Title: A Thanksgiving Prayer
Author: Kathy
Rating: PG 13
Pairings: Chlex marriage
Spoilers: None this short story is totally AU
Category: Romance/General
Summary: Chloe and Lex share a Thanksgiving Day with her dad.
Disclaimer: This story is purely for fun and no profit. I don't own Smallville or any of its characters.
A/N: I was inspired by the November Challenge but I missed the Nov. 20th deadline and so I decided to make this a Holiday themed short story instead. I'm anxious for feedback, so please leave some. And lastly, to all my fellow Americans, Happy Thanksgiving
A Thanksgiving Prayer
Chloe Sullivan Luthor knelt down on the cold ground beside her father's grave, a bouquet of chrysanthemums clutched tightly in her hand. Lex was beside her, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, silently giving her strength.
She turned and gave him a watery smile that damn near broke his heart, but he nodded, and whispered to her, "I'll be right over here if you need me" before standing up and stepped back.
Chloe reached out and laid her flowers next to the gravestone, running her fingers over her father's name before she finally spoke.
"Hi Dad, Happy Thanksgiving. I know that it's been awhile since I'd visited, but I have great news."
~~~
Gabe Sullivan had supported Chloe and Lex's relationship from the very beginning because he knew in his heart that they would bring out the best in each other.
Lex needed to know that he had someone in his life that held him to a higher standard then what had been set by his father, and Chloe needed someone to pull her back when she'd gone too far chasing a story.
They balanced each other out and Gabe could plainly see how deeply they loved each other.
When Chloe was a freshman at Metropolis University, he gave his blessing to their dating and it was in Chloe’s senior year when Lex came to him, wanting permission to ask Chloe to marry him.
Gabe knew that neither Lex nor Chloe needed his permission to do anything, but he appreciated the gesture.
But it was when Chloe had come to tell him the news of her engagement, her face beaming with happiness, that he'd broken down in tears. His baby was getting married and nothing would ever be the same again.
The day of Chloe and Lex's wedding, Gabe couldn't seem to stop crying, even when Lois asked him where his skirt was. Chloe had shushed her, while Lex had just smiled at his blubbering, but when it came time for the married couple to leave for their honeymoon, Chloe found herself crying as much as her dad was when she hugged him good bye.
~~~
Lex and Gabe always had a very cordial working relationship, but Lex figured that had fallen by the wayside when he'd begun to date the man's daughter, but nothing could have been farther from the truth.
Gabe treated him like a son, talking with him about baseball and asking for stock tips, and Lex was glad for it because it meant that Gabe trusted him with Chloe. He trusted Lex to love and protect her, and to do right by her, and Lex was humbled by that trust.
The day that they buried Gabe, Lex made a silent vow, promising his father in law's spirit that his faith in him was justified and that he would never let Chloe down.
~~~
Chloe had been stunned into silence when she received the call from the Smallville Medical Centerthat her father was no longer alive.
It was simply impossible that her dad, who was so full of life, always ready with a joke or a smile, could have died as suddenly as he did.
But it was true, and Chloe could feel the numbness go through her as the initial shock wore off.
She didn’t think she was strong enough to get through it, but somehow she did. She leaned on Lois and Clark and especially Lex. He was by her side the entire time, helping to make calls, and plan the funeral Mass. He'd listen to her every angry outburst or when she'd start crying, and he never flinched or turned away.
It sometimes felt like it just happened yesterday, but Chloe was shocked to see that two years had passed since she’d buried her dad.
However, it was when she learned that she was pregnant, that her dad's death had hit her the hardest. He would have been one of the first people she would have wanted to tell and it absolutely devastated her that her dad would never see her child.
~~~
It was a coldly crisp Thanksgiving Day, a day that would have been perfect for Chloe and Lex to attend the Metropolis Thanksgiving Day Parade and instead, they were vising a cemetery.
He didn’t want to intrude on her privacy so he stood a little away from Chloe while she spoke to her father at his grave. But he still kept a careful eye on his wife in case she needed him.
Lex tried not to dwell on how surreal it all was that this was one of the happiest days in his life. Chloe was going to have a baby and they were finally going to be a real family, but they couldn’t be entirely happy either because their beloved parents wouldn’t be around to enjoy their grandchild.
He thought about his own mother, and the flowers he left on her grave, and hoped that wherever they were, Gabe and Lillian were proud of their children.
~~~
Chloe took a deep breath before she started to speak again. "Lex and I are going to have a baby, Dad, isn't that wonderful news?"
She could feel the familiar tightening in her chest but she refused to give into the tears. “I know you would have loved the opportunity to spoil this baby rotten.”
Despite her best efforts, some tears escaped anyway, and Chloe brushed them away impatiently. “I miss you Dad, and I think about you everyday.”
She glanced out of the corner of her eye and she could see Lex standing valiantly behind her, so she lowered her voice to a whisper. “I could really use your help though. I don’t want Lex to know, but sometimes I’m scared.”
She closed her eyes at her own words, but once they were spoken out loud, she gained some more courage. “Scared that I’m going to do something wrong and hurt the baby somehow.”
And before she’d even realized it, she was crying in earnest. “Please Dad, I need you help. Please, please look out for this baby. I don’t think I could take it if something happened...”
Before Chloe could even finish speaking, Lex was beside her, hugging her tight and murmuring soothing words to her. “Nothing is going to harm our baby, Chloe. I won’t allow it!”
Even in her worry and sorrow, Chloe’s gallows humor made itself known. She couldn’t help but tease her husband, “Typical Luthor response. You think you can threaten the Grim Reaper himself.”
But Lex wasn’t fooled by his wife’s light tone. “I swear it Chloe. I won’t allow anyone or anything to hurt our baby.”
Chloe swallowed back her tears and nodded, too overwhelmed to speak. Lex would fight heaven and hell both to keep his family safe, and she prayed it wouldn’t come to it.
But his words helped to ease the ever present knot of worry she could feel in her stomach. She should have confided her worries to him sooner but she’d been afraid to give voice to them.
Now they were out there and they would have to deal with them.
Lex rose to his feet and helped Chloe to hers before he turned to Gabe’s grave. “I’m sorry to cut your visit short Gabe, but we’re going to the Kents for Thanksgiving dinner and we don’t want to be late.”
He looked at Chloe, and he could see how pale and exhausted she looked, but he could also see that the spark of light in her eyes that had been dimmed since her father’s untimely death begin to return.
He and Chloe still had a lot to discuss but Lex could feel his hope for the future returning. He smiled in relief, and tucked Chloe’s hand under his arm as they walked out of the cemetery together.
They would go to the Kent farm and give thanks for their friends and family and tomorrow they would start working towards their new future.
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I should go and celebrate somehow!
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