Nobody Knows This Secret
Hey ppl this is my first sn/sv fanfic so I hope you like it. I always wondered what it would have been like if Chloe and Jason had been together instead of Jason and Lana. But Im still hoping for a dean/chloe crossover episode. I don't own anything from smallville or supernatural, none of the characters, places etc. I wish I owned the Winchester boys. Im just building a story here. Enjoy and plz plz plz review. Thanks
Chapter Ten
Chloe sighed heavily, as she stared at her blank page on the computer. It had been two days since Dean and Sam had left and she was still finding it hard to concentrate on resuming her life before them. But then again, life wasn't the way it had been before Dean. In fact now it had turned upside down and she felt like the one responsible for it. She placed a hand on her head and her co-worker Trish looked at her in sympathy. "Got a headache?" she asked.
Chloe smiled wanly but nodded, "Yeah…I don't feel so good." She lied, although the more she thought about Lana, the lie felt like the truth. Trish smiled warmly. "Yeah…I get under the weather too when my man's away for too long." The older African American lady replied smoothly. Chloe looked back at her and grinned gently when she chuckled. "Yeah he has something to do with it." She admitted. "Why don't you go home for the rest of the day?" Trish asked in concern. Chloe almost snorted, "Home? Perry's going to blow a fuse when she hears me ask for a half day. I've still got to finish the article on the President's speech," she revealed.
She'd spent most of the last two days listening to the tiring and boring speech over and over again; and still it was only half finished. Trish scowled faintly and said, "What, that old speech? I've been writing up notes for that speech since last Wednesday-I can finish that off for you in a few moments, if you'd like." Chloe grinned and shook her head. It was sweet but she didn't want to throw a load of work on a co-worker.
Trish smiled again, "Look, I won't go crediting myself over it if that's bothering you. And the most work I've got right now is a damn article on this week's environmental good deed. I finished it yesterday." She reasoned. Chloe smiled back at her and thought about how dead she felt. She'd always been a hard worker…she'd kept up with her deadlines regardless of how impossible they had been at times. She was a good journalist; didn't she deserve at least this one-day off when she felt so unstable? Chloe sighed, Perry wouldn't say anything if she didn't know, right?
Chloe looked at Trish doubtfully and Trish placed a hand on hers. "Girl I don't know what you've been through but you don't look good. Sitting here and being yelled at by Perry isn't going to do you any better. Don't worry; I'll take care of her if she comes this way to check up on you. Alright?" Chloe smiled widely this time and thanked Trish, "Oh don't worry, you go on now." Trish answered. Chloe gathered her things and her handbag before smiling at Trish and heading out of the office. She knew Perry would most likely be in meetings for the whole day, but of course she didn't want to be relying on that completely.
When Chloe reached her car, she pulled out her mobile and dialed Lois. "Hey Chloe?" Lois asked when she picked up. Chloe grinned lightly and said, "Yeah, hi. You busy right now?" Lois told her she wasn't and Chloe sighed with relief. "Good. Do you want to meet me at the coffee shop at the mall?" she asked. Lois said yes and faintly wondered if it was a substitute for the Talon, where Chloe was avoiding nowadays. Chloe slammed her car door shut as she got in and told Lois she'd be there in ten minutes.
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Lois eyed her pale and sad looking cousin across the table. Chloe was toying around with her coffee, twirling the spoon around slowly and then fast. "Chloe?" she asked tentatively. Chloe's brown eyes snapped back to Lois's sharply. "Yeah?" she asked quietly. Lois sighed, "You look terrible." She said apologetically. Chloe laughed hollowly, "Thanks Lois." Lois quickly turned a shade pinker, "No offence, sorry. It's just, it's eating you from the inside isn't it?" she blurted.
Chloe stared at Lois for a while. Why bother lying, this was her cousin, who she'd had her ups and downs with but who had stayed with her through her tough times. "Yeah, I guess it is…I can't stop thinking about that day, about the expression on her face." Lois noticed Chloe's own horrified expression as she recalled the hatred sketched on Lana's face. She reached across and rubbed Chloe's cold hand. "But you did the right thing Chloe. Think about how much more hurt there'd be if you two had this secret between you further along in life." Lois said quietly.
"I know, but Lois Lana hates me right now…" Chloe looked back at her in silence for a few moments and then added, "How can I ever expect her to forgive me now? She doesn't even want to see my face." She closed her eyes and was glad to have Lois holding onto her hand; it felt like the only thing connecting her mind to the real world they were living in contrast to the depressing hell she was going through in her mind.
When she opened her eyes and saw how anxious Lois was, she smiled and shook her head as if shaking away the sadness. "Don't worry about me Lois, I'm not the one who needs the support and the sympathy. Lana's the one who's had her trust broken, the one who's been betrayed. You should go and see if she's alright." Chloe genuinely mean this, Lana needed someone there with her to get over the pain she and Jason had caused.
Lana smiled back disdainfully. "Chloe, you're my cousin and the best friend I made before I even knew what the word meant…I can't leave you when I know you need someone here. I promised Dean that I'd take care of you and this promise coincides with mine…and besides, Lana just about hates me for siding with you so me trying to comfort her is a bad idea."
Chloe looked surprised at this and she began apologizing immediately. "Because of me you-" she started but Lois cut her off. "Because of you Chloe, I've realized my dreams and skills. Because of you Chloe, I've been able to settle into Smallville without feeling alienated. Chloe, don't start apologizing for calling out to your family. Even if you'd had a wanted poster over your head, I'd still stick up for you. Because you're my family, I mean I can't rely on my own dad to be there for me when I call out for help. But I could just look upset and know that you'd be by my side because you're my family and you can't see me upset."
Chloe gave a watery smile at this and leaned her head to one side, "But it can't be easy…you'd have to put up with a lot of bitterness because of me. And I don't know how long this will last." Lois rolled her eyes; "So Lana won't be talking to me for a while, big deal…I'm used to people giving me the silent treatment…it doesn't bother me. But you still looking like a dead person does."
There was a pause in their conversation for a while Lois's latte was delivered and she sipped it quietly. Chloe looked at Lois and asked, "What's it like at the Kents? Does Clark know?" A part of her was terrified at losing another friend and another part felt more shameful. Lois watched her carefully, there was no point lying, "Lana's pretty messed up-she's been trying to act normal around Martha and Clark because she hasn't told them anything…we haven't spoken since she found out that I already knew." She admitted.
Chloe raised an eyebrow despite the depressing situation, "And Clark didn't figure out what was wrong by taking a look at Lana's sad face?" she asked slightly amazed that the ever so perceptive Clark, hadn't realized his true love was going through a painful time. Lois sighed, "She's been good at hiding her feelings. And the only thing that's been out of place according to the Kents is that you haven't come around in a while…I don't think they know." Chloe looked back at her sadly, "She won't tell anyone…she's going to build this up inside her. Lois she needs someone to talk to." She said in a worried voice.
Lois looked back at her hesitant at this indirect hint. "Chloe, I think the last person she'd want to talk to would be me," she said, her eyes displaying her doubt. Chloe looked up at her sharply, "No, I'd be the last person she'd want to talk to. She's only mad at you because you're supporting me." Lois bit her lip and felt really sympathetic towards her cousin. One bad choice in her life had led to a string of more and when the truth had been found out, she'd had her world filled with turmoil. Lois didn't know what to say to Chloe to make her feel any better about herself. She and Chloe shared a trait that they were used to telling the truth and hearing it-even when it wasn't to their liking.
Lois sighed and decided to change the topic, "Aren't you supposed to be at work?" she asked. Chloe rolled her eyes, "My friend Trish is covering for me…I couldn't get anything done Lois." She admitted. Her cousin looked at her in concern, "Because of Lana?" she asked. "I don't know, it feels like it's because of Lana and what happened but sometimes it feels like I'm just missing Dean a lot. It sounds stupid, I know…" Chloe said smiling gently. How could Chloe, someone who didn't usually miss guys (she was actually the type who liked having a bit of distance) miss someone so much in just two days?
