Survival, NC-17, - Aug. 2, 2009 - Epilogue added

[Claudia]

:yay: :yay: Smoking! This story is keeping me satisfied till Smallville returns.More Chlex,More,More More! :worship2:

[mgabri]

Smoking! This story is keeping me satisfied till Smallville returns.More Chlex,More,More More!

Couldn't agree more :biggrin: I'm so loving this fic. I just love coming home to find a new chapter to this excellent fic. Low-key wedding?? or a very much very publicize wedding.

He had a little sister just a year older than Chloe and he cringed a little to see Lex Luthor’s hand stroke over the young woman’s thigh.

Part of me can't help but agree with Eddie.

[siwla]

QUITE GOOD!! :yay: I´M REALLY ENJOYNG THIS! ONLY THE SUDDEN CHANGE FROM SHY GIRL TO COCK SUCKING VAMP IS A LITTLE UPSETING TO ME, I CAN´T REALLY FEEL IT. BUT THAT´S ME, OK?
GOOD WORK, KEEP THEM COMING!!
THANKS FOR THE FUN,
siwla

[Béatrice]

Aww they're going to get married. I just hope that Lex proposed her not only because he wants to protect her.
Please come back and update. :chlexsign3:

[Kendrix03]

I first read chapter one on fanfiction.net and I'm glad to see all the updates.

I'm really enjoying the plot and the story is well written. However, I think it's for Chloe to undergo a slight character change. Sex with Lex was a great start and it's allowed her to start feeling past her grief. I would love to see an angrier, more bent on revenge Chloe. With all the time she has, she needs to begin researching ways to effectively terminate Lionel and finish school (face reality). She can also work with Lex and hopefully it'll further cement their relationship.

I think the wedding should be very low-key but leaked to the public so that Lionel gets the message.

[autumngold]

I can't wait for your next post!! I love this story so much!! I can't wait for the wedding and Chloe and Lex's marriage!! Please update soon, please!! :chlexsign2:

[ColumbiaBlue]

WOAH! I have no idea how I didn't find this story until now! EXCELLENT!!! Constructive criticism? Um, hun, you don't NEED any. This story is absolutely perfect!!! Lots of yummy Chlexy Bedroom Judo, a wedding, and do I hear the pitter patter of little tiny Lex and Chloe feet in the distance seeing how they've neglected protection twice?

You have to update soon cause I'm waaaaaay addicted to this!

~Manda :

[Queen Of Tact]

I love this fic... Great job hon... You have me waiting on the edge of my seat to read more.....


CC

[S.Ann Smith]

:yay: this is such a well written story.. now hurry along and update

[kitten]

Chapter Six

A/N: A few of your much appreciated reviews asked questions about the plot. I’m not going to answer them but I wanted to acknowledge them anyway. Stay with me, I’ve got things in mind for everything you’re noticing. ; ) My apologies to anyone who was expecting to see a Chlex wedding in this chapter, sadly it was never part of my plan.
As always, constructive criticism is appreciated, or any second opinions on my new signature or avatar. (The width to height ratio looks a little off to me, but I’ve been looking at it so long I’ve gone cross-eyed.)

Chapter Six

Chloe Sullivan stared at the piece of paper in front of her, wondering how much money and influence had been required to produce it. Every signature, down to her own, was perfect and in different circumstances it would have bound her to Lex Luthor forever.

“Why in March? What difference does it make?”

Lex sipped his coffee but never looked away from her face. It was evening, and they had spent a companionable day walking on the beach and discussing their plans. He debated coming up with a lie to preserve the peace but decided she would likely see through it.

“That day your father was still alive to give his signature to allow you to marry me, it coincides with a day neither of us is on the books as working and it also happens to be a day all three of us were in Metropolis.”

Chloe nodded, remembering that trip as a visit to her cousin Lois and a shopping expedition for some new business wear for her father. He had been a guest speaker at a big crap convention somewhere in Canada and he had wanted to look his best.

“Do I have to call myself Luthor?” She tried not to cringe over the name, but from Lex’s hurt expression it hadn’t worked.

