A/N: I hope you guys like this fic - it was a challenge for me to write because I haven't written anything worth publishing in quite a while. Like many others, I was inspired by the opportunities that Salvation presented for stories. I hope this is somewhat decent and enjoyable!

On the Mend (PG-13)

She was running, running as hard and as fast as she could towards the brilliant gold light shooting straight into the heavens from the rooftop in her line of sight. Her gut was telling her that Clark had blurred there to fight Zod and save the world, just as he had done on countless occasions when she hadn't been aware that it was him doing the saving.

But now she knew the truth. Clark, her Clark, was the Blur.

That thought alone kept replaying in her head after he had kissed her senseless in a dark alleyway after saving her, yet again. From the moment his lips had touched hers, she had figured it out. Clark had proceeded to kiss her with so much passion and something else she couldn't quite name, his tongue reaching out past her lips to gain access to her mouth, savoring her taste. Lois had kissed back with all the emotion she could pour into that one kiss. As Clark planted a few soft kisses on her lips, she felt his reluctance to let her go and she gripped him tighter in response, unwilling to release him. After one last kiss, he had left her in the middle of the alley, her eyes still closed and her mind reeling from his kiss.

And then as she managed to think clearly through the medley of emotions coursing through her, Lois was able to identify the "something else" in Clark's kiss - he was saying goodbye.

Now here she was, the rain drenching her as she ran towards the building where she hoped she would find the man she loved. She came to a stop in front of it and let out a small gasp at the sight unfolding before her.

A dark shape was speeding towards the ground, seeming to free fall from the rooftop. Lois watched helplessly as time seemingly slowed around her, her eyes on what she surmised was a body fall to the ground, the arms stretched out like an eagle's wings. Suddenly, a purple blur shot up towards the falling body, halting its frightening descent, and then landed in front of Lois, laying the body gently on the ground.

Lois's heart stopped at the sight, her mind unable to comprehend the reality unfolding in front of her. There was Clark, bloodied and unconscious, a huge gash across his chest and a knife sticking out of his gut. Nothing could have prepared her for the sight - she was overwhelmed with anxiety and fear for him.

She ran to him, falling to the ground and gently cradling his head in her lap, paying no heed to the man in purple jumping off to the rooftop. All her attention was on the mortally wounded man lying in her arms.

"Clark," she whispered brokenly, the tears running down her face. "Clark, don't do this. You can't leave me. I need you. . . "

She smoothed the hair off his forehead, and she saw his eyes flutter at her touch. "L-Lois?" he breathed hoarsely.

"Clark!" she cried. "Don't speak! Just save your strength, Clark, you're going to pull through this!"

"Lois. . ." he gasped again, "I'm s-sor-ry. . . " His eyes closed as the effort from speaking took its toll on him.

The man who had saved Clark's life landed in front of him again and addressed her. "I need to get him to a doctor, Miss Lane. Let me take him."

Lois eyed the man carefully, taking in his long face and penetrating dark eyes that were now filled with concern. His brightly colored wardrobe consisted of a green shirt with a red x on his chest and a dark purple jacket. As she took in his appearance, memories from all of her previous encounters with him while working on police department stories with Clark came flooding back to her. Staring at him in surprise, she said in a confused voice, "You're John Jones! Clark's contact at MetPD. What are you doing here?"

"Miss Lane, I need to save him," John said, the concern evident in his voice as he knelt beside Clark's body.

She knew she could trust him - after all, Clark trusted him, didn't he? Taking comfort in that piece of knowledge, Lois slowly loosened her grip on Clark, kissing his forehead and muttering, "Stay with me, Clark," her tears spilling on to his already wet face. She looked up at John, her mind barely registering that the golden light from the rooftop was gone, and said, "Take me with you."

John nodded once and said, "I'll have to come back for you. It won't take long." And with those final words, he picked up Clark's body and shot off towards the sky.

After what seemed like an eternity, they were at the farm in Clark's room, the sunlight streaming through the windows to herald daylight. As she sat by his bedside, people were coming and going, but her attention was focused too intently on Clark to know who they were. The hours passed by in a blur around her as she waited, her mind groggy from lack of sleep and filled with anxiety for the man she loved.

She had refused to leave his side, even as a Dr. Emil Hamilton had arrived hours before to examine Clark. He had removed the knife from his body and had been monitoring his recovery ever since. Now all he said they could do was wait.

