scifichick774
19th April 2003, 18:22
Title: Unacceptable
Author: scifichick774
Rating: NC-17
Category: Chloe/Lex Angst/Romance
Spoilers: Sequel to Amour Noire, highly recommended that you read that fic first, or you won’t know what’s going on; Amour Noire was set immediately after the season 1 finale
Summary: Chloe’s dad and her friends are unhappy with her new relationship with Lex
Disclaimer: Not mine, no infringement intended
Feedback: Yes please
Archival: Go ahead, just let me know where
Author’s Note: Many of you requested a sequel to Amour Noire, so here it is. Also, I didn’t know Chloe’s birthday or anything, so it’s just made up – sorry. Hope you enjoy it!
~*~*~*~*~
Gabe Sullivan stood in his living room, a suspicious and almost angry energy taking over his being. Clark stood near him, a bemused grin on his face, and both were looking at Chloe.
“I thought you said that you weren’t seeing him,” Gabe started, trying to keep his tone as even as possible. Chloe gave a nervous chuckle and started playing with the ring on her finger. Clark stepped closer to her.
“I think that’s my cue to leave,” he said, bending down to give her a quick peck on the cheek. “Good luck,” he whispered. Clark smiled and said goodbye to Chloe’s dad, after which Gabe’s full attention was back on his daughter.
“Are you going to answer my question?” He asked. She sighed and plastered a small smile on her face.
“I wasn’t seeing him when we last talked about it, and now I am,” Chloe rushed out the last part of the sentence. He just stared at her blankly, and then he started rubbing his eyes with one hand, the other hand lay on his hip.
“How did this happen?” He asked. He was trying to stay calm, but Chloe could see that he would explode any minute.
“I don’t know,” Chloe admitted, a small grin forming at the corners of her mouth that her dad didn’t take notice of. “It just sort of… happened. You know?” He shook his head and sighed, and then started to rub his temples. Chloe frowned. That couldn’t be good.
“Daddy?”
“I think I’m getting a migraine,” he commented without looking at her, walking to the couch to sit down.
“You don’t get migraines,” she retorted and went to get him some pain medication from the kitchen. “Here.” She handed him a glass of water and two green pills. He nodded in acknowledgement and took them. She sat down on the edge of the couch. “You’re not happy are you?” She asked quietly. Chloe already knew the answer, and had just been talking out loud. He shook his head again.
“He’s my boss Chloe,” he responded in a strained voice. She nodded. “And, I thought you liked Clark.” He gave her a hopeful look and she gave him a compensatory grin.
“I do like Clark, as a friend,” she looked at him to see his reaction.
“Why do I hear a ‘but’ coming?” He asked. She smiled.
“Because you know me,” she answered.
“So, but?” He asked, not wanting the answer.
“But I love Lex,” she responded. He let out a disbelieving guffaw and stood up.
“You’ve only been dating him for a maximum of two weeks! You can’t grow to love someone in that short of period of time!” He burst. Chloe looked down and quelled her anger. She was hoping he would accept this, but knew that he wouldn’t.
“Dad…”
“No!” He interrupted her. “This is unacceptable Chloe, not to mention probably illegal. I don’t want you dating him.”
“Well, no offense Dad, but that’s not really your decision,” Chloe said in her firmest voice. “And, it’s not illegal. The age of consent in Kansas is sixteen, which, if I may remind you, I turned a couple of months ago.” She was standing up now too, hands on hips and giving him a hard, unwavering look. He sighed.
“You still live under my roof Chloe. My roof, my rules.”
“I don’t remember there ever being a rule about not dating Lex Luthor,” Chloe quipped. He gave her an unsettled grin and a somewhat smug expression.
“It’s new,” he said. Then mumbled, “I didn’t think I’d ever have to worry about that one.” She rolled her eyes and the doorbell rang. Chloe rushed over to answer the door before her dad got a chance. Her smile shown brightly as she practically shoved Lex out on to the porch.
“Bye Dad! We’ll be back later!” She slammed the door behind her, leaving her father speechless inside the house. Chloe walked at a brisk pace to the car, practically dragging Lex by the hand behind her. They got to the passenger side of the car and he cocked his eyebrow at her.
“What was that all about?” He asked, his lips turning into a grin.
“Could we talk about it in the car?” She responded, looking back to the house to see if her father was watching them leave. He nodded and opened the door for her. Gabe Sullivan watched the car peel out of his driveway and shook his head.
‘Something’s going to have to be done about that,’ he thought as he went to lie down.
Lex laughed as Chloe started to explain what happened with her Dad.
“You didn’t really think he would approve of us did you?” He asked. She shook her head. His laughter was entirely too contagious.
“No, but I was hoping.”
“Which speech did he give you? Do you know how much trouble that boy’s been in? Or, he’s my boss?” He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and could see her starting to shake she was laughing so hard now. He smiled.
“A little bit of the latter added in with my roof, my rules,” Chloe managed to get out between breaths. Lex nodded.
“Ah, I remember that one,” Lex mused. “Except, my father kept trying to use it even when I was in boarding school.” Chloe laughed.
“And I’m sure that went over really well,” she said sarcastically.
“After I was expelled enough times, I think he finally got the hint,” he paused. “Although, maybe not. He still tried to be pretty controlling right up to the end.” Chloe grew serious and touched his arm.
“Do you miss him?”
“I wish I had the kind of relationship with him where I could answer yes to that question,” he answered somewhat evasively. She nodded. “So how did things go with Clark?” He asked, changing the topic to the one that had been bothering him for the better part of the afternoon.
“Fine, we’re all friends again,” she said. Lex kept a straight face, but nodded. He wasn’t sure if that was entirely true. He was sure that Clark could put up enough of a front of “let’s just be friends” if he thought he was going to lose Chloe for good. Chloe groaned and Lex glanced over at her.
“What?”
“He was so out of it that he actually kissed me,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief. Lex slammed on the brakes and the car came screeching to a halt.
~*~*~*~*~
The car was stopped on the side of the road.
“Lex?” Chloe looked over at him, his face eerily calm, but she could tell he was just barely holding it together. He didn’t answer right away and he refused to face her.
“He kissed you?” He asked, his voice level, but angry. Chloe sighed.
“A peck on the lips before I even knew what was happening, and I pushed him away right as he did it,” she explained. She could hear Lex’s deep breathing in an attempt to calm himself, yet his hands were still gripping the steering wheel as if his life depended on it. He turned his head slightly to look at her. He had always had the ability to tell when someone was lying, which was a good trait to possess for most aspects of life, but he wanted to believe her. Even if she was lying to him. He looked into her eyes and she grinned. She wasn’t lying. He nodded his head once and removed his hands from the steering wheel.
“I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head slightly. “I just…” She unbuckled her seat belt and moved over so she could kiss him. He grinned. “What was that for?” She stroked his cheek once with her hand.
“Although it’s somewhat flattering in a twisted way to have you be jealous; I would really like to have my confident, I can crush my business opposition with one phone call, boyfriend back,” she said, giving him a big smile. He chuckled.
“I think that can be arranged,” he replied. She moved back into her seat and refastened her safety belt. He cocked an eyebrow at her. She held her hands up in mock surrender.
“I’ve seen the way you drive when you’re being normal,” she quipped. That earned an all out laugh and Lex started up the engine again, peeling out from the section of road they had been parked on. “Where are we going?” She saw a grin form on his lips.
“My house, if you think I can be trusted,” he said, sexual innuendo dripping off the end of the sentence. She raised an eyebrow.
“Hmm, I don’t know,” she joked. “How much trouble have you been in?” He smiled luridly at her.
“Miss Sullivan, as much as I would love to grant you an interview,” he said as they pulled up to the manor. “I can think of far better things that we could be doing.”
~*~*~*~*~
Clark sat at The Talon talking to Lana. She said she was glad that he and Chloe had patched things up and that she was safe, but was trying to get Clark to tell her who Chloe was dating, as he had left that juicy piece of information out.
“Clark, I won’t tell anyone,” she pleaded and batted her eyes intentionally. He sighed.
“Lex,” he said. She turned around to look toward the door.
“Where?” She asked. Clark laughed.
“No, he’s not here. Lex is the guy she’s seeing,” he responded. Lana’s eyes grew wide in shock.
“What?!” She asked loudly. Clark couldn’t tell if she was just surprised or if she didn’t like the idea. He shrugged. “Clark, how can you let her date him?” He leaned forward.
“I don’t really have any control over that,” he said. She shook her head.
“You’re her friend, you should be looking out for her,” Lana argued.
“Yeah, I tried that. She seemed kind of resentful,” he said thoughtfully. She rolled her eyes.
“Clark, listen to me. Lex can be very charming,” she started and he gave her a look.
“Toward you?” He asked. She rolled her eyes.
“In general. The point is that Chloe has been feeling kind of left out before all of this happened, and then along comes this rich charming guy who could totally take advantage of the situation,” she rambled and then paused, her eyes widening again. “Oh my God! You don’t think they’ve slept together do you?” Clark’s mouth dropped open, his eyes wide at the possibility that Lana suggested.
“You don’t think he’d do that do you?” He managed to get out. She gave him a ‘duh’ look and he frowned. He leaned back in his chair. This wasn’t good. He obviously should have talked to Lana before seeing Chloe earlier, none of that had even occurred to him previously. He leaned forward again. “Do you think you could talk to her Lana?” She grinned in surprise.
“Like a group intervention type thing?” She asked. He shook his head.
“No. It’s just… I don’t think she’ll listen to me after this afternoon,” he said.
“I thought you said that you made up?” She asked. He looked nervous, like he didn’t want to tell her everything that had happened. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“I kissed her, well, sort of. She pushed me away,” he responded. Lana’s mouth dropped. “But we made up after that,” he added quickly.
“Clark,” she paused, not sure of how to phrase what she was going to say next. “Did you know that she was dating Lex before you kissed her?” He covered his face with his hand to try and hide the blush rising to his cheeks.
“I was… jealous I guess. I thought that I could get her away from him,” he answered. Lana nodded.
“By making her come to you,” she finished. He nodded. “This is so bad Clark.”
“No, no, we’re friends again, everything’s okay,” he said. Lana shook her head and looked pensive. She leaned closer to him and spoke in a lower volume.
“Do you have any idea what Lex will do to you Clark?” She asked, frightened for her friend. He shook his head.
“It’s not like that Lana. Lex is my friend. I was the one going off the deep end, not him,” he said. Lana frowned.
“Okay, assuming that he actually does care for her and he isn’t just taking advantage of the situation. What would you do if you were in his place?” She asked, trying to make Clark realize the underlying threat. She paused, watching his reaction, and then realized something. “Oh no! I can’t talk to Chloe about it.” He furrowed his brow.
“Why not?”
“Lex owns The Talon. If I tell her to dump him and she actually follows my advice…” she shook her head. “I would lose The Talon Clark.” He frowned.
“You could get another job,” he offered. She gave him a compensatory smile.
“Maybe we should have Pete talk to her,” she countered. “After all, he doesn’t like Lex in the first place.”
“Bad idea,” Clark said.
“Why?”
“I’m pretty sure he would just try to kill Lex,” he said smiling. She nodded.
“We have to think of a plan ‘B’ then,” she thought out loud.
~*~*~*~*~
“So, did you actually have something for lunch besides coffee?” Lex asked, smiling a cocky grin at Chloe. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I had a whole three bites of a really bad cheeseburger.” She smiled. She was lucky to have gotten that much down with the conversations that were during and immediately after what was going to be her lunchtime. He leaned down so their foreheads were pressed together.
“That’s not good for you,” he said, his voice tinged with a little bit of concern. She laughed.
“Well, a lot of people would say that seeing you isn’t good for me either,” she shot back. Lex looked thoughtful and brushed his lips against Chloe’s, then ran his tongue along the outside of her mouth. He pulled her closer and he deepened the kiss. He pulled away slightly and Chloe looked at him expectantly.
“I’m very good for you,” he responded smugly. She pulled his head back down and gave him a kiss that practically made him swoon. He looked stunned when she finally pulled away for air.
“I agree.” She gazed into his lust filled eyes and undid his tie as she nipped him on the neck. He closed his eyes and let out a small moan. It was a little disconcerting that she was so good at making him lose control. He took his hands and brought her face up for another deep kiss that almost made Chloe melt.
“We should move this to a better location,” he said in a fevered tone. She looked a little confused and he motioned to the stairs. “My room. The servants won’t accidentally walk in on us there.” She smiled and nodded.
