Lex lay in bed that night trying to remember all the things that should be where all he could find was a blank. He could remember nothing of his romantic relationship with Chloe. It just wouldn't come to him and that was very frustrating. And of course he couldn't get out of bed because it turned out his muscles had atrophied from non-use and would require extensive physical therapy.
Chloe had been in the chair beside his bed when he had reawakened a few hours ago. She had explained to him how he had come to the Torch office looking for Clark the day after Helen had left town which really was four years ago and it was now early in 2007. Clark of course was at home doing chores but was supposed to return soon so Lex waited for him. While waiting, they had engaged in a fresh match of verbal judo during which Lex realized that this spunky little reporter was quite attractive to him. Their first date was at the end of that week and they had gotten married a year after she finished high school.
He remembered none of this but wished he did. He wished she were here with him now. But she thought it better if she continued to sleep in the room across the hall, the one she started sleeping in when they moved him back to the mansion three weeks ago. So, he lay there, not wanting to sleep but wishing he could anyway knowing that she would be back to see him in the morning. He just hoped that someday they would both be comfortable enough for her to be back in his room again. He really liked her. He just wished he could remember loving her.
Chloe on the other hand, was actually down in the kitchen. Having recently lost the contents of her dinner, she was searching for something she might be able to keep down. She had just poured herself a glass of club soda and was about to raise the glass to her lips when a pair of strong arms encircled her from behind. "Drinking alone, Mrs. Luthor? Not a good sign." Lucas said as he took the glass from her and took a drink from it.
''Well now that you're here I won't have to drink alone," she replied as she lifted her face to his and placed a kiss on her brother-in-law's cheek. "So, what are you doing back so soon? I figured you'd stay the night on the island," she said as she took the glass back from him.
"You know I hate the heat down there. Besides, I thought you might need me. How is he?" Lucas asked with genuine concern in his voice. Lex might not remember it, but the two brothers had become really close in the last few years.
"Well he has some of the facts but none of the memories. The last thing he remembers before waking up this afternoon is leaving for Tokyo the week after Helen left for Johns Hopkins," she said as she downed the contents of the glass and reached for the saltine crackers on the counter.
"And are you upset that he doesn't remember your romance or that what he does remember is about Helen?" Her brother asked.
"Both. At least he has some memories of me; they just aren't the good memories. But, thankfully, what he remembers about her is a bad memory so he isn't still thinking that he's in love with her. And, how do I tell him that I'm pregnant with his child when he only thinks of me as an acquaintance?"
Lucas took her in his arms and held her as she cried. He had held her like this many times in the past ten weeks. But tonight was different. Tonight she cried not for the fear of what was to come but for the truth they both knew. She was in love with a man who didn't remember ever caring about her. "Is he asleep?"
"He wasn't when I left him," she answered when she was able to calm down. "I just told him I had some things to do and then I was going to try and get some sleep. I have to tell him before someone else does that I had to leave his room so he wouldn't see me getting sick. Why don't you go up while I try and finish a few more of these," she offered pointing to the crackers.
He hugged her close for a minute and then said, "Good idea, you'll come say good night?"
"Sure."
Lucas stopped in the hallway outside of his brother's door and composed himself before knocking and then entering. "Are you up for some company?" he asked from the doorway. ?
Lex looked up and smiled before replying, "Sure, Lucas, come on in. I thought Chloe said you wouldn't be back until tomorrow. Did you see Dad already?"
"Yeah, he was really glad to hear that you're awake and wanted to throttle me for not letting him come back up here to see you. I told him that we have to follow his doctor's orders not to add too much stress and that being here in the mansion where he had his heart attack and seeing you in your present condition might be too much for him. I told him that when you feel well enough; we'll both come back down there for a visit.
Lex looked thoughtful and then nodded. "Sounds good, his health is really that fragile, then? In my mind, I haven't seen him for four years. I thought I had you out of town and out of Dad's grasp. When did you come back to town and have you and I and Dad all worked out our differences or did you just come back after Dad's heart attack?"
Lucas grinned like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland when he answered his brother. "Dad's fine. We paid his doctors off so they would convince him that he could have a repeat episode at any time. So, Dad is living a very peaceful life and we have the control you've been wishing for for so long. As for me, I came back to town to help Dad while you and Chloe were on your honeymoon. We set aside our differences for the good of the company. I've been around ever since. I don't normally have a lot of responsibilities with the company, but I have really loved being here and getting to know you and Chloe. She is a great girl, Lex. I think of her like a sister and you and I've gotten really close. It's been really hard the last few weeks wondering if you would ever be ok again. I'm glad it looks like you're going to be fine once we get your muscles working again and fill in the gaps in your memory."
Lex wondered if his true memories would ever come back or if he would just have to move forward and make new ones with a wife and brother that he barely knew. He was glad to hear that Lionel's health was not as bad as he first feared and also relieved to hear that his brother and wife had figured out a way to keep Lionel out of the business. "So," he said, "I wonder what chance there might be that my old memories will return. You and I will need a lot of time together if you're going to catch me up to speed on everything I'm missing from the past four years."
Lucas nodded and said, "No problem, big brother."
"I'll help you too," said a voice from the doorway. The two brothers looked up to see Chloe standing there.
Lucas looked from Chloe's face back to Lex's and decided it was time to make himself scarce. "I'll see you guys in the morning," he told them as he headed for his own room. It had been a long day. At least he had taken a nap on the plane on the way back from the island. He would check with Chloe in the morning and hope that their current conversation was a good one.
Back in Lex's room, Chloe took the chair next to her husband's bed and asked him, "How are you feeling?"
"Not too bad. I'd be okay if I had my memories from the last four years. You and I were merely acquaintances the day I left for Tokyo and now I wake up to find four years of memories are gone and you and I are married." Lex looked pensive for a moment and then asked her, "Chloe, are we happy?"
Chloe teared up at her husband's words and felt a bit of anger creep into her reply, "I had you moved home three weeks ago, Lucas and I got your father effectively out of the picture, I've been on the phone today with Bruce Wayne about physical therapy for you, Lucas and I have spent the past three weeks right here waiting for you to wake up, and you have the nerve to ask me if we're happy? Next I suppose you're going to ask if I really love you. I can't believe you even asked me that. The only reason I wasn't here when you woke up this afternoon was because I was at the Talon taking a break from watching you sleep because that's all I've done for the past three weeks. I think you should get some more rest. I'll be back in the morning. Good night, Lex." With that, she turned on her heel and left his room to seek the solace of her own. Lex wanted to call her back but he was too shocked by her outburst to do so. He lay awake for quite a while trying to form the apology he would give her in the morning.