A/N: READ ME!!!!!!!!! Or you'll be confused. Ok, here's the deal: this starts out at the Talon around five o'clock, then jumps backwards a few hours to the manor, then jumps forward again when we get back to Clrak. I really hope this doesn't confuse anyone too much. One last thing: I have no shame. That's all I'm gonna say. Enjoy. ^_^

Chapter Ten: Best Laid Plans

Inside the Talon, Matthew waited at a small booth in the corner, every now and then wiping his damp palms over his jeans. Clark was on the last stretch of his shift, and every now and then he would throw a suspicious glance over at Matthew. He had to constantly remind himself that this was really good news that he was delivering. Clark and Gabe weren't going to want to hurt him. Maybe they would just overlook the little fact that he hadn't told him about the loophole earlier. Yeah, that's it. They would forget all about that and go get Chloe; the plant would open back up, and everything would be fine. Matthew sighed. Of course, even if all of that happened, he was still going to be left with one very pissed off Lex Luthor. He sighed again. Between a rock and a hard place was not a comfortable place to be.

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Matthew looked up to see Gabe sliding into the seat across the table. The man looked like he hadn't slept well in days, and Matthew's guilt over the situation increased even more.

"We need to wait for Clark; he should be off in a few minutes. Do you want some coffee?"

Gabe just shook his head, turning to scan the rest of the Talon for the farm boy. At least, Matthew hoped that was what he was doing, as opposed to checking for potential witnesses. Matthew made a mental note of all the exits, just in case.

"Ok, I'm here." Clark took the seat beside Gabe. Both of the larger men leaned forward slightly, resting their forearms on the table. "What did you have to tell us?"

Matthew swallowed hard. He'd lived a good life; now it was time to bite the bullet.

"Ok, now before you get mad . . ."

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Lex strode into his office and tossed his briefcase on the desk. The meeting had been long and useless; nothing had been found yet, but the halt was far from over. Gabe would keep it up as long as Chloe was being held, and no amount of logic or pleading would get through to him. Somehow they had managed to stretch the meeting, whose sole purpose was to report that there was nothing to report, into taking more than twice as long as he had expected. All Lex wanted to do now was to sink into Chloe and let her heat soothe away the irritation of the past two-and-a-half hours.

He turned to see the lunch he had brought her still sitting on the table. Swallowing hard, he did his best to push back the pain that hit him at the sight. After last night and this morning, he had been sure she would eat. She loved him; Chloe never could lie very well, but she had looked straight into his eyes and said that she loved him. So why was she still refusing to eat? He ran a hand over his head and fought against the panic that wanted to rise. He still had the better part of two weeks to convince her to stay with him.

"Hi Lex."

His gaze snapped to where Chloe was standing in the corner; how the hell had he not noticed her when he came in?

"Chloe." He couldn't think of what to say to her slightly nervous expression, and his mind snatched at the first inane piece of information it could find. "William told me Matthew stopped by today."

"Yeah, yeah he did." Chloe seemed to get even more nervous before she took a deep breath, steeling her expression. She began to close the distance between them, and a knot of apprehension grew in his stomach.

He caught a flash of gold in her hands as she walked towards him; she was playing with the ring she had found again. He tried to ignore how much he wanted to slip that ring onto her finger and hear her promise to stay with him, promise that she wouldn't leave. He would get there eventually; all he needed was time. Instead, he covered his face with a slight smirk and indicated the ring in her hands.

"This is the second time I've seen you with that. Growing attached to it?" he asked, trying to keep the hopeful note out of his voice.

Chloe's face didn't change but continued to regard him seriously, nerves and confusion playing just behind her eyes. She stopped when she was right in front of him, close enough that he could reach out and touch her. Her expression was frightening him, though he did his best not to show it. Instead he waited, his heart in his throat, for her to speak. She looked at him a moment longer, searching his face for something.

"Did you mean this, Lex?" she asked, holding up the ring. "Do you actually want to marry me?"

Lex looked at the ring, then back to her face. Her expression was unreadable; he had no idea what answer she wanted, and he was left with no choice but to tell her the truth.

"I meant it, Chloe. I know it might seem a little hard to believe . . . I mean it's not like I was very forthcoming with my feelings about you until recently . . . but I want to marry you, Chloe. It's what I've wanted for a long time now."

