http://haveatit-reportergirl.blogspot.com/2008/12/three-minutes-chapter-11.html
Chapter 10 Part A
(Lana POV)
I was sitting at the vanity in mine and Lex’s room brushing my hair. I haven’t spoken to Chloe or Clark in about two weeks. Clark came by and apologized to Lex but I didn’t want to see him. According to Lex Chloe sent her apologies as well…apparently Clark didn’t want Lex anywhere near her. The two of them are ridiculous with there accusations when it comes to Lex…
I don’t really understand what happened…Chloe and I used to be so close and now…it’s like I don’t even know her. I felt a small flutter in my stomach and put my hand over it. I started to feel the baby moving about a week ago…It felt…indescribable…absolutely amazing. I smiled and continued brushing my hair…I can’t believe Clark and Chloe are married…I mean I’m happy with Lex. I love him and we’re going to have a family, but I guess I just never thought that Clark would move on…let alone with Chloe…
My thoughts were cut short when my cell phone chimed. My brows drew together and I picked it up and opened it. There was a photo message for me but it wasn’t from a number I recognized. I opened it and gasped. It was a picture taken of me…right here now! I looked frantically around the room and then I opened the door and ran out straight into Lex. He saw the panic on my face and he frowned in concern.
“Lana, what's wrong?”
“There's someone in the room.”
Lex got his security team together and they sweeped through the room with their guns on the ready but found nothing.
I heard on of the men on the team speak.
“Clear.”
Then another as Lex stood by my side holding me tightly.
“It's all clear, sir.”
I glanced around the room and saw the window wide open…I didn’t leave that open.
“Lex, over there.”
I motioned to the open window and Lex went over to the window and searched outside of it but didn’t find anything.
He turned to the security team and his voice was hard and commanding.
“Check the roof and initiate a full perimeter sweep of the grounds.”
“Right. Yes, sir.”
And they left the room to do as Lex asked. I was slightly shivering and Lex rubbed my arms and turned me towards him.
“Lana... what did this guy look like?”
I shook my head. That’s when I remembered the picture message. I was debating whether or not I should show it to Lex…I didn’t want to worry him….but I didn’t want to lie either because I don’t want him lying to me…
“I don't know. I didn't see him, but...”
I pulled out my cell phone and handed it to Lex.
“Whoever was here they took this…and sent it to me…that’s how I know s…someone was here…”
His eyes grew cold and his jaw tensed. I sighed and my voice was quiet when I spoke.
“C-could you close the window?”
He snapped out of whatever he was thinking and when he looked at me his face softened.
“Yeah.”
As he closed and locked the window I sat down on the bed. He turned back around and knelt in front of me.
“How long ago was this message sent to you?”
I shrugged.
“Not long before I came outside and you came in here…maybe a minute or two.”
He nodded. His voice was comforting when he spoke.
“You didn't actually see or hear anyone thought right?”
I shook my head.
“No”
“I’m going to keep your phone for now if that ok…I want to send it to my people…see if they can trace the number that sent you this picture.”
I gave him a weak smile and nodded. I knew when things got tough I could always count on Lex. He has always been there for me. He must have seen the anxious look on my face because he rubbed my arm gently and spoke in a calm voice.
“Hey…where gonna find this person Lana…and when we do…I’m going to personally teach them what happens to someone who messes with the people I care about.”
I leaned my forehead against his and took a deep breath.
“I love you…”
He smiled.
“I love you too. I'm going to go downstairs, and get you some tea to calm your nerves.”
I smiled.
“Thank you.”
He nodded kissed my head and placed his hand on my stomach for a second before he left the room. I don’t care how Lex is with other people…because with me he’s a good man. Clark and Chloe needed to stop trying to convince me that Lex was some kind of monster…because I’d die before I’d ever betray him…
(Clark POV)
I walked into The Daily Planet and I saw Chloe at her desk typing away on the computer. I smiled. Things have been a little strained between us the last couple of weeks. Ever since we kind of got married…which by the way according to Chloe is my fault…we have kind of been stepping on each other’s toes trying to settle into the reality of actually being married. Chloe’s way of dealing with it is to ignore it and pretend it didn’t happen. Me I’ve been trying to integrate our lives together without changing the things we each love as individuals…but Chloe is always getting mad at me when I do that…
Then last night we finally sat down and had a little discussion about everything. We agreed that we’re going to try and make this marriage work…all the kinks are definitely not out of this relationship but we’re working on it and that’s the important part. I walked over to her desk and stood there waiting for her to notice me. I glanced down and noticed the ring on her finger glittering while she typed. The ring was huge and I felt really bad about swiping it…but after returning everything else I took while we were on red K I just couldn’t bring myself to take the ring from Chloe. It looked right on her.
“Why are you staring at me Clark?”
I looked back up at her and she didn’t even take her eyes off the screen as she spoke to me. I smiled.
“I can’t admire my wife?”
She scrunched her nose and shook her head. Her hands stopped typing as she clicked print and she faced me.
“It’s so weird to hear you call me that…I mean you’re not just my boyfriend anymore…you’re my husband…”
I shrugged.
“You almost finished? We had lunch plans today didn’t we?”
She shook her head no and I saw sadness over take her face.
“What’s wrong Chlo?”
She pointed to the calendar on her desk. Today’s date had a red blue circle on it with a smiley face. I raised an eyebrow. She sighed.
“Lana is five months pregnant today…we had plans to go baby shopping together for the boys. It’s unlucky to get things before the fifth month…in case anything…you know goes wrong. So we were all excited about today and we planned it months in advance and now…Lana and I aren’t even speaking to one another…it’s just…I miss her Clark…I miss our friendship…Lois is great but Lana know what’s I’m going through…how I’m feeling…and she just…she chose Lex over us Clark!”
By the end of Chloe’s little speech she had tears coursing down her cheeks. I sat down and pulled her to me. I said what I hoped were comforting words in her ear as I rubbed her back. Chloe’s been kind of an emotional wreck lately. My mom said it’s normal for pregnant women to be emotional but I wasn’t so sure.
The other night Chloe kicked me out of my own bed because I made a comment about how round her stomach was getting. I didn’t mean it offensively. We were laying in bed and I had her shirt up over her stomach and I was talking to our son…he was moving around a lot and I said it looked like she had a small basketball inside her skin…Is that so bad? Well she apparently thought so because I slept on the couch and not in my bed. A hard slap to the head knocked me out of my thoughts. I looked at Chloe confused and she looked pissed. Crap…
“Clark Kent do you even listen to me when I talk to you?”
“Huh…”
I didn’t have a chance to finish because she cut me off.
“Of course not. I’m sitting here crying my eyes out because I miss my best friend and you’re sitting there ignoring me. Go home I don’t want to have lunch with you.”
If I was still alive by the time Chloe had the baby I actually might be a little surprised…with the way things were going I was afraid during one of her “emotional” times she was going to take a piece of kryptonite and physically harm me with it…all though that might be harder now that it effects her too. We still haven’t figured out why that is…not for a lack of trying though. I shook my head.
“Chloe I’m sorry I know how upset you are about Lana…why don’t you call her…see if maybe you guys can work things out. It can’t hurt to try right?”
She shrugged.
“I guess not but what would I say…By the way sorry I crashed your rehearsal dinner and announced your pregnancy to a room full of strangers…wanna go shopping for baby clothes?”
I grinned. If she was making jokes it couldn’t be that bad. Besides I went and apologized to Lex…even though I would rather have impaled myself with kryptonite…We all do things we don’t wanna do…
“That could be a start. Besides if I went and apologized to Lex you can apologize to Lana.”
“Yes but the difference is Clark you aren’t trying to be Lex’s friend…that ship has sailed. I still want Lana in my life…We still need to convince her Lex is the devil…I can only imagine what would happen if her son grew up with him. It would be like Dr. Evil and Mini Me…without the cuteness.”
I chuckled. I would say she’s highly caffinated but she’s only had one cup…
“Well what’s the verdict? You going to call Lana…or are you letting me take you to lunch?”
She smiled at me.
“I think I’m gonna try to call Lana…you don’t mind do you?”
I shook my head.
“Not at all.”
She tilted her head to the side.
“I’m sorry you had to come all the way here…I appreciate it though.”
I smiled and leaned over to kiss her.
“It’s fine Chloe…it only took me a couple of seconds to get here. You do your thing and I’ll see you at home.”
I stood up and was about to walked away when Chloe pulled on my arm. I turned and she leaned up and kissed me. Her voice was soft and intimate when she spoke.
“I love you.”
“Love you too.”
And I took off. I went back to the farm and ran into Lois. She was in the kitchen helping herself to a glass of juice. I glanced in her direction and continued to the closet in the hallway as I spoke.
“Chloe isn’t here Lois…go home.”
I could here her snort from where I was pulling out a large box covered by a blanket. I brought it into the living room and Lois followed me.
“Please…not every time I come here is about seeing my wayward cousin. I was looking for your mom.”
I sat on the floor and pulled the blanket off the box. I was concentrating on getting it out while I spoke to Lois.
“She’s in Metropolis with Lionel…some kind of charity thing…I think she’ll be…”
Lois’s voice cut into my sentence. Her voice was soft.
“Is that…is that a crib?”
I looked up at her and the expression on her face was a mixture of surprise and awe. I smiled.
“Yeah…well kinda. It’s a bassinet or a rocker…what do you think? I mean it’s not finished yet I still have to add a few things here and sand it down…but this is pretty much how it’s gonna look. Lois…earth to Lois…”
Her head snapped from the crib to me.
“You made this?”
I nodded.
“Smallville…that’s really…you know…you’re not so bad of a guy and I think Chloe will really like it.”
My smile widened. I just got a compliment from Lois…I should buy a lottery ticket today! Just think I’d win millions…
“Thanks Lois…listen I’m actually kind of glad you’re here.”
She raised and eyebrow at me and was about to say something but I spoke before she could.
“I need to talk to you about something.”
I wiped my hands on my jeans and stood up. I was pacing around the room and finally Lois got tired of it.
“Smallville you’re gonna burn a hole in the floor. Whatever it is it can’t be as bad as you running off and eloping with my baby cousin…”
I glared at her for a second before sitting across from her. I wasn’t really one to put my feelings out there…I was a private guy…and I definitely didn’t get all sentimental in front of Lois…but there was something I needed and in order to get it I had to such it up and ask Lois for help.
“I know that um…Ok listen…I know that you and I don’t really do the emotional stuff and that’s…good cause it would be kinda weird. That being said I need a favor. Now that Chloe and I are married…”
She glared at me but I ignored it.
“And she’s going to be having the baby in a few months…I figured that maybe you could help redo my room. The farm isn’t small but it’s not equip for more people either. I spoke to my mom and she told me I could combine my room and the spare room since there right next to each other.”
She didn’t say anything but she nodded so I knew she was at least listening. I continued.
“ I was thinking I could connect the rooms that way we could be close to the baby…I like to think I know Chloe better than anyone…but when it comes to decorating and what Chloe likes in that department…I’m lost. But you’ve lived with her and you know what she likes. I’d really appreciate the help Lois…So…what do you think?”
Lois gave me an appraising look before rolling her eyes and standing up.
“Like you even had to ask Smallville jeez…you make it seem like I’m the big bad wolf…of course I’ll help it’s for Chloe and my nephew.”
She looked at her watch and sighed.
“I have to go I have a deadline and I’m not nearly done with my article. I’ve wasted too much of my time on you already. Tell you’re mom I stopped by.”
And with that she left. I shook my head. She’s ridiculous…
(Chloe POV)
I called Lana and wound up leaving a message because no one answered. I shook my head. I really hoped Lana and I could work this out. I hate the way she’s been acting lately and things have been tense with us lately but I didn’t hate her. I looked at the clock and it was getting late. I sighed I haven’t eaten lunch yet because Lana never answered and I was getting hungry. I’ll just go out and grab something myself…no big deal. I got up grabbed my purse and headed out the door banging straight into Lana. I looked up startled and she moved from foot to foot. We both stood there for a couple of minutes and when I finally couldn’t take it anymore I broke he silence.
“Lana…listen I know I already said this on your voicemail but I’m really sorry about ruining your dinner…I never meant for any of that stuff to happen.”
I shook my head.
“And I’m so sorry about telling everyone about the baby.”
She nodded and gave me a hesitant smile.
“The lipstick sure caused a lot of grief huh?”
I nodded and smiled back.
“It defiantly did.”
She was quiet and then her voice was careful when she spoke next.
“And Clark…it sure seemed to give him an unusual amount of strength…I don’t remember you or Lois being any stronger…it must affect males differently.”
I could tell she didn’t believe what she was saying by the way she spoke. I wasn’t going to correct her though I just smiled and nodded.
“I was actually just on my way to lunch…do you feel like…maybe coming along?”
She shrugged.
“I could eat…and it’ll give us time to talk…maybe work things out? I miss having you around Chloe…you’re the only other person going though what I’m going through…plus you’re my maid of honor and the wedding is in two weeks…”
I forced a laugh for her sake. Yeah Lana would be worried about her wedding to Lex…unfortunately it wasn’t the kind of worried she should be. We left The Daily Planet and went to lunch. While we were there we both acknowledged that we said some awful things and they couldn’t be taken back…but we could work through them and maybe our friendship would be stronger because of it.
I told her about what the doctor said at my last appointment and then Lana started telling me about the new happenings in her life. Apparently Lana has a new stalker in her life and Lex had his whole team of security on the case trying to figure out who this guy was…but with no luck as of yet. I sipped my juice as Lana told me what was going on.
“Lex was hoping to fin out right away who it was because he needs to go away on business for a couple of days and he didn’t want to leave me alone while all this was going on…”
I nodded.
“Well of course not. When is he leaving?”
She sighed.
“Tonight.”
Hmmm. With everything going on we can’t just leave Lana and the baby to fend for herself.
