Gemkat5
13th October 2003, 20:37
This is a 2 part collaboration I recently did with PMD. She is unable to get into N.S. for some reason and asked me to post it here.... I hope everyone enjoys!
~Kat~
Title: "Love Conquers All" - Part 1
Author: ~Kat~ and PMD
e-mail: gemkat5@yahoo.com <mailto:gemkat5@yahoo.com> and mary.davidson@sympatico.ca <mailto:mary.davidson@sympatico.ca>
Rating: PG-13
Category: Friendship, Chlex (married), Clana, futurefic, Lex's and Chloe's POV's, AU
Spoilers: Anything is fair game from season 1 and 2.
Summary: Friends helping friends down the matrimonial path.
Disclaimer: To whomever owns Smallville, it's characters, Hogan's Heroes, it's characters, Runaway Bride, it's characters, and Superman, we're just borrowing, will give them back, not making any money with their use in this story, so don't sue us.
Archive: At SPP, BtS, BT2, A_Talon_Affair, N.S., Malu and Sabby's sites, for the time being. If anybody else wants it, all they have to do is ask.
Feedback: Yes we would love feedback.
Author Notes: First off a dedication. We dedicate this story to a good friend of ours, Walter. And to David and Imp---both good and steadfast betas and even better friends.
PMD: Well, this certainly has been fun, Kathy. You throw curveballs as well as Kris does, sweetie. And I seem to have the knack of catching them, before they hit a window. <g> Thanks for an enjoyable and fun time writing this piece. And David---we got you your Clana in here too. Now, over to Kathy and her wonderful sense of humor.
Kathy: This really was fun, Peg! Our writing styles are so different I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out! I have never written in first person before, so that was a challenge in itself for me. I personally dedicate ALL the Clana to David, I hope you enjoy! And, of course, there's plenty of Chlex---and I did throw some really good curve balls at Peggy too! She caught them like a pro! <BG> I really had fun doing this, and I hope you have fun reading it! ~Kat~
"Love Conquers All" - Part 1
by ~Kat~ and PMD
Lex's POV
"I don't think I can go through with this."
"Go through with what?" I ask as I walk in with his tie.
"The wedding---there's just so much I don't know about her. So much she doesn't know about me."
"Clark part of the joy of marriage is discovery. Do you think I knew everything about Chloe before we got married? Take for instance our wedding night, you can imagine my surprise when she decided to bring something to the bed, other than just herself."
I notice the change from trepidation to curiosity in the man. "What did she bring to the bed besides herself?"
"Swear you will never reveal this answer."
"I swear---after all, I am the Fort Knox of secrets. Just call me Schultzy."
"Clark, have you been watching Hogan's Heroes again?"
He nods. "So, what did she bring? A vibrator?"
"Clark---I'm shocked!" I state, with a smirk.
"Hey, I've been around."
I chuckle at that. "No, not a vibrator---a stuffed mouse she calls Petey."
"Petey--I forgot about Petey! Hey, you won Petey for her."
"Yes, but not to sleep with us on our wedding night."
"Yeah, but don't you see what she was saying with bringing Petey into the marriage bed?"
"What was she saying, Mr. Psychologist?"
"That the night you won Petey was the luckiest night of her life. After all, that was the night you two first kissed. So, she was continuing the lucky streak."
"Ahhhhh---okay, now I feel bad that I tossed him off the bed," I state, smiling.
"You didn't!"
"No, actually I put him on the shelf above our bed. He got a birds-eye view."
"Or a mouse-eye's view."
His demeanor changes again. "What is it, Clark?"
"I don't know if Lana can handle all that comes with being married to a superhero."
I walk over to him and start to put the tie around his neck. "Clark, she's not marrying the superhero---she's marrying the man. Yes, she will have to share Superman with the rest of the world but Clark---she'll have you to herself. Although, I'm hoping she'll allow a dinner or two with your mutual best friends."
"So---I shouldn't be nervous or scared about marrying her?"
"Nervous and scared heightens the experience, my friend. Just don't let it throw you off kilter and away from the woman who loves you."
"Okay. Lex?"
"Yes?"
"Were you ever unsure of yourself and Chloe?"
I ponder my answer. "Clark, remember Chloe and my wedding day?"
"Oh---oh yeah. You were a bit nervous."
"So nervous, I got lost in the mansion, after 'somebody' sent people to the wrong church, and we had to have it there."
