On the eve of the eighteenth birthday of Lana, Jason took her to visit the tomb of Countess Margaret Isobel Thoreaux where she received the mystical Mark of Transference. When Lana abruptly left Paris and returned to Smallville (to try to figure out what the mark meant), she did not explain why to Jason, so he followed her there. He enrolled in CKU and got a job at Smallville High School as the assistant football coach. Jason and Lana discreetly continued their relationship, and she eventually told him about the tattoo and explained why she returned. Jason vowed to be by her side as she searched for answers.