Chapter 3
Chapter 2
(Chloe POV)
I was woken up the next morning by clanging in the kitchen. Mmhhmm what in the world is Lois doing? I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. When I glanced into the kitchen Lois was taking out pans and putting things in the toaster oven.
“Lois…what are you doing?”
She turned toward me and smiled.
“Rise and shine cuz. I’m making stuff for the Kent’s dinner.”
I gazed at the clock and spied that it was only around nine. Lois was an early riser true but she wasn’t one for cooking. I had to practically rip her arm off to get her to say she’d help me. So why was she in the kitchen cooking? I got up and walked over to her.
“Lo’ is everything ok?”
She stopped what she was doing for about a nanosecond before going back to it.
“Everything’s fine Chloe. I just wanna get this done so we don’t have to spend all day doing it.”
I took the hint.
“OK”
She doesn’t wanna talk about it. I went into the bathroom and hopped in the shower. If she was gonna work on it now I might as well help her out. I mean we want it to be edible don’t we? By the time I got out of the shower the bathroom was all steamed up. I wiped away the fog on the mirror and couldn’t help but look at myself in the mirror. I felt different. I touched my stomach lightly. There was another person growing inside me and it felt weird…but kinda good to. While I was in my daze Lois was apparently calling me, cause there was a sharp knock on the door.
“Chloe, what’s going on in there? You fall in?”
I grinned Lois was well Lois.
“I’m fine Lo’ just doing my hair and makeup.”
“Smallville is on the phone. He wants to talk to you. I called you twice you sure everything’s ok?”
I opened the door with a smile planted firmly on my face. I grabbed the phone from her and before I closed I spoke to Lois.
“All’s well that ends well. I’m just taking my time. Everything is great…as a matter of fact it will be even better when you get out of the kitchen and stop cooking.”
She threw something at the door while I closed it.
“I’ll remember that next time you need your coffee fix!”
I chuckled and then put the phone to my ear as I grabbed the clothes I brought in the bathroom with me.
“Hey Clark. What’s up?
“Your mood seems to be better then yesterday. Everything ok this morning?”
I smiled. It was good to know he cared, although after last night it was hard not to know. I pulled on my dress as I continued talking to him.
“Everything’s…ok at the moment. I mean I’m not one hundred percent ok with everything yet but I will be.”
It was quiet for a minute.
“Have you told Lois yet?”
“No…and I don’t plan to right now Clark…you can’t say anything. The only people who know right now are your mom, you, and…”
I guess he got the hint because he changed the subject.
“I’m on my way to see Oliver right now. I wanna make sure he’s ok after last night. That drug really did a number on him.”
“Yea…I can imagine.”
Our conversation didn’t seem to be going anywhere so I decided it was time to let Clark go.
“Well you should probably go then. I’ll see you later at dinner ok?”
“Sure Chlo, I’ll see you later.”
I hung up the phone and finished off my hair. When I came out of the bathroom Lois was already ready and staring off into space. I gave her a once over and sighed. Lois really isn’t the kind of person to dwell on things. She has always been strong and extremely independent. But I know she’s hurting right now and I’m not exactly sure how to approach her about it. Cause if I came out and tried to have girl talk with Lois…she’d not only laugh at me she’d call me crazy. Us Sullivan-Lane women sure are a piece of work. I decided to try to take her mind off of it instead.
“Hey Lo’ how bout we go get some flowers and things before we head off to the farm?”
I heard her sigh but she stood up anyway. We grabbed our coats and I tossed my arm around her as we walked out the door. It’s gonna be a long day.
(Clark POV)
I hung up the phone and sped the rest of the way to Oliver’s. When I got there and the elevator doors opened up I saw him sitting at his desk looking up at me. I needed to brake the tension so what better way then a joke?
“Who am I dealing with, Jekyll or Hyde?”
Oliver chuckled at this and leaned out of his chair.
“Just plain old Oliver today, Clark.”
I nodded my head and smiled.
“You haven't broken any glasses. That's a good sign.”
“Right.”
It was a little awkward for a minute but I broke the silence.
“What made you come to your senses?”
“Actually, you did. This whole time, I just wanted to be like Clark Kent, you know? I wanted to, uh... I wanted to have the ability to bring justice to the world without having to worry about getting killed in the process. And then something occurred to me, and I realized that, uh...”
He cleared his throat and almost looked abashed.
“Clark Kent would never take another man's life. I came within an inch of doing just that. I'm not even in your league.”
