ACT I
"What in God's name died here?"

The voice cut thru Lois' thoughts and she froze. Act natural she thought to herself. She slowly moved aside the boxes and wrapping paper slowly that were strewn all around her and straightened her clothing. Channeling her best impression of a Stepford wife, she moved her face into an artificial smile. However, no acting could mask the fact that she was secretly dripping with contempt towards the person who had interrupted her early Christmas snoop fest and turned to face her accuser.

"That smell, was supposed to be the delightfully, delicious smell of Christmas according to Martha Stewart." Lois wiped her hands on the apron she'd donned for the occasion. She took it off and hung it on the back of the couch.

"Well then, Martha Stewart is missing her sense of smell because that odor, is quite offensive," Tess replied walking into the living room where Lois was.

"To be fair to Martha, that was supposed to be the smell of freshly baked sugar cookies. They may have met their match with me though. I have a talent for taking down any opponent I face." She tilted her head to the side and looked at the owner of the voice. She narrowed her eyes and dropped any pretense of a smile and asked, "What are you doing here, Tess?"

Tess smiled knowingly. "I was looking for Clark."

Lois eyed her suspiciously. "Well, evidently he's not here and since when did you get an invitation to barge right in?"

"I don't need an invitation." Tess sized her up, looking at the apron Lois had donned for the cookie conquest. "Clark and I have an understanding and he barges into my house just as often."

Lois rolled her eyes and looked over at the front door and back to Tess again. "Wasn't that locked?"

"I used the backdoor," Tess replied.

Lois stared at Tess' expression. Tess wore her confidence like a male peacock strutting around at the zoo. Over the past year Lois had known Tess Mercer, she'd certainly fully embraced the arrogance that the Luthor mansion seemed to bestow on its occupants. She felt an overwhelming, unmistakable urge to knock Tess on her ass and ask questions later but she wasn't in her own home at the moment. She crossed her arms and asked, "What are you really doing here, Tess?"

"I told you. Clark and I have a few private and personal things to discuss. Now, why don't you tell me why you're here at the farm, alone, opening presents a week before Christmas?"

Lois smiled to herself. Leave it to Tess to try and act like she owned the place. "We're not at the office, Tess. I don't have to give you one explanation."

"So I should call Clark and tell him you were rifling through all the presents and opened every single package?" Tess raised her eyebrow as if to accentuate her threat.

Lois hesitated. While the threat itself was small, she didn't want the news of her impatience and snooping to destroy the look of pure joy on Clark's face as she unwrapped all her gifts on Christmas morning. She could only imagine that joy disappearing into a grim scowl after learning she'd "discovered" his carefully hidden stash of presents for her in his back closet earlier that night, purely by accident. The idea of trying to explain to him that it was sort of a "heat of the moment" type of reaction to just tear into the presents without thinking wouldn't fly with Tess Mercer being the sole witness to her uncontrollable need to investigate, everything.

Lois swallowed and said quietly, "Don't tell him."

Tess laughed.

Lois shook her head. "It's our first Christmas." She folded her arms and shrugged. "Clark should have done a better job of hiding my gifts."

Tess smirked. "Unbelievable." Tess shook her head. Lois had proved formidable and fearless and always willing to stand up against Tess. She had never backed down before. Why would she start now? "What are you even doing here, Lois? Don't you see enough of Clark during the week?"

"I guess the news hasn't oozed its way up from the basement to your ivory tower?" Lois asked.

Tess stared at her. "What news?"

Lois uncrossed her arms and looked at her, "Well, Clark and I are together."

Tess laughed in disbelief.

Lois put her hands on her hips. "That's so hard for you to fathom?"

Tess turned her head to the side as if to really hear what Lois was saying. "Together, together?" She asked.

"Is there an echo in the Kent living room? Yes, together as in we're dating, seeing each other, dropping by without having to call ahead, and occasionally helping my boyfriend out by wrapping his Christmas gifts for him because he has no gift wrapping skills." That last part was a half-truth, but Lois could live with it. Tess didn't have to know that she had been searching for her gift from Clark throughout the house and had forgotten about the sugar cookies because of her snooping.

"I'm just surprised really. Clark is certainly more than physically ideal; he's also full of high ideals and morals. I'm just shocked Clark would pick you."

"What?" Lois felt her anger rising. "What's so shocking about Clark and I?"

"To put it delicately, you simply boss him around so much, you act like you're his superior, when you're just marginally one pay grade above him, and you go after-"

"What the hell, Mercer? I'm still a girl. He's still a boy. Do I have to draw you a picture? There's more to us than what you see during the whole nine to five shift." Lois felt irritated.

