6.10 Jimmy

By &

Original TwoP air date 8.21.06 Chloe is assigned to show high school contest winners the inner workings of the Daily Planet. When an aspiring photographer captures Clark in "super" mode Chloe and Clark must figure out how to get rid of the evidence. Lois and Lana strike a bargain.

Open at the DP. Chloe is leading a dozen high school kids through the building. Clark is goofing off. As they continue with the tour Clark super speeds in front and pretends he's working as the crowd approaches and goes by. He's trying to get Chloe to laugh and she's doing her best to ignore him. Sometimes he changes clothes. For instance when they arrive at the printing press he wears a hard hat and coveralls. We need the least one shot to be of him wearing glasses and in a suit. In that persona he super speeds in a little overly enthusiastically and knocks over a stack of papers that he has to re-organize in front of the group of kids. One kid, JIMMY OLSEN, is continually taking pictures but Clark doesn't notice because he's too focused on trying to crack up Chloe. Chloe has finally had enough and puts Clark on the spot.

"Mr. Kent, would you be kind enough tell these young men and women what the most exciting part of 'working' at the Daily Planet is?"

Clark is caught off guard for a second and mumbles "Why, um, I," as he finishes organizing the stack of papers he knocked down. He glares at Chloe letting her know he doesn't like how she put him on the spot.

Chloe thinks she's gotten the upper hand, "Nothing? Don't let them go away from here thinking working at the Planet isn't the best job in the world."

"Well, I couldn't do that, because it is." Looking at Chloe, "At least I'm sure it would be." He walks over behind her and puts his hands on her shoulders, "Of course my favorite part of being at the Planet is the chance to spend time with my 'personal' hero: Chloe Sullivan, Reporter extraordinaire and future Pulitzer winner."

The kids laugh. Chloe blushes and hides her face. She whispers, "Real funny, Clark!"

He whispers back, "What? I meant every word of it."

[Still whispering] "Especially that little dig at Oliver, I'm sure." Then regaining her composure she tells the kids it's time to go meet the big boss on the top floor. They all gather into a glass elevator which overlooks the city.

Clark zips outside and looks up at the Planet Building. He spots a window washing platform resting at the top of the building near the elevator shaft. He grins and looks around before jumping to it.

Cut to the elevator. All the kids are looking out at the city. Jimmy is snapping pictures like crazy. He stops and starts checking out the pictures he's taken.

Cut to Chloe watching the floor indicator. The elevator stops at every other floor but no one can get on because it's full. Chloe checks her watch and frowns. We hear Jimmy exclaim "Whoa!" and couple of other kids echo his exclamation.

Chloe turns around as the elevator starts moving again. She peers over at the display in Jimmy's camera. It shows a slightly blurry image of a man in blue and red hurtling through the sky. Her eyes get really wide.

Just then the elevator comes up on the window cleaning platform. Clark pretends to be washing the windows. He bangs the glass and smiles at Chloe. She stares at him seriously and points over at Jimmy.

Clark gives her a confused look before following where she's pointing. Cut to Clark's POV showing the photo of himself jumping through the air.

Cut back to Clark. I give my best "Oh, shit!" look.

The elevator door opens and the kids file out.

Clark gives Chloe a "What the hell do I do now?" look.

Chloe mouths the words, "I don't know". End teaser.

Tom, you always get pissed when we write Clark stupid. What gives?

It's not stupid, it's cute.

What she said.

In my book stupid and cute are synonymous.

Which could help explain how you got the role of Lex. Because you're so cute.

No, seriously, he's out in the middle of downtown and he jumps to the top of the Planet? How stupid is that? Look, if Superman is almost going to get busted it ought to be for something awesome like blowing some shit up or throwing bad guys across the street not on his way to pretend to wash some windows.

He looks around first.

Yeah, and dozens of people all just happen to be looking the other way at that exact moment. Tom, don't let Allison bully you into doing this scene.

Are you kidding? It's the city, nobody looks at anybody else. Besides no one is close enough figure out who it is anyway. They'd just chalk it up to their eyes playing tricks on them.

Michael might be right, Allison.

But Tom, it's so cute! I love the idea of Clark joking around with Chloe like that.

Yeah but...

[Under her breath] Tom! We already talked about this. [Fake smile to the rest of the cast]

[Leaning in to whisper to JG] Isn't that cute? They're like a married couple.

