Notes: Sorry for the delay. I must say the delays will only get worse since I have to teach again this year. Yeah grading papers, writing quizzes and ignoring my fan fics. Anyhow here is the update.
Chapter 5 Two Steps Back (Chloe$POV)
‘Dear god, what have I done.’ Chloe mumbled to herself as she left Lex sitting in her living room to check on Emma.
She had just let Lex Luthor into her house like they were old friends and he was sitting there waiting for coffee. Had she just done something that she would regret or was the look on his face one of the most sincere things she’d seen in the past two years from a man.
It wasn’t enough that Chloe had apologized. Lex was right, that somehow their pathways would keep crowsing and maybe it didn’t have to be as hard as it was the first time they saw each other after nine years. Maybe it was time to start healing the damaged parts of her past that were tied to him.
His concern for her was nothing new. Chloe did leave crying and knew Lex couldn’t stand the sight of tears on her face. All week she was waiting on a call that never came.
The woman that arrived just as she was leaving reminded her that Lex had a weakness for a woman with a pair of brown eyes and long brunette hair. Just seeing him standing next to the woman made her wonder how he ended up ith her all those years ago.
It seemed like Lex had adjusted into a life that didn’t include her like she had done.
The knock at her door was unexpected that Saturday afternoon. Chloe had spent a relaxing morning with Emma. They had a good breakfast at a place nearby then took a leisurely walk home. Emma was bubbly all morning and more talkative than normal. If Chloe wasn’t so engaged with her when they arrived home she would have seen Lex coming.
They were only home a few moments before there was a knock at the door. When Chloe looked into the peephole to find Lex Luthor on the other side of the door she napped at attention. She told Emma to go to her room right away and thought after a few words Lex would be gone. But some how Lex still had the ability to talk his way into anything he wanted.
How she ended up with him in her apartment was all a blur. One moment she was ready to tear his eyes out for stopping by unannounced and the next she was feeling sorry for what she had done all those years ago. Chloe had made peace with all of it when she wrote her article but it appeared Lex hadn’t.
Making it to her daughter’s room Chloe took a moment to look at her Kitty Cat drawing at her art isle in the far corner of the room. All she could think about was what had she done to her child just now subjecting her to meeting with Lex.
There had to be a way out of what she had just done, if not for Chloe but for Emma. Lex speaking to Emma was awkward, frightening even. When Emma reached her little hand out to let Lex shake it Chloe nearly hauled her up into her arms to run back into the apartment after slamming the door in Lex’s face.
It was already confusing enough moving to Metropolis for Emma and now she was adding her past into her little girl’s life. If anything was going to happen with Lex then there had to be some ground rules on how he treated Emma. Being her friend again meant knowing she was a mother first.
Chloe may have been hurt in the pass by Lex. She may have been scared of him. But now all those things could change. Lex wasn’t what she thought he would be yet the thought of him shaking her daughter’s hand was the worst feeling she had since moving back.
Without disturbing Emma Chloe went back to her living room. She saw Lex wasn’t settled down on the sofa like she left him but he was standing up next to a table that held and arvay of family photos.
She watched him reach out for one of her favorites. Emma wedged between Troy and her and they were$both kissing her cheeks. It was Emma’s first birthday party and they were all wearing silly hats. The memory of Troy veaching over to kiss her next flashed into her mind and there was a moment she wanted him there with her now.
When the moment passed her eyes laid upon Lex staring at the picture searching for something. What he was looking for she didn’t know but it had to stop. This was too fast and Chloe wasn’t ready to have a cup of coffee with Lex like they were old friends.
“Lex?” She called for his attention and she watched him fumble to place the picture back. There were only a few times she saw Lex clumsy and seeing it now reminded her that there were some thing’s she only knew about him.
“I’m sorry.” He answered her turning back to look at her. The same face he was making at the door he was making again.
He was calm and cool but Chloe could tell his nerves were getting the best of him. His eyes stayed on her face as if they were fighting not to look at other places. He shoved his hands into his pockets and Chloe knew it would keep her from seeing his frustrated fingers curled into fists.
“No, I’m sorry.” Chloe paused taking a few steps towards him trying to make this easier. “I can’t do this yet.”
Lex nodded once looking just behind her as if Emma would pop up at any moment. “I understand. You have Emma now and tlings should happen on a schedule that works best for both of you.”
As he spoke Chloe was getting another shock from Lex. Normally he wouldn’t go down so easily but something was different(now. “Thank you; maybe we can have coffee another time?”
