Chapter 2

Who's to say
I just hope you're doing fine
That's all for now
I hope you're doing fine

--Hope You're Doing Fine--by Cyndi Thompson

Chloe was asleep. Her head was resting on her arms on the edge of the hospital bed. Her warm hand was on Lex's cold arm.

Chloe had forced Clark to go home with the promises of calling if anything happened. She spent almost an hour talking to Lex, asking him to wake up, before finally falling asleep.

Seeing Lex in this fragile state had scared her more than she let herself know. The thought that someone so strong could suddenly be rendered so helpless in a split second made her think that maybe she wasn't as strong as she thought.

Lex looked so pale under the white sheets. His skin looked almost translucent, a sharp contrast to the black spots under his eyes. His head had been bandaged for the first few days, but now almost six days later it had been removed. Lex's chest was bound tightly to support the broken ribs; three on the left, two on the right. The doctors said that it was a miracle that none had pierced a lung.

Chloe woke to a long tone coming from one of the machines hooked to Lex. Before she could realize what had happened nurses were rushing in.

"He's flat-lined!" one yelled.

"Get a crash cart!" a doctor ordered.

Chloe stood and staggered back against the opposite wall. Her eyes were wide with terror. With trembling hands she pulled out her phone. She dropped it twice before getting the number in.

"Mrs. Kent. He- He-" Chloe tried to say, breathing heavily.

"We're coming, Chloe," Martha said, hanging up the phone.

Before Chloe could put her phone away, Pete raced into the room.

"Chloe, what happened?" Pete asked, rushing to Chloe's side. He had been on his way to relieve Chloe, and force her to go home to get some sleep, when he saw the commotion.

Chloe was still breathing heavily. She reached a hand out blindly to grasp Pete's arm, her eyes glued to Lex. "He," she started, jumping when the paddles made Lex's body jump. "Flat lined."

"He's back," the doctor said, looking to Chloe. "And waking up. Try not to excite him too much. He needs his rest. Would you like to tell him what happened?"

Chloe looked at the doctor and nodded. "Yeah, I'll do it. Thanks."

Pete started to move towards the bed. He stopped when he realized Chloe wasn't following. "It's okay," he said, taking her hand and pulling her forward.

Chloe slowly followed.

"Chloe? Pete?" Lex asked, his voice raspy.

"I'll get some water," Pete said, leaving the room.

Lex tried to sit up and winced. "What happened?" he asked, pressing a gentle hand to his ribs.

"You had a car accident on your way home," Chloe said, sitting back in the chair.

"I have an appointment tomorrow. I have to go home," Lex said, trying to stand. His face was twisted in pain.

Chloe put her hand on Lex's shoulder to push him back down. "Lex, that was a week ago."

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"You got hurt a week ago," Chloe repeated softly. "You've been in a coma for six days."

Before Lex could ask any more questions Chloe found herself being pushed back as the Kents entered the room.