Clark's face was motionless, when Chloe questioned him again. It was as if he hadn't heard her

say anything at all; he just stayed quiet.

"Maybe he's not on planet Earth anymore." Lois whispered to her cousin.

"Shut up, Lois." Chloe replied, just as quiet.

"No, I won't. He needs to answer us."

"No, he doesn't have to answer. Just let it go."

"No, Chloe, I won't! You were the one who asked the question anyway! So, shut up! Smallville,

answer the question!"

"Lois, knock it off!"

The two girls bickered back and forth loudly, causing Clark's blood to begin to boil. Suddenly, it

overflowed the pot.

"Would you two just shut-the-hell up?" He sounded to them.

Chloe and Lois stop shouting at each other full-stop and just looked at him, faces red from the yelling match. They can't believe what they've just heard: Clark, getting upset with them and verbally lashing out. At the same moment, Clark's cell phone chimed loudly, interrupting all three of them even further. He picked it up swiftly, answering it without regard for the caller, "WHAT!"

"Okay... maybe I should just call you back later." The feminine voice answered.

The voice struck him instantly. He stood there in silence, not knowing what to say. He turned around to face Chloe and Lois, who were standing there, watching what was going on.

"Lana..."He replied slowly. "Hi. How are you?"

"I'm good. Have you seen Lois or Chloe? We were supposed to have coffee together at the Metro

Caf and they aren't here yet." She answered lightly.

"Really? That's interesting. Hold on just a sec."

He pressed his phone's mouthpiece up against his shoulder and stated nonchalantly, "Aren't you girls supposed to be somewhere right now?"

Chloe looked at her cousin and then, back at Clark, suddenly realizing what she had plans for that evening. She glanced at her watch seeing that time had gotten away from her.

"Oh, Lana...I totally forgot about her." She retorted softly.

"Oh, my God, Chloe...you're right. We were supposed to be at the caf 10 minutes ago. Thanks a

lot, Smallville. Now, I have to be on the edge of my seat for your answer." Lois added, looking at

her friend. "I'll be so anxious that I won't be able to drink my coffee."

"You're welcome, Lois." He replied sarcastically, before releasing his phone from his shoulder's clutches. "Lana, are you still there?"

"Yep...still here..."

"Lois and Chloe will be there as soon as they can."

"Have they been with you the entire time?"

"Yep, in the apartment..."

"Clark, why are you at their apartment?"

"I'm staying here...for the weekend."

"Oh...sounds like fun."

"Yeah...I know it's gonna be."

"Well...I better let you go. Chloe's probably trying to call me on my cell as we speak."

"She probably is."

"Goodbye, Clark."

"Bye, Lana."

The two girls made their way to the Metro Caf in what seemed like seconds from the time they left Clark at the apartment. They entered the coffee shop and immediately looked around for their friend. Moving their way to the back to the place, where there were a bunch of tables with chairs and comfy booths, they found Lana sitting at a table, surrounded with three empty chairs. She saw the two friends and got up slowly from her chair to greet them. She stood up with a smile, showing the girls her belly swollen with child, covered by a fancy royal purple pregnancy top.

"Lana, you look so good." Chloe stated, hugging her friend softly.

"Oh, whatever...I'm so huge." She replied, muffled by her friend's blonde curls.

"No, you're not huge, Lana..." Lois retorted with a smile.

"Thank you, Lois."

"There are tons of things bigger than you."

Lois's sarcasm wasn't lost on the future Mrs. Lex Luthor, who answered back, "Thanks a lot, friend."

"You're welcome."

The two girls laughed lightly, before sitting down for a conversation.

"So, what have you two girls been up to?" Lana wondered, as she motioned for a waiter.

"'Up to', Lana? We haven't been up to anything." Chloe answered with a coy grin. "Have we been up to something, Lois?"

"No way. Why would you even think that, Lana?" Her cousin retorted.

"Okay, you two. Spill the beans. I know that you two are planning my baby shower."

"Us 'planning your baby shower'? Are we doing that?"

"No way; we would never do that." Chloe spoke with some sarcasm and a smile.

"You guys..." Lana whined, protruding her bottom lip like a little kid.

"Oh, alright... we 'are' planning one, but it's gonna be back home in Smallville."