Michael has a point. Oliver told him to be more careful not two episodes ago and now he's leaping tall buildings in a single bound in the middle of the day?

[Smiles sweetly at the rest of the cast. Her body suddenly jerks slightly]

OW! [bends down to massage his shin] What did you do that for?

[Smiling innocently at TW] Do what?

[Leaning in to whisper to AoT] An old married couple.

Michael is just jealous.

Jealous? Of what?

That Clark gets to have a little fun while Lex is stuck trying to navigate among three deceitful schemers.

Three?

[Puts his arm around ED and pulls her towards him] Welcome to the dark side, Erica.

[Puts her hand on ED's] Trust me, it's a lot more fun to be bitchy and evil than just plain bitchy.

Nice try, Allison. Clark's a mopey dope. No only is it stupid it's also out of character.

[Still rubbing his shin] Just a second, Rosenbaum.

What? It is out of character.

It's stupid and it's out of character?

[Looks at TW wondering what he's getting at]

Meaning doing something stupid is in character for Clark?

[Looks around at the rest of the cast] Don't make me be the one to say it.

[Rolls her eyes] Yes, Tom, it is. Face it. Clark isn't the brightest bulb on the tree.

[Triumphant] Ah ha! So it is in character!

[Turns to AM slightly angry] Now hold on...

[Trying to get back on TW's good side] We'll make it some holiday so almost no one is downtown.

Like Thanksgiving.

Yes, Tom. Thanksgiving is a holiday. Don't let them get to you with that Clark is stupid claptrap.

Lex's study. Lana tells Lex that is was her who took the information from the lab.

Lex asks why.

Lana explains that Lois needed to talk with Dr. Maliki and since she couldn't get into the lab herself Lana agreed to go look for him.

"That doesn't explain why you took the disks."

Lana explains that Lois told her about Dr. Maliki's criminal past and that when she saw there had been an accident she just had to know if Lois was right and she took the disks. She knows she shouldn't have and is sorry.

"Don't you know I would have been happy to tell you anything you wanted to know?"

Of course she does but then she saw Dr. Maliki's body and panicked. She had to leave on her mission and Lex was running late. She didn't know what to do.

He asks who she shared the information with.

Lana resists until Lex says he thought they were going to be honest with each other. She says Lois is the only one.

"Does Chloe know?"

Lana isn't sure.

Lex is upset. He turns to get a drink.

"But even if she does there's nothing Chloe can do about it. She doesn't have the disks."

As he pours a drink Lex guesses Lana is right. Besides Chloe knows anyone involved with stealing top secret government documents could end up in jail for a very long time.

"Am I going to end up in jail, Lex?"

Excuse me, but could you please tell me what the hell Lois has done to convince Lana to take the fall for her. And then why Lana would actually do it?

My dear Kristen, are you actually worried about Lana's characterization? Is she getting a little too altruistic for your tastes?

I wouldn't call lying through her teeth to Lex exactly altruistic but the characterization is way off.

Lana wouldn't save Lois' butt?

Lana wouldn't save a baby seal from the slaughter if she thought it might mess up her manicure.

Even Lana isn't that bad.

You think?

Besides, saving a baby seal would make her look good. As long as knew she could let somebody know how great she was for saving a baby seal she'd be all over it.

OK, but it's not like she can flaunt this. Why has she turned goodie two-shoes all of a sudden?

She's hasn't.

It sure seems that way.

Bear with us.

The 'big' boss is addressing the kids. In the back of the room Chloe and Clark are plotting together.

Are we going to name the 'big' boss?

Well it would be nice if it were Kahn but I don't know if we can get Carrie Fisher again.

If we do get Carrie Fisher she needs to say something condescending to Chloe.

Understood Michael. Is pointing Chloe out to the whole group and saying something to the effect that if they end up working at the Daily Planet she hopes they have more talent than her enough humiliation enough for you?

Actually I was hoping she was going to say something like "Don't let Chloe's example lead you to believe that all Planet internships come with their own gay man-friend for a shadow."

Clark is her shadow?

Well yeah. Or at least that's the way the show makes it look. Clark is always hanging around and at least in Fade she was dragging him along.

And he's gay?

Well that goes without saying, doesn't it? I mean otherwise they would have done the nasty in the copy room by now, right?

Clark's gay because he didn't have sex in a public place?

Well jumping up onto a window cleaning platform and pretending to clean windows doesn't help either. But that falls under an alternate definition of gay I suppose.

