Hey! I know, this one is pretty short too. And I know that I keep saying that the next one will be longer, but I have a good reason for this one being short. When I was writing in my notebook I counted the pages wrong and thought that it was longer than it really was, so I ended it and liked the ending. But then I re-counted the pages and found that I had messed up when I was counting the first time. I know it sounds like an excuse, but oh well, that's how it is. LOL! I really will try to make the next one longer! Please R&R!

Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Paralyzed

"P-paralyzed?" Lois stuttered as her hand slowly covered her mouth.

The doctor nodded. "I'm afraid so."

Clark didn't know what to say. He couldn't imagine his best friend, Chloe Sullivan, the girl that was always on the move, being confined like that. "How?" Clark managed to get out.

"The only reasonable thing that I could come up with is that the heat of the bullet shocked her nerves, leaving them numb."

"Is it…is it her whole body?" Lois asked quietly, afraid of what the answer might be.

"The nerves branch out in two parts, the bottom half, which goes to your torso and your lower limbs, and the top half, which goes to your chest and your upper limbs. Luckily when the bullet passed through, the heat only hit the bottom half, instead of both."

"So just her torso and down is paralyzed?" Lana finally spoke up.

The doctor nodded. "Yes."

"Is it permanent?" Came the next question, this time from Martha.

The three younger people had been too scared to ask this question, and they were now dreading the answer.

"We don't know, it could be permanent or it could just be temporary, there's no way to tell."

"Is there anything you can try that could fix it?" Lois spoke again, a little louder than the last time.

"In this case, no. We'll take her through some therapies to try and help her get the use of her legs back, but, like I said, there's no guarantee that she will. All I can say is, time will tell."

The four nodded slowly.

"And I'm afraid there's one other thing……the bullet also skimmed her vocal cords. Right now she isn't able to speak, but she should get her voice back in a week or two."

"When can we see her?" Lois inquired.

"We'll let you know when we get her settled in a room. That should be in about an hour. Do you have any other questions?"

They all looked at each other before Martha answered, "No. Thank you, Doctor."

The doctor merely nodded and left the waiting room.

Lois and Lana slowly sat down, still taking in what they had just heard.

Martha looked up at Clark, whose face was unreadable. She gently laid a hand on his arm and he looked down.

"I have to do something, Mom, I have to help her."

"Honey, you heard what the doctor said, there's nothing that can be done except waiting."

"They have to try something……Maybe I could talk to Lex. I know we're not on the best of terms, but I could get him to help."

"You could try, but-" Before she could finish her sentence, Clark was gone.

As Clark supersped away from the hospital towards the Luthor Mansion, he could feel tears stinging at his eyes. If he would have rushed to Chloe right when she called, instead of lecturing her about going to the warehouse alone, then this would have never happened. He was filled with guilt and anger. He, of course, felt guilty for this whole mess and then he was angry at the person who had shot his best friend. Whoever did this to Chloe was going to pay; he would make sure of that.

Clark slowed to a stop once he was inside the mansion. He walked down the long hallway and pushed open the double doors leading to the library. He wasn't surprised when he saw Lex sitting at his desk. And he still wasn't surprised when Lex closed his laptop before looking up.

"Clark, I wish that I could say I was surprised. You know, I don't think anyone has ever entered my home by knocking on the door. People just come into this house like it's a community center. It gets a little annoying after a while," Lex said sarcastically before standing up.

Clark ignored the comment and went straight to the point. "I need your help."

Lex walked over to his small bar. "What's new?" He asked, giving a small smile. "How can I be of service today?"

"Chloe was shot and she's in the hospital."

Lex, of course, was already pretty sure of that, but he kept a straight face. "Oh, is she going to be okay."

"She is partially paralyzed."

"What happened?"

Clark didn't want to say that Chloe was breaking into an old Luthorcorp. warehouse, so he slowly said, "I…uh…I don't know."

Lex could tell that Clark was being less than honest, but he decided to let it go. "Let me guess, you want me to find someone to try and help her?"

Clark nodded.

Lex paused, as if considering the subject.

"I know that we haven't been on the best of terms lately, so if you won't do it for me, do it for Lana. Chloe is her best friend and this is upsetting her too," Clark prodded.

Lex took a sip of the drink that he had poured. He knew he should do this, not just for Clark or for Lana, but because he knew that this was partially his fault.

He sighed and looked up at Clark. "I'll see what I can do."

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