He’s right I would never kill someone, I mean come on look what happened with Zod. The world almost ended because I wouldn’t kill someone. But he was wrong about being out of my league. He might not have the same strengths as me but at the moment he did more for the world than I did.
“Oliver, you do a lot of good in this world. You don't need to be indestructible to be a hero.”
“Yeah. Well, you're right. You're right. Yeah. Um...I should be thankful for who I am, right, and the abilities that I have. I know that.”
I nodded my head.
“Me too. Now, come on. You can't be alone on Thanksgiving. The bird's waiting.”
He laughed at then and then got up and turned around.
“Thanks, Clark. I appreciate the offer, but I can't. I... look, Lois is gonna be there, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't even want to be in the same zip code as me.”
I didn’t think that was entirely true. Lois misses him even though it’s only been a day.
“Now that you're back on track, I'm sure Lois is gonna want you there. Trust me.”
“Whoa. Trust you? What happened to all the lectures about guys with secret identities not being able to handle relationships?”
I sighed he was right I did say that. But Lois and Lana are two different people. Just because I think Lana wouldn’t be able to handle my secret doesn’t mean that Lois can’t handle Oliver’s. Plus who am I to stand in their way if they make each other happy? I would give anything to be as happy as they seem to make each other.
“The truth is, you and I are different. And Lois isn't Lana. If you two are meant to be together, then who am I to stand in the way?”
He nodded. I gave him a push and hopefully he’d take my advice. When I got out of the elevator downstairs I glanced at my watch. It was around eleven thirty. I didn’t have much to do before dinner so I thought I’d stop by the Talon and see if Chloe was still there. I super sped to Smallville but then walked to the Talon taking my time. I still can’t believe Chloe is pregnant. I can’t believe what happened with Jimmy. He seemed like such a nice guy; I don’t know why this Meteor infected thing has him so riled up. If it was me I wouldn’t care. But then again, have you met me? Clark Kent Intergalactic Space Traveler. Compared to me Meteor status might be a step up. I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts. I walked into the Talon and ordered Chloe’s favorite. I walked up the stairs and knocked on the door before I opened it. I saw her standing in the middle of the room and she looked pale. I frowned and faced the door to close it.
“Hey Chlo. I thought I’d bring you a coffee you feeling ok you’re looking a little…”
I know my sentence drowned out but I just turned back around and there’s Lana standing right beside Chloe. How did that happen? She wasn’t there a minute ago I would have noticed.
“Oh…I didn’t realize your were busy. I’m..s..sorry.”
I looked in Lana’s direction and she seemed tense.
“Hi Lana.”
She nodded.
“Clark.”
Chloe always the one to diffuse tension came over to me and took the coffee. She gave a slight smile.
“Thanks Clark. Lana and I were just hanging out.”
I nodded but my eyes didn’t leave Lana until I heard Chloe groan from drinking the coffee. She is such an addict. I smiled and faced her.
“It’s decafe so don’t worry.”
She froze. It occurred to me then what I just said and that Lana was still in the room. She looked over at us confused with her eyebrow raised.
“Since when did you drink decafe Chloe?”
“I have been having some stomach issues and the decafe is just lighter on my stomach. Don’t worry I won’t be sticking to it. It just doesn’t have the same kick.”
She smiled bright for Lana but I could tell it was fake and apparently so could Lana. She held her purse a little tighter to her shoulder and gave a soft glare in our direction.
“Well I should probably get going. Lex is probably waiting for me. I’ll see you guys later.”
She started to walk past us out of the apartment when Chloe’s voice stopped her.
“We should finish what we were talking about later Lana…”
Chloe’s voice was soft and kinda hesitant. Lana looked over at her and glowered. Her posture spoke volumes. She was pissed. I definitely barged in on something.
“I’m pretty sure the discussion was over…my relationship with Lex is no longer your business Chloe.”
“Lana..”
“No…I’ve heard enough accusations for one day. Have a nice Thanksgiving.”
And the door slammed shut behind her. I twisted my head around to Chloe and she looked worriedly at the door. When I caught her eye she shrugged and walked into the kitchen.
(Chloe POV)
I walked into the kitchen with Lana on the brain. I had to chuckle at that usually that’s Clark’s area of expertise. Clark eyed me as I lifted the coffee to my mouth. God it felt good sliding down. I closed my eyes and my mind drifted back to my conversation with Lana.
There was a knock on the door. I just finished dropping Lois off at the Kent Farm and came back here to put the flowers together for later. I walked over and opened the door. To my surprise it was Lana.
