A/N: Just wanted to let you guys know that my last author's note was not an indication that I felt the critiques were harsh. I addressed the critiques that I felt were valid, if I thought you were being mean, I would not have addressed your question at all. So no worries pipersmum, I really appreciated your desire for clarification on things I left gray. And I don't mind if you read my story and hate it, I'd like to know why though so I can improve if I ever write a new one. Oh and I'm leaving who Chloe ends up with up in the air, part of me thinks no one is really good enough for her; but this story is really about Chloe and her development. To steal from one of my favorite shows, she's cookie dough. When she's done baking, someone will ea...enjoy her warm delicious cookies. Not to say I'll leave you hanging forever, but who knows who she'll choose.

Chapter Eight

Normal is the watchword. Yup, totally and completely maddeningly normal. It had been a week since he and Chloe finally had that mind blowing sex he always dreamt about and everything had turned normal after that. He was solidly stuck back in the friends zone and she was back to sidekick mode and helping him with some of the crazier citizens of Metropolis. He had thought Smallville was bad, but Metropolis criminals liked to think bigger; on a level of world destruction bigger. So there he was, flying around in the cool night air, his super human eyes scanning for the dark and sinister while his mind told him to go find Chloe, make sure she's okay and then shake some sense into her, or kiss some sense into her, or fuck. Dammit! He needed to find a way to not think about Chloe and sex for five minutes, it was wrecking havoc on his body. Besides, he couldn't go see her anyway, she was on patrol herself and had made it verbally clear that she worked solo. And when he had ignored her and continued to follow her, she demonstrated her ass kicking capabilities along with a quick dose of the pain transference she could do that pretty much left him whimpering in the fetal position. Why did her power have to be meteor based? Her having the power to make him cower before her interfered with his desire to stalk her; and oddly turned him on at the same time. He zoomed in on a group of youths trying to tear each other apart; his face stoic and intimidating, revealing none of his inner turmoil, while he pulled the kids apart and passed some of his Dad's words of wisdom about violence. Clark had discovered that it wasn't so much the words that got through to people, but when he copied the way his Dad's voice took on that gravelly important tone and he pierced them with his gaze the way his Dad did, like no secret could or should be ever kept from him, and most importantly; he copied the way his Dad showed he cared so much about everything he did. He made it seem as though nothing was more important than being with him and teaching him that lesson and that always got him to listen. Clark flew away hoping he made a difference, praying he won't run into them in the future down darker paths and wishing his Dad could give him some sage advice on how to make the love of his life want to be with him.

The beggar stared with his mouth agape, his aged milky eyes astonished as they tracked the figure in white. Her movements were so graceful, like a ballet dancer, in a very very violent production. Lithe, neat and powerful. As if to punctuate his thought, one of the jerks in suits that chased him down to kill him after he saw them shoot some other man in a suit, went flying over his head and crash landed into a dumpster. Ouch, looked like he landed on his neck. He turned his attention back to the vengeful angel as she expertly landed blows and kicks all the while twisting, turning and flipping so much that the offensive attacks the two men kept trying to launch on her never quite met their mark. His tired old eyes had a hard time trying to keep up with her movements, but it only seemed to take moments for her to have the two men tied up and unconscious and dig the third out of the dumpster and add him to the pile. She touched a small watch looking device on her several times, waited a few moments and then smiled into the mysterious device.

"Hey Bryant, I've got a few sleaze bags at the corner of fifth and mason by the docks. Think you can tear yourself away from your desk to do a little police work?" She teased lightly and laughed after listening for a second. He wished he could have heard what 'Bryant' had said to make her laugh because when she was fighting his pursuers, he had been sure that so grave of a face was not capable of smiling, but she was smiling and laughing and it made her beautiful face an addiction, a drug that he wished he could have every second of the day. Briefly he fantasized her to be his daughter that his wife had run away with when he couldn't get his life together, he could die happy if she had turned out to be anything like this girl. Strong, beautiful and confident with an inner spirit that could brighten any darkness.

"There's even a witness here for you, he almost became the second victim." She flashed him a reassuring smile and grasped his shoulder. He gasped as her touch coursed warmth through him, he could feel his aches and pains easing away as his lungs took the first full breath that he had experienced in quite some time. She released him casually, like nothing had happened.

