Two Guys, a Girl and a Chevy Impala: Fic Five: 33.1 (1/?)
Series: Two Guys, a Girl and a Chevy Impala
Title: Fic 5: 33.1
Authors: Clarksmuse and X_tremeroswellian
Rated: R
Pairings: Chloe/Dean, Sam/Sarah
Disclaimer: Yeah, we don't own anything. Except our computers. :P Don't sue. Thanks.
The sign read "30 miles to Smallville", and with each passing mile, Dean grew more antsy and impatient. "Are we there yet?" he grumbled, pushing the Impala's gas pedal to the floor.
Despite her darkening mood, she managed a faint smirk. "No, but we're five minutes closer than the last time you asked."
From the backseat, Sarah rolled her eyes. "He reminds me of Bart with his constant whining about being there yet," she whispered to Sam.
"Bart?" Sam asked, his eyebrows furrowing a little.
Laughing, she said, "Bart Simpson? Are we there yet?" Her eyes twinkled with mischief.
Dean glared at Sarah from the rearview mirror.
"Oh. I...never really watched that."
At that, Chloe whipped her head around, staring at him wide-eyed. "Are you kidding me? You never watched the Simpsons?"
Dean snorted. "Not like we had a lot of chances to watch television," he grumbled under his breath.
"Oh, you would have loved Bart Simpson," Sarah remarked casually. "He's just like you Dean: smart, crafty, always getting into trouble... short." She looked at Sam and laughed.
Sam snorted, unable to keep from chuckling at her remark. "Sounds like Dean," he agreed with a smirk.
Chloe shook her head a little and turned back around, the breath catching in her throat at the sign that read Smallville--10 miles.
Glancing at her, Dean saw the concern on her brow. He took her hand in his and squeezed it. "I'm here... we’re here," he corrected himself. “She’ll be fine, I'm sure." Actually, he wasn't at all sure about this trip, he thought, but it had to be done.
"Yeah," she murmured, drawing in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, threading her fingers through his. "I know."
Sam glanced at his brother in the rearview mirror, his eyes troubled.
Dean met Sam's eyes and nodded slightly. This wasn't going to be fun, he thought a little miserably. "Where... are we going to stay while we're here?" he asked her.
"There's a motel just outside of town," she answered without hesitation. She wasn't about to suggest they stay with any of the people she knew.
"Sounds good, Chlo," Sam said quietly, glancing at Sarah.
Sarah saw that look and blushed a little. She wondered just how long they were going to keep the rooms segregated. She met Sam's eyes shyly but smiled at him nonetheless. "Works for me, Chloe," she replied.
"I think I see it," Dean replied in an even tone, pointing out the small, kinda shady hotel that was on the left.
"That'd be it," she said softly, her muscles tensing as they rolled into Smallville.
"Good, we're going there first, because I think we could all use a little shuteye before..." Dean let his sentence fall into silence. No need to say out loud what they were already thinking. Pulling the Impala into the hotel parking lot, he got out and pulled the seat ahead to let Sam and Sarah out.
Sam climbed out of the car slowly, helping Sarah out, as well. He glanced at Chloe, who remained in the front seat.
She slowly crawled out of the car, rising to her feet and looking around. "Smallville, here I come...right back where I started from," she said under her breath.
Moving around to the passenger seat, Dean draped an arm around Chloe's shoulders. "I'm here," he reminded her, propelling her gently forward to the front office so they could check-in.
Looking at Sam, Sarah asked, "You ever been here before, Sam?'
"No, but I've heard a lot about it," he admitted, glancing around with a worried expression.
"Good things or... bad things?" she asked him, concerned at the look on his face.
"Not good," he said grimly.
"Great," she replied, holding her hand in his as she saw Dean and Chloe leave the front office with two sets of keys for adjoining rooms. Grabbing her stuff from the back of the Impala, she said, "So, which room you guys taking?"
"Whichever one Dean chooses..." He shrugged a little and kissed the top of her head, leading her toward the room.
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him what would happen if he chose to stay with Chloe, but fortunately she didn't have to ask. Chloe handed her a set of keys for their room and, with a smile, opened the door.
"Dude, key," Dean replied, tossing it in Sam's direction.
Sam caught it easily and looked at the room number, heading in the direction of the rooms.
Chloe followed behind slowly, carrying her bags in one hand. She glanced at Sarah sideways before unlocking the door to their room and stepping inside, noting the connecting door with a faint smile. "See you guys in awhile?"
"Sure, Chlo," Dean replied with a small smile. "Get some sleep. Promise me."
"I'll try," she said softly, gazing at him.
"I'll make sure she does a little," Sarah replied, throwing a smile and knowing look at Sam before stepping inside.
"See ya soon," Sam said softly, watching her head into the room before he unlocked the door to his and Dean's room.
Shaking his head, Dean followed his brother into their room and shut the door behind them.
Once inside, Sarah dropped her bags and looked around the small room. "Kinda small," she remarked, suddenly missing the warmth of Missouri's home. No wonder Sam and Dean were as hardened as they were... living in places like this.
"Yeah...good representation of the whole town," Chloe murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Not much to do here, huh?" she asked, opening her bag and pulling out her her things to put into the dresser drawers.
"Well, there's always plenty of running for your life to be had," she said grimly, tucking some hair behind her ear.
Sarah laughed. "At least the guys won't be bored while we're here." She sat on the other bed and looked at Chloe, who was anything but pleased at the moment. "Hey, you alright?"