“Hey! To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Just thought I’d come by wish you a happy Thanksgiving.”
She smiled and I opened the door wider so she could come in. She smiled and set down her bag. I’ve been wrestling with the decision whether or not to tell her about the halfway house and what Lex was doing. If she was going to be in a relationship with him she deserved to know both sides of him.
“Make yourself comfortable. I did some research into the Second Chances Halfway House, and I found –“
She cut me off rather quickly.
“Chloe,... I'm not here to talk about the halfway house.”
I hesitated. I know she doesn’t want to hear it. But I think she needs to. After everything Clark and I learned about him “collecting” Meteor freaks and experimenting on them I couldn’t just let her think he was a great guy. She was like a sister to me and I didn’t want to see her get hurt. I wanted to tell her how Lex had kidnapped me but to be honest I didn’t have enough proof and there was no way she’d listen to me without seeing definite proof that he did it.
“Okay. But there's some stuff I think you should know about, Lana -- about Lex”.
That seemed to get her a little irritated. Lana has been really hard to read lately. Ever since she started her little romance with Lex things have been strained between all of us. I’m pretty sure she resents how close I am to Clark. That was just something she was going to have to deal with though. Clark has lost to many people and I won’t be the next to leave him.
“I don't want to hear anything more about Lex. I came here to see my friend. Hang out a little bit before dinner tonight. I miss you Chloe.”
I smiled at that. I missed her to. Or at least the old Lana. The one who trusted her friends enough to listen to their concerns. Lex was bad news. I just didn’t know how to convince Lana of that.
“I miss you to Lana, I just think there are some things you should know before getting to serious with Lex”
“Chloe...you really need to just stay out of mine and Lex’s business. I know you think your helping me or something but Lex is a good man. He cares about me a lot and I care about him. I don’t care what he’s done in the past he’s working on being a better man and I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. All the things you say he has done…there’s never any proof Chloe.”
She looked down and softened her voice. When she looked back up her stance was stiff and her voice though not mean was firm.
“I won’t abandon Lex because of rumors or horrible acts that he has supposedly committed without some kind of hard proof. Everyone needs a second chance Chloe. I really need you to try and get along with him. I hate having everyone I care about at odds with each other.”
How could I argue with that? I mean wasn’t I just saying the same thing about Clark? That I wouldn’t leave him. It’s true everyone deserves a second chance. But I’m pretty sure Lex has already had his. Plus a third and a forth. I can see how much this is bothering her though and I really don’t want to lose Lana as a friend cause at this point I think she is willing to side with Lex rather then me.. So for now I’ll try to let it go but I won’t give up. Lex isn’t good enough for Lana and I was gonna prove it to her no matter what. I gave her a tiny smile.
“Okay. I concede…for now. But Lana you have to know that I don’t trust him and if I find proof that he really is behind the things I know he is…all bets are off..”
She was about to say something when there was a knock on the door and Clark walked in.
“Chloe!”
The loud voice startled me back into reality. I blinked as I felt the warm pressure of Clark’s hand against my shoulder. I looked up into his worried eyes and chuckled. Clark was such a worrywart. He must have seen my attention was finally on him because he dropped his hand and stepped out of my personal space. Which by the way he always seemed to get into.
“Where’d you go there?”
“Nothing…I mean no where. I was just thinking about my conversation with Lana. That’s all nothing to flip out about Clark.”
I patted him on the chest as I walked past him to continue fixing the flowers.
“I’m fine.”
“Chlo…I’m sorry about the coffee thing. Did you…did you tell Lana?”
Yea that was so not gonna happen. At least not anytime soon. With my luck she’d go back and tell Lex and tomorrow I’d wake up in a nice rubber room of some secret facility.
“No I have not. And I plan to keep it that way. I’m not saying anything to anyone else yet. I still need to go to the doctor and get things straightened out with….Jimmy.”
That was the first time I’ve said his name since our….disagreement. Clark nodded. He caught my pause on Jimmy’s name and I know he’s dieing to ask about it. But I know he won’t push which is good cause I’m not really to talk about it. I don’t know if I would be anytime soon.