“Why don’t you come stay at the farm with Clark and I while Lex is gone…I know it might be a little awkward but I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you…what do you say?”
She looked like she was thinking about it and then I saw a smile appeared on her face.
“That’d be great Chloe…thanks. When I get back home I’ll tell Lex and I’m sure he’ll feel a lot better about going on his trip. Speaking of that I should probably get back to the mansion…I have some stuff to do and I want to spend some time with Lex before he goes.”
She started getting her stuff together and I was confused. That was weird…it was almost like she was waiting for me to invite her back to the farm…but why would she want me to do that when she and Clark aren’t really speaking right now. She smiled at me and I gave her a small smile back.
“I’m really glad we worked things out Chloe…I missed you…what time do you want me to come by tonight?”
Crap I had to talk to Clark about this…
“Umm I guess whenever Lex leaves just come by.”
She nodded and said bye and left. My head was spinning something was just not right with this and I’d figure it out eventually but right now I needed to get back to The Planet and hand in my article so I could go home and talk to Clark. I’d owe him big after this one…
(Lex POV)
Lana just told me she’d was going to be staying at the farm tonight…I can’t say I’m happy about it I don’t want Clark and Chloe polluting her mind against me…but she’d be safe and I in the long run that’s all that mattered. Plus I’m sending half he security team with her so she’ll be fine…I looked at the clock and it was just about time for me to call Dr. Rhinehouse and give him the ok our first test. It was supposed to happen when Chloe left the engagement party but things didn’t exactly go as planned. I picked up my phone and dialed his number.
“Hello?”
“Hello doctor.”
“Mr. Luthor…everything is all set up I just need you to tell me when to put everything in motion.”
I grinned.
“Do it now.”
And I hung up. If all of these tests panned out I was going to become an icon in this world…Chloe doesn’t even realize the powers she carried inside her…and hopefully she never would…not until I learn how to harness it of course…my other favorite patient was helping me with that…well maybe helping was to strong of a word…but either way I was on my way to getting all the answers that I needed…things are about to get very interesting…
(Clark POV)
I had just finished up the crib as my mom walked through the door. She looked over and smiled at me.
“Clark…it’s absolutely gorgeous. I’m sure Chloe’s going to love it.”
I smiled and picked it up to put it back in the closet.
“I hope so. I talked to Lois today she said she’d help.”
“That’s good. When is Chloe coming home do you know?”
I shrugged.
“Soon I think though…last time I talked to her she said she was gonna be home early because she had something to tell me.”
“Alright well i'm gonna head upstairs and change…I’ll make dinner when I come back down.”
“Thanks mom”
she nodded and went upstairs. I started putting away all the tools I was using and cleaning up for my mom. I heard a car coming down the road so I went over to the door and saw Chloe’s Yaris turning into the farm. As she pulled up I was standing on the porch smiling and she saw me and waved from inside the car. She shut the car off and I saw her getting her stuff together…As soon as she opened her car door I heard a loud bang and it knocked me back a few feet.
I landed right on my back. I shook my head and looked up and my whole body went slack. About twenty-five feet in front of me was Chloe’s Yaris in a mountain of flames. I picked myself up and as I was super speeding over to the car there was a second explosion and flames came off the car in waves the whole thing was burning to the ground and as I got closer I saw part of Chloe’s shirt singed on the ground. I could hear myself frantically screaming and my mom came running out yelling my name right as I ran into the roaring fire and disappeared in it…I didn’t care who saw…the only thing that mattered was Chloe….she was standing here right when the car blew up…I saw her body engulfed by flames….I heard her scream…I’d get to her and the baby…it can’t be too late…it just can’t…
Chapter 10 Part B
(Clark POV)
It was quiet…we sat around the kitchen table in complete silence. I had my elbows on the table and my chin was resting on the peak of my hands. My clothes were burnt and the sleeves of my shirt were practically gone. My mother had some dust on her and her eyes were still wet from tears. The tears she cried what felt like hours ago but was probably only minutes. Silence had engulfed the room and neither of us knew what to say to break it…
“How did this happen…Clark…Clark talk to me…what is going on?”
Her voice was frantic and I closed my eyes. What was I supposed to say? I have no clue what happened…I keep going over it in my head and nothing makes sense. I remember running into the fire to look for Chloe and when I saw her she was batting the flames off her body screaming. I grabbed her and super sped away from the fire. Once we were in front of the house I was frantically trying to pat the fire out that was burning her shirt. It wasn’t until she stopped wriggling and calmed down that I realized there wasn’t a scratch on her. Not one burn. Her skin was a bit pink but nothing more. There were tears on Chloe’s face as she sat by my mom. My mom had an arm around her trying to comfort her but it wasn’t doing much good. I glanced at her and it was the first time I’ve ever seen Chloe look broken. I sighed. I spoke as reassuringly as I could.
“I don’t know what’s going on Chloe…but we’ll figure it out…I promise.”
She glared at me and moved away from my mother’s arms.
“Is that all you can say Clark? Everything will be fine…We’ll figure it out…Look around you! There is something going on with me and we have no idea what it is or how to fix it!”
She got up and when she did her chair slammed back. She shook her head and more tears fell down her face. It made my heart hurt. It killed me that I couldn’t do or say anything to make this better for her. Things have been increasingly rough on her ever since she found out about the baby and I was afraid it was just going to keep getting worse.
“Clark Meteor rocks make me sick…I can walk through fire with out getting a single burn on my body…”
She trailed off but I didn’t need her to finish the sentence. What if she was becoming like me…It’s not necessarily a bad thing it’s just…we don’t know how it’s happening or if it could hurt her and that’s unacceptable.
I got up and walked over to her. The first time I tried to pull her into my arms she hit me and pushed me away…but the second time when she hit me I wouldn’t let her go and she wound up collapsing in my arms crying. I held onto her and my mom slowly got up and exited the kitchen to give us some time alone.
“Hey…I love you and even if everything isn’t ok we’ll still get through it because you have me and I won’t let anything happen to you. So…anyway…”
I thought changing the subject might help get her mind off things.
“What do you say we get you cleaned up…”
I gave her a small smile.
“You’re looking kind of ashy to me Chloe.”
That got a small smile from her and she sniffed.
“You too…your shirt is all ripped.”
I nodded and moved her to the direction of the stairs.
(Chloe POV)
As we were walking up the stairs I stopped and he bumped into me from behind. I just remembered Lana was supposed to come here…with everything that just happened I forgot to tell him. He glanced at me with an inquisitive look.
“Why are you stopping?”
“Because I forgot to tell you the reason I came home early.”
He motioned for me to tell him.
“Well I did what you said and I called Lana…long story short we made up and she told me that she’s being stalked by someone. And before you ask no I don’t know who. Lex has had his men working on it since they found out and there aren’t any leads yet. But see Lex is going out of town and I might have offered Lana a place to stay.”
He looked at me and his mouth dropped open.
“Tell me your joking…”
“Not exactly…I thought she’d say no because the two of you aren’t exactly on speaking terms…but she didn’t…she actually seemed pretty happy about staying here. I wanted to let you know she was coming to stay for a day or two before she actually got here. Plus I think something’s going on. We’re going to have to be careful while she’s here Clark.”
He sighed rubbed his face with his hand and nodded.
“I guess I better go get the rest of your car off the front lawn…and make sure the burns on the grass are gone…man Chloe…I really wish you would have said something sooner.”
I rolled my eyes at him.
“Yes Clark I should have mentioned this while I thought I was burning in a car explosion…it’ll only take a few seconds for you to clean up…stop your whining. I’m going to shower.”
I leaned over kissed him and went upstairs to shower off the dust and soot from the fire. If I was becoming like Clark I sure hope I got the super hearing and super speed also….I could go on vacation whenever I wanted without paying plus hello super hearing….better than any listening device!
(Lana POV)
I was putting some things in an over night bag when Lex came into the room. He was leaning on the doorframe watching me. I smiled at him.
“What?”
He shook his head…
“Nothing…you’re beautiful you know that?”
I chuckled and zipped up my bag. I faced him and there was a small smile on his face.
“I bet you say that to all your fiancé’s”
He laughed and walked into the room.
“You’ve got me pinned to a tee…”
I nodded.
“You know it.”
He leaned down and kissed me. I returned the kiss eagerly and when he pulled away I grinned up at him. He had a frown on his face, which made the smile leave my face.
“I really hate leaving you here while all this is going on Lana…I don’t like the thought that while I’m away someone could be here hurting you…I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you or the baby…you inspire me to be a good man…I’d be lost without you.”
I stroked his face and kissed him again. He was always saying the most amazing things to me. I’ve known ever since Lex and I got together that he was the one I was going to spend the rest of my life with…curious as to why? When I was with Clark things were never this simple…now I’m not saying anything bad about Clark because he always treated me well. But with him it felt like I was always forcing our relationship to work…we rarely agreed on anything and when it came to the big stuff, the things we should have been going to each other for…we were always on opposite sides of the spectrum…But with Lex…he gets me. He doesn’t underestimate me and he treats me as an equal. No lies…No secrets…just plain unadulterated honesty…and that’s one of the many reason’s I love him. When I spoke my voice came out soft and reassuring.
“Everything is going to be fine Lex. I’m staying at the Kent farm and it’s going to be a full house there…so no worries.”
He raised his brow at the comment.
“Yes I do recall you telling me that earlier…I am curious as to why you’d except Chloe’s offer though considering you didn’t even want to be in the same room as Clark a few days ago. What caused this change of heart? If you don’t mind me asking…”
I moved away from him and sat on the bed. I knew this was coming. It had been bugging him all day and not that he was about to leave he wanted to know the reason that I decided to stay at Clarks…it was more curiously then jealousy…Lex knew I loved him he wasn’t worried about Clark. I sighed and looked up.
“Honestly?”
He nodded.
“I don’t expect anything less…”
“Clark is different Lex…”
His head tilted to the side a bit and the look on his face became intrigued.
“What makes you say that Lana?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Because I have eyes?”
I paused and he looked amused.
“I don’t know how but I know there is something different about Clark Kent…he has a secret…I know that Chloe knows it…but he’s never been able to be honest with me about it…and that’s a very large part why our relationship didn’t work. They expect me to ignore every weird thing that goes on involving him…and I’m done doing that. I’m done justifying why things happen…I want to know what his secret is…and I’m going to find out whether they want me to or not.”
When he looked at me I saw pride flitter across his face and then a look of satisfaction took its place. He walked over to me and lifted my hands into his.
“Is this how you really feel…No going back? You want to find out what Clark’s been hiding…no matter what?”
He was looking deep into my eyes appraising me. There was something there that looked off to me and then I realized this was another one of his insecurities. What he was about to tell me he felt would make me think differently of him and so he was giving me a chance to back out…A chance to claim ignorance on one of his darker obsessions.
I know there are things Lex doesn’t tell me. I’m not completely naive…but the difference between his secrets and Clarks are…Lex excludes me because he doesn’t think I’m ready for what he’s doing…he loves me so much and he’s afraid that if he shows me the darker sides of himself that I’ll leave him. Clark didn’t tell me because he didn’t trust me with his secrets…That make all the difference when I look at it. I sat up straighter and squeezed his hands to make sure he knew we were on the same page.
“Lex…no going back. You and I are in this together. I know…I know there are some thing’s that you don’t like telling me. Everyone needs there privacy and I’d never invade yours. But I want you to know…you can tell me anything…nothing you say to me could change the way I feel about you.”
He gave me a small smile and nodded. He stood up and took my hand.
“In that case…before I go I have something to show you…”
He lead me out of the room we walked around to the west wing of the hallway and he lead me down to the last door on the left. He paused in front of it and turned to me. His voice was stern and warm at the same time and the look on his face was a mixture of excitement and reservation.
“I want you to listen closely Lana…what I’m about to show you…there are very few people who know about this…this…room is part of a top secret project that I have been working on with one other person. A doctor…If everything works out the way I have planned it could be one of the largest discoveries man kind has ever made…Once I open this door…you are a part of this and will be expected to see it to it’s conclusion…”
He trailed off and I took a deep breath. I nodded for him to continue and when he did my heart sped up and chills went down my spine.
“It may involve certain people you care about…and I’m not exactly sure what will become of these people after everything is completed…I would never force my work upon you Lana…what I do with my research and experiments…can sometimes be dangerous and even on occasion a little brutal. With that said if I open this door you’re putting yourself into that aspect of my world…The part that you don’t see all the time.”
He looked down then put the key into the door. I held my hand against my stomach and for a minute I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see what was on the other side. I wanted to run to the other side of the house and never come back here. But I stood my ground. Lex didn’t open the door but he did look at my face and he must have seen the hesitation because he stopped.
“Lana…if you don’t want to…”
I cut him off and my voice was strong…determined.
“I do. I’m tired of being in the dark Lex. I’m tired of waiting for everything to come to me…It’s time I started taking the initiative. Show me…”
He looked at me and his eyes bore into me.
“Lana I want you to think about this for a second…no don’t interrupt me…humor me ok…the hesitation maybe that’s your heads way of telling you that you’re not emotionally ready to be involved in this yet. Please just make sure…because like I said before once you see this you’ll need to lie to the people you care about…you’ll have to pretend like everything is the same even though you know it’s not…there will be tests and experiments that will happen…and you might have to look that person in the eye the next day and act like you weren’t the one helping to perform them. Can you do that…can you turn your back on people who you’ve known your whole life to get answers that you feel you deserve?”
His voice was intense and the look on his face was inquiring. Could I? Could I turn my back on my friends and help Lex with whatever he was doing? I looked into his eyes and I saw him laying himself on the line knowing that whatever he was about to show me could change our relationship forever…Yes…I could leave my old life behind…the places…the people…I could start a new chapter in life…by Lex’s side. We are a family through thick and thin and in a few weeks through good and bad times…It will hurt and doing this will probably change me in ways I didn’t know yet but this was about answers…finding out the truth…I’d help Lex and if I had to walk over a few people to do it…then I’d do what I have to do.
