Downward Spiral Part VIII: Sequel to The Sins of the Father
A Smallville story by Merrie
Disclaimer: If I did own anything from Smallville, you would see my name in the credits, now wouldn't you? Alas, I've checked and it's not there.
Summary: Sequel to The Sins of the Father. Lex needs Chloe's help in a big way, but will she be around when he needs her?
Characters: Any and all, including Lance Thorne and Dr. Ryan Kendomere, OFCs.
Author's Note: Thank you to all of those who have reviewed, you guys truly make my day! Also, this chapter got kind of long, so I split into two. Hope you don't mind. The next part will be up shortly.
Rating: This story is rated PG-13 for language, angst-filled dramatic scenes and drug use.
Chapter Eight: Withdrawal I
'I've got to get away. Got to get away from Chloe. My Chloe. My dead Chloe. Oh God, I killed Chloe.' Lex's thoughts continued in this manner as he tried to speed away as quick as he could in his stolen car. He was so focused on the road before him that he didn't even notice the blue and red colored blur speeding along the road off of his left shoulder. He didn't notice as an arm reached into the broken window and grabbed a hold of the car. Lex did notice however as the car came to a dead stop and wouldn't move an inch no matter how hard he pushed on the gas. 'No! I must get away! I have to get away from Chloe!' he thought desperately, his eyes darting around for the source of the problem. He looked out the broken window and let his foot off of the gas in shock as Clark stood outside of the broken in window. Once Clark saw that Lex had lifted his foot off of the gas, he quickly opened the door and gently pulled Lex out of the car. Lex shook his head at Clark's grip, not believing what he was seeing before him, but not entirely questioning it either. "No, no, it's not you. You can't be here. You're with Chloe. I killed Chloe. No. Go away!" Lex shouted, trying to pull out of Clark's firm grip.
"Lex!" Clark shouted, turning Lex to face him. "Chloe isn't dead, do you hear me? She's alright! She's back at the hospital worrying herself into a fit right now, and frankly so am I. Now, you're coming back to the hospital with me, and we will work this out. Chloe's here for you, I'm here for you, we're all here for you. Whatever you're going through right now, we will deal with it together. You're my best friend, Lex. I won't let you go through this alone. I couldn't. Now please, don't make me fight with you. Come with me back to the hospital, back to Chloe." Lex paused a moment, looking to Clark like he was actually considering it, but then he shook his head again and tried once more in vain to get away from Clark. "Damn it, Lex. I didn't want to have to do this, but you don't give me a lot of options." He reached his fist back, tried to ignore Lex's surprised and shocked face, and knocked him out with as little force as possible, not wanting to add a broken nose and jaw to Lex's list of problems right now. Lex slumped unconscious into Clark's waiting arms, and Clark sighed. "Oh Lex, it'll be alright. Everything will be alright, I promise." With that final statement, he picked up his friend's limp body and carried it the short distance back to the hospital.
"So he just got up and left? Do you know how dangerous it is for him to be on his own right now in his current condition? I have security looking for him right now. He can't have gotten far. I just don't understand how this could have happened. He was restrained, wasn't he? " Dr. Kendomere asked, looking over the downcast faces in the hospital room.
"It was me, doctor." Chloe said firmly. "I was the one who let him go."
"You? You were in a coma not 20 minutes ago. You want me to believe that the first thing you did upon waking was to let my patient go?"
"Your patient is my boyfriend! Of course I let him fucking go!" Chloe growled at him.
"Chloe-" Gabe Sullivan started, vainly attempting to quite his strong- willed daughter. She seemed to be mostly recovered at least mentally if not physically from her ordeal, but Gabe knew deep down she was still hurting.
"It was you who had him in those damned restraints in the first place, wasn't it you bastard? How could you do that to him?"
"Listen here, you don't understand. Your boyfriend is going through the beginning stages of serious heroin withdrawal right now. I don't think you know what-"
"I know what heroin does to people, doctor." Chloe said with a defiant glare. "I took it upon myself to look up its effects after it was forced upon Lex when he was kidnapped. Did you hear what I'm telling you, doctor? He was kidnapped and forced to take heroin. His kidnapper also kept him in restraints not too different that the ones you have here. Do you know what he went through to get out of them doctor, do you? Well let me tell you. He broke, yes broke, his own thumb just to get out of the handcuffs. I don't even want to know how waking up restrained is going to affect him given all that's happened recently."
