Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic Double Jeopardy 15/?

Sorry it took so long for this part. Again, a lot going on. (This story is full of that.) But this part is the beginning of a lot of explanations.

Enjoy!

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Paul Lang was either incredibly naive or an idiot. He had kept meticulous records. Every detail of how he created various mind control drugs for Lex Luthor was spelled out. He'd indeed continued Carl Mambo's research and had extended it to include some of his own; and there were details of an apparent invitro fertilization procedure. Clark had discovered a new side to the man he thought he knew.

Henderson had gotten the search warrant for Lang's private lab and seized tons of incriminating evidence into the various illegal activities of both the doctor and the elusive Lex Luthor. Bill had taken copies of what they'd found to the Planet and turned it over to Perry and his boys. Of course, it was done with the understanding that they had no clue where it had all come from.

Jack patiently sifted through some of the information they'd found in Lang's lab. He just couldn't believe the sheer amount.

"You know, he was smart enough not to ever use actual names," Jack stated.

"Yeah. The most minute detail... except for that." Clark scribbled a few notes into his notepad, then grabbed up another piece of paper.

The silence in the conference room was interrupted by a messenger. He delivered a book to Clark from Detective Henderson.

"What is it?" Jack asked peering across the table.

"Looks like a journal. The note from Henderson says it's Paul Lang's. They found it in a safe deposit box at his house." Clark opened it slowly. It soon became clear that this was more than he could have asked for. He looked up at Jack. "This is what we needed. It says Luthor came to him in 86. That happened to be a good thing because Paul had accumulated several hundred thousand dollars worth of debt to the wrong people. He cut a deal with Luthor to keep from losing any body parts." Clark paused and read a few more pages.

"Lang started doing various things for Luthor. Seems the mind control drugs have been used by Luthor for years. Lang states that Luthor's ultimate goal was to see if he could make a person think that they were someone else entirely." Clark flipped a few more pages. Jack noticed he stopped, staring at the pages in shock.

"CK? What is it?"

"Lois was the first guinea pig for the new drugs for total mind control. It started out as a test, but Luthor became obsessed with her. He married her because he had to, although Paul didn't know exactly why."

"Man. Poor Lois."

"Yeah." Clark read a couple more pages before his wide eyes met Jack's again. "She was also a guinea pig for another reason. Luthor *needed* to have a son. But get his, he was infertile."

"What?"

"Yep. He paid Paul to get Lois pregnant." He read on. "I know the connection to Mambo now." He looked up at Jack. "The twins were supposed to be clones."

"Clones?" Jack snorted. "Don't tell me that quack actually thought he could create human clones."

"Not only that, he convinced Luthor he had discovered a way for a woman to conceive a cloned embryo."

"Please tell me Collin and Perry are not clones."

"No. Remember the invitro research from his lab?" Jack nodded. "It seems Lois was the mother."

"And the father?"

"Luthor thought Paul was creating a clone child. Paul, however, states here that the possibility of a clone living more than five years was highly unlikely."

"The five year mark Lois mentioned," Jack observed.

Clark nodded. "Paul took a sample from one of his clients and with Lois' egg, created the twins." Clark flipped a page. "He was ecstatic with that little surprise."

"God, that's awful. So who's the father?"

"That's the strange thing. He almost boasts about his accomplishment, yet never mentions the name of the father. He does say that it's sweet justice to beat Luthor at his own game."

"So Collin and Perry were fathered by Joe blow so Luthor could have a son? Explains why he wasn't crazy about the unexpected girl."

"He didn't need her," Clark pointed out.

"This is too weird." Jack leaned back in his seat. "What do you tell those kids when they ask about their father one day? No offense, CK."

"None taken. They *will* ask some day."

"What else does it say?"

"That Lang sold all his dirty little secrets to Church." Clark stopped on the last page. "My God! He killed Ellen Lane."

"What?" Jack sat up straight.

"He was having an affair with her." Clark's eyes met Jack's. "Lucy's his."

"Damn!"

"Ellen wanted to end the affair, but his jealousy got the best of him. Apparently he and Sam knew each other in college and competed for Ellen's attention. When she married Sam and had Lois, Lang married Marge and moved across the country. He buried himself in work and the advances in his research is what caught Luthor's eye. Lang moved back to Metropolis to work for Lex Labs because the money was too good to pass up and he met up with Ellen again. Two years later, Lucy was born. He wanted Ellen to leave Sam and start a family with him, but Sam threatened to take Lois away from her. She stayed, Paul went crazy, and she was found dead of an apparent heart attack." Clark read over another page. "He knew she was Delconto's daughter." He finally looked up at Jack. "He turned on Lex because Karen Lang was supposed to be Mrs. Luthor."