He knew the moment I found my answer. I looked up at him and squared my shoulders. My voice was strong.
“Yes…I can do that. Lex I care about a lot of people but I love you. And I’m not just some schoolgirl choosing her crushes side over her friends. I am a women looking for answers to questions I’ve had my whole life. I will do what I need to in order to get those answers. I don’t care what’s behind that door…if it can help us find out what I want to know then I want you to let me into that part of your life…and I promise you I will not disappoint or betray you…”
He sensed my seriousness and leaned down to capture my lips in a hot kiss. When we separated he turned the key and opened the door. I took a deep breath and followed him inside…what I saw when I looked around the room made me gasp and grab for something to hold onto. Lex put his arm around me to steady my body and my grip was bruising as I clutched at her are white knuckled. Oh my god…..
(Lois POV)
I pulled my car into the front of the Kent farm and got out. As I was walking over to the backdoor I saw Clark chucking something in the garbage…was that a license plate? I shook my head he’s so weird…and extremely dirty. Does the boy ever stop doing farm work?
“Hey Smallville…what happened to your clothes? It looks like you stood a little to close to the fire place.”
He glared at me and walked closer.
“Lois…I’d say it was nice to see you…but I’d be lying…”
I gave him a sweet smile and fluttered my eyelashes.
“Oooh Clarkie…how you flatter me…”
I looked around and before he could say anything else I frowned.
“Aren’t you freezing out here like that? It’s like fifty degrees out Smallville…What were you…born on an ice planet or something…jeez”
He looked jumpy and gave a nervous chuckle.
“Uhh…no…no of course not…what is it that you want Lois?”
I looked around and didn’t see Chloe’s car…crap! I really didn’t feel like driving to Metropolis right now it was getting late.
“I guess Chloe’s not home huh..”
He shook his head and started to walk inside. He spoke over his shoulder.
“No she’s here. When I left her she was about to get in the shower…I’ve been out here a while she should be done.”
I frowned and followed him inside.
“She’s here…well where’s her car?”
He froze in his tracks…and there goes the stuttering again…he’s so weird.
“Umm well…you…see…there…she…it was stolen…yea…that’s what happened.”
My eyes bugged out.
“Oh my god and you didn’t call me Smallville! Is Chloe ok? Sometime I really don’t know where you put that brain of yours…does it hide from you or something? It’s probably afraid you’ll dress it in plaid….”
I continued my tirade and Clark just looked confused. I saw his head turn towards the stairs as if he was listening to something. I saw him move closer to the steps and a couple of seconds later Chloe came down. He looked relived. I shook my head. He was such a pansy sometimes…it’s like one minutes he was this uber confident guy and the next he was a dorky farmboy…Clark Kent…schizophrenic! I heard Chloe’s voice and tuned out my thought.
“Hey Lo’ what brings you buy?”
She smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. I shrugged
“I got the weirdest text message for you it’s encrypted, which by the way I didn’t even know you could do to a text message but anyway yea and…it’s from a number I don’t recognize. I tried to break the code to read the message and find out who it belonged to but all I got were dead ends. Thought I’d bring it to you and let you try.”
She laughed.
“So what you’re saying is you tried to hack a message that was sent for me by the way and when you couldn’t get it open you decided to bring it to me?”
I grinned at her.
“Yup”
But then my face lost its smile and I went over to Chloe.
“But forget this for right now…are you ok? Clark told me about your car…”
Her eyes went wide and she whipped her head over to Clark. His voice was high as he spoke to her.
“Yeah…I told Lois your car was stolen in Metropolis. She didn’t let me finish though…”
He looked back at me.
“Chloe wasn’t there when it happened. She went to come home and the car was gone. That’s when she went back to The Planet and called me and I came and got her…end of story…see she didn’t get hurt.”
I looked at Chloe so she could confirm what he was saying because for some reason I just didn’t believe him. It sounded like he was hiding something.
She nodded and gave me a small smile.
“Yup…that’s exactly what happened.”
She walked away from us and into the kitchen but I could still hear her voice.
“You know what…it’s actually good you’re here Lois.”
She came out of the kitchen with a bottle of water and I saw Clark raise an eyebrow at Chloe and speak.
“It is?”
She slapped him in the stomach as she walked by and he ooffed as I laughed. Clark followed Chloe to the couch and they sat together. I followed them in and stood there waiting for her to finish.
“Yes Clark…it is.”
She looked back at me.
“When was the last time we all hung out? Lana is coming over there’s some kind of stalker after her or something so she’s staying here for a few days.”
Whoa whoa whoa…She’s staying here…that is weird. After everything that happened at her engagement party I didn’t think I’d be seeing her around Clark or Chloe anytime soon. Guess I was wrong…
“That’s interesting…I didn’t think I’d see you hanging out with Lana anytime soon…”
When I trailed off Clark snorted and his voice came out whiny.
“Yea neither did I.”
Chloe hit him again and I smirked. She had him wrapped around her finger and I thought that was too funny…Never underestimate a Sullivan-Lane girl…we do it best! Her voice was amused when she spoke again.
“Anyway she should be here soon and it might be nice for all of us to do something together for once…you know…pretend to be normal people our age who aren’t pregnant, married , engaged broken hearted and having normal everyday problems…just a couple of kids kicking back and having a movie night….could be interesting .”
I saw Clark grin and I shrugged. What the hell right…she’s right…we don’t do this stuff often…might as well pass the time here instead of at home alone.
“Sure Chlo…bring on the movies.”
She clapped her hands and just then the doorbell rang. We all looked over at it and nobody moved.
(Clark POV)
I rolled my eyes.
“No please Lois…you’re standing but don’t get the door…I’ll get it.”
I got up off the couch and walked over to the door. I knew it was Lana and I really didn’t want to open the door and see a look of accusation on her face…I sighed. I opened the door and two big guys I suites immediately pushed by me and started searching the house. I looked over extremely confused…
“Hey…HEY…What are you doing?”
They faced me and stopped for a minute.
“We were instructed by Mr. Luthor to secure the indoor and outdoor parameters to ensure Miss. Lang safety.”
Ahhh…of course…Lex sent bodyguards. I glanced at the door and Lana gave me a small smile. She looked a little pale but aside from that I didn’t see any animosity in her reaction to seeing me…weird. I opened the door wider for her and she walked in with a small bag.
“Hello Clark.”
“Hey Lana…I’m sorry to hear about this stalker thing…but I’m glad Chloe and I could help.”
She nodded and moved into the room.
“Me to. Thank you for letting me crash here while Lex is out of town. I appreciate it.”
I nodded again. I looked at Lana and placed a hand on her arm. She stopped and looked at me.
“Listen…I’m really sorry…about…you knows what happened at your engagement party. I didn’t mean what happened really…I…”
She cut me off and sighed.
“Clark I’ll tell you the same thing I told Chloe…yes it sucked having my night ruined but it wasn’t you fault…you were infected with that woman’s love crap…it reacted badly with you guys…I get it…lets not rehash it ok?”
“Sure...ok”
She nodded and then walked into the living room where Chloe and Lois were talking. I heard them great her and then they all started laughing. I smiled I haven’t heard Chloe laugh like that in a while. Maybe tonight would be good for her. When I came into the living room they all turned and laughed. I raised an eyebrow and looked at Chloe. she smirked at me.
“Since the united States is a democracy Clark the girls and I determined that we should all have a say in deciding who went out to get the movies and junk food.”
I nodded. Sounded fair and yet there all smiling in my direction. I spoke cautiously.
“Ok…”
Lois and Lana chuckled and Chloe spoke.
“Well it has been decided that you will be getting refreshments and movies…”
“Me…why?”
Lois took her turn and spoke up.
“Because Smallville…you’ve been out voted.”
I rolled my eyes.
“What are you talking about….I didn’t even get to vote…I thought this was a democracy.”
Lana grinned and chimed in.
“It is so even though you didn’t vote it doesn’t matter because majority rules. And we..”
She pointed to her Chloe and Lois…
“Are the majority..”
They all smiled and I shook my head. They all ganged up on me…nice…this is what happens when you put one man in a room full of women…they take over like dictators and bring you to your knees until your doing whatever they want….I got a paper and pen and wrote down what everybody wanted including some incredibly disgusting things for Chloe and Lana. I grabbed the paper and went to walk out as I turned around to take one more look at them the. I smiled.
There we all were. All together, with everything we'd all been through over the last five years with the exception of Lois. Though she’s been through at lot with us in the past two years. The battles we'd all fought with Meteor freaks and each other, the relationships that were formed and have evolved, the feelings of friendship and love for each other, stronger than any feelings we'd ever known could exist. And somehow in this moment while I stood there looking over at them laughing and goofing around…I had this really strong, really upsetting feeling, that this was the last time we'd all be together like this….
Chapter 10 Part C
(Clark POV)
I got up extra early this morning to start my chores. Lois had spent the night last night and Lana was still here also and with everything that’s been going on it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for me to get caught using my powers…So like I said I got up and extra hour early because I was doing my chores the normal way. I saw my mom walk through the barn doors as I was trying to get the horse back in its stall.
“You're okay. Come on.”
I heard her voice and it sounded confused.
“Clark? What are you still doing out here?”
I gave a frustrated sigh and glanced at her….wasn’t it obvious what I was doing?
“Well, I'm still doing my chores.”
“Well, you usually finish those in about two minutes. How is it that I drove to Metropolis, dropped off paperwork for the senate and came all the way back home before you finished?”
After I got the horse back in the stall I turned around and faced her while I wiped off my hands.
“'Cause I'm doing them the normal way. I feel like someone's been looking over my shoulder, like I'm being watched. Plus with Lois and Lana still here it’s better to be safe then sorry. Speaking of which I’m surprised the girls aren’t up yet.”
Just then I heard Chloe’s voice coming from the door.
“We are…Lana and Lois are attempting to make pancakes in your kitchen…Lana’s doing pretty good…but I think Lois is going to burn the kitchen down.”
She grinned and I laughed. My mom just sighed. My mom placed an arm around Chloe and spoke lightly with a grin.
“I'm going to go inside and make some hot cocoa to thaw out the two of us who can feel how cold it is.”
Chloe laughed.
“To be honest I’m not that cold but thank you, Mrs. Kent.
She shook her head and addressed Chloe.
“Chloe…it’s Martha…you’ve been living here for months now and you’re married to my son…people are going to think I’m one of those horrible mother in-laws if you keep calling me Mrs. Kent.”
I chuckled and Chloe smiled. My mom squeezed her one last time before going inside to make sure Lois didn’t set the kitchen on fire.
I glanced at Chloe and smiled.
“Hey…”
She came over and grinned.
“Hey back…”
Her face became serious. When she spoke her voice was quiet but alarmed.
“When I woke up this morning I didn’t see you anywhere so I went upstairs to see if you were there…and I found Lana snooping around your room Clark.”
I raised an eyebrow…and frowned. I corrected Chloe when I spoke.
“Our room…what do you think she was looking for?”
She shrugged and moved away from me.
“I don’t know Clark but if I was trying to find out my ex’s secret what better place to start then his own backyard.”
I didn’t want to think that Lana could be so conniving…but if this was tree we had a big problem.
“If your theory is true…then now we know why Lana agreed to come and stay here so quickly…”
Chloe nodded. I shock my head and walked over to the stairs leading to the loft. I sat down and put my head in my hands. I always tried to be calm in front of Chloe but I couldn’t keep doing this….I couldn’t keep bottling up my emotions because it was seriously starting to reek havoc on me.
“This is ridiculous…I can’t keep this up…what the hell is happening with everyone? Lex and I used to be friends…now we can’t even be in the same room with each other. I don’t know what happened to Lana she’s a completely different person from the girl I fell in love with. Everyone is turning there back on me…I barely have anyone left…Oliver left town with the guys to try and make a difference and stop 33.1 and where am I? That’s right you guessed it I’m stuck here on the farm with a mother whose barely home anymore, a farm that needs to be taken care of, Phantoms that have to be captured, Lex who needs to be watched, a wife whose pregnant with someone else’s baby and Lois as the closet person to a friend I can actually have a conversation with. Everything has been happening so fast and I’ve been trying to take it all in stride but I can’t keep doing this…”
I shook my head.
“I can’t keep being everyone’s rock when I can barely be me own…everyone is counting on me and all I want to do is just take off…and leave everything behind…”
I looked up when I heard Chloe’s breath catch. She was standing there with tears in her eyes. She looked at me like I had just slapped her across the face and it wasn’t until then that I realized what I had said. Chloe isn’t just my best friend who I vent to anymore. She’s my wife…a wife that I just said I rushed into a marriage with and wanted to leave behind. Crap…that’s not…I didn’t mean it that way…I was just venting I needed to get some things out…and Chloe has always been the one I could talk to…I didn’t realize…I stood up and started to walk to her. She held up her hand for me to stop and I did. My voice was hesitant and I spoke deliberately and softly.
“Chloe…”
“Don’t!”
She shook her head and gave me a bitter chuckle.
“I can’t believe…I thought…I thought all this was real…”
I was already moving closer and shaking my head but she moved further away with each step I took.
“It is real Chloe…”
She ignored me and kept talking.
“Do y..you…regret this? Do you regret us becoming a couple…do you regret standing by me while I’m carrying Jimmy’s baby?”
I didn’t know what to say. Of course I didn’t regret it…Chloe’s my best friend…I love her…sometimes I just wish things could have gone slower….but I’ve never regretted a second of what we have together.
“N..no…Chloe I don’t…regret us I just…I think…”
She stopped me. I tried to finish but her words cut me off.