"Yeah, but it's a big place so even you could get lost there very easily, when you have other things on your mind. Besides it worked out better than the church. Because you had so much room, nobody was left out."
I chuckle at that. "I guess you're right. That said we had obstacles to overcome, even on our wedding day, as you recall."
"Lionel!"
"Lionel," I state. "Let's go down Memory Lane, shall we?"
~
Chloe's POV
"I can't do this!" Lana says, shaking her head and tossing her bouquet onto the table with frustration.
"What do you mean, 'You can't do this'?" I exclaim, picking up the flower arrangement to shove them back in her hands. "Of course you can do this!"
"What if I'm a horrible wife? What if we can't have children? What if he finds someone better than me?" Lana rants all in one breath. "I mean, he flies around the world!" she adds with exasperation.
"Lana," I voice calmly, taking her hands in mine, with the bouquet between our palms. "You and Clark were meant to be together. 'Trust' me," I stress. "When Clark looks at you, the rest of the world doesn't exist."
"Do you honestly mean that?" she inquires, her eyes imploring hopefully.
"Are you kidding?" I state, pulling back with a smirk. "He might be Superman to the rest of the world; strong, sure, and debonair! But when he's with you, Clark Kent is an idiot in love."
Lana blushes a perfect pink, a warm smile gracing her lips as she moves to sit on the chair with all her folds of saffron and lace. "It took him an hour to propose, you know," she says with a fond smile.
"Ha! It took Lex six months to propose to me!" I laugh. "And then after all that waiting, the wedding almost didn't happen at all!"
"I remember," Lana says, nodding her head at the memory.
I snort in a most un-lady like fashion. "You don't know the half of it," I grumble under my breath. "What happened at the ceremony was only the front stage performance," I inform her. "We never told anyone what happened before that."
With Lana looking at me curiously, I took a deep breath and began to explain the second most eventful day of my life.
~
Lex's POV
Clark is sitting down, raptly waiting for me to talk. "Clark, you know most of it except for what happened the day before the wedding. So let me fill you in."
~
"Alexander!"
I turn around to see my father standing there, disapprovingly. "What did Lucas do now?" I ask, with a smile---knowing full well it's not my brother he's unhappy with.
"Alexander, you know it's not Lucas who has warranted my disapproval, this time."
"Whatever," I state, using Chloe's favorite expression.
"There, see---even that word---the woman is not for you, Alexander. She'll change you into a---"
"---human being, Father? Yes, she has done that. Turn me into an upstanding citizen---guilty as charged. Why do you hate her so much?"
"She's turned you against me!"
"Actually, you did that yourself---you never treated anyone right in your whole life. You couldn't even stay loyal to my mother!"
He walks up to me, putting his hand out to touch me. "Lex, it's not too late. Tell her you were wrong to ask her to marry you---tell her that you don't love her."
"You want me to lie to her? You want me to be---that's it----you want me to be alone for the rest of my life. Like you are. That's it, isn't it? Well, too bad. I'm marrying her and going to be happy for the rest of my life. Now get the hell out of my house."
"Lex, you will regret this decision!"
"No, I only regret that you are my father---that we share any genes at all. I will never regret falling in love with a wonderful, spirited, woman. She's my life now---you no longer are. Now leave, Mr. Luthor!"
I watch him walk out the door, knowing it's not over.
"It's not over, is it?" Chloe voices from behind me.
I turn to see her getting out of the chair. I didn't know she was there since it was turned towards the fireplace. I smile at her as I walk over and pull her into a hug. "Probably not but I won't let him ruin our wedding day."
She backs away. "Lex, he won't just try to ruin our wedding, he'll try to ruin our lives. What if---?"
I stop her with a finger over her lips. "I---no---'we' can handle him together. All right?"
"All right," she replies, and snuggles into my embrace.
It almost wasn't 'all right' though.
The Next Day
What else could go askew? The wrong flowers, the guests were directed to the wrong church, the tux's almost didn't get to us and I don't even want to think about Chloe's side of the wedding plans. Damn you to Hell, Father! I know you have your hand in it.
"Calm down, Lex!"
I turn to look at my best man, Clark. "I'm trying to but every time I do, I think about my father again."
"Okay---if you have to think about your father, how about picturing him in boiling oil."
I chuckle at that. "Clark, I am such a bad influence on you."