A smiled crept up Lois's face and she repeated, "Because of Dean?" Chloe looked at her as if daring her to laugh and Lois tried to keep a straight face. "Well don't you miss Sam?" Chloe defended herself. Lois's smile faltered and her eyes looked distant. "Of course I miss him…when we talk on the phone it feels like he's standing right next to me. I just want him to be back as soon as he can, it's selfish because he needs to be out there and I want him to be here. But thank god, he's selfless; he knows what has to be done. Did Dean call?" she asked, her eyes focusing back on Chloe.
Chloe nodded, "Yeah, in fact he's called nearly twice a day. You know they're hunting a spirit, an angry one." She added as she looked at Lois. Lois nodded grimly, "Yeah…Sam was sketchy on the details. He didn't want to talk about the hunt too much so we just talked about other things." She replied. Lois had sensed the dark tone Sam had used when she had asked about the hunt. She had a feeling the hunt was getting slightly more personal than he had wanted.
Dean however was bright about the hunt and wasn't hesitant to tell Chloe all about it. She'd been happy to hear how easy he sounded. She knew he felt an odd ease at hunting and she was thankful he'd taken the decision to leave Smallville for it. You couldn't keep someone from doing what he or she was born to. Chloe couldn't even imagine what she'd been doing if she wasn't a journalist. "How are you holding up?" he had asked after his recount of their leads in the hunt.
She'd smiled grimly and said, "Well, I'm holding up." He had recognized the defeat in her voice and had asked, "Have you talked to Lana yet, since that day?" He had a feeling she hadn't and he was right. "No, talked to her? I haven't even faced her since that day." Dean had frowned at this although Chloe couldn't see it obviously. "You alright Chloe? Is she giving you any grief? Chloe I can come over as soon as you want me to if she is." He had said quickly.
"Dean, I'm…I'm alright okay? If it gets too much, I will call you. You just need to find that angry spirit and get rid of it quickly." Chloe had said heavily. "Yeah well you call me alright? I don't want Barbie calling me and telling me Lana's been giving you shit alright?" he had warned. Chloe had rolled her eyes slightly and said, "Dean stop making Lana sound like the bad guy here please." Dean had replied quickly and sharply. "I will when you stop treating yourself like the bad guy." Chloe sighed and had confirmed Dean that she was fine before telling him she loved him and hanging up.
Lois looked down at her watch and her eyes widened slightly. "Hey its almost lunch time." She said. Chloe shrugged, "You want to eat something?" she asked. Lois shook her head, "No, it's just that Martha wanted me to buy some groceries for her for lunch. I should start going…" she paused here and asked Chloe carefully, "Um, you want to come? Martha and Clark would really like it, they've been asking about you Chloe." Chloe shook her head immediately. "No, you should go. I can't go there Lois, not until Lana forgives me." She said abruptly. Lois looked like she wanted to argue but closed her mouth and nodded.
She got up slowly and tried again, "Chloe, Lana might not even-" but Chloe sighed and Lois shrugged. "Okay, you going home?" she asked picking up her handbag. Chloe nodded as she got up as well and said, "My head's hurting so I might just take a nap or something. I can't go back to work, the last thing I need is Perry's angry face in mine." She gave Lois a quick hug and they both started walking down the escalator to the car park. Lois turned to Chloe and asked, "How's Uncle Gabe? Did you find out what his appointment was for?"
Chloe shook her head, her lips pursing lightly. "I was supposed to follow him but my head wasn't in it. Too much happened that day, I should find out how it went for him." She added as her father's face wandered in her mind. Lois nodded sympathetically and stood beside her car. "Well tell me what's happening when you find out okay?" Chloe nodded and quickly hugged her before stepping away. Lois said bye before sitting in her car. She wound her window down and reminded Chloe to take care of herself, and rolled her eyes when Chloe made an impatient noise.
When she drove out Chloe reached her car and drove back home, her mind whirling around what Lois had said about Lana. She was suffering inwardly, keeping all the rest of her rage bottled up inside her, Chloe thought worriedly. She wished she could tell someone to look out for her, but there was no one who could without knowing what she had done. And Lois was partially right; Lana despised anyone who sided with Chloe right now. She'd listen to as much Lois said as she would to Chloe.
Chloe drove to her house and got out, pulling her keys out and entering her quiet hallway. She peered around, her father was supposed to be home. He'd started coughing so much that he'd decided to take the day off and she knew he didn't have anything important to do. "Dad?" she called as she placed her handbag and keys on the coffee table in the lounge room. There was no answer and Chloe checked the kitchen quickly. But her father wasn't there either and a trip up around the second floor revealed that he wasn't at home.
She frowned at this and quickly dialed his number on her phone. After a few rings, he picked up and she sighed, "Dad where are you? You're supposed to be resting at home." She heard her father attempt chuckling and bit her lip when he coughed again, this time sounding like he was coughing out a lung. "Dad?" she asked getting scared. "I'm fine Chloe…I was getting bored at home, so I decided to come over to Ron's" her father wheezed. Something tightened in Chloe's chest; she'd never heard her dad's voice so frail and wheezy. "Dad, where are you? Are you okay? Why are you wheezing?" she asked, hearing the fear mirror in her voice.
Her father coughed and spluttered again and she felt her body tense. Something wasn't right, her dad had never sounded this sick before, he'd never sounded this frail. But her father tried covering the weakness in his voice with a chuckle, "I'm fine, Chloe. I'm sitting here with Rob, and I'm fine. You're probably hearing static in the line or something." He reasoned unsuccessfully.
She started to argue with him but another voice started talking in the background and Gabe's voice rose slightly more loudly. "Um, Chloe I've got to go…Ron's got a game going, okay. Bye, I'll be home before dinner." He ended. Chloe opened her mouth to speak but the phone went engaged.
Chloe took a deep breath and shook her head, maybe he was just…no, she thought quickly. Something was wrong here and she couldn't doubt the sick tone in her father's voice. And her father didn't just get up and visit old friends when he was feeling so sick that he had to sleep in all day. She paced to and from the sofa and when she finally couldn't take it, Chloe pushed her hands down in frustration and picked up the phone again. She scrolled down the list of names until Ron's name came up.
Her finger paused for a second as she wondered if she should be so mistrusting of her father. But when his ailing voice resounded in her ears, she pressed the talk button quickly. She waited for a while and when she was about to hang up, a man's voice greeted her. "Um hello, is this Ron?" Chloe asked. "Yes it is, who's this?" the man asked. "Uh, this is Chloe Sullivan, Gabe's daughter…is he there with you?" she asked nervously.
Ron greeted her again, "Oh, Chloe…how are you" he asked. Chloe stretched a grin on her face and mumbled, "I'm fine." "Well, Gabe's not here. In fact he hasn't been around in a while, a couple of weeks in fact." Ron replied. Chloe frowned deeply and thanked him for the information before hanging up again. She sat down on the sofa and her mind thundered with the possibilities her father could be in. Why was he lying about where he was? What was he doing right now?
Chloe dialed her dad's number again only to find that his phone had been switched off. She growled quietly in frustration, knowing he'd probably turned his phone off because of her. She didn't understand why he was being so secretive, or even what he was being so secretive about. She didn't like being surrounded by secrets. With a pang she realized what it felt like to have secrets kept from you.
She sighed heavily and then shook her head; she'd keep trying every half hour until her dad finally answered his phone. Until then, Chloe decided to take a nap upstairs in her room. She'd had an aching head all day and while coffee had successfully subdued the pain for a while, it hadn't gotten rid of it completely. Chloe pulled a packet of aspirin out of the bedside drawers, popped two in her mouth and downed it with water.
Chloe closed her eyes and lay back in her bed. She felt tired, sick and worried. And she still couldn't get rid of the sound of her father's ailing voice. No matter how hard she tried to keep her eyes closed and to let her mind drift into the heavy sleep she'd been feeling all morning, the sleep wouldn't come. In fact now her mind seemed slightly more alert and she shut her eyes even more tightly.