“I don’t want to here it…we rushed this…I knew we did. I should have listened to my gut…”
She looked up at me and gave me a sad smile.
“But you were so sure…you sounded so sincere that I thought we could handle anything together…I was wrong. We can’t handle this…”
I was starting to get frustrated so raised my voice.
“Chloe STOP! Just stop making this out to be some kind of attack on you! I love you ok…I just…I needed to vent. We are only twenty years old and most twenty year olds don’t have to deal with half of the stuff that we do…Forgive me if for once I needed to freak out a little bit…A person can only have so much responsibility thrown on their shoulders before they need to let off a little steam…I didn’t mean anything by it…”
Her voice was attempting to be hard as she spoke.
“I understand that Clark…Everyone needs a good freak out once in a while…trust me I do it enough…but I don’t ever once remember wanting to leave you…actually it was quite the opposite…thinking of you didn’t make me feel obligated…it make me stable…you were my rock when everything got overwhelming…”
The tears in her eyes made me feel guilty. I shook my head, looked down and shrugged.
“I told you Chloe I was just venting...”
She cut me off again except this time her voice was soft.
“Yes Clark venting…but you categorized me as part of the problem…don’t you see that? Why won’t you let me be there for you? I told you a long time ago that even hero’s need to be saved sometimes…why won’t you let me be that for you Clark?”
I looked at her and her voice was begging me for an answer. But I didn’t have one. I was quiet and she just shook her head and I could smell the salt of her tears. Her voice was shaky and barely a whisper.
“People don’t say things like that when their venting Clark…They say what’s bothering them sure, they say why there mad, they don’t say they want to leave their wife and her unborn child…do you love me Clark?”
I looked into her eyes and spoke clearly without hesitation.
“Yes.”
“Ever since I found out your secret…have we always been honest with each other about the important things?”
My voice still didn’t waver.
“Yes.”
She walked closer to me and looked at my face and her voice was pleading.
“Then tell me the truth Clark…please…I won’t be mad…j…just tell me the truth. Do you regret trying to make this marriage work…helping me with the baby…being…with…me?”
Tears were coursing down her cheeks by the end of her sentence. I was quiet for a minute and when I spoke my voice was tired but honest. I took her hands in mine and held them tight.
“Honestly Chloe…I don’t regret our relationship…and I don’t regret sticking around to help you with the baby…and I don’t regret marrying you. I do wish that we had slowed things down and thought realistically about what we were doing…I love you and I plan to spend the rest of my life with you…but sometimes when things get to be so much that I don’t even think I can handle it…I start to wish that forever had started later on in life when we were both more prepared for it. But that isn’t regret…that’s worry…I’m always trying to be strong for other people that I don’t know how to let people be strong for me and so I take everything on myself and sometimes it gets to me so bad I want to run…but know that I’d never leave you Chloe…I’m all in here…a moment of weakness were I’m freaking out isn’t going to change that.”
She wanted honesty and so I gave it to her. Chloe has given me so much happiness that I couldn’t possibly regret being with her…but there is so much going on right now and I’m frustrated and scared…I’m scared for Chloe…I’m scared for our son…I’m scared for Lana…and I’m scared for me…I’m so scared that I am going to screw up when it really matters and I don’t know what I’d do if I lost Chloe…She was the only thing I had left…
(Lana POV)
Lois and I had finished making pancakes with Mrs. Kent’s help. After we ate Mrs. Kent had to go into town to pick up a few things and Lois offered to drive her. Chloe was out in the barn with Clark and I was alone in house except for the two security guards that I couldn’t see outside the doors.
If I was going to try and get into Chloe’s computer now was the time. I walked around the house and looked for her computer. I couldn’t find it anywhere downstairs so I went up to Clark’s bedroom and there it was on his desk. I stared at it for a few minutes before turning it on. I browsed around the different things on her desktop. I clicked on a few folders and found one that said “CK” on it.
I hesitated for about a second before double clicking on the document. As soon as I did the computer prompted me for a password and I slammed it shut in frustration. Of course it’s password protected…like she would be so careless to leave stuff about Clark just lying around. I sighed and heard a clatter from outside Clark’s room. I moved away from the computer and slowly glanced out the door. I called out.
“Clark…Chloe?”
When neither of them answered I thought it might be one of the security team. So I walked out of the room and called to the head guy down the stairs.
“Brady?”
I saw a shadow run by downstairs and my heart started pounding. I cautiously walked down the stairs holding a hand against my stomach. When I got downstairs and didn’t see anyone I called out to Brady again.
“Brady?”
I opened the kitchen door and didn’t find anything outside. I went back inside and turned around. There on the kitchen table was a red package. I put my hand over my mouth. I was absolutely horrified…how in the world did someone get in here in broad day light with the security team here.
I took the package and carefully opened it. There was red lingerie in the box with a note attached to it. It said "I want you to wear this... when I kill you." I gasped and when I looked up I saw shadows by the door. I went to run and was grabbed by a large hand. I screamed and then I heard Brady’s voice cutting through my screams. I calmed down and stopped struggling.
“Miss Lang, what’s going on? What are you doing?”
I tried to catch my breath and right before I spoke Clark came running into the room. Clark’s voice was as concerned as his facial expression.
“What happened?”
I took a deep breath.
“There's someone in the house.”
Brady shook his head and Clark glanced around.
“That's impossible, okay? My men are guarding the house at all perimeters.”
“I don’t see anyone here Lana…are you sure you’re not just tired and maybe you thought you saw someone?”
I glared at both of them…trying to make me seem crazy. I pointed to the box and then picked it up and handed it to Brady.
“Then how do you explain that?”
Clarks face turned pensive and he examined the box from afar.
One of the other security guards came into the house. His voice was deep when he spoke.
“What's going on?”
Brady explained to Mack what had happened.
“We’ve got a serious problem here”
He glanced around.
“You’re security has been breeched. We are going to have to move you back to the Luthor mansion for more security.”
Clark looked at me and I could see he wanted to protest. I gave him a small smile.
“It’s fine Clark he’s right. It’s probably safer at the mansion right now. I thought if there were more people around the person who be scared off…obviously was wrong.”
I looked over at the security team.
“I’ll go pack my bag and be down soon. One of you please get Lex on the phone for me.”
I went upstairs and got my stuff together. I didn’t find much here…but I’d keep looking…now after everything that Lex showed me…I was convinced more than ever that their was something different about Clark Kent…
(Lex POV)
I was sitting in the limo on my way to a meeting when my phone rang. I picked it up and it was Brady. He explained that Lana’s safety had been compromised at the Kent farm so they were taking her back to the mansion. I cursed to myself…I knew I shouldn’t have left her there alone. I got off the phone after giving him strict orders to shoot anyone who came within a ten foot radius of Lana…his instructions were simply put…Shoot first ask questions later. I told my driver to turn around because we were heading back to the airport. There was no way I was going to leave Lana and my son to face this alone plus Lana and I had some things to discuss about her involvement in my latest project, which by the way she took exceedingly well. I glanced at my watch….it’s going to take some string pulling but I should be home later tonight and I’d make sure the guy was caught…nobody threatens the people I love and lives to say he did…
(Lois POV)
I came up the stairs and Clark was sitting in that loft of his bouncing a stupid ball against the wall. I shook my head. He looked depressed and I came here to yell at him…wonderful this is going to go just terrific.
“What are you doing Smallville?”
I must have startled him because when the ball he just threw bounced back it hit him in his head. He shook his head a glared at me.
“I’m not in the mood right now Lois.”
I nodded. Yup this particular fight was big. I had gone shopping with Mrs. Kent this morning and then I’d dropped her off at home. When I went back to the Talon Chloe was there and she was extremely upset…so upset that she asked if there was still room in my apartment for her.
I ignored Clark’s comment and walked over to him.
“We’ll you better get in the mood…I have a very upset cousin on my doorstep because of something you said or did…Clark…she’s talking about moving back in with me what happened?”
He abruptly stood up.
“She said that? She said she wants to move back in with you?”
I nodded and his face fell. My god could he get more mopey!
“Snap out of this self-induced depression…and tell me what you said.”
He spent the next few minutes explaining to me what happened and I shook my head. Wow…when Clark put his foot in his mouth it sure did get jammed in there. There isn’t anything for him to do but grovel for her forgiveness.
“You messed up Smallville and It’s gonna take a lot more than an apology to get Chloe back here. I don’t understand what happened…I thought thing’s with you guys were going good.”
He sighed.
“They were…You have to understand that there’s a lot going on right now and I was just feeling overwhelmed. I don’t regret being with Chloe Lois…she’s probably one of the only things at this point that I don’t regret…and I know deep down she knows that. She’s just so worried that after all this time I’m going to think being with her is a mistake and leave. But you have to know I wouldn’t do that. I was having a rough morning and since I’m used to talking to Chloe about my feelings I kind of just put it all out there not realizing that because of our…change in relationship there are some things that would have to be….rephrased for girlfriend ears….you know?”
I chuckled. As much as I hated to admit it Clark was a good guy and things with him and Chloe would work out…she knows Clark loves her…she’s just stubborn and doesn’t want to give in first.
I got off the railing I was leaning on gave him a small smirk and walked down the stairs to leave when he called out to me.
“Tell her I love her…ok?”
I nodded but didn’t turn around.
“Will do smallville. If I don’t have her back here in a day or two I expect you to come fine her got it?”
He chuckled.
“Yes maim.”
I smiled and left to go comfort Chloe…boy was it going to be a long long day.
(Lana POV)
We got to the mansion and I settled myself into the study. Mack knocked opened the door and came in.
“Lex's plane is in the air now, but he won't be back until tomorrow. With the snow storm, the plane was rerouted.”
I nodded. That sucked but at least he’d be home soon. I gave Mack a small smile and spoke lightly.
“Thank you... for everything. If it wasn't for you, I don't even want to think about what would have happened.”
I saw him slowly remove his earpiece from his ear as I was pouring myself some water. He spoke again this time there was something in his voice that worried me.
“I hope I'm not crossing a line, but, honestly... Lex never should have left you alone.”
I suddenly became very uncomfortable…When did he start using Lex’s first name…something’s not right here. I turned to face him.
“When did you start calling him by his first name?”
He gave me a nervous chuckle.
“Uh…I'm sorry. It's been a rough night.”
I agreed. I was starving…I just realized now that I hadn’t had much to eat today with all the commotion. I addressed Mack in a professional way.
“Yeah, I know. I don't think I've eaten since this whole thing started. Could you ask the kitchen to bring something up for me?”
He spoke clearly but soft as he moved further into the room.
“I sent the staff and the rest of the team home.”
I was startled. Who does he think he is? Something is really wrong her end I’m beyond uncomfortable in his presence. Something is wrong here…the best thing I can do is just play along.
He chuckled and made up some excuse about not wanting them to get stuck in the storm.
I smiled.
“No, no, it's okay. It's actually very considerate.”
“Like something you'd do.”
Ok this is officially getting to weird for me. He laughed again and continued talking.
“It's true. You're not like all the other girls that Lex paraded in and out of here.”
I frowned. As he moved within inches from me…
“I’ve Been crossing a lot of lines lately. All for you, Princess.”
This explains everything…how the stalker got photos of me how security missed him how he got the package into the Kent’s.
“I watch over you every day... and you never even notice.”
This is extremely bad….
He started saying all this stuff about how good I am and Lex is bad. How he needed to save me from a person like Lex because I was too pure hearted or something. He wanted me to pick everything up and just go with him so I decided to play along again until I came up with a plan. I told him he was right and I wanted to go…and when he turned his back I smashed done of Lex’s things over his back and ran as fast as I could….but there wasn’t anyone here and there was no wear to go…
(Clark POV)
It was early and I was already down with my chores. I was sitting on the porch thinking. Last night I had gone to visit Lana and got there just in time to see one of Lex’s security people attacking her. They wound up falling through the roof and I got underneath them in time to catch her before she hit the ground. She was shocked and we spoke for a few minutes…me dancing around how I got there in time and all that as usual…I left there and came home hoping to find Chloe in bed waiting for me. No such luck.
She didn’t come home all night so here I am sitting on the porch hoping she’ll come up this pathway in the near future. I had called Lois last light but no one answered. I went by the Talon also but no one was home. They must have gone out. I was interrupted by a small female voice and I grinned.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
“Chloe…”
She gave me half a smile.
“The one and only.”
I got up and met her half way. When I was right in front of her I hugged her tight.
“I missed you last night.”
She nodded and looked down then back at me.
“I needed some time to sort stuff out.”
“Understandable…listen Chloe about yesterday…I honestly didn’t mean to imply that I regretted anything with us…I’m really sorry…I just get overwhelmed sometimes and I’m not exactly sure how to deal with it.”
She nodded again and when she spoke her voice was serious and she held my gaze.
“Clark…there is only one way this is going to work with us...and that’s if we’re honest with each other…even if it hurts. You need to learn how to lean on me. I promise you I won’t break…but you need to open that part of yourself up more or we’re never going to make it…”
She was right and I knew that. It was easier said then done but I’d work it out because I didn’t want to lose her.
“I know and your right…I will work on it.”
I paused and it was silent. I broke the silence with a soft voice.
“So are…are we ok?”
She smiled.
“Where getting there.”
I grinned and pulled her closer.
“Does this mean you’re coming home?”
She moved away from me and her smile was gone.
“I think we should give it a couple more days…but I promise I’ll come back Clark…I just need some me time.”