"Karen?"

"Paul's sister. He believes Luthor killed her. She disappeared just months before their wedding and has never been found."

"What a whacked, twisted son of a gun. Hell, both of them."

"You can say that again."

"And Lois was convenient to use?" Jack threw a few papers across his desk.

"Paul liked the irony of Luthor's choice."

"Do you think Sam Lane knows any of that?"

Clark shook his head. "I doubt it. Paul kept making references to things happening behind Lane's back." He flipped the book onto the table. "I guess we'll ask him."

Jack leaned back so he could prop his feet up on the table. "Hell of a way to find out about your wife's affair and the child you raised."

"This whole thing is one hell of an affair."

"You can say that again. I would love to get my hands on Lang and Luthor. Give me five minutes alone with them. Somebody would talk."

"I know, Jack. I know." Clark slowly read through the journal again. Of course, to get his hands on Luthor, he had to prove he was alive and find him. That was like finding a needle in a haystack. Sighing heavily, he decided to call it a night. They'd made it about as far as they could today. They'd start fresh again tomorrow.

****

"I think we have a problem, sir," Nigel told his boss.

"Well, spit it out," David said as he stared across and up at the building that used to be his. He'd had to settle on living in an apartment next to Lex Towers until he took possession of his prized high rise again.

"Our source in the department tells me that White and his crew have discovered that the man who fell from the penthouse balcony is not you."

David's head jerked around and he stared at his assistant. "Damn! How in hell did they discover that? I thought that nit wit signed off on the autopsy."

"Apparently there were samples taken before the case could be closed." He stepped over and poured David a drink. "I have also been told that Marge Lang was found dead. It is believed that Paul fed her too many of the research drugs."

"What is that fool up to?" He took a drink from the glass Nigel had given him. "Still no sign of him?"

"I believe we have finally located him."

"Let me guess. On a little remote island off the Mexican shore?"

"Actually, I think he's a guest of Juan Delconto."

David spit his brandy across the room. "Holy hell! If that man learns of what Paul's done for me..."

"I am well aware of that, sir."

Harris slammed his glass down onto the desk, breaking it into several pieces. "We might not have a choice but to snatch that kid. We have to have him to prove my claims. And if I can get him before Delconto, I can use him as a bargaining chip."

"I'll send a couple of guys today."

"Do that." He walked over to look out of the window again. What had he gotten himself into? More precisely, how did he get himself out of this mess?

****

Clark walked slowly toward his door. He'd left work a while ago to attend a rescue as Superman. He'd decided to get himself a cup of coffee and walk home. It was a gorgeous night and he liked to soak up the sights and sounds of the city whenever he could. He grabbed his mail from the box out front and was reading over a bill when he opened the front door.

"Dadda!"

He looked up to see Perry climbing the stairs toward him. "Sunshine!" He tossed the mail over onto the bookshelf and hugged the little bundle of energy in his arms. He kissed her face several times before he looked up to see his mom in the kitchen and his dad coming in from the bedroom. "Hey, I didn't know you guys were coming in tonight."

"I hope it's okay," his mom wanted to know.

"More than okay." He kissed Perry again and set her on her feet. "Where's Collin?"

"Staring out the window. He likes the window seat," Jonathan told him.

Clark headed into the bedroom to find the boy kneeling on the seat and peering out the window. "Hey, big guy!"

Collin turned and grinned at him. "Hi, Dadda!"

"Oh wow! You called me Daddy," Clark said as he picked the boy up and hugged him close. Collin loved to see Clark come for visits and showered him with love every time, but he'd yet to call him daddy. Collin leaned back in Clark's arms enough so that he could rub his nose against his. "Lub u."

"Oh, son, I love you, too," Clark said and kissed his lips. He hadn't realized just how much until lately. The twins had become a very important part of Clark's life. They made him feel complete in a way nothing ever had- not even being Superman. He had to put the boy down because the little fellow was ready to go play.

"Dinner will be ready in two," his mom called.

Clark stepped into the kitchen, loosening his tie as he did. "Is everything okay? You seem..."

Jonathan glanced back to make sure the kids were playing. "We decided to fly out today. There was another strange vehicle at the farm."

