"i brought gloves and a scarf, like you said." "i was afraid you weren't gonna come." "well, to be honest, i don't think that a mystery date is exactly what our relationship needs right now." "that's why i called." "are you okay ?" "oh, my god, your heart's racing." "it's because i'm terrified." "what's going on ?" "iana, the way you've been... i can tell by the way you look at me that i'm losing you." " clark..." " it's not your fault." "there's something i should have shown you a long time ago." "i don't remember this place ever being here." "how did you find it ?" "it was left here for me." "for you ?" "i rehearsed this like 1,000 times." "iana, what i'm about to show you may change the way you feel about me." "whatever it is, it's okay." "it's okay." "do you trust me ?" "oh, my god." "when you asked me if i believed in life on other planets, you had no idea how ironic that question was." "i'm from a planet called krypton." "but you're just like everyone else." "this isn't the first time you've done that, is it ?" "how many times have you been there when i didn't know it, saving me ?" "it doesn't matter, lana. i couldn't let anything happen to you." "no one knew." "there were so many days that i wanted to tell you." "what makes today any different ?" "i want you to know who i really am." "will you marry me ?" ""Reckoning"" "it's the worse joke I ever heard." "aw, come on. you liked it." "hey, i thought you were gonna meet us at the polls." "i kind of took a shortcut... get all this loaded up before the victory party tonight." "i appreciate your confidence in me, but come on... i haven't won anything." "mom, dad, i have something important to tell you." "i, um... told lana everything... what ?" "...right before i proposed to her in the fortress." "so what did she say ?" "i asked her not to tell me yet. that's a lot all at once." "clark, have you really thought this whole thing through ?" "if i was gonna risk sharing who i really am with someone, i want it to be with her." "i'm proud of you, clark." "i know this has been weighing on you for a long time." "just like with this election..." "any big decision has risks with it." "i guess it's just... hard looking over at your son and realizing you're talking to a man a man who doesn't need his father's advice anymore." "i'm always gonna need you, dad." "any exit-poll results for the 39th yet ?" "yeah, i know it's early, but patience isn't my strong suit." "ok, call me back." "oh, yeah." "thanks." "i try to keep the junk food... so i can't reach it, but some days, it's, uh... easier to reach than others." "um, sorry i'm late." "hey, i'm just glad you're here." "the whole decorating committee... they can't bunt to save their lives. can you grab that for me ?" "okay. spill it." "it's nothing." "three guesses... tall, dark, and bumbling." "it's just, um... okay, what would you do if you thought you knew someone really well, and it turns out that there's... there's this... whole other side to them ?" "well, that depends... are we in arms-dealer territory, or are we talking "the crying game" ?" "nothing like that." "then i guess the question is, does it change the way you feel about him ?" "maybe." "look, i don't know what's going on, but i would be lucky to end up with someone as honorable as clark some day." "you told lana your secret ?" "yeah." "wow !" "um, okay." "god, after all those years of me yanking on your closet door, what's the real reason for the sudden coming-out party ?" "it was only a matter of weeks before she broke it off." "Oh my god !" "Oh my god !" "but you guys are, like, meant for each other. i mean, you're kansas' version of ken and barbie, except they broke up apparently, which is kind of weird." "you can't fire me... i quit !" "well, i think i was pushing lana to the point where i don't know we could have come back from, and i love her too much to let that happen." "so, how did she take the whole "e. t. phone home" thing ?" "i'm not sure yet. i was hoping she would have called by now." "hello ?" "no, this isn't mr. foo's noodle house... sorry." "clark, if lana cares about you as much as i know she does, i seriously doubt anything is gonna change." "one thing might." "i haven't gotten my answer yet." "i asked her to marry me." "wow." "well, that one wasn't on the doppler. not even a blip !" "i know what you're gonna say... that we're too young." "there's a reason i hadn't told her... there's too much at stake." "that's funny... because what i was actually gonna say is, there are very few people out there who really know what they want... and are willing to risk everything for it." "if anyone deserves to be happy, clark, it's you." "thought i would see you at the party." "i know." "but then there would be all those people." "do i look different to you now ?" "clark, you look like the same handsome guy i've always known." ""handsome" as in, "i want to spend the rest of my life with you," or..." ""handsome" as in, "i'm gonna let you down easy" ?" "as in..." ""yes, clark... i'll marry you."" "can you fix this ?" "it's caught." "one more district, and you'll have a new commute to topeka." "whatever the outcome, sweetheart, the only victory that's ever changed my life... was when i won your heart." "mom, dad." "mr. and mrs. kent, i know that this is as much a surprise for you as it is for me." "iana, we couldn't imagine clark spending the rest of his life with anyone but you." "we only hope that you have as many happy years as we have." "everyone." "everyone !" "i just got