She sighed softly. "Yeah. I just...don't really wanna be here."
"Well, don't kill me for asking this, but... why are we here if you don't wanna be?" Sarah tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
"Because Lana needs me," she said quietly.
"Lana?" she asked, worry written across her face. "She's a friend of yours?" Maybe the friend she'd mentioned a couple days ago?
"Yeah," she said softly. "She's the one who...lost her baby."
"Oh God." Sarah bowed her head, her heart going out to this woman. "Man, I can't imagine what she's going through. Who... can I ask... is the father?"
Chloe drew in a breath and gazed at her. "Lex Luthor."
Sarah gasped a little. "As in... LuthorCorp, the company that practically owns the world?"
She smiled grimly. "That'd be the one."
She swallowed hard. "No offense, but my parents have done business with Lex's father and..." She hesitated, biting her lip. The last thing she wanted to do was offend her new friend.
"He's a slimy worm in the gutter?" she provided, raising her eyebrows.
"Yeah, pretty much," she said with a short bust of laughter. She sat down on one of the beds. "I take it you've dealt with them, too?"
"Lionel Luthor tried to have me killed," Chloe told her.
Sarah's eyes narrowed in pain as she stared at the blonde. She could still see the glimmer of pain reflected in her eyes from that, and really, who could blame her? "What a bastard," she whispered softly. "I know he's done that kind of thing in the past, too."
"Yeah. He murdered his own parents. Doesn't speak well for his reputation."
"That reputation being everything from that to larceny," she muttered. "Is his son any better?"
"Used to be," she answered, her eyes growing dark with worry. "I'm starting to think he's just as bad these days."
Shock spread throughout her body. What kind of person was Chloe's friend if she had gotten mixed up with the Luthors? "Can I ask... why Lana's with him?"
Chloe was silent for a moment. "Because Clark broke her heart. And Lana isn't the type to deal well with being alone. Lex said he was in love with her and..." She shrugged a little.
"So you're saying the guy who... was the same dude that loved Lana, even though he hurt her too and she went to Lex for comfort?" Man, when did she start sounding like Sam? And when had Chloe's life become such a soap opera?
"It's all pretty screwed up, huh?" Chloe smiled wryly, and shook her head though her eyes were sad.
She chuckled. "Life gets like that, doesn't it?" Standing up, Sarah walked over to where Chloe was and smiled. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I've kinda been in the same situation, and... I mostly survived."
"You have?" she asked with surprise.
She bowed her head, pained by the old memory that seemed so recent still. "Yeah, and it was the same thing," she sighed. "I loved him, he was my friend, he loved someone else. And I got to watch them have this long, tortured relationship, listen to all the gory details. Their breakup nearly did me in."
"Well. We make a fine pair," she said with a short laugh, nudging Sarah lightly in the arm.
"Hey, we could start our own club," she replied, smiling. "Broken Hearts R Us or something."
Smiling a little, she shook her head. "We should get some sleep," she said quietly.
"Yeah, good idea. I doubt any of us want to be here." She glanced at the connecting doors that separated the Winchesters from them and sighed. Turning, she grabbed her bag and took out her PJ bottoms to rest comfortably.
Chloe didn't bother pulling pajamas out of her bag. She simply crawled beneath the covers of her bed and laid her head on the pillow, eyes focusing on the clock on the stand between them.
&&&&&&&&
Chloe drew in a deep breath as she slowly entered the lobby of Smallville Medical Center, approaching the front desk with a knot of anxiety in her stomach. She'd tried to sleep--she really had. But after forty five minutes of staring at the clock, she gave up, snuck outside and called a taxi from her cell phone. Ten minutes later she found herself outside the hospital she herself had been admitted to more times than she cared to count. She got Lana's room number from the lady at the front desk and took an elevator to the fourth floor, the anxiety worsening the second she stepped off and spotted not only Clark, but Lois as well. Great.
Clark had been talking to Lois, hammering her about questions on Lana's condition when he spotted a familiar blonde head whisk out of the elevator and dart into Lana's room. Was that...? He shook his head, certain he had been seeing her ghost. Again.
Lana had been trying to rest all morning, but in all honesty, she wanted nothing more than to crawl under a rock and die. She'd never been more depressed, angry, or bitter in her life. She closed her eyes as the tears began to fall again, wondering if Lex, Clark, and Lois would ever leave her alone and stop asking questions.
"Hey," Chloe whispered, making her way over to her friend's bedside.
Her eyes flew open, and she turned to find Chloe Sullivan standing by her bed, her face filled with sorrow and worry. "Chloe?" she asked brokenly, the tears still streaming down her face. She wiped them away angrily.
"Oh, Lana. I'm so sorry." Her own voice broke, tears filling her eyes.
"Chloe." She didn't know what else to day or do: the intense feeling of despair had taken hold and wouldn't let go. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed for the hundredth time that day.
Wordlessly, she sank down onto Lana's bedside, gathering her gently in her arms as a tears trickled down her own cheeks.
Her shoulders shook with tears as she sank into Chloe's embrace, unable to speak for several minutes as she cried... for the suffering over the loss of her child. Their child. Seeing her only friend again after so long. "Where... h-have you b-been?" she sobbed.
Immense guilt washed over her. "I needed some time away from...things," she murmured.
She nodded. "Don't I know it? God, I've missed you, Chloe. It's been so hard... without you around. I can't... Lex is... we're not really... " She kept trying to speak but was unable to.
She gazed at her friend sadly. "I know." Chloe let out a slow breath. "Is there anything I can do? Do you need anything?"