"Naw---just something my father once said went through my head."
I lift an eyebrow at that and smile. "I knew there was a reason I liked your father. Clark, I---"
"Shush---Lana's---Oh My God, she's so beautiful!"
I look at the petite brunette who is walking down the makeshift aisle as the guests stand on two sides of the grand ballroom. I glance at Clark and know, without a doubt, my best friend is as hopelessly in love with my business partner as I am with the bride to be. She's wearing a blush colored maid of honor dress, with a bouquet of baby's breath and pink carnations. She moves over to the bride's side of the pulpit and gives both of us a wink.
The wedding march begins as Chloe and her father enter the room. I stand there, thinking, 'Chloe is so beautiful, inside and out---God, I am one lucky son of a gun.' She makes her way towards me, her steps purposeful and springy. Then she is finally at my side and gives me a smile through the veil, tiny pearls dotted here and there. She hands her bouquet to Lana and turns back to her father.
Gabe lifts the veil and gives her a tearful kiss. The minister asks who gives her away and he answers. He gives me her hand, gripping my shoulder for a moment. "Take care of my little girl," he says, his voice choked with happy emotion, and sits down.
The ceremony is perfect until the dreaded sentence---if there is anyone who has any objections to this union speak now or forever hold your peace.
"I do!"
We both turn, as does every person in the room, to look at Lionel Luthor standing there. "She's no good, Alexander. She's just like her mother!"
"That's it!" Chloe declares, and walks up to my father to slap him hard enough to make him stagger. "I'm here to stay," she spits at him. "And there's nothing you can do about it!" She makes her way back to me. Her shoulders are squared with dignity, her posture confident and sure. "Okay, shall we continue?" she asks me, her eyes telling me how much she loves me.
"Not yet," I reply. I turn and walk to my father. "Mr. Luthor---you will leave now or I'll be forced to call the police!"
"Lex, she's just marrying you for your money!"
"Oh, then why did she sign a prenuptial agreement? You know, Father, this is low even for you. I know why you're doing this--so I can be an old, frustrated man like you---alone and un-cared for. Well, it's not going to happen," I state, ire in every word.
He backs away from me and stares at Chloe.
"You Bitch! You turned him against me!" he yells.
Now I'm a little scared---he's never shown emotions so forthright before. It's time to stop this. "Take him away!" I state.
"No!" he replies, walking towards Chloe threateningly. I stop him with my hand to his shoulder, and hit him hard and fast. He's on the ground, looking up at me. "Why?"
"Because you threatened my family. Now LEAVE!" I growl.
A couple of men help him up and out of the mansion. I walk back to Chloe and she takes my hand, giving it a kiss to ease the sting in my knuckles.
"So, want to finish what we started?"
I nod and we look back at the minister to continue with the ceremony---with no further interruptions.
~
Back To The Present
"Wow---he really came to your house the day before and told you Chloe wasn't the woman for you. I mean---it's a wonder Chloe didn't punch him too."
"Yes he certainly did. Now you see, Love conquers all---even evil fathers who try to turn you into themselves. So---does your reasons for not being sure about marrying Lana seem a little less important now?"
"Yes---I don't want to be alone for the rest of my life either. And any problems we come across---well, we'll deal with it because, as you say, love conquers all."
"Good---now shall we get out of this room and get you on the road to happiness?"
He nods yes. I place my arm around his shoulder as we walk to the door and make our way to the chapel.
~
Chloe's POV
With Lana looking at me curiously, I sit down in a chair, careful of my gown. I take a deep breath and began to relate the second most eventful day of my life.
"It was the day before the wedding," I start to explain to Lana. "I was sitting in the library enjoying a cup of coffee by the fireplace when I heard Lex come in. I was about to ask him to join me when 'his' voice boomed over the rafters."
I let out a breath and continue. "If I've learned anything about Lionel, it's that the only time he refers to Lex as 'Alexander' is when he's royally pissed off."
She nods her head.
"But I digress. Anyway, I sat hidden from their view listening to all the horrible things Lionel was saying about me, telling Lex how I'm no good for him, how I turned Lex against him, and how Lex should put a stop to the wedding."
"Oh my god, Chloe," Lana breathes with heartfelt sorrow. "That's why he showed up at the church---well, what happened? I didn't notice any injuries on Lionel, but then again, I really wasn't looking for any!"