Ignore him, Tom. You'll live longer. [Points to the part of the script TW is supposed to be reading]

"Maybe I could use my super speed to delete the photos."

"That won't work. Deleting photos on those things usually take at least three steps. You can't do it in a split second."

"What if I swiped the memory card?"

"It's worth a try." Clark disappears and reappears. Shocked, "I didn't mean right this second!" And then curious, "Well, did you get it?"

"No. The memory card ejects using the camera's power. You can't just pull it out."

BS. If the battery ran down you couldn't get the card out.

So the camera is poorly engineered. Allow us a plot contrivance our two, OK?

I know! What if the memory is internal and can't be ejected.

Yeah, it's a camera phone!

Michael, giving Jimmy Olsen a camera phone is like having Chloe write her articles in crayon.

The writer's room is supposed to be a safe place, Allison. How do you expect me to feel safe contributing when you shoot my ideas down so ruthlessly?

Stuff it.

It could be a really nice camera phone.

I said stuff it.

Actually there are decent digital cameras with internal memory.

Well that solves our problem. How do you know that, Erica?

We have one at home. You know, for cook outs and stuff.

What?

Yeah. Sometimes people really freak out when we break out the camera at a cook out so we show them...

That the memory card slot is empty! I'm never going to one of your cook outs again. I can't believe I fell for that 'photo practice' bullshit!

Don't worry; your pictures looked like crap. It's bad enough you put steak sauce on a porterhouse but could you have at least tried to keep from getting all over yourself!

I was a little over enthusiastic. So sue me. I love a good porterhouse.

More like you love the looks of Erica's neighbor.

What are you talking about?

I heard you asking her if she wanted a little of your 'extra' steak sauce.

I wondered why she hasn't been talking to me.

Could you all settle this on your own time? Meanwhile it looks like we have a solution to our problem.

In fact maybe Clark actually took the card and thought everything was fine. He tells Chloe not to worry and heads to her computer to delete the picture. Then he comes back and says the picture isn't on the card. Chloe explains what Erica just told us.

That Chloe has a camera for nude cookouts?

No, just the part about internal memory. She could have a similar camera for reporting. When security wants her to give up her photos she surrenders the memory card and walks off scot free with the real evidence.

Clark looks at Chloe, "What are we going to do?"

"What are we going to do? Clark, what the hell were you thinking out there?"

"I was just trying to have some fun. You're always saying I'm too mopey."

"I didn't know your idea of fun would turn out to be exhibitionism."

"Do you have any other ideas?"

"I don't know. Why don't you just melt his camera with your heat vision or something?"

"Chloe!"

"You're right, bad idea."

The little talk is over and the kids are starting to stand. Chloe nervously asks them to follow her back down to the ground floor. The tour is over.

Back to Lex's study.

Lex gulps down the entire drink before responding, "Jail?" He has a very serious expression on his face but then he turns and smiles, "No." He holds up the disks, "Here are the disks. Obviously nothing was stolen."

Lana is relieved and smiles, "Thanks." After a pause she asks cautiously, "Was Dr. Maliki really using non-volunteer subjects?"

Lex says he doesn't want to harm innocent people. But these aren't innocent people. They are criminals who would otherwise live the rest of their lives rotting in some jail cell.

"That doesn't make it right to experiment on them against their will."

Lex talks about how Hiroshima killed thousands of innocent people based on the calculation that it would save hundreds of thousands. Sometimes moral sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. We don't live in a world of absolutes.

Lana wants to know why it's the case in this situation.

"Because the longer it takes to complete the project the longer we are defenseless against the Aliens. We don't have the luxury of time on our side."

"What about the weapon?"

"We may never find the weapon. And even if we do who knows what Fine has planned once Kal-El is out of the picture." He looks Lana in the eye, "We've got to hedge our bets."

Lana sees Lex's point and agrees with him. Some sacrifices can be made if it's for the greater good.

Good. You haven't Mary Sued her after all.

Lex says he knows Lana doesn't trust Chloe. Why does she trust Lois?

Lana isn't sure. Maybe it's because while Chloe always wants to reveal everything about everyone else yet Lana always had the feeling Chloe was hiding something herself. She doesn't get that feeling with Lois.

Hold on. Does she mean that?

As far as I'm concerned she does. But you can play it however you like. Lana has been confiding in Lana about Lex for a while now. She might not trust her with her life but she obviously trusts her more than she trusts Chloe.

