Title: Wanted (4/?)

Fandom: Smallville

Genre: Angst/Romance

Pairing: Chloe/Lex, hints of Chloe/Oliver, hints of Oliver/Dinah

Rating: R

Spoilers: to the beginning of season 10 to cover myself!

Summary: Sequel to 'Nobody's Pawn'.

Author Note: All comments and reviews are appreciated. For the sake of this fic, Oliver never exposed his identity to the world.

Apologies if my version of an Emergency Room isn't the true reflection of an American one. I have only ever worked in an English one, so some facts may be off. If so, my bad!

Dedicated to Solo, because she could do with a loving billionaire of her own.

As ridiculous as it was, Chloe felt safe in the busy hospital environment. Sure, Clark could cut through these people like butter if he wanted to, but he was never one to make a scene. There were never witnesses when he took things too far.

The triage nurse had taken down her details, and asked for the story surrounding her injury. She had thought long and hard about how much information she should give, determined not to invent more awkward stories to protect Clark Kent. Eventually, she decided to give a half truth. That she was attacked in the caves while researching her book, but the poor lighting didn't allow her to see her assailant.

It wasn't for his benefit that she left his name out of it, it was Lex's. Because she was pretty sure that once she told him the truth, he would do everything in his power to make the Kryptonian suffer. He would probably be able to cover himself legally, but if the media made any connections then any political future was toast.

"Okay, we're about ready to take you through to radiology for your x-ray. Do you have any allergies?" The nurse asked as she checked boxes on her clipboard.

"No."

"Are you taking any regular medications?"

"Only my contraceptive pill. Oh, and my doctor recently gave me a prescription for vitamins, but that's only because I've been under the weather recently."

"Are you undergoing any further investigations?"

"Not really. Just some routine blood work. I was supposed to pick up the results today."

"I'm sure we can grab those for you while you're here, Mrs Luthor."

Chloe could have rolled her eyes. She had a horrible feeling she was about to undergo a battery of tests all through fear of a lawsuit if something was missed.

"Is there any chance you could be pregnant?"

"Like I said, I'm covered."

The nurse smiled, "In that case then, if you wait here I'll have the call made to your doctor while I check that a machine is free."

She let out a sigh and leaned back in her chair as the nurse left the room. Yeah, she had a feeling she would be here for the afternoon.

Opening her purse, she found her phone. Toying with the idea for a few seconds, she opened her contacts list and called Lex's phone. It would be better to get this over and done with now, and there was always the chance that he would speed her from the hospital once her arm was checked.

Chloe's ears were ringing, and her hands shaking as the nurse finished placing her arm in the sling. The pain in her arm was nothing to the the sick feeling in her gut.

As much as she wanted to blame it on Lex's raised voice over the phone, she couldn't. He had flipped from concern to anger in the blink of an eye, questioning her intelligence in dismissing her personal security, even if it was to take a few stupid cave pictures. She was sure she would be on the receiving end of the same 'charm' the moment his driver pulled up.

Despite her insistence that she was fine, he was determined to forgo his meetings and drive from Metropolis to make sure with his own two eyes.

That she could have dealt with, it was the goddamn interfering nurses that had made her feel about fifteen different emotions within the space of two minutes. The bitches just couldn't leave well enough alone.

"Chloe!"

His voice startled her from her thoughts.

Lex was standing in the doorway, his anger and frustration adding tension to the room. Chloe felt like calling out 'coward' as the nurse quickly made herself scarce, leaving the two alone in her room.

Instead a repeat of the profanities and lectures she had received over the phone, Lex simply pulled her into her arms, being mindful at the same time of her injury.

It was like his presence instantly poured away every drop of anxiety and fear she had been feeling since stumbling across Clark that morning.

"Is it bad?" He mumbled into her hair.

"No. Just badly bruised, nothing's broken."

Lex pulled away so he could look at her face,"You look pale as a sheet. Are you sure you're okay?"

Chloe nodded, "A little shaken. I guess I never thought Clark would react this way. Just shows how wrong I can be about people."