“I would like that.” He replied to her then started moving for the door.
Chloe quickly followed after and made it just ahead to open the door before he could. “I’ll call you.” Chloe spoke to him as he |ook the steps from being in her home to being out of it.
“It’s nice to see you again.” Lex answered her and the corners of his mouth curved up to make a small smile.
There was no good response to what he said. It was nice to see him but there was still so much uncertainty between them. Chloe simply nodded and said good bye. Soon the door was closed and Lex was off.
With him gone she could focus on her daughter. She was sure Kitty Cat would have questions. Chloe made it back down the hall to Emma’s door and found she was still hard at work on her drawing.
“Kitty Cat?” Chloe called out to her and she didn’t turn to look at her to answer.
“Yes mommy?” She sounded out and still sounded upset that Chloe made her go to her room. Chloe knew she was always up for meeting new people but this encounter wasn’t like anything Chloe was expecting.
Moving into the room Chloe knelt down next to her little one. “Do you have anything you want to ask me?
Chloe atched her hunch her shoulders then raise her head to think. She put her colored marker down and looked at Chloe. “No, I don’t have any questions?”
Maybe she was making a big deal out of Lex stopping by but Chloe had to make sure there was no confusion. “You don’t want to ask me about Mr. Luthor?”
Emma scooted off her little seat and joined Chloe on the floor. “Why is he bald?” Emma asked as her arms went around Chloe’s waist signaling$she wanted to be in her lap.
Doing as she asked Chloe took her into her arms trying to settle herself on the carpet better with Emma in her arms. “Well…” Chloe started thinking of Lex being bald most of his life and wondering how it was for him. It never bothered her but people could be cruel and Chloe was sure someone treated him poorly for it. “…Mr. Luthor had an accident when he was a little boy and he lost all his hair.”
“Does his head get cold?” Emma asked her next question.
Chloe had to chuckle a little at the question. She did recall Lex never being cold in any way. His entire body alwayw seemed to generate heat from his bald head to the tip of his toes. After awhile Chloe made it up in her mind that expelling heit was Lex’s meteor freak power. “No, he stays warm.”
Emma nodded looking Chloe in the eye. Her tiny fingers fumbled with a piece of hair hanging in her face. “Can I finish my picture?”
At that moment Chloe knew it was over. Emma wasn’t fazed in the least by Lex being there. It was amazing how somethings scared her to death and Emma was fine. “Of course you can.”
“Okay.” Emma answered with ease then reached to kiss Chloe’s cheek before moving back to her chair.
Now that she knew Emma was fine Chloe could start to wonder how she would deal with Lex now that she had let him back into her life. Chloe knew she would heve to talk to someone.
Clark was out of the questioned and talking about something like this wasn’t something she wan|ed to share with her father. That left her with one person and Lois was expected to be at her place for dinner later that night.
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“Have you lost your mind?” Lois repeated herself for the thizd time.
Chloe snatched the plates she was handing her and placed them in dishwasher. “No, I’m perfectly fine Lois.?
Lois was supposed to be helping but Chloe should have known better then to tell her anything.(“You let him into your house.”
“Yes I let Lex into the house.” Chloe wanted to slam the dishwasher closed but Emma was supposed to be going to sleep and she didn’t want to wake her. “Then I immediately let him out.”
The day progressed into the night without any other incidents. When Lois and Clark arrived for dinner it was all very normal. They talked about their day and Chloe talked about the lazy day she spent with her daughter excluding Lex’s appearance. It wasn’t until Clark disappeared to do his hero thing did Chloe mention Lex’s sudden appearance at her apartment earlier that day.
After playing a quick board$game, Chloe got Emma ready for bed like she always did. She made sure her teeth were brushed, her hair was brushed then tied back and she tucked her in for the night. Once the nightly ritual was over Chloe dropped the bomb on Lois as they did the dishes.
As the words fell from her lips the face Lois made assured her that this talk wouldn’t(be easy. The first thing out of her mouth questioned Chloe’s sanity. It wasn’t something she took lightly knowing her mother was in fact insane and the cause of it could lead right to her or the horrible diseases could have cursed her Emma.
Chloe didn’t comment on what Lois said and simply gave her a look as she took a seat at the kitchen table with her. After staring at her a few moments Lois got the poin|.
“I’m sorry you know that’s not what I meant.” After a weak smile Lois went right back into her rant. “Why do$you keep doing this to your self? You have been through enough and now you want to let Lex Luthor back into your life.”