Pulling back from her friend, Lana looked up. "Give me my baby back?" She laughed bitterly at her asinine question, because she knew nothing would make that happen.
"God, if I could..." She swallowed hard, looking down.
She forced herself to calm down. "Are... Clark and Lois out there?" she whispered inaudibly.
Her jaw tightened slightly. "Yeah. Do you want me to have them come in?"
She smiled ruefully. "No, actually, I was kinda hoping they wouldn't be here." She glanced towards the door. "Can you shut that?"
A faint smirk tugging at her lips, she glanced toward the door. "I'll do you one better." Winking at her, she rose to her feet and crossed the room, stepping into the hallway.
When Chloe suddenly appeared in front of Clark, he started. He thought he'd seen a ghost, which Lois agreed with when she'd smacked him up side of the head for being a dummy, but no. She was there. In front of him. "Chloe?" he asked loudly in disbelief.
Behind him, Lois peeked around his massive body, her eyes wide. "Chlo, where the hell have you been?" she demanded.
"Lana wants some space. So get gone," she said coldly to both of them, though her eyes locked only with Clark's.
"What? No way, cuz," Lois started, though when that frosty glare turned on her, she shut up.
Clark felt like he'd been doused with frigid water, which, for him, was saying something. "Look, I know you're mad about... but Chloe, Lana needs us."
A bitter smile touched her lips. "No. She doesn't. She doesn't want either of you here right now. So just...piss off." She turned and started to head back into the room.
Trying to block her escape, Clark grabbed her arm, but in a movement he didn't anticipate, she turned around and smacked him across the cheek. Hard. The sound resonated through the corridor. "Ouch," he complained, though they both knew he wasn't hurt. "What was that for?" He rubbed his sore cheek.
"You know exactly what it was for," she said darkly, glaring at him intensely for a moment before she disappeared into Lana's room once more, leaving Clark and Lois to stare at the shut door.
"What was that noise?" Lana asked, seeing the intensely angry look on Chloe's face and frowning.
"Nothing to worry about. Just getting rid of the undesirables," she said lightly.
Shifting uncomfortably in the bed, Lana winced. "God, I wish I could get outta here. I wish... I wish I could be where you've been all this time," she whispered in a pained voice.
"Trust me...you really don't," Chloe said quietly, moving to sit on the edge of her bed once more. "Are the doctor's giving you a timeframe for flying the coup?"
She sighed. "It's gonna be another couple of days," she whispered, her eyes downcast. "I lost a lot of blood when I... And I'm still weak." And she wasn't sure how she was going to face the rest of the world when she got out.
Nodding a little, she gazed at Lana. "Well. I'm here as long as you need me," she said quietly.
"Thanks, Chloe," she whispered, not looking at the other woman. "Lex has been really... supportive, though distant. I've seen more of Clark than my own fiancé." She bit back another bitter laugh before turning to look at Chloe.
Her jaw tightened a little and she made a mental note to go have a chat with Lex Luthor later. "I'm sorry. That has to be rough."
She shrugged. "He's a busy man. You know how he is when it comes to business." She looked at Chloe curiously. "There's something different about you, Chlo. What is it?"
She was a little surprised at Lana's perceptiveness. "I've...been on the road," she admitted. "Traveling a lot."
"How?" she asked, a little confused. "I mean, when Clark found your car on the side of the road, we all thought you'd been kidnapped, murdered... it was horrible. And you've been... traveling the whole time?"
Chloe cringed, for the first time regretting the decision to leave her beloved beetle behind. "I'm sorry about that, Lana. I guess I was...just hoping no one would try to track me down."
She frowned, a little hurt by the fact that her friend seemed more interested in making herself scarce than confiding in her. "We've all tried calling, but you never answered... What happened to you, Chloe? What was so bad that you just... took off and made us all believe you were dead?"
Chloe looked down at the floor. "It's a very, very long story...for another day."
"Not like I'm going anywhere," Lana replied with a sad smile. She opened her mouth to speak but suddenly heard some commotion outside. Her back went straight and her eyes wide. She thought she heard Clark arguing with another man... who wasn't Lex.
Chloe heard the noise at the same time, her own eyes widening. Except she did recognize the voice. Dean. "I'll be right back," she said, quickly standing up and practically racing across the room. The second she flung open the door, she saw Dean with dark narrowed eyes, glaring at Clark, a stunned Lois looking on.
Seeing her cousin first, she inched away from the two men and their testosterone-charged stare down and looked at Chloe. "Who is this guy?" she asked.
Dean, on the other hand, had been Chloe but was more concerned with sizing up the large guy standing in front of Lana Lang's room like a stalker. His hands clenched into fists, and he wished again that there was a way to make this alien hurt.
Ignoring Lois's question, she moved away and laid a gentle hand on Dean's arm. "It's okay," she said quietly, moving to stand beside him.
"Aren't you gonna introduce us?" Clark asked with narrowed eyes as he stared at the shorter man before him.
"I'm the guy who's gonna kick your ass into space," Dean replied, glaring up at this man he knew to be Clark. The alien. The one who'd... His eyes darkened with hate and irritation.
"Whoa, just... step back there a minute," Lois whispered, feeling the anger radiate off the shorter man. She was completely at a loss as to who he was and why he knew her cousin.
Clark's eyes darkened a little more at the threat. His gaze flickered to Chloe, his eyes questioning and not in a polite way.