"You can rely on me, you know that." His voice was soft, but she could see the seriousness in his eyes. It would be so easy to allow herself to be swallowed up by him and his own self-belief.

"I know. And I promise that you won't see me complaining about security again."

"Good." He smiled tightly, before kissing her on the cheek. "Go wait in the car while I sign the discharge papers."

"No arguement from me." Chloe headed towards the door and waiting security. "See, doing as I'm told already."

"I'll be right behind you."

Chloe gave him a small smile, and allowed herself to be escorted from the building.

Lex pulled out his phone and began to dial.

When they arrived back at the mansion, Lex had suggested she take a nap. It sounded like a good idea at the time; Lex would be working from home for the rest of the day, and security had been stepped up. She felt safe enough to relax and sleep, but it was the damn throbbing in her arm that kept her wide awake.

After thirty minutes of painful tossing and turning, Chloe had given up any chances of sleep, and decided to use her time more productively.

Instead of downloading her pictures, she did something that she should never have forgotten about in the first place. She talked to the head on mansion security and had him start sweeping the mansion for any kind of spyware.

It wasn't much, but it was something that helped her to feel in control.

Two hours and four men later, they had found a device hacking into the security feed. It didn't take a genius to figure out how it got into her home.

Maybe she could convince Lex to buy her a dog. Something big and scary, and trained to attack Tess Mercer on sight. It would be nice to see one bitch hound another.

Inspired to do just that, she was about to stand from her desk when the door to her study flew open.

"Why the hell have I been forbidden from seeing you!?" Lois yelled.

Two security guards, both looking flustered, caught up with the rampaging brunette and proceeded to grab the by the arms, attempting to drag her from the room.

"Appologies for the intrusion, Mrs. Luthor. It won't happen again."

"Hey! Let go of her." Chloe shouted.

"We're under order to have Ms. Lane forcibly removed from the building."

"I don't care, my cousin stays. You're dismissed."

The guards warily looked at each other, hesitating to carry out her orders.

"Let go, or you're fired." Chloe ordered.

It seemed to do the trick, as they quickly let go of Lois's arms and left the ladies alone.

Lois straightened her jacket before storming over to her cousin, and pointing to her arm. "So is this why? Lex has been smacking you around and didn't want me to see the evidence?"

Holding a hand up to her cousin, she tried to take in the information one step at a time. "Lex called you?"

"An hour ago. He said me and Clark were to stay away from you and your property, or we would be slapped with a restraining order. Who the hell does he think he is!"

"Would you calm down, Lo? You're jumping to conclusions. I thought I'd taught you to do your research first before counting your headlines."

"Damn right we're talking headlines. How's this one? 'Lex Luthor - Wife Beater'. It has a ring to it."

"How about 'Lex Luthor - Overprotective Husband'?"

"You're telling me this," Lois pointed to the injury "Isn't because of him?"

"I suppose, in a way. But Lex didn't hurt me."

Dealing with an irate Lois Lane was always a chore. The trick was to talk her down and keep her away from caffeine and sharp objects.

"Then who did?"

"Come on."

Chloe led her to the small couch, and took her cousin's hand in hers once they sat. If this was the last time she saw her cousin, she wanted that small piece of contact, even if it was just for a short time.

"Lex didn't hurt me. If anything, it was my fault I shouldn't have given my security the slip.

"I suppose I should apologise for driving over your fiance, but I'm hoping that given the circumstances you'll forgive me."

Confusion was written all over Lois' face as she tried to put the pieces together. "What?"

"Are you trying to tell me Clark did this to you?" Lois asked, the disbelief clear in her voice. "I spoke to him thirty minutes ago, he never said anything about you."

"I was in the caves, taking pictures."

"For your illustrator?"

"Yeah. Clark appeared just as I was finishing up. He didn't believe me."

"You're saying he hurt you because of a few pictures?"

"No. He got physical when I didn't divulge Lex's master plan to rule the universe and what my part my marriage plays. I managed to grab my emergency piece of meteor rock and get the hell out of there."

