DEDICATED: to shadowglove ( u/827845/ ).
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Supernatural, nor Smallville; not even the house I live in, so what would you wanna sue me for?
Post-Artemistic & Pre-Apocalyptic
Everything was hazy.
The light was too bright.
Freckles.
Olive green eyes.
„Hey," a whisper.
Dean.
Her forehead furrowed as questions started to pile up in her mind.
„Mis left. Two days ago," he answered a few of them straight away. His tone was very hushed – as if she was a cloud of fog and he was afraid he'd disperse it.
„I'm... home," she noticed her surroundings.
„Yeah, there was a huge power blackout in Star City, some SOB's again, so Victor set you up here in Smallville."
They were on her bed. She didn't feel like a cloud of fog at all. She felt heavy. Even her eyelids were heavy. Every single part of her body hurt, especially if she tried to move it.
She noticed an IV leading up to her inner elbow.
„Dean?" she called his name, feeling a bit of panic welling up.
„Yea?" he moved to hover over her, eyes scanning her worriedly.
„Am I on drugs?" she glared at the IV meaningfully.
„What – no, nonono, it's nothing, it's just water and, you know, nutricients. You, uh, your body's losing energy pretty fast, it's an aftershock thing, I should call Sam, he can explain it better than me..."
„Then why do I feel... What's wrong with me..." Even thinking hurt!
„You were in a coma for 36 hours, baby," he caressed her hair. His fingers slid down her nose and eyebrow affectionately as he explained: „Your body's coming to terms with the mess Artemis left behind. You're just really really exhausted. Let me call Sammy, ok?"
„Hmm..." She fell asleep in seconds.
«´¨'•.¸¸.•'¨`»
She was still in la-la land when Victor stopped by to check on her.
„I've gotta go back. You keep her in that bed. Get as much food into her as you can, she's losing weight as we speak and she will be for several days, maybe a week."
„What exactly did she say?" Sam turned to his brother as soon as the cyborg was gone.
„I told you, nothing. That she feels weird."
„She didn't ask for me?"
„No, I mean – I'm sorry, bro, she was out in like, twenty seconds."
«´¨'•.¸¸.•'¨`»
The next time she woke up, it was Sam next to her on the king bed. Sleeping. Both boys had been through a very demanding month, so she let him rest.
Sam woke up with her cuddled closer to him, one hand on his chest.
„Damn," he whispered. He missed her again.
«´¨'•.¸¸.•'¨`»
She heard a loud, prickly, brain-stabbingly demanding voice. Lois's personality was so big it took up rooms she hadn't even entered yet.
„How is she?" The voice was right above her now, louder than ever. „Cuz?"
„Shut up," Chloe groaned.
„Artemis had full control over her metabolism," Sam explained quietly. „She got all her injuries from the fall fixed, had her hair grow out, added some muscle and of course capacity and skill; and as long as she was in there, everything worked... But once she left, Chloe's body caught up and shut down."
„I can't believe you let her do this..." Lois shook her head. „Look at her: She's devastated! Again!"
„Well excuse me, princess-"
„It's not like we enjoy seeing her like this-"
Chloe's whimper shut them up again. „Lois," she spoke out for herself, „when did I ever have a job that wasn't risky? And how was this possession different from Brainiac?"
„The difference is that this time, you volunteered for it to happen!"
„The difference is that this time, it was worth it. We saved so many lives during that month, Lois..."
Eventually, Chloe asked for some alone time in her bathroom and her cousin demanded to assist Sam in buying groceries. As Dean helped her back in the bed, he sprawled out next to her. For a while, he didn't say a word, just lied next to her, his forehead touching hers.
„Missed you," he finally mumbled.
„I know," she smiled sweetly.
„You remember...?"
„It was the only quiet moment between all those action-packed memories. I could see you, but it was like watching a movie, it wasn't the real thing..." She cupped his cheek lovingly. „I missed the real thing."
He smiled proudly. But then, his smile disappeared.
„Sam's a little weird," he admitted before she even asked. „I caught him drinking, twice since we came here, and he won't tell me why..."
Chloe's face dropped.
„But you know," Dean read it from her expression. „You two know something and you won't tell me. Tell me, Chloe."
She couldn't. He begged. She was hurting him by not telling him, but she knew the whole truth would hurt him even more. So she decided to compromise.
She told him about the night with Davis – that sounds too nice. Rape – that sounds too ugly. Chloe had great problems choosing words when talking about it.
She watched his heart break over the news, and when she tried to comfort him, it only upset him more. He jumped up and left the bedroom for several minutes. She could hear a fist hitting a wall, heavy breathing, then water running, and then he was back, his expression a pokerface.
„I'm fine, Dean, I'm okay now..."
He shook his head, silently accusing her of lying. Still wordless, he climbed back on the bed and hugged her tightly, hiding his face against her shoulder.
