Ch. 17
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A/N: This part takes place a couple of days later.
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A consoling grin curled up one corner of Gabe’s mouth when he saw that Lex was still in the chair next to Chloe’s hospital bed. The young man hadn’t left the hospital since Chloe had been rushed there – instead, he had some clothes and personal affects brought over and was basically living in Chloe’s upgraded room. Lex didn’t seem to notice Gabe in the doorway and Gabe cleared his throat.
“You know, I’m not sure I approve of you and my daughter living together at her age,” Gabe said in a teasing voice. Lex’s head snapped around in his direction and he couldn’t hide the look of surprise that graced his face. What Gabe didn’t know was that the surprise was more because of his comment than his presence there at all. Lex quickly recovered and forced a fake grin to shoot back at the man.
“I’d like your approval, but I don’t need it. Sixteen is the legal age of consent in Kansas,” Lex quipped, mimicking Gabe’s previous tone. Much to Lex’s relief, Gabe chuckled and walked into the room. He stood on the other side of the bed and looked down at his daughter, his face falling into a stoic expression; but Lex knew from his own experience that it was only a defense mechanism Gabe was using to keep from completely breaking down.
‘You’d better not be talking to him about what it sounds like you’re talking about,’ Chloe thought, only catching the very last part of what her dad said and then what Lex responded with as she woke up. Lex let out a breath of relief and grabbed her hand.
‘It would be really great if you’d stop dying on me,’ he thought.
‘Yeah, cuz’ it’s my fault and everything,’ she replied sarcastically. Lex smiled.
“Have the doctors ---?” Gabe trailed off when his eyes drifted up from his daughter and caught Lex holding her hand and staring at her. An uncomfortable feeling crawled across Gabe’s skin and settled in his gut. He knew the look on Lex’s face only too well. He cleared his throat, but Lex didn’t look up at him.
‘Have the doctors --- *what*?’ Chloe asked suspiciously.
“I’ll tell you if you open your eyes,” Lex said. Gabe blinked a couple of times in surprise. Maybe he had misread Lex’s previous expression; maybe Lex was just pleased because he could obviously hear Chloe’s thoughts again.
‘Although, I’m not sure why he would be so happy about that,’ he thought to himself.
“Spoilsport,” Chloe mumbled in a groggy voice as she started to open her eyes. She squinted them and held up her hand to block the harsh light that lit the room. Without saying a word, Gabe quickly walked over and shut off the lights – only allowing the light from the hallway to temper the darkness of her hospital room. “Thanks, Dad.” She turned her head to the side and looked at Lex. “So, the doctors ---?” Lex and Gabe shared a reluctant glance at each other and Chloe narrowed her eyes. “What?” She asked suspiciously.
“Um, the thing is sweetheart,” Gabe started, running a hand around the back of his neck nervously.
‘*Sweetheart*,’ Lex thought, trying to lighten Chloe’s mood before the news was dropped on her.
‘*Dumpling*,’ she retorted and then looked at her dad expectantly. “The thing is ---?”
“Um --- Lex?”
‘Coward,’ Lex thought.
‘I dare you to say that to his face.’
‘I think I’ll pass on that one. I have a feeling that he would kick me out of your room.’
‘Probably,’ Chloe agreed. Lex looked her in the eye and she almost cringed at the seriousness that was etched on his face. She sighed. “Just tell me.”
“The chemical we were exposed to – you were right,” Lex said. Chloe arched an eyebrow, urging him to continue. “It’s affected both of us.” Chloe nodded once.
“More than the telepathy thing. Yeah, I had a feeling,” she said as she tried to push herself up to a sitting position. Lex grinned and pushed the button on the bed railing that would raise the upper portion of the bed. “Thanks. So, what gives?” Lex and Gabe shared another look and Chloe sank back against the bed. “Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” Gabe sighed and moved to sit down on the edge of her bed.
“We don’t know how, but somehow the chemical has tapped into the glands that produce your hormones,” he said. A glint of a smile played at Chloe’s lips.
“So, what? I’m just going to be all PMS-y all the time?” She joked.
“Uh, not exactly,” Gabe said. “You see, in Lex, it increased his levels of testosterone ---” Chloe cut her dad off with an amused snicker and Lex grinned at her.
‘Why does that not surprise me?” She thought.
‘I can’t imagine,’ Lex replied sarcastically.