I chuckle lightly, knowing Lana is trying to ease the tension triggered by remembering that horrible moment. "I wanted to lash out. I wanted to take the poker from the fireplace and stoke 'him' with it! I mean, how dare 'he' accuse me of being no good for Lex when it was I who helped him through so many bad times! Many of which 'he' caused."
For a moment I feel an echo of the sadness I felt that day. "And then I wondered if maybe he wasn't right, maybe I wasn't good enough for Lex. What if I was holding him back from being the man he was meant to be?"
"Oh, Chloe, how could you ever think that?"
"I don't know," I reply, gently wiping a tear, careful not to smear my perfect makeover. "But I would've ran out of that room, out the front door, and I wouldn't have stopped if I had of been able to do it without them seeing me."
"Lionel didn't know you were in the room?"
"No, and neither did Lex. And you know what, Lana? He defended me. He told Lionel right to his face how much he loves me and the only regret in his life was having a father like him. Then he told the bastard to get the hell out of his house because he wasn't a part of his life anymore."
"Wow, Chloe, that explains so much of why Lionel lost it at the wedding."
"Yea," I chuckle again, feeling the darkness lift from my heart. "He tried to ruin our wedding in every imaginable way. We got orchids instead of roses; the photographer was late, a black limo showed up instead of a white one. He went so far as to tell the minister that the wedding had been called off. Lex never found out about that one, by the way," I add in a conspiring whisper.
I let out another breath and continue. "Not to mention the chaos of everyone going to the wrong church. I still don't know how it ended up at the mansion. But when he compared me to my mother that was the last straw. She gave up on her loved ones. I would never give up on mine."
"I can attest to that," Lana voices softly. "We had a rough spot there for awhile because of Clark, but no matter what, you didn't give up on our friendship."
I look thoughtfully at Lana and I can't help but smile. "So, do you, Miss Lana Lang, still think that you can't handle one superhero?"
It was Lana's turn to laugh. "Compared to what you went through to marry Lex, I'm pretty sure I've got it easy."
"Well I wouldn't go that far!" I joke. "But let's get you down the aisle before you start eyeballing those sneakers again!"
Lana stands up, and I follow suit to be pulled into the tightest hug two best friends could ever share. "Thank you, Chloe! I could never ask for a better friend."
"Yea, you could. You're marrying him."
End 1/2
~Kat~
Title: "Love Conquers All" - Part 1
Author: ~Kat~ and PMD
e-mail: gemkat5@yahoo.com <mailto:gemkat5@yahoo.com> and mary.davidson@sympatico.ca <mailto:mary.davidson@sympatico.ca>
Rating: PG-13
Category: Friendship, Chlex (married), Clana, futurefic, Lex's and Chloe's POV's, AU
Spoilers: Anything is fair game from season 1 and 2.
Summary: Friends helping friends down the matrimonial path.
Disclaimer: To whomever owns Smallville, it's characters, Hogan's Heroes, it's characters, Runaway Bride, it's characters, and Superman, we're just borrowing, will give them back, not making any money with their use in this story, so don't sue us.
Archive: At SPP, BtS, BT2, A_Talon_Affair, N.S., Malu and Sabby's sites, for the time being. If anybody else wants it, all they have to do is ask.
Feedback: Yes we would love feedback.
Author Notes: First off a dedication. We dedicate this story to a good friend of ours, Walter. And to David and Imp---both good and steadfast betas and even better friends.
PMD: Well, this certainly has been fun, Kathy. You throw curveballs as well as Kris does, sweetie. And I seem to have the knack of catching them, before they hit a window. <g> Thanks for an enjoyable and fun time writing this piece. And David---we got you your Clana in here too. Now, over to Kathy and her wonderful sense of humor.
Kathy: This really was fun, Peg! Our writing styles are so different I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out! I have never written in first person before, so that was a challenge in itself for me. I personally dedicate ALL the Clana to David, I hope you enjoy! And, of course, there's plenty of Chlex---and I did throw some really good curve balls at Peggy too! She caught them like a pro! <BG> I really had fun doing this, and I hope you have fun reading it! ~Kat~
"Love Conquers All" - Part 1
by ~Kat~ and PMD
Lex's POV
"I don't think I can go through with this."
"Go through with what?" I ask as I walk in with his tie.
"The wedding---there's just so much I don't know about her. So much she doesn't know about me."
