AN: Thank you for your reviews, please keep them coming. Remember the first part is Clark's day, then next is Lex's day but they are the same day.
Chapter 4
The dinner with his parents made Clark feel like he once again had a home while also making him feel guilty for knowing that he was looking for a way to leave it all behind. He tried to console himself that the best case scenario would be keeping this life and saving Chloe. If he had to give it up, then he knew that it was for the best. There was no telling what horrible suffering Chloe would endure when left to the fate of Lex.
He had learned that Lana had married Whitney about six years ago. His parents hadn't mentioned anything about the Marines so he thought that for whatever reason, this world's Whitney had opted not to sign up. He didn't want to risk worrying his parents any further by mentioning something that never happened. Here, Lana and he had never been really close, and his parents wondered why he wanted to know about someone he hadn't given any concern to in years. Knowing all the trouble he had caused Lana over the years and how their relationship had ended recently, he was grateful that she didn't have to endure a troublesome life.
Early the next morning, he ran to Miller's field and searched the entire grounds for most of the day. Unfortunately, he couldn't find the octagonal disc. He wouldn't let that stop him, however. With any luck, someone he could trust had found the object. Someone like Dr. Swann.
Now, the trouble was finding the man, if he was still alive in this world. He remembered sheer luck had brought the reclusive astronomer's attention to him in his world. Well, luck and Chloe's unending curiosity. But he couldn't even ask Chloe to help him research the man this time around. He was left to his own devices.
Spending hours on Google offered nothing. He would have to find another way to the man. He thought about the other members of Veritas. Just because the Luthors no longer seem to care about him, didn't mean the others had also quit. Perhaps one of them could lead him to Dr. Swann. He wasn't keen on contacting any of the Teagues, but perhaps Oliver had some information if his parents had been in the group.
Another search and he knew where to find Oliver, but it was too late to visit him that night. If Oliver didn't know of him, he didn't want to get on his bad side by waking him in the middle of the night. He'd have to wait until the next day to work on his mission.
The setting was familiar. A townhouse his family used when they weren't staying at the mansion in Smallville. But it wasn't decorated like he had ever seen it. Normally, Christmas wasn't a highly anticipated event even when his mother was alive. She had often been too ill, so celebrating wasn't an option. All and all it was a low key affair. Practically nothing if his father was away on business.
Now, however, a tall live Christmas tree stood in front of the picture window of the living room. And it didn't look perfect. Some of the ornaments were well crafted, probably marking the various tourist spots during the family's travels. But others were obviously homemade, dating the year of their first Christmas. None of the trinkets were spaced evenly from another ornament. And there was even a hole towards the bottom of the tree. Certainly, no worker had put this tree together. He touched a small porcelain bell, and was filled with pride that he had put that decoration on the tree this year before Lucas had a chance.
Glancing around the room, he saw Lionel helping a younger boy with blondish-brown hair. They were putting together a train set. Even though, Lex knew that he'd never seen this boy before, his mind automatically relayed the information that the boy was Lucas and he was around ten years old.
Over on the sofa, his mother was holding Julian in her lap. He held a stuffed bear and each time he squeezed the bear's belly, the nose would light up and make noises. Julian proceeded to squeeze several times and his laughter never wavered.
Suddenly, Lex looked down and realized he was holding a large rectangular box covered in red paper. He tore into the paper and read the writing on the side. "A chemistry set?" He could feel his disbelief and happiness bursting forth in a smile.
Lionel nodded. "I know how much you love to sneak down to the labs when you visit the office. This is to get you started. I'm almost positive you can't build an explosive bomb with it, but maybe you'll create one that causes smoke or a bad smell. Your mom has given me permission to turn the basement into your own personal lab, so long as it maintains proper safety standards."
Lillian added, "And you promise not to use either of your brothers as guinea pigs."
The image began to blur shortly there after and Lex awoke to the view of his alarm clock. He desperately wanted to return to the dream where he felt safe and loved. But after a fewhopeless tries, he had to admit defeat.
He wanted to turn over but could feel Chloe spooning him from behind so he had to be careful. Slowly lifting his left arm, he used his right hand to roll her slightly out of the way, as he gradually twisted his body around to face hers. Once he was able to lean back against the headboard, he pulled her body back so she could lean into his side and draped her left arm across his chest. He laid his left arm around her back and placed his right one over her left. Somehow, he had managed this complicated hug all without waking her up. He wanted to take pride in himself, but figured it had more to do with her sleeping habits than anything else.
He never knew anything like this. One night stands didn't cuddle. And neither did any of his wives. That should have been the tip off. He was willing to do whatever it took during the courting stage, but once he felt the relationship was locked, he opted out. Yet it never occurred to him to wonder why his wives also made that choice. Perhaps he didn't want to think about to much when he knew he wouldn't like the answer.
