I must have missed the last update of this somehow. The talk between Lex and Ben was the cutest thing in the world. And that fantasy was hot and really well done with the switching back and forth. Now it's been a while since you updated so I'm sure the next part is coming soon, isn't it?
Re: Home - NC-17
It was hot but very cute! Another great chapter!!!
Aaaargh! I'm hooked!
Someone kick me outta here, i should be working and not reading and waiting for updates!
BTW: Update coming soon? *puppy eye* :-)
lex and ben are so sweet
Re: Home - NC-17
Me too. How am I supposed to get any work done when I have to check for an update every second hour (I'm more the hoping kind of person :-)) ???Originally Posted by ptite_mily
It warms my heart to find that I'm not six pages back after my unwilling hiatus! I've started the next update, and it's all plotted in my head, so I should have it up by Tuesday or Wednesday. Thanks for all the lovely replies!
Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaasssssseeee update... I'm dying here....
-Lily
Tuesday or Wednesday? There IS a silver lining - YAY! Can't await it :-))
I just loved the last ch... Lex and ben were so cute together.... I can't wait for another update.......
CC
"I am scared that I'm always going to be somebody's friend or sister or confidant, but never quite somebody's everything."
Better late than never, right? ...sorry for the delay!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chloe jumped out of bed to turn off the alarm clock. She was halfway there when she realized that the noise that had jolted her awake was actually the phone. She hurried back and stabbed the button to answer the cordless that lay next to her bed.
"Hlo?" Her voice was scratchy, so she cleared her throat and tried again. "Hello?"
"So are you or aren't you?"
"What?"
"Are. You. Or. Aren't. You?"
"Lex, it is…" She crossed the room so she could see the clock in the bathroom. "3:00 in the morning. What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Don't be snippy with me. I asked you to tell me when you found out if you were carrying my child or not, and I haven't heard anything about it."
Chloe walked back to her bed in silence and crawled under the blankets.
"Chloe?"
"What?"
"Are you or aren't you?"
"Oh, sorry. I'm not." She heard a sigh, then an amused hiss.
"Are you actually awake?"
"Getting there." There was a loud honk and then the sound of a departing vehicle over the line. "Where are you?"
"Grandville. The payphone outside the Shell station. I needed a safe line."
"So you drove to Grandville? Why didn't you just ask me today? Or stop by my office in, you know, six hours?" Despite her groggy state, her heart warmed a bit to know he had been worrying about her.
"I couldn't sleep. I wanted to know." Another car went by. "I also had another question."
"Okay."
"Tell me about Ben's father."
"Umm…" Her groggy brain struggled with the random question. "Boring sex, kind of a redneck, idiot. There's not much to tell."
"You said he was married."
"Yeah. Well, he got married while we were together. His wife has to be totally blind. He was sleeping with me, a friend of mine, her husband, and another guy, and she still married him."
"He was what?"
"Yeah, I know. Anyway, I haven't seen him since I told him I was pregnant. I don't even think about him."
"What's his name?"
Chloe hesitated, a smile playing around the edges of her mouth. She knew where this was going, and as tempting as it was…
"You wouldn't know him."
"I'd like to. What's his name?"
"Lex, I know what you're thinking."
"Name."
"No."
"Chloe…"
"Who knew you'd be so comfortable with kids?" She laughed at his silence, picturing the annoyed look on his face at the change of subject. "Ben was quite impressed with you."
"No thanks to Mr. Ross, apparently."
"Oh, God, you two… " she said, laughing harder. "Keep my son out of your blood feud, please."
"My apologies," he replied, chuckling. "Ben is very quick. My nephew is five, and I don't think he speaks as well."
"Nephew?" This was new.
"Lucas' son, Duncan. He also has a three year old daughter, Danielle." Lex's voice was that of a doting uncle, and Chloe unexpectedly felt tears spring up.
"I didn't know Lucas was still around here."
"He's not. He and his wife pose as the caretakers at my home in Miami. I try to make it down there every six weeks or so. I never thought I'd find myself bowing to anyone's whims, but I guess I'd never really considered children in my life."
"Here I thought you were all alone in the world," Chloe managed around the lump in her throat.
"Oh, no. I have the Dunlevy family every six weeks. If I can manage a cup of coffee with the Sullivans on the opposite six, I should be able to manage genuine human contact at least every three weeks." His voice was dry; Chloe wondered if it was the late hour that allowed him to permit the hint of self-pity to his tone. Her silence must have been telling. "That was a joke."
"I know. But it still blows." They sat quietly, listening to each other breath. After a few long moments, she heard him yawn.