"I didn't mean it like that." She looked Lois over. "You're attractive enough I suppose when you aren't," she stopped for a moment and smiled like a cat that had spotted the unsuspecting mouse, "speaking."

Lois squeezed and clenched her hands in response. Tess smiled.

"Ready to tussle again, Lane?" Tess cracked her knuckles on her left hand in response.

The sound of Lois' fist clenching and unclenching could be heard. "I'm not going to throw down in Clark's house." Under her breath she added, "Now if you wanted to step outside, " Lois rolled her sleeves down.

"Relax, Lois, it's the season of giving and I'm feeling generous. What I find most surprising is that he's been able to get over all the difficult times in his life over the past year. How did you convince him it was you? Out of all of the women in the world, how did you make him think it was you?" She stared intently at Lois with genuine interest at her.

"You really don't understand who Clark Kent is do you, Tess?" Lois shook her head.

Tess stifled a laugh. "Funny, I could say the same thing about you. Clark's life, it's bigger than you, the last thing he needs is to be held back from the decisions he has to make because he's worried about you or your feelings."

"I don't hold him back, Tess. He can do whatever he pleases. If he didn't want me here, I wouldn't be here. Clark and I were friends first and it's grown and evolved to where it is now."

Tess eyes grew a colder shade of gray. "Just remember you said that when your world comes crumbling down around the lies you've chosen to believe."

Lois shook her head. Tess just did not understand. "You can leave anytime you care to, Tess." Lois said flatly. She turned to walk back into the kitchen when she couldn't help but turn around. "Clark isn't home and I don't know when he'll be back.

Tess raised both eyebrows and shrugged. She smiled to herself. "Where is our golden boy anyway?"

"He had to run a quick errand," Lois stated. "He could be back at any moment but I don't keep tracking devices on him like some women I know."

Tess laughed to herself. "I know that was meant towards me, but there's so much more to that statement that rings true closer to your home."

Lois eyed her suspiciously. It wasn't beyond Tess to outright deny and lie, like all big fish she'd chased down, but to throw an accusation like that? "Clark would never do that."

"Not Clark." Tess stated flatly.

"Well, whoever you're implying, must have good reason," the words rolled off her tongue. Tess walked towards the door and stopped and turned to look back at Lois. "I really should give you your gift." She walked slowly towards Lois holding a Christmas gift in her hands. "But I need you to do me a favor, Lois."

"Why on earth would I even do that, Tess?"

"I need you to give Clark his gift. I've tried to give it to him directly, but he's not speaking to me at the moment."

"I can't blame Smallville," Lois said as she stared at Tess. Lois would have loved to tell Tess to go to hell, but hesitated as she saw an actual genuine expression of sincerity on her face. "You do remember Clark has excellent taste when it comes to women?"

"Well played, Lane." She handed her the small white box about one foot by four inches. It was simply wrapped with green ribbon. "Just please give this to Clark for me."

"Why should I do that, Tess?" Lois asked.

Tess sighed and thrust her hands into her large white parka. "Just tell Clark he was right." She turned to leave and opened the door.

Lois felt the words escaping her mouth before she knew she was saying them, "What about my gift?"

Tess smiled to herself. "Oh?" She turned around slowly and smiled. "I wasn't sure if you'd really want that."

Lois shrugged. "Well, if you brought it and went to the trouble to bring it, I'll take it."

"Oh, and something you're more than familiar with taking from me. This time I decided to give it back to you. They were yours to begin with." Tess placed a USB thumb drive in Lois' palm. "I didn't have time to really wrap it."

Lois looked at the drive and back up at Tess. "Is this some computer virus or spyware to put porn on my computer at work to get me fired?"

Tess stopped, rather stunned at the accusation and then smiled and just laughed. She continued to laugh. "Really, Lois? Porn? You think of all the ways I could terminate you, porn would be the way I would try and bring you down?"

Lois felt annoyed. She didn't like being laughed at, even if the notion was silly. "I suppose you'd be a little more creative than secretly downloading bestiality or pedophile pictures to my computer, but it never hurts to ask now does it?"

Tess scoffed. "I suppose be prepared for anything. But what's on that drive, is quite," the image of her own death swirled through her mind. Frightening just didn't even begin to encompass it. "Enlightening. Those contain images downloaded directly from your memories. The memories play more like a sequence of images, not really like a movie, but believe me, they're quite real. I managed to acquire them from Stuart before he completely went underground."

"My memories?" Lois asked. She didn't like the sound of that. "You saw them?"

