she thought about crawling into the bathtub, but her desire to want to scrub her body of tonight's events was more powerful.

Slipping into the tub, she initially grimaced at the pressure of the hot water on her body, but soon relaxed into its calming effect on her aching muscles. Simply standing in the spray, Lois let the water and steam revive her body. Unfortunately, it did nothing to alleviate the pounding in her head.

Of course Lana was here. Why had she been so surprised? She had seen the look she and Clark shared tonight, regardless of what he said. Maybe he had feelings for both of them and was confused. Either way, she was sure as hell going straight to bed after this shower and leaving as soon as possible in the morning. She was already physically injured and worried enough about Chloe and Jimmy, so she really wasn't sure she would be able to put up with watching the Clark and Lana reunion take place.

It took her over two hours, but it was worth every bit of it. The shower had at least made her feel like a living, breathing human again instead of a ragdoll, even if her head was still hurting. After brushing her hair out, Lois finally realized she didn't have any clothes. In her rush to avoid Lana, she had completely forgotten about them. She didn't want to walk out in her towel, but it wasn't exactly like she could put her dress back on.

She pressed her ear to the door and listened for sounds, but couldn't hear anything. Hopefully they were downstairs, too busy wrapped up in each other to realize she was out of the shower. Slowly opening the door, she poked her head out of the door and listened again for sounds, but all was quiet in the house. Maybe they were outside? Taking advantage of the opportunity, she walked quickly to Clark's room, turned and shut the door with a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing?"

Lois yelped in surprise and turned to find Clark standing beside his bed, folding laundry. Clutching her towel to her chest, Lois glared at him.

"Jesus, Smallville! Way to give a girl a heart attack! Make another noise besides breathing, okay?" she said.

"I'll be sure to announce myself before you lock yourself in my bedroom next time," he replied. Heat radiated off her cheeks and turned a bright shade of pink after he started grinning. As he picked up an article of clothing, he held it out to her. "If it helps, I threw your pajamas in the dryer with my laundry. I know you like to wear them when they're warm."

And just like that, the butterflies started again. Reaching out, she found he had given her one of his flannel shirts instead of her pajama top. When she raised an eyebrow at him, he answered with a shrug.

"I also know you like wearing my flannels."

"I do not!" she argued, feeling her cheeks now reach a shade of red. If he kept this up, she was going to turn purple!

"So you want your pajama top instead?" he challenged. Her mouth opened immediately, but she didn't respond right away. When she didn't move, Clark threw the flannel towards the opposite end of the bed where a pair of Smallville High School sweatpants were laid out. She looked up at him to see if he was watching her, but he kept his eyes on the laundry. Lois debated waiting for him to find her pajamas for pride-sake, but in the end, she gave in. Snatching the clothes up off the bed, she ordered him to turn around so that she could change. Taking advantage of their lack of eye contact, she asked the question.

"Where's Lana sleeping tonight?"

"The Talon."

Lois paused. That was not the answer she had been expecting.

"Oh? She's not staying here?" she asked as innocently as possible. If Clark noticed her tone, which she strongly suspected he did, he didn't act like it. And she loved him all the more for it.

"No, she was just keeping an eye on the house for any more police or reporters while I wasn't here," he explained. "She left a while ago."

"Oh," she said. When she realized that she was dressed and had been staring at his back for the past few minutes, she cleared her throat. "Sorry, you can turn around now."

Wearing only an old flannel and a pair of baggy sweatpants, Lois felt like she was dressed for a night out on the town with the way Clark was looking at her. His eyes unabashedly traveled up and down her body before settling on her face and snapping out of his stupor.

"Seems like I'm not the only one who likes it when I wear your clothes," she teased. As he folded his last shirt, he met her gaze and grinned. He placed a stack of laundry on his dresser before grabbing a shirt and pair of shorts from the top of the pile. He walked to the door, but turned before he walked out.

"I won't argue with you on that one," he said. He had a smoldering look in his eyes, but she wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

"Well, now, that would be a first, wouldn't it? Us not arguing?" she asked. Clark chuckled and looked down at the ground before meeting her with another heated gaze.

"There's a first time for everything, Lois." That, she had no comeback to. It had too many implications that Lois didn't think Clark would ever be brave enough to bring up, but then again, he had surprised her quite a few times this evening. When she didn't answer, he took it upon himself to save her. "I'm taking a quick shower. You can have your room back for tonight, if you want."

The door closed with a soft click and Lois let out a shaky breath she didn't realize she had been holding in. What the hell had gotten into him that was making him so forward? It wasn't that she minded this Clark, but she didn't know how to act around him. He was catching her off-guard and hoped that it was only due to the craziness of today that was throwing her off her game.

She hung her towel up on the hook on the back of his door and proceeded to crawl underneath his covers. Burying her nose into the pillows, she took a deep breath of the pure scent that was Clark Kent. A wave of calm crashed over her as she inhaled and she reveled in it. Calm and relaxation were two things that she desperately needed, and Clark Kent was fully providing without even being present. She wasn't sure how long she laid snuggled up in the covers, but eventually, a light knocking roused her from her dreamy state.

"Lois?" Clark asked softly. She turned over and looked to see his head poking through the cracked door. "I, uh, just wanted to see if you needed anything before you went to sleep."

"Thanks, Smallville," she said. "I think I'm all good though."

"Oh, okay. Well, good," he said somewhat disappointedly, she thought. When his gaze flickered down to his feet, she confirmed it. "Goodnight then, Lois."

