Alimony, PG-13 (April 7)

Alimony
PG-13 rated Fanfiction
Spoilers: Up to Helen’s last appearance on Smallville, Phoenix, 3.2.

Disclaimer: Smallville, the characters therein, and all affiliated copyrighted materials are owned by the WB. This is a work of fanfiction not intended for profit or infringement, only for the pleasure of fans of the series.

Distribution: I have posted these stories and have control of them on this site. I don't want them to be posted anywhere else unless I'm the one posting them. Please take down my stories if you have them posted on another archive site. I understand I can't stop you from doing this but I hope by asking politely you'll respect my work and my wishes. If anyone has more comfort and convenience saving the text of a story to their own computer, I have no problem with that.

A/N: I know I saw this challenge somewhere but I can’t find it now and thus I don’t know if it’s already been written. Suffice it to say I’m probably taking some license simply because I can’t remember the specifics very well, and if I step on any toes I apologize. (If someone can find the challenge for me that would be much appreciated. I call it the prove I’m not crazy contest, though the only real prize is my thankings.) *I take this back. I found the challenge. It was by Reese and I was pretty close to what it was, though my memory was off a bit.*

The Challenge: As best as I can remember Chloe was supposed to be in a relationship with Lex and in love with him. So in love that she feels the need to track down Helen Bryce for whatever reason. She finds her, in secret from Lex, and they have a discussion. I know I’m leaving bits out, maybe important ones, but that’s all I’ve got. Maybe I hallucinated the whole thing and this is my plot bunny, Pete’s sneaky way of making me write.

The Real Challenge by Reese: Chloe tracks down Helen. I don't care how or why, really, but I just see the investigative reporter in Chloe (and the part of her that secretly loves and wants to protect Lex) wanting to get answers of what happened to Helen Bryce. You fill in the rest...


Alimony


Her sneakers made less noise than the nurse’s white tennis shoes, but Chloe was still feeling a bit conspicuous as she followed her down the hallway. She had been careful, obsessively so, and Lex hadn’t seemed suspicious but he was a good actor. His reaction to her long weekend plans had been low-key, as usual. They wouldn’t have been if she had told the truth.

Pushed by a desire she couldn’t define, she had found out where his latest ex-wife was living and arranged to meet with her.

Helen Bryce-Luthor had been stripped of her medical license and was currently persona non grata in the places she had been raised and educated. No one wanted to be associated with yet another treacherous ex-wife of Lex Luthor. Since bailing out from Lionel’s private jet, she had been living in an out of the way long-term care facility just outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her settlement from Lex was paying the bills, as her family was unwilling to do so.

The walls were white, the floor and ceiling tiles were white, and the nurses’ uniforms were uniformly white. Everything was a little fuzzy as a result, a kind of magic eye trick that was probably meant to induce calm but only induced fatigue.

Chloe tried not to glance into the private rooms but most doors were left open. There were elderly people propped up in front of televisions or playing cards from beds pushed close together. She was okay with that. It was a first-rate facility and a relatively nice place to be if you were an old person who needed a lot of help.

The rooms with younger people were worst, because she knew those people didn’t belong. Some were mentally challenged or suffered from diseases that stripped them of their physical functions while their minds continued on. She wondered if they had ever been healthy and able to enjoy the things she took for granted, and wondered if knowing what they were missing was a blessing or a curse.

Wondered how Helen was coping with her life now.

The nurse guiding her though the hallways stopped and Chloe looked at her uncertainly. The woman smiled in a way that didn’t give any warmth or personality to her face and indicated a door standing half-closed to the left.

“She knows to expect you.”

The blond felt a bit abandoned as the woman continued down the hallway, but squared her shoulders resolutely. She wouldn’t chicken out because it was uncomfortable.

“Hello?”

Chloe knocked on the door and pushed it open slowly, peering into the room it revealed. There was a small bathroom through another open door, the remainder of the room an l-shaped bedroom that was thankfully painted in a shade of dark green. She took a few steps in and paused, though she couldn’t have said whether it was in the hope that it was the right or wrong room.

“Come in.”

She hadn’t known Helen very well during her time in Smallville, nor had she really seen the woman up close. Chloe had been one of the few people connected to the Kents who wasn’t invited to the wedding. What she did know of her lover’s former wife was gleaned from the few public outings Lex and Helen went on. She had seemed attractive in a cool, dignified way. Her body language hadn’t been convincing of a woman in love, but Lex tended to be guarded in public and his tastes had always been inscrutable.