"Some, not all. Whatever equipment Stuart used to tap into those memories created a sort of negative image of brain activity and that pattern of activity was decoded and put back together into those files. Either way, I think you should see them." Tess nodded towards the drive Lois was holding in her hands. "I have a vested interest not to see those memories come to fruition."

Just then an electronic chirp sounded and Lois pulled out her phone to look at the message. Tess smiled as she studied Lois Lane reading the message. Love seemed to leave people vulnerable to being easily distracted. She'd only felt that once and it was now an emotion long gone that she'd identified as a weakness and cut from her soul. "What were you so afraid of?" Had he known even then? A smile played on Lois lips as she quickly typed something back and looked back up at Tess again.

"Lois, remember that I gave them back to you, and you alone will have the ability to possibly stop some of what you see from happening."

Lois was puzzled. It was definitely not in the interest of someone like Tess Mercer to disclose information. Tess was a woman who definitely viewed knowledge as power and power was something she would not give away freely. "What are you really saying, Tess?"

Tess swallowed. The memory of her grandmother helping her make popcorn and cranberry Christmas tree garland came to her mind. She had been the only person in her life who ever called her Tessie, though her memories of her were few and far between and her family had moved far away from her grandma when she was young. The thoughts scattered when Lois cleared her throat and Tess looked up again. "Maybe you could remember to trust me just a little bit. We all make mistakes and I'm asking," she stopped as if searching for the right words, "what I'm asking for is another chance." Tess straightened herself again and nodded to Lois.

She exited out the back door and got into her vehicle. She started the engine and gave Lois a wave before backing out of the driveway and back out onto the main road.

Lois looked at the clock. Clark wasn't due back for another hour. She weighed the box in her hand; it felt extremely light for a box of its size. Its large, rectangular shape was puzzling as well. It was much too long to be a book.

Lois set the package down on the counter top and walked back into the living room to pick up the mess. Twenty minutes later, she was staring back at the same box. It seemed to tease her.

"What on earth is Tess giving you, Smallville?" She turned the box over; the ribbon was the only thing holding it together. A little peek wouldn't kill anyone would it?

She undid the ribbon and opened the box. On the top of the box was a card. Lois read it:

Rightfully yours.

Lois picked up the card and looked at the object underneath. The object perfectly fit the box, tissue paper wrapped around it to keep it from rolling around in the box. Lois picked it up, a long crystal rod, lighter than she would imagine, cool to the touch, was the only object in the box. A paperweight? Or some kind of crystal or geological sample she thought. She knew Clark was into geology; he'd taken several geology classes at Central A & M and had also been curious about the Metropolis Natural History Museum's new geological exhibit that had gone up last month. Momentary panic overwhelmed her as she realized what a good gift Tess had gotten him. How did she know Clark loved rocks so much?

Lois shook her head, oh yeah, that article he'd written about the Museum's new exhibit, he'd gone over Brady's head to get Tess' approval. It had been a rather dry story, but the follow-up on the museum break-in the following night had proved interesting. She put the card back into place and covered the box back up and retied the ribbon. Another thought played in the back of her mind. The USB drive she'd slipped into her pocket called to her. The flashes had all but stopped lately, but Lois was still curious as to why Tess' rogue lackey or why Tess had ordered her lackey to do the tests on her. Something big had to be locked inside those memories and if she could uncover what it was, perhaps she could warn the Blur. He would know what to do.

Twenty more minutes till Clark was due in, he said he'd be driving back from the airport from Washington D.C. Knowledge was power, she hadn't wanted to divulge everything to Tess as far as Clark's whereabouts were concerned and did not want Tess knowing that she'd tried to create a cozy environment with the smell of fresh baked cookies. Only, Lois sniffed, that smell was still lingering. Lois groaned. Mrs. K would definitely not sign off on that smell if she were here. Lois opened the backdoor and the front door in a vain effort create a stream of cold air to blow the smell of burned cookies out of the house. Maybe Clark wouldn't notice the horrific smell?

ACT II
The next evening, Clark walked into the Luthor mansion, his black overcoat wrapped tightly around him. Tess was distracted, gazing at the computer monitor and watching the screen intently.

Clark set the box down on the desk and Tess looked up and smiled softly. She didn't appear to be surprised by his presence.

"Clark." She smiled at him. "You came to see me?"

She was greeted by complete silence. Clark's expression was like stone. Their eyes met and Tess could see no signs acknowledging her presence as a person. His eyes seemed to almost disregard her, no malice or kindness reflected towards her at all. He'd truly mastered the true emotional detachment all Kandorians seemed to direct towards humans. She chuckled to herself and saw a brief flash of life in his eyes flicker for a moment.