the heads up from the newsroom." "and, ladies and gentlemen, you are looking at our new senator." "with the 40th district now reporting, kent culled a tightly contested lowell county senate race." "jonathan kent has just been elected to the kansas state senate in a staggering upset over corporate mogul lex luthor." "okay, mr. kent, i need to wrangle you guys over here for a photo shoot." "all right." "Mr. Kent." "thank you. looks like the congratulations are already coming in." "i'll be with you in just a second." "this could take a while." "is this really happening ?" "go do your photo op." "are you okay ?" "you, uh, sounded pretty upset in your message." "i probably shouldn't have called." "i shouldn't do a lot of things, but i, uh... seem to do them anyway." "i'm sure you want to get back to the party." "lex... i know how hard you worked for this, but i don't think you should take it so personally." "you know how many people are cheering right now that the spoiled rich kid lost to some salt-of-the-earth farmer ?" "well, since when do you care about what other people think ?" "since i was branded at birth with the sins of my father." "just once, lana, i wanted to get out from under his shadow." "earn something on my own." "consider yourself lucky you never had a father to endure, huh ?" "um... i think it's best if we talk about this when you're not drunk." "see ?" "now i've hurt your feelings." "perfect !" "for this whole campaign, i've managed to alienate everyone i care about." "i can't lose you, too." "lex." "hey... you aren't going to lose me." "oh." "well, i guess it's a bigger day than i thought." "yeah, it happened so fast, we never really got a chance to tell anyone about it." "yeah." "so, after all the lies he told you, you still chose him." "you don't understand." "how many times have you come to me wondering what clark's keeping from you ?" "why he, uh... disappeared to metropolis for months ?" "how he rose from the dead ?" "it's not like that now." "really ?" "come on, lana." "i know you." "you would never say yes with all the doubts you have." "whatever it is he's been covering up all this time you know, don't you ?" "clark isn't hiding anything, lex." "after everything i've done for you, how could you lie to me ?" "tell me !" "iana, where did you go ?" "clark, i'm so sorry." "i went to see lex, and he was really drunk." "what happened ?" "he knows." "i don't how he could tell, but he could tell i was hiding your secret." "i didn't say anything to him," " but he got really angry..." " lana, that's okay." "where are you now ?" "i'm on route 40 right before loeb bridge." "oh, god." "oh, god, he's coming after me." "iana ?" "iana !" "iana, just pull over so we can talk !" "iana, watch out !" "no, no, no. lana !" "come on. lana !" " lana !" "no !" " come on." " no !" " no !" "come on." "there's nothing you could have done." "nothing." "how could you take her away from me ?" "!" "human life is fragile, my son." "you knew her life would be exchanged for yours." "don't make her pay for my mistake !" "if i hadn't told her the truth about me, she would still be alive !" "you have to let me fix it." "your powers on earth may seem extraordinary, kal-el, but we are not gods." "this was not her destiny !" "and you know that !" "there has to be a way." "there has to be a way to fix this." "please." "there's one trial you have yet to experience, but you must heed my warning." "the tide of fate is impossible to stop." "even if you are able to alter one course of events, the universe will find others." "there is only one possibility." "once you make this choice, there is no second chance." "decide carefully." "i have to save her." "i brought gloves and a scarf, like you said." "you're here." "of course, i'm here, clark." "i'm just not sure a mystery date is exactly what our relationship needs right now." "so, um... where are you taking me ?" "i just thought we could spend the day together." "that part, i kind of figured. but it was the "day that i'll never forget"" "that i was a little curious about." "right. um... well... i thought we could go for a drive, maybe... up to the lake and, um... but, you know, with this" "this cold snap we're having, the bridges are probably iced over, so we should just stay here." "don't you think i know by now when you're lying ?" "just say something." "anything." "you know, it wasn't a big deal." "really, i mean... trust me." "clark, you know that goes both ways." " lana, i..." " don't... unless it's the truth." "clark, as much as i love you, i can't do this anymore." "iana, you won't understand." " if anything ever happened to you..." " like what ?" "what could be worse than losing the person that you love ?" "nothing." "i need a break." "from me ?" "no." "from us." "she's really done this time." "done done or just on a downward slope of the perpetual lana-clark roller coaster ?" "really ?" "what happened ?" "ready to put on your wall-of-weird hat ?" "i've lived this day before." "i kind of went back in time." "right. what did you do, spin the earth backwards on its axis ?" "come on, you didn't manage to pick up the lottery numbers while you were at it, did you ?" "see these flowers ?" "they're going to this secretary." "margaret ?" "she's a workaholic. she hasn't had a date in like a year." "oh, my god !" "oh, my god !" "and your boss is firing someone right now." "you're fired !" "you can't fire me... i quit !" "don't bother... it's a wrong number. chinese takeout." "hello ?" "no, i'm sorry... we're all