“Race?” She asked with a gleam in her eye, her smile beaming. He stepped closer to her, never keeping his stare away from her eyes. She recognized the intense look and stepped back a couple of steps, but was still smiling. She almost tripped, but he caught her.
“I have a better idea,” he said, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. She squealed with delight and he carried her over to a guest room off one of the main floor hallways.
The room had an elegant décor and as Chloe looked around it she shook her head. Lex came up behind her and kissed her neck.
“You don’t like it?” He asked as he ran his fingers along the bottom hem of her shirt.
“No, I like it. I’m just not sure I can get used to it is all,” Chloe mumbled the last part and shivered when Lex blew in her ear. He began to remove her top and she quickly took over and threw it on the floor. He smiled as she turned to face him and pulled her close.
“The only thing you need to get used to here is me,” his smooth voice murmured in her ear. They finished undressing as he moved her backward toward the bed.
~*~*~*~*~
Clark and Lana had made their way to the Kent farm and were sitting at the kitchen table discussing what their plan ‘B’ should be. Lana had called her aunt to let her know that she was eating dinner over there. Clark was starting to feel a little bit bad about thinking of a way to break Chloe and Lex up. She seemed to be happy when she was talking about Lex earlier. But, on the plus side, he was getting to spend more time with Lana now. He smiled.
“Any other ideas?” He asked. She rested her head on her hands on the table like she was tired and shook her head.
“Any other ideas about what?” Jonathan Kent walked in to the room as he overheard Clark’s last statement. Lana raised her head.
“We’re trying to come up with a way to break up…”
“A couple of our friends,” Clark interjected, giving a quick look to Lana so she’d understand. Jonathan looked suspicious as he grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator.
“Why would you want to do that?” He asked. Clark had a guilty feeling wash over him, but Lana seemed oblivious.
“She’s way too good for him, and we think he’s going to end up hurting her,” she answered. Clark seemed a little taken aback by her answer. It’s not like Lana and Chloe were good friends, but then, Lana didn’t really have a lot of good friends since she quit cheerleading.
“I see,” Jonathan said, giving Clark an almost scolding look. “Well, my best advice to you would be to leave it alone.” Clark and Lana gave him strange expressions but didn’t say anything. “If she really is too good for him, then she’ll probably realize that sooner rather than later and dump him on her own. And if you interfere, they’ll both probably blame you for the break up and you lose two of your friends.” Lana frowned.
“But we can’t just let her stay in a relationship that’s bad for her,” she argued. Jonathan nodded.
“You can express your concerns, but ultimately, I think you need to leave the decision up to them,” he responded. Clark grinned a little.
“I don’t think you’d be saying that if you knew who it was,” he mumbled. Lana was close enough to hear him and she giggled, but his father just arched an eyebrow.
“It’s someone I know?” He asked and Clark sunk down in his chair as he blushed.
“Forget I said anything,” Clark said. Jonathan nodded and gave them another suspicious look before heading back to the other room. Clark turned to Lana. “I don’t want Chloe and Lex to be mad at us,” he said, thinking about his dad’s earlier comment. She gave him a look of agreement.
“I know. But we have to do or say something. So back to square one I guess?” She asked. He nodded.
~*~*~*~*~
Chloe’s body was lost in waves of passion as Lex’s hands slid down her legs. She gasped softly when he ran his tongue along the flesh between her thighs. Lex moved quickly up her body. His mouth found hers and kissed her hungrily. Chloe’s lips parted and their tongues moved against each other’s. Chloe felt dizzy. Her body was reeling from his onslaught on her senses. Lex’s mouth and hands seemed to be all over her body. Her body was trembling when Lex moved over her again. Chloe groaned in pleasure when he slid inside her. He set a steady rhythm and looked into her eyes before descending upon her mouth with his own again. As they both reached their climax, neither of them heard the knocking on the door.
~*~*~
Ch. 2
~*~*~
The knocking got louder and more persistent. Lex groaned, but he ignored it. He leaned down and kissed Chloe with a passion that made her head swim. She smiled.
“Sounds important,” she commented, when the knocking hadn’t stopped. Lex kissed his way along her jaw until he got to her ear. He slowly traced his tongue along it and then blew softly. She shivered in delight. She could feel his warm lips touching her ear when he started to speak.
“I love you Chloe, and nothing is more important than being inside you,” he said, then moved his way down her neck with his tongue. Her arms clung onto him as she tried to gain control over her senses. The knocking continued and Lex got angry. “What part of do not disturb for whatever reason do you not understand?” He growled loudly through the door. Chloe giggled and snuggled up next to him. He kissed her. “I’m sorry.” She shook her head and motioned to the door as she covered herself with a sheet. He got up and quickly pulled on his slacks. He opened the door and gave a death glare to his butler. “What?” He asked in a perturbed voice.
“I’m sorry sir, but there’s a Mr. Sullivan here to see you and he’s rather insistent.” The butler stood stoically in front of him, waiting for a reply. Lex sighed and turned back to Chloe.
“How do you want me to handle this?” He asked. She shook her head in frustration and closed her eyes.
“I don’t suppose you could just tell him to go away?” She asked half jokingly. He smirked.
“I could, but then you’d probably have to move in with me,” he replied. ‘Which wouldn’t be a bad deal at all for me,’ he thought. She smiled.
“Good one,” she said and started to get up, holding the sheet around her. “Give me a couple minutes to get dressed and I’ll talk to him.” His expression remained neutral and he turned around to the butler.
“See him to the library and tell him that I’ll be there shortly,” Lex said curtly and shut the door upon the butler’s nod and departure. He frowned. “Maybe you should let me be the one to talk to him Chloe, he did come to see me.” Chloe sighed as she slipped her skirt back on. “You’re already getting your clothes back on? I could have bought you a little time.” Chloe rolled her eyes.
“You just like seeing me naked,” she kidded. He smiled.
“Your point being?” He asked with a completely serious tone. She brought his head down to kiss him.
“No point, but you’d better get your clothes on too. I’m pretty sure my Dad will freak out if he sees you like that,” she said, motioning to his body, and the fact that he was wearing slacks and nothing else. He smirked.
“Probably,” he agreed and put the rest of his clothes on. He looked serious again. “I really think you should let me be the one to talk to him Chloe.”
“Why?”
“I have a feeling that I have more experience dealing with an irate father than you do,” he paused. “And I don’t want you to get hurt.” Chloe grinned sympathetically to the first part of his statement.
“He’s not going to hurt me Lex,” she argued.
“Maybe not physically, but emotional scars can last a lot longer.” He shook his head. “Just let me deal with it right now alright?” She looked pensive and finally nodded.
“Can I least be in the room?”
“No,” he answered as they began to walk toward the library. “Some things might be said that,” he cringed a little, “you really won’t want to hear.”
“Yeah?” She looked over at Lex. He seemed a little concerned.
“Do you think you’d be able to handle the situation with your dad as well as you handled the situation with Clark?” He asked. She frowned.
“No,” she admitted. “He’s a pushover when it comes to some things, but I don’t think he will be with this.” Lex put his arm around her and kissed her temple.
“So let me deal with it then,” he said, stopping her in the hallway to kiss her. “You can go have the chef make you some real food.” The self-confident smirk was back on his face, and Chloe shook her head. How could such an annoying thing be so endearing on him?
“Alright,” she answered. “Which way to the kitchen?” He grinned and pointed toward the opposite direction. She started to walk that way, but was yanked back by his strong hand on her arm. She raised an eyebrow questioningly. Lex bent down and pressed his lips to hers. She smiled under his mouth and raised her arms up around his neck. He suckled on her bottom lip and she moaned. Their tongues started dueling and both were getting swept up in the moment. Chloe finally pulled away. “Better leave now or I never will,” she said, as she steadied herself by leaning her head against his chest. He held her tight.
“It’s only for a little while,” he said, for his own benefit as well as hers. She nodded and looked up at him as she pulled away.
“I love you,” she said with a smile.
“I love you too.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex entered the doorway of the library.
“Mr. Sullivan,” he greeted in an impartial tone. Gabe Sullivan turned at the sound of Lex’s voice. “You needed to see me?” He could see the man clenching his hands into fists and releasing them, but made no mention of it.
“Are you sleeping with my daughter?” He asked without giving Lex a greeting in return. Lex raised an eyebrow.
“That’s what you wanted to see me about?” He responded. Gabe closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.
“Are you?” He asked again. Lex forced a small grin onto his lips.
“Please sit down Mr. Sullivan,” he said, motioning to one chair while he sat in another. Gabe reluctantly sat down. “Chloe and I are seeing each other, and she told me that you were informed this afternoon. Is that correct?” He asked, already knowing the answer. Gabe nodded.
“You haven’t answered my question,” he said knowingly. Lex nodded once.
“You’re right, I haven’t. Nor am I going to do so, but allow me to ensure you that I love your daughter and have nothing but honorable intentions toward her,” he replied. Gabe gave him a hard glare.
“Why is it that you can say things like that and make them sound like you mean them?” He asked, clearly near his breaking point.
“I do mean it,” Lex said honestly.
~*~*~*~*~
Gabe sighed and relaxed into his chair.
“I would hand in my resignation and move Chloe far away from here, but I get the feeling that you would find her,” he said in a defeated tone. Lex grinned and nodded.
“I would,” he answered confidently. “Now,” he said as he stood up, “if you’ll pardon me, Chloe and I have dinner plans for this evening that we need to get ready for.” He motioned to the door with his arm. Gabe stood up and sighed again, shaking his head.
“You make it sound like you’re married,” he quipped, not expecting the reaction he got next. A smirk came across Lex’s face.
“In time Mr. Sullivan, in time.”
Gabe’s mouth dropped open as if to come up with a response, but quickly closed when he realized he had none. He shook his head again and began to make his way out of the room, and was almost run over by one of the maids, who came running into the room.
“Mr. Luthor!” She exclaimed in a worried voice. Lex furrowed his brow slightly.
“What is it?” He asked her. She started playing with her fingers nervously.
“Miss Sullivan, she has collapsed in the kitchen and we can’t wake her up,” she rambled out. Lex’s eyes grew wide in panic and he ran toward the kitchen, Gabe and the maid fast on his heels.
“Did you call 911?” Lex asked as they were making their way to the kitchen. She nodded.
“They should be here soon,” she answered. They reached the entrance to the kitchen. The doors were pulled back and locked in place, presumably so the paramedics would have better access, but it provided a scene that made Lex and Gabe’s hearts sink.
“Chloe!” Lex yelled and ran over to kneel next to her as she was lying on the floor unconscious. He looked up at the kitchen staff with an accusatory glare. “What happened?”
“We were just talking,” a young man answered. Lex gave him a death stare that made him back up a few steps, even though Lex was still crouched next to Chloe. “She said that she was feeling dizzy, she held her head, and then she fell,” the man tried to explain. Lex gently stroked Chloe’s hair with his hand. He turned his attention to Gabe.
“Has this ever happened before?”
“No,” Gabe looked pensive. “She sometimes gets low blood sugar, but I saw that she had some fast food for lunch, and that wasn’t that long ago. Even if she didn’t have anything to eat, she would have gotten the shakes and a headache for a while, but I’ve never seen her pass out.” Lex rubbed his hand over his face and stood up when he heard the paramedics running down the hall.
They quickly took over the scene and tried to revive her. She was still breathing, but had a nasty bump on her head from the fall, and her heart rate was accelerated. She just wouldn’t wake up. They put her on a stretcher and carried her outside to the ambulance. Lex and Gabe both watched as they lifted her into the vehicle, and both men obviously wanted to go with her. A fact not lost on the paramedics.
“We can only take one of you to ride along, the other one will need to meet us there,” the man said. Everything in Lex’s body and soul yearned to go with Chloe, but his thankfully his mind kicked in. If he wasn’t selfless about this, Chloe’s dad might never forgive him, and Chloe might never forgive him. He gave an unspoken acquiescent nod to Gabe for him to get in the ambulance and Gabe acknowledged him with a thankfully nod back and got in the back of the vehicle. Lex didn’t even wait for the ambulance doors to close before he was behind the wheel of his own car.
~*~*~*~*~
Clark was giving Lana a ride home when they heard the ambulance sirens.
“I hope they’re okay,” Lana commented, not even knowing whom the passenger was. Clark grinned. Lana had a heart of gold.
“I’m sure they will be,” he said to try and make her feel better. He pulled the truck to the side of the road when he saw the ambulance lights coming toward them. The ambulance quickly passed with Lex driving right behind them. Clark and Lana both frowned.