She knew what she had to do in order to get him talking. "How are you doing, Clark? It's so good to see you," she stated as if the previous questions hadn't been asked. Clark's cold expression changed as he stared at her. His piercing blue eyes seemed to tell her that he wanted to talk about their last meeting. She swallowed and figured it would be best to get it over with. "Still upset?"

Clark scoffed. Her attitude still amazed him. "I doubt Stuart would have access to the Summerholt files, let alone the access to the hospital to kidnap Lois."

Tess looked at him. So Lois Lane hadn't been lying. They really were together. Together, together she reminded herself. This was the weakness Zod had been trying to find all along, the one thing that would make Clark lose all control. That couldn't happen. No, she could not afford to let that happen. Tess needed Clark to be firmly in control if she wished to survive.

She looked at him; staring at her, ready to attack should she admit her guilt. New tactics would be necessary then. She smiled, trying to appear as genuine as she could. "What was the real reason you returned to the Daily Planet, Clark? You're a hero and you make your mistakes just like anyone else. But as a hero, everyone seems to take notice of those mistakes. So why hide behind the lies that you've constructed around you?" She looked at him and watched his face harden in defense. She softened her expression and walked towards him. "It was Lois wasn't it? She came back and you couldn't stay away? It was why you threw me when you thought I was threatening her life?"

Clark did not appreciate Tess' line of inquiry. It was too obvious an attempt to confirm his deep feelings for Lois Lane. "You can speculate all you wish to, Tess, but don't pretend that you were innocent."

"When others, like the DA, realize that it isn't the Blur's weakness of strength that they have to attack, but merely exploit the weakness within your heart. All anyone has to do to push you over that edge is to attack her. If they ever find out, she won't be safe."

Clark understood the point. The DA had already nearly exploited Lois' connection to the Blur to try and find out who he really was. The likelihood that criminals and others would leave her alone, simply because she stated she didn't know the Blur's real identity were highly unlikely. Tess was right. But he wasn't about to admit to any of it with her. Instead he stared at her and stated, "You told me you destroyed this, Tess." He pointed towards the box.

Tess shrugged. "It can't be destroyed."

"Why give it to me now though? What is it you want in return?" Clark asked.

Tess looked back at the computer screen and her face stiffened. She looked back into Clark's eyes and said, "I need you to at least begin to learn to trust me, Kal-El."

Clark shook his head. "I don't make the same mistakes I used to when I was in high school. Trust is earned. Respect, respect is earned. You've done nothing to try and earn either of those from me."

Tess' eyes seemed to glow with a silent rage. "Yet you still lied to me over and over again, Kal-El. How could either of us trust one another when you denied who you really were?"

"That part of my life is independent of everything else." His body stiffened.

Tess examined his expression. Maybe he would never trust her after the event with Lois but that didn't mean she couldn't at least try to gain some ground. "There's information I have, that I realize now that you may need."

Clark looked skeptically at her. "What information is that?"

"John Corben." She smiled as his gaze shifted into memory recall. Recognition and apprehension, a good sign.

"What about him?" Clark asked as he folded his large arms across his chest. "Did your people have something to do with creating him?"

Tess shook her head. "I may be heartless, but I wouldn't go as far as the people who created him went. Did you wonder how he ended up being turned into a psychotic tin man?"

"All signs pointed towards Luthorcorp." Clark nodded towards her as if she symbolized the entirety of Luthorcorp.

She rolled her eyes. "Flattery. But Luthorcorp experimented with cloning secretly and their cyborg facility and technology was shut down. The military contracts never went thru." Something about the operative failing their missions due to too much independent reasoning had been the downfall of operation Cadmus. "They did use Luthorcorp facilities and equipment to perform their experiment."

"And you swear you had nothing to do with it again, Tess?" He looked at her in utter disbelief.

"It does sound like I've said those words a thousand times to you, but I really did have nothing to do with John Corben. I never even met the man or the machine for that matter." Tess waved her hand and the holographic towers took shape again. "I trust you know who the chief driving force behind R-A-O is? Or Rao as you Kryptonians call your god."

The realization crept thru Clark's face. "The Kandorians? They made him?"

Tess nodded. For some reason she pictured her grandmother nodding to her as little girl when she'd asked her if Santa Claus was real. "I've known for some time they were the ones who played God with his life."

"Why now, Tess? It's unlike you to show your cards before the dealer has turned over the river card." Clark gazed at her face. She smiled back at him. "You aren't gambling at all are you?"

