by Tracy (biancaheart@yahoo.com)
Rating: PG13
Category: AU, Future Fic. Clo/Whit, Clo/Clark friendship
Spoilers: "The Death of Superman" in the Comics, "Cool" in the show.
Disclaimer: I don't own Superman or any of his fun,fun group of family or friends. And I don't own Smallville, either. And the song Perfect Memory by Remy Zero? Yup, don't own that either.
Authors Note: This story formed from a plot bunny in my head-
"What would Chloe feel like if she heard about Superman/Clark's death in
the comics?" Also influenced by my reading of the Graphic Novel in
Barnes & Noble the other night. It's AU/crossovery, but was fun
to write...please review!
The footage shocks her to her very core. But somehow, she's not
able to stop watching it. It plays over and over again on GNN and
on LNN.
She can't decide which is better, the Gotham channel because it's not
based in Metropolis; or the Luthor News Network because it is.
And she's worried.
After years of not speaking, after years of not trying to think about him, she broke down and called his number. Martha had gave it to her years earlier. But before this shock, she could never bring herself to.
She didn't leave a message. He was okay...he had to be….he's Clark.
And a reporter…he's a reporter. He was probably running himself ragged right now, writing up brilliant Kerthworthy pieces. That was it, wasn't it? Yes, that definitely had to be it.
"Hey honey." The sound of her husband's voice causes her to throw down the phone and run at him full speed.
He sets down his briefcase and wraps her up in his arms. It's like he can read her mind; like they were one soul separated into two bodies.
"No answer?" Of course he'd know that she would be trying to call Clark.
She shook her head. "Just that damn answering machine."
"Well…"
"What?"
"We'll go find him, okay? I know that you won't be happy or satisfied
until you know that he's all right."
"And you expect us to get all the way to Metropolis through this mess? It's a crisis area!"
He smiles and pulls two tickets out of his briefcase. "It's a story. Jon lined up an interview for us with Batman. And apparently Luthor himself has invited us to the funeral."
"And?"
He draws her closer and runs his fingers through her blonde hair. "Clark will be there. He's…was….one of your best friend. You should really bury the hatchet, Chlo."
She keeps her head on her husband's chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. It wouldn't be so easy to bury the hatchet…Not after what they said to each other…She remembered seeing him at a Kerth ceremony a couple of years ago, with his partner on his arm. She'd grabbed Whitney's arm and stormed out of the ceremony. Things just wouldn't be that easy.
***
"Eat." Whitney commands. "You need to eat."
"He wasn't at the funeral. Why wasn't he?"
Whitney sighs. He loves his wife deeply, but sometimes she tests every fiber of his being…and truth be told, he likes it that way. But sometimes, it would be nice if she would calm down and relax. But obsession is at the very heart and soul of Chloe Sullivan Fordman's nature…something he learned the hard way, a long, long time ago.
He'd been lost when he first moved to Gotham, a small town boy in a large city. Hers was the first friendly face he saw since leaving Smallville- he still recalled her large eyes as half dressed members of the team paraded around the locker room the first day she came to interview him. They'd ended up going out for coffee that night, which lead to going out to dinner a week later, to dating seriously within a month, and an engagement ring by the end of the year.
She stood by him when he blew his knee out, camped out in his apartment and planned their wedding while he was in physical therapy. She'd given him a digital camera when they got married, which he played with continuously during the honeymoon- well, when he wasn't occupied with something else.
Photography had started as a hobby to pass the lonely hours while Chloe was at work; but it soon became a passion. He had a talent, which he refined by taking classes at Gotham University. He graduated and got a job at the Gotham Free Press, often taking pictures for his wife's stories. Together they'd won Kerth and other journalism works aplenty.
The diner in the midst of Metropolis was tiny. It had a country theme; and if it wasn't for the city skyline in the window, it would easy to mistake this place for a diner in Smallville. He'd found this restaurant years ago when he came here with Lana to some art exhibit, and it had been his favorite ever since. He tried to eat here every time he was in Metropolis.
"I just keep on getting the feeling that something isn't right." She sighs.