Lex quashed his feelings quickly and tried to convince himself he was only slightly insulted by her tone. Chloe had every right to hate the Luthor name, but it was the only thing he could give her that would protect her.

“I wouldn’t insist upon it, but it would look odd if you didn’t acknowledge it at all. As it is we’ll have to do some convincing in Smallville,” he replied.

She blinked a few times and played with the coffee cup in her hands. “I can deal with Sullivan-Luthor,” she offered.

“Done.”

Lex tried to smile reassuringly through his nervous queasiness. They had hashed out most of the details of their marriage fairly quickly. They would live at the mansion in Smallville full-time, with visits to the Metropolis penthouse. She would continue high school with two guards at her side whenever she was away from Luthor property. Her previous wardrobe and her beetle would be put into storage and replaced with the expected, pricier accouterments of the wife of an extremely wealthy man.

Chloe had signed the prenuptial agreement that would allow her to keep all of her personal possessions before and during their marriage in the event of their divorce, as well as a substantial support package. She had balked at the latter, a rare and oddly pleasant experience for him. Usually women were asking for more and wheedling for gifts, not insisting on financial independence. However, no one would believe Lex Luthor had married without a comprehensive plan to provide for his spouse under any contingency.

Her hesitation had been much greater when she saw the new version of his will. Lex had had to ask his lawyer to wait in another room for over an hour while he explained that his protection was based both on her position as his wife and her legal position as the heir of Luthorcorp. With Lionel in prison, possession of his empire went to his son, and in turn to his daughter-in-law. Family pride and chauvinism would prevent the older man from killing his son only to see the company fall to an inexperienced young bride or to a pack of grasping shareholders if she died as well.

Chloe felt terribly overwhelmed. In a single day she had become a very wealthy, married woman without even having been near a church in years. Lex had said the wedding was only a formality in making a marriage legal, and there were several people who would ‘witness’ their union if it should come into question. Apparently they had been wed in a civil ceremony in the afternoon with her father and two witnesses in attendance.

“We won’t need to do a lot of social things will we?”

She knew Lex spent a lot of time making business contacts and charitable contributions at functions in Metropolis and around the world and she could likely hold her own at any of them, but the thought of trying to was too much at the moment.

Lex put his cup down and made an uncertain gesture, knowing he would have to give her an answer she didn’t want to hear.

“I’ll try to get us out of as many things as possible but we will have to make public appearances together,” he said. “I know you’re grieving, Chloe, and I promise I will make this as painless as possible.”

She nodded and smiled bravely. “I know. It’s okay.”

“I’m going to have someone come down here to provide you with a wardrobe. I’ll go back to Smallville tomorrow and get things arranged there,” Lex said, looking her in the eye to make sure she understood the importance of what he was telling her. “I’ll have someone leak the marriage license and the photos at midnight tomorrow. If you change your mind you need to let me know before then.”

Mid-sip, Chloe stopped and lowered her cup, giving him an odd smile. “I don’t think I will. I’m not sure why, I’m jittery as hell about all of this,” she gestured in a circle, “but I don’t think I’ll be changing my mind.”

Lex swallowed hard, feeling touched but ridiculous as he realized Chloe’s simple words had affected him more than the most romantic sentiment he’d ever received. She didn’t love him but she trusted him, which was more than he’d received from any woman in years.

“By Monday morning it will be everywhere. I’ll triple your security for the flight but you should be prepared to answer questions,” he said.

Chloe’s lips quirked. “Do you want to make a wager on how many people are going to think I’m pregnant once they find out?”

Lex grinned at her, pleased to see hints of her sense of humour returning. “I’ll bet a million the Kents will be knocking down my door to rescue you the second you get there.”

Chloe sobered. “Have they heard anything about Clark yet?”

Lex thought back to his last meeting with Jonathan and Martha Kent. Both of them had brusquely accepted his offer of help before hurrying him back to his car, and there had been no sign of their son.

“The police are still investigating, but the sheriff took a look at his file and is telling people it’s likely he ran away like last summer. I offered my assistance to Jonathan and Martha but they weren’t interested,” he told Chloe.

“They’re guarding a lot of secrets. I hope he’s okay.”