"Chloe Sullivan is a talented hacker, I'll give her that, but she wouldn't uncover this information at all from them. They cover their electronic fingerprints better than anyone. Hacking into systems, shutting them down, doing what they need to and then disappearing into the darkness with no one the wiser. Sort of like a certain savior we both know?"

Clark scowled and looked at her. "Only they're not saving anyone. They're only after their own interests."

"We all look after our own interests, Clark." Tess stated. She picked up the brandy she'd left at the corner of the desk and took a sip. "It's only those who tell you they have no personal interests that I distrust." She raised her glass to toast him.

"Before my father died he told me to save Zod." He shook his head, clearly reconsidering his fathers dying words. "I'll only use that crystal as a last resort."

"I understand. You wouldn't be who you are if you didn't at least try and save them." She swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment, picturing herself choking on her own blood and gasping for breath. She looked at Clark. She could definitely understand why Lois had fallen for him, despite not even knowing the true duality of his very existence. He never wanted to give up on people. He never seemed to give up on Lois either. She could hear Clark, powerless, begging Zod to trade his life for Lois'. That was such a strange and foreign emotion to her, self-sacrifice. She'd teased Lois about Clark not having genuine feelings for her, but she'd seen it in Lois' own memories how different Clark acted around her. She half wondered if she'd ever find someone willing to protect her like Clark protected Lois.

"Tess? Are you okay?" Clark's voice broke through her thoughts and she turned back to face him once again.

Tess released the breath she had been unconsciously holding. She looked at Clark and nodded. "Zod's people may have been involved with that virus that infected Metropolis. And he knows it was your blood that was used in the vaccine, but he also knows I destroyed that vaccine once it was used to protect your identity. That's what put him on your trail and they'd been searching for you until you sought them out."

"They intentionally unleashed the virus." Clark realized in horror that they'd done it in order to lure him out of hiding.

She nodded. "Probably, the remaining samples of the virus my team was able to recover matched over half the genetic markers that were in Davis Bloome's DNA samples. The virus could have been part of whatever materials they used to engineer Bloome."

Clark's mind went back to Jor-El's words about Doomsday being engineered and built much in the same way. A feeling of pure terror swept thru him as he imagined how easily the Kandorians had played gods. Tess watched him. The Kandorians had been ruthlessly efficient in all their methods and had spared no expense, trying to acquire their powers. Collateral damage meant little to them. Humans were regarded with as much importance as one might pay to the splatter mark of a bug that hit the windshield ten minutes ago.

"Also, the Kandorians have released Corben again. I had him in one of our facilities, it's a long story, but they broke in and took him, and the power source."

Clark tilted his head and looked over at her again. "I see."

Tess swallowed and thought carefully about her words. "You need to know everything, Clark, if we're going to survive this. I hope if you can't forgive me yet, you'll at least begin not to despise me and maybe one day, far in the future perhaps, learn to trust me as your ally."

Clark's expression didn't change. "Watch your back. Zod's not someone who takes treachery lightly." He moved to pick up the box again and disappeared from the room. The soft whoosh of air was the only reminder that he'd been standing next to her. Tess downed the remainder of her Brandy and shut off the holographic towers. She smiled to herself as she glanced down at her watch. One last appointment to make she thought to herself as she put her jacket on and left the room.

ACT III

The sound of the wind swirled around him as he looked down at her.

"Lois, just hold on." He strained and leaned as far down as he could.

"Clark, you have to let me go," she whispered as he reached further towards her. She dangled, her fingers gripping the pole as tightly as she could but he could see her straining and trying to maintain her hold, the remaining heel hanging on her foot seemed to slip and speed towards the ground below.

"That's insane, Lois," he strained and reached further down for her.

"You can't reveal yourself to the cameras. You mean too much to the city, to the world." Her eyes seemed to plead to him, to take her words to heart. "Clark, I know you've been living two lives and having to lie to me about it everyday."

"Lois, you're not making any sense." He looked down at the city street below. This was the part where Zan had formed the fog cover. Only he seemed to be taking longer than usual. "Everything's going to be OK, Lois, trust me. Just hold on." His eyes scanned the skyline. Where was that fog?

Lois' lips seemed to tremble. "I've always known, deep down, that you were a hero."

He opened his mouth, as if to deny the claim, a hero acts selflessly. He jumped in front of bullets and caught trains because he could. Not because he was an actual hero. What if he told her? He could tell her couldn't he? He stared into her eyes, he could. He definitely could. "Lois, you're right-"

But as the words came out of his mouth her grip seemed to give way and she fell. His heart jumped into his mouth and his insides tore apart as watched her falling. No. Not this way. He willed himself down, and heard the sound of the still air against his body as his speed increased.