"Dean, this is Clark, though I'm pretty sure you figured that out....and this is Lois Lane. My cousin," Chloe said flatly, her eyes devoid of emotion.
He held out his hand towards her. "Come with me. Now." He never took his eyes off the other guy, really sure that if he didn't leave the medical center, one or both of them would end up a patient.
Lois was suddenly keenly interested in this exchange and wished she'd had her digital pocket recorder with her. Of course, she'd left it in the car. Dammit.
Looking worried, she gazed at him, taking his hand and letting him lead her down the hallway.
Clark made a motion to go after the two of them but Lois restrained him. "What the hell was that all about, Smallville?" she demanded, the reporter in her kicking in.
Dean said nothing to Chloe, just kept his hand firmly around hers until they got into the elevator. Only then did he look at her. "Why'd you come here? Alone?" He emphasized the last word.
"Because Lana needs me, Dean." Her voice was quiet. "I couldn't sleep, so...I just..." She shrugged a little and looked at the floor.
His grip tightened on her hand a little, and he bit back the surge of anger he'd seen at Clark's presence in the hallway. "You should have called me. I've have come with you," he grumbled, softening a little as he realized she really did need to be with her friend.
"You needed the rest," she said softly, kissing his cheek softly.
He leaned into her kiss and smiled. "Who says I did?" he retorted, looking down into her eyes and getting lost in them momentarily. "You're the one who's hardly slept the last couple of days."
"Like you've been sleeping any better than me." She smiled faintly, her eyes worried.
A discreet cough on the elevator disrupted Dean from making another comment, especially when he realized they had made it to the ground floor and people were waiting for them to move. Frowning, he led her out of the elevator and Smallville Medical Center. Once he got to the Impala, he swirled her around and took her into his arms. "Can't help it if I'm trying to take care of my girl," he replied with a lazy grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Chloe gazed at him intently, her green eyes boring into his hazel ones. "You're incredibly sweet," she whispered.
Smiling seductively at her, he leaned towards her ear and whispered, "Wanna find out just how sweet?" He couldn't help himself, he thought; she looked and smelled like heaven. Her eyes were like rays of radiant light. He kept telling himself it was that and not the fact that she'd been in the same proximity as the guy who had nearly ruined her in so many ways.
A small shiver ran through her at his words. "Dean," she whispered, touching his cheek with one hand. "I'm all right."
His eyes, bright and filled with that emotion he didn't dare speak of again, bore into hers. "Good," he whispered, brushing his lips against hers quickly. "Because if Clark gets within 500 feet of you... I'll find a way to kick his ass."
Chloe smiled faintly at his words. "I have no doubt." She glanced toward the hospital. "You know I have to go back up there."
"With... him... up there? Hell no."
"Trust me when I say Clark's not about to leave the hospital while Lana's in there...no matter how much she might want him to."
"Oh let me have five minutes with him, and I can promise you he'll never step foot near you again." As badly as he wanted to go back to her friend's room with her, Dean knew it would raise too many questions. Questions he didn't think she was ready to answer.
She gazed at him for a moment. "Tell you what...I'm gonna go see if she's okay for now...and then I'll come back with you, and...later...I'll introduce the two of you." Saying the words made a knot of anxiety tighten in her stomach.
He grinned again, this time his eyes lit up with an impish look. "Would this meeting involve gun fighting or something sharp I can ram into his stomach?"
Her eyes widened a little. "I meant introduce you to Lana," she said with a chuckle.
"Oh," he replied, the look passing out of his eyes as he became serious again. "That'd... be nice, but can you handle the twenty questions she's gonna play once I meet her?"
Chloe grinned. "Lana...doesn't ask a lot of questions. Lois, on the other hand..." Her smile faded a bit, became stonier.
"I'll avoid her like the plague, then." He touched her cheek gently and pulled her to him so their bodies gently brushed against each other. "Hey, it's okay. If you can beat the whole brainwashing thing, then you can kick this, too."
Gazing up at him, she nodded a little. "I know," she whispered. "And I will."
He kissed her gently once more and then released her, stepping around to the driver's side and getting in. "I'll be here when you're done," he called with an honest smile.
She turned to look at him once more. "I know you will be." You always are, she thought with a small smile on her face as she turned and headed back into the hospital once more.
&&&&&&&&
Chloe wasn't as nervous as she had been the first time she'd made her way to Lana's hospital room. Something about seeing Dean and knowing he was just outside in the Impala waiting for her made the whole situation much more easy and bearable. Clark and her cousin seemed to be having some kind of heated discussion and didn't notice her until she got closer to her friend's room. Then they both stopped and stared at her like she was a complete stranger who'd invaded their space. And maybe in some way that was true. She regarded them with a cool nonchalance, as if none of the before confrontation had happened only moments ago.
It took Clark several moments to recover from Lois's tirade over her cousin and that... guy, whoever he was. So when he saw her standing in front of them again, he didn't know what to make of the whole situation.
Lois, however, felt no such hesitance. "Okay, Chloe, just who the hell is that?"
A smirk formed on her lips. "A friend," she responded distantly.
"Looked more like a boyfriend to me," she replied, crossing her arms and staring at her cousin.
Clark blinked in surprise. "Where'd you get that guy?" he asked, frowning at the memory of a complete stranger threatening to kick his butt.
The smirk grew wider. "Wouldn't you both just love to know all the details?" she drawled, her eyes glittering as she headed into Lana's room without further adieu, and shut the door.
Clark ignored the outrageous look Lois threw at him; he was just as shocked and he promised himself that, the first moment he got, he'd find Chloe and talk to her. Apologize to her... make her understand how bad he felt.