I guess I could understand that…
“Ok…I’ll wait…whenever you’re ready Chloe…I’m here…”
As I spoke I looked into her eyes and I could see the light in them. Everything was going to be ok…with us at least. We had a new problem to worry about and that was Lana snooping around both of our personal things…she was no longer sitting out of the game…she was a solid player now…and she wasn’t playing alone…she was playing with Lex…I could feel the calm before the storm brewing. I just hoped that whatever flew our way after this was something that we were prepared to deal with…
Chapter 10 Part A
(Lana POV)
I was sitting at the vanity in mine and Lex’s room brushing my hair. I haven’t spoken to Chloe or Clark in about two weeks. Clark came by and apologized to Lex but I didn’t want to see him. According to Lex Chloe sent her apologies as well…apparently Clark didn’t want Lex anywhere near her. The two of them are ridiculous with there accusations when it comes to Lex…
I don’t really understand what happened…Chloe and I used to be so close and now…it’s like I don’t even know her. I felt a small flutter in my stomach and put my hand over it. I started to feel the baby moving about a week ago…It felt…indescribable…absolutely amazing. I smiled and continued brushing my hair…I can’t believe Clark and Chloe are married…I mean I’m happy with Lex. I love him and we’re going to have a family, but I guess I just never thought that Clark would move on…let alone with Chloe…
My thoughts were cut short when my cell phone chimed. My brows drew together and I picked it up and opened it. There was a photo message for me but it wasn’t from a number I recognized. I opened it and gasped. It was a picture taken of me…right here now! I looked frantically around the room and then I opened the door and ran out straight into Lex. He saw the panic on my face and he frowned in concern.
“Lana, what's wrong?”
“There's someone in the room.”
Lex got his security team together and they sweeped through the room with their guns on the ready but found nothing.
I heard on of the men on the team speak.
“Clear.”
Then another as Lex stood by my side holding me tightly.
“It's all clear, sir.”
I glanced around the room and saw the window wide open…I didn’t leave that open.
“Lex, over there.”
I motioned to the open window and Lex went over to the window and searched outside of it but didn’t find anything.
He turned to the security team and his voice was hard and commanding.
“Check the roof and initiate a full perimeter sweep of the grounds.”
“Right. Yes, sir.”
And they left the room to do as Lex asked. I was slightly shivering and Lex rubbed my arms and turned me towards him.
“Lana... what did this guy look like?”
I shook my head. That’s when I remembered the picture message. I was debating whether or not I should show it to Lex…I didn’t want to worry him….but I didn’t want to lie either because I don’t want him lying to me…
“I don't know. I didn't see him, but...”
I pulled out my cell phone and handed it to Lex.
“Whoever was here they took this…and sent it to me…that’s how I know s…someone was here…”
His eyes grew cold and his jaw tensed. I sighed and my voice was quiet when I spoke.
“C-could you close the window?”
He snapped out of whatever he was thinking and when he looked at me his face softened.
“Yeah.”
As he closed and locked the window I sat down on the bed. He turned back around and knelt in front of me.
“How long ago was this message sent to you?”
I shrugged.
“Not long before I came outside and you came in here…maybe a minute or two.”
He nodded. His voice was comforting when he spoke.
“You didn't actually see or hear anyone thought right?”
I shook my head.
“No”
“I’m going to keep your phone for now if that ok…I want to send it to my people…see if they can trace the number that sent you this picture.”
I gave him a weak smile and nodded. I knew when things got tough I could always count on Lex. He has always been there for me. He must have seen the anxious look on my face because he rubbed my arm gently and spoke in a calm voice.
“Hey…where gonna find this person Lana…and when we do…I’m going to personally teach them what happens to someone who messes with the people I care about.”
I leaned my forehead against his and took a deep breath.
“I love you…”
He smiled.
“I love you too. I'm going to go downstairs, and get you some tea to calm your nerves.”
I smiled.
“Thank you.”
He nodded kissed my head and placed his hand on my stomach for a second before he left the room. I don’t care how Lex is with other people…because with me he’s a good man. Clark and Chloe needed to stop trying to convince me that Lex was some kind of monster…because I’d die before I’d ever betray him…
(Clark POV)
I walked into The Daily Planet and I saw Chloe at her desk typing away on the computer. I smiled. Things have been a little strained between us the last couple of weeks. Ever since we kind of got married…which by the way according to Chloe is my fault…we have kind of been stepping on each other’s toes trying to settle into the reality of actually being married. Chloe’s way of dealing with it is to ignore it and pretend it didn’t happen. Me I’ve been trying to integrate our lives together without changing the things we each love as individuals…but Chloe is always getting mad at me when I do that…
Then last night we finally sat down and had a little discussion about everything. We agreed that we’re going to try and make this marriage work…all the kinks are definitely not out of this relationship but we’re working on it and that’s the important part. I walked over to her desk and stood there waiting for her to notice me. I glanced down and noticed the ring on her finger glittering while she typed. The ring was huge and I felt really bad about swiping it…but after returning everything else I took while we were on red K I just couldn’t bring myself to take the ring from Chloe. It looked right on her.
“Why are you staring at me Clark?”
I looked back up at her and she didn’t even take her eyes off the screen as she spoke to me. I smiled.
“I can’t admire my wife?”
She scrunched her nose and shook her head. Her hands stopped typing as she clicked print and she faced me.
“It’s so weird to hear you call me that…I mean you’re not just my boyfriend anymore…you’re my husband…”
I shrugged.
“You almost finished? We had lunch plans today didn’t we?”
She shook her head no and I saw sadness over take her face.
“What’s wrong Chlo?”
She pointed to the calendar on her desk. Today’s date had a red blue circle on it with a smiley face. I raised an eyebrow. She sighed.
“Lana is five months pregnant today…we had plans to go baby shopping together for the boys. It’s unlucky to get things before the fifth month…in case anything…you know goes wrong. So we were all excited about today and we planned it months in advance and now…Lana and I aren’t even speaking to one another…it’s just…I miss her Clark…I miss our friendship…Lois is great but Lana know what’s I’m going through…how I’m feeling…and she just…she chose Lex over us Clark!”
By the end of Chloe’s little speech she had tears coursing down her cheeks. I sat down and pulled her to me. I said what I hoped were comforting words in her ear as I rubbed her back. Chloe’s been kind of an emotional wreck lately. My mom said it’s normal for pregnant women to be emotional but I wasn’t so sure.
The other night Chloe kicked me out of my own bed because I made a comment about how round her stomach was getting. I didn’t mean it offensively. We were laying in bed and I had her shirt up over her stomach and I was talking to our son…he was moving around a lot and I said it looked like she had a small basketball inside her skin…Is that so bad? Well she apparently thought so because I slept on the couch and not in my bed. A hard slap to the head knocked me out of my thoughts. I looked at Chloe confused and she looked pissed. Crap…
“Clark Kent do you even listen to me when I talk to you?”
“Huh…”
I didn’t have a chance to finish because she cut me off.
“Of course not. I’m sitting here crying my eyes out because I miss my best friend and you’re sitting there ignoring me. Go home I don’t want to have lunch with you.”
If I was still alive by the time Chloe had the baby I actually might be a little surprised…with the way things were going I was afraid during one of her “emotional” times she was going to take a piece of kryptonite and physically harm me with it…all though that might be harder now that it effects her too. We still haven’t figured out why that is…not for a lack of trying though. I shook my head.
“Chloe I’m sorry I know how upset you are about Lana…why don’t you call her…see if maybe you guys can work things out. It can’t hurt to try right?”
She shrugged.
“I guess not but what would I say…By the way sorry I crashed your rehearsal dinner and announced your pregnancy to a room full of strangers…wanna go shopping for baby clothes?”
I grinned. If she was making jokes it couldn’t be that bad. Besides I went and apologized to Lex…even though I would rather have impaled myself with kryptonite…We all do things we don’t wanna do…
“That could be a start. Besides if I went and apologized to Lex you can apologize to Lana.”
“Yes but the difference is Clark you aren’t trying to be Lex’s friend…that ship has sailed. I still want Lana in my life…We still need to convince her Lex is the devil…I can only imagine what would happen if her son grew up with him. It would be like Dr. Evil and Mini Me…without the cuteness.”
I chuckled. I would say she’s highly caffinated but she’s only had one cup…
“Well what’s the verdict? You going to call Lana…or are you letting me take you to lunch?”
She smiled at me.
“I think I’m gonna try to call Lana…you don’t mind do you?”
I shook my head.
“Not at all.”
She tilted her head to the side.
“I’m sorry you had to come all the way here…I appreciate it though.”
I smiled and leaned over to kiss her.
“It’s fine Chloe…it only took me a couple of seconds to get here. You do your thing and I’ll see you at home.”
I stood up and was about to walked away when Chloe pulled on my arm. I turned and she leaned up and kissed me. Her voice was soft and intimate when she spoke.
“I love you.”
“Love you too.”
And I took off. I went back to the farm and ran into Lois. She was in the kitchen helping herself to a glass of juice. I glanced in her direction and continued to the closet in the hallway as I spoke.
“Chloe isn’t here Lois…go home.”
I could here her snort from where I was pulling out a large box covered by a blanket. I brought it into the living room and Lois followed me.
“Please…not every time I come here is about seeing my wayward cousin. I was looking for your mom.”
I sat on the floor and pulled the blanket off the box. I was concentrating on getting it out while I spoke to Lois.
“She’s in Metropolis with Lionel…some kind of charity thing…I think she’ll be…”
Lois’s voice cut into my sentence. Her voice was soft.
“Is that…is that a crib?”
I looked up at her and the expression on her face was a mixture of surprise and awe. I smiled.
“Yeah…well kinda. It’s a bassinet or a rocker…what do you think? I mean it’s not finished yet I still have to add a few things here and sand it down…but this is pretty much how it’s gonna look. Lois…earth to Lois…”
Her head snapped from the crib to me.
“You made this?”
I nodded.
“Smallville…that’s really…you know…you’re not so bad of a guy and I think Chloe will really like it.”
My smile widened. I just got a compliment from Lois…I should buy a lottery ticket today! Just think I’d win millions…
“Thanks Lois…listen I’m actually kind of glad you’re here.”
She raised and eyebrow at me and was about to say something but I spoke before she could.
“I need to talk to you about something.”
I wiped my hands on my jeans and stood up. I was pacing around the room and finally Lois got tired of it.
“Smallville you’re gonna burn a hole in the floor. Whatever it is it can’t be as bad as you running off and eloping with my baby cousin…”
I glared at her for a second before sitting across from her. I wasn’t really one to put my feelings out there…I was a private guy…and I definitely didn’t get all sentimental in front of Lois…but there was something I needed and in order to get it I had to such it up and ask Lois for help.
“I know that um…Ok listen…I know that you and I don’t really do the emotional stuff and that’s…good cause it would be kinda weird. That being said I need a favor. Now that Chloe and I are married…”
She glared at me but I ignored it.
“And she’s going to be having the baby in a few months…I figured that maybe you could help redo my room. The farm isn’t small but it’s not equip for more people either. I spoke to my mom and she told me I could combine my room and the spare room since there right next to each other.”
She didn’t say anything but she nodded so I knew she was at least listening. I continued.
“ I was thinking I could connect the rooms that way we could be close to the baby…I like to think I know Chloe better than anyone…but when it comes to decorating and what Chloe likes in that department…I’m lost. But you’ve lived with her and you know what she likes. I’d really appreciate the help Lois…So…what do you think?”
Lois gave me an appraising look before rolling her eyes and standing up.
“Like you even had to ask Smallville jeez…you make it seem like I’m the big bad wolf…of course I’ll help it’s for Chloe and my nephew.”
She looked at her watch and sighed.
“I have to go I have a deadline and I’m not nearly done with my article. I’ve wasted too much of my time on you already. Tell you’re mom I stopped by.”
And with that she left. I shook my head. She’s ridiculous…
(Chloe POV)
I called Lana and wound up leaving a message because no one answered. I shook my head. I really hoped Lana and I could work this out. I hate the way she’s been acting lately and things have been tense with us lately but I didn’t hate her. I looked at the clock and it was getting late. I sighed I haven’t eaten lunch yet because Lana never answered and I was getting hungry. I’ll just go out and grab something myself…no big deal. I got up grabbed my purse and headed out the door banging straight into Lana. I looked up startled and she moved from foot to foot. We both stood there for a couple of minutes and when I finally couldn’t take it anymore I broke he silence.
“Lana…listen I know I already said this on your voicemail but I’m really sorry about ruining your dinner…I never meant for any of that stuff to happen.”
I shook my head.
“And I’m so sorry about telling everyone about the baby.”
She nodded and gave me a hesitant smile.
“The lipstick sure caused a lot of grief huh?”
I nodded and smiled back.
“It defiantly did.”
She was quiet and then her voice was careful when she spoke next.
“And Clark…it sure seemed to give him an unusual amount of strength…I don’t remember you or Lois being any stronger…it must affect males differently.”
I could tell she didn’t believe what she was saying by the way she spoke. I wasn’t going to correct her though I just smiled and nodded.
“I was actually just on my way to lunch…do you feel like…maybe coming along?”
She shrugged.
“I could eat…and it’ll give us time to talk…maybe work things out? I miss having you around Chloe…you’re the only other person going though what I’m going through…plus you’re my maid of honor and the wedding is in two weeks…”
I forced a laugh for her sake. Yeah Lana would be worried about her wedding to Lex…unfortunately it wasn’t the kind of worried she should be. We left The Daily Planet and went to lunch. While we were there we both acknowledged that we said some awful things and they couldn’t be taken back…but we could work through them and maybe our friendship would be stronger because of it.
I told her about what the doctor said at my last appointment and then Lana started telling me about the new happenings in her life. Apparently Lana has a new stalker in her life and Lex had his whole team of security on the case trying to figure out who this guy was…but with no luck as of yet. I sipped my juice as Lana told me what was going on.
“Lex was hoping to fin out right away who it was because he needs to go away on business for a couple of days and he didn’t want to leave me alone while all this was going on…”
I nodded.
“Well of course not. When is he leaving?”
She sighed.
“Tonight.”
Hmmm. With everything going on we can’t just leave Lana and the baby to fend for herself.