Lois sat there in silence, not even moving. A quiet Lane was always something to be concerned about, so Chloe just held her breath.

Her cousin then stood up abruptly, "I have to go."

"Lois?" Chloe's heart was thundering in her chest, dreading what could possibly be happening here. "You believe me, right?"

"Of course I do. I just can't believe Clark would do this."

"Normally there is red meteor rock involved, but I swear this time was all him."

"He's hurt you before?"

"Yeah." Chloe replied softly.

Lois's back stiffened. Chloe noticed the signs of her cousin reaching her peak of anger.

"Why didn't I know?"

"It was before you knew about his powers. I was trying to protect both of you."

"So why are you telling me now?"

"Because I am tired of being seen as the bad guy. I'm sick of being treated like crap by the so-called heroes of Metropolis, and because I am the wife of 'the devil incarnate', it's okay for me to end up in hospital for hours on end."

By the end of her small rant, Chloe was actually crying. It was turning into a long, hard, emotional day.

Lois' arms enveloped her as her cousin knelt down to hug her.

"Don't think for a second that I'm okay with what's happened, Chlo. He's in the wrong and I'll make sure he knows it."

"It could have been so much worse. He dropped the car while I was still in it."

Chloe continued to cry, even though she knew her cousin wasn't about to abandon her like she thought.

"He wouldn't have seriously injured you. I know you're hurt and scared, but even Clark wouldn't go that far."

"It's not me that could have been hurt, Lo. I'm pregnant."

The last words came out like a whisper. It was the first time she had uttered the words since the nurse had told her that afternoon. She hadn't even told Lex yet - she had no idea how to even begin that conversation.

"Pregnant?!"

Chloe nodded. "I haven't even told Lex yet. Please don't say anything. He's tense as it is, and he'll start thinking about the 'what ifs'. I don't want to push him over the edge."

Lois just hugged her tighter. "Clark will never touch you again, I swear."

Sagging into her arms she let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"Do I need to call security?"

The two women looked up to see a very stern looking Lex Luthor in the doorway.

"You're not keeping me from my cousin, Luthor. Not now, not ever; so suck it up."

Lois laid a kiss on top of the blonde's head before straightening up. "I'll call you tonight."

Chloe nodded, and watched as her cousin stood face to face with her husband.

"Get better security, Lex." She told him as she poked him in the chest.

Pushing her hand away, he leaned forward and almost growled. "It was your fiance who hurt her, just you remember that."

"Believe me, that's one mistake I can resolve." She said as she walked past him, leaving the couple together.

Lex walked over to Chloe and sat next to her on the couch, before putting his arm around her. She burrowed into his side, taking comfort in his presence.

"The kitchen staff are making you some tea."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me, just never scare me like that again."

"I won't, I promise."

They sat there for a few minutes, just holding each other and enjoying each other's company. Life had been so busy lately, they took whatever opportunity they could to spend time with each other. Chloe had no idea where it came from. She suspected that Lex was developing stronger feelings for her, but she figured that was to be expected. They had a great sex life, and practically spent all of their spare time together when they weren't attending business functions.

Lex had always been a passionate man, and once he found something that held his interest, he never let it go. When he loved, he loved completely.

She was sure that he had always wanted a family. When children were discussed as part of their initial agreement, they were made to sound like business acquisitions. However, thinking back on how he had been in Smallville all those years ago, he had simply been a young man looking for love and family. Chloe was sure that beneath all of his scar tissue and pain, that desire for happiness was still there.

He would be happy about the pregnancy, right?

There was no way to be sure. Hell, even she didn't know how to feel about it. It was certainly unexpected.

"Does it hurt?"

Lex's voice cut through her thoughts, bringing her back to the here and now.

"A little. It's more like an intense ache that never wants to go away. I can put up with it."

"I'll go get your painkillers."

Lex made a move to get up, but Chloe stopped him. "No. I'd rather just sit here with you, like this. I need to today."

"Of course." He settled back and rested his head on top of hers.

Tomorrow. She would tell him tomorrow. For now, she'd just enjoy the feeling of safety in his arms.