"And, it's not going to be at the mansion." Lois added.

"So, where's it gonna be then?" Lana inquired to her friend.

"At the Talon, where else?"

"I've missed the Talon. How's business?"

"Business is booming, like always. How's business for you?"

"Lex deals with the business; I don't want to have anything to do with it. He has his work and I have mine."

"You 'work'? Where at?"

"Here..."

"You work here at the coffee shop?" Chloe wondered.

"Yep, I'm one of the assistant managers."

"Wow, Lex's actually okay with you working at a place like this?"

"Yeah, he told me that I shouldn't sit in the apartment all alone, so I told him that I was gonna get a job and he thought it was a great idea."

"Really? Wow...he's officially much cooler in my book now." Lois retorted.

"Same here..." Chloe added.

As the waiter came over and took the girls' orders, the conversation changed to something else. "So, why was Clark at your apartment?" Lana inquired to her friends.

"He's staying over the weekend." Chloe replied to her.

"And, he's picking up a girl at the airport." Lois added nonchalantly.

"Lois..."

"What? He is, and there shouldn't be any problems with that from the other members of the Peanut Gallery."

"Guys, I don't have any problems with Clark finding someone new to be with..." Lana stated lightly. "Just as long as she's not a tramp."

"Don't let Clark hear you say that; he'd get probably get mad at that comment. Anyway, she's not a tramp at all, that's for sure." Chloe responded.

"Yeah...she's his cousin." Lois retorted not caring what reaction she was going to get out of it.

"She's his 'what'?" Lana spoke, taken aback by her pal's statement.

"Lois is exaggerating, Lana. It's his 2nd cousin...Martha's cousin." The young blonde answered.

"Oh, that's different. But, still...a cousin? That's just weird."

"No, it's not...when you think of the 'down home' Arkansas redneck image of it." Lois stated, turning to be funny.

"Lois! People from Arkansas aren't like that; it's just a dumb stereotype. Besides that, you're being rude and cruel to Katie."

She instantly regretted saying that, but it was too late: it came out of her mouth and it was now public knowledge.

"Katie..." Lana started to say. "He's dating Katie?"

"Well, no..." Chloe answered nervously. "They aren't dating per say."

"Then, what 'are' they doing? Okay. Nevermind, I don't want to know."

"Well, they aren't doing 'that', that's for sure. She's been out of the country for a year." Lois added indifferently.

"He cares for her, Lana. That's all we could get out of him." Chloe answered to cool the air about the possibility of a connection.

The waiter returned, handing the girls their drinks swiftly and leaving them to their own devices.

"Is he still mad at me?" The future Mrs. Luthor questioned.

"Lana, you know Clark...he never tells anyone anything." Lois answered.

"That's untrue, Lois; there is one person that he talks to." Chloe interjected.

"I forgot he talks to his mother about tons of stuff."

"She's always good at problem-solving. I wish I had a mom like her. How is she anyways?" Lana asked, wondering how she was.

"She's good. She's been seeing a lot more of Lionel Luthor."

"She's been with Lionel? Do Lex and Jonathan know about it?"

"Should they even know?"

"They're just friends, you guys. That's no big deal." Chloe cut in.

"To you maybe..."

"And, to you..."

"True, but he's still Lionel Luthor."

"And, Lex & Jonathan still doesn't know about it." Lana piped up, as she took a sip of her drink.

Clark looked at his watch and noticed the time. It was 9:15 that night, and he needed to be at the airport at 9:35 that night. He put his shoes on, grabbed his coat and set out in his truck for the Manhattan airport. It was 15 minutes farther than the Metropolis International Airport, but it was easier to find.

The drive made Clark think of everything that was going on in his life: his former best friend is engaged to be married to his ex-girlfriend and they are having a child together; his mother is making friends with the most evil man in the world and his own father hardly knows about it; and, most of all, he had feelings for his mother's cousin, who he wasn't even blood-related to.

It would have been too much for some people, but it was Clark and he was going to work through it all. Getting to the airport swiftly, he parked in the lot and made his way into the terminal. He found Katie's flight number on one of the arrival screens and moved towards the arrivals gate, where there were a group of chairs. He sat and contemplated what he was going to say to her, when she arrived home...with him.