And it was infinitely different to see someone in a wheelchair.

Her escape from the airplane hadn’t been unscathed and Helen had been paralyzed from the waist down. The tall, graceful posture and smooth stride Chloe had admired was absent in this woman who sat in a motorized wheelchair facing the window. The economical movements of her hand as she manipulated a joystick and turned the chair were all that was left.

“Thank you for seeing me.”

“It’s not as if I could run, is it?”

The brunette’s eyes were cold and haughty and it made Chloe feel grubby in her jeans, sweater and sneakers. Helen was dressed in a linen pantsuit that emphasized her very tight figure. She still looked dignified and tailored, but there was a age in her face that made her look a bit beaten down.

“Why did you agree to see me,” Chloe asked, sincerely curious. The woman was in hiding under an assumed name. It should have sent her into a panic to have a stranger call for her, least of all one from Smallville.

A shrug and toss of the hair. “My chances of evading capture forever were pretty low. I was curious to see who would bother to look for me. Even the Luthors’ employees stopped trying a while ago. Unless you’re . . .”

Chloe shook her head and perched on a chair against the wall across from the bed.

“Not anymore at least,” she said.

Helen’s eyes narrowed in slight recognition.

“The high school newspaper. Lex talked about you. He admired your work, said you were very good for your age. He respected you. I thought it was just professionally.”

Chloe refused to acknowledge the patronizing reference to her youth. She knew what she was and this woman’s attitude didn’t change that.

Her tone was flip as she answered. “At that time it was. It’s not anymore.”

Lips covered in designer colour with razor sharp precision pressed tightly together and Helen nodded.

“How is Lex?”

“He’s fine, thanks,” Chloe smiled. “Running LuthorCorp suits him.”

The other woman glance out the window for a long moment before commenting offhand.

“I’d say I’m happy for him, but I don’t want to be insincere.”

“That’s fine. I don’t want your good wishes. I certainly don’t have any to extend to you. I have a deal for you.”

Chloe crossed her legs and lowered her purse to the floor, getting comfortable. It didn’t seem like Helen was going to kick her out without listening to her offer.

“What do you want from me? You’ve got Lex, he’s wealthy beyond any possible consideration. You’re pretty. A bit young for him, but there’s something about you that makes you his speed . . . I’m sure he’d buy you whatever you wanted. I don’t even have working legs.”

The blond reporter wasn’t unmoved by the anguish hinted at in the last statement, but she had a larger purpose in visiting Lex’s ex-wife.

“But I want what he’s already given to you - his name.”

“We’re divorced,” she said, blinking as if the light was hurting her eyes. “You can’t believe he has any interest in me.”

“I know he doesn’t, but you’re still calling yourself Bryce-Luthor. It’s a bit premature of me and definitely conceited, but I want to be the only woman who is a hyphenate Luthor.”

Helen scoffed and shook her head bitterly.

“i suppose you want me to give back the settlement money as well, leaving me with nothing and out on the street.”

Chloe leaned forward and tried to find the words to express how she had come to be there.

“No. I don’t care about the money,” she said vehemently. “My concern is your continued presence in my life with Lex.”

“Listen, I know he’s good in bed and all, but he’s no prince. He did this to me,” Helen replied as she ran a hand over her thigh and back onto the arm of the wheelchair.

“You did it to yourself.”

The teenager stood up and walked nearer, leaning against the windowsill and fixing angry green eyes on the older woman.

“I’m not here to debate this. You’re one state away from us and it’s too close. Lex is no longer actively looking for you, but it would be too easy for him to find you by chance and that would be upsetting for him. It’s better for all three of us that you were gone for good.”

She looked nervous now and Chloe relished it for a moment. She had tried to kill Lex, and she didn’t deserve to feel safe.

“I can get security in here-”

Chloe’s hands came up flat in front of her body and she rolled her eyes.

“I’m not threatening you. This is an offer. I keep Lex from ever looking for you again, you keep the settlement money and disappear. Change your name, give up Lex’s and I’ll forget there was ever such a person as Helen Bryce-Luthor. I’ll make sure he forgets as well.”

There was jealousy glinting in her brown eyes as Helen caught her inference of the wanton means Chloe would employ, then it was washed away. She was still an intelligent women, one who had few options.