“Wasn’t that Lex?” Lana asked. Clark turned the truck around to follow the ambulance and Lex’s car to the hospital. When they found a parking spot and went into the ER, they saw Lex and Gabe both sitting in the waiting room. Clark got a bad feeling in his stomach. They walked over to Lex.
“What happened?” Clark asked. Lana put a hand on his arm to calm him down when she heard how accusatory Clark had asked the question. Lex looked distraught and had his face in his hands. It took everything his body had just to keep it together. Gabe walked over to them.
“It wasn’t Lex’s fault,” he said, surprising even himself. Clark looked at him confused. “Chloe was in the kitchen, apparently started to get dizzy, and just collapsed,” he explained. Lana gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.
“Is she going to be alright?” She asked. Lex thought it interesting that Lana seemed genuinely concerned about Chloe. He didn’t think they were friends, or at least not good friends.
“We don’t know,” Gabe answered.
“Yes,” Lex said. “She’s a fighter.” Clark suddenly felt empathy for his friend whom he had been at odds with. He remembered how he felt all of those times that Chloe was taken into a situation that could have, and probably would have, killed her if he hadn’t been there. But, even with his abilities, he knew that there wouldn’t have been anything he could do to help her. Even now he couldn’t help her. He knew Lex was just trying to convince himself that Chloe was going to be all right. He was doing what he had to do.
A woman, who looked to be in her early forties, and wearing scrubs, came over to the group. Lex immediately stood up.
“Are you Chloe Sullivan’s family?” She asked, already knowing having been directed toward them by the nurse at the desk.
“Yes,” Lex answered without hesitation. Lana looked at him questioningly, but he didn’t acknowledge her.
“I’m Dr. Schafer,” she said, not holding out a hand to shake.
“How is she?” Gabe asked. She gave a neutral expression to the man.
“It looks like she’ll be fine,” the doctor answered. “We were able to calm her heart rate down a little bit, that alone could have been responsible for the dizziness.” Lex nodded but said nothing. “We’ll know more when we get her blood tests back.”
“Did she wake up?” Lex asked in a worried voice. He noticed that the doctor frowned ever so slightly.
“Not yet, but like I said, we’ll have more to go on when we get the tests back.”
“When will that be?” Lex asked impatiently.
“Depends on how busy the lab is, but probably about a half hour,” she replied.
“Can we see her?” Clark asked. Lex gave him an indiscernible look, part of him jealous that Clark would probably be allowed to visit her, part of him angry for not asking the question himself sooner. The doctor shook her head.
“Not yet,” she answered, and looked fearful when Lex glared at her. “Soon,” she said in a promising voice, “But we need the blood results to see what we’re up against first.” With that, the doctor walked away. Lex turned to Clark and Lana.
“You two should go home,” he said in an authoritative voice. Clark clenched his hands into fists, trying to calm down, but not really succeeding.
“We’re staying.”
~*~*~
Ch. 3
~*~*~
Lex paced the ER’s waiting area for what seemed like an eternity. Every once and a while he would receive a look from Clark, indicating that he blamed Lex for the situation Chloe was in now. He sighed. Maybe he was, he had no way of knowing since that stupid doctor hadn’t come out with any news. It had been almost an hour now. He spotted a nurse checking in at the desk and saw that she was pointed over to them. Gabe noticed too and his face turned pale. It couldn’t be good news if they were sending a nurse out to tell them what it was.
“What happened?” Gabe asked, not allowing the nurse to introduce herself. The woman gave a motherly smile.
“Maybe you would feel more comfortable sitting down?” She motioned to the chairs, but no one in the group moved. “Or not,” she mumbled. She caught Lex’s stare and shivered in fear. “They think they know what’s wrong, but the doctor had a couple of questions she wanted me to ask you.”
“And?” Lex asked impatiently. The nurse raised the piece of paper in her hand so she could read from it.
“Has she been under any sort of stress lately?” She asked, getting a pen out of her pocket to write down their responses. She noticed that all three of the men looked somewhat guilty, but didn’t answer. She looked at Lana. “So that would be a ‘yes’ then?” Lana nodded. She jotted down the answer. “On the entrance forms, it said that she wasn’t on any medications that you know about?” Gabe nodded. “Do you know of any reason why an SNRI medication would be in her system?” They looked surprised and confused.
“SNRI?” Clark questioned. The nurse grinned.
“Serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor,” the nurse answered kindly. At least this young man wasn’t shooting her death glares. Clark still looked confused. “They’re generally used for weight loss for obesity, but there have been some disturbing cases recently where people have been using it as a poison because of its side effects.” Lana covered her mouth in shock. Clark was about to shoot an accusatory glare at Lex, but saw that Lex looked angry and worried. It was a dangerous combination. “Obviously she’s not obese, so…”
“Oh God!” Lex appeared ill. “It was meant for me, I’m sure of it.” Lex murmured and then took out his cell phone.
“Sir, you can’t use that in here,” the nurse reminded him, pointing to the various signs up that said no cell phones. He grimaced. “There’s a courtesy phone at the front desk,” she said as she pointed to it. He nodded once. Clark followed him over to the phone.
“Why do you think it was meant for you?” He asked. Lex turned around and gave him a blank stare.
“Clark,” he started in an exasperated tone, but finished explaining to Clark like he was a child. “Nobody has any reason to try and hurt Chloe, but me…” he trailed off, letting Clark come to the only conclusion.
“How would they have given it to her though?” Lana asked, now practically a fixture at Clark’s side. Lex had the phone in hand and had already dialed the number for the police. He gave Lana a quick look of disbelief and turned his attention back to the phone, silently wondering how it was that his beautiful and intelligent Chloe had managed to put up with them for so long. His. He liked that. Whoever had done this to her would pay dearly.
Lana guided Clark far enough away from the phone so they could talk, but she still spoke in an almost whispered voice.
“This is really bad Clark. Do you see now why she shouldn’t be going out with him?” Lana glanced over at Lex to make sure he wasn’t looking at them, and then turned her attention back to Clark. Clark frowned.
“I don’t really think it was his fault Lana,” Clark began defending Lex again. She shook her head.
“Chloe wouldn’t have been hurt if Lex wasn’t such a target,” she argued. Clark frowned. He had some thinking to do.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The nurse was still asking Gabe questions about Chloe. Apparently the forms he had filled out when they first arrived didn’t include the full medical history sheets. She wrote down his response to her final question and gave a small smile. She felt very comfortable talking to him, especially without the younger bald man looming immediately nearby. Unfortunately, this caused her to let her guard down.
“So, do you think she’s going to be okay?” Gabe asked.
“I can’t say for sure, but I have a good feeling. It’s really a shame she had to go through this, especially in her condition,” she answered. Gabe arched an eyebrow.
“Her condition?” Suspicion dripped off his comment and he glanced over at Lex, who was now speaking with two police detectives. The nurse paled slightly and stammered.
“Oh, I, uh, thought the doctor had already discussed the blood test results with you. I should really let her be the one to talk to you about it,” she said, clearly flustered at her disclosing something that she shouldn’t have. “It was very nice meeting you,” she rushed the words out, and turned on her heel, fleeing quickly down the hallway. Gabe walked over to Lex, his anger coming back full force. He wanted so badly to punch him, but knew better, especially when the police were in the same room. Clark looked at Gabe and dashed over to him to stop him from doing whatever it looked like he was going to do once he got to Lex. Clark grabbed Gabe’s arm and Gabe stopped, turning his attention to him.
“How is Chloe doing?” Clark asked. He noticed that Gabe kept looking over at Lex menacingly. He put on his best ‘oblivious smile’; at least that’s what Chloe called it. Gabe sighed.
“The nurse thinks she’ll be alright, but doesn’t know for sure,” he said, silently wondering when the Kent boy had gotten so strong. He was sure he was going to have a bruise on his arm in the morning. Clark nodded.
“That’s good,” Clark affirmed.
“So why do you look like you’re ready to kill Lex?” Lana asked, having joined them at this point. Gabe sighed and rubbed his face. The police nodded to him as they left. He forced a grin onto his face.
“Will you excuse me please?” He asked, not waiting for a reply, and started toward Lex again, who was walking toward the group anyway. “Why couldn’t you just leave her alone?” Lex looked confused. Gabe started rambling, but at least his anger was being projected into that instead of physical violence. “Why couldn’t you just let her date some nice boy her own age, like Clark?” He gave Lex a hard stare. “If that nurse meant what I think she did, I’ll kill you myself.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Dr. Schafer came into Chloe’s room as soon as the nurse informed her that Chloe had woken up. She grinned compassionately as she wrote something down in her chart.
“How are you feeling?” She asked. Chloe gave her a blank expression and looked around the room.
“Why am I in the hospital?” Chloe asked, without acknowledging the doctor’s question.
“You passed out,” Dr. Schafer informed her. “You’ve been unconscious for a few hours now, we couldn’t wake you up.” Chloe tried to sit up, but was quickly taken over by a sensation of the room spinning. She moaned and swallowed down the nausea that came with flopping her head back against the pillow.
“What’s wrong with me?” Chloe asked. She had been feeling fine earlier that day. The doctor frowned a little and sat down in a chair next to Chloe’s bed.
“Your lab results were a little troubling,” she commented. Chloe waited for her to continue. “We found traces of an SNRI medication in your system. The police believe that someone used it to try and poison your boyfriend, but you got the food with it instead.” Chloe nodded. The doctor hesitated. The next part might not be as easy to explain.
“There’s something else?” Chloe asked when she saw the expression on the doctor’s face. Dr. Schafer had an unreadable look on her face.
“Your blood tests also show that you’re pregnant, not far along though, no more than a couple of days,” she responded. Chloe’s mouth dropped open a little and she suddenly appeared much more pale.
“What?” Chloe asked in disbelief. “That’s not possible, we used protection. And, don’t you usually have to wait a few weeks for pregnancy tests to even show a positive?” Chloe rambled defensively. The doctor grinned.
“It depends on the woman actually, and no protection is 100% fail safe,” she countered and got a serious look on her face. “We don’t know the side effects the medication could have on the fetus.” Chloe’s head was swimming and she clutched the sheets of the bed with her hands. Dr. Schafer noticed Chloe’s panicked reaction. “There are options.” Chloe slowly turned her attention back to the doctor. “I’ll get you some pamphlets and we can go over them together later, alright?” Chloe swallowed again and managed to nod once. Dr. Schafer stood up. “Your father and your friends are in the waiting area. Do you feel up to visitors?” Chloe ran a hand over her face, but didn’t object. “I’ll send your father in first.” Chloe closed her eyes and heard Dr. Schafer walk away. What was she going to tell her dad?
~*~*~*~*~
Clark was using the courtesy phone after Lana had finished. He was talking to his mom.
“I just have a really bad feeling Mom,” he explained.
“I’m sure Chloe will be all right Clark,” she said in a comforting voice. Clark frowned.
“The nurse told her dad something that I don’t think she was supposed to. He threatened to kill Lex, but he won’t tell us what the nurse said.” Clark paused. “I can’t lose her Mom, she’s one of the most important people to me.”
“The only thing you can do is stand by her Clark,” she answered. “I know I can’t talk you into coming home and getting some sleep, so try and rest while you’re there. Okay?” She was more concerned for Chloe than she was letting on. She had always known Gabe to be a pretty sensible person with a relaxed personality. For him to threaten Lex, he must either blame him for Chloe’s condition, which may not improve, or it was something else that she didn’t even want to think about. Dr. Schafer came out of the hallway and they all noticed her right away.
“I have to go, Chloe’s doctor is here, bye Mom,” Clark said quickly, not waiting for a response before hanging up the phone. They all rushed over toward her and she held up a hand.
“She’s awake, but I’d like for her father to see her first since he’s immediate family,” she said, motioning Gabe to the hallway she had just come from. He gave one last angry scowl at Lex and then followed her.
“The nurse said something about a ‘condition’,” he said, emphasizing the last word. She stopped walking and turned to him.
“I see,” she said in a non-committing voice. “She shouldn’t have told you anything.”
“She’s my daughter, I have a right to know,” he argued in a firm voice. She shook her head.
“The state of Kansas disagrees with you sir. She’s sixteen, so she has private rights regarding the disclosure of medical information to other individuals, even her parents.” She gave him a warning look and he sighed.
“She’s pregnant isn’t she?” His voice still rang with anger.