"You should get home. I don't want you falling asleep on the road."
"I should. I have an early meeting."
"I'd say to call me when you get home, so I'd know you made it, but…" She sighed. "Drive safely, okay?"
"Okay. Good night, then."
"Good night."
"Oh, Chloe?"
"Yes?"
"Name?"
"Goodnight, Lex!"
The next morning when Chloe got to her desk, the first thing she noticed was a pink message slip on top of her keyboard. To the casual observer, the concise message from an apparently anonymous caller would have seemed an even mix between cryptic and uninteresting. To Chloe, it was a morning greeting that could be topped only by her son's warm, snuggly hugs:
home safe…
Halloween dawned cloudy and cold. The wind was brisk, and Chloe dreaded telling Ben that his cool Superman suit would have to be covered with a coat. She giggled again as she reminded herself to pick up the costume from Mrs. Kent over lunch… little did Ben know that he would have the most realistically made red underwear this side of the real thing.
Pete bent to kiss his sleeping wife goodbye. Lana stirred slightly and caught his sleeve to pull him back down. He submitted to her drowsy embrace for a few moments before he forced himself to pull away.
"Gotta go, shorty."
She smiled sleepily and burrowed back under the covers.
"Bye, babe. Don't forget to pick up my tire, please. The spare is totally flat."
"I won't. Remember to call Chloe before noon if you need anything, she'll be headed this way."
"Mmm-hmmm…"
Grinning, Pete patted in the general vicinity of her bottom before heading out the door.
Just before noon, Martha was finishing up Ben's costume when she remembered that she'd forgotten to bring home all the trick-or-treat candy she'd purchased the night before. She picked up the phone to try to catch Chloe before she got out of town and ask her to pick it up from the Talon on her way out, but the phone was mysteriously dead. Brow furrowed, she grabbed the cell out of her purse, only to discover she'd forgotten to turn it off, leaving her with no battery power. Muttering under her breath, she plugged the phone in and went in the kitchen to try and raise Lana on the CB radio. Before she'd made it that far, she heard the sound of gravel crunching in the drive.
Chloe slowed her car to make the turn onto the dirt road that led to the Kent farm. She was in a hurry, because she'd forgotten to pick up a special treat for Ben and needed to get back to town before her lunch break was over. Deep in thought about the tractor she intended to buy at the farm supply, she didn't notice the Surburban following her until its twin was about to hit her head-on.
Lana was fixing her lunch when the CB crackled to life at high volume.
"Lana? Lana! Call 911!"
Grape tomatoes bounced across the floor as she grabbed the mouthpiece off of the radio and jabbed at the button with her thumb.
"Mrs. Kent? What's wrong?"
"I don't… I think they're Lionel's men, they're coming in, you have to--" The radio went dead. Lana raced across the room and yanked the phone off the hook, only to find there was no dial tone. She snatched her cell phone and her keys out of her purse and ran out the door.
The 911 operator was already working on the dispatch by the time she skidded to a halt next to her very flat tire. She changed direction, shifting the keys in her hand until she came across the right one. Pausing at the door to the machine shed, she disconnected her first call, then stabbed the first number on her speed dial.
"Pete! Get to the Kent Farm right now!" She stuffed the phone in the pocket of her cardigan and dragged the heavy door open.
Chloe struggled to catch her breath as the airbag slowly deflated. She fought to keep her spinning head under control in order to inventory possible weapons in the car, but there was no time. The door opened, and she was roughly hauled from her seat.
"What do you want? Let me go!" She cringed at the shrill sound of her voice, but she was out of practice at life-or-death situations. Vainly, she tried to free herself from the iron-grip of the very large man holding her, but the unmistakable feel cold steel pressed into her neck stopped her. The door of the second vehicle opened and another man stepped out.
"Miss Sullivan, I'd suggest you cooperate. Otherwise, we might be forced to have our comrades that are collecting your son take him elsewhere until you are in a condition to be safely left alone with him."
Chloe had never really believed that a person's blood could truly run cold. But at that moment, it felt as though her body had literally frozen from the inside out. A tremor started low in her spine and radiated outward until every bit of her shook. Her teeth began to chatter, and she gasped for air.
"No," she whispered. Burning tears welled up, then spilled from her eyes onto her icy cheeks. Forcing her throat to clear, she tried again. "Not Ben. He's just a baby… Please, I'll do whatever you want, just leave him alone!"
"Sorry, honey. Our instructions are for both of you." The man glanced at his watch, then nodded at his partner. "Come on, we're supposed to rendezvous at the Kent woman's place in four minutes."