It seemed like her eyes were boring into his soul, her gaze was so intense. Lex felt like he was being measured, and that his next words would determine his future. What scared the hell out of him was the fact that he had no idea what Chloe wanted to hear. She set the ring on the desk behind him and spoke again, her voice as emotionless as she could make it.

"Why?"

His mind raced. How could he put into words everything about her that made him love her? Once again his mouth acted without authorization from his higher reasoning and sped on, heedless of his attempts to stop it.

"You're beautiful, you're intelligent, you're witty, you're desirable . . . god, Chloe, there are a hundred different reasons I love you, why I want to be with you." He gave her his best shot at a winning grin. "Do you want me to pick the top ten?"

Chloe just looked at him, a sadness filling her eyes that he couldn't understand. She looked away, nodding slightly, and began to turn from him. The panic he had been fighting against erupted with full force, and he reached out to her.

"Chloe, don't go. Please, just . . . don't go." She looked down to his hand on her arm, then back to his face, her brow knitted in question. He swallowed harshly, not caring that his panic was showing clearly on his face. "Please, I . . . god. You want to know why I want to marry you?" His jaw worked as he tried to rein in the emotion that was trying to steal his voice away. "It's because I can't stand the thought of not being with you. I want to wake up in the morning and know that you'll be there. I want to be the one that you turn to in the dark. I want to know that if you leave town, you'll come back to me. I want . . ." He swallowed again. "I want to know that you won't leave."

There were tears in Chloe's eyes now; she gave him a watery smile, and this time her doubt and confusion and sadness were gone in place of joyful disbelief. She reached up and took his neck in her hands, leaning up to place a soft kiss on his lips. She pulled away before he could respond, stepping back out of arm's reach. She gave him another soft smile, the tears gone from her eyes.

"Matthew was looking for you when he came by earlier." When Lex just blinked at this non sequitur, she continued. "There's a way that my dad and Clark can get me out, and he's going to tell them later today. If they come to get me, and I agree to go with them, they can take me out of here today." Lex's eyes widened and he shook his head in automatic denial.

"They're not taking you. I won't let them."

"Lex . . . I have to go."

Lex's face hardened as he braced himself. She was going to leave him. He had run out of time, and she was going to leave him.

"So that's it? You wanted to know why I wanted to marry you so that you could know just how much of my heart you were going to be tearing out when you left?" Chloe looked pained.

"Lex, the last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's the only way to end this halt. I couldn't live with myself if I knew that people were suffering when I was able to stop it." She cast her eyes down and began to walk away, apparently lost in her own thoughts. "The thing is . . . you're not exactly on my dad's list of favorite people right now. And I'm afraid, because if I leave with them, I don't think my dad will let you get near me again."

"Chloe," Lex started, but she kept talking as if she hadn't heard him.

"Unless he has to. We can't get married . . . not right now. I mean, I can't leave the house, and I don't think even you could get someone over here quick enough, not to mention all the documentation and witnesses and besides I really want my dad to walk me down the aisle, you know?"

"Chloe—"

"Lex," she interrupted him again. Her eyes met his again, sparkling with love and a mischief that he thought seemed slightly out of place at the moment. "I know I've hurt you, not eating all this time, even after . . . I was so scared, Lex. I was scared that you'd leave me and I'd never be able to recover from it. Because I can't stand the thought of not being with you, either." Her lips curled up in a gentle smile. "But I'm not scared anymore, Lex. So . . ."

Chloe drew in a deep breath, and Lex finally noticed the pear she had picked up an instant before she brought it to her mouth and took a bite. She tossed the rest of the fruit to him and he caught it automatically. He stood, dumbstruck for a moment, and looked down on the pear, at the soft white flesh showing now beneath the speckled green skin. His dazed eyes traveled back to Chloe, saw her swallow the bite she had taken, watched as her tongue flicked out and licked the juice from the corner of her mouth.

An instant later the fruit tumbled unheeded from his fingers as he crossed to her in two long strides. Both hands brought her face to his as he crushed his mouth to hers. Her arms immediately wrapped around him as he tasted the sweetness of the pear mingled with that taste he would never get enough of, the taste of Chloe. The combination made him kiss her harder, his tongue sweeping ruthlessly through her mouth with the heat of a branding iron. A part of him wanted to brand her, to mark her as his; the rest of him was dizzy with the knowledge that he didn't have to. She was his now, and he was never going to let her go.