"I-I didn't know." The doctor stuttered.
"You didn't bother to find out either, did you? You just went ahead and did it, not caring the least bit how your actions might affect him or have affected him. I talked to him when I woke up, doctor. I don't know what he has been through in the time after the.accident, but I know he was not himself when I talked to him."
"I know. We've seen his behavior. That is why I had to put him in the restraints in the first place. If I hadn't, he might have injured someone, possible even himself."
"Maybe, maybe not. You should have thought about the consequences first, doctor. But no, you went right ahead and did it your way. And now where are we? Lex is gone, in need of serious help, but mental and physical, and there's nothing we can do for him."
"I wouldn't say that." A voice called from the doorway, immediately causing every head to turn in its direction. There, with an unconscious Lex Luthor in his arms, stood Clark. "He's not getting any lighter, you know, so maybe you could all get out of the way or something?" Clark said lightly, trying to ease some of the tension he felt in the room. Immediately, the people in the room came back to their senses and all scrambled to either help him or get out of his way.
"Clark, thank God you found him." Martha Kent said, relief flooding her face.
"What happened? How did you find him, Clark?" Chloe asked, not quite believing what she was seeing in front of your face.
"Um, he tried to steal a car but I managed to stop him before he could get anywhere." He shared a long look with his parents and they realized in subdued shock the full implications of what Lex had done and what Clark had to do to stop him.
"My God." Dr. Kendomere whispered. He leaned over and put a hand to Lex's neck. "His heart rate is a little quick, but that is the only real symptom of withdrawal I'm seeing right now." He lifted Lex's eyelids with a gentle hand. "No, his pupils are dilated as well. All in all, he hasn't yet gone into full withdrawal. His system is just starting to work the heroin out and want for more. That is why we must keep him here. Once the heroin is completely flushed out of his system, he'll do most likely anything to get more. That's what addiction is. That's what makes him so dangerous right now." He paused a moment to let his words sink in before continuing. "And in his current state of shock, he could and would do anything to get the fix his body craves right now and probably not remember it afterward. Call me when he wakes up. I have other patients to tend to." With those final words, he turned on his heel and left the room.
Chloe grunted and got out of bed, determined to reach Lex. "Chloe, I don't think you should be out of bed. You're not well." Gabe Sullivan said in his strictest tone of voice.
"I know, dad and I'm sorry, but I have to see Lex." She said, continuing across the room. She heard a quiet sigh behind her but no further words from her father. Upon reaching Lex, her face fell and her composure along with it. "Oh Lex. Everything will be alright. We'll get through this together." She placed a hand on the side of his face, taking note of the clamminess she felt. She sighed, and sat down in the chair that Clark had silently pushed up for her to sit in next to the bed. "I should have known. I should have noticed something. Damn you Lex and 'talent' for not showing emotion. Why didn't you tell me?" Tears were streaming down Chloe's face, but she didn't pay them any attention. She turned slowly at the hand placed on her shoulder. It was Clark. "Why didn't he tell me, Clark? Why did he think he had to go through this alone?"
"I don't know Chloe." Clark said quietly. "Maybe he was ashamed. Maybe he didn't want you to know. And it's not your fault that you didn't notice. No one did."
"I did, actually." A voice called out from behind them. Chloe sputtered in shock as her eyes came to rest on the now familiar head of bright blue spikes.
"Lance? What are you doing here? How did you-"
"This isn't a very big town as you might have noticed. Word gets around pretty quickly. I was out walking our dog when I overheard one of the elder women on my street talking about it. I don't know how she found out about it, I may never know. In fact, I even saw your friend Pete in the parking lot as well. He should be up in a few minutes."
"Pete! I forgot to call Pete!" Gabe Sullivan suddenly exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, Chloe! I knew you would probably want him here as well, and I forgot. I'm sorry."