out of egg rolls." "all right, mcfly, do you want to start with "how" or "why" ?" "jor-el." "i went to him to try to change things back." "back to what ?" "the first time around, i told lana the truth about me." "and i asked her to marry me." "what ?" "!" "what wh... what did she say ?" "yes." "oh, my god." "what wh... what was my reaction ?" "a lot like that." "but listen, it was a big mistake." "lex was chasing her on route...40." "clark." "there was an accident, and i didn't get there in time." "why was lex chasing lana ?" "he figured out she knew my secret." "that's why i've been afraid to tell her." "but this time, you can warn her about lex." "this doesn't mean that you have to lie to her forever." "chloe, she knew for less than a day." "there's always gonna be someone trying to find out about me, and as long as we're together, they're gonna be watching her every move." "don't worry, we won't let her get anywhere near that road." "do you know what time this is supposed to happen ?" "11:02, but there's a problem..." "she's not talking to me right now." "i was hoping you could stay with her and make sure... fate doesn't get a second chance ?" "i won't leave her side." "everything all right, clark ?" "yeah, everything's great." "good luck tonight, dad." "thank you." "Hey, you made it." " hi." " hi." "how's it been going ?" "it's good. i haven't left her since i saw you." "... lowell county senate race. jonathan kent has just been elected... wait, something's not the same." "lois ?" "lois !" "lois !" "iana ?" "iana ?" "yeah, hello." "i wanted to be the first to congratulate you, senator." "there are a few things i would like to discuss with you now that we've won." "you okay ?" "you, uh, sounded pretty upset in your message." "i probably shouldn't have called." "i shouldn't do a lot of things, but i, uh... seem to do them anyway." "i'm sure you want to get back to the party." "i was kind of looking for a reason to get some air." "i think we may have had our last fight." "last, huh ?" "i kept, um... waiting for that armor to crack, but... i thought that if i was patient enough, he would finally let me in, but... i guess people have armor for a reason." "iana." "i hate to say this... but it's possible clark's never going to trust you." "i don't understand." "why would you lie to someone you love ?" "i wouldn't." " wow, i'm sorry." " it's okay." "i'm just gonna... i'm gonna go." "let's go." "do i really need an audience ?" "everyone back to the party !" "there's lots of chocolate cake !" "nine cases of merlot !" "you were out for awhile. you should have someone take a look at you." "do you need to haul me off to hmo land just for committing a party foul ?" "clark." "clark, i've looked everywhere, and i can't find lana." "iana !" "listen, i'm sorry !" "can we talk about this ?" "i'm not gonna tell you again !" "watch out !" "iana !" "I ana." "i'm okay." "i'm sorry." "I didn't mean what happened back there, i was coming to apologize, and... lex, let's just forget it ever happened, all right ?" " i'm sorry." " that's all right." "senator jonathan kent." "and i didn't expect you to duck out of your victory party tonight." "but i'm here. and i'm alone, as you requested." "good." "so why don't you come down here and face me, you son of a bitch ?" "oh." "perhaps a few lessons in tact, senator, now that you're gonna be in the public eye." "why don't you just cut the crap, luthor ?" "sure, i know my campaign accepted funds from you, but i also know i'm gonna pay them all back, so i won't owe you a thing." "i wonder how far that virtuous stance will get you once you're in office." "i just want to make sure you understand you don't have a puppet here." "i should hope not." "i didn't put my financial and political clout behind a candidate who would be anyone's "puppet."" "i envision this rather as a, uh... a partnership." "the day you and i become partners... careful, careful, careful, senator." "don't forget, you and i have a, uh... common interest, one that, uh, oh... both of us would protect with our lives." "i have nothing but respect for a man who would deliberately hurl himself into the spotlight with such a... dangerous secret... that must stay hidden." "i won't let you destroy my family." "we can withstand anything you bring down on us because we have each other." "that's what will always separate the kents from the luthors." "now, why don't you get... now, why don't you get the hell off my property ?" "what's your dad doing out here ?" "what ?" "dad ?" "jonathan !" "jonathan !" "dad !" "dad ?" " jonathan !" " dad !" "set him down over here." "come on, dad. come on." "here, sit down." "no, jonathan !" "dad !" " dad !" " jonathan !" " jonathan !" " dad !" "No... oh, please, not yet." "no !" "no !" "jonathan !" "i guess it's time, then." "i'm sorry." "sit down." "clark... i know you're blaming yourself, but this was not your fault." "how can you say that ?" "i went back to save lana." "and now dad's gone." "do you think you could have chosen between them if you had the chance ?" "clark... a heart beats only so many times in a life." "your father used his more than anyone i know." "i just don't know how i'm supposed to be the man he wanted me to be without him here." "you're his son." "you know what's right and wrong." "and whether your father is here with us or not... you're a man he's proud of... a man he could look up to." "and something tells me he won't be the only one." "can i help you with this ?" "i love you, mom." "i love you, too."