As he sat in silence, he could hear an announcement over the public announcement system: "Ladies and gentlemen, *Midwest Airlines (r)* is announcing the arrival of flight 4432 - service from Kansas City, at gate 10. *Midwest Airlines (r)* flight 4432, service from Kansas City, is now arriving at gate 10."

'That's her flight', he thought to himself. 'It's finally here.'

People began to disembark the flight and walk down the terminal to the waiting area, where others were now standing. He kept watching and waiting to see her come off the plane, and all of a sudden, he saw a familiar face. She still had her flowing auburn red hair, but now it was shorter. She wore a pair of faded blue jeans that flared at the bottom, a gray hooded sweater with the word "Zurich" sown on the front, and a pair of black & white *Kelme(r)* shoes. She had her carry-on bag hanging lightly on her left shoulder and her purse close to her body on her right. She was wearing her glasses, instead of her contacts. She looked up to see a smiling face looking straight at her.

Something in your eyes makes me want to lose myself Makes me want to lose myself in your arms There's something in your voice
Makes my heart beat fast
Hope this feeling lasts the rest of my life

She moved faster trying to get him as soon as possible. Tears began to move down her face as she strode towards him. She wanted to run, but she didn't want it to seem weird. When she finally got to Clark, she stood there in front of him and smiled, allowing the tears still stream over the shapes of her face. He placed his hand on her cheek, letting his warmth engulf her. He rubbed the tearstains away with his thumb and forefinger, as he looked deep into her soft brown eyes.

"Hi..." He spoke up lightly.

"Hi..." She answered just as quiet.

"You never called me back. I got scared..."

"You shouldn't have. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."

"That's good. I'm glad. You ready to get out of here?" Clark questioned, hand still on her cheek.

"Yeah, let's go." She replied with a smile, before grabbing his hand from her face.

She held it in her own hand firmly, not wanting him to let her go in fear that she'd fall away. They walked to baggage claim, getting her bags promptly, before moving to the parking lot and to Clark's vehicle. Clark put her suitcases in the bed of the truck with her other things, securing them down. He walked quickly around to the side, where Katie was standing. He stood in front of her and just observed in his own quiet mood.

"What?" She asked inquisitively.

"Nothing..." He answered lightly with a soft smile.

"What?"

"It's nothing..."

"What's nothing, Clark? Tell me...keep me in the loop here."

"It's just..."

"What?"

"It's just that... I never knew how beautiful you were until now."

"You think I'm beautiful?"

"I do."

If you knew how lonely my life has been And how long I've been so alone
If you knew how I wanted someone to come along And change my life the way you've done

It feels like home to me
It feels like home to me
It feels like I'm all the way back where I come from

It feels like home to me
It feels like home to me
It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

A loose curl fell in Clark's face, taunting Katie to touch it. She got on her tiptoes and moved the piece of hair away from his visage lightly. After moving it, her fingertips grazed his cheek, feeling the heat of his skin.

"I'm sorry..." She spoke to him.

"It's alright."

"Clark, I've missed a lot of things. Most of all, I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too, Katie...there's been so much stuff going on that you don't know about."

"Well, then, I guess you have a lot of explaining to do on our way back to the apartment."

"You're not staying at Danny's?"

"I am, but he said that I could come over anytime. He wants us to feel things out."

"Okay. Let's start here then."

"Start here with what?"

Clark placed his hands on the sides of her face, moving her face upward with her eyes staring up at his own. Without warning, he placed his lips upon hers, kissing her delicately, not wanting to rush things if she didn't want them to start. Just as soon as it happened, it ended with Clark pulling back from her as a cool wind whipped around their bodies.

"I'm sorry..." He stated to her.

"It's alright." She answered lightly. "I liked it."

"Am I allowed to do that again?"

"No...you didn't ask me correctly."

"Fine...may I kiss you again?"

"You may..."

With that, he kissed her again. This time, the kiss was ardently deeper and she welcomed it with no further objection. Katie wasn't about to leave and Clark wasn't about to let her go.

If you knew how much this moment means to me And how long I've waited for your touch If you knew how happy you are making me I never thought that I'd love anyone so much

It feels like home to me
It feels like home to me
It Feels like I'm all the way back where I come from

It feels like home to me
It feels like home to me
It Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong It Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong...

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