Chloe's hands were fisted in his shirt as she started backing up, taking him with her as she moved towards the couch. As focused as he was on kissing her, it took him a moment to realize her intention. When it finally registered his hands moved to her hips, halting her movements. His mouth finally broke away from hers when he leaned down and, in one smooth motion, scooped her off her feet and into his arms. He ignored her startled look in favor of kissing her fiercely again. This time when they broke away for breath he didn't pull back but kept his lips a hairsbreadth away from hers as he walked from the room.

"I want you in my bed."

Her arms tightened around his shoulders as she kissed him again, lighter this time, teasing, before trailing her lips over his jaw to his ear. She traced her tongue over its ridges, nibbled on the lobe before taking it in her mouth and sucking gently. Lex felt his knees weaken and he drew in a sharp, shaky breath.

"If you don't stop that, Chloe, we're never going to make it there." He felt her smirk against his ear, and when her hot breath joined the low sound of her laugh he thought his legs were going to buckle right there.

"You're the one with this bed fixation," she murmured, right before she scraped her teeth over his neck.

"Jesus," he swore, nearly undone just by the feel of her lips sucking lightly on his pulse. They had finally reached his room, and one swift shove with a firmly planted foot had the door flying open.

Chloe started at the sudden noise, and a small laugh escaped her before Lex silenced her with a kiss so ferocious that her head seemed to detach from her body. She was dimly aware of Lex stepping inside the room, heard the door close as if through a thick fog. The next thing she knew, Lex's body was pressing her against the door as his lips blazed a hot trail from her mouth down her neck; the sharp bite he gave her just under her jaw sent a bolt of heat through her. He already had her shirt off, and she had just enough time to wonder how he had managed to remove it without her noticing, before his hand found her breast and ended thinking altogether.

She had never seen him like this, and she couldn't deny that this wild, single-minded attention was shattering what little control she had over herself. With a strength she didn't know was in her she pushed quickly at Lex, reversing their positions. With her mouth latched to his and her fingers swiftly attacking the buttons of his shirt, she pulled him with her towards the bed. He went with her willingly, eagerly, his own hands removing the rest of her clothes with lightning quickness. She wretched apart from him and met his hungry gaze with one of her own; her eyes traveled down to his chest as she pushed his shirt off his shoulders, a satisfied sound escaping her as her fingers ran over the skin and muscle she uncovered. Leaning forward, she nipped at the skin between his neck and shoulder, smirking at the shudder that went through him. The smirk was still on her face when she stepped back, a proprietary gleam in her eyes.

"Mine."

He advanced on her, lowering her to the bed so quickly that she was under him almost before she knew what was happening. The smirk she had worn was now on his face, as well.

"Damn right."

Then his mouth was on her again, and his hands . . . god, his hands were everywhere, moving with unfailing accuracy to all of the places she craved his touch. There was none of the patience of their previous times together; neither of them wanted patience now. Their touches now were unrelenting, demanding. Fingers slid over sweat-dampened skin, breaths came hard and fast until they were halted with searing kisses. He entered her quickly, with one hard thrust, and her legs immediately rose to wrap around him, to pull him deeper as he moved inside of her. Reason was swept away, stripping them down to the basic need to mate until finally both of them tumbled off the edge and collapsed, gasping for breath and clinging to each other. Chloe was the first to speak.

"Think I've gone blind," she murmured, her words slurred and lazy. Lex somehow found the energy to lean up slightly so that he could look at her face, see that her eyes were still closed. "Not that bad, actually."

Lex chuckled slightly and realized that, on top of her as he was, he was most likely crushing her. When he tried to move, however, she tightened around him, holding him in place.

"Stay." The pout that formed on her lips made him want nothing more than to kiss it away. "Feels nice." Her eyes cracked open and she drank in his face above hers, a soft smile erasing the pout. "Not blind, then. Even better." With a lazy grin, Lex rolled them over so that Chloe was lying on top of him. She scowled for a moment before slipping to his side and nestling in under his arm. "Compromise. Now neither of us will crush the other."

"Chloe, you couldn't crush me unless you were carrying about a hundred pounds of free weights on you."

"Maybe I am." A wicked grin spread over Lex's face.

"I'm pretty sure that's a bluff," he said, leisurely running his hands over her bottom, "but maybe I'd better frisk you to make sure."

Chloe's response to that was to hit him lightly on the chest. He just laughed and tightened his arms around her, holding her as if he was afraid she would slip away from him. She sighed, contented, and snuggled deeper into his arms. Her breathing slowed against his chest and he stroked his hands over her back in a soothing rhythm.