"It's alright dad, it doesn't matter. Pete's here now. And as for you, what do you mean you noticed that something was wrong with Lex before we did?" Chloe asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
"Uh," Lance began, nervously taking in the wary glances from everyone in the room. 'Can I really tell them my secret? What will they think? What will Chloe think? What if they think I'm a freak?' After debating internally for a minute longer, Lance finally opened his mouth again to give an answer to Chloe's question.
"Is this the right room? Chloe! You're alright! Girl, don't ever do that to me again! And why didn't you call me? I had to hear about you being in here from Mrs. Peterson at the Talon. Lana should be on her way soon, as well. She had to close up first. Now, tell me. What happened?"
Chloe sighed. "I will Pete, I promise. And it's good to see you. We were going to call you soon, I promise. But right now, Lance has something that he wants to share with us. Don't you Lance?" She finished, turning to look at him again.
"Yeah, I do. I'm an, an empath." He said at last. "I know what people around me are feeling. I know when they are lying to me. I've been able to do it for most of my life. That's how I knew something was wrong with Lex. I didn't exactly know what was wrong with him, but I knew that there was something that he was hiding from you. Right now for example, I know you're mad at me for not saying something sooner, Chloe."
"Of course I am! All of this could have been prevented if we had just known!"
"How could I tell any of you? I'm the new kid. You wouldn't have believed me if I had said anything anyway. You would have thought I was a freak. Some of you do now anyway."
"You still could have told us." Clark said. "I don't think you're a freak. If you'd lived in this town as long as the rest of us have, you would know that we've seen much weirder things around here than an empath."
"Yeah, so you're an empath, so what? That's nothing compared to the bug boys, people who could turn invisible, and coaches who could set things on fire with their mind. We've had all of those, and that's roughly normal for this town." Pete said.
"What? Really? Man, I knew I shouldn't have moved here." Lance mumbled. "But I'm glad you're taking my ability so well. Most people wouldn't. And I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about Lex, Chloe. I didn't think you'd believe me."
Chloe sighed. "Well, there's nothing we can do about that now. We just have to deal with what's right in front of us."
"And what is that? What didn't Lance tell you about Chloe? Bring old Pete into the loop."
Chloe glanced over at Lex before speaking. "Lex is going into heroin withdrawal, Pete. Apparently he's been taking it ever since he was kidnapped."
"What? That son of a bitch! How could he have done this to you, Chloe?" Pete shouted, immediately regretting the words that left his mouth. "I mean, I guess it's not really his fault. I mean," Pete sighed as he reigned in his temper. "I don't know what I mean except that I'm sorry, Chloe."
"I'm glad you came to the conclusion that it wasn't Lex's fault on your own or I would have had to come over there and beat some sense into you. I don't blame Lex. I blame that bastard Caldwell. They still haven't caught him yet, have they?" Chloe asked the room in general.
"Not that I'm aware of, no." Jonathan Kent spoke up. "The last I'd heard was that he seemed to disappear off the face of the earth. No one's seen or heard from him since Lex got away."
"You mean they never caught-" Gabe was cut off from a rather loud and long groan emanating from Lex. Immediately, everyone in the room seemed to loose interest in whatever they were talking about and focused on Lex. It was Martha Kent who first spoke up.
"Lex? It's me, Martha. Are you alright? How are you feeling?" She asked, walking slowly over to his side as if approaching a wild and dangerous animal.
"Clark---" He started hesitantly.
"Clark? Do you want to see Clark? He's right here behind me. Clark? I think Lex wants to talk to you."
"No! Clark, Clark hit me! Clark wouldn't let me go!" Lex said, flinching away from Clark's approaching form. Clark saw his friend's reaction and backed away, the hurt plain on his face.
"Oh man, has he been like this the entire time?" Pete asked, looking to Clark for an answer.
"Yes, ever since he first woke up. The doctor said he doesn't exactly know what's wrong with him, but attributes his current behavior to the shock of seeing what, what he did to Chloe on top of going through heroin withdrawal."
"Is he going to snap out of it anytime soon?" Pete asked, casting a cautious glance in Lex's direction. "Because right now, seeing Luthor like this is seriously freaking me out."