He seemed to be overtaking her but just as he was reaching out towards her falling body she was gone.

He blinked twice and stared at the scene around him. Where was he?

The warehouse. John Corben's powered down frame was lying on the floor and Lois' unconscious body lay next to his. She couldn't be hurt could she?

Just as he was thinking those thoughts, Lois sucked in a large gasp of air and sat up.

"It's you!" She beamed at him. "I don't know what to say. And now you're here, standing right in front of me, staring back."

Thank God she was alive. He didn't know what to say back to her. She had falling just seconds earlier.

"Can I? Please show me your face?" She seemed to beg him to come out of the darkness and into the light.

Now or never he thought and swallowed. "Don't be mad," he said and walked towards her. But as he took a step nearer to her, she began to have a puzzled expression. The next step seemed to create apprehension in her, not recognition like he was expecting. What was she upset with?

"What's wrong with your face?" She asked as if he was some kind of monster.

He put his hands to his face and tried to feel it, but instead of prominent features, it was completely smooth, his eyes, his nose, his mouth, had all but disappeared.

He turned to look at Lois again. But the scene had shifted again. Zod stood over her, with a sword, ready to behead her. He tried to rush towards her but he was bound in chains and couldn't move. "Lois!" He called to her but she couldn't hear him.

Her eyes were cast downward; a quiet sob escaped her lips. Zod turned to him, "This is your doing, Kal-El." Then Zod swung the sword as Clark lunged as hard as he could, he could feel the chains snapping and tried to jump in front of the blade. He could feel himself screaming as he dove.

"No!" His eyes snapped open, his arms outstretched. He blinked several times. Darkness. The farm. He had been dreaming he realized and swallowed. Just dreaming, he tried to remind himself as his heart continued to thud in his chest.

He carefully got out of bed and left the room. He quietly walked downstairs to the kitchen and got a glass out, filled it with water and drank it all. He refilled the water glass and held it as he stared out the kitchen window. The likelihood of him falling back asleep after a dream like that was almost zero. He opened the fridge door and looked inside.

Thirty Minutes Later

Clark sat at the kitchen counter, trying to clear his head.

"So that's where you disappeared to, Smallville? To check on Santa first hand?" Lois seemed amused.

Clark looked up from his food. "I couldn't sleep. Decided to fix a snack." He held up one half of his turkey sandwich.

"No thanks. It's too late," she glanced at the time, "or too early to eat." She came over and sat down next to him at the table. She put her hand over his, "What's got you up?"

"A bad dream," he reluctantly admitted.

"Want to tell me about it?" She asked as she squeezed his hand.

He picked up her hand and gave it a kiss. "Not tonight. There's still three more hours till daylight. We should go back to sleep." Lois grabbed his wrist and turned his watch towards her.

"Hey, it's Christmas now! We can open gifts." She beamed like a child having free run of a candy store.

He smiled; he couldn't help but get caught up in her excitement. "The presents will still be there in the morning. They're not going anywhere."

"Smallville, that is totally not the point though. It's Christmas and people in Europe have had Christmas six hours longer than we have. That is completely unfair." She began to drag him towards the living room.

"Lois, you realize we get those six hours back from them at the end of the day?" He laughed as she positioned him on the floor near the tree.

She folded her arms across her chest and looked at him. "That's not the point! They got the jump on us so we have to catch up."

"Presents are opened in the dark then?" He asked raising his eyebrow.

"Bingo, Smallville." She dove into the pile of presents and started tearing them open.

"Lois, wait!" Her flurry of activity ceased.

"You were holding out on me, there are way more gifts under the tree then there were last night." She reached for another large box.

"Those aren't all for you, Lois," he informed her. She froze and turned towards him. "People are coming over at ten this morning to join us."

"People?" She asked.

"Chloe, Oliver, Mia, plus a few people I know and maybe a few surprise guests."

She raised her eyebrow. "You know people?"

"I know people," he nodded.

"What about just one?" She pointed at the presents neatly wrapped and beckoning to the to be opened. She gave him an adorable smile. "Pretty please?"

He laughed. "I'll do better, Lane. Two. But nothing from under the tree cause we're saving those for later."

"Later?" She let out a sigh. "Wait? Two totally different presents? Two is good. I had my heart set on the big box though."

"Beware things in large boxes." He smiled. "I get to pick the gifts though, cause I'm sure you've peeked at half the things there already."

"Smallville, I would not do that," she whined. "Not on our first Christmas together."

He gave her the look and she tried turn away. "Lois?"

She threw her hands up in the air. "I may have peeked, a little, but it doesn't count."