He knew that Lana was the type to like closeness. Her personality demanded it, and in the beginning, he complied. But that hadn't last long. Shortly after she moved in, after finding out she was pregnant, the need for him to be near stopped almost indefinitely. If he hadn't been so confident in thinking that he had secured her, he would have seen that she had stopped trying to keep him.
But Chloe was the type who on the outside could hold her own, even at times when she most needed comfort. Maybe that's why he wanted to hold her as much as he was allowed. He hadn't been given free reign to touch her in a long time. All those times she needed comfort, usually because of what he had done, and he never even knew if someone else was fulfilling the task. As much as his jealousy would allow, he did want her to be held when needed. And now she could be…and by him.
Chloe awoke twenty minutes later and it didn't take much to convince her of the joys a joint shower. As an added bonus, she helped him shaved, something he was very nervous about having never needed to do the task before. He paid careful attention to her movements, and found her use of aftershave and lotion on his scalp to be valuable information. All in all, he believed he would be ready to go solo next time, and if he made any mistakes, well it wouldn't be the first time he suffered a head injury.
When he was finished dressing, he walked into the kitchen and was surprised when Chloe handed him a box of Captain Crunch from the cupboard. He was fairly certain that his favorite cereal was a secret in his previous life.
Grabbing the milk from the fridge, he decided to ask if Chloe knew anything about his dream. "Did I ever tell you about the Christmas when I was thirteen?" He guessed that was around the right age according to his brothers' ages.
Chloe finished her sip of coffee and thought before answering, "The one where you got a chemistry set. Why do you ask?"
So then it was a memory. A memory that he couldn't have possibly remembered from his old life and had no knowledge prior to when it appeared. He'd have to give some thought to what this meant, but first he had to give Chloe an answer. "I was reminiscing and remembering how happy I was in that moment." From the feelings in the memory, it wasn't a lie.
"I know how much chemistry intrigued you. If you want to hand the company over to Lucas and start working in the lab tomorrow, I fully support you." Her trusting eyes assured him that she would.
Overcome with emotion, he opted for a joke to ease the strange feeling. "I think I'll wait until Julian accomplishes his dream of professional baseball before I move onto a new career path."
"You laugh but Lucas is becoming more responsible." At Lex's lifted eyebrow, she added, "In comparison to his prior behavior."
They finished breakfast and after Chloe left for work, Lex went to his home office to think more about the dream-memory. If his brain was being filled with new information, there was a chance that he might forget his old memories. For the most part, he would welcome the chance, but he needed to be prepared if he met Clark in this world.
By all accounts, Chloe didn't know about Clark or his powers in this world. She hadn't spoken a word about him, and if they were as much as friends here as they were there, then he was fairly certain his name would have made an appearance at least once. From what he could decipher from last night's conversation, Chloe had always lived in Metropolis and Gabe hadn't been back to Smallville since he moved away for college.
Still, that didn't mean that Clark didn't exist. And even if he wasn't the Clark from his old world, most likely he still had the same powers and could be danger. Lex needed to be vigilant, so he wrote down everything he could remember about Clark, his powers, the caves, and the meteor rocks. While he was writing about the device, he realized that if Clark was from his old world and did want to get back, he might be able to use the device to do so.
Hopefully, just as no one before him had found the sphere, maybe no one had found it in this world. If he had just one piece, he could prevent anyone from taking away the life he had quickly started to love.
He was making plans to fly to Scotland when he caught sight of a picture of Chloe. Chasing across the globe for strange artifacts was the beginning of how he had lost her the last time. But he couldn't sit back and just hope that everything worked in his favor. He would have to get her involved but be careful about what he said. He could make her understand the danger of Clark when he showed himself, but for now as far as she was concerned they were taking a much needed vacation.
Lex entered the Daily Planet building and asked the receptionist where he could find Chloe. Whether her odd look was due to the fact that he should know or that he was there at all, he didn't know and didn't care. He found her at her desk where she was typing furiously. She was definitely in her element here. He was glad to see that some things never change.
He went to her side and read over her shoulder as she typed. After a few moments, she stopped and looked up at him. "I knew you were there. I just didn't want to lose my train of thought."
"Far be it from me to derail a budding journalist." He gladly accepted the soft kiss she gave him. "But I was wondering if I could pull you away for lunch."
Chloe walked over to the coffee pot to pour herself a cup. "Sorry, but Perry wants this done before the end of the day."
"What if I bought the paper and then you could come have lunch with me." He was joking but went through the motions of pulling out his cell phone as if to make the call.