Even after Lois used her to break into a top secret lab and then asked her to take the fall?

Lois plays dumb real well. She convinced Lana it was all an honest mistake. She just wanted to be able to answer questions about Dr. Maliki for her job. She didn't realize what trouble she was in until Lex's thugs just about killed her.

Lana wouldn't believe that crap.

Lana believes Lois because she gives her all the details she craves. She doesn't believe Clark because his lies were just too damn obvious.

So Lana is stupid now?

She believes Lois because she has no reason not to. That of course may change.

I don't like it.

Sorry.

Lex says everyone has something to hide. Some of us are just better at concealing it than others, "I implore you not to share sensitive information with Lois Lane in the future."

"What are you hiding from me Lex?"

Lex hesitates, "There's darkness in me I try to hide even from myself." Turning away, "Sometimes I'm afraid that if I ever let it out it might consume me and everyone around me."

"You're scaring me, Lex."

Turning to face her again, "Perhaps some secrets are best left hidden." He touches her cheek, "Not to worry. I have you in my life to help make sure that never happens." He hugs her. You can tell by the expression on his face he's afraid he's revealed too much.

Lana looks worried.

The students are dispersing. Chloe approaches Jimmy.

"Hi there, um, ...."

"Jimmy. Jimmy Olsen." He looks at Chloe very enthusiastically.

"So. How did you end up getting a spot for summer internships?"

"I got a picture of some firefighters carrying a kid out of a fire."

"Wow. So when I went through this everybody went back and hung out at the hotel afterwards."

"Yeah, we're supposed to but I wanted to check out Metropolis some more."

Chloe studies Jimmy for a second or two, "Do you like baseball, Jimmy?"

Ew, pedophile alert.

Baseball? The season is over in October this would be a November episode. Maybe even December.

It should be football. A Sharks game.

It can't be football.

Why not?

You'll see. Besides, didn't Clark get baseball tickets for his birthday when there was snow on the ground? That doesn't exactly scream baseball season does it?

Allison is right about that.

But didn't the episode air close to baseball season?

November is "close" to baseball season.

I think we can get by with baseball this one time. OK, Michael?

You start letting go of the details and soon everything else will start crashing around you.

The words of Lionel Luthor finally starting to sink in that thick skull of yours?

You two simmer down. Jimmy replies, "Sure, why?"

"I have a cousin who could probably score a few tickets for the game this afternoon."

"Are you serious?"

"Yep. Are you interested?"

"Are you kidding? Of course I am!"

"Let me give her a call."

Lois' apartment. There's a knock and Lois answers. It's Chloe and Clark.

She greets them warmly and then wonders where her 'date' is.

Jimmy walks up from between Chloe and Clark. "Hi Lois." Chloe smiles at her cousin weakly.

To Jimmy, "Can I have a word with my cousin real quick?" She grabs Chloe by the ear and pulls her into the kitchen. "What are you trying to do, get me arrested?"

Gingerly touching her ear, "Ow. I hate it when you do that!"

"I bet not as much as I hate my cousin setting me up with a pre-pubescent boy!"

Chloe looks over at Jimmy and Clark chatting, "I'm sure he's... pubescent."

"Chloe, he's jail bait!"

"Lois, I'm sorry I mislead you. We need to baby-sit him for a while."

"Until when?"

"Until we can delete a couple of pictures off his camera."

"What!?"

Chloe cups her hand over Lois' face, "Shhh! Please. I'm begging you to help me with this, OK?"

"Well why..."

"And please no questions."

"He's got a nudie picture of you doesn't he?"

"No!"

"He caught you and Clark fooling around in the copy room and you don't want it all over the Internet."

Chloe glares at Lois. "Yes, that's it. Would you just help me make sure that by the time the baseball game is over the pictures on his camera have been deleted?"

"OK. But you owe me big time for this cousin. I had to call in some big favors to get these tickets."

"I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"You better. You and Lana are both dating billionaires and I'm stuck hanging out with some goofy kid who follows girls around like a puppy dog."

"Clark is available you know."

"Who did you think I was talking about?"

Chloe looks at Jimmy and Lois follows her gaze. Lois frowns and turns back to Chloe.

Chloe smiles uncertainly and Lois hits her in the arm with her purse. "The things I do for you!"

"At least he's not a felon." Chloe jokes.