As the sunlight continued to fill the room, Lois sat in a chair by Clark's bed, hoping against hope for him to wake up soon so she could scold him for giving her such a scare. She didn't understand - if Clark was the Blur, how could he get hurt to the point where he was dying? She had thought he was invulnerable. But then she remembered those words spoken to her well over a year ago . . .

"Sometimes, we can't outrun our destiny."

The quiet determination in his voice on that fateful day had left her with a sinking feeling in her stomach. She knew he would do anything to save this world, even sacrifice himself - that was the part that scared her the most.

She curled up next to him on the bed, placing one hand over his heart, taking comfort in the increasingly strong beats that thumped against her hand. Somehow, she had always known that Clark was meant for much greater things than sitting behind a desk in the basement of a newspaper. His innate goodness, his willingness to always look for the best in people, and his willingness to help those in need both as the Blur and as Clark Kent - there was no doubt in her mind that the world needed him.

Lightly caressing the place where his cut had been, she allowed herself to reflect on the revelation that Clark was the Blur - it seemed impossible that he had kissed her without knowing that he was in fact revealing himself to her. She would know his lips, his scent, his touch anywhere. He had kept his secret from her for so long, but she didn't know whether to be angry, hurt, or accepting. She loved this man - there was no denying that - she loved him with every fiber of her being. But a revelation like this would take time to sink in.

But that, she reminded herself, was something to acknowledge in the future when Clark was better. For now, she would take comfort in his heart beating strongly beneath her hand, alive and recovering.

The days passed by slowly as she took a few personal days from work to stay with Clark. She had tried calling Oliver on day two to tell him the news, but he wasn't picking up his cell phone. Then she had tried Chloe's phone - her cousin had picked up, sounding extremely distracted. She had mentioned that Dr. Hamilton was giving her updates on Clark and was relieved that he was okay. When Lois had asked about Oliver's whereabouts, Chloe had hesitated, then said that he would be back before they knew it. And then she had promptly hung up the phone.

It wasn't the first time that Lois had felt that Chloe was hiding something from her. The feeling that her cousin didn't even trust her stung painfully, but she pushed it deep inside her and turned her attention to the articles she was working on while she waited for the man who was seemingly fast asleep on his bed to wake up.

Now it was day three, and Lois was once again roused from her nap as the bright sunlight hit her face through the drawn-back curtains of Clark's room. She kept her eyes closed and burrowed further into Clark's side, only to gasp in surprise when she felt a warm, strong arm wrap around her waist and pull her closer.

Her eyes snapped open immediately, and she looked up into the tired face of Clark Kent. His green-blue eyes were filled with emotion, and his mouth was curved up into a small smile. "Good morning," he whispered hoarsely, moving his hand upward to brush her hair out of her eyes.

She flung her arms around him, and she felt his arms tighten around her waist, hugging her close to him. She buried her face in his neck, trying to keep her tears at bay. "You're alive," she whispered, kissing him softly on the neck.

She felt Clark nod against her shoulder. Noticing how he held her as if she would disappear at any second, she felt a rush of love and passion for the man in her arms. The image of him lying helplessly on the ground was seared into her mind, refusing to leave her alone. The knowledge that he had been so close to death chilled her to the bone, and she tightened her arms around him, taking comfort in his warmth that was enveloping her.

But what could she possibly say to him after all that had happened? Her mind was still reeling from the past few days and the emotional toll they had taken on her. She couldn't deal with the change in their relationship just yet - she had only just gotten him back. Closing her eyes while wrapped in his embrace, she pushed all other thoughts away as she savored the feeling of having him in her arms - there would be time later to say everything they both needed to say.

As the silence between them stretched on, Lois pulled away first, but only far enough so that she could see his face.

Clark spoke first. "Lois, I am so, so sorry that I kept this from you." His face looked so earnest as he lightly caressed her cheek. "I've wanted to tell you so many times, but - "

Putting a finger to his lips, Lois stopped his tirade. "Look, Clark, I can't pretend that I'm not hurt that you kept the fact that you were the Blur from me." She saw his face fall, but she saw the understanding in his eyes. Putting her hand on his cheek reassuringly, Lois continued softly, "We definitely need to have a long talk about this, but for now, you need your rest and you need to recover." And because she couldn't resist, she leaned close to him to place a soft kiss on his lips. "How about we call Dr. Hamilton to check up on you?"