Title: Fic 5: 33.1
Authors: Clarksmuse and X_tremeroswellian
Rated: R
Pairings: Chloe/Dean, Sam/Sarah
Disclaimer: Yeah, we don't own anything. Except our computers. :P Don't sue. Thanks.
The sign read "30 miles to Smallville", and with each passing mile, Dean grew more antsy and impatient. "Are we there yet?" he grumbled, pushing the Impala's gas pedal to the floor.
Despite her darkening mood, she managed a faint smirk. "No, but we're five minutes closer than the last time you asked."
From the backseat, Sarah rolled her eyes. "He reminds me of Bart with his constant whining about being there yet," she whispered to Sam.
"Bart?" Sam asked, his eyebrows furrowing a little.
Laughing, she said, "Bart Simpson? Are we there yet?" Her eyes twinkled with mischief.
Dean glared at Sarah from the rearview mirror.
"Oh. I...never really watched that."
At that, Chloe whipped her head around, staring at him wide-eyed. "Are you kidding me? You never watched the Simpsons?"
Dean snorted. "Not like we had a lot of chances to watch television," he grumbled under his breath.
"Oh, you would have loved Bart Simpson," Sarah remarked casually. "He's just like you Dean: smart, crafty, always getting into trouble... short." She looked at Sam and laughed.
Sam snorted, unable to keep from chuckling at her remark. "Sounds like Dean," he agreed with a smirk.
Chloe shook her head a little and turned back around, the breath catching in her throat at the sign that read Smallville--10 miles.
Glancing at her, Dean saw the concern on her brow. He took her hand in his and squeezed it. "I'm here... we’re here," he corrected himself. “She’ll be fine, I'm sure." Actually, he wasn't at all sure about this trip, he thought, but it had to be done.
"Yeah," she murmured, drawing in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, threading her fingers through his. "I know."
Sam glanced at his brother in the rearview mirror, his eyes troubled.
Dean met Sam's eyes and nodded slightly. This wasn't going to be fun, he thought a little miserably. "Where... are we going to stay while we're here?" he asked her.
"There's a motel just outside of town," she answered without hesitation. She wasn't about to suggest they stay with any of the people she knew.
"Sounds good, Chlo," Sam said quietly, glancing at Sarah.
Sarah saw that look and blushed a little. She wondered just how long they were going to keep the rooms segregated. She met Sam's eyes shyly but smiled at him nonetheless. "Works for me, Chloe," she replied.
"I think I see it," Dean replied in an even tone, pointing out the small, kinda shady hotel that was on the left.
"That'd be it," she said softly, her muscles tensing as they rolled into Smallville.
"Good, we're going there first, because I think we could all use a little shuteye before..." Dean let his sentence fall into silence. No need to say out loud what they were already thinking. Pulling the Impala into the hotel parking lot, he got out and pulled the seat ahead to let Sam and Sarah out.
Sam climbed out of the car slowly, helping Sarah out, as well. He glanced at Chloe, who remained in the front seat.
She slowly crawled out of the car, rising to her feet and looking around. "Smallville, here I come...right back where I started from," she said under her breath.
Moving around to the passenger seat, Dean draped an arm around Chloe's shoulders. "I'm here," he reminded her, propelling her gently forward to the front office so they could check-in.
Looking at Sam, Sarah asked, "You ever been here before, Sam?'
"No, but I've heard a lot about it," he admitted, glancing around with a worried expression.
"Good things or... bad things?" she asked him, concerned at the look on his face.
"Not good," he said grimly.
"Great," she replied, holding her hand in his as she saw Dean and Chloe leave the front office with two sets of keys for adjoining rooms. Grabbing her stuff from the back of the Impala, she said, "So, which room you guys taking?"
"Whichever one Dean chooses..." He shrugged a little and kissed the top of her head, leading her toward the room.
It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him what would happen if he chose to stay with Chloe, but fortunately she didn't have to ask. Chloe handed her a set of keys for their room and, with a smile, opened the door.
"Dude, key," Dean replied, tossing it in Sam's direction.
Sam caught it easily and looked at the room number, heading in the direction of the rooms.
Chloe followed behind slowly, carrying her bags in one hand. She glanced at Sarah sideways before unlocking the door to their room and stepping inside, noting the connecting door with a faint smile. "See you guys in awhile?"
"Sure, Chlo," Dean replied with a small smile. "Get some sleep. Promise me."
"I'll try," she said softly, gazing at him.
"I'll make sure she does a little," Sarah replied, throwing a smile and knowing look at Sam before stepping inside.
"See ya soon," Sam said softly, watching her head into the room before he unlocked the door to his and Dean's room.
Shaking his head, Dean followed his brother into their room and shut the door behind them.
Once inside, Sarah dropped her bags and looked around the small room. "Kinda small," she remarked, suddenly missing the warmth of Missouri's home. No wonder Sam and Dean were as hardened as they were... living in places like this.
"Yeah...good representation of the whole town," Chloe murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Not much to do here, huh?" she asked, opening her bag and pulling out her her things to put into the dresser drawers.
"Well, there's always plenty of running for your life to be had," she said grimly, tucking some hair behind her ear.
Sarah laughed. "At least the guys won't be bored while we're here." She sat on the other bed and looked at Chloe, who was anything but pleased at the moment. "Hey, you alright?"
She sighed softly. "Yeah. I just...don't really wanna be here."