“If you’re going to be like this when you go to her room, I can’t allow you to see her. I won’t do anything that hinders my patient’s ability to get well.” Her voice was stern and scolding, and made Gabe feel like he was the worst father in the world. She noticed the defeat creeping into his demeanor. “Can you be nice and not give her the third degree? Because I don’t think she’s feeling up to it right now.” He ran hand through his hair as if in thought, and nodded. She started walking again, not sure whether to believe him. Most parents tended to get irrational if they found out their teenage daughter was pregnant, but she hadn’t admitted anything to him, and Chloe seemed feisty enough to handle herself. Dr. Schafer still decided to put security in the room with them, just in case.
~*~*~*~*~
Lex paced in the waiting room. Lana gave him a sympathetic look.
“He’s her dad Lex, he should be the one to see her first,” she said in a reassuring tone. He turned around and stared at her. He was angry and obviously hurting, but still managed to keep his voice level.
“I’m seeing her next,” he proclaimed, stating the situation clearly in case Clark and Lana had gotten other ideas into their heads. Clark frowned.
“I think I should see her, I’ve known her longer,” he said. Lana gripped Clark’s arm when she saw the warning in Lex’s expression. Clark turned to Lana, a questioning look on his face. Lana looked at Lex.
“We can go in after you,” she said. Lex nodded once and resumed his pacing.
“What was that about?” Clark asked her in a hushed voice.
“I don’t think he’ll hurt her Clark,” she replied in the same lower tone. “But I know he’ll hurt us if we try and go first.” She glanced back over at him for a moment. “I don’t even think he agreed with Mr. Sullivan going in there before him. Just think how he would react if his competition went in first too.” Clark narrowed his eyes a little.
“Competition?” He queried. She gave him a small smile.
“It’s not exactly a secret how you feel about Chloe Clark,” she said. He shook his head.
“We’re just friends,” he insisted. “I…”
“You have a crush on me,” she interrupted, and had to keep from giggling at the expression on Clark’s face. “But you’re in love with her.”
~*~*~
Ch. 4
~*~*~
Dr. Schafer stopped at the entrance to Chloe’s room. The door was closed and she motioned for security to come over. Gabe frowned.
“Is that really necessary?” He asked. She kept her authoritative look.
“Yes, it’s procedure,” she replied, hoping he wouldn’t realize it was a lie. He glared at her.
“And will this ‘procedure’,” he said with disdain, “apply to her boyfriend as well?” He took a deep breath to try and calm himself down. She nodded.
“Yes sir,” she said noticing his excited state. “Although I doubt you’ll have anything to worry about there. I’m sure the bald man will keep him in line.”
“He is the bald man,” he replied with a sardonic grin. Dr. Schafer looked shocked.
“Oh,” she paused and then opened the door. “The guard will be outside the door, but the door will be open.” He closed his eyes for a moment and she opened the door. Gabe looked over at his daughter lying on the bed and felt a wave of guilt and concern sweep through him. Chloe was pale, and looked fragile and vulnerable. Dr. Schafer walked away, figuring that everything would be all right after seeing his expression, and if it wasn’t, then security was there. She now had more concern about the girl’s boyfriend though.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex’s head whipped around at Lana’s statement. She thought she had said it quietly enough that he wouldn’t be able to hear her, but her eyes grew wide in fear when she saw that he had. Clark smiled sheepishly, trying to diffuse the situation.
“I’m not, you know, Chloe and I already talked about this,” he stuttered out. Lex made a noise that sounded remarkably like an animal’s growl and Lana got out of her seat, clutching Clark’s hand in hers, forcing him to stand as well. She looked at Clark.
“You know Clark, I’m suddenly really hungry. How ‘bout we go to the cafeteria?” She asked, obviously trying to get them out of there before Lex decided to kill them. Clark plastered a smile on his face and nodded.
“Good idea,” he agreed. The two practically ran out of the waiting room. Lex took a deep breath and then sighed. He sat down in one of the chairs and rubbed a hand over his face.
“Chloe almost dies, her father wants to kill me, and Clark Kent’s in love with her. What’s next?” He muttered to himself.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Gabe pulled a chair next to Chloe’s bed and sat down. He reached out tentatively for her hand. They said she was awake, but her eyes were closed and her cheeks were still wet from crying. Her eyes fluttered open at her dad’s hand on her own. She smiled weakly.
“Hey,” she greeted. Her voice was raspy and she felt dehydrated. He grinned. “Could you get me some water please?” He nodded and poured her some water. She used the bed mechanism to pull up to a sitting position, but it still made her dizzy, and she looked like she was ready to throw up. Gabe frowned.
“You okay sweetie?” He asked. Chloe was sipping the water, but nodded.
“Just a little queasy, I’ll be fine as soon as the room stops spinning,” she joked. He chuckled, but Chloe noticed that it didn’t have his usual enthusiasm. “Are you okay?” He let go of her hand and stood up.
“Not really,” he answered. He started to walk around the room, trying to avoid eye contact with her. “It’s not every day you find out that your only daughter is dating your boss, then you were poisoned because someone was trying to kill him, added to the fact that you’re pregnant with his child,” he sighed. “It’s just a lot to take in one day Chloe.” He didn’t notice the shocked look on her face.
“You…?” She asked, leaving the end of the question dangling in the air. He turned to face her. He was still upset about the whole situation, but he couldn’t be angry with her, especially not seeing her like this.
“The nurse let it slip, sorry,” he explained. She nodded.
“Does Lex know?” She asked. He cringed when he heard the name, but covered it well; at least he thought he did.
“No.” There was an uncomfortable silence, but Gabe knew what she was going to ask next.
“Is he here?” She asked shakily. He eyed her for a moment before answering.
“Last time I checked,” he said and then paused. “Are you…?”
“Keeping it?” She finished for him. He nodded. “I don’t know. The doctor said they don’t know how the poison could have affected it, but they’re guessing not good.” He nodded. He stepped over to her when she got quiet and appeared sorrowful. He took her hand in his and gave her a small grin.
“I know I’ve been a little out of line about all of this,” he rolled his eyes when she grinned. “But, you know I’ll be here for you, whatever you decide.” Chloe felt a tear start to roll down her face and she quickly wiped it off.
“Thanks Dad,” she said, her voice choking. He leaned down and gave her a hug. When he pulled away he sighed.
“Do you want me to send him in?” He asked. Chloe closed her eyes, attempting to fight off another dizzy spell. Gabe mistook the action. “I hate to say this, seeing as how I’ve been wanting to kill him since I found out, but you’re going to have to talk to him eventually.” Chloe opened her eyes. Her head was still swimming and she felt like she was going to pass out.
“I want to see him Dad,” she said, a little confused. “But I think I need to see the doctor first. These dizzy spells are knocking me out.” He frowned in concern and reached over to push the call button for the nurse.
“The nurse I talked to said that it would take at least a day for all of the medication to get out of your system.”
“Great,” she mumbled. “Don’t they have anti-dizzy meds they could give me?” He grinned.
“Those could probably hurt,” he paused and motioned to her stomach, “you know.”
“Oh. Right. Could you tell Lex to come back then?” She asked in a hopeful voice. He frowned but nodded.
“You do know that I still don’t approve of him?” He asked, although it came out as more of a statement. She chuckled.
“Yeah, I got that.”
Gabe left the room and told the nurse at the desk that there was no need to send someone over to Chloe’s room. He also told her that he was going to be sending in Chloe’s boyfriend to see her, so to be sure to keep the security guard there. The nurse laughed, but nodded when she saw the serious look on his face. Gabe made his way down the corridor until he reached the waiting room. Lex was still sitting, but he didn’t see Clark and Lana. Gabe walked up to him.
“Is this the part where you kill me?” Lex asked without looking up. Gabe grumbled.
“I doubt Chloe would appreciate that right now since she asked to see you,” he said. Lex looked up and Gabe could see the hopeful look on his face. “But I reserve the right to kill you later.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex walked down the hallway until he saw the security guard at the door. ‘This must be it,’ he thought to himself. The guard glared at him, but let him in the room. He swiftly moved to Chloe’s side and sat in the chair her father left by the bed. He lovingly stroked her arm with his fingers.
“Chloe?” He asked. She opened her eyes and smiled at him.
“Lex,” she said. He swept a few strands of hair out of her face.
“God, Chloe, I’m so sorry,” he said.
“Not your fault,” she replied. There was a moment of silence while they just looked at each other. “Did my dad tell you?” She finally asked. Lex noticed the hesitation in her voice.
“Tell me what?” He leaned down and peppered her face with soft kisses. She grinned but held up a hand to try and move him away. He gave her a serious look. “You’re not going to die are you?” She laughed and he let out a breath. “Then it’s not serious,” he said and started kissing her again. She gripped his arm with her hand.
“It is serious Lex,” she said, her voice slightly hushed. She liked his attention and she didn’t know if she had the energy to get in a fight with him. Meaningless verbal battles over insignificant things were one thing, telling him that she was pregnant and having to hear him rant at her was something else entirely. He grinned and arched an eyebrow, moving to sit down again.
“Your father doesn’t want me to see you anymore?” He guessed.
“I’m sure he would be thrilled if that happened,” she responded dryly. He chuckled.
“Alright, we’ve already established that you’re not dying and that your dad doesn’t want me to date you, so what’s going on?” He asked. He noticed Chloe wasn’t looking at him and had suddenly become very interested in the blanket on top of her. “Polyester blend would be my guess,” he said, trying to lighten her mood. She grinned.
“I’m not sure how to tell you this,” she said. He reached for her hand and kissed it.
“You can tell me anything,” he prodded. She looked over at him her eyes met his.
“No,” she paused and Lex could see tears welling up in her eyes. He frowned and furrowed his brow. “You’ll hate me, it’s not my fault, but you’ll hate me,” she mumbled. He wiped a tear off her face with his thumb.
“Please tell me that you’re not going to dump me for Clark Kent,” he said in all seriousness. She managed to shake her head without getting dizzy, a good sign that she was starting to get better. “Then what?”
“The blood work,” she looked at him and he nodded his head once for her to continue. “It said that I’m a day or two along,” she said so quietly that he barely heard her.
“Along what?” He asked. She wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, but it came out as more of a loud release of breath.
“Um, it said that I’m pregnant,” she said, as she looked the other way. She really didn’t want to look at his face when she said it, and she didn’t want to handle dealing with him all irate like she thought he would probably be. It’s certainly how she was. Lex sat in stunned silence, but he hadn’t let go of her hand.
“I see,” he finally said, and then a grin tugged at his lips. “Well, that explains why your dad wants to kill me.” His voice was neutral and Chloe hadn’t seen him grin, so she winced when he made the comment.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know, we used protection,” Chloe started to ramble but was cut off by Lex’s lips brushing against her own. “Um.” He deepened the kiss and she moved her hands to his shoulders. He finally pulled away and gave her a smirk. She raised an eyebrow. “What the hell was that?” He laughed.
“You thought I was going to be angry,” he observed. She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Ye-ah,” she strung out her answer. He was still smiling. “You’re not angry,” she said.
“I’m not angry,” he confirmed. She rested her head back against her pillow.
“Huh. Interesting.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Clark and Lana made their way back up to the waiting room from the cafeteria in the basement. Lana quickly looked around to make sure Lex wasn’t there, or if he was, that he wasn’t going to kill them.
“All clear,” she announced with a smile. They saw Gabe and nodded, but moved to sit down in chairs across the room so they could talk.
“Lana, you never answered me when we were eating,” Clark started. Lana smiled, hoping that he had forgotten that little fact, but it was always best to play naïve.
“About what?” She asked. He tilted his head and looked at her and she looked down. “Oh, right, about why I think you’re in love with Chloe.” He nodded. “It’s obvious Clark. I mean, if I didn’t really believe it, why would I be trying to break up her and Lex?” Clark looked confused and suspicious.
“What do you mean? You gave me all the reasons that she shouldn’t be with him,” he said. She grinned.
“I believe that’s what’s called ‘telling someone what they want to hear’ Clark. You may not realize that you’re in love with her, but you are, and you’re my friend, so I want you to be happy,” she replied. His mouth dropped open.
“But…” he started and she held up a hand.
“Who’s the first friend you tell most things to?” She asked. He frowned.
“Uh, well, Chloe, but…”
“And how did you really feel when you saw her in her dress for the dance?” Lana continued. Clark blushed and looked down. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.
“I don’t know if I should tell you that,” he said embarrassed. She giggled and touched his leg.
“It’s okay Clark,” she said. “I already knew the answer to that before I asked you.” He looked up and his blush hadn’t gone away. “The question is, what are you going to do about it?”