“You’re just his girlfriend,” she said contemptuously. “Lex has had plenty of those. What kind of guarantee do I have that you’ll be around to deliver your part?”

She pulled her key chain out of her pocket, put it on the windowsill between them and waited for Helen to reach for it.

“That key, the gold-coloured one? It’s my key to his mansion. He tried to give me a huge bundle of them for all sorts of different rooms and I told him I didn’t want that - I won’t put up with constraints on where in his life he’s willing to let me be.”

French-tipped hands gripped the key in question and Chloe earned an admiring look.

“Risky.”

“Yes. I was scared out of my mind when he took the keys back. But then he gave me that one and said it would open all the doors. Told me I could go wherever I wanted. That’s your guarantee.”

They both watched the key as if it would do something except rest in Helen’s hand, and then the older woman nodded.

“I believe you.” Her mouth dropped into sad wistfulness as she handed the keys back. “I really did love him. Sometimes I wonder . . . But it’s too late to wonder.”

The brunette drove the chair a few inches, turning slightly back to the window. She looked out hard into the unremarkable view.

“I’m not here to rub your nose in it,” Chloe said. As long as there was an understanding there could be kindness. She didn’t feel any need to punish Helen more than had already occurred.

“No, you don’t need the satisfaction when you’re really happy. You don’t need revenge when you’re in love.”

Her tone was philosophical, but Chloe could tell she was tired. It was time to leave.

“I should thank you for one thing,” she said, letting genuine gratitude shine through.

“I can’t imagine what that might be,” Helen said dryly.

The blond woman picked up her purse and stood facing her, smiling at her turned back.

“You loved him too much to kill him and it destroyed your plans. It proved to him that love exists. He needed that or he wouldn’t have been able to let me love him now.”

There was a choked sound from Helen and a strange pause before she chuckled and shook her head. Chloe could see a smile pass over her profile.

“Again, I’d like to be able to say I’m happy for you, but I’m really not.”

“That’s okay.”

There wasn’t any prescribed way to say farewell to a boyfriend’s ex-wife so Chloe just left. She walked through the white on white hallways past the vanilla ice cream cone nurses and out into the fresh air.

The sunlight was a welcome change and she stretched her arms up to welcome its heat. The oppressively clean, controlled environment of the hospital was losing its hold on her. Sitting on the hood of the car, she took out her cellphone and dialed a familiar number. Lex answered on the second ring.

“Hi, it’s me,” she said brightly.

Lex actually laughed and she knew he hadn’t been checking up on her. He had no idea where she was and it was for the best.

“I know it’s you. That’s why I answered.”

He leaned back in his chair and put his pen down, knowing he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the documents he was signing while Chloe’s voice was in his ears.

“Are you having fun,” he asked.

“Should I be? I thought I was supposed to miss you.”

Her lips quirked and she imagined his were doing the same.

“Depends on the kind of fun. Wholesome, journalistic fun you should be having. I’d be put out if you were having raunchy, drunken, sexual fun. I know all about reporters and their wild goings-on.”

Chloe preened at his playful jealousy and replied snarkily.

“Okay, well, I’m having one of those kinds of fun. Which was the bad one?”

“Not funny,” he said, his tone a mockery of the commanding air he once tried to use to intimidate her.

“It wasn’t a joke,” she breezed. “I’m having the wholesome, journalistic kind. Thank you for asking.”

“Not at all.”

He paused and when he spoke again his voice was a bit softer.

“When are you getting home?”

“Tomorrow. I have a flight tonight with a couple of layovers in weird places I’ve never heard of with names like Little Tumbleweed. I should get back by late afternoon.”

In reality Chloe had to drive her rental car back to Iowa through Missouri and then get on the flights that would return her to Kansas. It was the same circuitous route that had ensured no one would follow her.

“You could have taken the jet,” Lex said.

She shook her head in amusement.

“Your private jets are cursed. Commercial airlines are fine, there just aren’t a lot of flights in some states. I guess the airlines don’t really think of farmers as big travelers.”

He had to give her that one. “Fair enough. I’ll see you when you get in, but I have to get back to work right now.”

“I know,” she said, lips curving into a smile of admiration. She was proud that he was so dedicated to his career, almost as proud as she was of his dedication to her.

But there were still things that caused doubt, little things that weren’t as easy and carefree as she wanted them to be. Times when she had to steel herself to carry on.

“I love you,” she said, ignoring the tension she always felt between thinking the words and saying them. Ignoring the risk that he wouldn’t return that love.

