Title: Vulnerable

Author: Ashley Graham

Rating: K+ -Just to be safe…there is some swearing and a bit of blood…

Summary: Who exactly found Clark in the middle of the road in Hidden, after he was shot? This is an AU version of what I wish had happened…Hints of a future CLIOS relationship, nothing too obvious since Clark is with Lana at this point in time.

Authors Note: Here's the final installment, please don't yell at me for my sucky ending! I tried!!

Enjoy!

Vulnerable

Epilogue

Kent Farm, Two Weeks Later

Lois sighed as she made her way into the Kent barn, it had been nearly two weeks since Clark had been released from the hospital, and things had gone relatively back to normal.

Well, if you minus out the fact that Martha is terrified to let Clark leave the property, that I'm waking up with nightmares, and that Jonathan has become more withdrawn than his son, then yeah, everything is normal. The brunette thought with a snort.

"Clark, you in here? Come on Smallville, dinners ready and I'm starving!" Lois shouted, pretending to be annoyed. She knew for a fact that he was in his loft; he'd been holed up there since the morning. Lana had stopped by briefly to see him, but that was it.

Silence.

Lois sighed as loudly as possible, hoping that the farm boy would hear her and get the point. "I know you're up there, Smallville! I swear I'll kick your butt if you keep me from your moms cooking!"

Nothing.

Frowning and wondering if he was okay, Lois made her way up the steps. "Clark?" She questioned, all of the annoyance in her voice replaced with worry.

The teen was sitting on his couch, his elbows resting on his knees as he gripped his dark hair tightly in his hands. His knuckles were white from grasping it so hard.

"Hey, are you alright?" Lois asked, walking over quickly. She couldn't help but wince at the way he was clutching his hair, it looked painful.

"H'uh?" Clark mumbled, dropping his hands and looking up from the table. He had been staring at a picture of Lana.

Typical, she thought before asking for the second time, "Are you alright?"

"Oh, yeah…" Clark replied, obviously lying.

Lois raised an eyebrow as she took a seat beside him, and said, "Don't even think you're getting away with that feeble line. What's wrong? My womanly intuition tells me it has something to do with a certain girl with the last name Lang."

Clark shifted uncomfortably, "Really Lois, its nothing…I'm fine."

"Right, of course you are. So the fact that you almost died less than a month ago, combined with the problems you're having with your girlfriend and the fact that your parent's are watching your every move have had no affect on you whatsoever." Lois retaliated sarcastically.

Upon the surprised look on Clarks face, she continued confidently, "It's kind of obvious that you and Lana are in a rough spot right now, Smallville. I mean, you almost died and that really changes a person."

"I'm the same person I was before I was shot." Clark replied defensively. Ugh, this is why I've avoided being alone in the same room with her, she never knows when to quit! He thought exasperatedly.

"Well Lana isn't. It's obvious that this ordeal has shaken her."

Clark groaned, knowing that she was right. Lana was stressed out, and after some dead end discussions, she had finally admitted today that the entire reason why she had pulled away from him for all those years was because she knew in her heart that something like what happened, would happen.

In truth, he wasn't sure if they were going to be considered a couple for much longer. She obviously couldn't handle the strain.

"She left after I told her that I couldn't change that part of me." Clark finally said out loud.

"What do you mean?" Lois questioned.

"She's afraid that I'm going to get hurt again, she doesn't want me to play 'hero' anymore. Lois…I can't change who I am…I mean helping people…ugh, it's hard to explain!" Clark exclaimed, clearly frustrated.

"Her heart is in the right place, Smallville." Lois said, "But you're right, you can't change who you are, and you shouldn't try…even if you do give everyone who cares about you a heart attack!"

Clark replied defensively, "I didn't mean to."

"I know that." Lois said as she punched Clark playfully in the arm, "You know, that was quite a way to meet up again."

"Yeah, sorry about that…not exactly a very nice welcome back…" He apologized with a sheepish grin.

Laughing, Lois replied, "I'd expect nothing less in Smallville."

"You know, I never thanked you before, for you know, saving me." Clark said awkwardly. May as well thank her and get the gloating over with, he thought with a small smile.