"Well, just wait there. I need to get the two presents for you." He bounded up the stairs quickly and grabbed them and zipped back down the stairs. Lois was doing an excited, nervous wiggling, in anticipation. He stopped for a moment and just admired her, she looked so right in the house. He thought back to a year ago and the Christmas he'd spent alone. His eyes had certainly been opened in the past year.

Just then Lois noticed him standing on the stairway and yelled to him, "Hurry up, Smallville! Those presents can't open themselves."

"OK, OK," he feigned annoyance. He sat down on the floor next to her and crossed his legs. He handed her the larger box and she grabbed it from his hands.

"Alright, let's crack this puppy open." She tore the wrapping paper off quickly and discovered the box underneath. "Lids just delay the inevitable."

"So take it off then," he teased. She looked up and smiled wickedly.

"Oh you'd like that, wouldn't you, Smallville?" She looked up coyly for a moment, "Anticipation helps create a larger climax."

"I'd wait forever if I had to," he said just above a whisper.

Lois blushed and bit her lip. She looked back down at the present. "Let's see what you got me." She lifted the lid off the box and moved the tissue paper aside, revealing another smaller wrapped gift. "Sneaky."

He laughed. "I enjoy anticipation as well."

She smirked and ripped the paper off the present. She turned it over and gave him a quizzical look. "A mix CD?" She sounded mildly disappointed.

He nodded. "I never made anyone a mix CD before. Someone gave me a mix CD once when they really liked me. I thought the idea was a good one."

She turned the CD over in her hands and read some of the song titles to herself. She looked up at him, "Bob Marley? You never struck me as a Rastafarian sort of guy."

He nodded. "Yeah, but every song tells a story. Each one has a memory I've attached to them."

"So what's the 'Everything Is Going To Be All Right' memory, Smallville?" She asked smiling.

"My parents adopted me, when I was about four years old. I used to have nightmares as a kid though the first three months when I was with them. My mom used to come and hold me; she'd dance with me, holding me, singing that song to make me feel safe. She even got three little birds to put near my door. I always felt everything was going to be OK when she sang to me. She'd usually sing that one and 'No Woman No Cry.'"

Lois narrowed her eyes at him and smiled, "I love how you peel away the layers of mystery like that. So it's a CD of what makes you, Clark Kent."

"Sure," he nodded.

"Elvis?" She asked.

"Dad taught me to drive the truck the first time when I was eleven. 'Return To Sender' was playing on the radio and he always loved Elvis. It was a memory emblazoned with that song."

Lois leaned over and hugged him. "I love it. We'll have to go thru them all and you can tell me what's behind each one."

Clark smiled and squeezed her back, they kissed lightly and he looked at the CD in her hand. "You know that's a multi-layered gift."

"Oh, I know," Lois nodded. "Not just music that means something to you, but really parts of who you are and what makes you, so you, Smallville. It's the best gift anyone has ever given me. It's from the heart, it's perfect-"

"There's more though," he interrupted.

"It's . . . What?" She asked.

"Look within," he added. "It was on the card you tossed aside there, part of the wrapping paper."

"This is a soul searching, who am I really exercise?" She asked nervously.

"What?" He asked very confused. "No. Not that kind of within. Open it, check the track liner notes."

"Oh. Oh!" She exclaimed as she hastily opened the CD cover and took the liner notes out and opened them. "Monster truck rally tickets! Kick ass, not that I didn't like the mix CD, I mean it's adorable, but monster trucks!"

"Glad you like it, but it's not till April though," Clark informed her.

She looked at him questioning his statement. "April? Why so far away?"

"Because," he leaned over and kissed her forehead, "I believe in our future. April will be here before we know it and we'll go then."

She beamed at him. "OK. I'll buy that. Now, there's this matter of my other present isn't there?" She did her little wiggle as she scooted closer towards him. "Gimmie. Gimmie."

"Hold on, I should preface this next gift," but he stopped right there. Lois had put her hand under his shirt and tickled his stomach and had dropped the gift. It was more compact, much smaller than the size of the CD.

"Oh, what's this?" Lois asked as she tore the paper off the box and opened the lid. She froze, like a deer caught in the high beams of a speeding car. She blinked twice and looked back at Clark and then looked back down at the box. "We both agreed to take things slow? Right?"

Clark nodded at her and smiled. "I agreed to all your terms and the slow and steady part, I'm abiding by it."

She reached inside the box and pulled out the jewelry box and held it out to him. "Maybe you should hold off on this then. Jewelry is just too soon? It's only been thirty-two days."