Author: scifichick774
Rating: NC-17
Category: Chloe/Lex Angst/Romance
Spoilers: Sequel to Amour Noire, highly recommended that you read that fic first, or you won’t know what’s going on; Amour Noire was set immediately after the season 1 finale
Summary: Chloe’s dad and her friends are unhappy with her new relationship with Lex
Disclaimer: Not mine, no infringement intended
Feedback: Yes please
Archival: Go ahead, just let me know where
Author’s Note: Many of you requested a sequel to Amour Noire, so here it is. Also, I didn’t know Chloe’s birthday or anything, so it’s just made up – sorry. Hope you enjoy it!
~*~*~*~*~
Gabe Sullivan stood in his living room, a suspicious and almost angry energy taking over his being. Clark stood near him, a bemused grin on his face, and both were looking at Chloe.
“I thought you said that you weren’t seeing him,” Gabe started, trying to keep his tone as even as possible. Chloe gave a nervous chuckle and started playing with the ring on her finger. Clark stepped closer to her.
“I think that’s my cue to leave,” he said, bending down to give her a quick peck on the cheek. “Good luck,” he whispered. Clark smiled and said goodbye to Chloe’s dad, after which Gabe’s full attention was back on his daughter.
“Are you going to answer my question?” He asked. She sighed and plastered a small smile on her face.
“I wasn’t seeing him when we last talked about it, and now I am,” Chloe rushed out the last part of the sentence. He just stared at her blankly, and then he started rubbing his eyes with one hand, the other hand lay on his hip.
“How did this happen?” He asked. He was trying to stay calm, but Chloe could see that he would explode any minute.
“I don’t know,” Chloe admitted, a small grin forming at the corners of her mouth that her dad didn’t take notice of. “It just sort of… happened. You know?” He shook his head and sighed, and then started to rub his temples. Chloe frowned. That couldn’t be good.
“Daddy?”
“I think I’m getting a migraine,” he commented without looking at her, walking to the couch to sit down.
“You don’t get migraines,” she retorted and went to get him some pain medication from the kitchen. “Here.” She handed him a glass of water and two green pills. He nodded in acknowledgement and took them. She sat down on the edge of the couch. “You’re not happy are you?” She asked quietly. Chloe already knew the answer, and had just been talking out loud. He shook his head again.
“He’s my boss Chloe,” he responded in a strained voice. She nodded. “And, I thought you liked Clark.” He gave her a hopeful look and she gave him a compensatory grin.
“I do like Clark, as a friend,” she looked at him to see his reaction.
“Why do I hear a ‘but’ coming?” He asked. She smiled.
“Because you know me,” she answered.
“So, but?” He asked, not wanting the answer.
“But I love Lex,” she responded. He let out a disbelieving guffaw and stood up.
“You’ve only been dating him for a maximum of two weeks! You can’t grow to love someone in that short of period of time!” He burst. Chloe looked down and quelled her anger. She was hoping he would accept this, but knew that he wouldn’t.
“Dad…”
“No!” He interrupted her. “This is unacceptable Chloe, not to mention probably illegal. I don’t want you dating him.”
“Well, no offense Dad, but that’s not really your decision,” Chloe said in her firmest voice. “And, it’s not illegal. The age of consent in Kansas is sixteen, which, if I may remind you, I turned a couple of months ago.” She was standing up now too, hands on hips and giving him a hard, unwavering look. He sighed.
“You still live under my roof Chloe. My roof, my rules.”
“I don’t remember there ever being a rule about not dating Lex Luthor,” Chloe quipped. He gave her an unsettled grin and a somewhat smug expression.
“It’s new,” he said. Then mumbled, “I didn’t think I’d ever have to worry about that one.” She rolled her eyes and the doorbell rang. Chloe rushed over to answer the door before her dad got a chance. Her smile shown brightly as she practically shoved Lex out on to the porch.
“Bye Dad! We’ll be back later!” She slammed the door behind her, leaving her father speechless inside the house. Chloe walked at a brisk pace to the car, practically dragging Lex by the hand behind her. They got to the passenger side of the car and he cocked his eyebrow at her.
“What was that all about?” He asked, his lips turning into a grin.
“Could we talk about it in the car?” She responded, looking back to the house to see if her father was watching them leave. He nodded and opened the door for her. Gabe Sullivan watched the car peel out of his driveway and shook his head.
‘Something’s going to have to be done about that,’ he thought as he went to lie down.
Lex laughed as Chloe started to explain what happened with her Dad.
“You didn’t really think he would approve of us did you?” He asked. She shook her head. His laughter was entirely too contagious.
“No, but I was hoping.”
“Which speech did he give you? Do you know how much trouble that boy’s been in? Or, he’s my boss?” He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and could see her starting to shake she was laughing so hard now. He smiled.
“A little bit of the latter added in with my roof, my rules,” Chloe managed to get out between breaths. Lex nodded.
“Ah, I remember that one,” Lex mused. “Except, my father kept trying to use it even when I was in boarding school.” Chloe laughed.
“And I’m sure that went over really well,” she said sarcastically.
“After I was expelled enough times, I think he finally got the hint,” he paused. “Although, maybe not. He still tried to be pretty controlling right up to the end.” Chloe grew serious and touched his arm.
“Do you miss him?”
“I wish I had the kind of relationship with him where I could answer yes to that question,” he answered somewhat evasively. She nodded. “So how did things go with Clark?” He asked, changing the topic to the one that had been bothering him for the better part of the afternoon.
“Fine, we’re all friends again,” she said. Lex kept a straight face, but nodded. He wasn’t sure if that was entirely true. He was sure that Clark could put up enough of a front of “let’s just be friends” if he thought he was going to lose Chloe for good. Chloe groaned and Lex glanced over at her.
“What?”
“He was so out of it that he actually kissed me,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief. Lex slammed on the brakes and the car came screeching to a halt.
~*~*~*~*~
The car was stopped on the side of the road.
“Lex?” Chloe looked over at him, his face eerily calm, but she could tell he was just barely holding it together. He didn’t answer right away and he refused to face her.
“He kissed you?” He asked, his voice level, but angry. Chloe sighed.
“A peck on the lips before I even knew what was happening, and I pushed him away right as he did it,” she explained. She could hear Lex’s deep breathing in an attempt to calm himself, yet his hands were still gripping the steering wheel as if his life depended on it. He turned his head slightly to look at her. He had always had the ability to tell when someone was lying, which was a good trait to possess for most aspects of life, but he wanted to believe her. Even if she was lying to him. He looked into her eyes and she grinned. She wasn’t lying. He nodded his head once and removed his hands from the steering wheel.
“I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head slightly. “I just…” She unbuckled her seat belt and moved over so she could kiss him. He grinned. “What was that for?” She stroked his cheek once with her hand.
“Although it’s somewhat flattering in a twisted way to have you be jealous; I would really like to have my confident, I can crush my business opposition with one phone call, boyfriend back,” she said, giving him a big smile. He chuckled.
“I think that can be arranged,” he replied. She moved back into her seat and refastened her safety belt. He cocked an eyebrow at her. She held her hands up in mock surrender.
“I’ve seen the way you drive when you’re being normal,” she quipped. That earned an all out laugh and Lex started up the engine again, peeling out from the section of road they had been parked on. “Where are we going?” She saw a grin form on his lips.
“My house, if you think I can be trusted,” he said, sexual innuendo dripping off the end of the sentence. She raised an eyebrow.
“Hmm, I don’t know,” she joked. “How much trouble have you been in?” He smiled luridly at her.
“Miss Sullivan, as much as I would love to grant you an interview,” he said as they pulled up to the manor. “I can think of far better things that we could be doing.”
~*~*~*~*~
Clark sat at The Talon talking to Lana. She said she was glad that he and Chloe had patched things up and that she was safe, but was trying to get Clark to tell her who Chloe was dating, as he had left that juicy piece of information out.
“Clark, I won’t tell anyone,” she pleaded and batted her eyes intentionally. He sighed.
“Lex,” he said. She turned around to look toward the door.
“Where?” She asked. Clark laughed.
“No, he’s not here. Lex is the guy she’s seeing,” he responded. Lana’s eyes grew wide in shock.
“What?!” She asked loudly. Clark couldn’t tell if she was just surprised or if she didn’t like the idea. He shrugged. “Clark, how can you let her date him?” He leaned forward.
“I don’t really have any control over that,” he said. She shook her head.
“You’re her friend, you should be looking out for her,” Lana argued.
“Yeah, I tried that. She seemed kind of resentful,” he said thoughtfully. She rolled her eyes.
“Clark, listen to me. Lex can be very charming,” she started and he gave her a look.
“Toward you?” He asked. She rolled her eyes.
“In general. The point is that Chloe has been feeling kind of left out before all of this happened, and then along comes this rich charming guy who could totally take advantage of the situation,” she rambled and then paused, her eyes widening again. “Oh my God! You don’t think they’ve slept together do you?” Clark’s mouth dropped open, his eyes wide at the possibility that Lana suggested.
“You don’t think he’d do that do you?” He managed to get out. She gave him a ‘duh’ look and he frowned. He leaned back in his chair. This wasn’t good. He obviously should have talked to Lana before seeing Chloe earlier, none of that had even occurred to him previously. He leaned forward again. “Do you think you could talk to her Lana?” She grinned in surprise.
“Like a group intervention type thing?” She asked. He shook his head.
“No. It’s just… I don’t think she’ll listen to me after this afternoon,” he said.
“I thought you said that you made up?” She asked. He looked nervous, like he didn’t want to tell her everything that had happened. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“I kissed her, well, sort of. She pushed me away,” he responded. Lana’s mouth dropped. “But we made up after that,” he added quickly.
“Clark,” she paused, not sure of how to phrase what she was going to say next. “Did you know that she was dating Lex before you kissed her?” He covered his face with his hand to try and hide the blush rising to his cheeks.
“I was… jealous I guess. I thought that I could get her away from him,” he answered. Lana nodded.
“By making her come to you,” she finished. He nodded. “This is so bad Clark.”
“No, no, we’re friends again, everything’s okay,” he said. Lana shook her head and looked pensive. She leaned closer to him and spoke in a lower volume.
“Do you have any idea what Lex will do to you Clark?” She asked, frightened for her friend. He shook his head.
“It’s not like that Lana. Lex is my friend. I was the one going off the deep end, not him,” he said. Lana frowned.
“Okay, assuming that he actually does care for her and he isn’t just taking advantage of the situation. What would you do if you were in his place?” She asked, trying to make Clark realize the underlying threat. She paused, watching his reaction, and then realized something. “Oh no! I can’t talk to Chloe about it.” He furrowed his brow.
“Why not?”
“Lex owns The Talon. If I tell her to dump him and she actually follows my advice…” she shook her head. “I would lose The Talon Clark.” He frowned.
“You could get another job,” he offered. She gave him a compensatory smile.
“Maybe we should have Pete talk to her,” she countered. “After all, he doesn’t like Lex in the first place.”
“Bad idea,” Clark said.
“Why?”
“I’m pretty sure he would just try to kill Lex,” he said smiling. She nodded.
“We have to think of a plan ‘B’ then,” she thought out loud.
~*~*~*~*~
“So, did you actually have something for lunch besides coffee?” Lex asked, smiling a cocky grin at Chloe. She wrapped her arms around his neck.
“I had a whole three bites of a really bad cheeseburger.” She smiled. She was lucky to have gotten that much down with the conversations that were during and immediately after what was going to be her lunchtime. He leaned down so their foreheads were pressed together.
“That’s not good for you,” he said, his voice tinged with a little bit of concern. She laughed.
“Well, a lot of people would say that seeing you isn’t good for me either,” she shot back. Lex looked thoughtful and brushed his lips against Chloe’s, then ran his tongue along the outside of her mouth. He pulled her closer and he deepened the kiss. He pulled away slightly and Chloe looked at him expectantly.
“I’m very good for you,” he responded smugly. She pulled his head back down and gave him a kiss that practically made him swoon. He looked stunned when she finally pulled away for air.
“I agree.” She gazed into his lust filled eyes and undid his tie as she nipped him on the neck. He closed his eyes and let out a small moan. It was a little disconcerting that she was so good at making him lose control. He took his hands and brought her face up for another deep kiss that almost made Chloe melt.
“We should move this to a better location,” he said in a fevered tone. She looked a little confused and he motioned to the stairs. “My room. The servants won’t accidentally walk in on us there.” She smiled and nodded.