"You've had a long day. Go ahead and sleep."

"Not sleepy," she mumbled against his skin, and he had to fight against laughing at her childlike tone. Instead, he kept his voice soothing as he continued to stroke her skin.

"Of course not. Just rest your eyes for a minute."

"Just for a minute." She gave a small smirk. "Not finished with you yet." Her last words were almost lost as she drifted into sleep. He smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. There was still one last detail he had to take care of.

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Chloe stirred some time later to find herself nestled into a pillow and Lex sitting on the side of the bed, running a hand over her hair. She blinked several times, trying to orient herself, taking in his hastily thrown-on pants and shirt before glaring playfully at him.

"You cheated. And you're dressed." Her glare turned to a sensual smirk as she hooked her hand in the waist of his pants, drawing him closer. "I'm afraid that's against the rules." Lex smiled and leaned down to kiss her softly, sending her floating before he spoke against her lips.

"There was something I had to take care of."

Chloe made a small sound of acknowledgement, then leaned up and coaxed his mouth to hers again. Again he sent her floating, so far this time that she almost didn't notice the subtle move he made. She leaned back and shot him a confused look an instant before he brought her hand to his lips, letting the ring he had slipped on her finger sparkle in the fading light. Her eyes caught on it, unwillingly noticing how right it looked on her finger, before looking back at him. She had never seen Lex look so apprehensive; she doubted that many people had. Before she could say anything, he began to speak.

"I know you have an aversion to accepting jewelry from me, but I'm hoping you'll make an exception for this. We wouldn't have to get married right away. I know you probably feel like you're too young, that it's too soon . . . we can have as long of an engagement as you want. But I couldn't wait any longer to see you wear this. Please, Chloe . . . just tell me that you'll wear it. Don't make me take this back."

"Lex," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. She traced his face with her free hand, watching his worried look increase. "You really are just a big idiot, aren't you?" When he only blinked at that, her face split into her trademark grin. "It's mine now. If you think you're getting it back, you're in need of some serious professional help."

"You'll . . . you mean . . ."

"Lex Luthor, speechless? Where's my camera when I need it?" she teased. "It's going to have to be a long engagement, if just to pacify my dad." Her wicked smile was back as she raised a single suggestive eyebrow. "But maybe we can get a jump start on the honeymoon."

With that, she pulled him down the rest of the way, and his last coherent thought before she took him under was, 'Well, if she insists . . ."

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Clark sped along the roads, running at top speed. He had managed to convince Gabe that he knew a shortcut to the manor and that he would go ahead and get Chloe, with Gabe meeting him there in his car. Clark knew that getting Chloe out might get dangerous if Lex didn't want to let her go, and he didn't want to put Gabe in any danger.

Matthew had decided to go with Gabe, thankful that he was somehow still in one piece. It hadn't been the easiest thing to keep him that way, but Gabe seemed to calm down considerably when the fact that he would be getting his daughter back finally sunk in. And as irritated as Clark was that the younger man had let the situation get as bad as it had without doing what he could to put a stop to it, he had to admit that Matthew's thoughts had been fairly reasonable. Gabe's unexpected reaction had thrown a wrench in the works, and if Clark was honest with himself he knew there was no way that Matthew could have anticipated that move.

It didn't take him long to reach the front door, and he entered the house without bothering to knock. Once inside he paused, uncertain of which way to go. After a moment's consideration he decided on the library; as he ran up the stairs he tried not to think about the possibility that he might end up walking in on something he didn't want to see.

He ran through the door at normal speed—he was in a hurry, but he wasn't stupid—and quickly scanned the room, finding no trace of Lex or Chloe. He heaved out a sigh of frustration, not relishing the prospect of searching the mansion room by room. Just as he was turning to go, however, something on the floor caught his eye. He crossed the room swiftly and leaned down, reaching under the desk to retrieve the object. As he turned it over his stomach sank and he turned, defeated, to walk from the room.

Gabe and Matthew pulled up just as Clark walked through the front door. It took a supreme force of will, but Gabe managed to tamp down the nerves that jumped into his stomach when he saw the boy walking alone out of the house. Throwing the car into Park, he jumped out and strode up to Clark, unable to conceal his apprehension.

"What's the matter? Where is she?"

Clark sighed and, wishing with everything in him that he didn't have to, handed the remains of Chloe's pear over to her father.

"I don't think Chloe's going to leave."

TBC . . .

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