"Goodnight, Smallville," she said. He gave her a small smile and lingered in the door way for a moment before turning to close the door, but suddenly, she couldn't help it. "Clark?"

"Yeah?" he asked, stepping halfway into the room. His hair was still damp, his white t-shirt clung to his chest in all the right ways, and it was affecting Lois in a very strong way. Swallowing, she shifted her body so that she was sitting up against the headboard.

"Do you want to talk for a little bit?" she asked. His eyes widened briefly and she instantly thought that she had crossed a line, so she backtracked. "Unless you're tired. Which you probably are. We can talk tomorrow, too."

"No, no, I'm not—I'd love to talk, Lois," he said genuinely. For no other reason, a brilliant smile bloomed on Lois's face and she bounced to the right side of his bed to make room for him. She watched him shut the door and go to turn off the lights, but he stilled just before. Looking over to her for permission, Lois simply turned on the lamp on his nightstand before patting the spot next to her. When the lights turned off, Lois felt the butterflies return to her stomach. The low light made him look even more beautiful than she thought possible and she was suddenly nervous about their current environment.

However, when Clark sat down, he put his legs over the covers, while hers were still tucked underneath, which eased her tensions a bit. After adjusting the pillow behind his back, he turned towards her.

"How's your head?" he asked right off the bat.

"It hurt earlier, but I've been feeling a lot better since I got out of the shower," she said. He chuckled at her statement and she raised an eyebrow.

"It better. I think two and half hours is a new record," he teased.

"Keep that up and I'll make it three," she threatened. He feigned surrender and put his hands up before dropping them to the bed. His left hand landed on her right leg and though it was covered by his sheets, she still sucked in a breath. Clark must have realized it too because just as soon as it landed there, it was gone again. Clearing his throat, he fidgeted a bit and moved his arms to his sides. When neither said anything, she felt his gaze on her. Turning to meet his eyes, she found that he looked just as nervous as she felt.

"Lois?" he asked huskily. She felt the mattress dip as he shifted his body more towards hers so that their hips were just touching. His shoulder brushed up against hers and she shivered at the contact.

"Hmm?" she managed to reply. God, he was reducing her to non-verbals now? Gentle fingers turned her chin towards him and she met those cerulean eyes once more. They flickered down to her lips, then back to her eyes and she heard him suck in a breath.

"Can I—I'd really like to kiss you again," he whispered. Even if she wanted to respond, she wasn't sure she could. Instead, she nodded and leaned forward just barely. He moved forward nervously, almost as if it was his first kiss, though she knew that from personal experience to be quite untrue. However, it was like a first kiss in some ways. When she finally felt his lips brush her own, softer and more tender than before, she felt her heart leap to her throat. Earlier, when he had kissed her, she had been taken by surprise first and later by the heat of the moment. But this… this was something different.

One of his large hands cupped her face while the other tangled itself in her auburn locks. Soon, the soft, gentle kisses turned a bit more passionate. She felt Clark's hand travel to her lower back and press her body closer to him, which she did not fight. Sliding her hands up his toned chest, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his eagerly. She soon felt his tongue slide against her bottom lip and immediately granted him access to her mouth. As soon as his tongue touched hers, it was as if something went off in Clark. He pulled Lois on top of his lap and quieted the surprised yelp on her lips with his own.

Though she was a bit taken aback by his eagerness, she was not at all upset by it. In fact, the new position allowed her to press her whole torso against his own and when she did, it felt as though she finally knew what breathing was like. The feeling of his hard chest pressed up against her breasts was exhilarating, so much so that she let out a moan into his mouth. He broke the kiss after that, which annoyed her for all of two seconds until she felt his lips attached to her neck. Dear God, he felt good! He trailed kisses down the right side of her neck to her collar bone, then across to the other side. When his lips met hers again, Lois attacked his mouth.

Clark shifted beneath her so that he could sit straighter against the headboard, but his movement caused her hips to slide directly on top of his, allowing Lois to feel his very obvious arousal. Taken off guard by the feeling of him pressed against her in the most intimate area, Lois gasped and broke the kiss. Both of them froze, not moving a muscle, but breathing incredibly hard.

"I thought… we were talking," she whispered. A breathy chuckle escaped Clark and he leaned his forehead against her own.

"Sorry. You're kind of distracting in my clothes," he said. A pair of stupid grins formed on the pair's faces and Lois laughed.

"And whose fault is that?" she teased. Her hands began to play with the hairs at the bottom of his head as she felt his own wandering along the planes of her back.

"You won't get me to apologize for that one, Lane," he said. Another chuckle escaped her, but this one was followed by a large yawn. When she opened her eyes again, Clark was looking at her with a very tender expression. "You should get some sleep. It's been a long day."

"That's the understatement of the year," she said. Lois climbed off his lap unceremoniously and dropped back down to her original spot. She shimmied her way under the covers once more and plopped her head down on the pillow. Turning to look at Clark, she found he was still in the same position, watching her with a curious expression.

"What?" she asked. He smiled and shook his head in response before swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and standing up.

"Nothing, Lois. Goodnight," he said. She couldn't help but feel disappointed as she watched him walk away, but immediately brightened when he walked over to her side of the bed to kiss her forehead. When he stood up, she raised her eyebrow.

"That all you got, Kent?" she teased. Leaning down close to her, he pressed a feather-light kiss to her lips in response.

"If I do any more than that, I won't leave," he murmured. "Goodnight, Lois. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Smallville," she said. With that, she settled down and watched him disappear behind the door before shutting her eyes.