Her thoughts strayed back to her father instead of disappearing altogether. What was he lying about? Her father didn't keep things from her unless they were serious. He sounded sick, very sick…but he was doing something about his health right? All those appointments he'd made and attended, they'd been to make him better right? If they were then why was he sounding sicker? Chloe felt irritated at the helplessness she felt right now…how was she supposed to find him?
She breathed slowly and tried to focus on clearing her mind, if she wasn't so nervous then maybe she could think of something. Usually she was good at thinking up ideas, finding secrets out-but when the matter came to her father, she couldn't even think straight. Suddenly something Dean said to her came floating back, "You know sometimes when you focus too hard on a question, you miss the answer-even when it's prancing around naked in your face."
Now Dean's absence was hitting her hard, and Chloe felt a lump form in her throat. There was too much happening, her dad's secrets, Lana's misery and Dean wasn't there to tell her everything was all right. Chloe's eyes snapped open and she glanced at her phone, sitting on the bedside table next to her. She could call him and talk on the phone? But he'd hear the sadness in her voice and wouldn't waste time in driving back to Smallville to be there with her.
No, Dean was really excited about this hunt; she couldn't just pull him out of it and risk people's lives. Chloe rolled onto her back again and closed her eyes, sleeping helped sometimes. And she didn't think so just because Dean had told her numerous times. But after five minutes of lying in her bed, trying to sleep unsuccessfully, Chloe growled in frustration. The average person usually fell asleep within seven minutes of going to bed; yeah-right Chloe thought. Even with her eyes closed, the sunlight was too bright. The bed felt really lumpy and uncomfortable. And did those stupid birds have to make so much noise? She let out a whoosh of breath and sat up quickly, she just couldn't sleep.
But it was odd, the sunlight was too bright in her closed eyes but her curtains didn't let in too much light. Her bed felt lumpy but it had been the most comfortable bed she'd ever slept in. And the birds, with their loud noise-they were always making noise, which she never minded before. It was just her nerves getting the better of her she decided.
Chloe got out of bed and walked back downstairs. It was weird feeling so restless in her own home, especially her own bed. She found herself pacing around the lounge room and then picked up the telephone. But her dad's phone was still switched off when she tried calling on it and she rolled her eyes at her luck. Where would he be? She questioned herself for the hundredth time. Suddenly something clicked in her mind. Hadn't her dad brought back an envelope from the clinic, which had some medicine bills in it? He'd thrown them back in the cupboard under the mantelpiece after going through them.
She quickly pulled the cupboard open and ruffled through the stack of papers until she found what she had been looking for. Dr. Allison Rogers's clinic office number was printed on the right hand corner of the couple of bills Chloe found and she took them with her to the phone nearby. If he insisted on pretending nothing was wrong with him, she'd find out for herself. The doctor would be able to give her some answers right?
Chloe dialed the number and waited as the line rang. A lady's voice said, "Good afternoon, Dr. Rogers clinic, how can I help you?" Chloe breathed slowly and asked hesitantly, "Um hi. I need to talk to Dr. Rogers…regarding one of her patients." "Dr. Rogers is not in today; she's attending to a very serious patient. She'll be in tomorrow, may I take a message?" the nurse asked. Chloe chewed her bottom lip gently in disappointment and mumbled, "No that's alright, I'll call later."
The nurse hung up and Chloe did the same before sighing tiredly. She picked up the bills and took them over to the cupboard to put them back when she saw a stack of photos near the back. Her curiosity pulled her into picking them up and flipping them over. Her breath caught up in her throat when she realized they were all photos of Lana and herself throughout their childhood together. Chloe had placed the photos here when she'd been sorting them out the other day.
She couldn't help herself from spreading them across the floor and staring at each of them in turn. There were photos of nearly every occasion in their lives, displayed as irreplaceable memories. A memory of the two girls aged 8 swinging on the swings. A memory of the two girls dressed up for Halloween. A memory of Chloe's 10th birthday, where she had insisted Lana cut the cake with her. A memory of the two giving Clark his birthday present. So many more memories of Chloe and Lana in elementary school, of the two in high school on a bright spring morning. She stroked the photos gently, feeling her eyes well up as she picked up a photo of them at a party, this time looking every bit the young adults they were.
She felt the tears slide down her cheeks as she noted how happy both of them looked, Lana's wide smile making the Chloe in the photo smile just as widely. She couldn't remember why they'd been smiling so much. In fact most of her photos with Lana had been of the two smiling widely, even the photos taken of the two covered in mud, of the two swamped in rain. They'd always been happy in each other's company.
She felt a lump form in her throat and she sobbed openly. How could she have been so stupid to think that after finding out what she had, Lana would forgive her? Would she have forgiven Lana if she'd done what Chloe had? No, Chloe didn't have such a big heart and she didn't expect Lana to expand hers either. But then again, Lana would never have cheated Chloe, like she had. Her conscience was too big and her loyalty was strong. Stronger than Chloe's, she had proved.
Lana had been her best friend, through every stage and ordeal in her life, and now Chloe had lost her forever. She'd lost her invaluable friendship forever because of a stupid and impractical feeling she'd felt for a man who hadn't been worthy of either of their love. But Chloe knew what she did was wrong, she regretted every moment that had passed by with Jason and she realized it meant nothing to her now. Now she could only see herself supporting Lana through every decision she took now. Even if the decision was ignoring Chloe for the rest of their lives.
Chloe swallowed thickly and closed her eyes. She couldn't mend any burnt bridges if she couldn't stop herself from breaking into tears every time she thought about Lana and the misery she was going through. When she opened her eyes she wiped the tears streaking down her cheeks fiercely and wiped her face with a tissue. Chloe stared at the wall, taking deep breaths and then got up. Sometimes Dean wasn't completely wrong, she thought to herself; sometimes you had to build a tough wall around your heart and put on a tough smile. Sometimes you had to look strong to become it.
The phone rang and it made Chloe jump in shock. She'd been in another world for so long, she'd forgotten where she actually was. Chloe sighed and hoped it was her father calling before getting up and answering the phone quickly. "Hello Chloe? It's me Trish. How are you holding up dear?" Trish's voice asked gently. Chloe gave a small smile and said,
"Oh, hey Trish…I'm feeling a bit better thanks. Is everything all right there? Do you want me to come back?" The other woman chuckled softly and replied, "Oh no. That's not why I called, no. I just called to tell you that Perry hasn't come around here except once to yell at Monica Stevens for handing the Runt article a day earlier, then she got a call from home and she had to leave. I don't think she noticed you weren't here at all."
Chloe felt relieved but at the same time shameful that she'd left her colleague so much work. "Trish I'm so sorry, you've probably got all this work to do and I'm-" she was cut off by Trish however when she said loudly, "Don't you start all that rubbish. It was an easy article finished a few hours after you left. It's sitting on your desk for tomorrow. Now I've got to go, Perry's gone home but work never stops. You take care of yourself, and see the doc if things get too bad alright?"
Chloe smiled again and thanked her, "Thank you so much Trish. I'll see you tomorrow, bye." She heard Trish reply a bye and then she hung up. She put her phone back on the mantle and stood in the middle of the lounge room uncertainly. She glanced back at the clock and vaguely remembered that the last time she'd tried her dad's phone had been ten minutes ago. She tried it again but got no answer, predictably and gritted her teeth in frustration. Her eyes strayed to the photos splayed out on the rug and she gathered them up with determined indifference before putting them all back into the back of the cupboard.
There was nothing left to do, except wait. Wait for her dad to call, to come home. Wait for Lana to see her repentance, to forgive her. Wait for Dean to come back, to make her feel warm again. And wait for the sleep to drown her for a while as she lay in bed, she added to her thoughts as she treaded up the stairs carefully. Her body's tension loosened at once and she realized how tired she had been this whole time. She'd managed to unintentionally keep her mind blank and in doing so, had felt her body groan with exhaustion.
Chloe thought back to breakfast and remembered she hadn't had any breakfast. That explained quite a bit. She wriggled deeper into her bed and closed her eyes in an easing manner. Her mobile phone was right next to her on her pillow and she opened her eyes to glance at it a last time before she drifted off to sleep. If her dad called, or Dean called she'd be able to hear the phone ring.