"Clark part of the joy of marriage is discovery. Do you think I knew everything about Chloe before we got married? Take for instance our wedding night, you can imagine my surprise when she decided to bring something to the bed, other than just herself."
I notice the change from trepidation to curiosity in the man. "What did she bring to the bed besides herself?"
"Swear you will never reveal this answer."
"I swear---after all, I am the Fort Knox of secrets. Just call me Schultzy."
"Clark, have you been watching Hogan's Heroes again?"
He nods. "So, what did she bring? A vibrator?"
"Clark---I'm shocked!" I state, with a smirk.
"Hey, I've been around."
I chuckle at that. "No, not a vibrator---a stuffed mouse she calls Petey."
"Petey--I forgot about Petey! Hey, you won Petey for her."
"Yes, but not to sleep with us on our wedding night."
"Yeah, but don't you see what she was saying with bringing Petey into the marriage bed?"
"What was she saying, Mr. Psychologist?"
"That the night you won Petey was the luckiest night of her life. After all, that was the night you two first kissed. So, she was continuing the lucky streak."
"Ahhhhh---okay, now I feel bad that I tossed him off the bed," I state, smiling.
"You didn't!"
"No, actually I put him on the shelf above our bed. He got a birds-eye view."
"Or a mouse-eye's view."
His demeanor changes again. "What is it, Clark?"
"I don't know if Lana can handle all that comes with being married to a superhero."
I walk over to him and start to put the tie around his neck. "Clark, she's not marrying the superhero---she's marrying the man. Yes, she will have to share Superman with the rest of the world but Clark---she'll have you to herself. Although, I'm hoping she'll allow a dinner or two with your mutual best friends."
"So---I shouldn't be nervous or scared about marrying her?"
"Nervous and scared heightens the experience, my friend. Just don't let it throw you off kilter and away from the woman who loves you."
"Okay. Lex?"
"Yes?"
"Were you ever unsure of yourself and Chloe?"
I ponder my answer. "Clark, remember Chloe and my wedding day?"
"Oh---oh yeah. You were a bit nervous."
"So nervous, I got lost in the mansion, after 'somebody' sent people to the wrong church, and we had to have it there."
"Yeah, but it's a big place so even you could get lost there very easily, when you have other things on your mind. Besides it worked out better than the church. Because you had so much room, nobody was left out."
I chuckle at that. "I guess you're right. That said we had obstacles to overcome, even on our wedding day, as you recall."
"Lionel!"
"Lionel," I state. "Let's go down Memory Lane, shall we?"
~
Chloe's POV
"I can't do this!" Lana says, shaking her head and tossing her bouquet onto the table with frustration.
"What do you mean, 'You can't do this'?" I exclaim, picking up the flower arrangement to shove them back in her hands. "Of course you can do this!"
"What if I'm a horrible wife? What if we can't have children? What if he finds someone better than me?" Lana rants all in one breath. "I mean, he flies around the world!" she adds with exasperation.
"Lana," I voice calmly, taking her hands in mine, with the bouquet between our palms. "You and Clark were meant to be together. 'Trust' me," I stress. "When Clark looks at you, the rest of the world doesn't exist."
"Do you honestly mean that?" she inquires, her eyes imploring hopefully.
"Are you kidding?" I state, pulling back with a smirk. "He might be Superman to the rest of the world; strong, sure, and debonair! But when he's with you, Clark Kent is an idiot in love."
Lana blushes a perfect pink, a warm smile gracing her lips as she moves to sit on the chair with all her folds of saffron and lace. "It took him an hour to propose, you know," she says with a fond smile.
"Ha! It took Lex six months to propose to me!" I laugh. "And then after all that waiting, the wedding almost didn't happen at all!"
"I remember," Lana says, nodding her head at the memory.
I snort in a most un-lady like fashion. "You don't know the half of it," I grumble under my breath. "What happened at the ceremony was only the front stage performance," I inform her. "We never told anyone what happened before that."
With Lana looking at me curiously, I took a deep breath and began to explain the second most eventful day of my life.
~
Lex's POV
Clark is sitting down, raptly waiting for me to talk. "Clark, you know most of it except for what happened the day before the wedding. So let me fill you in."
~
"Alexander!"
I turn around to see my father standing there, disapprovingly. "What did Lucas do now?" I ask, with a smile---knowing full well it's not my brother he's unhappy with.
"Alexander, you know it's not Lucas who has warranted my disapproval, this time."