"I'll stick around until I hear your sirens, try not to stop for doughnuts and if you do, I better have a steaming cup of brew too." She touched the communicator once more and turned her attention to him.

"T-thank you." He stuttered out, feeling awed and bashful.

"As long as you're willing to testify, I'd say we are even on the civic duty score."

"What...what did you do, when you touched me?"

"Does it matter?"

"It matters that you did it, you made me feel healthy again. I can't thank you enough for that. I guess the how or what really doesn't matter though." He could hear sirens in the distance.

"Will I see you again?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how foolish they were, why would she ever see him again?

"Tell you what; if you want to change your life, call me and I'll help you. If you want to stay on the streets, I may run into you again when you're in danger, but then again I may not be there. I suggest you call me, you don't belong out here." She handed him a white card and walked off into the fog. He was still staring at where she had exited when the police cars pulled up. He was memorizing every detail of that day, never wanting to forget the day the angel with red hair saved his life; in more ways than one.

She couldn't put it off any longer, she had to tell him. She had been avoiding Lex's phone calls for a week now and dodging his unexpected visits. She needed to come clean about Clark, she knew he wouldn't be pleased. It was three in the morning and she had just gotten back from her patrol, she showered the streets off her skin and laid down on her bed to figure out the best way to tell Lex. Needless to say, sleep and the solution stubbornly evaded her.

Nervously she stepped into Lex's Metropolis apartment, it was six in the morning and she knew he would not have gone into work yet.

"Lois, I almost thought I was dreaming when the front desk called me to tell me you were on your way up. To what do I owe this pleasure after a week of silence?" He kissed her lightly on the lips but his eyes demanded an answer. She wandered aimlessly around his apartment, putting some distance between the two of them.

"I have to tell you something."

"Okay." Chloe let out a breath and toyed nervously with a long strand of her brown hair, started pacing and stopped herself to settle with her arms crossed defensively and leaning against a wall.

"Clark came back a few weeks ago." She lied to Lex not wanting his reappearance to coincide with Superman's debut.

"Last week he came to see me and we...we got...together." Lex turned away from Chloe rapidly, not wanting her to see the emotions of his face. He fought for control of himself, striving for the implacability that was ingrained in him. 'Fuck it' he thought, he wanted to break things, to smash and to make noise, to find a release for this pain and anger. He knocked the vase on his table to the floor relishing the shattering effect, then he kicked the glass table over, he threw all the stupid decorative pieces from his mantle and several of them smashed against the wall by Chloe. He let out a primal yell and started taking his feelings out on the sofa. Coming from anyone other than Lex, this would have been comical. But this was Lex, she had never seen him lose control, aside from sexually, and his display was frightening. She almost thought he would turn on her after he got done with the sofa and she thought she might let him, let him beat up on her because she deserved it. She deserved it for failing, yet again; she failed her Dad, she failed herself, she failed Lex. She knew she deserved his anger and his hate, he had turned his life around, becoming an upstanding citizen even; and she betrayed him. Lex sat half on the sofa, clutching the pillow he had just been pummeling; all his energy suddenly gone.

"You can't leave me." He whispered hoarsely to her, his eyes not daring to look at her. Chloe rushed to his side.

"I'm not telling you to leave you. I'm telling you because you deserve the truth. I can't explain why I did it and we did agree that we could see other people. But it still felt wrong and I wanted you to know and to leave...the choice of whether or not we stay together up to you." Lex got the fire back into his eyes at her words.

"You're mine Chloe, always." He kissed her roughly, branding his lips onto hers. He spent the rest of the morning showing her how much she was his, taking her forcefully and desperately trying to imprint himself onto her body and soul and hopefully erasing Clark. Chloe woke up in the afternoon, her body no longer aching from Lex's attentions and Lex no longer in bed with her. She had an uneasy feeling as she got dressed and slipped out of his apartment. A tight coil in the pit of her stomach telling her that she had ruined all of Lex's chances for a good life. She had wanted to save him, but something told her sleeping with Clark had pushed him back to the way he used to be. She needed to do some damage control.