"Well, don't kill me for asking this, but... why are we here if you don't wanna be?" Sarah tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
"Because Lana needs me," she said quietly.
"Lana?" she asked, worry written across her face. "She's a friend of yours?" Maybe the friend she'd mentioned a couple days ago?
"Yeah," she said softly. "She's the one who...lost her baby."
"Oh God." Sarah bowed her head, her heart going out to this woman. "Man, I can't imagine what she's going through. Who... can I ask... is the father?"
Chloe drew in a breath and gazed at her. "Lex Luthor."
Sarah gasped a little. "As in... LuthorCorp, the company that practically owns the world?"
She smiled grimly. "That'd be the one."
She swallowed hard. "No offense, but my parents have done business with Lex's father and..." She hesitated, biting her lip. The last thing she wanted to do was offend her new friend.
"He's a slimy worm in the gutter?" she provided, raising her eyebrows.
"Yeah, pretty much," she said with a short bust of laughter. She sat down on one of the beds. "I take it you've dealt with them, too?"
"Lionel Luthor tried to have me killed," Chloe told her.
Sarah's eyes narrowed in pain as she stared at the blonde. She could still see the glimmer of pain reflected in her eyes from that, and really, who could blame her? "What a bastard," she whispered softly. "I know he's done that kind of thing in the past, too."
"Yeah. He murdered his own parents. Doesn't speak well for his reputation."
"That reputation being everything from that to larceny," she muttered. "Is his son any better?"
"Used to be," she answered, her eyes growing dark with worry. "I'm starting to think he's just as bad these days."
Shock spread throughout her body. What kind of person was Chloe's friend if she had gotten mixed up with the Luthors? "Can I ask... why Lana's with him?"
Chloe was silent for a moment. "Because Clark broke her heart. And Lana isn't the type to deal well with being alone. Lex said he was in love with her and..." She shrugged a little.
"So you're saying the guy who... was the same dude that loved Lana, even though he hurt her too and she went to Lex for comfort?" Man, when did she start sounding like Sam? And when had Chloe's life become such a soap opera?
"It's all pretty screwed up, huh?" Chloe smiled wryly, and shook her head though her eyes were sad.
She chuckled. "Life gets like that, doesn't it?" Standing up, Sarah walked over to where Chloe was and smiled. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I've kinda been in the same situation, and... I mostly survived."
"You have?" she asked with surprise.
She bowed her head, pained by the old memory that seemed so recent still. "Yeah, and it was the same thing," she sighed. "I loved him, he was my friend, he loved someone else. And I got to watch them have this long, tortured relationship, listen to all the gory details. Their breakup nearly did me in."
"Well. We make a fine pair," she said with a short laugh, nudging Sarah lightly in the arm.
"Hey, we could start our own club," she replied, smiling. "Broken Hearts R Us or something."
Smiling a little, she shook her head. "We should get some sleep," she said quietly.
"Yeah, good idea. I doubt any of us want to be here." She glanced at the connecting doors that separated the Winchesters from them and sighed. Turning, she grabbed her bag and took out her PJ bottoms to rest comfortably.
Chloe didn't bother pulling pajamas out of her bag. She simply crawled beneath the covers of her bed and laid her head on the pillow, eyes focusing on the clock on the stand between them.
&&&&&&&&
Chloe drew in a deep breath as she slowly entered the lobby of Smallville Medical Center, approaching the front desk with a knot of anxiety in her stomach. She'd tried to sleep--she really had. But after forty five minutes of staring at the clock, she gave up, snuck outside and called a taxi from her cell phone. Ten minutes later she found herself outside the hospital she herself had been admitted to more times than she cared to count. She got Lana's room number from the lady at the front desk and took an elevator to the fourth floor, the anxiety worsening the second she stepped off and spotted not only Clark, but Lois as well. Great.
Clark had been talking to Lois, hammering her about questions on Lana's condition when he spotted a familiar blonde head whisk out of the elevator and dart into Lana's room. Was that...? He shook his head, certain he had been seeing her ghost. Again.
Lana had been trying to rest all morning, but in all honesty, she wanted nothing more than to crawl under a rock and die. She'd never been more depressed, angry, or bitter in her life. She closed her eyes as the tears began to fall again, wondering if Lex, Clark, and Lois would ever leave her alone and stop asking questions.
"Hey," Chloe whispered, making her way over to her friend's bedside.
Her eyes flew open, and she turned to find Chloe Sullivan standing by her bed, her face filled with sorrow and worry. "Chloe?" she asked brokenly, the tears still streaming down her face. She wiped them away angrily.
"Oh, Lana. I'm so sorry." Her own voice broke, tears filling her eyes.
"Chloe." She didn't know what else to day or do: the intense feeling of despair had taken hold and wouldn't let go. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed for the hundredth time that day.
Wordlessly, she sank down onto Lana's bedside, gathering her gently in her arms as a tears trickled down her own cheeks.
Her shoulders shook with tears as she sank into Chloe's embrace, unable to speak for several minutes as she cried... for the suffering over the loss of her child. Their child. Seeing her only friend again after so long. "Where... h-have you b-been?" she sobbed.
Immense guilt washed over her. "I needed some time away from...things," she murmured.
She nodded. "Don't I know it? God, I've missed you, Chloe. It's been so hard... without you around. I can't... Lex is... we're not really... " She kept trying to speak but was unable to.
She gazed at her friend sadly. "I know." Chloe let out a slow breath. "Is there anything I can do? Do you need anything?"