"Would Clark want you to worry, or would he want you to eat this yummy, yummy sandwich?"
"Don't patronize me, jockstrap."
"Oh yeah?" He leans over and kisses her on the lips. "It that patronizing?"
"No.." She purrs in response. "But I'm still not going to eat the sandwich."
"I'm not hungry." A voice said from the other side of the room. "Can't you get that?"
"Lois. It's been days."
Whitney jerks his head around. That voice…he knows that voice.
Giving Chloe's hand a quick squeeze, he stands up and walks across the room.
As he approaches the table, it becomes more and more clear that his ears aren't playing tricks on him. It IS her. She is still beautiful, dark hair, beautiful eyes…back in high school she'd been his world.
"Lana?"
"Whitney?" Lana responds after gazing at him silently. "Oh my gosh, Whitney, what are you doing here?" She jumps up and hugs him.
Chloe abandons the sandwiches and walks over to stand beside her husband. She no longer sees Lana as competition- nothing could compete with what Whitney and her have together- but old defenses take the longest to break.
"I'm…"
Chloe nudges him. "We're in town…for the…."
"Gotham Free Press." Chloe finishes him. "Business."
"So how are you doing?" Lana says, hugging her long lost friends again. "It's just been forever, hasn't it? You guys look…great."
"Well, we both work at the Free Press." Chloe said. "The top husband wife reporting team in the country." She beamed.
Lana's friend, still sitting silently at the table, bursts into tears.
"Lois!" Lana gasps, and rushes over to comfort her friend.
Chloe's brow furrowed. "Did I say something wrong?"
"You didn't…know…" Lois says between sobs.
"Huh? Know what?"
Lana looks up, keeping her hand on Lois' shoulder. "Chloe, Whitney…this is Lois Lane. Reporter for the Daily Planet…and partner slash fiancé of Clark Kent."
"Clark!" Chloe exclaims, looking around for Clark. "Where is he?"
"He's…dea….missing." Lana bit her tongue. Chloe, Whitney…they didn't know. They didn't know that Clark was Superman.
"Missing?"
Lana nods, her face grim. "They think his body's somewhere under
the Doomsday wreckage." She knew of course, that it wasn't.
That Clark Kent's body would never be found; for it was buried in Superman's
tomb.
Chloe was strangely silent.
"Chloe!" Whitney yelled as Chloe's eyes roll back into her head and her body slumps towards the floor.
***
"Feeling better Ms. Fordman?" Dr. Klein says, reentering the examination room, where Chloe sits, surrounded in the comfort of Whitney's arms.
"A bit." She replies as Whitney hugs her even tighter.
Lois had taken them to STAR labs, to see a doctor friend of hers. The emergency rooms at Metropolis General would be too crowded with crisis victims and those hurt in the brawl that exploded in the funeral earlier that day.
"It seems that I have found the cause of the problem." Dr. Klein says with a smile.
"Will she be okay?" Whitney says worriedly.
"She'll be fine. Have you been eating much lately, Ms. Fordman? Or feeling sick? Lightheaded?"
"I've been a little under the weather for the last few weeks. And I just haven't been hungry. I feel nauseated and food makes me want to salute the Technicolor general. And call me Chloe."
"Technicolor general?" Whitney says, his face twisting in disgust. "Must you always be so poetic?"
Dr. Klein nods. "Seems to support my conclusion. You'll be fine, Chloe. In fact, I'd say you'd be back to normal in about 7 months."
"Seven months?" She exclaims, and then her eyes light up. "You mean?"
Dr. Klein nods.
"You're giving her seven months to live?" Whitney exclaims. "That's not being fine! I..I….Chloe can't die…I need you…"
"You goober." Chloe said, placing her hand on his face. "I'll be fine."
"Dying in seven months is not fine."
"I'm not…I'm not dying in seven months!"
"Then…huh…."
"Think about it, jockstrap!"
The reality of it finally hit Whitney. "You mean?"
Chloe nodded emphatically.
"Doc?" Chloe asks as Whitney's head hits the back of the examination table. "Ya got any smelling salts?"