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Meanwhile, Lois had had just finished buying the last few items on the shopping list Martha had given her. She checked out at the counter and smiled quickly at the checkout girl before making her way back to her car. Honestly, she wanted to be with Chloe right now, Chloe needed someone there with her and Lois didn't want to leave her cousin when she needed her most. But Martha and Clark were getting suspicious about how happy she was with them. They'd mistaken the awkward and cold silences between Lana and Lois as Lois being unhappy with them and had made it a point to have a 'family' lunch.
As she drove her car through the noisy traffic, Lois ran a hand through her hair. Things were messed up all right, her cousin was going through depression and the three girls were being split into pieces. She understood what Lana was going through, the hurt she was feeling. It had been all to apparent when Lois had faced her the day she had found out. There had been an unspoken silence, a cold draft making her arms break out in goose bumps as she had stared at Lana and the tears running down her face.
She thought back to Lana's quiet whimper, "Lo-Lois, Chloe-Chloe she…she betrayed me." Lois gulped as she saw how bedraggled Lana looked. She didn't know why she said, "I know…" Maybe it was because she thought Lana had been through to many lies to have another one thrown at her. She didn't know how to meet her eyes filled with pain, when she felt so shamed herself.
Lois had looked up to see Lana stare at her as if seeing her for the first time. Her voice was controlled however it still quavered as she asked, "You knew…for how long?" Lois swallowed again and said in a quiet voice, "For a while…Chloe told me herself." The anger thundering in Lana's eyes had been voluminous and for the first time, Lois feared what Lana what would do next, to her or to herself she wasn't sure.
Lois stopped at a traffic light and wondered if she should call Dean and Sam to come back. But no, when she'd brought it up, Chloe had been clear that she didn't want Lois to call Dean, no matter what happened. "It's taken a lot for him to forget me for a few days and go back to hunting…I don't want him to forget about the people he's saving." Chloe had replied sternly. And although Lois had understood Dean and Sam's decision to go back to their hunt, she knew Dean would be really angry to find out what Chloe was going through right now. And she knew Chloe hadn't told Dean what she was really going through.
In a few minutes she had driven into the Kent's driveway and she started unloading the grocery bags. She saw Martha peer out through the window and she smiled back at the older woman when she saw her. The front door opened and Clark came striding out, a small grin on his face. "Need any help?" he asked. Lois grinned back, "That would be great farm boy, the bags are in the back." She motioned towards the trunk of the car.
Clark rolled his eyes but walked to the car and Lois proceeded into the house. Martha was making a salad at the kitchen counter and asked Lois where she had been. "Oh Chloe was on a coffee break so I joined her…" she trailed off as she thought about this small alteration. Chloe had technically taken a half-day but if Martha found out she would have pressured Chloe into having lunch with them (being the motherly person she was) and right now the last thing they needed was a showdown between Lana and Chloe.
As if reading along the same lines, Martha asked, "Why didn't you bring her along? It seems like it's been years since I've seen Chloe. She hardly comes around these days. Is everything all right?" Her eyes looked worried for a few moments and Lois quickly answered, "Yeah, everything's fine. Chloe's fine…she's just really busy with work and stuff. She's planning on coming round later some day." Lois lied. Martha smiled again and nodded, "Oh that's good. I was starting to think she'd forgotten us." Lois grinned back nervously.
"Um, Martha, should I go freshen up?" she asked, eager to get away from the questions for a while. Martha nodded as she set the salad on the dining table and said, "Oh yes, but don't be too long." Lois nodded tight-lipped and quickly started walking back upstairs. "Lois, would you call Lana down for lunch too?" Martha called to her retreating figure. Lois almost stopped but nodded and kept on walking.
She didn't know what Lana would say or do to her when she'd enter her room to call on her but she could feel her stomach jumping around with nervousness. Lois hurriedly splashed some water on her face and dried it off in the bathroom before walking to Lana's room and knocking on her door. She paused to listen for any noises and heard only silence from inside the room. Lois knocked again and this time Lana's deadbeat voice answered, "Yes?" Lois was quiet for a second and then she heard Lana's footsteps walk closer to the door.
She held her breath when the door opened and let it out slowly when Lana's sad face confronted her. But Lana's sad eyes fired up once she saw who it was and Lois clenched her limp palm. "Lana-" Lois started but Lana stared at her in anger and asked sharply, "What do you want?" Lois stared back at her carefully and said quietly; "Martha's calling you down for lunch…" she trailed off and wasn't surprised to see Lana still keep her less than friendly expression.
After a few seconds Lana gave a curt nod and made to close the door but Lois sighed and pushed a hand against the door to stop it. Lana glared again and said in an agitated voice, "I got it Lois," before trying to close the door again. But Lois was stubborn and she kept herself firmly planted between the wall and the door. "Lana we need to talk." She replied clearly. For a second she thought Lana hadn't heard her but a moment later Lana mocked on an expression of surprise and said with bitter laughter in her voice, "Talk?"
Lois nodded and Lana let the door fly wide open, "Yeah, talk…" she repeated as she walked into the room. Lana who had turned away, turned back and said in an a composed tone, "Talk? About what Lois…about the way Chloe and Jason both betrayed me? What do you want to talk about Lois…the way Chloe watched me hate him, love him while she was with him the whole time? I don't even know how to start to explain the hurt she put me through or the anger that courses through me when I see her face."
Lois was speechless as Lana asked these questions and she spluttered slightly as she tried to piece the words forming in her mind. "Lana…" she started but Lana glared at her icily and said, "I don't want to hear you defend Chloe…I'll be down in a minute." She turned her back on Lois again but this time Lois strode forward and grabbed Lana's hand. She turned her around and stared back into her icily fierce eyes with her own blazing ones.
She knew what both girls were going through…hurt and pain. Chloe had become so different to who she really was because of this affair, her eyes had become hollow and her usual smile had become so forced they'd been easily identified as fake. Lois had seen Chloe hollow out like an old tree from the inside after what had happened. She'd seen Chloe recover her lively personality; mend her broken spirit just to see it shatter again. Her happiness had been short lived however beautiful and now was crumbling before Lois's eyes, her as a witness.
And Lois had seen Lana's tearful eyes, seeped in no less pain than Chloe's. Her world had been turned upside down; Lois understood that, and of course felt for her more than she'd know. Lana had put Jason behind her with a lot of difficulty and had begun a new chapter in her life by looking to the future. Now after all these months, she was confronted by greater truth greater than any she could have imagined. Chloe was her best friend; of course it would hurt to hear she'd been an unfaithful friend with her unfaithful boyfriend.
But Lois also knew that there wasn't any way that Lana could cut Chloe away from herself completely. When you'd grown up with someone, seen all their bad times and good times, gone through so many experiences together; it wasn't possible to cut that person away. No matter how mad Lana was at Chloe, she'd end up letting go of the bitter feelings she had towards Chloe.
Lois took a deep breath and started with what she had to say, "Lana, I didn't come here to defend Chloe, because what she did was wrong…I'm not denying it and neither does she. But what she did back then didn't make her happy Lana. She made a mistake." Lois added quietly. Lana's eyes were steeled over, "A mistake is made once Lois but when that mistake goes on for months and its repeated again and again, it's no longer a mistake. And what she did, it's past forgiveness." She replied in a serious tone.
Lois tried to explain again, "She regrets every moment she hurt you Lana! She could've kept this in her for much longer…she could've kept you in this dark secret all your life." Lana threw her hands down to her sides, "Oh and what am I supposed to do? Thank her for finding the bloody time to let me in on it? What do you want me to do Lois? Tell her I'm fine with her screwing my boyfriend behind my back and that a 'sorry' can solve everything?" She asked, her harsh tone making Lois flinch.
"I'm not saying you have be her best friend again Lana…you guys might never be able to recover from this completely, but if you can find it in you to forgive her…you don't know how depressed she's been for you." Lois replied quickly, brushing away the coldness surrounding the two of them and their words. Lana glowered at her and said, "Well I'm not sorry that I can't forgive her for what she did. I can never forgive Chloe and Jason for cheating on me behind my back…there's too much pain. On her part, she deserves it." Lana spat out the last few words. Lois and Lana glared at each other and then Lois sighed.