"Whatever," I state, using Chloe's favorite expression.
"There, see---even that word---the woman is not for you, Alexander. She'll change you into a---"
"---human being, Father? Yes, she has done that. Turn me into an upstanding citizen---guilty as charged. Why do you hate her so much?"
"She's turned you against me!"
"Actually, you did that yourself---you never treated anyone right in your whole life. You couldn't even stay loyal to my mother!"
He walks up to me, putting his hand out to touch me. "Lex, it's not too late. Tell her you were wrong to ask her to marry you---tell her that you don't love her."
"You want me to lie to her? You want me to be---that's it----you want me to be alone for the rest of my life. Like you are. That's it, isn't it? Well, too bad. I'm marrying her and going to be happy for the rest of my life. Now get the hell out of my house."
"Lex, you will regret this decision!"
"No, I only regret that you are my father---that we share any genes at all. I will never regret falling in love with a wonderful, spirited, woman. She's my life now---you no longer are. Now leave, Mr. Luthor!"
I watch him walk out the door, knowing it's not over.
"It's not over, is it?" Chloe voices from behind me.
I turn to see her getting out of the chair. I didn't know she was there since it was turned towards the fireplace. I smile at her as I walk over and pull her into a hug. "Probably not but I won't let him ruin our wedding day."
She backs away. "Lex, he won't just try to ruin our wedding, he'll try to ruin our lives. What if---?"
I stop her with a finger over her lips. "I---no---'we' can handle him together. All right?"
"All right," she replies, and snuggles into my embrace.
It almost wasn't 'all right' though.
The Next Day
What else could go askew? The wrong flowers, the guests were directed to the wrong church, the tux's almost didn't get to us and I don't even want to think about Chloe's side of the wedding plans. Damn you to Hell, Father! I know you have your hand in it.
"Calm down, Lex!"
I turn to look at my best man, Clark. "I'm trying to but every time I do, I think about my father again."
"Okay---if you have to think about your father, how about picturing him in boiling oil."
I chuckle at that. "Clark, I am such a bad influence on you."
"Naw---just something my father once said went through my head."
I lift an eyebrow at that and smile. "I knew there was a reason I liked your father. Clark, I---"
"Shush---Lana's---Oh My God, she's so beautiful!"
I look at the petite brunette who is walking down the makeshift aisle as the guests stand on two sides of the grand ballroom. I glance at Clark and know, without a doubt, my best friend is as hopelessly in love with my business partner as I am with the bride to be. She's wearing a blush colored maid of honor dress, with a bouquet of baby's breath and pink carnations. She moves over to the bride's side of the pulpit and gives both of us a wink.
The wedding march begins as Chloe and her father enter the room. I stand there, thinking, 'Chloe is so beautiful, inside and out---God, I am one lucky son of a gun.' She makes her way towards me, her steps purposeful and springy. Then she is finally at my side and gives me a smile through the veil, tiny pearls dotted here and there. She hands her bouquet to Lana and turns back to her father.
Gabe lifts the veil and gives her a tearful kiss. The minister asks who gives her away and he answers. He gives me her hand, gripping my shoulder for a moment. "Take care of my little girl," he says, his voice choked with happy emotion, and sits down.
The ceremony is perfect until the dreaded sentence---if there is anyone who has any objections to this union speak now or forever hold your peace.
"I do!"
We both turn, as does every person in the room, to look at Lionel Luthor standing there. "She's no good, Alexander. She's just like her mother!"
"That's it!" Chloe declares, and walks up to my father to slap him hard enough to make him stagger. "I'm here to stay," she spits at him. "And there's nothing you can do about it!" She makes her way back to me. Her shoulders are squared with dignity, her posture confident and sure. "Okay, shall we continue?" she asks me, her eyes telling me how much she loves me.
"Not yet," I reply. I turn and walk to my father. "Mr. Luthor---you will leave now or I'll be forced to call the police!"
"Lex, she's just marrying you for your money!"
"Oh, then why did she sign a prenuptial agreement? You know, Father, this is low even for you. I know why you're doing this--so I can be an old, frustrated man like you---alone and un-cared for. Well, it's not going to happen," I state, ire in every word.
He backs away from me and stares at Chloe.
"You Bitch! You turned him against me!" he yells.
Now I'm a little scared---he's never shown emotions so forthright before. It's time to stop this. "Take him away!" I state.