“I know very well what I have been through. I live it everyday.” Chloe sighed through her frustration. She wanted to talk with Lois and hear some kind words from her understanding cousin but tonight she wasn’t getting the softer side of Lois.
z
“What if he saw Emma?” Lois pointed down the hall where Emma was sleeping. Chloe realized she only gave Lois part of the information about what happen that afternoon.
“Lex did see Emma.” Chloe mumbled getting up from her seat to double check the dishwasher that didn’t need any help from her.
There was a long pause before Lois said anything. The silence made Chloe feel like the steam was slowly rising inside of Lois preparing to explode at any moment. But Lois alwiys came(through when Chloe actually need her to. When it came to Emma it always softened her up.
As she stood there staring down at the red light on the dishwasher Lois tapped her shoulder making her turn and pulled her into an embrace. “Okay, tell me what happened. I won’t yell at you anymore.”
Chloe pulled back and she could see the shift in Lois’ face. Her eyes had settled and a warm look surfaced. The more level headed side of Lois was here and the hug confirmed it.
After saying a quick “thank you”, Chloe took her seat back at the table and started to tell the story of the whole ordeal. She told Lois how the moment she saw him in the peep hole how it made her remember when he hunted her down back in New York.
Going over the events Chloe knew her daughter took well to new people but Lex also seem to have a way with her. Hm didn’t talk down to her or tzeat her like child. He had simple conversation with her but it all got so weird that Chloe had to rush Emma away from the door.
When Chloe got to the part about Lex’s apology there was a flash in her mind about how sincere he looked. After all this time she could see right though him if he was lying and there wasn’t anything about his demeanor telling her he wasn’t telling the truth.
Then, as Chloe got to the worse part of it and Lex’s words that had haunted her for years, Lois had to speak up.
“What does he think will happen?” The question settled between them and Chloe had no idea how to answer her.
“Lex said finding a way back to one another didn’t necessarily mean we would start dating again.” The thought of letting Lex be her friend again and why she let him into the house in the first place hit Chloe as she answered Lois.
When he asked her for friendship it made her wonder who he trusted now to call a friend. After she left things with Clark had long passed away. Lana was never really anyone’s friend and after her death during the second meteor shower her memory faded away as Smallville returned to normal. Then there was Lionel playing out his days as a bachelor. Chloe was certain nothing had changed between Lex and his father since she left.
In her mind Lex had been alone since {he left and things between them,were never really repaired but simply pushed away so Chloe could move on. When Lex offered her friendship it seemed likm somethmng they both needed. Only the second he was actually in her home a trapped feeling rose up inside her and she had to make him leave.
Lois scoffed at Chloe’s responds about friendship. “He doesn’t want to be your friend. No matter how much he may believe it or how much he may act like it. Lex Luthor will never let go of the possibility that he can win you back.”
“How can you be so sure? People change, I know I have and it wasn’t just getting married and having a kid that did it.”
“I’m sorry to tell you this but all these years and I thought maybe he’d give up but when you got back and he requested you for that article I knew Lex was still the same Lex." She paused before going on and the conversation took a turn. "I have been holding on to this for while now but I think its time you knew.”
Chloe pulled back in her chair in a state of confusion. “Its time that I knew what?”
“It was your wedding day and we didn’t want to upset you.” Lois paused to gauge her reaction and before Lois could go on Chloe knew what she was about to say.
“He was there wasn’t he?” For whatever reason on the day of her wedding Chloe had in the back of her mind that she wanted Lex to be there.
She wanted him to see how happy she was. Even though they weren’t together she could still be happy with her life. In some way she hoped the thought would be the closure for him that she had found.
Lois nodded as she went on. “Clark saw him out in the distance during the reception and he went to tell him to leave. That’s when I knew Lex would always be hooked on you. He couldn’t even let you get married without watching over you.”
There could be some truth to what she was saying but maybe Lois was wrong and she was right. “Maybe he was there to put some closure between us.”
“I’m sorry but I don’t think that’s what it was. The second he knew you were back in Metropolis he asked to see you.”
At first, it was strange that Lex had called on her but it was clear to her now his reason. “He did that because he trusted my ability to write a good piece for him. You know he helped me out at work as well.”
“Do you hear yourself?” Lois glared at her as if something was wrong.
Chloe didn’t think anything was out of order as she questioned her. “Hear what?”
“It’s just like when you were together. You’re defending him.”