"Where are the guards?"

"One's out front. The other one will relieve him in a little while."

"Why didn't you call me, Dad?" Clark threw his jacket into his bedroom, along with his tie.

"We can't keep calling you every two seconds, Clark," his mom spoke up as she set the bread on the table.

"You call me whenever you need to," he insisted. "I don't want anything to happen to any of you."

"They don't want us," Jonathan reminded him.

Clark looked over at the little boy digging toys from the box. "Yeah, I know. Hopefully this will all be over with soon. We've learned some pretty incredible things over the last few days."

"Eat, Dadda!" Collin said as he ran across the room and held up his hands to Clark.

"Yeah, big guy," he told him and lifted him in his arms. It was amazing how comfortable the boy had become in the short time he'd been in Kansas. He was almost as outgoing as Perry now. What would he be like in a few months time?

Clark looked at him. Would he be with them in a few months time? Would they be able to get Lois out of prison and she take them away? Would some maniac snatch him and hide him away from them again?

"Let's eat," Martha told them all as she reached to lift Perry up.

Pushing away his troubled thoughts, Clark settled Collin next to him in his highchair. He received a huge grin and decided that for tonight, he'd just enjoy having his family together.

****

The first thing she was aware of when she came to was that she was definitely not in her cell. The walls were burnt orange and the air was warmer. This was not the prison. She looked around the room, shocked beyond belief when she noticed that through the window she could see water- lots of water. She stood up and stumbled toward the open double doors. Not more than fifty yards in front of her was the brightest white sand she'd ever seen. The surf was crashing and receding on the beach. The sun was shining, the reflection off the sand nearly blinding.

"I see you're awake."

She looked through the doors, down the long, wide porch to see an older gentleman sitting at a round table.

"Come join me, dear. I'm sure you're famished." He waved a hand at the spread of food in front of him.

Shaking her head, she managed to make it to a chair and drop heavily. She was still groggy as hell, but she was also thirsty. She drank down over half of whatever juice it was in the glass in front of her before she looked up at the man. "Who are you?"

"Oh, Lois, I'm hurt you don't remember your grandfather."

Staring at him wide-eyed, she realized this was her mother's father. "Juan?"

"It has been a while. What? Twenty years?" He took a sip from his coffee cup, then smiled at her. "It was never my choice. Ella made the decision to leave." He set the cup back down. "Changing her name- now that was a bit too much. If she was ashamed of her heritage..."

"Why wouldn't she be? You lead one of the largest crime syndicates in the world."

He laughed softly. "Call it what you will. I call it business." He waved his hand. "It affords me the things I want. This island, this house... Your mother used her share of the money to start a new life." Juan folded his hands across his lap, gazing at Lois. "I would have come for you sooner..."

"You should have never come for me at all. I was in enough trouble as it was."

"Oh, please. Lex Luthor isn't dead." He shook his finger as he grinned. "Granted, he threw me for a minute."

"Yeah, he threw me for more than a minute." She picked over the fruit before deciding on a piece of watermelon.

"I did not even realize you were his wife until the news broke that you were accused of his murder." He lit a cigarette and blew out a puff of smoke. "A friend of his tells me you have also delivered twins."

"Did that friend tell you they weren't Lex's?"

"Oh, yes." He watched her for several moments before he shifted in his seat. "You didn't know that until recently, did you?"

"My lawyer had some tests run and found out."

"Yes, when they found out Lex was alive."

Lois stared at him. "You probably know everything that's going on, don't you?"

"I know enough. Unfortunately, I've lost my contact inside Star Labs. But I'm sure not much more can be learned from running blood tests. At least not with Lex's blood."

She studied him while she ate for a moment. The longer she was awake, the better she felt. And the clearer her head became. Her instincts weren't completely gone either. "You know who the father is," she said. It wasn't a question.

"I know a lot of things," he said as he puffed on his smoke again.

"Why did you take me?"

"The scientific implications, of course," he told her as he snuffed out the cigarette. "I wish I could say it was because you're blood, but..." He grinned and held his hands out widely. "Money and power is greener than blood. Ella made her choices. Those choices cost her gravely. I have other kids. My son will one day take over my empire."

"According to every major law enforcement agency in the world, the Delconto line died on a plane off the coast of California."