"You and me both, Pete. You and me both." Clark said quietly.
TBC
A/N: Ok, dang it, I didn't actually get into any a serious withdrawal scene in this chapter, I'm sorry. I took a look at how long this one was getting and decided to end it before it got too long. Hope you liked, the next part should be up soon. Thanks for reading!! Please post your reviews!!
A Smallville story by Merrie
Disclaimer: If I did own anything from Smallville, you would see my name in the credits, now wouldn't you? Alas, I've checked and it's not there.
Summary: Sequel to The Sins of the Father. Lex needs Chloe's help in a big way, but will she be around when he needs her?
Characters: Any and all, including Lance Thorne and Dr. Ryan Kendomere, OFCs.
Author's Note: Thank you to all of those who have reviewed, you guys truly make my day! Also, this chapter got kind of long, so I split into two. Hope you don't mind. The next part will be up shortly.
Rating: This story is rated PG-13 for language, angst-filled dramatic scenes and drug use.
Chapter Eight: Withdrawal I
'I've got to get away. Got to get away from Chloe. My Chloe. My dead Chloe. Oh God, I killed Chloe.' Lex's thoughts continued in this manner as he tried to speed away as quick as he could in his stolen car. He was so focused on the road before him that he didn't even notice the blue and red colored blur speeding along the road off of his left shoulder. He didn't notice as an arm reached into the broken window and grabbed a hold of the car. Lex did notice however as the car came to a dead stop and wouldn't move an inch no matter how hard he pushed on the gas. 'No! I must get away! I have to get away from Chloe!' he thought desperately, his eyes darting around for the source of the problem. He looked out the broken window and let his foot off of the gas in shock as Clark stood outside of the broken in window. Once Clark saw that Lex had lifted his foot off of the gas, he quickly opened the door and gently pulled Lex out of the car. Lex shook his head at Clark's grip, not believing what he was seeing before him, but not entirely questioning it either. "No, no, it's not you. You can't be here. You're with Chloe. I killed Chloe. No. Go away!" Lex shouted, trying to pull out of Clark's firm grip.
"Lex!" Clark shouted, turning Lex to face him. "Chloe isn't dead, do you hear me? She's alright! She's back at the hospital worrying herself into a fit right now, and frankly so am I. Now, you're coming back to the hospital with me, and we will work this out. Chloe's here for you, I'm here for you, we're all here for you. Whatever you're going through right now, we will deal with it together. You're my best friend, Lex. I won't let you go through this alone. I couldn't. Now please, don't make me fight with you. Come with me back to the hospital, back to Chloe." Lex paused a moment, looking to Clark like he was actually considering it, but then he shook his head again and tried once more in vain to get away from Clark. "Damn it, Lex. I didn't want to have to do this, but you don't give me a lot of options." He reached his fist back, tried to ignore Lex's surprised and shocked face, and knocked him out with as little force as possible, not wanting to add a broken nose and jaw to Lex's list of problems right now. Lex slumped unconscious into Clark's waiting arms, and Clark sighed. "Oh Lex, it'll be alright. Everything will be alright, I promise." With that final statement, he picked up his friend's limp body and carried it the short distance back to the hospital.
"So he just got up and left? Do you know how dangerous it is for him to be on his own right now in his current condition? I have security looking for him right now. He can't have gotten far. I just don't understand how this could have happened. He was restrained, wasn't he? " Dr. Kendomere asked, looking over the downcast faces in the hospital room.
"It was me, doctor." Chloe said firmly. "I was the one who let him go."
"You? You were in a coma not 20 minutes ago. You want me to believe that the first thing you did upon waking was to let my patient go?"
"Your patient is my boyfriend! Of course I let him fucking go!" Chloe growled at him.
"Chloe-" Gabe Sullivan started, vainly attempting to quite his strong- willed daughter. She seemed to be mostly recovered at least mentally if not physically from her ordeal, but Gabe knew deep down she was still hurting.
"It was you who had him in those damned restraints in the first place, wasn't it you bastard? How could you do that to him?"