"No!" he replies, walking towards Chloe threateningly. I stop him with my hand to his shoulder, and hit him hard and fast. He's on the ground, looking up at me. "Why?"
"Because you threatened my family. Now LEAVE!" I growl.
A couple of men help him up and out of the mansion. I walk back to Chloe and she takes my hand, giving it a kiss to ease the sting in my knuckles.
"So, want to finish what we started?"
I nod and we look back at the minister to continue with the ceremony---with no further interruptions.
~
Back To The Present
"Wow---he really came to your house the day before and told you Chloe wasn't the woman for you. I mean---it's a wonder Chloe didn't punch him too."
"Yes he certainly did. Now you see, Love conquers all---even evil fathers who try to turn you into themselves. So---does your reasons for not being sure about marrying Lana seem a little less important now?"
"Yes---I don't want to be alone for the rest of my life either. And any problems we come across---well, we'll deal with it because, as you say, love conquers all."
"Good---now shall we get out of this room and get you on the road to happiness?"
He nods yes. I place my arm around his shoulder as we walk to the door and make our way to the chapel.
~
Chloe's POV
With Lana looking at me curiously, I sit down in a chair, careful of my gown. I take a deep breath and began to relate the second most eventful day of my life.
"It was the day before the wedding," I start to explain to Lana. "I was sitting in the library enjoying a cup of coffee by the fireplace when I heard Lex come in. I was about to ask him to join me when 'his' voice boomed over the rafters."
I let out a breath and continue. "If I've learned anything about Lionel, it's that the only time he refers to Lex as 'Alexander' is when he's royally pissed off."
She nods her head.
"But I digress. Anyway, I sat hidden from their view listening to all the horrible things Lionel was saying about me, telling Lex how I'm no good for him, how I turned Lex against him, and how Lex should put a stop to the wedding."
"Oh my god, Chloe," Lana breathes with heartfelt sorrow. "That's why he showed up at the church---well, what happened? I didn't notice any injuries on Lionel, but then again, I really wasn't looking for any!"
I chuckle lightly, knowing Lana is trying to ease the tension triggered by remembering that horrible moment. "I wanted to lash out. I wanted to take the poker from the fireplace and stoke 'him' with it! I mean, how dare 'he' accuse me of being no good for Lex when it was I who helped him through so many bad times! Many of which 'he' caused."
For a moment I feel an echo of the sadness I felt that day. "And then I wondered if maybe he wasn't right, maybe I wasn't good enough for Lex. What if I was holding him back from being the man he was meant to be?"
"Oh, Chloe, how could you ever think that?"
"I don't know," I reply, gently wiping a tear, careful not to smear my perfect makeover. "But I would've ran out of that room, out the front door, and I wouldn't have stopped if I had of been able to do it without them seeing me."
"Lionel didn't know you were in the room?"
"No, and neither did Lex. And you know what, Lana? He defended me. He told Lionel right to his face how much he loves me and the only regret in his life was having a father like him. Then he told the bastard to get the hell out of his house because he wasn't a part of his life anymore."
"Wow, Chloe, that explains so much of why Lionel lost it at the wedding."
"Yea," I chuckle again, feeling the darkness lift from my heart. "He tried to ruin our wedding in every imaginable way. We got orchids instead of roses; the photographer was late, a black limo showed up instead of a white one. He went so far as to tell the minister that the wedding had been called off. Lex never found out about that one, by the way," I add in a conspiring whisper.
I let out another breath and continue. "Not to mention the chaos of everyone going to the wrong church. I still don't know how it ended up at the mansion. But when he compared me to my mother that was the last straw. She gave up on her loved ones. I would never give up on mine."
"I can attest to that," Lana voices softly. "We had a rough spot there for awhile because of Clark, but no matter what, you didn't give up on our friendship."
I look thoughtfully at Lana and I can't help but smile. "So, do you, Miss Lana Lang, still think that you can't handle one superhero?"
It was Lana's turn to laugh. "Compared to what you went through to marry Lex, I'm pretty sure I've got it easy."
"Well I wouldn't go that far!" I joke. "But let's get you down the aisle before you start eyeballing those sneakers again!"
Lana stands up, and I follow suit to be pulled into the tightest hug two best friends could ever share. "Thank you, Chloe! I could never ask for a better friend."
"Yea, you could. You're marrying him."
End 1/2