Authors Notes: Yeah, so this took a while. This chapter was stuck somewhere between my notebook, and my computer. But now it has been birthed, spanked, and is ready for your enjoyment. No Lex here, again. *dodges flying objects* In later chapters there will be much more, but right now I'm going on the relationship they currently have, which isn't much more then acquaintance/friend. Smoochie relationship is developing, just wait and see. Mostly a Chloe pov story, as you can tell. And soon Lex will be more in her view, so hang in.

And thanks to all for the really groovy reviews. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy : )

Disclaimer: If you really love me… you'll buy me Lex. Until then, I own nothing


Chapter Five: "Speed Bumps"

*Thud* Chloe's last bag hit floor with a sound that could easily be heard four blocks away. "Will that be all, Miss?" the Driver asked her, eyeing the leaning tower of suitcases. He inwardly wondered how such a small girl could possibly need so many bags, but it wasn't his place to question, just to smile and serve.

Chloe quickly counted the bags, and nodded her head in affirmation "Yes, that should be it" She moved to pick up a bag.

"Erm, that won't be necessary Miss, I am more than happy to take care of that for you" He might get a hernia in the process, but he had to do his job.

Chloe stepped back, thanked him, and watched as he carried the first two bags down the stairs. "Perhaps Luthor should of offered you a fleet instead" Pete laughed, from his reclining position on the couch. "I'm sure Jeeves is real glad he has to drive us back to Smallville"

Chloe walked over to the couch, looked at Pete lounging lengthwise, and looked at Pete's feet, waiting for him to move them. When he didn't, she just sat down anyway, and he quickly retracted them. "Well I'm sure it will be a nice change of pace for him, from the tedium of driving around Metropolis"

Pete snorted, "Yeah, cause I'm sure he never has to ship Luthor's bimbos all over…" Pete stopped when he saw the death glare Chloe was giving him. "Er, not that you're a bimbo... I mean you could bum a ride from everyone… Not that you're a bum…"

"Just dig yourself deeper Pete. I'll get you a shovel"

"I'm sorry that I am not the Jedi-master of words that you are" Pete mock bowed.

"But you are the master of fitting your Nikes in your mouth" Chloe stuck her tongue out at him.

The impeccably suited, yet profusely sweating limo driver returned at the door, and carried two more suitcases down the stairs. "Well, now he's half way done" Pete said, glad something came up to steer the conversation elsewhere. "I guess we'd better say our good byes" Pete sat up "Where's Lois? I can't leave with out sharing a long, hopefully lingering farewell hug" a dreamy expression passed along his features.

Chloe rolled her eyes "She's around here somewhere. I'll go find her and you can warm up. Wouldn't want you to pull a muscle or anything" She scooted off the couch and made her way back to the bedrooms. She stopped outside of Lois's room and peeked in.

Lois was pacing the room and talking into her portable phone "…so just get back in touch with me when ever you can…" and she rattled off her number before hanging up the phone. She caught Chloe out of the corner of her eye and gave her cousin a sheepish grin.

"Let me guess" Chloe began, walking into the room, "Just making yet another call to one Mr. Lex Luthor?"

Lois sighed, placing the phone back in its holder on her nightstand. "Yeah, all I keep getting is a secretary… a very snide secretary"

"Imagine that" Chloe couldn't hold back her smile. *What else was she expecting calling him every hour on the hour?*

"Oh ha ha Chloe" the black haired reporter grumbled "You seem to be enjoying this all, but I'm sure that an interview with Lex Luthor didn't just fall into your lap"

Chloe smirked "Yeah, nothing fell, other then me out of a window"

"Well we can't all have best friends who save billionaire's lives, can we?" Lois huffed. "I'm doing the best I can to achieve my goal, and I don't care if that means I have to call him for a month, or track him down at another club. Eventually he'll have to give in"

"Or get his number changed" Chloe mumbled. Lois looked at her with a quizzical expression, having not heard what she had said. "Sure sounds like a good, well thought out plan to me 'cuz" Chloe said louder. "Er, Pete and I have to get going. Wanna see us to the door?"

"Oh gosh, is it that time already?" Lois looked at her watch. "I was so wrapped up in what I was doing that I totally forgot you were leaving. I'm so gonna miss you" Lois caught her cousin in a hug.

"What was that for?" Chloe asked, after Lois had pulled away.

"Because I love you, silly" Lois laughed. "Look, I know I'm a grade A bitch" Chloe nodded her head in agreement. Lois, choosing to ignore her cousin's affirmation, continued "And we compete a lot, and get on each others nerves. But I really liked having you here this summer"

Chloe smiled "Really?"

"Yeah" Lois continued. "It was like having a sister. A snarky, coffee guzzling, mood swinging, manic of a sister. Even life in the dorms of Met-U will seem tame after being around you the morning the Mr. Coffee shuffled off the mortal coil"

Chloe shuddered at the memory "Let us never speak of that again. Now lets go see what Pete's doing. He'll probably come in here and bum rush you for a hug if we don't get out there soon"

Sure enough, as soon as the two girls appeared in the living room, Pete jumped up and wrapped his arms around Lois. When he was done he pulled back, smiling at the amused girl. "We'll be sure to keep in touch. And visit often. And you can always visit us in Smallville."

"Sure" Lois answered "You guys are always welcome at my dorm this semester"

"Oh, sweet" Pete looked as though he was almost about to giggle.