Pulling back from her friend, Lana looked up. "Give me my baby back?" She laughed bitterly at her asinine question, because she knew nothing would make that happen.
"God, if I could..." She swallowed hard, looking down.
She forced herself to calm down. "Are... Clark and Lois out there?" she whispered inaudibly.
Her jaw tightened slightly. "Yeah. Do you want me to have them come in?"
She smiled ruefully. "No, actually, I was kinda hoping they wouldn't be here." She glanced towards the door. "Can you shut that?"
A faint smirk tugging at her lips, she glanced toward the door. "I'll do you one better." Winking at her, she rose to her feet and crossed the room, stepping into the hallway.
When Chloe suddenly appeared in front of Clark, he started. He thought he'd seen a ghost, which Lois agreed with when she'd smacked him up side of the head for being a dummy, but no. She was there. In front of him. "Chloe?" he asked loudly in disbelief.
Behind him, Lois peeked around his massive body, her eyes wide. "Chlo, where the hell have you been?" she demanded.
"Lana wants some space. So get gone," she said coldly to both of them, though her eyes locked only with Clark's.
"What? No way, cuz," Lois started, though when that frosty glare turned on her, she shut up.
Clark felt like he'd been doused with frigid water, which, for him, was saying something. "Look, I know you're mad about... but Chloe, Lana needs us."
A bitter smile touched her lips. "No. She doesn't. She doesn't want either of you here right now. So just...piss off." She turned and started to head back into the room.
Trying to block her escape, Clark grabbed her arm, but in a movement he didn't anticipate, she turned around and smacked him across the cheek. Hard. The sound resonated through the corridor. "Ouch," he complained, though they both knew he wasn't hurt. "What was that for?" He rubbed his sore cheek.
"You know exactly what it was for," she said darkly, glaring at him intensely for a moment before she disappeared into Lana's room once more, leaving Clark and Lois to stare at the shut door.
"What was that noise?" Lana asked, seeing the intensely angry look on Chloe's face and frowning.
"Nothing to worry about. Just getting rid of the undesirables," she said lightly.
Shifting uncomfortably in the bed, Lana winced. "God, I wish I could get outta here. I wish... I wish I could be where you've been all this time," she whispered in a pained voice.
"Trust me...you really don't," Chloe said quietly, moving to sit on the edge of her bed once more. "Are the doctor's giving you a timeframe for flying the coup?"
She sighed. "It's gonna be another couple of days," she whispered, her eyes downcast. "I lost a lot of blood when I... And I'm still weak." And she wasn't sure how she was going to face the rest of the world when she got out.
Nodding a little, she gazed at Lana. "Well. I'm here as long as you need me," she said quietly.
"Thanks, Chloe," she whispered, not looking at the other woman. "Lex has been really... supportive, though distant. I've seen more of Clark than my own fiancé." She bit back another bitter laugh before turning to look at Chloe.
Her jaw tightened a little and she made a mental note to go have a chat with Lex Luthor later. "I'm sorry. That has to be rough."
She shrugged. "He's a busy man. You know how he is when it comes to business." She looked at Chloe curiously. "There's something different about you, Chlo. What is it?"
She was a little surprised at Lana's perceptiveness. "I've...been on the road," she admitted. "Traveling a lot."
"How?" she asked, a little confused. "I mean, when Clark found your car on the side of the road, we all thought you'd been kidnapped, murdered... it was horrible. And you've been... traveling the whole time?"
Chloe cringed, for the first time regretting the decision to leave her beloved beetle behind. "I'm sorry about that, Lana. I guess I was...just hoping no one would try to track me down."
She frowned, a little hurt by the fact that her friend seemed more interested in making herself scarce than confiding in her. "We've all tried calling, but you never answered... What happened to you, Chloe? What was so bad that you just... took off and made us all believe you were dead?"
Chloe looked down at the floor. "It's a very, very long story...for another day."
"Not like I'm going anywhere," Lana replied with a sad smile. She opened her mouth to speak but suddenly heard some commotion outside. Her back went straight and her eyes wide. She thought she heard Clark arguing with another man... who wasn't Lex.
Chloe heard the noise at the same time, her own eyes widening. Except she did recognize the voice. Dean. "I'll be right back," she said, quickly standing up and practically racing across the room. The second she flung open the door, she saw Dean with dark narrowed eyes, glaring at Clark, a stunned Lois looking on.
Seeing her cousin first, she inched away from the two men and their testosterone-charged stare down and looked at Chloe. "Who is this guy?" she asked.
Dean, on the other hand, had been Chloe but was more concerned with sizing up the large guy standing in front of Lana Lang's room like a stalker. His hands clenched into fists, and he wished again that there was a way to make this alien hurt.
Ignoring Lois's question, she moved away and laid a gentle hand on Dean's arm. "It's okay," she said quietly, moving to stand beside him.
"Aren't you gonna introduce us?" Clark asked with narrowed eyes as he stared at the shorter man before him.
"I'm the guy who's gonna kick your ass into space," Dean replied, glaring up at this man he knew to be Clark. The alien. The one who'd... His eyes darkened with hate and irritation.
"Whoa, just... step back there a minute," Lois whispered, feeling the anger radiate off the shorter man. She was completely at a loss as to who he was and why he knew her cousin.
Clark's eyes darkened a little more at the threat. His gaze flickered to Chloe, his eyes questioning and not in a polite way.
"Dean, this is Clark, though I'm pretty sure you figured that out....and this is Lois Lane. My cousin," Chloe said flatly, her eyes devoid of emotion.