"Now you're pushing it."

You've made Lois a little abusive, don't you think?

Did we? She's always punching Clark in the arm. I thought it was in character.

Yeah, but Chloe?

They're like sisters. They fight.

I don't see Chloe punching Lois.

Maybe if Lois set her up with a fourteen year old and joked about her dismal love life she would.

Nah. She'd probably just cry.

Shut up Michael.

Stadium. Lois and Jimmy look for their seats. "Oh, here we are!"

"I can't believe you traded box seats to sit out here!"

"They're full of stuffy corporate types. Trust me, you don't want to be stuck up there. Besides, this is the perfect spot to catch a home run."

"I thought you were one of those stuffy corporate types."

"Me? This is just a temporary gig."

"What are you going to do after that?"

"I don't know. Whatever comes around."

"You don't know what you want to do?"

"I used to."

"What?"

Sighs, "I was going to be a journalist."

And the plot thickens.

Or sickens depending on your point of view.

"You mean like your cousin?"

"Yeah, like Chloe."

"Did she get you into it?"

"Are you kidding? I was going to be a journalist before she was even born."

"So what happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you decide you didn't want to be a journalist?"

Steadily getting uncomfortable. "It just wasn't for me."

"You weren't any good at it, you mean."

Flustered. "I, ah, aside from not being able to spell I was pretty darn good."

"So what happened?"

"You know what? Let's talk about something else."

"OK. You like Clark don't you? I can tell."

More uncomfortable. "Smallville? Please!"

"Whatever. He likes Chloe anyway. She is pretty hot." He pauses, "I mean you both are."

Lois smiles, "I tell you what, why don't I go and see if Chloe and Clark need any help carrying the refreshments?"

"OK"

Show a protest in front of LuthorCorp offices. About fifty 'Angels of the environment' are gathered shouting "No more meteor rock experimentation!" Cut to Lex's office. Lionel storms in complaining about being on probation. He's waving his handful of parking tickets around.

Lex jabs him about paying attention to details. The reserved spots for executives were moved over a week ago.

Surely Lex knows it will take more than this to get rid of him.

"You're right dad, it will. By my calculation it will take about one more parking ticket. You've better be careful because if you violate any more LuthorCorp policies I will finally be free to fire you with cause."

[to JG] You're going to be out on your rear soon, old man!

I wouldn't be so sure, junior.

Bottom of the ninth. Chloe and Clark are upset because they don't have the picture deleted yet. The game is tied and Jimmy and Lois are on the edge of their seats. The Met player hits one that is heads straight at them.

Chloe thinks fast, "My God, it's coming right for us! Jimmy, give me your camera, I'll get a picture!"

Jimmy hands over the camera. He catches the home run ball as Chloe snaps a couple of pictures.

Jimmy, Clark, and Lois jump up and down as Chloe scrolls through the pictures in Jimmy's camera. When she gets to the one of Clark in the air she zooms in. It's just blurry enough that you wouldn't be able to recognize it was Clark unless you already had suspicions it was him. She presses delete and the camera asks for confirmation. She hesitates for a second and in slow motion her and Clark's eyes meet. Clark gives her a questioning look. She deletes the picture. Chloe goes back to smiling. Jimmy shows her the ball he caught. She gives him a thumbs up and hands his camera back. She catches Clark's eye again, nods and winks.

Clark gives a relieved smile. Need to have a few nice shots of Jimmy, Clark and Lois all celebrating together with Chloe kind of as the outsider watching.

Not sad or anything. Just watching them happily.

You mean so Al and Miles can't set the scene to something like "So much for my happy ending."

That's exactly what I mean.

The back of Lois' car. Chloe and Clark are whispering while Jimmy sits in the front with Lois.

Chloe says that the picture wasn't clear enough to ID him. For a second she was temped not to delete it.

Clark says he could tell. He saw the reporter's lust in her eyes.

Chloe says he should know that will never again come before her loyalty to him.

Clark says he knows.

"So you weren't scared when you saw that look in my eyes? Even for a split second?"

Before Clark can answer Lois announces, "Here we are!"

They are at MetU. Lois needs to stop and talk with Lana. Chloe and Clark will hang out with Jimmy while she's gone. Martha has invited them all over for a meal.

At the farm?

No, it will be a Lois' apartment. She figures somebody ought to make good use of her enormous kitchen but first she needs a word with Chloe.