"I knew it was gonna be a bad idea to let you get a taste of the city life" Chloe remarked. "The hustle, the bustle… it's warped your fragile little brain"

"Sir. Madame" The three teens turned to the doorway, where the limo driver stood "Everything has been secured in the limo. We may leave when you are ready"

"Lead the way Jeeves" Pete said. The driver suppressed the urge to sigh, and turned to head down the stairs. Pete and Lana started for the door, and Chloe followed after she grabbed her handbag.

Once outside the trio all exchanged hugs, and good byes. Pete lingered an extra second or two in his moment with Lois, before she had to pull away. "It's OK" she assured Pete. "There will be other trips to the city. Now go back to your farm town life. Be free"

Pete slid into the backseat of the limo, and Chloe followed after him. The driver shut the door, and walked to the front of the car. Lois stepped back from the curb, when the vehicle started up.

The window to the back of the car opened and Chloe popped her head out "Behave yourself Lois. And don't harass Lex too much!"

"Only until there's a lawsuit" Lois yelled back, as the car drove off in the distance. She turned back to her building and began quickly climbing the flights up to her floor. When she entered her apartment, she headed back to the phone. One more call wouldn't hurt.

She dialed the numbers she had already memorized. The phone rand once, then twice, then the line beeped and an automated voice came on. "I'm sorry, but the phone number you have dialed cannot be reached from this line." Lois swore, and hung up the phone.

*****

"Oh the city is just whizzing by" Pete remarked, staring out the tinted windows at the other slow moving vehicles surrounding them. "I thought a limo was supposed to be a status symbol. A 'get out of my way, I have important things to do', type of vehicle"

"The other cars all have important places to go too" Chloe said "Doesn't matter who you are in the city if there are hundreds of others heading in the same direction as you. As soon as we go about five more blocks, it should all clear up. Then we just head back to our delightfully boring berg where a Luthor car gets the respect it demands."

"Yeah, but how long will these five blocks take?"

"I dunno" Chloe answered, and climbed over to the seat facing the back of the car "But I am going to take a nap. Wake me when we get to Smallville" She closed her eyes and she couldn't even count one fluffy sheep before she felt a poke on her shoulder. "Can't talk, sleeping" she mumbled, not even opening her eyes.

"Come on Chloe, what am I gonna do if I don't have you to talk to? This limo doesn't even have a TV! And to think Lex calls himself a billionaire" Pete was gonna use his puppy dog eyes, but Chloe was too smart for him, she just kept her own eyes shut. She was sure he'd pull the unfair advantage of using his pouty browns.

"I guess you can play license plate bingo, or take a nap yourself," Chloe offered. "It's your fault I didn't get any sleep, so you can just deal with the boring ride repercussions. Besides, we have to go to Lana's tonight for her back to school soiree, or have you forgotten?"

"Oh that's right" Pete remembered. "I should probably get some sleep too then. I get to use my dancing shoes two nights in a row"

Chloe would of rolled her eyes, but they were still shut. "In that case, good night Pete… see you in a few hours"

*****

It seemed to Chloe she had only closed her eyes for am minute, but the next thing she knew she heard a loud noise, and felt the car jerking to a halt. She rolled off the seat and blinked her eyes. Beyond the tinted windows she saw tall trees in the distance and a lot of grass. "Home sweet home, and already a mishap" she laughed, shaking off her sleepy feeling. She turned and saw Pete was also awake, though he had managed to stay in his seat.

"Lets see what that was" Pete said, as he opened the door. The two of them exited the car and saw the Driver inspecting the front tires. The one on the right side had obviously hit something and gone completely flat.

"We're about five miles from the town" He said. "It will just take me a few moments to put the spare on, then we can continue on our way"

Chloe and Pete nodded, and watched him walk to the back of the car. "Actually, with all those bags you have in the back, it should take him about twice as long" Pete remarked.

Chloe was inspecting the tire. "I wonder what we could of hit out here to cause that much damage? It must have been pretty sharp"

"Already in reporter mode?" Pete asked. Well, if you want to go exploring, can I borrow your cell phone? I want to call Clark to let him know we're almost back." He accepted the phone from Chloe, after she retrieved it from her purse.

Chloe returned her attention to the tire. It had a pretty big gash in it. Nothing was still stuck in it, so she presumed that what ever had caused the damage was somewhere a few feet back on the road. She picked herself up from her crouching position on the ground and walked to toward the back of the limo to look around more. She shielded her eyes from the sun, and caught a flash of something a few yards away. She jogged over and saw hunk of something red.

Chloe kneeled down to get a closer look. It was red, and shiny, and could easily fit in her hand. She picked it up and noticed that it seemed oddly cold. "I wonder what the heck this is?" she muttered. She'd never seen anything like it before. It looked like a semiprecious stone, but a big hunk of one. She tapped it on the ground a few times, and it didn't chip or shatter. "This must be the culprit" she presumed, and placed it in her bag.

Standing up, she brushed her of her pants, and noticed something else. There were footprints on the road, wet footprints. Chloe followed them for a bit, and then ended at a small pond set back from the road about a hundred feet or so.

"Hey, Chloe, we're ready to go" Pete said, jogging up next to her. "What are you looking at?" He asked, following her gaze to the small water hole.

"It's just a little pond, but there are these wet footprints that lead to it" Chloe said.

"Yeah, so?" Pete shrugged. "Someone got their feet wet, and walked away"

Chloe shook her head. "But that can't be, the wet feet lead to the water, not away from it"

"So, maybe Swamp thing has learned how to do the moonwalk" Pete laughed. "Forget about it Chloe, lets just get going"

Chloe reluctantly followed Pete back to the limo, but made a mental note to come back later and do more investigating.