We spent the next hour or so just hanging around the Talon talking, watching TV, and getting things ready for tonight. We headed out to the farm at around four. I drove us so it took about twenty minutes to get there. Once we got inside I saw Lois was already there and oh no she brought that burnt thing that she calls edible. While I helped Mrs. Kent set up I heard his comment about cooking it on the barbecue and I had to laugh at that. Watching Lois and Clark fight was one of my favorite past times. They had such an easy relationship and I’m glad they got along. I glanced over at there bickering. Well for the most part anyway. The doorbell rang and Clark said he thought it was for Lois. I gazed in his direction and when our eyes caught he grinned at me and I smiled right back. He was up to something. I looked over at the door and saw Oliver. I had to smile. Clark was an amazing man. Even though he couldn’t be happy with the one person he wanted to be with he still liked to make sure the people around him who he cared about were happy.
A while later Lionel arrived and we all sat down for dinner. As dinner was being handed out Clark stood up. We all looked over and gave him our undivided attention.
“If I could have everyone's attention, please, um, I'd like to make a little announcement. Um... our family has a tradition that goes back way before I was even born... where everyone takes a moment to say what they're most thankful for in their lives. I would just like to say that I'm most thankful for my mom and dad... whose faith in me taught me to have faith in myself. Thank you”
I smiled and everyone dug into their food. I sat back for a moment so I could glance around the table at the people I was spending the holiday with. A warm feeling enveloped my heart. These people some of which I never thought I’d be in a room with in a million years were my family. Clark doesn’t even realize all the people that he’s brought together and it amazes me. As I finish glancing around my eyes land on Clarks and he seems to be doing the same thing as me. Just taking it all in. I felt a hand curl around mine and my head whipped around to Clark. He squeezed it briefly though careful not to hurt me and then started eating. My heart sped up and I prayed he didn’t notice even though I’m sure he did.
(Clark POV)
Dinner turned out pretty well. My mom was right. It was nice to have people around especially the ones that mattered most. Lois and Oliver wound up leaving together and Mom and Lionel went out for a walk. I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about that. I mean he is a Luthor but mom seems to think he’s changed. I cleaned everything up with the help of Chloe until she got a little sick. I’m not really sure if she’s supposed to get sick this much. I hope she sees a doctor soon. I held her hair for what i'm sure felt like hours to her and then gave her a change of clothes from my closet and told her to change and relax while I finished cleaning up. Chloe put up a fight about staying over but I wore her down. I cleaned up with super speed because I didn’t want to leave her alone to long. When I finished I headed up to the loft. When I got to the top Chloe was sitting with her legs underneath her reading a book. She was wearing my favorite red flannel, how do I know it’s my favorite? I just do even if they all look the same there different to me, and a pair of my boxers. Ok right now I am a horrible best friend. I’m standing here and all I can think is how amazing Chloe looks in my clothes. She’s absolutely glowing. I shook my head to get rid of the none friendly thoughts. I find Chloe very attractive and I care about her on more than a friendly level, but I still love Lana and Chloe is still with Jimmy…I think. I would never risk Chloe’s heart though not if I wasn’t one hundred percent sure…not again. I sat on the couch next to her but she didn’t look at me. She was still reading.
“Whatcha reading Chlo?”
“A book.”
I rolled my eyes. Obviously she was reading a book I knew that. I glanced at the cover as she read.
“What to expect when you’re expecting. Ohh it’s a…baby book?”
She nodded and finally put it down.
“I got it this afternoon while I was out with Lois. She was grabbing last minute ingredients and I slipped away from her. I wanna know…you know what’s going on in there.”
I smiled at her. It’s good she wants to know. I kind of want to know to. Ever since Chloe told me about the baby I couldn’t help but be a little excited. One of my first thought when she told me was of Evan. When Lana and I found him a few years back in the middle of Evans field it almost felt like a sign for us. We took him to the hospital together and then he came home to stay with me until child services could get him. It never happened though because Evan had a second-generation meteor power and unfortunately he literally grew to fast. Lana and I were devastated when he died. I felt like I lost what could have been a son. Now with Chloe being pregnant it’s almost like a second chance. I will be nice to gain something after the losses of this past year. I put my attention back on her.
“I get it. You look kind of tired Chlo…want me to read it to you for a little bit…give your eyes a rest?”
She leaned back into the couch.
“You wouldn’t mind doing that?”
“Not at all. You do enough for me…sometimes I feel like I don’t do enough for you.”
She put her hand on my arm and stroked it. Her skin was warm to the touch and I closed my eyes.
“Clark you are always there for me when I need you. You’ve saved my life countless times and you still think you don’t do enough for me?”
She shook her head laughing.
“Your crazy.”
I grabbed the book from her and leaned back. She placed her head on my chest and I put and arm around her and started to read from chapter two. Halfway through the chapter she was fast asleep. I pushed some hair off her face and behind her ear. I smiled and continued to read but this time to myself.