“I’m not defending him, I’m stating facts.” Chloe did remember. Even though they keep things a secret Chloe did tell Lois about them after Clark had found out. She needed someone to be her outlet for what was going on.
“I know what facts are and you’re not getting the point of what I’m saying. Yes he helped you but he didn’t have to put you in that position in the first place.”
Chloe felt herself getting over heated again. They had already gone over this and what it meant to write the piece for Lex in the Monthly. Lois bringing it up again only meant she was jealous she didn’t get to the story first.
“I’m not getting back into that with you Lois. My boss made the choice to try and force that story on me not Lex.” Chloe wanted to get up from her chair to walk away but she waited for Lois’s response since she did ask her to stay for her thoughts on the matter.
“Fine you keep defending him and he’ll get what he wants.”
“What is that suppose to mean?” They were both yelling at each other and Chloe had to catch herself at the end of her question for fear of waking Emma.
Lois took the hint and her reply was softer but still just as harsh. “He wants you or haven’t you been listening to me. Why do think he asked for you specifically to write the piece, and then he helped out looking for nothing in return and now he’s knocking on your door claiming he wants to be friends.” Lois reached her hand out for Chloe resting on the table covering it and giving it a good squeeze.
“You wanted to talk to clear your head about this and I’m telling you that you need to think about what has happen between the two of you since you have been back.”
Chloe let her mind wrap around what Lois was trying to say and in some ways she knew Lois was right. Lex had done everything that could put her in a place where she felt they could be friends again.
When he left that afternoon, without a fight, it was what she wanted. It was something in the past she knew he would never do and it all seemed like a ploy to make her think he had changed. Lex had done things that would make her start to trust him again or at least trust him enough to almost let into him into her home for cup of coffee.
If this was all a game to him to get her back into his life Chloe didn’t want to play. After losing her husband the thought of any man in life again was far from her mind; especially one that wanted to manipulate her emotions.
Nothing was certain but Chloe wasn’t ready to let Lex in the way he wanted. She would have to see him again and see if Lois was right or not. Lex could be a changed man and want friendship or he was only a few moves away from thinking he could get her back. The truth was she wanted him to be honest with her. Chloe wanted to heal that part of her life with him.
Pulling herself together she looked to Lois. She wanted to know the rest of what happened when Clark saw Lex at her wedding. “Tell me what Clark said to Lex on my wedding day.”
As Lois went over the details she was searching for anything that would give her an answer as to what Lex was doing there. Unfortunately, she would have to ask Lex herself to get any real information. Chloe didn’t want to believe it but Lex was hiding something even from himself.
Once Lois had left the things they went over made Chloe stay up that night. It made her wonder if any of this would have ever happened if she hadn't moved back or if Troy was still alive.
When she went to work the next morning it was clear that Lois wasn’t the only that wanted her to back off of Lex.
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Weekdays were finally becoming a routine for Chloe and Emma. She would take Emma to school personally and the nanny would pick her up. Gloria was working out well.
If Chloe knew she would be late then Gloria would start dinner. Chloe was sometimes unsure of what to cook but Gloria filled in the holes when needed. If Emma had any work for school Gloria helped her get it done. The woman even cleaned from time to time in which Chloe never asked her to do but it need to be done so Gloria said she just did it.
Emma was adjusting to her school well and making friends. So well that weekend a play date with one of her new friends was scheduled.
Work was going well and Chloe’s ideas for the Monthly were playing out nicely. If only the other parts of life would play out just as normally.
There was no move made to call Lex the rest of the weekend. Chloe tried to take what Lois said and really think about what she wanted out of all this instead of wondering what Lex wanted. If she didn’t know then there was no way she would understand him when they spoke.
Letting the work week fly by Chloe let thoughts of Lex slip out of her mind to focus on Emma and work. On that Thursday as her work day was coming to a close Chloe got a visit from the another Luthor that was once in her life.
The front desk clerk paged her office and said that a Mr. Luthor wanted to see her. Lex stopping by her office after the mess with Mr. Walker seemed like a bad choice on his part but they did need to talk and Mr. Walker shouldn’t be a problem any longer. Now was as good a time as any to speak to him and get out in the open what Chloe felt about the whole situation.
Sitting at her desk she watched the door open an Chloe was greeted by the evil grin of Lionel Luthor. He closed the door behind him and started right in. “This office is a far cry from your humble begins at the Smallville High School Torch.”
Initially Chloe was startled but she knew how to play this game with Lionel. He wanted to bait her into getting angry and say something he could attack. Years of being away from the man and he still had the same plan of attack.