"This isn't going the way I planned it. I just wanted you and Chloe to go back to the way you both used to be…I don't like seeing my best friends fall apart because of this…Martha's waiting for you downstairs." Lois said before walking out of the door. She gasped as she bumped into someone and frowned. When she glanced up, her mouth fell open as she saw Clark look down at her sternly. Oh no, Lois thought to herself, did he hear anything? The answer was written all over his face and Lois bit her lip. This wasn't going to go down well; she knew it and she looked back into Lana's room to see her looking back out at them questioningly. She obviously didn't know what was happening outside.
Lois tried to move past Clark but didn't feel him move from her path, which increased her fear. His eyes were narrowed down and seemed to be x-raying her (which was scaring her already). When she saw a pulse twitching in his jaw, she set her own and said quickly, "Clark I need to get through." Clark glared down at her and she looked up at him in an equally stern glance. "Is this all true?" he asked seriously as he kept her steady stern glance. "You don't have anything to do with this Clark, so stay out of it please." Lois replied quickly, still avoiding his gaze.
Clark frowned and said, "Stay out of it? Lois, I can't believe you're telling me to stay out of it when this involves my best friend and my girlfriend." Lois looked up at him, what he was saying was true; they couldn't hide this from him when it involved two important people in his life. But she was scared of what he'd say, of whom he'd judge once he found out.
She sighed, "Clark, you need to try and get Lana to understand." Clark looked back at her sharply. "Get her to understand?" he asked, Lois looked slightly surprised and nodded. "Yeah, she has to forgive Chloe." She answered. Clark looked at her carefully and then said slowly, "Lois Lana doesn't need to understand anything. What Chloe did was wrong, beyond wrong. How could she cheat out her best friend with a guy like Jason? How could Chloe keep such a big secret from us?" he asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Lois groaned inwardly, she'd hoped he didn't jump to sides. "Clark…" she began. But Clark shook her head. "I don't how you can see Chloe as the right one in this Lois, even if you are her cousin. What she did broke everyone's trust in her Lois…she's the one who needs to understand that things like can't just be patched up when she gets caught." He said unsympathetically. Lois stared at him, shouldn't he be more understanding? He knew what Chloe was like; he knew she'd never intentionally hurt someone. Then why was he turning a deaf ear to her side of the story? But Lois didn't get to ask because after giving her a disappointed look Clark turned and walked into Lana's room, closing it loudly behind him.
As she wandered back downstairs shakily, she wandered if she should tell Chloe that Clark knew. But she knew Chloe would become even more depressed if Clark started berating her as well. And she didn't want her to feel worse than she did. Lois shook her head subconsciously as she decided she wouldn't let Clark confront Chloe about this.
She smiled slowly at Martha who was setting down the roast she'd made on the table. "Where's Lana? Did you tell her to come down Lois?" she asked sitting down at the table. Lois nodded faintly and Martha looked up at the stairs, "Where's Clark gone? He was here a minute ago." She said looking up towards the stairs. Lois sat down quickly and answered without looking up, "He's upstairs talking to Lana. They're both coming down in a minute." Martha looked satisfied with the answer and nodded.
Lunch was grim, well for everyone except Martha who didn't know anything. She chatted normally and after a few comments on how quiet it was, Clark and Lois joined in the occasional conversation with her; and awkwardly with each other. Lana of course was just as quiet as she'd always been at the dining table since she had found out about Chloe and Jason but Martha didn't ask too many questions. The girl had had her demons and Martha had learnt not to prod into them too much; sometimes you had to let people fight their own fights and their own fears.
After lunch Lois and Lana helped Martha clean up until Lois saw Clark head out for the door. Her eyes widened as she realized he was probably going to Chloe's house to tell her off and she quickly excused herself to run out to the porch after him. "Clark!" she yelled as he started walking down the steps. He stopped and turned around and when he saw who it was he sighed, "What is it Lois?" he asked. Lois glanced back towards the house and then at Clark, trying to read his face. "Where are you going Clark?" she asked. He was surprised to hear the slight fear in her voice.
"Out." He replied shortly. Lois's expression turned into frustration, "Out where?" she asked. Clark glared at her again, "I don't have to tell you where I go. Its none of your business." He replied. Lois rubbed her forehead with her hand, and he turned, walking towards his mother's Ute at a surprisingly fast pace. Lois tried to keep up with him, while she called, "Clark, don't go there…please." But he got in the car and gave her a last careful glance before driving out of the driveway. Lois watched him go, in fear of what was going to happen. She bit her bottom lip nervously and treaded back towards the house.
As she glanced towards it she saw Lana's stoic face watching out from the front window. Their eyes met and she suddenly felt tired of this whole ordeal. Nothing was going to come out of it apart from hurt and it didn't look as though it was going to get any better any time soon. It would take a miracle for Lana and Chloe to put this all behind them and Lois wasn't one to believe in miracles.
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Clark drove through the dying traffic Lois had waded through almost an hour ago. His mind had become so bogged with what he had heard back home, he didn't know what to do. What he had heard had been shocking at the least and hurtful. How could Chloe even think about cheating Lana, and with Jason of all people? Clark had never thought his best friend, who had never betrayed his friendship, would betray the bond she had with Lana.
He was angry with her for betraying them all. Seeing Lana so miserable was like watching a rose wilt and die. Clark had always wanted to see Lana happy, and he'd wanted the same for Chloe. But not at the cost of her happiness being Lana's pain. As he reached Chloe's house, he turned off the engine and got out, trying to keep his anger and discomfort under check. Lois hadn't been any better, she had obviously known for a while about what Chloe had done. But still, she had not only kept quiet but also taken Chloe's side on the whole matter. What Chloe had done was wrong, there wasn't a way to justify cheating with your best friend's boyfriend, and there wasn't an easy forgiveness for it either.
There was still a hopeful disbelief in him, maybe Lana got it wrong; maybe Lois misinterpreted whatever it was Chloe said? He knocked the door and was surprised to have it answered almost straight away. He hadn't known what to expect but he hadn't expected to see such a pale and tired looking Chloe. She looked back at him in surprise for a few seconds before smiling tiredly and saying, "Clark hey, what are you doing here?" He stared at her awkwardly, as if seeing her for the first time and said in an unreadable tone, "Can I come in?" Chloe's smile faltered slightly at the formalness he was using but nodded and gave way for him.
When she'd closed the door and looked back at him, she could tell something was wrong. It just wasn't like Clark to be staring at her like she was a stranger. "Clark is everything all right?" she asked sighing. Clark's eyebrows narrowed slightly, "You look tired Chloe." He said quietly. Chloe who looked at him alarm when he disregarded her question, looked away and replied, "Umm, yeah…didn't get much sleep." She shivered when she felt his eyes staring her down and she looked up to see his jaw twitch faintly.
Chloe had only heard Clark use the tone he did now with Lex and her stomach started to feel queasy again as he said, "Yeah, that probably happens when you've just been caught out cheating your best friend." Her eyes widened and she stammered, "Wh-what are you talking about?" although she knew what he was hinting. Clark's green eyes glinted and he said with clear displeasure in his voice, "You know exactly what I'm talking about Chloe, if you still don't then you must have stooped pretty low." It stung Chloe like a whip across the face and she felt her throat close up. Clark knew about it too? And it was clear he wasn't here to acknowledge his support towards her.
Chloe let out a shaky breath and sat down onto the sofa quickly. Her eyes darted around the floor and she gripped the sofa arm tightly. "How did you find out?" she asked. Clark stayed where he was although he didn't like the way she looked so beaten out. "I heard Lois and Lana arguing about it…and Lana's been looking miserable for ages." He said slowly, but his voice was still hard. Chloe swallowed and she looked up at him silently.
After a few more minutes, she said weakly, "I never wanted this to happen…. none of it. I never wanted to hurt Lana, never." Clark's jaw twitched, "But it did happen Chloe, and you did hurt her…you both did." He replied swiftly. Chloe's lips trembled, "I-I don't know how it happened Clark…but I regret every moment of it, every moment I had to lie to her, I hated it all. You don't know how sorry I am." She whispered. There was another few minutes of silence and then Clark asked, "How could you even think about it Chloe? We all trusted you so much…I never thought you'd ever do anything like this.