“Race?” She asked with a gleam in her eye, her smile beaming. He stepped closer to her, never keeping his stare away from her eyes. She recognized the intense look and stepped back a couple of steps, but was still smiling. She almost tripped, but he caught her.
“I have a better idea,” he said, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. She squealed with delight and he carried her over to a guest room off one of the main floor hallways.
The room had an elegant décor and as Chloe looked around it she shook her head. Lex came up behind her and kissed her neck.
“You don’t like it?” He asked as he ran his fingers along the bottom hem of her shirt.
“No, I like it. I’m just not sure I can get used to it is all,” Chloe mumbled the last part and shivered when Lex blew in her ear. He began to remove her top and she quickly took over and threw it on the floor. He smiled as she turned to face him and pulled her close.
“The only thing you need to get used to here is me,” his smooth voice murmured in her ear. They finished undressing as he moved her backward toward the bed.
~*~*~*~*~
Clark and Lana had made their way to the Kent farm and were sitting at the kitchen table discussing what their plan ‘B’ should be. Lana had called her aunt to let her know that she was eating dinner over there. Clark was starting to feel a little bit bad about thinking of a way to break Chloe and Lex up. She seemed to be happy when she was talking about Lex earlier. But, on the plus side, he was getting to spend more time with Lana now. He smiled.
“Any other ideas?” He asked. She rested her head on her hands on the table like she was tired and shook her head.
“Any other ideas about what?” Jonathan Kent walked in to the room as he overheard Clark’s last statement. Lana raised her head.
“We’re trying to come up with a way to break up…”
“A couple of our friends,” Clark interjected, giving a quick look to Lana so she’d understand. Jonathan looked suspicious as he grabbed a beer out of the refrigerator.
“Why would you want to do that?” He asked. Clark had a guilty feeling wash over him, but Lana seemed oblivious.
“She’s way too good for him, and we think he’s going to end up hurting her,” she answered. Clark seemed a little taken aback by her answer. It’s not like Lana and Chloe were good friends, but then, Lana didn’t really have a lot of good friends since she quit cheerleading.
“I see,” Jonathan said, giving Clark an almost scolding look. “Well, my best advice to you would be to leave it alone.” Clark and Lana gave him strange expressions but didn’t say anything. “If she really is too good for him, then she’ll probably realize that sooner rather than later and dump him on her own. And if you interfere, they’ll both probably blame you for the break up and you lose two of your friends.” Lana frowned.
“But we can’t just let her stay in a relationship that’s bad for her,” she argued. Jonathan nodded.
“You can express your concerns, but ultimately, I think you need to leave the decision up to them,” he responded. Clark grinned a little.
“I don’t think you’d be saying that if you knew who it was,” he mumbled. Lana was close enough to hear him and she giggled, but his father just arched an eyebrow.
“It’s someone I know?” He asked and Clark sunk down in his chair as he blushed.
“Forget I said anything,” Clark said. Jonathan nodded and gave them another suspicious look before heading back to the other room. Clark turned to Lana. “I don’t want Chloe and Lex to be mad at us,” he said, thinking about his dad’s earlier comment. She gave him a look of agreement.
“I know. But we have to do or say something. So back to square one I guess?” She asked. He nodded.
~*~*~*~*~
Chloe’s body was lost in waves of passion as Lex’s hands slid down her legs. She gasped softly when he ran his tongue along the flesh between her thighs. Lex moved quickly up her body. His mouth found hers and kissed her hungrily. Chloe’s lips parted and their tongues moved against each other’s. Chloe felt dizzy. Her body was reeling from his onslaught on her senses. Lex’s mouth and hands seemed to be all over her body. Her body was trembling when Lex moved over her again. Chloe groaned in pleasure when he slid inside her. He set a steady rhythm and looked into her eyes before descending upon her mouth with his own again. As they both reached their climax, neither of them heard the knocking on the door.
~*~*~
Ch. 2
~*~*~
The knocking got louder and more persistent. Lex groaned, but he ignored it. He leaned down and kissed Chloe with a passion that made her head swim. She smiled.
“Sounds important,” she commented, when the knocking hadn’t stopped. Lex kissed his way along her jaw until he got to her ear. He slowly traced his tongue along it and then blew softly. She shivered in delight. She could feel his warm lips touching her ear when he started to speak.
“I love you Chloe, and nothing is more important than being inside you,” he said, then moved his way down her neck with his tongue. Her arms clung onto him as she tried to gain control over her senses. The knocking continued and Lex got angry. “What part of do not disturb for whatever reason do you not understand?” He growled loudly through the door. Chloe giggled and snuggled up next to him. He kissed her. “I’m sorry.” She shook her head and motioned to the door as she covered herself with a sheet. He got up and quickly pulled on his slacks. He opened the door and gave a death glare to his butler. “What?” He asked in a perturbed voice.
“I’m sorry sir, but there’s a Mr. Sullivan here to see you and he’s rather insistent.” The butler stood stoically in front of him, waiting for a reply. Lex sighed and turned back to Chloe.
“How do you want me to handle this?” He asked. She shook her head in frustration and closed her eyes.
“I don’t suppose you could just tell him to go away?” She asked half jokingly. He smirked.
“I could, but then you’d probably have to move in with me,” he replied. ‘Which wouldn’t be a bad deal at all for me,’ he thought. She smiled.
“Good one,” she said and started to get up, holding the sheet around her. “Give me a couple minutes to get dressed and I’ll talk to him.” His expression remained neutral and he turned around to the butler.
“See him to the library and tell him that I’ll be there shortly,” Lex said curtly and shut the door upon the butler’s nod and departure. He frowned. “Maybe you should let me be the one to talk to him Chloe, he did come to see me.” Chloe sighed as she slipped her skirt back on. “You’re already getting your clothes back on? I could have bought you a little time.” Chloe rolled her eyes.
“You just like seeing me naked,” she kidded. He smiled.
“Your point being?” He asked with a completely serious tone. She brought his head down to kiss him.
“No point, but you’d better get your clothes on too. I’m pretty sure my Dad will freak out if he sees you like that,” she said, motioning to his body, and the fact that he was wearing slacks and nothing else. He smirked.
“Probably,” he agreed and put the rest of his clothes on. He looked serious again. “I really think you should let me be the one to talk to him Chloe.”
“Why?”
“I have a feeling that I have more experience dealing with an irate father than you do,” he paused. “And I don’t want you to get hurt.” Chloe grinned sympathetically to the first part of his statement.
“He’s not going to hurt me Lex,” she argued.
“Maybe not physically, but emotional scars can last a lot longer.” He shook his head. “Just let me deal with it right now alright?” She looked pensive and finally nodded.
“Can I least be in the room?”
“No,” he answered as they began to walk toward the library. “Some things might be said that,” he cringed a little, “you really won’t want to hear.”
“Yeah?” She looked over at Lex. He seemed a little concerned.
“Do you think you’d be able to handle the situation with your dad as well as you handled the situation with Clark?” He asked. She frowned.
“No,” she admitted. “He’s a pushover when it comes to some things, but I don’t think he will be with this.” Lex put his arm around her and kissed her temple.
“So let me deal with it then,” he said, stopping her in the hallway to kiss her. “You can go have the chef make you some real food.” The self-confident smirk was back on his face, and Chloe shook her head. How could such an annoying thing be so endearing on him?
“Alright,” she answered. “Which way to the kitchen?” He grinned and pointed toward the opposite direction. She started to walk that way, but was yanked back by his strong hand on her arm. She raised an eyebrow questioningly. Lex bent down and pressed his lips to hers. She smiled under his mouth and raised her arms up around his neck. He suckled on her bottom lip and she moaned. Their tongues started dueling and both were getting swept up in the moment. Chloe finally pulled away. “Better leave now or I never will,” she said, as she steadied herself by leaning her head against his chest. He held her tight.
“It’s only for a little while,” he said, for his own benefit as well as hers. She nodded and looked up at him as she pulled away.
“I love you,” she said with a smile.
“I love you too.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex entered the doorway of the library.
“Mr. Sullivan,” he greeted in an impartial tone. Gabe Sullivan turned at the sound of Lex’s voice. “You needed to see me?” He could see the man clenching his hands into fists and releasing them, but made no mention of it.
“Are you sleeping with my daughter?” He asked without giving Lex a greeting in return. Lex raised an eyebrow.
“That’s what you wanted to see me about?” He responded. Gabe closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.
“Are you?” He asked again. Lex forced a small grin onto his lips.
“Please sit down Mr. Sullivan,” he said, motioning to one chair while he sat in another. Gabe reluctantly sat down. “Chloe and I are seeing each other, and she told me that you were informed this afternoon. Is that correct?” He asked, already knowing the answer. Gabe nodded.
“You haven’t answered my question,” he said knowingly. Lex nodded once.
“You’re right, I haven’t. Nor am I going to do so, but allow me to ensure you that I love your daughter and have nothing but honorable intentions toward her,” he replied. Gabe gave him a hard glare.
“Why is it that you can say things like that and make them sound like you mean them?” He asked, clearly near his breaking point.
“I do mean it,” Lex said honestly.
~*~*~*~*~
Gabe sighed and relaxed into his chair.
“I would hand in my resignation and move Chloe far away from here, but I get the feeling that you would find her,” he said in a defeated tone. Lex grinned and nodded.
“I would,” he answered confidently. “Now,” he said as he stood up, “if you’ll pardon me, Chloe and I have dinner plans for this evening that we need to get ready for.” He motioned to the door with his arm. Gabe stood up and sighed again, shaking his head.
“You make it sound like you’re married,” he quipped, not expecting the reaction he got next. A smirk came across Lex’s face.
“In time Mr. Sullivan, in time.”
Gabe’s mouth dropped open as if to come up with a response, but quickly closed when he realized he had none. He shook his head again and began to make his way out of the room, and was almost run over by one of the maids, who came running into the room.
“Mr. Luthor!” She exclaimed in a worried voice. Lex furrowed his brow slightly.
“What is it?” He asked her. She started playing with her fingers nervously.
“Miss Sullivan, she has collapsed in the kitchen and we can’t wake her up,” she rambled out. Lex’s eyes grew wide in panic and he ran toward the kitchen, Gabe and the maid fast on his heels.
“Did you call 911?” Lex asked as they were making their way to the kitchen. She nodded.
“They should be here soon,” she answered. They reached the entrance to the kitchen. The doors were pulled back and locked in place, presumably so the paramedics would have better access, but it provided a scene that made Lex and Gabe’s hearts sink.
“Chloe!” Lex yelled and ran over to kneel next to her as she was lying on the floor unconscious. He looked up at the kitchen staff with an accusatory glare. “What happened?”
“We were just talking,” a young man answered. Lex gave him a death stare that made him back up a few steps, even though Lex was still crouched next to Chloe. “She said that she was feeling dizzy, she held her head, and then she fell,” the man tried to explain. Lex gently stroked Chloe’s hair with his hand. He turned his attention to Gabe.
“Has this ever happened before?”
“No,” Gabe looked pensive. “She sometimes gets low blood sugar, but I saw that she had some fast food for lunch, and that wasn’t that long ago. Even if she didn’t have anything to eat, she would have gotten the shakes and a headache for a while, but I’ve never seen her pass out.” Lex rubbed his hand over his face and stood up when he heard the paramedics running down the hall.
They quickly took over the scene and tried to revive her. She was still breathing, but had a nasty bump on her head from the fall, and her heart rate was accelerated. She just wouldn’t wake up. They put her on a stretcher and carried her outside to the ambulance. Lex and Gabe both watched as they lifted her into the vehicle, and both men obviously wanted to go with her. A fact not lost on the paramedics.
“We can only take one of you to ride along, the other one will need to meet us there,” the man said. Everything in Lex’s body and soul yearned to go with Chloe, but his thankfully his mind kicked in. If he wasn’t selfless about this, Chloe’s dad might never forgive him, and Chloe might never forgive him. He gave an unspoken acquiescent nod to Gabe for him to get in the ambulance and Gabe acknowledged him with a thankfully nod back and got in the back of the vehicle. Lex didn’t even wait for the ambulance doors to close before he was behind the wheel of his own car.
~*~*~*~*~
Clark was giving Lana a ride home when they heard the ambulance sirens.
“I hope they’re okay,” Lana commented, not even knowing whom the passenger was. Clark grinned. Lana had a heart of gold.
“I’m sure they will be,” he said to try and make her feel better. He pulled the truck to the side of the road when he saw the ambulance lights coming toward them. The ambulance quickly passed with Lex driving right behind them. Clark and Lana both frowned.