"Yes. Lex should have taken lessons, shouldn't he? If you want to die and stay dead, do it right." He chuckled softly. "And you always, always have to be careful where your fluids are... just in case some wacko or scientist decides to start studying them." He glanced at the food on the table. "Eat, drink. You'll be taken care of here. My physician will give you a day or two to settle in before he begins the tests."

"What tests?" she demanded.

"Standard physical, a few blood tests. We have to make sure there were no adverse effects from your pregnancy."

"Why would there be?"

"Oh, no, dear. Too soon." He stood up and a man came out of nowhere to help him. That's when Lois noticed that he could barely move his legs. He moved, with assistance, toward a wheelchair that had been provided by another man. "Until later, my dear." He waved his hand without looking back and was wheeled away.

Lois looked around, noticing the careful eyes watching her. They weren't easily seen, unless one was looking for them. She ate for a moment, then stood up and went back to her room. Although comfortably decorated, it was essentially bare as well. A comfortable, overstuffed bed with fine linens. A closet full of nice clothes. A bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub and anything she could possibly want for a bath. However, there was nothing she could remotely use to hurt herself or use to get away. No telephones, not even lines. No television, no radio. And as she drifted around the porch, she discovered she was locked away from the rest of the house. Walking out onto the beach, she also learned there was a gate to separate her from the main yard. She could reach the beach area, but even that was cut off from the rest of shore by large rocks that protruded far enough out into the water to make swimming around them hazardous and possibly deadly. So while she was free to a point, she was just as much a prisoner here as she'd been in Metropolis.

And she wasn't in Metropolis. She wasn't even in the states. She could tell from the color of the sea water, the pristine bleached sand on the beach. Where was she? And how in hell did she get out of this?

Sighing heavily, she sank to the sand where she'd ventured out. What now? How long would she live this hell before she was finally able to do the only thing in the world she truly wanted to do?

What were they doing right now? Were they with Clark? Was he holding them? Telling them their mother loved them? Did he rock them to sleep? Did he kiss them? Rub their nose with his own the way she'd done? The way she'd done with Lucy when they were kids?

Clark Kent- what kind of person was he? She'd felt immediately comfortable with him the first time she'd met him. He had trusting eyes. If Perry thought he was a stand-up guy, that was enough for her. He had to be. Perry was the best man she knew and he didn't make snap judgments. He knew when someone was good and when they weren't. That's why she should have listened when he told her to get away from Lex.

Lois sighed deeply and looked out across the ocean. Where was her life headed? Would it be shipwrecked indefinitely or would she someday be swept back out to sea? Was she destined to just float along, lost in the ebbs and tides that made the world go round?

Glancing back up at the house behind her, she realized something she hadn't before. She came from a strong line of people. Granted, that line might be as evil as they came, but still strong, determined, and confident. She came from a line of intelligent people. Her father had once been one of the foremost medical minds in the world. She was good at her chosen profession- before all of this. What she needed to do was pull herself together and find out what the leader of the crime world wanted with her. If she could manage, surely the person and reporter she'd once been could figure out how to get herself out of this mess she'd fallen in.

****

Clark hated to work while his folks and the kids were in town, but a few things needed to get done. He'd gotten up early to get it done so he could spend the day with the twins. He finished up his latest story for the Planet before calling up a program with information on the Luthor investigation. He read through some information before he pulled up an older search.

"Damn! Why didn't I see that before?"

"See what, CK?" Jack asked as he walked up. Jack came in early most days so that he could cut out early. He'd recently started playing with a band at a little place in the jazz district.

Furiously punching the keys, another program flashed on the screen. "Leslie Luckaby..."

"Luckaby?"

"More precisely, Alexander Luckaby. Jack, what was Lex's given name?"

"Alexander Xavier Luthor... You don't think?"

"I do think," Clark said as he stood up. "He named Collin Xavier Franklin. I need to take a little trip."

"But Alexander disappeared years ago." Jack turned and punched a few keys so that he could look at Clark's files. "Right about the time Lex Luthor made his debut in the business world. Damn!"

"Get me some pictures," Clark told him as he backed toward the stairs. "If you can find any."

"Got it." Jack hurried toward his own computer as Clark disappeared.

A few minutes later, Clark landed in a secluded area in Sydney and hurried into the building that housed the Delconto Organization. Slipping past security and dodging cameras, he made it to the top floor. When he opened the door to the CEO's office, he almost turned around again.

"What the hell?!" The young man in the plush chair pushed the naked woman up from his lap, grabbing blindly for the robe lying across his desk.

"I'll just..." The young woman motioned with her hand, then disappeared into the bathroom.