“In you, however,” Gabe started speaking again. “Instead of just raising one of the hormones that your body naturally produces, it has managed to change the hormone altogether. It combined with the estrogen in your body to make a new compound, and ---” Gabe turned his face away, not wanting to let Chloe see the tears forming in his eyes.
“It’s killing you,” Lex finished for him. Gabe closed his eyes for a second and Chloe saw a single tear roll down his face.
“O-kay,” she strung out. “That’s bad.”
“It is,” Lex agreed. “And despite my threats, so far the doctors haven’t been able to come up with a way to help you.”
‘Your threats, huh?’ Chloe inwardly chuckled. ‘What did you tell them? Or do I even want to know?’
‘The usual,’ Lex thought in a light-hearted tone, ‘I’m the son of the devil, he’ll come after your souls - that sort of thing.’
‘Using your dad as a threat --- interesting. *And* well played I might add.’
‘Thank you, thank you.’
“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry,” Gabe said in a choked voice, bringing Chloe’s attention back to him.
‘He’s not going to start actively crying, is he?’ Chloe asked.
‘It looks like it.’
‘Well, can you just lie to him and tell him the doctors will fix it or something?’
‘I doubt he’d believe me,’ Lex thought.
‘I don’t know --- you can be pretty convincing when you want to be.’
Her sudden sexual undertones didn’t escape Lex’s attention and he smirked at her.
‘You too,’ he thought, copying her tone while rubbing the pad of his thumb in circles on the top of her hand. God, he had missed this. The last few days had been torture, but now – now, Chloe was alright if only for a moment and back into their sexual innuendo-laden banter. It was all Lex could do not to shove Gabe out the door and tell him to come back in an hour. Chloe saw the gleam in his eye and she chuckled aloud before turning her attention back to Gabe.
“I’m sure I’ll be fine Dad,” she said reassuringly.
“Chloe ---”
“Dad, you of all people should know that meteor freaks don’t die in Smallville – well, not unless someone kills them – so what makes you think that ---”
“You’re not a ‘meteor freak’,” Gabe interrupted. Chloe raised her eyebrows and smiled at him.
“Uh-huh,” she said, unconvinced. “What would *you* call it then?”
“You were affected by a chemical at the plant,” Gabe started and watched Chloe’s head nod agreeably with him.
“A chemical that the meteor rocks in my bag fell into,” she reminded him. Lex and Gabe both looked temporarily taken aback by what she had said.
“What?” Lex asked. “Why didn’t you tell me that before?” Chloe shrugged.
“Sorry, I thought you knew. You were there, you saw me pick them up and put them back in my bag.”
“I ---” Lex trailed off, shaking his head absently as he contemplated what Chloe was saying to him. ‘That might be the reason the doctors haven’t been able to come up with anything,’ he thought to himself. Gabe was apparently thinking the same thing.
“They should know,” he said. Lex nodded in agreement and Gabe turned to face Chloe again. “Where are they?”
“They?”
“The meteor rocks,” he clarified.
“In my brown bag at home as far as I know,” she answered.
“Okay. I’ll – um – I’ll be back in a little while, okay sweetie?” Gabe leaned over and kissed her forehead before getting up to leave.
“Okay,” she said and gave him a small wave as he left the room. Lex got up and closed the door, but didn’t turn the lights back on.
“Can I call you *sweetie* now?” He teased.
“Not unless I can call you *dump*, which doesn’t sound nearly as endearing,” she said. Lex snickered and made his way through the dark room to her bedside again. She felt his weight settle down on the side of the bed and she sighed. “So, I’m dying, huh?”
“The doctors don’t know about the meteor rocks yet,” Lex said. “Maybe they can do something.”
“Maybe – if they don’t completely laugh my dad out of the room.”
“They won’t,” Lex assured her. “They’re grasping at straws as it is. They won’t turn down a new theory.”
“You’d be surprised how stubborn people can be about my meteor rock theory though.”
“Poor baby,” he teased. “Feeling neglected, are we?” He could barely make out the line of her smile in the room that was now only lit by the machines that were hooked up to her.
“I don’t know,” she said, her voice taking on a teasing seductiveness. “Are *we*?”
“Mmm,” he agreed as he leaned down to kiss her.
His lips missed their aim, kissing the side of her mouth first, and she smiled. Chloe wound her arms around his neck and they started kissing, their tongues sweeping into each other’s mouths almost ferociously after their period apart.
‘I love you.’
TBC…
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Now, update so us fans can know who said 'I lobe you' .... NOW!!!
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