He held out his hand towards her. "Come with me. Now." He never took his eyes off the other guy, really sure that if he didn't leave the medical center, one or both of them would end up a patient.
Lois was suddenly keenly interested in this exchange and wished she'd had her digital pocket recorder with her. Of course, she'd left it in the car. Dammit.
Looking worried, she gazed at him, taking his hand and letting him lead her down the hallway.
Clark made a motion to go after the two of them but Lois restrained him. "What the hell was that all about, Smallville?" she demanded, the reporter in her kicking in.
Dean said nothing to Chloe, just kept his hand firmly around hers until they got into the elevator. Only then did he look at her. "Why'd you come here? Alone?" He emphasized the last word.
"Because Lana needs me, Dean." Her voice was quiet. "I couldn't sleep, so...I just..." She shrugged a little and looked at the floor.
His grip tightened on her hand a little, and he bit back the surge of anger he'd seen at Clark's presence in the hallway. "You should have called me. I've have come with you," he grumbled, softening a little as he realized she really did need to be with her friend.
"You needed the rest," she said softly, kissing his cheek softly.
He leaned into her kiss and smiled. "Who says I did?" he retorted, looking down into her eyes and getting lost in them momentarily. "You're the one who's hardly slept the last couple of days."
"Like you've been sleeping any better than me." She smiled faintly, her eyes worried.
A discreet cough on the elevator disrupted Dean from making another comment, especially when he realized they had made it to the ground floor and people were waiting for them to move. Frowning, he led her out of the elevator and Smallville Medical Center. Once he got to the Impala, he swirled her around and took her into his arms. "Can't help it if I'm trying to take care of my girl," he replied with a lazy grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Chloe gazed at him intently, her green eyes boring into his hazel ones. "You're incredibly sweet," she whispered.
Smiling seductively at her, he leaned towards her ear and whispered, "Wanna find out just how sweet?" He couldn't help himself, he thought; she looked and smelled like heaven. Her eyes were like rays of radiant light. He kept telling himself it was that and not the fact that she'd been in the same proximity as the guy who had nearly ruined her in so many ways.
A small shiver ran through her at his words. "Dean," she whispered, touching his cheek with one hand. "I'm all right."
His eyes, bright and filled with that emotion he didn't dare speak of again, bore into hers. "Good," he whispered, brushing his lips against hers quickly. "Because if Clark gets within 500 feet of you... I'll find a way to kick his ass."
Chloe smiled faintly at his words. "I have no doubt." She glanced toward the hospital. "You know I have to go back up there."
"With... him... up there? Hell no."
"Trust me when I say Clark's not about to leave the hospital while Lana's in there...no matter how much she might want him to."
"Oh let me have five minutes with him, and I can promise you he'll never step foot near you again." As badly as he wanted to go back to her friend's room with her, Dean knew it would raise too many questions. Questions he didn't think she was ready to answer.
She gazed at him for a moment. "Tell you what...I'm gonna go see if she's okay for now...and then I'll come back with you, and...later...I'll introduce the two of you." Saying the words made a knot of anxiety tighten in her stomach.
He grinned again, this time his eyes lit up with an impish look. "Would this meeting involve gun fighting or something sharp I can ram into his stomach?"
Her eyes widened a little. "I meant introduce you to Lana," she said with a chuckle.
"Oh," he replied, the look passing out of his eyes as he became serious again. "That'd... be nice, but can you handle the twenty questions she's gonna play once I meet her?"
Chloe grinned. "Lana...doesn't ask a lot of questions. Lois, on the other hand..." Her smile faded a bit, became stonier.
"I'll avoid her like the plague, then." He touched her cheek gently and pulled her to him so their bodies gently brushed against each other. "Hey, it's okay. If you can beat the whole brainwashing thing, then you can kick this, too."
Gazing up at him, she nodded a little. "I know," she whispered. "And I will."
He kissed her gently once more and then released her, stepping around to the driver's side and getting in. "I'll be here when you're done," he called with an honest smile.
She turned to look at him once more. "I know you will be." You always are, she thought with a small smile on her face as she turned and headed back into the hospital once more.
&&&&&&&&
Chloe wasn't as nervous as she had been the first time she'd made her way to Lana's hospital room. Something about seeing Dean and knowing he was just outside in the Impala waiting for her made the whole situation much more easy and bearable. Clark and her cousin seemed to be having some kind of heated discussion and didn't notice her until she got closer to her friend's room. Then they both stopped and stared at her like she was a complete stranger who'd invaded their space. And maybe in some way that was true. She regarded them with a cool nonchalance, as if none of the before confrontation had happened only moments ago.
It took Clark several moments to recover from Lois's tirade over her cousin and that... guy, whoever he was. So when he saw her standing in front of them again, he didn't know what to make of the whole situation.
Lois, however, felt no such hesitance. "Okay, Chloe, just who the hell is that?"
A smirk formed on her lips. "A friend," she responded distantly.
"Looked more like a boyfriend to me," she replied, crossing her arms and staring at her cousin.
Clark blinked in surprise. "Where'd you get that guy?" he asked, frowning at the memory of a complete stranger threatening to kick his butt.
The smirk grew wider. "Wouldn't you both just love to know all the details?" she drawled, her eyes glittering as she headed into Lana's room without further adieu, and shut the door.
Clark ignored the outrageous look Lois threw at him; he was just as shocked and he promised himself that, the first moment he got, he'd find Chloe and talk to her. Apologize to her... make her understand how bad he felt.