Chloe was nearly paralyzed with panic, but her mind was hyperfocused on the one person that could save her son. She took a deep breath
please God let him be in Metropolis
and screamed.
Martha's own breath came in big, hiccupping sobs, but she held Jonathan's shotgun in steady hands. She was mostly hidden behind the couch, with only the top of her head peeking up from behind the big gun. Shelby crouched beside her, his old body shaking.
"Mrs. Kent," one of the intruders said in a soothing voice. "Put down the gun and come with us. Please? We'd hate for someone to get hurt."
"You will get hurt if you don't get out of my house," she said in a voice stronger than she felt. The man slowly pulled a cell phone from his pocket and waved it at her.
"No, no, I don't think so. But all I have to do it make a call, and little Ben Sullivan will. Another call after that, and his mommy goes with him."
"You're bluffing," she spat, horrified at the thought.
"Am I?" He started to push a button.
The high-pitched whine of an approaching vehicle stopped him.
Chloe's head throbbed from the warning blow she'd taken from the butt of her captor's pistol.
"Do that again and you'll be one sorry little bitch," he hissed. He tightened his grip around her neck and dragged her again, this time more roughly. Chloe's feet came out from under her and she dangled, choking, from his elbow. She saw his free hand rise to strike her…
… and then suddenly she was falling to the gravel. A shadow briefly flitted over her, and then there was a loud grunt as her former captor flew into his partner, causing both of them to crash into the other Surburban hard enough to dent the frame. They fell in a motionless heap by the side of the road.
"Chloe? Are you okay?" Strong arms lifted her from the ground and tried to pull her into a hug. She pushed them away.
"Ben, Clark! You have to go get Ben! They're taking him!" Her voice, edged with hysteria, was nearly incomprehensible, but she could tell by the look on his face that he'd understood.
"He still goes to the YMCA daycare?"
She nodded, and he was gone. She stared at the unconscious men on the ground for what seemed like an eternity before he returned, clutching Ben tightly against his chest. The little boy was ecstatic.
"Mommy! Some bad men stole me from daycare, and I was really scared, and I cried and you didn't come, and then Superman came and he beat them up and brought me here and we flew!"
Sobbing, Chloe took her son from her friend and hugged him tightly before looking him over carefully. There was a tear in his shirt and a scratch on his face, but other than that he was unharmed. She squeezed him again.
"Oh, sweetie, I was so scared. I'm so glad you're safe!" She released him with one arm to reach for Clark's hand. He knelt next to them and pulled them both into a hug, and she took strange comfort in the sound of his heart beating nearly as wildly as her own.
Suddenly, he jerked away.
"Someone's coming." He pushed the behind the Suburban and peered down the road. The car approached quickly, and soon even Chloe could see that it was Pete, with the siren on his deputy car screaming. The car ground to a halt beside them.
"Clark! Lana called… Man, something's going on at your mom's house."
Chloe barely saw the panic flit across her friend's face before he disappeared.
"Chloe, what's going on? What happened?"
"I don't know, Pete, but we're okay," she replied, lifting Ben in her arms and hurrying towards the undamaged Suburban. "Go to Lana now, we'll be fine."
Pete hesitated for a moment, before throwing gravel from his spinning tires. He was barely out of sight before Chloe sped away in the opposite direction.
The man with the phone backed slowly toward the door and glanced out in time to see a four-wheeler fly by the porch. The engine ground to a halt just out of sight. He reached for his gun and pushed the screendoor open at the sound of feet pounding on the wood, then suddenly screamed and clawed at his face. Startled, his partner turned just in time to see him fly backwards into the kitchen. Shelby leaped from behind the couch and tackled the distracted man to the ground, then found his throat and growled menacingly. The gun skidded across the floor and came to a stop under Lana's waiting foot.
"Mrs. Kent? Are you okay?" she asked. She kept the pepper spray on her keychain fixed on the men on the floor as Martha quickly joined her with the shotgun. Sirens sounded in the distance. The front door banged open and Superman burst through the door in a swirl of cape.
"Yeah, I think I'm fine."
There was one man in the world Chloe trusted to save her son in an emergency. But there were two she trusted to prevent one from ever happening, and the first had just rushed off to save his mother.
By the time she reached the study, Lex was already on his feet and rounding the desk. He took in her bloody hair, her tear-stained face, and Ben's ripped shirt.
"Chloe?"
Something in her sensed safe haven, and the last of her control snapped. Great sobs wracked her shoulders, and Ben patted at her face with his tiny hands, suddenly afraid again.
"They tried to take my baby," she choked out. Then Lex's arms were around her, her son tucked safely between them.
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