Leslie Luckaby stood up and put on the robe, keeping his eyes on Clark the entire time. "I don't know who you are..."

"It doesn't matter. I need to ask you some questions about your father."

"Alexander?" Clark nodded. "Why do you want to know about him? He went to Ecuador with my grandfather and didn't come home again. Probably got drunk and a local cut his goods off for messing with his wife."

"Do you have a picture of him?"

"There's one hanging in the lobby." He stuffed his hands into the pockets of the robe. "Look, Mr..."

"You haven't seen him in the past year?"

"No. I told you..."

"Thank you." Clark turned and left a stunned man standing in the middle of his office. He made his way back down to the lobby and when he found the portrait of Alexander Luckaby, he could only shake his head in disbelief. "I'll be damned." He asked a few questions and within a few minutes, he was sitting down across the table from the attorney in charge of Franklin Luckaby's estate.

"Look, Mr. Kent, we are not authorized to tell you anything."

"I beg to differ. As an investigator for the attorney in charge of securing the future of the Luckaby line, I would say that whatever you're hiding is vital to my young client's future. If my research is correct, Master Lane is Franklin Luckaby's grandson. As his grandson he's entitled to a healthy trust." Clark didn't know that for certain, but it was a good guess. Most wealthy people set up trusts for children and grandchildren.

The attorney looked a little uneasy. Finally he took a deep breath. "Mr. Luckaby called us last week and told us the boy died. When we get the official death certificate, we'll transfer the money into Mr. Luckaby's account."

"I'm sorry, but those plans will have to be put on hold. Collin Lane is alive and he is the son of Alexander Luckaby and his wife."

The man stared at Clark for several moments before he turned to his computer. After three or four minutes, he looked back over at Clark. "Lane? As is Lois Lane?"

"Yes."

"Wasn't she Lex Luthor's wife?"

"Yes. I will call the attorney in charge of this case. I think you and she need to discuss a few things."

"Yes. I believe we do." He stood and motioned toward the phone on his desk. "Please, Mr. Kent, call the attorney and set up a video conference. I'll have my secretary bring in all the necessary numbers." He hurried into the other room while Clark phoned Mayson.

He gave Mayson a quick rundown of what was going on. She was stunned, but immediately cut the connection to make some calls. A mere fifteen minutes later, she was on the vid screen in the conference room discussing Luckaby and details of his estate. The lawyers in Sydney were shocked to say the least. They were also angry. If what Mayson was telling them was true, Alexander Luckaby was in serious trouble.

When the video conference was over, Clark stood up. "Thank you for listening."

"We will get the necessary samples for you by the end of business tomorrow. This has to be proven and documented."

"I understand."

"We will also get orders for DNA from Leslie and the banked blood of Franklin. The man made a donation every chance he got while he was alive. He was paranoid that something would happen. When Alexander was small, he banked his blood as well. We'll express it all to the lab Ms. Drake indicated."

"We'll fax the results back as soon as we have them."

"Very good." They shook hands again and Clark left.

He landed back in Metropolis and hurried up to the newsroom. Henderson was in with Perry. "What's going on?" he asked Jack, who was perched on his desk watching the windows of the editor's office.

"Not sure. Bill came in two minutes ago and shut himself in with Perry."

Right about then, Perry looked up and motioned for them to come in. "Hey, Jimmy, I think we're being paged."

The three men entered Perry's office and waited for whatever it was that needed to be said. None missed the fact that Perry looked like he was about to drop.

"Lois is gone," Bill finally spoke up.

"Gone? Where?" Jimmy asked, his heart thundering in his chest.

"She and another inmate got into a fight last night. They beat each other to death."

You could have heard a pin drop in the room. Finally they were all prompted into action when Perry fell to the floor.

"He's out cold," Clark said as he assessed the man's condition. "Call an ambulance."

Bill called for help on his phone while the other man struggled to help their boss. Twenty minutes later, Perry was on his way to Mercy Hospital.

"I'll go with him," Jimmy told the others.

Clark nodded and watched as they carted the old editor out of the newsroom. "What the hell happened, Bill?" he wanted to know.

"Apparently the leader of one of the gangs wanted Lois as her... friend. She and her gang held her down and raped her with whatever they could get their hands on. But that girl had spunk. She kicked and clawed, knocked out the two gang members, then went to wailing on the leader. They passed licks with chairs, crushed each other's faces into the bars, dragged each other across the floor... It was a bloody mess."