Clark started to protest as she climbed off the bed and grabbed her hand to stop her. "Lois, I'm fine, you don't need to - "

Lois interrupted him before he could finish. "Clark, you're not going anywhere or doing anything until I get a doctor's approval that you're okay." Softening slightly, she added in a quiet voice, "I need to make sure, Clark. Please, just let me call him."

Unable to say no to her, Clark agreed.

A couple of days passed with Lois staying at the farm with Clark, helping him recover. Clark was slowly gaining the use of his abilities back, with a lot of help from the sunlight. On this particular day, Lois had woken up in the morning in Clark's room. They had taken to sleeping together since he had woken up, and if Lois was honest with herself, the knowledge that he was sleeping next to her comforted her greatly - even though he was on the mend, the image of the knife sticking out of his gut was not one she would ever forget easily.

When she woke up that day, she found that Clark's side of the bed was empty. Wondering where he was, Lois got up and dressed. Walking outside the farmhouse, she saw Clark's loft from a distance, her instinct telling her that that was where her farmboy had disappeared to. "Oh, Smallville, of course you're there," she muttered to herself, hoping he wasn't dwelling too much on the events of the past few days.

She reached the loft and climbed up the steps. Sure enough, Clark was standing by the window, gazing out at the rest of the farm. Standing tall, his back was to her and his whole frame was outlined by the sunlight. Lois approached him tentatively and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Hey."

He turned to face her, a smile lighting his face. "Morning, sleepyhead."

She punched him in the arm. "Shut up, Smallville. Some of us actually need our sleep."

He laughed softly, catching her hand in his and bringing it up to his lips. Lois leaned into him as his lips touched her skin. "I didn't think I would be able to stand here with you again," he said quietly, staring out of the loft window.

"Clark," she started, wondering what on earth she could say. Holding on to his hand and leading him towards the couch, she sat down next to him and asked, "I - what happened to you?"

And he told her. He told her about Zod and the Kandorians, Checkmate and Amanda Waller, and the Book of Rao. He told her about Krypton, how his biological parents had sent him here, how his earth parents had found him, how he dealt with his abilities. Lois listened to all of it, refraining from interrupting.

When he finished, he had a look of apprehension on his face, wondering what her reaction would be. Lois squeezed his hand gently and said, "No wonder you always look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders."

Clark smiled weakly. "But - are you okay with . . . with all of this?"

Seeing the uneasiness in his eyes, Lois sought to reassure him. "Clark, the fact that you are - not from this world doesn't change my feelings for you at all."

"But?" he prompted, hearing the question in her voice.

She sighed. "I can't pretend that I'm not hurt that you never told me. I mean, I understand your reasons, but it still hurts."

Clark nodded, looking dejected. "I know, I was afraid of that. I've wanted to tell you so much, especially in the last couple of years." He hesitated, then added, "I can understand if you need some space and if you need some time to think, so - "

Lois interrupted more forcefully than she intended. "No, Clark." He looked at her, surprised. Seeking to explain her interruption, she continued, "I don't think we should waste any more time. I thought you were dying, and I just - I couldn't stand the thought, the implication that there could actually be a world without you. I - " she hesitated, realizing the importance of her next words. "I love you, Clark Kent, Kryptonian and all." She noticed the surprised but delighted look on his face as a smile slowly spread across it, making her insides melt.

Leaning towards her, he murmured, "I love you, Lois Lane." Their lips were now inches apart, and Lois closed the distance between them, framing his face in both of her hands. His lips moved softly over hers, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him. Lois moaned as his tongue slipped past her lips, and she brought one leg over his waist, straddling him. Smiling against his lips as she heard him groan, she deepened the kiss and slipped her fingers under his shirt, feeling the warm skin of his stomach just waiting to be explored.

When breathing became a necessity for her, Lois pulled away gasping. Clark didn't seem to want to let go as his lips moved down her neck, nipping and tasting the skin there. Gripping his hair, her mind hazy, Lois pulled him away from her and breathed out, "Maybe we should just stop there, Smallville."

Clark nodded, breathing heavily. He kissed her lightly on the lips and, staring at her intently, asked, "So we're okay? Even after everything?"

Lois smiled sincerely, kissing him thoroughly again to answer his question.