“Wasn’t that Lex?” Lana asked. Clark turned the truck around to follow the ambulance and Lex’s car to the hospital. When they found a parking spot and went into the ER, they saw Lex and Gabe both sitting in the waiting room. Clark got a bad feeling in his stomach. They walked over to Lex.
“What happened?” Clark asked. Lana put a hand on his arm to calm him down when she heard how accusatory Clark had asked the question. Lex looked distraught and had his face in his hands. It took everything his body had just to keep it together. Gabe walked over to them.
“It wasn’t Lex’s fault,” he said, surprising even himself. Clark looked at him confused. “Chloe was in the kitchen, apparently started to get dizzy, and just collapsed,” he explained. Lana gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.
“Is she going to be alright?” She asked. Lex thought it interesting that Lana seemed genuinely concerned about Chloe. He didn’t think they were friends, or at least not good friends.
“We don’t know,” Gabe answered.
“Yes,” Lex said. “She’s a fighter.” Clark suddenly felt empathy for his friend whom he had been at odds with. He remembered how he felt all of those times that Chloe was taken into a situation that could have, and probably would have, killed her if he hadn’t been there. But, even with his abilities, he knew that there wouldn’t have been anything he could do to help her. Even now he couldn’t help her. He knew Lex was just trying to convince himself that Chloe was going to be all right. He was doing what he had to do.
A woman, who looked to be in her early forties, and wearing scrubs, came over to the group. Lex immediately stood up.
“Are you Chloe Sullivan’s family?” She asked, already knowing having been directed toward them by the nurse at the desk.
“Yes,” Lex answered without hesitation. Lana looked at him questioningly, but he didn’t acknowledge her.
“I’m Dr. Schafer,” she said, not holding out a hand to shake.
“How is she?” Gabe asked. She gave a neutral expression to the man.
“It looks like she’ll be fine,” the doctor answered. “We were able to calm her heart rate down a little bit, that alone could have been responsible for the dizziness.” Lex nodded but said nothing. “We’ll know more when we get her blood tests back.”
“Did she wake up?” Lex asked in a worried voice. He noticed that the doctor frowned ever so slightly.
“Not yet, but like I said, we’ll have more to go on when we get the tests back.”
“When will that be?” Lex asked impatiently.
“Depends on how busy the lab is, but probably about a half hour,” she replied.
“Can we see her?” Clark asked. Lex gave him an indiscernible look, part of him jealous that Clark would probably be allowed to visit her, part of him angry for not asking the question himself sooner. The doctor shook her head.
“Not yet,” she answered, and looked fearful when Lex glared at her. “Soon,” she said in a promising voice, “But we need the blood results to see what we’re up against first.” With that, the doctor walked away. Lex turned to Clark and Lana.
“You two should go home,” he said in an authoritative voice. Clark clenched his hands into fists, trying to calm down, but not really succeeding.
“We’re staying.”
~*~*~
Ch. 3
~*~*~
Lex paced the ER’s waiting area for what seemed like an eternity. Every once and a while he would receive a look from Clark, indicating that he blamed Lex for the situation Chloe was in now. He sighed. Maybe he was, he had no way of knowing since that stupid doctor hadn’t come out with any news. It had been almost an hour now. He spotted a nurse checking in at the desk and saw that she was pointed over to them. Gabe noticed too and his face turned pale. It couldn’t be good news if they were sending a nurse out to tell them what it was.
“What happened?” Gabe asked, not allowing the nurse to introduce herself. The woman gave a motherly smile.
“Maybe you would feel more comfortable sitting down?” She motioned to the chairs, but no one in the group moved. “Or not,” she mumbled. She caught Lex’s stare and shivered in fear. “They think they know what’s wrong, but the doctor had a couple of questions she wanted me to ask you.”
“And?” Lex asked impatiently. The nurse raised the piece of paper in her hand so she could read from it.
“Has she been under any sort of stress lately?” She asked, getting a pen out of her pocket to write down their responses. She noticed that all three of the men looked somewhat guilty, but didn’t answer. She looked at Lana. “So that would be a ‘yes’ then?” Lana nodded. She jotted down the answer. “On the entrance forms, it said that she wasn’t on any medications that you know about?” Gabe nodded. “Do you know of any reason why an SNRI medication would be in her system?” They looked surprised and confused.
“SNRI?” Clark questioned. The nurse grinned.
“Serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor,” the nurse answered kindly. At least this young man wasn’t shooting her death glares. Clark still looked confused. “They’re generally used for weight loss for obesity, but there have been some disturbing cases recently where people have been using it as a poison because of its side effects.” Lana covered her mouth in shock. Clark was about to shoot an accusatory glare at Lex, but saw that Lex looked angry and worried. It was a dangerous combination. “Obviously she’s not obese, so…”
“Oh God!” Lex appeared ill. “It was meant for me, I’m sure of it.” Lex murmured and then took out his cell phone.
“Sir, you can’t use that in here,” the nurse reminded him, pointing to the various signs up that said no cell phones. He grimaced. “There’s a courtesy phone at the front desk,” she said as she pointed to it. He nodded once. Clark followed him over to the phone.
“Why do you think it was meant for you?” He asked. Lex turned around and gave him a blank stare.
“Clark,” he started in an exasperated tone, but finished explaining to Clark like he was a child. “Nobody has any reason to try and hurt Chloe, but me…” he trailed off, letting Clark come to the only conclusion.
“How would they have given it to her though?” Lana asked, now practically a fixture at Clark’s side. Lex had the phone in hand and had already dialed the number for the police. He gave Lana a quick look of disbelief and turned his attention back to the phone, silently wondering how it was that his beautiful and intelligent Chloe had managed to put up with them for so long. His. He liked that. Whoever had done this to her would pay dearly.
Lana guided Clark far enough away from the phone so they could talk, but she still spoke in an almost whispered voice.
“This is really bad Clark. Do you see now why she shouldn’t be going out with him?” Lana glanced over at Lex to make sure he wasn’t looking at them, and then turned her attention back to Clark. Clark frowned.
“I don’t really think it was his fault Lana,” Clark began defending Lex again. She shook her head.
“Chloe wouldn’t have been hurt if Lex wasn’t such a target,” she argued. Clark frowned. He had some thinking to do.
~*~*~*~*~*~
The nurse was still asking Gabe questions about Chloe. Apparently the forms he had filled out when they first arrived didn’t include the full medical history sheets. She wrote down his response to her final question and gave a small smile. She felt very comfortable talking to him, especially without the younger bald man looming immediately nearby. Unfortunately, this caused her to let her guard down.
“So, do you think she’s going to be okay?” Gabe asked.
“I can’t say for sure, but I have a good feeling. It’s really a shame she had to go through this, especially in her condition,” she answered. Gabe arched an eyebrow.
“Her condition?” Suspicion dripped off his comment and he glanced over at Lex, who was now speaking with two police detectives. The nurse paled slightly and stammered.
“Oh, I, uh, thought the doctor had already discussed the blood test results with you. I should really let her be the one to talk to you about it,” she said, clearly flustered at her disclosing something that she shouldn’t have. “It was very nice meeting you,” she rushed the words out, and turned on her heel, fleeing quickly down the hallway. Gabe walked over to Lex, his anger coming back full force. He wanted so badly to punch him, but knew better, especially when the police were in the same room. Clark looked at Gabe and dashed over to him to stop him from doing whatever it looked like he was going to do once he got to Lex. Clark grabbed Gabe’s arm and Gabe stopped, turning his attention to him.
“How is Chloe doing?” Clark asked. He noticed that Gabe kept looking over at Lex menacingly. He put on his best ‘oblivious smile’; at least that’s what Chloe called it. Gabe sighed.
“The nurse thinks she’ll be alright, but doesn’t know for sure,” he said, silently wondering when the Kent boy had gotten so strong. He was sure he was going to have a bruise on his arm in the morning. Clark nodded.
“That’s good,” Clark affirmed.
“So why do you look like you’re ready to kill Lex?” Lana asked, having joined them at this point. Gabe sighed and rubbed his face. The police nodded to him as they left. He forced a grin onto his face.
“Will you excuse me please?” He asked, not waiting for a reply, and started toward Lex again, who was walking toward the group anyway. “Why couldn’t you just leave her alone?” Lex looked confused. Gabe started rambling, but at least his anger was being projected into that instead of physical violence. “Why couldn’t you just let her date some nice boy her own age, like Clark?” He gave Lex a hard stare. “If that nurse meant what I think she did, I’ll kill you myself.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Dr. Schafer came into Chloe’s room as soon as the nurse informed her that Chloe had woken up. She grinned compassionately as she wrote something down in her chart.
“How are you feeling?” She asked. Chloe gave her a blank expression and looked around the room.
“Why am I in the hospital?” Chloe asked, without acknowledging the doctor’s question.
“You passed out,” Dr. Schafer informed her. “You’ve been unconscious for a few hours now, we couldn’t wake you up.” Chloe tried to sit up, but was quickly taken over by a sensation of the room spinning. She moaned and swallowed down the nausea that came with flopping her head back against the pillow.
“What’s wrong with me?” Chloe asked. She had been feeling fine earlier that day. The doctor frowned a little and sat down in a chair next to Chloe’s bed.
“Your lab results were a little troubling,” she commented. Chloe waited for her to continue. “We found traces of an SNRI medication in your system. The police believe that someone used it to try and poison your boyfriend, but you got the food with it instead.” Chloe nodded. The doctor hesitated. The next part might not be as easy to explain.
“There’s something else?” Chloe asked when she saw the expression on the doctor’s face. Dr. Schafer had an unreadable look on her face.
“Your blood tests also show that you’re pregnant, not far along though, no more than a couple of days,” she responded. Chloe’s mouth dropped open a little and she suddenly appeared much more pale.
“What?” Chloe asked in disbelief. “That’s not possible, we used protection. And, don’t you usually have to wait a few weeks for pregnancy tests to even show a positive?” Chloe rambled defensively. The doctor grinned.
“It depends on the woman actually, and no protection is 100% fail safe,” she countered and got a serious look on her face. “We don’t know the side effects the medication could have on the fetus.” Chloe’s head was swimming and she clutched the sheets of the bed with her hands. Dr. Schafer noticed Chloe’s panicked reaction. “There are options.” Chloe slowly turned her attention back to the doctor. “I’ll get you some pamphlets and we can go over them together later, alright?” Chloe swallowed again and managed to nod once. Dr. Schafer stood up. “Your father and your friends are in the waiting area. Do you feel up to visitors?” Chloe ran a hand over her face, but didn’t object. “I’ll send your father in first.” Chloe closed her eyes and heard Dr. Schafer walk away. What was she going to tell her dad?
~*~*~*~*~
Clark was using the courtesy phone after Lana had finished. He was talking to his mom.
“I just have a really bad feeling Mom,” he explained.
“I’m sure Chloe will be all right Clark,” she said in a comforting voice. Clark frowned.
“The nurse told her dad something that I don’t think she was supposed to. He threatened to kill Lex, but he won’t tell us what the nurse said.” Clark paused. “I can’t lose her Mom, she’s one of the most important people to me.”
“The only thing you can do is stand by her Clark,” she answered. “I know I can’t talk you into coming home and getting some sleep, so try and rest while you’re there. Okay?” She was more concerned for Chloe than she was letting on. She had always known Gabe to be a pretty sensible person with a relaxed personality. For him to threaten Lex, he must either blame him for Chloe’s condition, which may not improve, or it was something else that she didn’t even want to think about. Dr. Schafer came out of the hallway and they all noticed her right away.
“I have to go, Chloe’s doctor is here, bye Mom,” Clark said quickly, not waiting for a response before hanging up the phone. They all rushed over toward her and she held up a hand.
“She’s awake, but I’d like for her father to see her first since he’s immediate family,” she said, motioning Gabe to the hallway she had just come from. He gave one last angry scowl at Lex and then followed her.
“The nurse said something about a ‘condition’,” he said, emphasizing the last word. She stopped walking and turned to him.
“I see,” she said in a non-committing voice. “She shouldn’t have told you anything.”
“She’s my daughter, I have a right to know,” he argued in a firm voice. She shook her head.
“The state of Kansas disagrees with you sir. She’s sixteen, so she has private rights regarding the disclosure of medical information to other individuals, even her parents.” She gave him a warning look and he sighed.
“She’s pregnant isn’t she?” His voice still rang with anger.