Chloe had promised herself she wouldn't let any more tears fall from her eyes only a few hours earlier. But now she felt them welling up again and she closed them so Clark wouldn't see them. Her breath was shaking as she whispered, "I don't know how it happened Clark…I don't know what he did to make him so important to me then, to make me trust him so much, more than myself and more than my own judgment…I just don't know Clark." Clark felt himself soften at the sight of his best friend break in front of him but Lana's miserable face kept floating in his mind, stopping the sympathy he was trying to feel for Chloe.
But he let down the harsh tone he'd been using until now when he asked hoarsely, "What about our trust in you Chloe, huh?" Chloe felt cold, like she'd been left buried six feet under thick freezing snow but she still answered. "It was always there, in the back of my mind…. but that was my biggest mistake, the one that lead me to my other mistakes. My biggest mistake, letting my conscience take a back seat…. and letting his words get to me." She looked up as she said this and saw that the hatred she'd been expecting now, wasn't there…but neither was the understanding expression she'd hoped for deep inside. Clark had never been an easy person to read and this time was no exception.
Clark sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair worriedly. He looked back at her with concern and a mix of sadness and accusation. "Chloe, you did make a mistake…a really big one, and I don't know if Lana could ever forgive you. And even if she can't forgive you, I can't forget that you're my best friend and that you've been here for me whenever I've needed you. What you did was definitely wrong and you know that, but I can see you regret it and I can't see you looking the way you do, eaten up because of it." He said all this quickly and Chloe could sense a 'but' coming. She nodded slowly and waited for him to go on. Clark glanced at the floor before looking back at her again. He rubbed the back of his neck and continued more slowly this time.
"I know how sorry you are, and I forgive you for hiding a truth like this from me…but Chloe, I can't just…I can't just forget that…that." Clark didn't know how to say what he had to. Clark had felt angry and hurt over what Chloe had done and how she had hid the truth from them all especially him. He had come over determined to tell Chloe off and tell her he wasn't going to bother even pretending to be her friend after what she'd done. But after seeing what state Chloe was in, and after hearing her heart felt apology, he couldn't bring himself to word what he'd come to say.
Chloe watched his face show signs of opposing feelings running through him and she understood what he was trying to say. "You can't forget what I did?" she asked. Clark looked up at her quickly, "No, well yes I mean I can't forget what you did exactly…I mean Chloe, I can't support you through this even if I wanted to, because if I support you know, Lana's going to shatter completely. I want things to be just like they used to Chloe. You guys were best friends before all of this…we were all best friends before all of this." Clark corrected himself before going on. "And if this fight ends up consuming you guys, I'm going to lose both my best friend and the girl I love." He concluded more strongly.
He glanced at Chloe's silent face and was surprised to see her smile warmly. She got up and walked over to him. When she spoke, he could hear the relief in her voice. "You need to be with Lana…and you can't support me when I'm the one who's done the wrong thing." He knew she was right and he also knew that she'd never intentionally hurt the ones she loved. Clark nodded and when Chloe hugged him, he hugged her back and patted her back warmly. "Don't worry, she'll find a way to get over this as well…she's been best friends with you since you were kids, Lana can't tear herself away from you. I'll try to make her understand." He said as he let go.
Chloe smiled weakly, "I don't think she'll want to hear anything about me…but Clark, promise me that you'll agree with every decision she makes…okay? If she wants to hate me forever than you won't go out of your way to change that Clark, because I've made a promise to myself that I'm going to respect every decision Lana makes about me and against me. I've hurt her enough, now I need to be a better friend than I was before." Clark stared at her for a moment and then nodded quickly.
He walked towards the door and said to her, "I should go now, don't put yourself through hell because of all this happening between you and Lana…just keep your mind away from all of this." He said this seriously and Chloe felt a smile splay across her usually sad face. "Thanks Clark." She murmured before she let him out and closed the door.
When Clark had left Chloe sighed in relief. That visit hadn't gone how she'd imagined it would've it had been much better. She had always thought that Clark saw nothing beyond his love for Lana. She had always presumed he'd always be siding with Lana in every moment of their lives. But he'd been surprisingly supportive and understanding…it made her feel slightly stronger than her usual self.
Chloe wandered over to the sofa and sat down again. The nap had proven useful, her head no longer killed and she felt more refreshed; whether it was because of her new found support from Clark or the nap, she didn't really know. Her phone rang and she answered it, "Hey." She greeted Lois when she recognized her voice. Lois sounded nervous as she asked, "Hey, Chloe…is everything alright? Clark's coming over, I tried to stop him from going but-" her frantic voice was stopped when Chloe quickly said, "I know Lois, he just left." There was a pause on the other end while Lois seemed to hold her breath for what would follow.
"What happened? Are you alright?" she asked finally. Chloe smiled and replied, "Don't worry Lois, Clark actually understands…he knows how sorry I am." Although Chloe couldn't see this, Lois was smiling widely on the other end. "Really? Oh, thank god…the way he left, I thought he was going to go over and make you feel worse than you did already…" she admitted. Chloe said seriously, "Yeah…it looked like he would at first but then we talked and he realized I never wanted to hurt anyone. He knows what I did was really wrong and that Lana might not forgive me, and we've both agreed on him staying by Lana's side through this whole ordeal."
Lois made a noise and said, "But now that he knows…" Chloe shook her head gently and said quietly, "Lois, he has to be there for Lana…I don't want her left by herself when she's so vulnerable. And I've got you and Dean with me…for me its enough that Clark knows how sorry I am. Lana needs him much more than I do, she loves him." Lois sighed and replied, "Yeah… I guess he needs to be her rock throughout this time…I'm glad he listened to you, at least he can try to make Lana understand." Chloe didn't say anything about Clark trying to persuade Lana to forgive Chloe because she didn't want him or anyone else to force Lana to make a decision she didn't want to.
Then Lois asked a question that made Chloe stand up quickly from her seat on the sofa, "Hey is Uncle Gabe back from the hospital?" Chloe's eyes widened, the hospital? "What? Dad was at the hospital? Which hospital? When did you see him?" she asked quickly running a hand through her hair. Lois frowned at her panicked voice but told Chloe, "I saw him this morning, he was in Smallville Hospital, I thought he was probably going in for an appointment…is he all right Chloe?" she asked in concern. Her uncle's worsening health hadn't gone unnoticed by her.
Chloe sounded very worried now as she said, "I don't know Lois, I haven't seen him this whole day…and when I called him he sounded so sick. Something is definitely wrong Lois, he didn't talk to me properly and he's not where he said he was. There's something seriously wrong if he's lying to me about his whereabouts. Lois did you talk to him?" she asked. Lois said no, "I was in my car and just passing by so I didn't get to. Do you want me to come with you?" she asked.
Chloe swallowed slowly and said, "No that's alright…um, we've got some issues to sort out. I'll talk to you later okay." "Okay…just make sure you call me later okay? You've got to tell me what's going on okay?" Lois confirmed, to which Chloe agreed and hung up. She looked around the living room for a few moments and then quickly grabbed her jacket before slipping on her shoes. As soon as she did she was out of the house and in her car, her brain going through the obvious signs she was trying to work around. While she drove speedily (cars beeping horns while she did-however she wasn't completely reckless) her teeth dug into her bottom lip as anxiety ran through her.
While for her it seemed like hours and hours of driving to the nearby Smallville hospital, it was only in a matter of minutes thanks to her speedy driving that she was parked into the hospital's car park. With a scared sigh, Chloe got out of the car and walked quickly into the hospital foyer. It was busy as usual and the nurse at the front desk looked irritated when Chloe approached her. She glanced up at Chloe and asked her what she was there for.