****
Remember how they always seemed to know
We had the forest in our eyes
But the earth was in our clothes
And they thought we'd fall
Not at all
So look back on the treasured days
We were young in a world that was so tired
Though it's not what we wanted before
Even the saints had to crawl from the floor
Summers when the money was gone you'd sing
All you're little songs
That meant every thing to me
And I'll remember you
And the things that we used to do
And the things that we used to say
I'll remember you
That way
Remember how they tried to hold you down
And we climbed those towers
And looked down upon our town
And everything you hoped would last
Just always becomes your past (it hurts)
Summers when the money was gone you'd sing
All your little songs that meant everything
To me
But then this world
Slipped through my fingers
And even the sun seemed tired
I still cared
As I lowered you down
My heart just jaded
In that moment the earth made no sound
But you were there
You helped me lift my pain into the air
If it don't hurt you
It wont hurt me
It don't hurt me
Then it wont hurt you
If it don't hurt you
It wont hurt me I know
It was a cold winter day in Metropolis.
Chloe stood, wrapped in a heavy winter jacket, borrowed from Martha.
She'd taken one look at Chloe and known she was expecting. A Mother's
intuition, she insisted. Before they left to go to Clark's memorial
service, Martha had switched coats with Chloe. Chloe hadn't argued.
She felt so old. Ancient, even.
She'd stood in this same field so many times. Back when she first
met Clark, in Junior High, as he introduced her to the farm.
Fighting with Clark in High School, her rampant jealousy over Lana
showing greatly.
Clark saving her life on more than one occasion. And she'd never said thank you.
Clark existed here in Smallville, even if he wasn't alive. Every street corner, every field, she could remember.
Remember her best friend that she'd let slip away.
And now it was too late.
Martha and Jon clung to each other, as they all began to sing "Amazing Grace."
Chloe stood there, continued to stand there at the makeshift grave, even after everyone else had left.
Lois had broken down crying, and Whitney, always the gentleman, helped her inside.
"I miss you." Chloe says to the grave, as if Clark was actually there. As if he could hear her. "I miss you so much it hurts." She sniffles as tears start to pour down her face. "Oh Clark. I'm sorry. I know it's too late to say it now but I'm honestly sorry. Things went wrong, honestly so wrong. I let all my jealousy and all this crap separate us. It took away my best friend, and now I'll never be able to get him back. And I wish you were here because then you'd be able to tell me everything will be allright. I'm going to be a Mommy, Clark. Isn't that amazing? And no…I won't show them the X-files until they're at least two." She laughs. "I love you Clark."
"Me too." Lana says, walking outside. "You were one awesome guy."
"To say the least." Lois says, coming out and standing by Lana and Chloe. "He was a hero."
"He saved me." Chloe says, accepting the hug that Lana gave. "There was this one guy who had like this permanent form of hypothermia. And he came after me and I would have been one little frozen reporter pop if he hadn't…"
"You had strange things like that happen in Smallville?" Lois says, shocked. "It looks like such a normal town."
"Get real." Chloe laughs. "The meteor capital of the world? Many a weird thing happened in this leafy little hamlet."
"Really?"
"Girls!" Martha called from the porch. "Come get some Hot Coca."
Arms wrapped around each other, the three most important women in Clark Kent's life went into the farmhouse.
***
"Chloe!" Whitney yells at the top of his lungs. "Get in here!"
"What?" Chloe exclaims , frazzled to the max and carrying her two month old son,Clark, in her arms. The towheaded child is half dressed..
Whitney turns up the volume.
"This is Jimmy Olsen, reporting live from Metropolis in a special report. Superman, himself recently having come back to life in a miraculous way, has just rescued a survivor of the Doomsday crisis. Daily Planet reporter, Clark Kent, my colleague has just been rescued from an old civil defense shelter under the wreckage." Olsen's face beamed as he shared the news.
"He's alive!" Chloe exclaimed, running and hugging her husband. "Clark's okay!"
Whitney kissed his wife deeply. "This is a day to remember."
"A perfect memory." Chloe seconded, hugging her son.