A.N.: Finally, the conclusion!

Epilogue

The room was large, thickly carpeted and luxurious. Except for the hospital bed set up next to the floor-to-ceiling windows, it might have been a V.I.P. suite in a five-star hotel.

Curled into a brocaded armchair next to the bed, Lana Lang, in a low-cut black blouse and jeans, quietly read a newspaper. An orderly in a white jacket cleared away the remains of lunch from a nearby table and left, closing the door soundlessly after him, while Lana scanned the front page, a worried crease marring her perfect forehead.

A low moan from the bed's occupant made her look up. She jumped to her feet, letting the paper flutter to the floor.

"Lex!" She bent over the pale figure in concern. The patient's features were thin and drawn, and his body seemed lost in the tangle of tubes and wires attached to his arm and chest. One led to an IV drip; another was connected to an ECG monitor, the needle on which jumped as the billionaire's eyelids flew open. He groaned again and struggled to sit up.

"You shouldn't move," she protested softly. "Your wound isn't fully healed."

Lex touched the thick bandage encasing his right shoulder. "It's not so bad. I heal quickly." In spite of the dark shadows circling them, his eyes were sharp and inquisitive as he searched her face. "How long have I been unconscious?"

She relaxed a little, smiling. "Not so long this time. Only a few days. But Doctor Loeb said if you're going to make this a habit, you should consider buying your own hospital."

"Not my investment of choice," he commented dryly.

His gaze wandered over to a marble-topped pedestal in one corner of the room, which was barely wide enough to support a massive bouquet in a golden vase. "From you, my dear?"

Her smile twisted. "No, it's from Lionel. He sends his best wishes. He said he's sorry he's too busy running LuthorCorp to spend much time here with you."

"Dear old Dad," Lex remarked. "He'll be disappointed to learn I've rejoined the land of the living."

"Lex, what happened? Who stabbed you?" The words rushed out of Lana's mouth as if she'd kept them bottled up too long.

His face darkened and he looked away without answering. She gulped, then added, in a low, hesitant voice, "Was it Clark?"

The look he turned on her was so piercing that she actually stepped back. "Who told you that?" he snapped.

"You did, Lex," she answered soothingly. He raised a surprised eyebrow. "You were talking in your sleep. I couldn't make out a lot of the words, but you kept calling Clark's name."

She hesitated again. "Do you remember what happened?"

The room was completely silent for a full minute. Lex closed his eyes. "No."

Lana sighed. "The police took the weapon as evidence. It was a knife made of meteor rock. And the only fingerprints they found on it were yours."

Lex's mouth pressed into a tight line, and one corner twitched upward. "Interesting mystery."

His eyes slid over to meet his girlfriend's worried gaze. "I'm sure it's just a random attacker, Lana. Obviously, my security team needs to up their game." He paused. "Speaking of which, would you mind calling in my chief right now? I assume he's outside this room."

She straightened, nodding. "Oh, and here's something you should see," she said, bending down to retrieve her copy of that morning's Daily Planet. "It's on Page One." Her eyes flashed angrily. "You won't like it, Lex."

He spread open the paper as she exited, and stared at the lead story. In seventy-two point bold type, the headline read, "LUTHORCORP HIDES UNLICENSED RESEARCH LAB." Underneath was a picture of Level 33.1's huge central hall, with the caption, "Fifteen-story facility uncovered in LuthorCorp Tower." Another showed the "secret elevator access" to the lab.

His eyes dropped to the byline: "By Lois Lane, staff reporter of the Daily Planet."

Slowly, Lex crushed the page into a ball and squeezed it in his tightly clenched fist.

"Welcome to the war, Lois," he muttered. "I promise you the next victory won't be so easy."

He turned to gaze out the windows at the city skyline. "You and Kal-El don't rule the world yet."

……………………………

Over the phone, the sergeant's dry voice grated like a piece of sandpaper. "I'm sorry, Ms. Lane. Ranger boot camp recruits are incommunicado until they graduate."

Chloe refrained from mentioning that this particular "incommunicado" recruit had managed somehow to send her an email just a few days earlier. Frustrated, she looked up from her desk at Clark in search of moral support. He shrugged unhelpfully.

Wrinkling her nose at him, she tried again. "Please, sir. I really do need to talk to my cousin. It's, um…."