"No offense but you owning the paper would probably do harm to my career. That's why we agreed that this paper was my world and LuthorCorp was yours. And would only cross when necessary." Done fixing her coffee, she walked back over to her desk to stand next to Lex. She smiled to let him know she meant no harm to the statement.
He couldn't help but think about the perceptiveness of her belief. He'd been so caught up in his feud with Clark that he had taken away her dream. That wasn't going to happen again. His smile showed that he wasn't wounded. "Okay, so no lunch, but I did want to talk to you about some plans for…"
He was interrupted when a voice called for Chloe. He turned around to see the Olsen boy looking nervous as he finished approaching. Eyeing Lex wearily, Jimmy said, "Here are those photos you wanted." He placed them on the desk and it occurred to Lex that he might not want to risk touching Chloe if he handed them to her.
Noticing the tension, Chloe thanked Jimmy and assured him that that was all. Lex felt it necessary to add "Goodbye, Mr. Olsen."
"Goodbye…to…you…too, Mr. Luthor…sir." Jimmy stuttered before awkwardly leaving the room.
Lex looked back from the door to Chloe with a curious expression. "Does he have a problem with me?"
Chloe laughed. "Gee, Lex… I don't know. He might, considering years ago you ruined mine and Jimmy's first and only date."
"I did not." Well, he didn't know. He probably did, but it was always good to deny until proven otherwise.
"Please, what did you think would happen when you showed up at the restaurant and invited yourself to stay and chat?" She gave him a knowing look, daring him to try and talk his way out.
Lex thought about what he might have said at the time to explain himself. "I wanted dinner and when I saw my good friend there, I didn't want to be rude. Besides, I don't remember you doing too much to stop me." True he didn't remember, and if he had stayed long enough to ruin the date, then Chloe obviously hadn't tried too hard.
Chloe relented, "Fine, you're right. The date was boring and I was grateful when you appeared. But that doesn't change the fact that it wasn't a coincidence. Since when did you eat at the local pizza joint? I know Lucas told you about the date just like I know you had him make sure no guy from school ever asked me out."
That certainly sounded like him. He made bigger mistakes in his life and if Chloe already knew all of this beforehand, then she most likely wasn't still mad. All the same, he should address the situation carefully. Maybe it was time to finally be honest about his feelings for her. "I was an idiot. I had feelings for you and I didn't know to handle them. So I did some things that were uncalled for, but you need to know that the entire time I wanted to be with you." He felt really strange admitting those feelings, especially in the middle of a Daily Planet staff room. He hoped there was more interesting news in the world than Lex Luthor proving he had a heart.
But as bright as Chloe's smile shown, he couldn't care about the rest of the world in that moment. His ruthless image be damned if she was happy.
"I knew of all that, Lex. You can't fool me. That was the first time when I realized you could return my feelings. And I'm glad that your jealous nature came through that night." She pulled him into a hug and a kiss.
He knew that he could be confident in her feelings, but he couldn't resist a teasing question, "So no regrets about not being with Olsen?"
"No regrets. I'm right where I belong." Not missing her chance to tease him. "I doubt it would have worked out for us anyway. He seemed like the type who was restless in long-term relationships." When Lex's face showed that he wasn't happy with that being the only reason she didn't pursue the relationship, she added "Plus he wasn't intelligent, witty or sexy like you."
He knew she was just stroking his ego but he liked hearing it. He been so caught up in learning more about their past that he almost forgot the initial reason for seeing her. "I was hoping you could get some time off. We can go back to Scotland. I think we both need a break, and I remember how much you loved it the last time." A few memories of Chloe had appeared to him earlier in the day, including a trip to Scotland. The same trip from which the photo he'd first seen in the apartment was taken.
"I'd like that, and I know I have vacation time saved, but remember we have that benefit tomorrow. We promised your mother we'd attend so we can't back out. And Julian's game is in a few weeks."
This was the first he'd heard about the benefit. He'd have to figure out what it was for in order to be informed. And he wouldn't break his promise to Julian, but a short break could be done. "We'll go to the benefit and then take the trip. And be back before the game. I really need this break now to clear my head." He couldn't say it was a matter of life or death because she'd worry, but in a way it was. If he didn't get that alien sphere back before anyone else, then this life as he knew it would be over.
"Okay, but if I want to put Perry in a good mood before I ask for the time, then I'd better finish my work." Chloe kissed him goodbye and then set back down to finish her work.
Leaving the building, Lex hoped he still had a chance to secure this world. And if didn't, then he was going to enjoy every minute of it that he had.
TBC
AN2: In case anyone is wondering about the discrepancies from what I inferred happen to Lana in the last chapter and what I said happens to her in this chapter. Chloe being in this world knows most of the truth while Clark can only assume, so in my head Lana married crazy-morphing Tina who somehow got away with it all. Hey, at least I didn't kill her this time.