Chapter 2
(Chloe POV)
I was woken up the next morning by clanging in the kitchen. Mmhhmm what in the world is Lois doing? I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. When I glanced into the kitchen Lois was taking out pans and putting things in the toaster oven.
“Lois…what are you doing?”
She turned toward me and smiled.
“Rise and shine cuz. I’m making stuff for the Kent’s dinner.”
I gazed at the clock and spied that it was only around nine. Lois was an early riser true but she wasn’t one for cooking. I had to practically rip her arm off to get her to say she’d help me. So why was she in the kitchen cooking? I got up and walked over to her.
“Lo’ is everything ok?”
She stopped what she was doing for about a nanosecond before going back to it.
“Everything’s fine Chloe. I just wanna get this done so we don’t have to spend all day doing it.”
I took the hint.
“OK”
She doesn’t wanna talk about it. I went into the bathroom and hopped in the shower. If she was gonna work on it now I might as well help her out. I mean we want it to be edible don’t we? By the time I got out of the shower the bathroom was all steamed up. I wiped away the fog on the mirror and couldn’t help but look at myself in the mirror. I felt different. I touched my stomach lightly. There was another person growing inside me and it felt weird…but kinda good to. While I was in my daze Lois was apparently calling me, cause there was a sharp knock on the door.
“Chloe, what’s going on in there? You fall in?”
I grinned Lois was well Lois.
“I’m fine Lo’ just doing my hair and makeup.”
“Smallville is on the phone. He wants to talk to you. I called you twice you sure everything’s ok?”
I opened the door with a smile planted firmly on my face. I grabbed the phone from her and before I closed I spoke to Lois.
“All’s well that ends well. I’m just taking my time. Everything is great…as a matter of fact it will be even better when you get out of the kitchen and stop cooking.”
She threw something at the door while I closed it.
“I’ll remember that next time you need your coffee fix!”
I chuckled and then put the phone to my ear as I grabbed the clothes I brought in the bathroom with me.
“Hey Clark. What’s up?
“Your mood seems to be better then yesterday. Everything ok this morning?”
I smiled. It was good to know he cared, although after last night it was hard not to know. I pulled on my dress as I continued talking to him.
“Everything’s…ok at the moment. I mean I’m not one hundred percent ok with everything yet but I will be.”
It was quiet for a minute.
“Have you told Lois yet?”
“No…and I don’t plan to right now Clark…you can’t say anything. The only people who know right now are your mom, you, and…”
I guess he got the hint because he changed the subject.
“I’m on my way to see Oliver right now. I wanna make sure he’s ok after last night. That drug really did a number on him.”
“Yea…I can imagine.”
Our conversation didn’t seem to be going anywhere so I decided it was time to let Clark go.
“Well you should probably go then. I’ll see you later at dinner ok?”
“Sure Chlo, I’ll see you later.”
I hung up the phone and finished off my hair. When I came out of the bathroom Lois was already ready and staring off into space. I gave her a once over and sighed. Lois really isn’t the kind of person to dwell on things. She has always been strong and extremely independent. But I know she’s hurting right now and I’m not exactly sure how to approach her about it. Cause if I came out and tried to have girl talk with Lois…she’d not only laugh at me she’d call me crazy. Us Sullivan-Lane women sure are a piece of work. I decided to try to take her mind off of it instead.
“Hey Lo’ how bout we go get some flowers and things before we head off to the farm?”
I heard her sigh but she stood up anyway. We grabbed our coats and I tossed my arm around her as we walked out the door. It’s gonna be a long day.
(Clark POV)
I hung up the phone and sped the rest of the way to Oliver’s. When I got there and the elevator doors opened up I saw him sitting at his desk looking up at me. I needed to brake the tension so what better way then a joke?
“Who am I dealing with, Jekyll or Hyde?”
Oliver chuckled at this and leaned out of his chair.
“Just plain old Oliver today, Clark.”
I nodded my head and smiled.
“You haven't broken any glasses. That's a good sign.”
“Right.”
It was a little awkward for a minute but I broke the silence.
“What made you come to your senses?”
“Actually, you did. This whole time, I just wanted to be like Clark Kent, you know? I wanted to, uh... I wanted to have the ability to bring justice to the world without having to worry about getting killed in the process. And then something occurred to me, and I realized that, uh...”
He cleared his throat and almost looked abashed.
“Clark Kent would never take another man's life. I came within an inch of doing just that. I'm not even in your league.”