"Don't mention it, Smallville. Just please, don't do anything like that again…you really have no idea how much you scared me…" Lois replied, her voice turning soft as she remembered the terrible events, all of which were still very fresh.

Clark frowned as he studied her curiously. Her face was flushed slightly, and her eyes were bright with…tears? Whoa, wait a second here…is Lois Lane holding back tears?! He questioned, bewildered. Where's the loud mouthed, know it all Lois I first met?

Lois sniffed and wiped her eyes furiously as she swallowed the lump in her throat. The farm boys near death experience had affected her more deeply than she could comprehend. Every night she woke up in a sweat, her sleep plagued by the same nightmare over and over again…with Clark flat lining, but in her dream, he didn't come back...

"Hey, are you okay? Lois?" Clark asked, his hand gripping her shoulder as he studied her intensely.

Lois cleared her throat loudly and replied defensively, "It's nothing! I mean, I'm fine…it's my allergies. Has Shelby been on this couch?!"

"Lois…"

"Alright, alright so maybe you didn't just scare me…you terrified me! I can't even remember a time when I was as frightened as I was on that road. I mean…you were just lying there…there was so much blood…" She blurted out, her emotions breaking loose.

Clark's eyes widened in shock when Lois suddenly dropped her head onto his shoulder, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Hey…" He began gently, trying to keep the blush that was creeping into his face at bay, "I'm alright…you saved me, and everything is fine now."

Lois jerked upwards and once again wiped the tears off of her face, horrified at her brief spell of weakness. "Uh, sorry Smallville. I guess the tough military brat façade weakened on me for a moment there." She joked thickly.

"I don't think it's a facade, Lois. You are a bull headed, stubborn military brat and you always will be." Clark teased, trying desperately to get rid of some of the tension that now filled the air.

Lois punched Clark playfully again, feeling very grateful for the fact that he hadn't pressed her about her 'feelings'. "So, how did this whole conversation turn around on me anyways?" She laughed nervously, "I came up here because you were separating me from the dinner your mom has whipped up!"

Clark smiled and stood, "I guess I better get down there then, the last thing I want is to face the wrath of Lois Lane!"

"Don't mock me, Smallville. You know I could take you!" She replied immediately.

Clark laughed as they headed down the stairs. Wow, I never thought that Lois of all people could cheer me up. There's more to her than I give her credit for…He thought to himself as he stared at Lois' back.

"Hurry up, Smallville!" Lois tossed over her shoulder as she exited the barn.

Clark shook his head and ran ahead of her, thoughts of Lana and his worry for his father, who as of late had been very subdued, driven clear out of his mind.

Later That Night

Martha and Jonathan slipped into bed, content sighs leaving both of their mouths as they pulled up the covers.

The last few weeks had been exhausting for both of them, and the prospect of sleep had become especially inviting.

Martha however, had other ideas tonight; she was determined to know why her husband had been acting so quiet since Clark had been released from the hospital. At first she had thought it had been both emotional and physical exhaustion…but now she wasn't so sure.

There was a look in his eyes that she couldn't shake, a haunting look…like he was waiting for the inevitable. "Jonathan." She finally spoke quietly.

There was a series of mumbled groans from the space beside her, and she was barely able to hear the "Yes, sweetheart?" out of the muffled noises.

"I want to know why you're acting so quiet lately. There's something wrong and I want to know what it is." She said in a soft, but commanding tone.

Jonathan groaned again, but rolled over so that he was facing her and replied, "I'm perfectly fine, sweetheart. It's just been rough these past few weeks, that's all."

"You're lying to me, Jonathan Kent." Martha stated her arms folding in disapproval.

"Martha…I'm just trying to forget what happened to our son, I-we almost lost him, and the thought that we almost did…it haunts me every day." He said quietly, it was half of the truth; he had no intention of telling her what Jor-El had told him. I'll tell her when the time is right…he justified to himself, just like how I'll tell Clark when the time is right…

Martha softened at her husbands words, knowing all to well the fear that he was going through. She herself was scared to let Clark leave the house, his brush with death had really brought to reality the fact that he could get hurt, that he could die, special abilities or not.