You're going to give Lois the exposition?

You'll do fine. I noticed she kept the number of big words to a minimum.

I've got some choice words for you, Michael.

Will it expand my vocabulary?

I doubt it. They're all four letters.

In the parking lot Lois pulls Chloe aside.

"What's up cousin?"

"While we were in the car Jimmy got pretty upset."

"Really?"

"He noticed a picture was missing. He says it was of a man flying."

"I'm sure it was just a bird or something."

"It was the only picture you deleted. If it was a bird or something you wouldn't have been so keen to get rid of it. What aren't you telling me Chloe?"

"What do you mean?"

"You practically bust my balls about Lex's secret program and now you're trying to cover up evidence of a man who can fly? This isn't you. The real Chloe would have skipped the game so she could get the scoop for tomorrow's early edition. You're covering for somebody and I want to know who."

"No one can fly, Lois. You're being ridiculous."

"So it's come to this? Now we're keeping secrets from each other? We used to share everything."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too. I'll catch up with the three of you at the Planet." Lois leaves pissed off.

Ow. That's cold.

Yeah, it kind of sucks. But Chloe hasn't really had a taste of what it's been like for Clark to hide his secret from the people he loves.

She hid it from Lana! They're best friends.

Hold on to that dream for a little while longer Kristen.

They were best friends.

Yeah, right.

Lana meets up with Lois. Lois wants to know if she talked with Lex.

"Yes."

"Is he going to start using only volunteer subjects?"

"Don't worry, Lois. He agrees that using anyone other than volunteers is reprehensible."

Lois is surprised. "He made the right choice."

"Yes, he did."

"How about that? I had my doubts about him but you were right, Lana. He isn't as bad as I thought. He's lucky to have found someone who can see the good in him. I'm glad you two are together. He's lucky to have you."

Lana looks uncomfortable. She tells Lois that now that she's done this favor for her she wonders if Lois will do her one.

Of course. Lana saved Lois' skin but how can Lois possibly help Lana?

"We know Lionel is trying to take back LuthorCorp and we're on the verge of getting rid of him. We need to know what his plans are."

"And I'm supposed to be in on his plans?"

Lana thinks Lois might be able to find out more than Lex or Lana could.

Lois says she'll try.

Lana thanks her. She tells Lois she'll put in a good word for her with Lex.

You've really taken Lana into the depths haven't you?

Is that OK with you?

Completely. I love it.

DP. A shell shocked Lois at Chloe's desk. Enter Clark, Jimmy, and Chloe with ice cream cones. Clark volunteers to give Jimmy the unofficial tour.

"I know you're angry with me Lois but I'm not going to give up that desk without a fight. I don't care if you are my cousin."

Lois looks at her blankly.

"That was supposed to be a joke."

Lois snaps out of it and says she's sorry. Moving to another seat, "Chloe, have you ever felt like you've dug yourself a hole so deep you might never be able to claw your way back out?"

Chloe sighs, "I sure have."

"So how did you get out?"

"I basically had to start back from square one. There were bridges I burned completely. Some of them I'm still rebuilding brick by brick. Others are beyond repair." She looks over at Clark. "It was painful and the truth is sometimes I feel like I'm still trying to claw my way back out."

"Chloe, I don't ever want us to burn our bridges. I'm not going to lie and tell you it doesn't hurt my feelings you won't tell me what's so important about that picture. But I'm going trust that you're doing it for the right reasons and I'm going to let it go for now. Hopefully some day you'll be able to let me in on what's going on."

"Thanks Lois. I hope someday I can too."

Lois' apartment. Martha pulls dinner out of the oven. Clark pulls Chloe aside. "We never got to finish our conversation." He says he knows that being a reporter is part of who Chloe is but he also knows he can trust her completely. So no, he wasn't scared when he saw the way Chloe looked at that picture. He knows from experience that Chloe would do anything to help protect his secret.

Chloe tells him he has no idea how happy it makes her to hear him say that. Zoom back or pan to show Lois hanging out with Jimmy in the background. "Eventually someone is going to catch you in the act and report on it. You need to be prepared for that day."

Clark says he knows.

Chloe and Clark watch Lois and Jimmy for a second. "I always hated being an only child. I was so jealous that Lois had a sister. I guess that's why I was so quick to try to take in Lana. I so hoped she could be the sister I never had but she never really accepted me."