Chloe was quick to answer, "I need to know if a person named Gabe Sullivan was here today," she told her. The nurse looked at her in annoyance and said, "Miss, hundreds of people come here everyday, I'm not a computer who stores their names in her head-you need to give me details." Chloe frowned at her and said hurriedly, "He's been coming here for check ups…umm, and I think his doctor's name was Dr. Rogers…Allison Rogers." The nurse sighed impatiently and said, "Look we're not allowed to access any of the doctor's patient lists or files." Chloe growled in frustration and muttered back, "This is really urgent! He's my dad and he could be lying in this hospital sick, please just try and find out where he is."
The nurse sighed again and said crossly, "Fine…" she picked up the phone next to her and dialed some numbers. After a few minutes she turned to Chloe and replied, "Gabe Sullivan is in Intensive Care, room number 24…Dr. Rogers wants you to see her first, and her office is two rooms down." She left Chloe standing with her mouth slightly apart; her dad was in intensive care? She felt herself shiver involuntarily and she swiftly made her way up to the intensive ward unit.
As she walked down the much quieter and emptier hallways, reasons as to why her father was up here made their way into her head. She tried to shut these things thoughts out of her head but she realized that they might be apart of the fast approaching reality she was heading towards. She passed many rooms until she reached room 24 but when she reached it, she remembered that she was supposed to see Dr. Rogers before she saw her father. Chloe knocked on the Doctor's door and waited until she opened the door.
Dr. Allison's face showed subtle signs of surprise on her face when she answered the door. She smiled back at Chloe uncertainly before asking her if she wanted some help with anything. Chloe smiled back lamely and asked, "Dr. Rogers, is…is my father Gabe Sullivan…he…. he" Chloe struggled with her words as she tried asking about her father. Dr. Rogers suddenly asked, "Are you Gabe's daughter?" Chloe nodded quickly and Dr. Rogers looked relieved. She stepped aside and motioned Chloe into her office. "Please come inside, I need to talk to you, it's very important." Again, Chloe felt a shiver run down her spine at these words (they didn't sound positive) and she stared at the doctor anxiously.
When they'd both sat down, Dr. Rogers started in a grave voice. "Miss. Sullivan, I'm glad you're finally here…I've been wanting to tell you about your father ever since he was first diagnosed but because of the absence of his permission, the hospital is not allowed to share any medical information with anyone he doesn't want to…in fact the only people we are allowed to disclose any information to without the patient's approval is the police. So you must understand that we had no choice but to follow you're father's wishes." Chloe nodded impatiently and Dr. Rogers understood she wanted her to move on.
"But what's wrong with my father, how is he right now…in fact why is he even in here in intensive care?" Chloe asked, her hands gripping the edge of the desk. Dr. Rogers glanced at her uncomfortably and put a hand over hers on the desk. "Chloe, you're father came to me first a few months ago…he was very sick and at first I thought he was just suffering from bronchitis. But soon when the medicine I prescribed didn't have any effect on him, we started a string of tests and the reports weren't encouraging."
Chloe frowned and said worriedly, "But dad didn't even let me know about coming here…I thought he'd just started taking appointments a few weeks ago." She watched as Dr. Rogers face grew slightly more uncomfortable. "Yes, again, the confidentiality code we share…well, he'd been getting seconds opinions from the hospitals he visited while he was in different countries during his business trip, but all those reports were also conclusive with the ones tested here. Then after a few scans and more detailed tests, we found out what your father's diagnosis was," she continued.
Chloe's eyes were wide and her heart was beating fast…she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear what he was diagnosed with. Couldn't they just find a way to make him better and keep him that way without telling her what was wrong? But no, she had to hear this if she wanted to put an end to this string of lies her father was telling. If she wanted to know what it was he was hiding, she had to hear the whole truth, not just the easy parts.
It felt like her mouth hadn't moved at all when she heard herself ask, "What is he diagnosed with?" The doctor looked at her carefully and said in a pained voice, "I'm sorry Chloe, your father in his last stage of lung cancer…." Chloe's eyes snapped up at her face as she said this and everything around them seemed to stop. She could hear nothing apart from the resounding sentence the doctor had uttered.
Chloe stumbled out of her seat and gaped at Dr. Rogers, her eyes fixed on the sympathetic looking doctor as her throat closed up. How could the doctor say that? How could she be listening to such a weighted truth for the first time? Why hadn't anyone told her? The doctor answered the unanswered questions almost immediately. "Like I mentioned before because of discretion codes we weren't able to inform you of anything that was happening…you're father was strictly against disclosing any information to you. In fact it wasn't until now that I was finally able to find loopholes in the hospital's discretion policy and tell you. As the only family he has left, I believe you are entitled to know the truth about your father's cancer."
Chloe mouth trembled as she stammered out; "Ho-how long has he?" she stopped here. Dr. Rogers took a deep breath and said quickly, "He's had cancer for the past year, and it's had rapid progress until now. Chloe we've tried our complete best to do everything possible…but he just hasn't been responding to anything at all, in fact his health has been declining more than ever."
Chloe's eyes snapped back to the doctor's and she whipped out at her, "Maybe you haven't tried everything. Things only get worse before they get better right? You're the doctor aren't you, then why aren't you doing anything?" She glared at Dr. Allison and was slightly surprised to see her glare back at her momentarily (although she didn't let it show). The doctor's tone was clipped as she replied, "We are doctors Miss. Sullivan, not gods…and we've tried everything possible to keep your father from falling into the deeper stages of cancer. But it saddens me to say that he checked in too late…yesterday, he suffered from an attack-it was so severe that he was admitted here at once."
The young blonde, felt her legs weaken at this new revelation. "He-he had an attack?" she asked. Dr. Rogers nodded solemnly and added, "We tried to contact you when it happened this morning but it seems you were at work, and your father hasn't supplied us with any other numbers to contact you by apart from your home phone number." Chloe swallowed the thick bile pooling in her throat as she realized her father had wanted to keep this all from her.
Her eyes were moist but she didn't let her tears fall just yet. Dr. Rogers was looking at her worriedly but Chloe asked her calmly, "How long does he have?" She looked back at Chloe with a gentle expression and replied, "His reports are suggesting until another ten hours but of course we can't pin point exactly when…if he manages to exert his lungs he will probably have two or three hours more than that." Chloe gripped her hands into tight balls as she heard her and asked quietly, "Can I see him?" Dr. Rogers nodded straight away and added as she got up with Chloe, "I recommend calling anyone you need to, friends and family…"
Chloe nodded numbly and walked out of the office, distantly hearing Dr. Rogers tell her what room her father was in. She walked in a fast pace, the white walls scaring her already…with the corridors empty and her footsteps resounding in her ears, she felt like she was already dead…like she was visiting her dad in heaven; not the hospital. She stopped outside room 24 and rubbed her face tiredly. She didn't know where to begin with or where to start. There was an odd beating to her heart, like it was a ticking clock counting down the final minutes she had with her father. The doctor had said he had twelve or so hours left, but compared to the life Chloe had spent with her dad these hours seemed more like minutes, seconds even.
Her dad-the person she had loved the most in her whole life. She'd spent every minute of her life relying on him even without realizing it and mostly taking it for granted. But now, when his time was near she valued every second spent with him and she was ready to bring all those moments back at the cost of anything. Where all those years had flown she didn't know but these last moments were going to be etched into her mind, every minute and every word recorded in her mind for as long as she lived.
Chloe took a shaky breath and opened the door, pressing her lips together so he wouldn't be able to see her mouth tremble with the grief she felt. The room was like every other room in the hospital, except that his bed was the only one in it. Her hands ran cold as she glanced at the drips and IV needles attached to him and the beeping heart monitor amongst other medical machines she didn't know anything about. Her steps were fearful and hesitant as she walked towards her father, lying on the hospital bed looking the sickest she'd ever seen him.
Her stomach lurched at the blue circles under his eyes, and the whiteness of his skin. His eyes were half closed and his breathing was slow and faint. She could only see this from the slightest rising of his chest because of the mask he was breathing from. There was a plastic chair next to the bed and as she moved into it, she could see her father's eyes following her silently. When she sat down, she stared back into his dark eyes, watching her own face being reflected through them.