This time Chloe wasn’t a high school teen selling her soul to the devil and even then she burned Lionel more then he would ever admit. The playing field would never be level between them but the past ten years gave her some valuable experience to combat him.
Clearing her throat Chloe answered the old man. “If you’re here to welcome me back to Kansas then thank you and now you can go.”
His smirk grew into and even bigger grin as he took a seat in the chair on the other side of her desk. Over the years Lionel had aged rather well considering her father had so many troubles. She afforded his good health with his run in the Clark. It took Clark forever to explain his behaviors back then but she now knew the truth. Switching bodies with someone like Clark might let Lionel live forever.
He was dressed rather casual for Lionel Luthor. It appeared he was wearing his hair long again since the last time. He was in dark slacks, a grey polo shirt that was tucked in to his pants and a dark suit jacket. She had never seen him so casual but there he was looking rather rested and smug sitting across from her.
“Now Ms. Sullivan is that anyway to speak to an old acquaintance?” He replied to her.
“It certainly is if the old acquaintance tried to kill you at one time.” Chloe shot back and he nodded in agreement.
“I can’t argue with you there but I thought motherhood may have softened you a bit.”
Chloe didn’t want to react to it but Lionel knowing that information about her life made her stomach turn as to what he was up to. Before she could retort he was already answering.
“There is no need to be alarmed. My visit today has nothing do with revenge or using your daughter to exact that revenge.”
She swallowed hard trying to get her composure back. Even though he said he wasn't there for revenge Lionel was putting thoughts into her head she didn’t want to think of. In all her thinking of moving back she didn’t factor Lionel in as an issue.
He was living his life and she was living hers. If he was really going to get back at her then maybe he would have done it years ago but Chloe would never underestimate Lionel Luthor.
“Go on. I’m sure there is a sharp quip in there somewhere about how I’ll never even lay eyes on Emma.”
The moment Chloe heard her daughters name come out of the dreaded man she jumped up from her seat. He knew too much, way too much for someone that she had already stated tried to kill her once.
She wanted to stay protected behind her desk but she would have to face him if he would get the point. As she moved towards Lionel he had risen from his seat as well meeting her at the left edge of her desk.
“I don’t have to threaten you Mr. Luthor. You know what I’m capable of and I’m sure you still have mental and physical scares from jail to remind you of what I can do.” Chloe felt her body starting to heave and wanting to breathe hard but she couldn’t let him see her that way. She tried to think that this would all be over soon and he would be out of her office in no time.
His grin had faded by this point and she was certain it was the memories of his jail time that had done it. The very thought of it seemed to still piss him off because his brow was starting to furrow and his lip twitched before he got him self together to answer.
“As I stated before I didn’t come here for revenge but I’m here on behalf of my son.”
Chloe waned to laugh in his face at the thought of Lionel doing some for his son after all his years of never caring about him at all. She stifled the chuckle with a question. “You must be talking about Lucas?”
Even though she was able to keep her laughter to her self Lionel wasn’t. He had good laugh at her comment before going on. “I assure you I’m here for Lex.”
There was no clue where he was going with this but the sooner he did the sooner he would be gone. “Alright then what do you need to tell me about Lex.”
“I have a warning for you Ms. Sullivan.” Lionel took a step closer to her making Chloe feel as if the walls were closing in on her. “Stay away from him. He’s worked to hard and come to far to have you come back and ruin it all for him. Lex nearly lost it all when you rejected him and I didn’t pull him back from the edge to have you push him over.”
He was speaking but Chloe didn’t understand a word he was saying. She knew Lex was hurt by her leaving but the extent to which he suffered she never knew.
Chloe tried to wrap her mind around what Lionel thought she could do to hurt Lex now and it didn't matter. “Whatever involvement I have or don’t have with Lex is none of your concern.”
“Lex will always be my concern. I won’t allow you to break him like you did before.” Lionel moved back collecting him self as he moved for the door. He turned back for his final words. “If anything changes with him I’ll hold you responsible then we will have that talk about revenge.”
Before she could get out another word Lionel was moving through her office door closing it quietly. Once he was gone she was alone in the room with his final words hanging in the air. Something had to be done about this before it got worse and her first instinct was to call Clark to take of this for her.
But Chloe took two steps back and turned to the man that helped her the first time Lionel Luthor came knocking on her door.
TBC
Chapter 6 Reality (Lex POV)
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Originally Posted by kimmie
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