He’s right I would never kill someone, I mean come on look what happened with Zod. The world almost ended because I wouldn’t kill someone. But he was wrong about being out of my league. He might not have the same strengths as me but at the moment he did more for the world than I did.
“Oliver, you do a lot of good in this world. You don't need to be indestructible to be a hero.”
“Yeah. Well, you're right. You're right. Yeah. Um...I should be thankful for who I am, right, and the abilities that I have. I know that.”
I nodded my head.
“Me too. Now, come on. You can't be alone on Thanksgiving. The bird's waiting.”
He laughed at then and then got up and turned around.
“Thanks, Clark. I appreciate the offer, but I can't. I... look, Lois is gonna be there, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't even want to be in the same zip code as me.”
I didn’t think that was entirely true. Lois misses him even though it’s only been a day.
“Now that you're back on track, I'm sure Lois is gonna want you there. Trust me.”
“Whoa. Trust you? What happened to all the lectures about guys with secret identities not being able to handle relationships?”
I sighed he was right I did say that. But Lois and Lana are two different people. Just because I think Lana wouldn’t be able to handle my secret doesn’t mean that Lois can’t handle Oliver’s. Plus who am I to stand in their way if they make each other happy? I would give anything to be as happy as they seem to make each other.
“The truth is, you and I are different. And Lois isn't Lana. If you two are meant to be together, then who am I to stand in the way?”
He nodded. I gave him a push and hopefully he’d take my advice. When I got out of the elevator downstairs I glanced at my watch. It was around eleven thirty. I didn’t have much to do before dinner so I thought I’d stop by the Talon and see if Chloe was still there. I super sped to Smallville but then walked to the Talon taking my time. I still can’t believe Chloe is pregnant. I can’t believe what happened with Jimmy. He seemed like such a nice guy; I don’t know why this Meteor infected thing has him so riled up. If it was me I wouldn’t care. But then again, have you met me? Clark Kent Intergalactic Space Traveler. Compared to me Meteor status might be a step up. I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts. I walked into the Talon and ordered Chloe’s favorite. I walked up the stairs and knocked on the door before I opened it. I saw her standing in the middle of the room and she looked pale. I frowned and faced the door to close it.
“Hey Chlo. I thought I’d bring you a coffee you feeling ok you’re looking a little…”
I know my sentence drowned out but I just turned back around and there’s Lana standing right beside Chloe. How did that happen? She wasn’t there a minute ago I would have noticed.
“Oh…I didn’t realize your were busy. I’m..s..sorry.”
I looked in Lana’s direction and she seemed tense.
“Hi Lana.”
She nodded.
“Clark.”
Chloe always the one to diffuse tension came over to me and took the coffee. She gave a slight smile.
“Thanks Clark. Lana and I were just hanging out.”
I nodded but my eyes didn’t leave Lana until I heard Chloe groan from drinking the coffee. She is such an addict. I smiled and faced her.
“It’s decafe so don’t worry.”
She froze. It occurred to me then what I just said and that Lana was still in the room. She looked over at us confused with her eyebrow raised.
“Since when did you drink decafe Chloe?”
“I have been having some stomach issues and the decafe is just lighter on my stomach. Don’t worry I won’t be sticking to it. It just doesn’t have the same kick.”
She smiled bright for Lana but I could tell it was fake and apparently so could Lana. She held her purse a little tighter to her shoulder and gave a soft glare in our direction.
“Well I should probably get going. Lex is probably waiting for me. I’ll see you guys later.”
She started to walk past us out of the apartment when Chloe’s voice stopped her.
“We should finish what we were talking about later Lana…”
Chloe’s voice was soft and kinda hesitant. Lana looked over at her and glowered. Her posture spoke volumes. She was pissed. I definitely barged in on something.
“I’m pretty sure the discussion was over…my relationship with Lex is no longer your business Chloe.”
“Lana..”
“No…I’ve heard enough accusations for one day. Have a nice Thanksgiving.”
And the door slammed shut behind her. I twisted my head around to Chloe and she looked worriedly at the door. When I caught her eye she shrugged and walked into the kitchen.
(Chloe POV)
I walked into the kitchen with Lana on the brain. I had to chuckle at that usually that’s Clark’s area of expertise. Clark eyed me as I lifted the coffee to my mouth. God it felt good sliding down. I closed my eyes and my mind drifted back to my conversation with Lana.
There was a knock on the door. I just finished dropping Lois off at the Kent Farm and came back here to put the flowers together for later. I walked over and opened the door. To my surprise it was Lana.