“Why don’t you come stay at the farm with Clark and I while Lex is gone…I know it might be a little awkward but I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to you…what do you say?”
She looked like she was thinking about it and then I saw a smile appeared on her face.
“That’d be great Chloe…thanks. When I get back home I’ll tell Lex and I’m sure he’ll feel a lot better about going on his trip. Speaking of that I should probably get back to the mansion…I have some stuff to do and I want to spend some time with Lex before he goes.”
She started getting her stuff together and I was confused. That was weird…it was almost like she was waiting for me to invite her back to the farm…but why would she want me to do that when she and Clark aren’t really speaking right now. She smiled at me and I gave her a small smile back.
“I’m really glad we worked things out Chloe…I missed you…what time do you want me to come by tonight?”
Crap I had to talk to Clark about this…
“Umm I guess whenever Lex leaves just come by.”
She nodded and said bye and left. My head was spinning something was just not right with this and I’d figure it out eventually but right now I needed to get back to The Planet and hand in my article so I could go home and talk to Clark. I’d owe him big after this one…
(Lex POV)
Lana just told me she’d was going to be staying at the farm tonight…I can’t say I’m happy about it I don’t want Clark and Chloe polluting her mind against me…but she’d be safe and I in the long run that’s all that mattered. Plus I’m sending half he security team with her so she’ll be fine…I looked at the clock and it was just about time for me to call Dr. Rhinehouse and give him the ok our first test. It was supposed to happen when Chloe left the engagement party but things didn’t exactly go as planned. I picked up my phone and dialed his number.
“Hello?”
“Hello doctor.”
“Mr. Luthor…everything is all set up I just need you to tell me when to put everything in motion.”
I grinned.
“Do it now.”
And I hung up. If all of these tests panned out I was going to become an icon in this world…Chloe doesn’t even realize the powers she carried inside her…and hopefully she never would…not until I learn how to harness it of course…my other favorite patient was helping me with that…well maybe helping was to strong of a word…but either way I was on my way to getting all the answers that I needed…things are about to get very interesting…
(Clark POV)
I had just finished up the crib as my mom walked through the door. She looked over and smiled at me.
“Clark…it’s absolutely gorgeous. I’m sure Chloe’s going to love it.”
I smiled and picked it up to put it back in the closet.
“I hope so. I talked to Lois today she said she’d help.”
“That’s good. When is Chloe coming home do you know?”
I shrugged.
“Soon I think though…last time I talked to her she said she was gonna be home early because she had something to tell me.”
“Alright well i'm gonna head upstairs and change…I’ll make dinner when I come back down.”
“Thanks mom”
she nodded and went upstairs. I started putting away all the tools I was using and cleaning up for my mom. I heard a car coming down the road so I went over to the door and saw Chloe’s Yaris turning into the farm. As she pulled up I was standing on the porch smiling and she saw me and waved from inside the car. She shut the car off and I saw her getting her stuff together…As soon as she opened her car door I heard a loud bang and it knocked me back a few feet.
I landed right on my back. I shook my head and looked up and my whole body went slack. About twenty-five feet in front of me was Chloe’s Yaris in a mountain of flames. I picked myself up and as I was super speeding over to the car there was a second explosion and flames came off the car in waves the whole thing was burning to the ground and as I got closer I saw part of Chloe’s shirt singed on the ground. I could hear myself frantically screaming and my mom came running out yelling my name right as I ran into the roaring fire and disappeared in it…I didn’t care who saw…the only thing that mattered was Chloe….she was standing here right when the car blew up…I saw her body engulfed by flames….I heard her scream…I’d get to her and the baby…it can’t be too late…it just can’t…
Chapter 10 Part B
(Clark POV)
It was quiet…we sat around the kitchen table in complete silence. I had my elbows on the table and my chin was resting on the peak of my hands. My clothes were burnt and the sleeves of my shirt were practically gone. My mother had some dust on her and her eyes were still wet from tears. The tears she cried what felt like hours ago but was probably only minutes. Silence had engulfed the room and neither of us knew what to say to break it…
“How did this happen…Clark…Clark talk to me…what is going on?”
Her voice was frantic and I closed my eyes. What was I supposed to say? I have no clue what happened…I keep going over it in my head and nothing makes sense. I remember running into the fire to look for Chloe and when I saw her she was batting the flames off her body screaming. I grabbed her and super sped away from the fire. Once we were in front of the house I was frantically trying to pat the fire out that was burning her shirt. It wasn’t until she stopped wriggling and calmed down that I realized there wasn’t a scratch on her. Not one burn. Her skin was a bit pink but nothing more. There were tears on Chloe’s face as she sat by my mom. My mom had an arm around her trying to comfort her but it wasn’t doing much good. I glanced at her and it was the first time I’ve ever seen Chloe look broken. I sighed. I spoke as reassuringly as I could.
“I don’t know what’s going on Chloe…but we’ll figure it out…I promise.”
She glared at me and moved away from my mother’s arms.
“Is that all you can say Clark? Everything will be fine…We’ll figure it out…Look around you! There is something going on with me and we have no idea what it is or how to fix it!”
She got up and when she did her chair slammed back. She shook her head and more tears fell down her face. It made my heart hurt. It killed me that I couldn’t do or say anything to make this better for her. Things have been increasingly rough on her ever since she found out about the baby and I was afraid it was just going to keep getting worse.
“Clark Meteor rocks make me sick…I can walk through fire with out getting a single burn on my body…”
She trailed off but I didn’t need her to finish the sentence. What if she was becoming like me…It’s not necessarily a bad thing it’s just…we don’t know how it’s happening or if it could hurt her and that’s unacceptable.
I got up and walked over to her. The first time I tried to pull her into my arms she hit me and pushed me away…but the second time when she hit me I wouldn’t let her go and she wound up collapsing in my arms crying. I held onto her and my mom slowly got up and exited the kitchen to give us some time alone.
“Hey…I love you and even if everything isn’t ok we’ll still get through it because you have me and I won’t let anything happen to you. So…anyway…”
I thought changing the subject might help get her mind off things.
“What do you say we get you cleaned up…”
I gave her a small smile.
“You’re looking kind of ashy to me Chloe.”
That got a small smile from her and she sniffed.
“You too…your shirt is all ripped.”
I nodded and moved her to the direction of the stairs.
(Chloe POV)
As we were walking up the stairs I stopped and he bumped into me from behind. I just remembered Lana was supposed to come here…with everything that just happened I forgot to tell him. He glanced at me with an inquisitive look.
“Why are you stopping?”
“Because I forgot to tell you the reason I came home early.”
He motioned for me to tell him.
“Well I did what you said and I called Lana…long story short we made up and she told me that she’s being stalked by someone. And before you ask no I don’t know who. Lex has had his men working on it since they found out and there aren’t any leads yet. But see Lex is going out of town and I might have offered Lana a place to stay.”
He looked at me and his mouth dropped open.
“Tell me your joking…”
“Not exactly…I thought she’d say no because the two of you aren’t exactly on speaking terms…but she didn’t…she actually seemed pretty happy about staying here. I wanted to let you know she was coming to stay for a day or two before she actually got here. Plus I think something’s going on. We’re going to have to be careful while she’s here Clark.”
He sighed rubbed his face with his hand and nodded.
“I guess I better go get the rest of your car off the front lawn…and make sure the burns on the grass are gone…man Chloe…I really wish you would have said something sooner.”
I rolled my eyes at him.
“Yes Clark I should have mentioned this while I thought I was burning in a car explosion…it’ll only take a few seconds for you to clean up…stop your whining. I’m going to shower.”
I leaned over kissed him and went upstairs to shower off the dust and soot from the fire. If I was becoming like Clark I sure hope I got the super hearing and super speed also….I could go on vacation whenever I wanted without paying plus hello super hearing….better than any listening device!
(Lana POV)
I was putting some things in an over night bag when Lex came into the room. He was leaning on the doorframe watching me. I smiled at him.
“What?”
He shook his head…
“Nothing…you’re beautiful you know that?”
I chuckled and zipped up my bag. I faced him and there was a small smile on his face.
“I bet you say that to all your fiancé’s”
He laughed and walked into the room.
“You’ve got me pinned to a tee…”
I nodded.
“You know it.”
He leaned down and kissed me. I returned the kiss eagerly and when he pulled away I grinned up at him. He had a frown on his face, which made the smile leave my face.
“I really hate leaving you here while all this is going on Lana…I don’t like the thought that while I’m away someone could be here hurting you…I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you or the baby…you inspire me to be a good man…I’d be lost without you.”
I stroked his face and kissed him again. He was always saying the most amazing things to me. I’ve known ever since Lex and I got together that he was the one I was going to spend the rest of my life with…curious as to why? When I was with Clark things were never this simple…now I’m not saying anything bad about Clark because he always treated me well. But with him it felt like I was always forcing our relationship to work…we rarely agreed on anything and when it came to the big stuff, the things we should have been going to each other for…we were always on opposite sides of the spectrum…But with Lex…he gets me. He doesn’t underestimate me and he treats me as an equal. No lies…No secrets…just plain unadulterated honesty…and that’s one of the many reason’s I love him. When I spoke my voice came out soft and reassuring.
“Everything is going to be fine Lex. I’m staying at the Kent farm and it’s going to be a full house there…so no worries.”
He raised his brow at the comment.
“Yes I do recall you telling me that earlier…I am curious as to why you’d except Chloe’s offer though considering you didn’t even want to be in the same room as Clark a few days ago. What caused this change of heart? If you don’t mind me asking…”
I moved away from him and sat on the bed. I knew this was coming. It had been bugging him all day and not that he was about to leave he wanted to know the reason that I decided to stay at Clarks…it was more curiously then jealousy…Lex knew I loved him he wasn’t worried about Clark. I sighed and looked up.
“Honestly?”
He nodded.
“I don’t expect anything less…”
“Clark is different Lex…”
His head tilted to the side a bit and the look on his face became intrigued.
“What makes you say that Lana?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Because I have eyes?”
I paused and he looked amused.
“I don’t know how but I know there is something different about Clark Kent…he has a secret…I know that Chloe knows it…but he’s never been able to be honest with me about it…and that’s a very large part why our relationship didn’t work. They expect me to ignore every weird thing that goes on involving him…and I’m done doing that. I’m done justifying why things happen…I want to know what his secret is…and I’m going to find out whether they want me to or not.”
When he looked at me I saw pride flitter across his face and then a look of satisfaction took its place. He walked over to me and lifted my hands into his.
“Is this how you really feel…No going back? You want to find out what Clark’s been hiding…no matter what?”
He was looking deep into my eyes appraising me. There was something there that looked off to me and then I realized this was another one of his insecurities. What he was about to tell me he felt would make me think differently of him and so he was giving me a chance to back out…A chance to claim ignorance on one of his darker obsessions.
I know there are things Lex doesn’t tell me. I’m not completely naive…but the difference between his secrets and Clarks are…Lex excludes me because he doesn’t think I’m ready for what he’s doing…he loves me so much and he’s afraid that if he shows me the darker sides of himself that I’ll leave him. Clark didn’t tell me because he didn’t trust me with his secrets…That make all the difference when I look at it. I sat up straighter and squeezed his hands to make sure he knew we were on the same page.
“Lex…no going back. You and I are in this together. I know…I know there are some thing’s that you don’t like telling me. Everyone needs there privacy and I’d never invade yours. But I want you to know…you can tell me anything…nothing you say to me could change the way I feel about you.”
He gave me a small smile and nodded. He stood up and took my hand.
“In that case…before I go I have something to show you…”
He lead me out of the room we walked around to the west wing of the hallway and he lead me down to the last door on the left. He paused in front of it and turned to me. His voice was stern and warm at the same time and the look on his face was a mixture of excitement and reservation.
“I want you to listen closely Lana…what I’m about to show you…there are very few people who know about this…this…room is part of a top secret project that I have been working on with one other person. A doctor…If everything works out the way I have planned it could be one of the largest discoveries man kind has ever made…Once I open this door…you are a part of this and will be expected to see it to it’s conclusion…”
He trailed off and I took a deep breath. I nodded for him to continue and when he did my heart sped up and chills went down my spine.
“It may involve certain people you care about…and I’m not exactly sure what will become of these people after everything is completed…I would never force my work upon you Lana…what I do with my research and experiments…can sometimes be dangerous and even on occasion a little brutal. With that said if I open this door you’re putting yourself into that aspect of my world…The part that you don’t see all the time.”
He looked down then put the key into the door. I held my hand against my stomach and for a minute I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see what was on the other side. I wanted to run to the other side of the house and never come back here. But I stood my ground. Lex didn’t open the door but he did look at my face and he must have seen the hesitation because he stopped.
“Lana…if you don’t want to…”
I cut him off and my voice was strong…determined.
“I do. I’m tired of being in the dark Lex. I’m tired of waiting for everything to come to me…It’s time I started taking the initiative. Show me…”
He looked at me and his eyes bore into me.
“Lana I want you to think about this for a second…no don’t interrupt me…humor me ok…the hesitation maybe that’s your heads way of telling you that you’re not emotionally ready to be involved in this yet. Please just make sure…because like I said before once you see this you’ll need to lie to the people you care about…you’ll have to pretend like everything is the same even though you know it’s not…there will be tests and experiments that will happen…and you might have to look that person in the eye the next day and act like you weren’t the one helping to perform them. Can you do that…can you turn your back on people who you’ve known your whole life to get answers that you feel you deserve?”
His voice was intense and the look on his face was inquiring. Could I? Could I turn my back on my friends and help Lex with whatever he was doing? I looked into his eyes and I saw him laying himself on the line knowing that whatever he was about to show me could change our relationship forever…Yes…I could leave my old life behind…the places…the people…I could start a new chapter in life…by Lex’s side. We are a family through thick and thin and in a few weeks through good and bad times…It will hurt and doing this will probably change me in ways I didn’t know yet but this was about answers…finding out the truth…I’d help Lex and if I had to walk over a few people to do it…then I’d do what I have to do.