"I know what you mean. For the briefest of time Lex was like the brother I never had. It was nice while it lasted."

"Doesn't seem like either of our attempted adoptions turned out very well did they?"

"You want to trade?" They laugh.

Then Chloe sighs and frowns, "Oh, Clark. How did our lives get so screwed up?"

"For me it all started when my parents shoved me into a spaceship and sent me across the galaxy to this strange planet you call home. How about you?"

Looking at Clark fondly. "I think it was the day I moved to Smallville and fell in love with the resident alien."

"Chloe," he pauses and looks into her eyes, "are you ready to give us another try?"

Holding back tears she turns away. "I don't know Clark. With this new information about my mom I have so much to deal with. What I really need..."

"What you really need is a friend."

Chloe can't hold her tears back anymore. She turns back to Clark and simply nods. They hug.

"I'm here for you, Chloe."

"I know you're going through a lot now too, Clark."

Clark pulls back and looks at Chloe. He wipes a tear from her face. "I know you'll be there for me when I need you. You always have been."

Dammit, you too really bring out the sap in each other, don't you?

What are you talking about?

Seems like yesterday Allison was bitching about how Chloe cries all the time. Now here's your chance to show that she's a big girl and she practically turns into a puddle.

You don't get it, Michael, do you?

What's there to get? Chloe's a big crybaby. Even you know it because you just wrote it. Unless Chloe crying was Tom's idea.

There's a big difference between crying over Clark and crying over her mom.

What are you talking about?

Chloe's mom was ripped from her life when she was five. Now she's starting to feel like maybe Lionel is somehow responsible for it.

So now the circle is finally complete. First we get the angnsty on again off again romance and now the fixation with a long gone parent. Chloe is Lana 2.0. No offense Kristen.

Hey, if Lana can start hacking computers and help Lex take over the world then none taken.

Now that idea I like. Can we just swap their personalities?

You're starting to tread on thin ice, buster. Is something wrong with Lana's personality?

You're right. I don't want Lana boohooing all over the mansion.

[Horrified] Oh, my God! Michael is right. Chloe has turned into Lana!

Must you make it sound like it's the end of the world?

It's all there, the fixation with her mom being 'gone', stringing Clark along as a backup while hooking up with a more available boyfriend, Clark fawning all over her. [Grabs Tom by the shirt and shakes him] For the love of God, man, what have we wrought!

There are worse things.

[rolling her eyes] Thanks for the compliment Tom. [To AM] You've got to admit though it's fun for your character to be sticking it to the BDA for once.

Maybe. I suppose. I don't know.

Admit it. You love it.

Get your claws out of her you witchy witchy woman!

Excuse me?

You heard me, don't you dare corrupt her!

What do you care?

Who the hell am I going to tease if Allison stops caring about Chloe?

He's got a point. And unfortunately he would be teasing me. Allison don't listen to Kristen's non-sense. We won't let this happen to Chloe.

[Confused] Weren't you just on my side?

Michael provided a more compelling argument. Allison, we'll re-write that scene. Chloe won't string Clark along. Clark won't fawn all over her. Their relationship is going to be angst free.

[Looking at TW] Really?

Yes. We'll take the road less traveled.

Did you hear that?

What?

I think a little part of Al & Miles just died.

Lionel’s' office at night. Lois drops by. She's heard Lex talking. If Lex can get rid of Lionel then he can get rid of her. Is there anything she can do to help make sure that doesn't happen?

Lionel tells Lois not to worry. He's got it all under control.

"That's not the way it looks to me. You're been angry and hostile. Obviously Lex is getting close. Why won't you let me help you?"

He's been burned before. More times than he can count. Much like some mythological character JG will look up for us.

Is he afraid Lois is like some other mythological creature and will burn him?

Lois knows mythology?

She got tired of the lectures going over her head and bought a copy of "The Idiot's guide to Mythology"

She chose the appropriate series.

"What, pray tell, have you done to earn my loyalty?"

"What will it take to earn it?"

"Short of 'popping' someone?"

"That's where I draw the line."

Lionel chuckles. "I'll get back to you, Lois."

She leaves. Lionel goes to his file cabinet, unlocks it, and pulls out a well worn file. He smiles slightly. Cut to the contents of the folder. On top lays a faded 5x7 of an attractive blond woman in her mid to late 30's.

So that's Chloe's mom, right?

Don't ruin the surprise.

Oh, sorry.

Fade to black.

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