“Hey! To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Just thought I’d come by wish you a happy Thanksgiving.”
She smiled and I opened the door wider so she could come in. She smiled and set down her bag. I’ve been wrestling with the decision whether or not to tell her about the halfway house and what Lex was doing. If she was going to be in a relationship with him she deserved to know both sides of him.
“Make yourself comfortable. I did some research into the Second Chances Halfway House, and I found –“
She cut me off rather quickly.
“Chloe,... I'm not here to talk about the halfway house.”
I hesitated. I know she doesn’t want to hear it. But I think she needs to. After everything Clark and I learned about him “collecting” Meteor freaks and experimenting on them I couldn’t just let her think he was a great guy. She was like a sister to me and I didn’t want to see her get hurt. I wanted to tell her how Lex had kidnapped me but to be honest I didn’t have enough proof and there was no way she’d listen to me without seeing definite proof that he did it.
“Okay. But there's some stuff I think you should know about, Lana -- about Lex”.
That seemed to get her a little irritated. Lana has been really hard to read lately. Ever since she started her little romance with Lex things have been strained between all of us. I’m pretty sure she resents how close I am to Clark. That was just something she was going to have to deal with though. Clark has lost to many people and I won’t be the next to leave him.
“I don't want to hear anything more about Lex. I came here to see my friend. Hang out a little bit before dinner tonight. I miss you Chloe.”
I smiled at that. I missed her to. Or at least the old Lana. The one who trusted her friends enough to listen to their concerns. Lex was bad news. I just didn’t know how to convince Lana of that.
“I miss you to Lana, I just think there are some things you should know before getting to serious with Lex”
“Chloe...you really need to just stay out of mine and Lex’s business. I know you think your helping me or something but Lex is a good man. He cares about me a lot and I care about him. I don’t care what he’s done in the past he’s working on being a better man and I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. All the things you say he has done…there’s never any proof Chloe.”
She looked down and softened her voice. When she looked back up her stance was stiff and her voice though not mean was firm.
“I won’t abandon Lex because of rumors or horrible acts that he has supposedly committed without some kind of hard proof. Everyone needs a second chance Chloe. I really need you to try and get along with him. I hate having everyone I care about at odds with each other.”
How could I argue with that? I mean wasn’t I just saying the same thing about Clark? That I wouldn’t leave him. It’s true everyone deserves a second chance. But I’m pretty sure Lex has already had his. Plus a third and a forth. I can see how much this is bothering her though and I really don’t want to lose Lana as a friend cause at this point I think she is willing to side with Lex rather then me.. So for now I’ll try to let it go but I won’t give up. Lex isn’t good enough for Lana and I was gonna prove it to her no matter what. I gave her a tiny smile.
“Okay. I concede…for now. But Lana you have to know that I don’t trust him and if I find proof that he really is behind the things I know he is…all bets are off..”
She was about to say something when there was a knock on the door and Clark walked in.
“Chloe!”
The loud voice startled me back into reality. I blinked as I felt the warm pressure of Clark’s hand against my shoulder. I looked up into his worried eyes and chuckled. Clark was such a worrywart. He must have seen my attention was finally on him because he dropped his hand and stepped out of my personal space. Which by the way he always seemed to get into.
“Where’d you go there?”
“Nothing…I mean no where. I was just thinking about my conversation with Lana. That’s all nothing to flip out about Clark.”
I patted him on the chest as I walked past him to continue fixing the flowers.
“I’m fine.”
“Chlo…I’m sorry about the coffee thing. Did you…did you tell Lana?”
Yea that was so not gonna happen. At least not anytime soon. With my luck she’d go back and tell Lex and tomorrow I’d wake up in a nice rubber room of some secret facility.
“No I have not. And I plan to keep it that way. I’m not saying anything to anyone else yet. I still need to go to the doctor and get things straightened out with….Jimmy.”
That was the first time I’ve said his name since our….disagreement. Clark nodded. He caught my pause on Jimmy’s name and I know he’s dieing to ask about it. But I know he won’t push which is good cause I’m not really to talk about it. I don’t know if I would be anytime soon.
We spent the next hour or so just hanging around the Talon talking, watching TV, and getting things ready for tonight. We headed out to the farm at around four. I drove us so it took about twenty minutes to get there. Once we got inside I saw Lois was already there and oh no she brought that burnt thing that she calls edible. While I helped Mrs. Kent set up I heard his comment about cooking it on the barbecue and I had to laugh at that. Watching Lois and Clark fight was one of my favorite past times. They had such an easy relationship and I’m glad they got along. I glanced over at there bickering. Well for the most part anyway. The doorbell rang and Clark said he thought it was for Lois. I gazed in his direction and when our eyes caught he grinned at me and I smiled right back. He was up to something. I looked over at the door and saw Oliver. I had to smile. Clark was an amazing man. Even though he couldn’t be happy with the one person he wanted to be with he still liked to make sure the people around him who he cared about were happy.