"Where is she?" Clark wanted to know.

"They're holding her in the morgue at the prison until her father tells us where to send her body."

Clark was half way to the stairwell before Henderson yelled at him. "Where are you going?"

"I need to get permission from Sam for an autopsy."

Bill could only grin because Clark was gone. "Smart boy," he said to Jack. "I've already asked the doctor to give us permission."

"Did he?" Jack wanted to know.

"Yeah. But he wants Bernie Klein to do the exam."

"Another smart man," Jack said as he went to answer a phone.

"See ya', kid."

****

Mayson found Clark standing on the balcony, leaning over on the wall. "Thought you might need a refill," she said as she set a full bottle of beer up beside his arms.

"Thanks." He tossed his empty bottle across his shoulder and it landed with a crash in the large can he'd put out next to the door. He chuckled softly at the reprimand he received from his mother.

"Are you okay?"

"Oh yeah." He took a long gulp from his beer, then turned to lean on an elbow so he could look at Mayson. "I haven't said thank you for everything you've done." Mayson had rushed every known application and subpoena through as fast as she could. They were waiting on results from Bernie, but they now knew a lot more than they had a few days ago.

"You don't need to thank me. It's what I do."

"Yeah, well..." He took another drink from his beer.

"It was a great party," she told him, mainly to have something to say. They'd celebrated the twins' second birthday.

"The look on that kid's face..." Clark smiled as he remembered the surprised expression on Collin's face when he saw all of the people and balloons and decorations. The cake had been a huge hit. It had taken Clark nearly ten minutes to get all of the chocolate out of Collin's hair. The bicycle was another hit. He rode a path through the apartment before he'd dropped from sheer exhaustion. Perry hadn't made it as long as he had. They were both sleeping in the loft where Clark had made them a makeshift bed they had all shared since they came to the city. Clark had been sure to install a gate at the top of the stairs though. Collin had nearly fallen down the ones at the farm.

"What are you going to do when Bernie confirms Lois' death?"

"I'm going to get you to file the necessary papers to declare Perry her daughter, then I'm going to apply to legally adopt both of them."

"What?" she asked with raised brows.

"Come on, Mayson. They're mine. You've seen that. Besides, what am I supposed to do? Give them to the state? Sam's going to be in prison for a while. Lucy's still so fried she doesn't know her name and they don't belong to Luthor. Right now, I'm all they have."

"And you're prepared to keep them?"

He glanced toward the door. "I think I've been prepared to keep them for a long time now."

"So you'll commute, Superman style, back and forth to Kansas the rest of their lives? What happens when they're older and start asking questions?"

"Actually, my parents looked at a place near Perry. They told me they've been thinking of moving to Metropolis for a while. They know I want to be a bigger part of the kids' lives and I won't take them from my folks."

"The solution is for your parents to give up the family farm and move to the city with their son?"

"The solution is for my folks to choose love over bricks and mortar." Clark slugged down the rest of his beer.

"For kids that are not even blood..." She stared at him, glanced at the apartment, then smiled. "I have *got* to move to Kansas."

"Why?"

"So I can catch myself a good husband."

Clark laughed as Mayson drank down some of her beer. "I thought you and Dan were working on things."

"How did you know that?"

"I'm not the best reporter in the city for no reason," Clark leaned back over on his arms across the balcony wall. "Are you? He could have come with you tonight."

"Yeah, you would have been totally okay with that." There was no sarcastic tone in her voice. Clark really would have been okay if she'd brought Dan along tonight. "How about you? Are you seeing anyone?"

"No. I don't have enough time to think, let alone date." He tilted his head to the side when his hearing kicked in.

"You need to go?"

He listened for another moment before he shook his head. "No. Emergency crews have it." They stood in silence, staring at the side of the next building. His balcony offered a horrible view, but it was secluded and private. He glanced at the woman beside him. He'd come to cherish his friendship with Mayson. She asked questions he needed her to, even if he didn't want her to ask them. And she'd gone above and beyond the call of duty for Lois and the investigation to help her. It would be days if not weeks before they had the results from all of the tests Bernie was running, but at least they had a solid direction to go in.

Martha yelled from inside that some of their guests were preparing to leave, so Clark sighed and stood up. "Come on. Walk me inside," he told Mayson, throwing his arm over her shoulder as they headed toward the door. Tomorrow was a new day- more time to think about Lois and her situation.

Just like every other day.