„Ow," she yelped and he pulled back.
„Sorry, crap, fuck I'm so sorry..."
„It's okay, I'm just too sensitive now..."
„It's gonna bruise, fuck it's gonna bruise, I hate it when I do that..."
„Dean," she forced him to look her in the eyes. His eyes were wet. „You're taking it much worse than me, you always take others' pain much worse than your own... It's not good for you, Dean, I've seen Clark do it and it almost destroyed him..."
Dean shook his head: „I can't just... That's not the point now..."
„Yes it is, sort of. You take your pain and then Sam's and mine, and who knows who else's. You have to be more selfish," she begged him. „I know I've been putting you through hell lately..."
„No, Chloe, no, you saved me from hell..." He felt the need to digress and make her understand. He took a deep breath. „Trust me, I mean it, you saved me from hell."
Aware that he meant to say more but couldn't, she gave him a little, gentle kiss. He took it with seconds and thirds. He was eager to make her feel better yet afraid to touch her too much. She pulled away after a while to finish their conversation.
„Alright: I'm not exactly fine. But I'm going to be. With this many people having my back, I'm going to be."
„You have me and Sam twenty-four-seven, sugar... But if you want us to, we can call anyone else..."
Chloe shook her head.
„You have no idea, do you, Dean... How good you two make me feel, how loved... I wish you could feel it too, instead of that pain..."
„I can," he said immediately but he didn't look so sure. „I mean, you love me, right? I know that."
Seeing that the words made him a little uncomfortable, she pulled him closer and kissed him tenderly.
„I love you, Dean, and I love showing you how much I love you," she whispered into his ear. „Tell me what to say, tell me what to do to make you feel it, Dean..."
She brought that vulnerable look on his face, when his lips shaped a loose O and his eyes got all starry as if he was wondering how he got this lucky. Only special girls got to see that look on Dean Winchester.
„I ah," he gulped, „I don't think we can do any of that right now..."
She smiled: „I see. I love how physical you are sometimes..."
„You do?" that happy pride entered his face again, yet another rare sight.
Her hand slid down to his jeans and her fingers touched the skin beneath his belt. He moved as if to stop her but she gave him the cutest pout she could muster. Dean gulped twice.
„Ok, sure, ok," he mumbled nervously while opening his belt buckle.
She didn't allow his hand into her panties, though: „Too mind-blowing, not enough energy," she explained.
„Now you're just stroking my ego," Dean laughed and Chloe chose that moment to stroke his shaft. He gasped.
„Been years since the last time I got a handjob," he chuckled.
„Kiss me," she commanded lazily. And kiss her he did, not stopping even when making undignified noises into her mouth. The small hand inside his boxers was killing him with its slow, too slow, such a fucking slow rhythm. Keeping him in suspension, making him hover over the edge but not letting him fall over...
„Fuck, I can't take it anymore," he covered her hand with his and showed her how to finish him. She looked surprised by how much pressure he was using, making her squeeze his head tightly and move up and down so quickly it almost burnt. He came with his eyes screwed shut, untypically shy under her curious gaze.
„Love you," she whispered.
„Me too. We love each other," Dean chuckled. „That's pretty damn..."
„What?" she kissed his neck.
He sighed. He shrugged.
„Incredible."
She fell asleep for another ten hours after that.
«´¨'•.¸¸.•'¨`»
Eleven hours later, Sam found himself waking up on a couch to the sound of a coffee machine. He looked up and saw Dean leaving the bedroom with dirty dishes in hand.
„She's up?"
„Yeah, just ate. Lois left a note, said she'd be back with Clark and to make more coffee. Bossy," he snorted.
Sam was getting annoyed. He still hadn't had a single waking moment alone with Chloe.
„Listen, I'm gonna go do a full check on the car, change the oil and stuff. She needs some sweet spa treatment after that marathon we put her through if you ask me."
Dean sat into an armchair across from him.
As if he wasn't finished talking.
As if he wanted to talk talk.
„So, uh... Chloe's still tired, of course, um... She bruises even more easily, seriously, don't even sneeze in her direction... Also, her, um... Artemis-stopped-her-cycle-so-now-her-period's-all-confused and you need to carry her to the bathroom a lot," he rushed that sentence out while red in the face.
„Oh." Sam had to admit that was the perfect excuse for her bleeding.
But that wasn't all; there was something big that Dean was building up to. Sam didn't understand. Dean never talked unless forced to. He hated the italicized kind of talking.
„And, uh... And she told me about... Man... I fucking wish I could've killed that bastard myself back then, I mean I really need to kill him right now but I know I can't and that just pisses me off even more, so I know how you feel, alright..."
There was a moment of inner panic until Sam realized Dean only knew a part of the story. He needed that alone moment with Chloe, now. And yet a part of him wished they would always be chaperoned from now on.