Finally as she struggled to start with how she felt, the corners of her dad's eyes crinkled and she knew he was smiling underneath his mask. Chloe's lips began to tremble again and she said softly, "Dad, I'm so sorry I didn't look after you." Her eyes blurred as she said this but didn't miss him try to shake his head. The crinkles around his eyes were gone and he looked more serious now. "I'm so sorry dad…" Chloe broke off as her voice became thick and the tear she had tried to fend off started rolling down her cheeks. Gabe lifted a hand as she cried to her head slowly and she let her head bury into the spot next to him of his bed.
Her muffled cries rang in Gabe's ears as he watched his daughter crumble because of his cancerous state. He rubbed her head, slowly not wanting to hear her cry…it was the main reason he'd kept all of this from her. All this pain and all this worry wasn't something he wanted to see on his daughter's face. Of course he hated lying to her every time she asked him if he was alright, and seeing her face grow wary every time he'd start coughing uncontrollably had been enough to make him feel guilty. But Gabe Sullivan knew that something was eating his daughter up from the inside, she hadn't told him anything about it.
After seeing him so sick, he knew that she would probably try to save him from hearing any bad news of any sort, but he was her father-he'd seen her fight through silent battles long before she knew what they were. His daughter led a complicated life, and it amused Gabe to realize that he'd become used to it now. Because whatever the problem was, Chloe had always put on a brave face and had waded through it. But through the last few weeks, the last few months when he had found out he wasn't going to make it, he just couldn't bring himself to say it, he just couldn't bring himself to see her crumble every day like how she was crumbling now.
Chloe looked up, her head turning up to him slowly and he saw with an ache that tears were still seeping out of her eyes. Her words were thick and it sounded as though her throat was crushed as she whispered, "Dad, why didn't you tell me? I've been so selfish…I couldn't even tell you were at this stage. Why didn't you tell me?" she asked again, crying harder when she saw tears forming at the corners of his crinkled eyes. She looked at him from her lowered eyelids and saw that he had a pained look on his face. And she knew it had more to do with the tears that were falling fast from her eyes, rather than the pain that was probably riddling him right now thanks to the cancer.
His hand shook as he lifted it to hers and when he gave a gentle squeeze, she squeezed back tightly; all her fear being displayed through the gesture. It seemed she had more of a bond with her father than she thought. Chloe could tell what her father was trying to say; he didn't like to see her crying. She had always been aware that he'd always been proud of her strong personality and her resilient nature. And he hated seeing her cry or breakdown.
Suddenly she realized why her father had kept this from her. She had hid something from him too, because she loved him too much to bother him with her problems and that was her father's way of thinking as well. When you see the one you love unconditionally going through a few problems of their own, you don't laden them with yours. He didn't tell her about what he'd found out because he couldn't see her crying over him like she was doing now.
Chloe got up slowly, looking at him carefully as she wiped her face clean with the tissues sitting on the hospitable bedside table. She cleared her throat and smiled at him bleakly. "I know…you don't want to see me cry dad. See, I made you cry as well." She added as she wiped her father's tears as well with her fingers. Gabe's eyes were still moist however even after she'd dried his face. If there was one person he'd found the most strongest and admirable during his life, it would be his daughter who knew how to keep herself together for everyone else's sake.
Chloe squeezed his hand more firmly and said in a clearer tone, "Dad I'm going to be here with you every moment now…okay? I'm going to be by your side every time you open your eyes. Don't worry about anything, I'm here."
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Lois had been loading the dirty dishes into the washing machine when her cell phone had rung. She dried her hands quickly and answered the phone at once when she saw it was Chloe. "Hey Chloe," she answered. Chloe was silent on the other end and for a few seconds Lois stiffened, wondering if something bad had happened. "Hey Lois…I really need to talk to you." Chloe's voice came out and Lois noticed it sounded scared although Chloe was trying to make her tone sound normal.
She frowned immediately and asked, "Chloe what's wrong? Why do you sound so scared? Where are you?" Lois was already locating her jacket and keys. Chloe waved these questions aside and just said. "Meet me at Smallville Hospital front foyer. Please be quick." Then the line went dead and Lois was left staring at the phone in her hand. Something was wrong and Lois could feel her body shiver as she thought of all the possible answers as to what had happened to make Chloe sound so freaked out.
Lois quickly pulled her jacket on and she walked briskly out of the Kent's house, locking it behind her as both Clark and Martha were out. She sat in her car and pulled out of the driveway, wondering what was happening. The last time she'd seen Chloe, she'd been enquiring after her dad, uncle Gabe…Lois's eyes widened as she thought about it. This had something to do with Uncle Gabe, and with the way Chloe had sounded, it wasn't any good news.
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Sam ducked as the spirit of Madeline Laurie struck the spot where he'd been standing with her blood splattered meat cleaver. He gasped and fired at her with the rock-salt loaded shotgun. She vanished momentarily and he yelled over his shoulder, "Dean! What are you doing?" He'd been ducking the furious spirit for nearly five minutes.
"What do you think I'm doing Sam? If you haven't noticed yet, I'm looking for her freaking coffin!" Dean yelled back snappishly, it was the tiniest bit puzzling finding an unmarked tomb within a graveyard full of around fifty or so unmarked graves. Sam found himself running through the thick trees as he glimpsed Madeline's angry face in the corner of his eyes.
"Well, could you hurry up before she gets even more mad and succeeds in killing me?" He shouted as he tried to shoot her again. Her face formed a grimace and she shrieked her rage while taking a close swipe at him with her meat cleaver. Dean's voice was more agitated now as he yelled back, "And if you don't stop distracting me Sam I'm going to kill you!"
Sam didn't answer as he momentarily felt her hot stinky breath against his neck. He froze for a second, hoping to god that Dean had suddenly become much more frenzied in his digging because he'd found the right grave. He turned around slowly, watching Madeline Laurie pull her meat cleaver high above her head, with the same maniacal smile on her face, which had been there ever since the girl had been found dead in her apartment. Sam swallowed nervously and eyed it carefully, while at the same time taking small steps backwards.
Just as she was bringing her cleaver down, Dean yelled out in triumph and Sam sighed in relief. He heard a match fizzle and in less than a few seconds, Madeline shrieked in pain as her whole spirit form twisted and wrangled. Then she exploded into black smoke whisked away. Sam looked up at the dark black sky and shook his head gently, a small (very small-just so that Dean didn't see him) smile playing on her lips.
Dean's crunching footsteps stopped short as he came into view. He looked just like they nearly always did while on a hunt- dirty, clothes ripped & torn, cuts and bruises but a satisfied grin on their faces. "A second later and I would've been dead." Sam informed a smug looking Dean. Dean looked affronted right away. "Dude I just saved your skinny ass. All you had to do was run around like a pansy," he scoffed. Sam glared at him and Dean just grinned in reply.
They made their way back to the Impala, standing against the woods' backdrop looking every bit the magnificent classic it was. Dean unlocked the car and got into it, ruffling his hair loose of any dead leaves that always managed to get caught in them. Sam got in as well and he tossed Dean his cell phone. "I think you've got a message." He said as Dean started the ignition. Dean picked up his phone and Sam watched with concern as his eyebrows narrowed sharply as he read it.
"What is it? Another case?" Sam asked. Dean shook his head and tore his eyes away from his phone. His eyes had lost all its tease for the moment and he looked dead serious. "Chloe's dad is dying in hospital. Lois just sent this…Sam we need to get to Smallville, fast." He added, speedily pulling the car out of its parking space. Sam's eyes were full of questions but he nodded quickly and kept silent for the meanwhile.
Omg, Im so sorry ppl, I'm the worst author when it comes to updating. And I know I said this was the last chapter but I couldn't fit everything in this one chapter because I didn't want to compromise with the pace and quality of the writing and the storyline. So there will be one more chapter (but I promise there wont be more than that) because honestly, I'm getting tired of this story now…its been going on for ages! Thanks a million to all the ppl who review…I love you all sooo much; it really is the only reason I don't drop the story because random reviews (actually all reviews) motivate me. Thanks for holding up. Keep reading and plz plz keep reviewing.
Verina100