"Lois," Clark said amused. "I wouldn't push something on you that you weren't ready for."

She looked at it closely. "This is a ring box though," she said as she held the box up. "And I'm kind of terrified to open it. Not that I'm not opposed to the whole idea of marriage or anything. Just you're so intense, Clark. I don't know if either of us is ready for that yet? Are we?"

"Trust me, Lois. I heard you the first time. When we get to the serious stuff, I'll let you know. But whatever you think is in that box, is not what is in that box." He smiled.

She scanned his face, trying to detect some clue from his expression. "What the hell, Smallville? You wouldn't give me a ring then?" She sounded offended at his lack of commitment.

"What?" He was shocked at her turn. "Look, when we're both ready for that, we'll both know it. It won't be a surprise to either of us. Until then though, trust me to do right by you." He gazed at her.

She sighed and looked down at the box in her hand. She looked at him again and then said, "OK, Smallville. I will because I trust you." They both smiled at each other. She quickly snapped the lid of the box open and snapped it shut quickly.

She looked at him, puzzled. She snapped the lid open again and stared at the contents. She slowly looked up at him. She opened her mouth as if to say something and then closed it again.

"Speechless?" He asked. His smile still remained.

She nodded. "And extremely confused. I mean this gift doesn't say, insane Christmas dance, rolling around on the floor kind of happiness after finding it. Birthstones, gems, precious metals, those all have some kind of meaning behind them." She raised the box again and pointed at it. "This though," she said as she brought it closer. "Nothing screams loving like used ammo?"

Clark grinned at her.

"Why the hell are you grinning, Smallville? I don't get it? Is the bullet a veiled threat?" She scratched her head. "I know I said, 'take it slow,' but I am completely lost here. What am I supposed to make of this used bullet?"

Clark grew nervous. "Well, it seemed better in my head when I thought about it. But, this gift, is," he stopped as if trying to find the words.

"Is what, Smallville?" Lois asked rather impatiently.

"Well, it's representative of a moment. A moment in my life, really a moment of clarity." He sighed. Her reaction hadn't been what he'd anticipated.

She opened it and looked at it again and touched it carefully. "You mean?" She ran a finger over it. "This is it, the bullet?" She held her breath as she waited for his reply.

He nodded. "Yes. It represents a moment of clarity in my life. When everything else in my life fell away and I realized that not having you in my life was something I didn't want to have to live without." He sighed and ran his hands thru his hair. "It was the moment I realized I needed you in my life, no matter what. I guess it's silly though, saying it out loud. I guess it's pretty morbid."

"No!" She looked at him, shocked by her own outburst.

He gazed at her. "What? You don't hate it?" He asked tentatively.

Lois smiled nervously and shook her head. "It's weird in a good way?"

He nodded. "Good in a weird way?"

She nodded. "It's not something, well, I don't think any girl out there dreams of wearing used ammo, but," she leaned over and kissed him on the lips, opening her mouth to deepen the kiss. "It's unique, just like you, finding good memories in a moment I would have much rather forgotten." She leaned in and hugged him.

"I'll wear it, close to my heart." She pulled the bullet out that had a small gold chain connected to it and put it around her neck.

"I'm glad you like it then. And I'm glad we opened it early because I wanted it to be our moment, just between us." He smiled at her.

She hugged him close and whispered, "You just weren't sure if I'd like it, admit it, Smallville."

He kissed her lips. "Of course not. I trusted that you'd find the gesture meaningful. I mean I did save your life and all," he teased. "And it hurt worst getting it out than it did going in."

She took a moment to just gaze at him. They held each other for another moment longer, realizing how lucky they both were to be there together.

"You know? You're right. You did save my life that night and I never did properly reward you for that at all, did I?" She gave him a funny look.

"Well, you ate my reward and made about a hundred copies of the wrong document, but like all good gifts it was the thought that counted," he said as he pushed the hair back from her face.

"You know? I'm having a thought here how to properly reward my hero." She smiled wickedly.

He raised both eyebrows as he caught the gist of her "reward" implication. "What about the whole 'slow' thing?"

"Slow is good with this reward." She grabbed his hand and started pulling him to his feet.

Clark looked at his watch and groaned. "Lois, one of those surprise guests is my Mom and she's due here in thirty minutes."

"We can adapt. Thirty minutes is plenty of time, Smallville," she grinned widely as he wrapped his arms around her. "Trust me it's plenty good enough. Besides, my gift for you is upstairs." She kissed him deeply again as they walked into his bedroom and shut the door.

"Merry Christmas, Smallville."

A very faint "Wow," made it's way past his lips as her robe hit the floor.