«´¨'•.¸¸.•'¨`»
Lois arrived with Clark on one arm and a photo album under the other.
Chloe asked Sam to help her change and move her to the coffee table area. She wanted to look alright during the visit which wasn't easy to achieve when she needed to be carried around bridal style.
A strange look entered her friends' eyes when Sam put her down in an armchair and she kept her hands around his neck.
„Admit it, you're thoroughly enjoying me being all helpless and dependent," she teased him.
„Yeah, you got me there," he smiled down at her.
„And Dean too," she smirked.
„No kidding, you're bedridden," he agreed. „As not-sexy as the condition is, he still somehow finds the concept hot."
She giggled. The endearing look they exchanged before he went to get their coffees was somehow one of the most intense forms of PDA.
Going through Chloe's childhood photographs was quite fun. Clark and Lois seemed to warm up towards Sam. Sam didn't know if he liked them, he needed more time to judge someone's character nowadays, but he did want them to like him. And his brother, if possible.
As soon as they were gone, Sam took Chloe back to her bedroom.
„You hungry?"
„No, just thirsty again," she finished her water and he brought her another, as well as a hot water bottle for her cramp pains. When she complained that her skin felt like paper, Sam remembered how much fun skin hydration with Chloe could be. With a cunning smile, he found her favorite moisturizer.
He started with her hands and feet, adorned with fading sigils of Artemis.
„I kinda like them," she piped up. He kissed every single one – she sighed when his lips touched her palms and squeeled when he got to the bottoms of her feet.
„Ticklish, eh?"
„Oh no, have mercy, no tickling..."
Sam obliged. Once he was finished with her arms and legs (the thighs had her sighing again), she let him take her top off.
The air grew thick and heavy when he stripped her bra, eyes checking in with hers every couple of seconds to find them curious with hints of desire. He rubbed the lotion into her skin, massaging her breasts in the process. She stiffled a moan and he felt his pants constrict.
And then he froze.
She froze, too.
Everything froze when his hands went over her belly.
He had had many strange dreams since stepping out of the river Styx. In some of them, Chloe was touching her very pregnant belly, smile radiant, and she was calling Dean Captain Awesomepants and Sam Stud Muffin. She looked so happy.
Now, Sam refused to meet Chloe's eyes. He kept staring at her stomach, hands shaking right above it. He gasped when she caught his wrists and made him touch her. Her tummy was completely flat.
In another dream he had, they were at a funeral, standing in front of a miniature white coffin. Chloe had a white dress on. Blood trickled down her legs and he just couldn't look away. He heard her crying but never saw her face, his eyes glued to the bloodstain on her skirt, growing bigger and bigger...
Now, Sam knew he had to look at her eventually. As soon as their eyes met and he saw that she knew, the conversation was started. At last. And oh god, please no.
Painful silence filled her bedroom. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. No one moved.
„Thank you," she seemed to finish her difficult inner monologue out loud.
He looked at her as if she was crazy.
„I know... With absolute certainty... That it had to happen. The choice - - we had to make it. Sam... Every fiber of my brain tells me that you did the right thing."
Sam shook his head, eyes tearing up. He felt the but coming from miles away.
„But I'm not sure... I don't think I'd be able to do it myself..." She sounded so hurt at that moment, he just wanted to hold her. „I'd be weak, I'd say no, I'd tell myself to wait a little, and then... Probably keep it, watch it grow..."
Tears were streaming down both their faces by that point.
„Watch it kill for the first time," she sobbed, „Watch it kill some more, and then I'd have to kill it myself – him or her – because I wouldn't let anyone else do it..."
She wiped her face while he tried to compose any sort of a response.
„So thank you, Sam," Chloe gave him much more than forgiveness.
Sam pressed his face into her stomach and broke down. He didn't weep and yet he felt her skin getting wet from tears.
„Chloe," he rasped after a while. „I swore to god one day, I swore to myself I'd never judge a child for what it is. I swore, Chloe..."
He didn't need to say more. She understood. She understood that Sam would always see himself in the life they aborted. A little Sam Winchester that never got to prove to the world that he's not as evil as everyone expects him to be. An embryo that never got to prove anything.
„We'll get through this," Chloe whispered, hugging him close.
«´¨'•.¸¸.•'¨`»
Dean was working on his beloved Impala when his phone rang. The caller ID read one of Bobby's aliases.
„Yeah?" he picked it up.
„Dean, take Sam and get your ass over here, stat."
„What's going on? We can't really move Chloe right now -"
„Then come without her. You've got to be here for this."
„What is it, Bobby?" as an automatic response to danger, his voice grew rough.
„I don't know how to... Dean. It's your dad."
«´¨'•.¸¸.•'¨`»