4.03 – Relocation

Teaser

A/N: Here's episode 3. It's a mostly a filler episode to wrap up some of the loose ends left from 1 and 2. I'm almost done 4 and it's a lot more fun, has some adventure, and 5 may even have some action. It depends on how creative I feel. Enjoy! :0)

PREVIOUSLY ON SMALLVILLE:

-She looked around the house, the reality setting in; her father wouldn't come home at five thirty, dinner wouldn't be made for her when she came home from the Torch office, and there would be no coffee brewing when she came downstairs in the morning...

-"Chloe..." he muttered shakily, his eyes welled up as well. She caught his gaze quickly and then burst into tears. Pete reached out and hugged her tightly. Chloe buried her face in his shoulder, breathing in the scent of his cologne, and sobs overtook her body.

- "Okay listen," Lex put both hands on her shoulders now. "You don't have to stay here, but I want you to know that this room will always be here for you. Okay? Even if you move to Edge City, there will always be a place for you in Smallville."

-"I think that he understands me right now. I need someone right now, and Lex has been looking for someone to let him help. This just feels like it's what I should do."

There were footsteps sounding behind her while she walked, not uncommon in Metropolis, but rather unusual in Smallville. At least at that time of the day. Chloe wasn't worried though; she knew who it was. Any other girl would be paranoid at the idea of someone following them around at five thirty in the morning. Chloe knew that he was just doing his job.

For the last week now she'd been living in the Luthor mansion, in the room that Lex had set aside for her. The man following her, a beefy security guard named Quinn, had been hired by Lex the day she moved in. Since Chloe had refused to go into hiding again, Lex had insisted on having various members of his security staff around to protect her around the clock.

"For your safety," he'd told her sternly, though she'd really had no objections. Not after what had happened to her father. "If you won't relocate to another safe house, I insist that you co-operate with my security team."

Chloe had agreed, not that she usually responded well to people ordering her around, because she was determined not to hide from Lionel Luthor anymore. "Look how great hiding worked last time," she'd pointed out to Lex bitterly. "I hid away with Dad and Lionel still found a way to get to us. I'm through hiding now."

Currently, she was walking through the gardens on the east side of the mansion, heading towards a stone bench that she'd discovered her second day there. Chloe reached the bench and sat down. She checked her watch, wondering how long it was until sunrise. She heard Quinn's footsteps halt and could feel him watching her. She tried to ignore it, but after only a couple of minutes she began feeling uneasy with his gaze locked on her.

"If you must follow me," Chloe called over her shoulder. "At least come sit down. You're creeping me out." She could hear his footsteps approach again as he made his way over. He joined her on the bench, surprisingly graceful for someone so large. Chloe felt very tiny next to him.

They sat for a few minutes before he finally said anything. "What are you doing out here?" he asked her, looking quite put out about addressing her first.

"Making sure the sun rises," Chloe told him. He just nodded and continued to let his eyes dart back and forth, keeping watch for anyone else out on the grounds. He'd obviously been trained well. "So," Chloe felt the need to break the ice; he was going to be following her around for a while. "You got a family Quinn?"

He looked at her in surprise but then nodded. "Wife's five months pregnant," he told her, his voice betraying his excitement, though his face remained impassive.

"Girl or boy?" she asked him, fingers playing idly with a dandelion.

"We're going to wait," he continued to look around. "Be surprised."

"Oh," Chloe nodded. He seemed to be opening up because he looked sideways at her briefly.

"So shouldn't you be in bed right about now?" he asked. "Mr. Luthor told us that you were done with school for the year...why aren't you sleeping in?"

Chloe popped the head off of the dandelion. "Can't sleep," she told him vaguely. He nodded quickly, probably thinking he'd overstepped his boundaries by even asking. 'He probably thinks I'm some kind of rich princess,' she thought. "The mansion is ...different than what I'm used to," she admitted. Quinn nodded.

"It's starting," he nodded towards the eastern horizon, where the first streaks of pink began to appear. They watched silently until the sun was fully risen, the sky a golden orange.

"You live in Metropolis right?" she asked him. When he nodded she had to ask: "Can you see the sunrise from where you live?"

Quinn shrugged. "Sort of," he looked thoughtful. "Not like this."

"When I lived in the city, I never once saw the sun rise," Chloe told him. "Isn't that strange?"

"I don't know," he smirked slightly. "I've never really thought about it before."

"Dad used to try to wake me, but..." she trailed off, suddenly feeling the urge to get away. Chloe scrambled quickly to her feet. "I'm kind of cold," she said lamely. "I'm going to go in." He seemed to notice her desire to be alone, and let her get a few feet away before he began to follow.

TBC...