"Are you sure there's nothing else?" She asked.

Jonathan smiled slightly and flicked off the bedside light. "Goodnight, sweetheart." He said softly, kissing his wife on the forehead gently before turning so that his broad back faced her.

"Goodnight Jonathan." Martha whispered, more so to the darkness than to her spouse. With a small sigh she lay her head down on her pillow and closed her eyes, knowing that if there was something he was keeping from her, he'd tell her when he was ready.

Meanwhile, Downstairs

Clark frowned at the phone in his hands, tossing it back and forth as he thought. He was so concentrated, that he didn't notice Lois enter the kitchen, clad in a pair of baggy butterfly pajama pants and a matching tank top, until she said loudly, "How come whenever I enter a room you're in, you are fixated on one object?"

Jumping at the sound of her voice, Clark quickly set the phone down and offered her a half grin, "I was trying to decide whether or not I should call Lex, he's called at least once every day for the past two weeks."

Lois snorted at the mention of the billionaire, "It almost 1am, maybe you should sleep on it."

Clark smirked at the sarcastic comment and replied, "Lex is probably up closing business deals." Or conspiring against me, he thought to himself, half serious, half sarcastic.

"I thought you went to bed already." He added as he hung the phone back on its receiver.

"Yeah well…I wanted a glass of milk." Lois replied, conveniently leaving out the fact that she had had another nightmare, again. She poured herself a glass and downed the milk in two gulps. "Besides, you should be in bed too; don't you have chores to do in like 5 hours?"

"I couldn't sleep." Clark replied truthfully, "And I have chores in 6 hours, actually."

Lois eyed him up and down, her eyebrows arching when she noticed that he was in nothing but a pair of loose shorts.

Clark, suddenly aware of how exposed he was, cleared his throat and be blushed crimson for the second time that day. He tried to flatten his tousled hair nervously as he fidgeted on the spot.

Lois jumped when she realized that she had been staring, and she quickly washed out her glass before heading to the door. You've seen him completely naked, what is wrong with you lately, Lane? "Oh, Smallville?" She asked, turning away from the hallway to look at him again.

"Yeah?"

"Uh…well…me and Chloe are heading to the beach tomorrow…it's supposed to be another scorcher, I was…I mean we were wondering if you wanted to come." Lois asked awkwardly; stop tripping over your words like a damn school girl with a crush, Lane! This is Smallville for christ sake!

Clark was so surprised at the invitation, that he was silent.

Lois quickly filled in the silence, "I mean…that is if you can swim…"

This got the farm boy's mouth working again, "Of course I can swim! I may have grown up on a farm but there are lakes around here you know…" He shot back playfully.

"I didn't mean it that way, Smallville!"

"Oh really? Then how did you-" Clark began to retort, but was cut off when Lois pointed to his chest with her finger.

He looked downwards and immediately remembered the small bandage that was taped just below ribs. He had completely forgotten that it was there, and who could blame him? There wasn't even a scar underneath that bandage…it was just for show so that no one would get suspicious.

"Oh...don't worry about that, its water proof." Clark replied sheepishly, wondering vaguely if it actually was.

"You sure, Smallville? Lakes aren't exactly clean…it won't get infected?"

"Trust me, it'll be fine." Clark said confidently, slightly touched by her apparent concern.

"Good! Then the beach tomorrow it is!" Lois grinned before exiting the kitchen, "Just wait until you see my dive, Smallville!"

"Mines not so bad either!" Clark called after her as he shut the kitchen lights off.

"We'll see how you compare to me!" Lois shot back from the stairs.

Clark flopped back onto the couch and pulled the quilt towards him. He closed his eyes and smiled softly when he heard his bedroom door shut, the house turning silent once again.

End of Epilogue

I thought ending it with an invitation to the beach would be a great way to lead into the next episode. (The episode after Hidden being Aqua, which opens with the group at the beach) Well, there was some CLOIS hints in this final installment, once again…I'm really sorry if you weren't satisfied with the ending…I suck at ending these things…sigh!

Let me know how you liked this fiction and thank you soooooo much for sticking with me, and making my first Smallville fiction such a success! I love you all!

Ashley