“If you’re going to be like this when you go to her room, I can’t allow you to see her. I won’t do anything that hinders my patient’s ability to get well.” Her voice was stern and scolding, and made Gabe feel like he was the worst father in the world. She noticed the defeat creeping into his demeanor. “Can you be nice and not give her the third degree? Because I don’t think she’s feeling up to it right now.” He ran hand through his hair as if in thought, and nodded. She started walking again, not sure whether to believe him. Most parents tended to get irrational if they found out their teenage daughter was pregnant, but she hadn’t admitted anything to him, and Chloe seemed feisty enough to handle herself. Dr. Schafer still decided to put security in the room with them, just in case.
~*~*~*~*~
Lex paced in the waiting room. Lana gave him a sympathetic look.
“He’s her dad Lex, he should be the one to see her first,” she said in a reassuring tone. He turned around and stared at her. He was angry and obviously hurting, but still managed to keep his voice level.
“I’m seeing her next,” he proclaimed, stating the situation clearly in case Clark and Lana had gotten other ideas into their heads. Clark frowned.
“I think I should see her, I’ve known her longer,” he said. Lana gripped Clark’s arm when she saw the warning in Lex’s expression. Clark turned to Lana, a questioning look on his face. Lana looked at Lex.
“We can go in after you,” she said. Lex nodded once and resumed his pacing.
“What was that about?” Clark asked her in a hushed voice.
“I don’t think he’ll hurt her Clark,” she replied in the same lower tone. “But I know he’ll hurt us if we try and go first.” She glanced back over at him for a moment. “I don’t even think he agreed with Mr. Sullivan going in there before him. Just think how he would react if his competition went in first too.” Clark narrowed his eyes a little.
“Competition?” He queried. She gave him a small smile.
“It’s not exactly a secret how you feel about Chloe Clark,” she said. He shook his head.
“We’re just friends,” he insisted. “I…”
“You have a crush on me,” she interrupted, and had to keep from giggling at the expression on Clark’s face. “But you’re in love with her.”
~*~*~
Ch. 4
~*~*~
Dr. Schafer stopped at the entrance to Chloe’s room. The door was closed and she motioned for security to come over. Gabe frowned.
“Is that really necessary?” He asked. She kept her authoritative look.
“Yes, it’s procedure,” she replied, hoping he wouldn’t realize it was a lie. He glared at her.
“And will this ‘procedure’,” he said with disdain, “apply to her boyfriend as well?” He took a deep breath to try and calm himself down. She nodded.
“Yes sir,” she said noticing his excited state. “Although I doubt you’ll have anything to worry about there. I’m sure the bald man will keep him in line.”
“He is the bald man,” he replied with a sardonic grin. Dr. Schafer looked shocked.
“Oh,” she paused and then opened the door. “The guard will be outside the door, but the door will be open.” He closed his eyes for a moment and she opened the door. Gabe looked over at his daughter lying on the bed and felt a wave of guilt and concern sweep through him. Chloe was pale, and looked fragile and vulnerable. Dr. Schafer walked away, figuring that everything would be all right after seeing his expression, and if it wasn’t, then security was there. She now had more concern about the girl’s boyfriend though.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex’s head whipped around at Lana’s statement. She thought she had said it quietly enough that he wouldn’t be able to hear her, but her eyes grew wide in fear when she saw that he had. Clark smiled sheepishly, trying to diffuse the situation.
“I’m not, you know, Chloe and I already talked about this,” he stuttered out. Lex made a noise that sounded remarkably like an animal’s growl and Lana got out of her seat, clutching Clark’s hand in hers, forcing him to stand as well. She looked at Clark.
“You know Clark, I’m suddenly really hungry. How ‘bout we go to the cafeteria?” She asked, obviously trying to get them out of there before Lex decided to kill them. Clark plastered a smile on his face and nodded.
“Good idea,” he agreed. The two practically ran out of the waiting room. Lex took a deep breath and then sighed. He sat down in one of the chairs and rubbed a hand over his face.
“Chloe almost dies, her father wants to kill me, and Clark Kent’s in love with her. What’s next?” He muttered to himself.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Gabe pulled a chair next to Chloe’s bed and sat down. He reached out tentatively for her hand. They said she was awake, but her eyes were closed and her cheeks were still wet from crying. Her eyes fluttered open at her dad’s hand on her own. She smiled weakly.
“Hey,” she greeted. Her voice was raspy and she felt dehydrated. He grinned. “Could you get me some water please?” He nodded and poured her some water. She used the bed mechanism to pull up to a sitting position, but it still made her dizzy, and she looked like she was ready to throw up. Gabe frowned.
“You okay sweetie?” He asked. Chloe was sipping the water, but nodded.
“Just a little queasy, I’ll be fine as soon as the room stops spinning,” she joked. He chuckled, but Chloe noticed that it didn’t have his usual enthusiasm. “Are you okay?” He let go of her hand and stood up.
“Not really,” he answered. He started to walk around the room, trying to avoid eye contact with her. “It’s not every day you find out that your only daughter is dating your boss, then you were poisoned because someone was trying to kill him, added to the fact that you’re pregnant with his child,” he sighed. “It’s just a lot to take in one day Chloe.” He didn’t notice the shocked look on her face.
“You…?” She asked, leaving the end of the question dangling in the air. He turned to face her. He was still upset about the whole situation, but he couldn’t be angry with her, especially not seeing her like this.
“The nurse let it slip, sorry,” he explained. She nodded.
“Does Lex know?” She asked. He cringed when he heard the name, but covered it well; at least he thought he did.
“No.” There was an uncomfortable silence, but Gabe knew what she was going to ask next.
“Is he here?” She asked shakily. He eyed her for a moment before answering.
“Last time I checked,” he said and then paused. “Are you…?”
“Keeping it?” She finished for him. He nodded. “I don’t know. The doctor said they don’t know how the poison could have affected it, but they’re guessing not good.” He nodded. He stepped over to her when she got quiet and appeared sorrowful. He took her hand in his and gave her a small grin.
“I know I’ve been a little out of line about all of this,” he rolled his eyes when she grinned. “But, you know I’ll be here for you, whatever you decide.” Chloe felt a tear start to roll down her face and she quickly wiped it off.
“Thanks Dad,” she said, her voice choking. He leaned down and gave her a hug. When he pulled away he sighed.
“Do you want me to send him in?” He asked. Chloe closed her eyes, attempting to fight off another dizzy spell. Gabe mistook the action. “I hate to say this, seeing as how I’ve been wanting to kill him since I found out, but you’re going to have to talk to him eventually.” Chloe opened her eyes. Her head was still swimming and she felt like she was going to pass out.
“I want to see him Dad,” she said, a little confused. “But I think I need to see the doctor first. These dizzy spells are knocking me out.” He frowned in concern and reached over to push the call button for the nurse.
“The nurse I talked to said that it would take at least a day for all of the medication to get out of your system.”
“Great,” she mumbled. “Don’t they have anti-dizzy meds they could give me?” He grinned.
“Those could probably hurt,” he paused and motioned to her stomach, “you know.”
“Oh. Right. Could you tell Lex to come back then?” She asked in a hopeful voice. He frowned but nodded.
“You do know that I still don’t approve of him?” He asked, although it came out as more of a statement. She chuckled.
“Yeah, I got that.”
Gabe left the room and told the nurse at the desk that there was no need to send someone over to Chloe’s room. He also told her that he was going to be sending in Chloe’s boyfriend to see her, so to be sure to keep the security guard there. The nurse laughed, but nodded when she saw the serious look on his face. Gabe made his way down the corridor until he reached the waiting room. Lex was still sitting, but he didn’t see Clark and Lana. Gabe walked up to him.
“Is this the part where you kill me?” Lex asked without looking up. Gabe grumbled.
“I doubt Chloe would appreciate that right now since she asked to see you,” he said. Lex looked up and Gabe could see the hopeful look on his face. “But I reserve the right to kill you later.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Lex walked down the hallway until he saw the security guard at the door. ‘This must be it,’ he thought to himself. The guard glared at him, but let him in the room. He swiftly moved to Chloe’s side and sat in the chair her father left by the bed. He lovingly stroked her arm with his fingers.
“Chloe?” He asked. She opened her eyes and smiled at him.
“Lex,” she said. He swept a few strands of hair out of her face.
“God, Chloe, I’m so sorry,” he said.
“Not your fault,” she replied. There was a moment of silence while they just looked at each other. “Did my dad tell you?” She finally asked. Lex noticed the hesitation in her voice.
“Tell me what?” He leaned down and peppered her face with soft kisses. She grinned but held up a hand to try and move him away. He gave her a serious look. “You’re not going to die are you?” She laughed and he let out a breath. “Then it’s not serious,” he said and started kissing her again. She gripped his arm with her hand.
“It is serious Lex,” she said, her voice slightly hushed. She liked his attention and she didn’t know if she had the energy to get in a fight with him. Meaningless verbal battles over insignificant things were one thing, telling him that she was pregnant and having to hear him rant at her was something else entirely. He grinned and arched an eyebrow, moving to sit down again.
“Your father doesn’t want me to see you anymore?” He guessed.
“I’m sure he would be thrilled if that happened,” she responded dryly. He chuckled.
“Alright, we’ve already established that you’re not dying and that your dad doesn’t want me to date you, so what’s going on?” He asked. He noticed Chloe wasn’t looking at him and had suddenly become very interested in the blanket on top of her. “Polyester blend would be my guess,” he said, trying to lighten her mood. She grinned.
“I’m not sure how to tell you this,” she said. He reached for her hand and kissed it.
“You can tell me anything,” he prodded. She looked over at him her eyes met his.
“No,” she paused and Lex could see tears welling up in her eyes. He frowned and furrowed his brow. “You’ll hate me, it’s not my fault, but you’ll hate me,” she mumbled. He wiped a tear off her face with his thumb.
“Please tell me that you’re not going to dump me for Clark Kent,” he said in all seriousness. She managed to shake her head without getting dizzy, a good sign that she was starting to get better. “Then what?”
“The blood work,” she looked at him and he nodded his head once for her to continue. “It said that I’m a day or two along,” she said so quietly that he barely heard her.
“Along what?” He asked. She wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, but it came out as more of a loud release of breath.
“Um, it said that I’m pregnant,” she said, as she looked the other way. She really didn’t want to look at his face when she said it, and she didn’t want to handle dealing with him all irate like she thought he would probably be. It’s certainly how she was. Lex sat in stunned silence, but he hadn’t let go of her hand.
“I see,” he finally said, and then a grin tugged at his lips. “Well, that explains why your dad wants to kill me.” His voice was neutral and Chloe hadn’t seen him grin, so she winced when he made the comment.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know, we used protection,” Chloe started to ramble but was cut off by Lex’s lips brushing against her own. “Um.” He deepened the kiss and she moved her hands to his shoulders. He finally pulled away and gave her a smirk. She raised an eyebrow. “What the hell was that?” He laughed.
“You thought I was going to be angry,” he observed. She narrowed her eyes at him.
“Ye-ah,” she strung out her answer. He was still smiling. “You’re not angry,” she said.
“I’m not angry,” he confirmed. She rested her head back against her pillow.
“Huh. Interesting.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Clark and Lana made their way back up to the waiting room from the cafeteria in the basement. Lana quickly looked around to make sure Lex wasn’t there, or if he was, that he wasn’t going to kill them.
“All clear,” she announced with a smile. They saw Gabe and nodded, but moved to sit down in chairs across the room so they could talk.
“Lana, you never answered me when we were eating,” Clark started. Lana smiled, hoping that he had forgotten that little fact, but it was always best to play naïve.
“About what?” She asked. He tilted his head and looked at her and she looked down. “Oh, right, about why I think you’re in love with Chloe.” He nodded. “It’s obvious Clark. I mean, if I didn’t really believe it, why would I be trying to break up her and Lex?” Clark looked confused and suspicious.
“What do you mean? You gave me all the reasons that she shouldn’t be with him,” he said. She grinned.
“I believe that’s what’s called ‘telling someone what they want to hear’ Clark. You may not realize that you’re in love with her, but you are, and you’re my friend, so I want you to be happy,” she replied. His mouth dropped open.
“But…” he started and she held up a hand.
“Who’s the first friend you tell most things to?” She asked. He frowned.
“Uh, well, Chloe, but…”
“And how did you really feel when you saw her in her dress for the dance?” Lana continued. Clark blushed and looked down. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.
“I don’t know if I should tell you that,” he said embarrassed. She giggled and touched his leg.
“It’s okay Clark,” she said. “I already knew the answer to that before I asked you.” He looked up and his blush hadn’t gone away. “The question is, what are you going to do about it?”