She glanced nervously at her copy of the morning edition of the Planet, folded to show her Page One story. With her cousin's name on the byline. "It's vital."

"What's the recruit's name?" the voice rapped out.

"Private Sullivan," she replied quickly, with renewed hope.

The line hummed for a minute. "Oh."

Chloe's eyebrows shot up. Clearly, Army life hadn't changed her cousin's personality very much.

"Anything wrong?" she asked, half afraid of the answer.

"No, not at all. She's doing quite well, in fact. But right now she's in the infirmary."

Chloe flashed another glance at Clark, who frowned. Remembering his history with her cousin, she hoped it was because he was concerned.

"I'm told she'll be fine," the sergeant was saying, "However, sick recruits are entitled to one phone call, and if she's willing to talk to you, I'll put you through."

A minute later, her cousin's cheerful voice boomed into her ear. "Hey, how's my favorite cousin? Written any good stories lately?"

Chloe cringed. "You know?"

"The PX carries the Planet. Don't worry, I loved it. Go get 'em, Tiger!"

Chloe did some quick thinking. "You know, you don't really sound very sick," she remarked suspiciously.

The smug response confirmed her theory. "Only way I could think of to get in touch with you. Looks like you beat me to it, though."

Her voice lowered to a hush. Chloe had never heard her cousin speak so softly. "I need to ask another favor."

Alarm bells rang instantly in Chloe's head. "What kind of favor?"

Her cousin chuckled. "One I think you'll like. Listen…."

When Chloe hung up, she knew that a silly ear-to-ear grin was plastered across her face, and she didn't care. She looked at Clark and saw that his expression mirrored her own.

"Sounds like she's setting that place on fire," he remarked. "Top recruit in her unit? Good for her." There was a note of pride in his voice.

A weight Chloe hadn't known existed had been lifted from her heart. The byline on today's front page really belonged to her now. "She said that she's finally made a name for herself, and now she wants to keep it. I'm happy for her."

"I'm happy too." Clark smiled. "And I've got to admit, I'm already used to calling you 'Lois.'" He curled his fingers around her hand. "You don't mind, do you?"

"No," she said, glancing again at her byline in the Planet. "It's kinda grown on me." By Lois Lane, she mulled. Yes, it had a ring to it.

Clark leaned over the desk to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Pleased to meet you, Ms. Lane."

He drew back, examining her with such an appraising eye that she crossed her arms and shot him a look. "What?"

As always, he disarmed her with his smile. "I was just thinking, I've changed my mind about your hair." He reached out to touch a stray brunette curl. "It suits you." He hesitated. "Of course, if you'd rather change back, that's fine too."

Her answering grin was mischievous. She'd been looking forward to this moment. "I've been keeping a secret from you, Clark."

Clark cocked his head. "Only one?" he retorted.

She arched her brows in mock injured dignity. "Very funny. Do you want to know what it is or not?"

No one, she thought, could look quite as loveable as Clark when he put on those puppy-dog eyes. Maybe it was another power of his. "Please?" he implored.

"This is my real hair color," she announced, shaking her dark hair into a cloud. "Surprise."

She bit back a laugh at his blank stare. "I warned you."

"It's beautiful," he said warmly. "And so are you."

She smiled into his eyes, knowing that she would never get tired of hearing that, not from Clark. They shared a long, blissful moment, before she remembered they were in a busy office, and they were beginning to attract attention from passing staffers. She looked down at her camera, which was perched on a messy pile of file folders, and picked it up, laughing.

"Aw," she drawled with mock modesty, waggling it in front of Clark's face, "I just photograph well."

The grin was back, brighter than ever. "I saw that movie too," he informed her in a superior tone.

"Philadelphia Story? I know, I was there, I heard you snoring." She put the camera back on her desk and looked up. "Jimmy Stewart played a reporter in that movie, remember? I hoped it might inspire you."

"I have all the inspiration I need right here." He shrugged, smiling. "I still have a long way to go, though."

"You'll make it," she told him, knowing that he would. "Heroes never give up."

"I know," he said, gazing down on her admiringly. "You taught me that."

In the middle of the bustling Planet staff room, Clark raised Lois to her feet, took her in his arms, and kissed her.

"Journalism has its rewards," Lois whispered huskily. "As you'll find out."

THE END

I hope you enjoyed my take on Chlois! Thanks for reading, and of course, feedback's welcome:)