He knew the moment I found my answer. I looked up at him and squared my shoulders. My voice was strong.
“Yes…I can do that. Lex I care about a lot of people but I love you. And I’m not just some schoolgirl choosing her crushes side over her friends. I am a women looking for answers to questions I’ve had my whole life. I will do what I need to in order to get those answers. I don’t care what’s behind that door…if it can help us find out what I want to know then I want you to let me into that part of your life…and I promise you I will not disappoint or betray you…”
He sensed my seriousness and leaned down to capture my lips in a hot kiss. When we separated he turned the key and opened the door. I took a deep breath and followed him inside…what I saw when I looked around the room made me gasp and grab for something to hold onto. Lex put his arm around me to steady my body and my grip was bruising as I clutched at her are white knuckled. Oh my god…..
(Lois POV)
I pulled my car into the front of the Kent farm and got out. As I was walking over to the backdoor I saw Clark chucking something in the garbage…was that a license plate? I shook my head he’s so weird…and extremely dirty. Does the boy ever stop doing farm work?
“Hey Smallville…what happened to your clothes? It looks like you stood a little to close to the fire place.”
He glared at me and walked closer.
“Lois…I’d say it was nice to see you…but I’d be lying…”
I gave him a sweet smile and fluttered my eyelashes.
“Oooh Clarkie…how you flatter me…”
I looked around and before he could say anything else I frowned.
“Aren’t you freezing out here like that? It’s like fifty degrees out Smallville…What were you…born on an ice planet or something…jeez”
He looked jumpy and gave a nervous chuckle.
“Uhh…no…no of course not…what is it that you want Lois?”
I looked around and didn’t see Chloe’s car…crap! I really didn’t feel like driving to Metropolis right now it was getting late.
“I guess Chloe’s not home huh..”
He shook his head and started to walk inside. He spoke over his shoulder.
“No she’s here. When I left her she was about to get in the shower…I’ve been out here a while she should be done.”
I frowned and followed him inside.
“She’s here…well where’s her car?”
He froze in his tracks…and there goes the stuttering again…he’s so weird.
“Umm well…you…see…there…she…it was stolen…yea…that’s what happened.”
My eyes bugged out.
“Oh my god and you didn’t call me Smallville! Is Chloe ok? Sometime I really don’t know where you put that brain of yours…does it hide from you or something? It’s probably afraid you’ll dress it in plaid….”
I continued my tirade and Clark just looked confused. I saw his head turn towards the stairs as if he was listening to something. I saw him move closer to the steps and a couple of seconds later Chloe came down. He looked relived. I shook my head. He was such a pansy sometimes…it’s like one minutes he was this uber confident guy and the next he was a dorky farmboy…Clark Kent…schizophrenic! I heard Chloe’s voice and tuned out my thought.
“Hey Lo’ what brings you buy?”
She smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. I shrugged
“I got the weirdest text message for you it’s encrypted, which by the way I didn’t even know you could do to a text message but anyway yea and…it’s from a number I don’t recognize. I tried to break the code to read the message and find out who it belonged to but all I got were dead ends. Thought I’d bring it to you and let you try.”
She laughed.
“So what you’re saying is you tried to hack a message that was sent for me by the way and when you couldn’t get it open you decided to bring it to me?”
I grinned at her.
“Yup”
But then my face lost its smile and I went over to Chloe.
“But forget this for right now…are you ok? Clark told me about your car…”
Her eyes went wide and she whipped her head over to Clark. His voice was high as he spoke to her.
“Yeah…I told Lois your car was stolen in Metropolis. She didn’t let me finish though…”
He looked back at me.
“Chloe wasn’t there when it happened. She went to come home and the car was gone. That’s when she went back to The Planet and called me and I came and got her…end of story…see she didn’t get hurt.”
I looked at Chloe so she could confirm what he was saying because for some reason I just didn’t believe him. It sounded like he was hiding something.
She nodded and gave me a small smile.
“Yup…that’s exactly what happened.”
She walked away from us and into the kitchen but I could still hear her voice.
“You know what…it’s actually good you’re here Lois.”
She came out of the kitchen with a bottle of water and I saw Clark raise an eyebrow at Chloe and speak.
“It is?”
She slapped him in the stomach as she walked by and he ooffed as I laughed. Clark followed Chloe to the couch and they sat together. I followed them in and stood there waiting for her to finish.
“Yes Clark…it is.”
She looked back at me.
“When was the last time we all hung out? Lana is coming over there’s some kind of stalker after her or something so she’s staying here for a few days.”
Whoa whoa whoa…She’s staying here…that is weird. After everything that happened at her engagement party I didn’t think I’d be seeing her around Clark or Chloe anytime soon. Guess I was wrong…
“That’s interesting…I didn’t think I’d see you hanging out with Lana anytime soon…”
When I trailed off Clark snorted and his voice came out whiny.
“Yea neither did I.”
Chloe hit him again and I smirked. She had him wrapped around her finger and I thought that was too funny…Never underestimate a Sullivan-Lane girl…we do it best! Her voice was amused when she spoke again.
“Anyway she should be here soon and it might be nice for all of us to do something together for once…you know…pretend to be normal people our age who aren’t pregnant, married , engaged broken hearted and having normal everyday problems…just a couple of kids kicking back and having a movie night….could be interesting .”
I saw Clark grin and I shrugged. What the hell right…she’s right…we don’t do this stuff often…might as well pass the time here instead of at home alone.
“Sure Chlo…bring on the movies.”
She clapped her hands and just then the doorbell rang. We all looked over at it and nobody moved.
(Clark POV)
I rolled my eyes.
“No please Lois…you’re standing but don’t get the door…I’ll get it.”
I got up off the couch and walked over to the door. I knew it was Lana and I really didn’t want to open the door and see a look of accusation on her face…I sighed. I opened the door and two big guys I suites immediately pushed by me and started searching the house. I looked over extremely confused…
“Hey…HEY…What are you doing?”
They faced me and stopped for a minute.
“We were instructed by Mr. Luthor to secure the indoor and outdoor parameters to ensure Miss. Lang safety.”
Ahhh…of course…Lex sent bodyguards. I glanced at the door and Lana gave me a small smile. She looked a little pale but aside from that I didn’t see any animosity in her reaction to seeing me…weird. I opened the door wider for her and she walked in with a small bag.
“Hello Clark.”
“Hey Lana…I’m sorry to hear about this stalker thing…but I’m glad Chloe and I could help.”
She nodded and moved into the room.
“Me to. Thank you for letting me crash here while Lex is out of town. I appreciate it.”
I nodded again. I looked at Lana and placed a hand on her arm. She stopped and looked at me.
“Listen…I’m really sorry…about…you knows what happened at your engagement party. I didn’t mean what happened really…I…”
She cut me off and sighed.
“Clark I’ll tell you the same thing I told Chloe…yes it sucked having my night ruined but it wasn’t you fault…you were infected with that woman’s love crap…it reacted badly with you guys…I get it…lets not rehash it ok?”
“Sure...ok”
She nodded and then walked into the living room where Chloe and Lois were talking. I heard them great her and then they all started laughing. I smiled I haven’t heard Chloe laugh like that in a while. Maybe tonight would be good for her. When I came into the living room they all turned and laughed. I raised an eyebrow and looked at Chloe. she smirked at me.
“Since the united States is a democracy Clark the girls and I determined that we should all have a say in deciding who went out to get the movies and junk food.”
I nodded. Sounded fair and yet there all smiling in my direction. I spoke cautiously.
“Ok…”
Lois and Lana chuckled and Chloe spoke.
“Well it has been decided that you will be getting refreshments and movies…”
“Me…why?”
Lois took her turn and spoke up.
“Because Smallville…you’ve been out voted.”
I rolled my eyes.
“What are you talking about….I didn’t even get to vote…I thought this was a democracy.”
Lana grinned and chimed in.
“It is so even though you didn’t vote it doesn’t matter because majority rules. And we..”
She pointed to her Chloe and Lois…
“Are the majority..”
They all smiled and I shook my head. They all ganged up on me…nice…this is what happens when you put one man in a room full of women…they take over like dictators and bring you to your knees until your doing whatever they want….I got a paper and pen and wrote down what everybody wanted including some incredibly disgusting things for Chloe and Lana. I grabbed the paper and went to walk out as I turned around to take one more look at them the. I smiled.
There we all were. All together, with everything we'd all been through over the last five years with the exception of Lois. Though she’s been through at lot with us in the past two years. The battles we'd all fought with Meteor freaks and each other, the relationships that were formed and have evolved, the feelings of friendship and love for each other, stronger than any feelings we'd ever known could exist. And somehow in this moment while I stood there looking over at them laughing and goofing around…I had this really strong, really upsetting feeling, that this was the last time we'd all be together like this….
Chapter 10 Part C
(Clark POV)
I got up extra early this morning to start my chores. Lois had spent the night last night and Lana was still here also and with everything that’s been going on it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for me to get caught using my powers…So like I said I got up and extra hour early because I was doing my chores the normal way. I saw my mom walk through the barn doors as I was trying to get the horse back in its stall.
“You're okay. Come on.”
I heard her voice and it sounded confused.
“Clark? What are you still doing out here?”
I gave a frustrated sigh and glanced at her….wasn’t it obvious what I was doing?
“Well, I'm still doing my chores.”
“Well, you usually finish those in about two minutes. How is it that I drove to Metropolis, dropped off paperwork for the senate and came all the way back home before you finished?”
After I got the horse back in the stall I turned around and faced her while I wiped off my hands.
“'Cause I'm doing them the normal way. I feel like someone's been looking over my shoulder, like I'm being watched. Plus with Lois and Lana still here it’s better to be safe then sorry. Speaking of which I’m surprised the girls aren’t up yet.”
Just then I heard Chloe’s voice coming from the door.
“We are…Lana and Lois are attempting to make pancakes in your kitchen…Lana’s doing pretty good…but I think Lois is going to burn the kitchen down.”
She grinned and I laughed. My mom just sighed. My mom placed an arm around Chloe and spoke lightly with a grin.
“I'm going to go inside and make some hot cocoa to thaw out the two of us who can feel how cold it is.”
Chloe laughed.
“To be honest I’m not that cold but thank you, Mrs. Kent.
She shook her head and addressed Chloe.
“Chloe…it’s Martha…you’ve been living here for months now and you’re married to my son…people are going to think I’m one of those horrible mother in-laws if you keep calling me Mrs. Kent.”
I chuckled and Chloe smiled. My mom squeezed her one last time before going inside to make sure Lois didn’t set the kitchen on fire.
I glanced at Chloe and smiled.
“Hey…”
She came over and grinned.
“Hey back…”
Her face became serious. When she spoke her voice was quiet but alarmed.
“When I woke up this morning I didn’t see you anywhere so I went upstairs to see if you were there…and I found Lana snooping around your room Clark.”
I raised an eyebrow…and frowned. I corrected Chloe when I spoke.
“Our room…what do you think she was looking for?”
She shrugged and moved away from me.
“I don’t know Clark but if I was trying to find out my ex’s secret what better place to start then his own backyard.”
I didn’t want to think that Lana could be so conniving…but if this was tree we had a big problem.
“If your theory is true…then now we know why Lana agreed to come and stay here so quickly…”
Chloe nodded. I shock my head and walked over to the stairs leading to the loft. I sat down and put my head in my hands. I always tried to be calm in front of Chloe but I couldn’t keep doing this….I couldn’t keep bottling up my emotions because it was seriously starting to reek havoc on me.
“This is ridiculous…I can’t keep this up…what the hell is happening with everyone? Lex and I used to be friends…now we can’t even be in the same room with each other. I don’t know what happened to Lana she’s a completely different person from the girl I fell in love with. Everyone is turning there back on me…I barely have anyone left…Oliver left town with the guys to try and make a difference and stop 33.1 and where am I? That’s right you guessed it I’m stuck here on the farm with a mother whose barely home anymore, a farm that needs to be taken care of, Phantoms that have to be captured, Lex who needs to be watched, a wife whose pregnant with someone else’s baby and Lois as the closet person to a friend I can actually have a conversation with. Everything has been happening so fast and I’ve been trying to take it all in stride but I can’t keep doing this…”
I shook my head.
“I can’t keep being everyone’s rock when I can barely be me own…everyone is counting on me and all I want to do is just take off…and leave everything behind…”
I looked up when I heard Chloe’s breath catch. She was standing there with tears in her eyes. She looked at me like I had just slapped her across the face and it wasn’t until then that I realized what I had said. Chloe isn’t just my best friend who I vent to anymore. She’s my wife…a wife that I just said I rushed into a marriage with and wanted to leave behind. Crap…that’s not…I didn’t mean it that way…I was just venting I needed to get some things out…and Chloe has always been the one I could talk to…I didn’t realize…I stood up and started to walk to her. She held up her hand for me to stop and I did. My voice was hesitant and I spoke deliberately and softly.
“Chloe…”
“Don’t!”
She shook her head and gave me a bitter chuckle.
“I can’t believe…I thought…I thought all this was real…”
I was already moving closer and shaking my head but she moved further away with each step I took.
“It is real Chloe…”
She ignored me and kept talking.
“Do y..you…regret this? Do you regret us becoming a couple…do you regret standing by me while I’m carrying Jimmy’s baby?”
I didn’t know what to say. Of course I didn’t regret it…Chloe’s my best friend…I love her…sometimes I just wish things could have gone slower….but I’ve never regretted a second of what we have together.
“N..no…Chloe I don’t…regret us I just…I think…”
She stopped me. I tried to finish but her words cut me off.
“I don’t want to here it…we rushed this…I knew we did. I should have listened to my gut…”
She looked up at me and gave me a sad smile.