“I do too.”

The silence stretched out between them as they toyed with the cooling cups of coffee and avoided eye contact. When Chloe pulled her legs up onto the chair, huddling in on herself, Lex looked up to see tears rolling down her cheeks. He fumbled for a handkerchief and pushed his chair out, stepping behind her and handing it over her shoulder before rubbing her shoulders. He looked out the window to the sun setting over the ocean, surprised to find he was near tears as well. He had to make this right for her and rid her of this heartbreaking sadness.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++

Lionel Luthor stared down the man standing rather fearfully in front of him, pleased that he could instill fear even from a prison cell. His decision to crop his long mane of pampered hair had the desired effect, and his payment of turkish cigarettes to his “barber” had garnered goodwill within the general population.

The guards were afraid of him, intimidated by his money and his bearing. They had learned to recognize problem prisoners by their capacity to cause trouble and a disregard for the rules. Possessed of money, power and an upper-class feeling of entitlement, Luthor was marked as the most likely cause of upheaval in the facility.

He relished his innate power as he watched the nervous shuffling of the lawyer on the other side of the plastic wall. The man had brought a briefcase and clutched it with white knuckles in both hands, seemingly holding it in front of his crotch like some kind of shield. He probably just brought it to beat off the lustful attentions of the inmates, Luthor thought with amusement.

Quelling the smirk he felt pulling at his lips, Lionel Luthor gestured to the man. “You have the picture?”

As with any question he asked, the only correct answer was the one he wanted to hear.

“Yes sir, right here.” The lawyer, whose name escaped his employer at the moment, reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a print. He fumbled as he realized he could neither place it on a desk or hand it to the exacting millionaire.

“Good. Press it against the glass.” Lionel resisted rolling his eyes, as he resisted most of his usual mannerisms. He no longer had his long mane of hair to belie his age, or his manicured nails to lend grace to his gestures. The preening motions he had used to dominate the outside world had been replaced by his clenched fists and sharply turning head. He wasn’t afraid in prison, but he wasn’t relaxed either.

The twitchy lawyer flattened the photo onto the glass at the level of his collarbone, maintaining his distance by stretching his arm to its full length. He was relieved to have the older man’s eyes off of him.

Lionel scanned the photo three times before zeroing in on the details. His son was cradling the prone body of a pale Chloe Sullivan, carrying her up the stairs of a small charter plane. There were at least five bodyguards crowding the edges of the photo, and he spared a moment to congratulate Lex and his young friend on their wisdom upon receiving a second chance. Extra security was a good idea. It wouldn’t be good enough to stop him, but it was a concession to reality that his son had long avoided.

He squinted at the girl’s hands, but they were covered by a blanket and the print was clearly an enlargement from a distant shot.

Lionel sneered. He had been surprised to hear the news, genuinely shocked for the first time in decades, and he was enraged by the feeling. This had gone on long enough. His son’s clumsy attempts to land him in prison were never supposed to be anything more than distractions that kept him from causing too much unexpected trouble. With the addition of Clark Kent’s testimony and Chloe Sullivan’s betrayal too much damage had been inflicted on the image of Luthorcorp and he had been confined. It was unforgivable.

“What about the documents,” he barked at the lawyer.

More fumbling ensued as the harried man produced a certificate and pressed it to the glass next to the photo. Lionel read it with interest, looking for any signs of tampering.

State of Kansas marriage license, dated March 15, 2004, and signed by Alexander Luthor and Chloe Sullivan with parental permission from Gabriel Sullivan, he read. The ides of March, nice touch son, he mused. If the document was authentic, Chloe Sullivan had been his daughter-in-law for exactly two months before the explosion he had ordered injured her and killed her father.

“Find out if it’s legitimate and don’t come back until you know.”

The lawyer scurried out, wondering how someone in an orange jumpsuit could issue an order like that and make it sound like he was banishing you from the corner office.

Lionel watched his escape before strolling back to his cot. Perhaps I’m about to be a grandfather, he thought.

When he punched out a few hours later, one of the guards made a note of the wide smile that had covered Luthor’s face at that moment in his daily log.