Lex smiled and his tone turned honey sweet for a brief, precious moment. He had been disappointed that Chloe was going to a student journalism conference during her winter break instead of spending that time with him. There were so few hours in the day he had to spend with her exclusively.

But he had sucked it up, been supportive, and now he was glad that he hadn’t made a big deal about it. She sounded calm and satisfied, and it was gratifying that he hadn’t stood in her way. Chloe was going many places and it wasn’t in him to hold her back.

“I love you, too.”

She hadn’t taught him how to say it, had another woman to thank for that. Sometimes it chaffed her ego a bit, but most of the time Chloe was just happy to hear it. It was a gift Helen had given them, even if she didn’t know it at the time, and the debt was now repaid.

“I’ll be there soon,” she said before hanging up and putting the cellphone away. Taking one last look at the hospital, Chloe drove home.

hmmm..... very interestin! I am of two minds about this fic, cuz mostly I just wanna tear that hellen bitches head off for what she did. But this reaction from chloe is strangely in tune somehow. But I cant help but wonder that leaving helen alive is a bad thing.

anyways. great fic!

Interesting story I hope Lex won't get all paranoid when he finds out where Chloe really was.

I really liked this. It is a fresh and interesting perspective. I totally understand Chloe's thoughts, you made them seem so clear. Very nice work. The end was perfect.

I liked it a lot, very different. I have to commend Chloe, she did everything she needed to and did it without having to get nasty. And I totally agree with her reasons for going...I don't think I'd want an ex-wife running around with my husband's name either. Good job!!

Steph*

For some reason or the toher I just can't hate Helen as I used to. i don't know whether to thank you or hate you till I die... Anyway, Chloe and Lex were great!

Oh, write more soon.

Wow that was really deep. I am glad chloe is able to move on beyond Helen.


Hope :)

I'm scared for Chloe, but just because I can't picture Lex not checking up on her travel plans!! Excellent story!! I love Lex and Chloe's phone conversation!!

*does the nonky-took-my-challenge happy dance*

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And it was infinitely different to see someone in a wheelchair.

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Hello! Didn't see that one coming. I'm glad she suffered in some form or fashion after jumping out of that plane though, I have to say.

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...but I want to be the only woman who is a hyphenate Luthor."

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Now that's a Chloe line if I ever heard (er...read) one!

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"No, you don’t need the satisfaction when you’re really happy. You don’t need revenge when you’re in love."

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*sigh* Now that's just a good line...and so true.

What a great twist on what could happen between these two. I have to say, I hated what Helen did and all, but I was happy to see the way you had the two of them interact. I'm glad neither of them was the typical bitch but yet they didn't become best friends either...you took a more realistic (yet still somehow positive) approach.

Thanks :)

So good! What Chloe did takes balls. But in my opinion she should have killed that bitch. That Helen is not the type of woman to let anything go. Go, back a Kill her Chloe. Great piece of fanfic. :wub:

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Originally Posted by nonky

“No, you don’t need the satisfaction when you’re really happy. You don’t need revenge when you’re in love.”

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Great line. Very eloquent, simple, and true--even if it was Helen who said it.

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He leaned back in his chair and put his pen down, knowing he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the documents he was signing while Chloe’s voice was in his ears.

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This made me feel all mushy for some reason--adorable Lex couldn't focus on work while he's talking to Chloe. Couldn't even sign his own name.

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“I love you,” she said, ignoring the tension she always felt between thinking the words and saying them. Ignoring the risk that he wouldn’t return that love.

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*sighs* So psychologically astute. Plus, very touching.

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Lex smiled and his tone turned honey sweet for a brief, precious moment.

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*shudders imagining his voice*

This was a unique, thoughtful story, and I'm so glad you wrote it. I hardly ever think about Helen, but this was a realistic, fascinating take on the situation.

Very nice. I love how possessive Chloe is of Lex, not even wanting to share his name. Beautiful.

wow. that was so mature and thoughtful. very nice. thanks for sharing.

perfect. chlex forever.

Sneaky of Chloe to do that. I always tried to put hope that Helen just died when she jumped out of the plane that time. I know that sounds bad to hope, but she tried to murder someone. She also sold out the Kents to Lionel. None of those were good things in my book.

Nice work on the story.

again with the sweet. Yay so nicely done, scary exwive types.

Thanks
N

Interesting! Great fic! Love the end!

Still one of my favorites