“But you were so sure…you sounded so sincere that I thought we could handle anything together…I was wrong. We can’t handle this…”
I was starting to get frustrated so raised my voice.
“Chloe STOP! Just stop making this out to be some kind of attack on you! I love you ok…I just…I needed to vent. We are only twenty years old and most twenty year olds don’t have to deal with half of the stuff that we do…Forgive me if for once I needed to freak out a little bit…A person can only have so much responsibility thrown on their shoulders before they need to let off a little steam…I didn’t mean anything by it…”
Her voice was attempting to be hard as she spoke.
“I understand that Clark…Everyone needs a good freak out once in a while…trust me I do it enough…but I don’t ever once remember wanting to leave you…actually it was quite the opposite…thinking of you didn’t make me feel obligated…it make me stable…you were my rock when everything got overwhelming…”
The tears in her eyes made me feel guilty. I shook my head, looked down and shrugged.
“I told you Chloe I was just venting...”
She cut me off again except this time her voice was soft.
“Yes Clark venting…but you categorized me as part of the problem…don’t you see that? Why won’t you let me be there for you? I told you a long time ago that even hero’s need to be saved sometimes…why won’t you let me be that for you Clark?”
I looked at her and her voice was begging me for an answer. But I didn’t have one. I was quiet and she just shook her head and I could smell the salt of her tears. Her voice was shaky and barely a whisper.
“People don’t say things like that when their venting Clark…They say what’s bothering them sure, they say why there mad, they don’t say they want to leave their wife and her unborn child…do you love me Clark?”
I looked into her eyes and spoke clearly without hesitation.
“Yes.”
“Ever since I found out your secret…have we always been honest with each other about the important things?”
My voice still didn’t waver.
“Yes.”
She walked closer to me and looked at my face and her voice was pleading.
“Then tell me the truth Clark…please…I won’t be mad…j…just tell me the truth. Do you regret trying to make this marriage work…helping me with the baby…being…with…me?”
Tears were coursing down her cheeks by the end of her sentence. I was quiet for a minute and when I spoke my voice was tired but honest. I took her hands in mine and held them tight.
“Honestly Chloe…I don’t regret our relationship…and I don’t regret sticking around to help you with the baby…and I don’t regret marrying you. I do wish that we had slowed things down and thought realistically about what we were doing…I love you and I plan to spend the rest of my life with you…but sometimes when things get to be so much that I don’t even think I can handle it…I start to wish that forever had started later on in life when we were both more prepared for it. But that isn’t regret…that’s worry…I’m always trying to be strong for other people that I don’t know how to let people be strong for me and so I take everything on myself and sometimes it gets to me so bad I want to run…but know that I’d never leave you Chloe…I’m all in here…a moment of weakness were I’m freaking out isn’t going to change that.”
She wanted honesty and so I gave it to her. Chloe has given me so much happiness that I couldn’t possibly regret being with her…but there is so much going on right now and I’m frustrated and scared…I’m scared for Chloe…I’m scared for our son…I’m scared for Lana…and I’m scared for me…I’m so scared that I am going to screw up when it really matters and I don’t know what I’d do if I lost Chloe…She was the only thing I had left…
(Lana POV)
Lois and I had finished making pancakes with Mrs. Kent’s help. After we ate Mrs. Kent had to go into town to pick up a few things and Lois offered to drive her. Chloe was out in the barn with Clark and I was alone in house except for the two security guards that I couldn’t see outside the doors.
If I was going to try and get into Chloe’s computer now was the time. I walked around the house and looked for her computer. I couldn’t find it anywhere downstairs so I went up to Clark’s bedroom and there it was on his desk. I stared at it for a few minutes before turning it on. I browsed around the different things on her desktop. I clicked on a few folders and found one that said “CK” on it.
I hesitated for about a second before double clicking on the document. As soon as I did the computer prompted me for a password and I slammed it shut in frustration. Of course it’s password protected…like she would be so careless to leave stuff about Clark just lying around. I sighed and heard a clatter from outside Clark’s room. I moved away from the computer and slowly glanced out the door. I called out.
“Clark…Chloe?”
When neither of them answered I thought it might be one of the security team. So I walked out of the room and called to the head guy down the stairs.
“Brady?”
I saw a shadow run by downstairs and my heart started pounding. I cautiously walked down the stairs holding a hand against my stomach. When I got downstairs and didn’t see anyone I called out to Brady again.
“Brady?”
I opened the kitchen door and didn’t find anything outside. I went back inside and turned around. There on the kitchen table was a red package. I put my hand over my mouth. I was absolutely horrified…how in the world did someone get in here in broad day light with the security team here.
I took the package and carefully opened it. There was red lingerie in the box with a note attached to it. It said "I want you to wear this... when I kill you." I gasped and when I looked up I saw shadows by the door. I went to run and was grabbed by a large hand. I screamed and then I heard Brady’s voice cutting through my screams. I calmed down and stopped struggling.
“Miss Lang, what’s going on? What are you doing?”
I tried to catch my breath and right before I spoke Clark came running into the room. Clark’s voice was as concerned as his facial expression.
“What happened?”
I took a deep breath.
“There's someone in the house.”
Brady shook his head and Clark glanced around.
“That's impossible, okay? My men are guarding the house at all perimeters.”
“I don’t see anyone here Lana…are you sure you’re not just tired and maybe you thought you saw someone?”
I glared at both of them…trying to make me seem crazy. I pointed to the box and then picked it up and handed it to Brady.
“Then how do you explain that?”
Clarks face turned pensive and he examined the box from afar.
One of the other security guards came into the house. His voice was deep when he spoke.
“What's going on?”
Brady explained to Mack what had happened.
“We’ve got a serious problem here”
He glanced around.
“You’re security has been breeched. We are going to have to move you back to the Luthor mansion for more security.”
Clark looked at me and I could see he wanted to protest. I gave him a small smile.
“It’s fine Clark he’s right. It’s probably safer at the mansion right now. I thought if there were more people around the person who be scared off…obviously was wrong.”
I looked over at the security team.
“I’ll go pack my bag and be down soon. One of you please get Lex on the phone for me.”
I went upstairs and got my stuff together. I didn’t find much here…but I’d keep looking…now after everything that Lex showed me…I was convinced more than ever that their was something different about Clark Kent…
(Lex POV)
I was sitting in the limo on my way to a meeting when my phone rang. I picked it up and it was Brady. He explained that Lana’s safety had been compromised at the Kent farm so they were taking her back to the mansion. I cursed to myself…I knew I shouldn’t have left her there alone. I got off the phone after giving him strict orders to shoot anyone who came within a ten foot radius of Lana…his instructions were simply put…Shoot first ask questions later. I told my driver to turn around because we were heading back to the airport. There was no way I was going to leave Lana and my son to face this alone plus Lana and I had some things to discuss about her involvement in my latest project, which by the way she took exceedingly well. I glanced at my watch….it’s going to take some string pulling but I should be home later tonight and I’d make sure the guy was caught…nobody threatens the people I love and lives to say he did…
(Lois POV)
I came up the stairs and Clark was sitting in that loft of his bouncing a stupid ball against the wall. I shook my head. He looked depressed and I came here to yell at him…wonderful this is going to go just terrific.
“What are you doing Smallville?”
I must have startled him because when the ball he just threw bounced back it hit him in his head. He shook his head a glared at me.
“I’m not in the mood right now Lois.”
I nodded. Yup this particular fight was big. I had gone shopping with Mrs. Kent this morning and then I’d dropped her off at home. When I went back to the Talon Chloe was there and she was extremely upset…so upset that she asked if there was still room in my apartment for her.
I ignored Clark’s comment and walked over to him.
“We’ll you better get in the mood…I have a very upset cousin on my doorstep because of something you said or did…Clark…she’s talking about moving back in with me what happened?”
He abruptly stood up.
“She said that? She said she wants to move back in with you?”
I nodded and his face fell. My god could he get more mopey!
“Snap out of this self-induced depression…and tell me what you said.”
He spent the next few minutes explaining to me what happened and I shook my head. Wow…when Clark put his foot in his mouth it sure did get jammed in there. There isn’t anything for him to do but grovel for her forgiveness.
“You messed up Smallville and It’s gonna take a lot more than an apology to get Chloe back here. I don’t understand what happened…I thought thing’s with you guys were going good.”
He sighed.
“They were…You have to understand that there’s a lot going on right now and I was just feeling overwhelmed. I don’t regret being with Chloe Lois…she’s probably one of the only things at this point that I don’t regret…and I know deep down she knows that. She’s just so worried that after all this time I’m going to think being with her is a mistake and leave. But you have to know I wouldn’t do that. I was having a rough morning and since I’m used to talking to Chloe about my feelings I kind of just put it all out there not realizing that because of our…change in relationship there are some things that would have to be….rephrased for girlfriend ears….you know?”
I chuckled. As much as I hated to admit it Clark was a good guy and things with him and Chloe would work out…she knows Clark loves her…she’s just stubborn and doesn’t want to give in first.
I got off the railing I was leaning on gave him a small smirk and walked down the stairs to leave when he called out to me.
“Tell her I love her…ok?”
I nodded but didn’t turn around.
“Will do smallville. If I don’t have her back here in a day or two I expect you to come fine her got it?”
He chuckled.
“Yes maim.”
I smiled and left to go comfort Chloe…boy was it going to be a long long day.
(Lana POV)
We got to the mansion and I settled myself into the study. Mack knocked opened the door and came in.
“Lex's plane is in the air now, but he won't be back until tomorrow. With the snow storm, the plane was rerouted.”
I nodded. That sucked but at least he’d be home soon. I gave Mack a small smile and spoke lightly.
“Thank you... for everything. If it wasn't for you, I don't even want to think about what would have happened.”
I saw him slowly remove his earpiece from his ear as I was pouring myself some water. He spoke again this time there was something in his voice that worried me.
“I hope I'm not crossing a line, but, honestly... Lex never should have left you alone.”
I suddenly became very uncomfortable…When did he start using Lex’s first name…something’s not right here. I turned to face him.
“When did you start calling him by his first name?”
He gave me a nervous chuckle.
“Uh…I'm sorry. It's been a rough night.”
I agreed. I was starving…I just realized now that I hadn’t had much to eat today with all the commotion. I addressed Mack in a professional way.
“Yeah, I know. I don't think I've eaten since this whole thing started. Could you ask the kitchen to bring something up for me?”
He spoke clearly but soft as he moved further into the room.
“I sent the staff and the rest of the team home.”
I was startled. Who does he think he is? Something is really wrong her end I’m beyond uncomfortable in his presence. Something is wrong here…the best thing I can do is just play along.
He chuckled and made up some excuse about not wanting them to get stuck in the storm.
I smiled.
“No, no, it's okay. It's actually very considerate.”
“Like something you'd do.”
Ok this is officially getting to weird for me. He laughed again and continued talking.
“It's true. You're not like all the other girls that Lex paraded in and out of here.”
I frowned. As he moved within inches from me…
“I’ve Been crossing a lot of lines lately. All for you, Princess.”
This explains everything…how the stalker got photos of me how security missed him how he got the package into the Kent’s.
“I watch over you every day... and you never even notice.”
This is extremely bad….
He started saying all this stuff about how good I am and Lex is bad. How he needed to save me from a person like Lex because I was too pure hearted or something. He wanted me to pick everything up and just go with him so I decided to play along again until I came up with a plan. I told him he was right and I wanted to go…and when he turned his back I smashed done of Lex’s things over his back and ran as fast as I could….but there wasn’t anyone here and there was no wear to go…
(Clark POV)
It was early and I was already down with my chores. I was sitting on the porch thinking. Last night I had gone to visit Lana and got there just in time to see one of Lex’s security people attacking her. They wound up falling through the roof and I got underneath them in time to catch her before she hit the ground. She was shocked and we spoke for a few minutes…me dancing around how I got there in time and all that as usual…I left there and came home hoping to find Chloe in bed waiting for me. No such luck.
She didn’t come home all night so here I am sitting on the porch hoping she’ll come up this pathway in the near future. I had called Lois last light but no one answered. I went by the Talon also but no one was home. They must have gone out. I was interrupted by a small female voice and I grinned.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
“Chloe…”
She gave me half a smile.
“The one and only.”
I got up and met her half way. When I was right in front of her I hugged her tight.
“I missed you last night.”
She nodded and looked down then back at me.
“I needed some time to sort stuff out.”
“Understandable…listen Chloe about yesterday…I honestly didn’t mean to imply that I regretted anything with us…I’m really sorry…I just get overwhelmed sometimes and I’m not exactly sure how to deal with it.”
She nodded again and when she spoke her voice was serious and she held my gaze.
“Clark…there is only one way this is going to work with us...and that’s if we’re honest with each other…even if it hurts. You need to learn how to lean on me. I promise you I won’t break…but you need to open that part of yourself up more or we’re never going to make it…”
She was right and I knew that. It was easier said then done but I’d work it out because I didn’t want to lose her.
“I know and your right…I will work on it.”
I paused and it was silent. I broke the silence with a soft voice.
“So are…are we ok?”
She smiled.
“Where getting there.”
I grinned and pulled her closer.
“Does this mean you’re coming home?”
She moved away from me and her smile was gone.
“I think we should give it a couple more days…but I promise I’ll come back Clark…I just need some me time.”
I guess I could understand that…
“Ok…I’ll wait…whenever you’re ready Chloe…I’m here…”
As I spoke I looked into her eyes and I could see the light in them. Everything was going to be ok…with us at least. We had a new problem to worry about and that was Lana snooping around both of our personal things…she was no longer sitting out of the game…she was a solid player now…and she wasn’t playing alone…she was playing with Lex…I could feel the calm before the storm brewing. I just hoped that whatever flew our way after this was something that we were prepared to deal with…
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