Thanks, Morgana -- I know what a fan you are of Luthor, so I count your comment as true success!
Love how you phrased that, VirginiaR, about Luthor taking it for granted he'd be saved. I also really liked how #20 turned out; those first minutes of that episode are some of my favorite between Lois and Clark -- the bet over naming the reindeer and dwarves, their different methods of solving the man smoking where he shouldn't have, and then to have it turn into this moment, where she was afraid to tell him what was going on...I've always loved them and was so glad to finally get a chance to explore it just a bit. And I keep having Perry know Clark's secret in my stories, so I almost DID have him guess in that last Quotable, but since I'm trying to keep them grounded in canon and steeped in the episode, I decided against it. Besides, it's strange enough seeing Clark so defeated!
Thanks for the feedback!