A while later Lionel arrived and we all sat down for dinner. As dinner was being handed out Clark stood up. We all looked over and gave him our undivided attention.
“If I could have everyone's attention, please, um, I'd like to make a little announcement. Um... our family has a tradition that goes back way before I was even born... where everyone takes a moment to say what they're most thankful for in their lives. I would just like to say that I'm most thankful for my mom and dad... whose faith in me taught me to have faith in myself. Thank you”
I smiled and everyone dug into their food. I sat back for a moment so I could glance around the table at the people I was spending the holiday with. A warm feeling enveloped my heart. These people some of which I never thought I’d be in a room with in a million years were my family. Clark doesn’t even realize all the people that he’s brought together and it amazes me. As I finish glancing around my eyes land on Clarks and he seems to be doing the same thing as me. Just taking it all in. I felt a hand curl around mine and my head whipped around to Clark. He squeezed it briefly though careful not to hurt me and then started eating. My heart sped up and I prayed he didn’t notice even though I’m sure he did.
(Clark POV)
Dinner turned out pretty well. My mom was right. It was nice to have people around especially the ones that mattered most. Lois and Oliver wound up leaving together and Mom and Lionel went out for a walk. I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about that. I mean he is a Luthor but mom seems to think he’s changed. I cleaned everything up with the help of Chloe until she got a little sick. I’m not really sure if she’s supposed to get sick this much. I hope she sees a doctor soon. I held her hair for what i'm sure felt like hours to her and then gave her a change of clothes from my closet and told her to change and relax while I finished cleaning up. Chloe put up a fight about staying over but I wore her down. I cleaned up with super speed because I didn’t want to leave her alone to long. When I finished I headed up to the loft. When I got to the top Chloe was sitting with her legs underneath her reading a book. She was wearing my favorite red flannel, how do I know it’s my favorite? I just do even if they all look the same there different to me, and a pair of my boxers. Ok right now I am a horrible best friend. I’m standing here and all I can think is how amazing Chloe looks in my clothes. She’s absolutely glowing. I shook my head to get rid of the none friendly thoughts. I find Chloe very attractive and I care about her on more than a friendly level, but I still love Lana and Chloe is still with Jimmy…I think. I would never risk Chloe’s heart though not if I wasn’t one hundred percent sure…not again. I sat on the couch next to her but she didn’t look at me. She was still reading.
“Whatcha reading Chlo?”
“A book.”
I rolled my eyes. Obviously she was reading a book I knew that. I glanced at the cover as she read.
“What to expect when you’re expecting. Ohh it’s a…baby book?”
She nodded and finally put it down.
“I got it this afternoon while I was out with Lois. She was grabbing last minute ingredients and I slipped away from her. I wanna know…you know what’s going on in there.”
I smiled at her. It’s good she wants to know. I kind of want to know to. Ever since Chloe told me about the baby I couldn’t help but be a little excited. One of my first thought when she told me was of Evan. When Lana and I found him a few years back in the middle of Evans field it almost felt like a sign for us. We took him to the hospital together and then he came home to stay with me until child services could get him. It never happened though because Evan had a second-generation meteor power and unfortunately he literally grew to fast. Lana and I were devastated when he died. I felt like I lost what could have been a son. Now with Chloe being pregnant it’s almost like a second chance. I will be nice to gain something after the losses of this past year. I put my attention back on her.
“I get it. You look kind of tired Chlo…want me to read it to you for a little bit…give your eyes a rest?”
She leaned back into the couch.
“You wouldn’t mind doing that?”
“Not at all. You do enough for me…sometimes I feel like I don’t do enough for you.”
She put her hand on my arm and stroked it. Her skin was warm to the touch and I closed my eyes.
“Clark you are always there for me when I need you. You’ve saved my life countless times and you still think you don’t do enough for me?”
She shook her head laughing.
“Your crazy.”
I grabbed the book from her and leaned back. She placed her head on my chest and I put and arm around her and started to read from chapter two. Halfway through the chapter she was fast asleep. I pushed some hair off her face and behind her ear. I smiled and continued to read but this time to myself.
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