"Listen here, you don't understand. Your boyfriend is going through the beginning stages of serious heroin withdrawal right now. I don't think you know what-"
"I know what heroin does to people, doctor." Chloe said with a defiant glare. "I took it upon myself to look up its effects after it was forced upon Lex when he was kidnapped. Did you hear what I'm telling you, doctor? He was kidnapped and forced to take heroin. His kidnapper also kept him in restraints not too different that the ones you have here. Do you know what he went through to get out of them doctor, do you? Well let me tell you. He broke, yes broke, his own thumb just to get out of the handcuffs. I don't even want to know how waking up restrained is going to affect him given all that's happened recently."
"I-I didn't know." The doctor stuttered.
"You didn't bother to find out either, did you? You just went ahead and did it, not caring the least bit how your actions might affect him or have affected him. I talked to him when I woke up, doctor. I don't know what he has been through in the time after the.accident, but I know he was not himself when I talked to him."
"I know. We've seen his behavior. That is why I had to put him in the restraints in the first place. If I hadn't, he might have injured someone, possible even himself."
"Maybe, maybe not. You should have thought about the consequences first, doctor. But no, you went right ahead and did it your way. And now where are we? Lex is gone, in need of serious help, but mental and physical, and there's nothing we can do for him."
"I wouldn't say that." A voice called from the doorway, immediately causing every head to turn in its direction. There, with an unconscious Lex Luthor in his arms, stood Clark. "He's not getting any lighter, you know, so maybe you could all get out of the way or something?" Clark said lightly, trying to ease some of the tension he felt in the room. Immediately, the people in the room came back to their senses and all scrambled to either help him or get out of his way.
"Clark, thank God you found him." Martha Kent said, relief flooding her face.
"What happened? How did you find him, Clark?" Chloe asked, not quite believing what she was seeing in front of your face.
"Um, he tried to steal a car but I managed to stop him before he could get anywhere." He shared a long look with his parents and they realized in subdued shock the full implications of what Lex had done and what Clark had to do to stop him.
"My God." Dr. Kendomere whispered. He leaned over and put a hand to Lex's neck. "His heart rate is a little quick, but that is the only real symptom of withdrawal I'm seeing right now." He lifted Lex's eyelids with a gentle hand. "No, his pupils are dilated as well. All in all, he hasn't yet gone into full withdrawal. His system is just starting to work the heroin out and want for more. That is why we must keep him here. Once the heroin is completely flushed out of his system, he'll do most likely anything to get more. That's what addiction is. That's what makes him so dangerous right now." He paused a moment to let his words sink in before continuing. "And in his current state of shock, he could and would do anything to get the fix his body craves right now and probably not remember it afterward. Call me when he wakes up. I have other patients to tend to." With those final words, he turned on his heel and left the room.
Chloe grunted and got out of bed, determined to reach Lex. "Chloe, I don't think you should be out of bed. You're not well." Gabe Sullivan said in his strictest tone of voice.
"I know, dad and I'm sorry, but I have to see Lex." She said, continuing across the room. She heard a quiet sigh behind her but no further words from her father. Upon reaching Lex, her face fell and her composure along with it. "Oh Lex. Everything will be alright. We'll get through this together." She placed a hand on the side of his face, taking note of the clamminess she felt. She sighed, and sat down in the chair that Clark had silently pushed up for her to sit in next to the bed. "I should have known. I should have noticed something. Damn you Lex and 'talent' for not showing emotion. Why didn't you tell me?" Tears were streaming down Chloe's face, but she didn't pay them any attention. She turned slowly at the hand placed on her shoulder. It was Clark. "Why didn't he tell me, Clark? Why did he think he had to go through this alone?"
"I don't know Chloe." Clark said quietly. "Maybe he was ashamed. Maybe he didn't want you to know. And it's not your fault that you didn't notice. No one did."
"I did, actually." A voice called out from behind them. Chloe sputtered in shock as her eyes came to rest on the now familiar head of bright blue spikes.
"Lance? What are you doing here? How did you-"
"This isn't a very big town as you might have noticed. Word gets around pretty quickly. I was out walking our dog when I overheard one of the elder women on my street talking about it. I don't know how she found out about it, I may never know. In fact, I even saw your friend Pete in the parking lot as well. He should be up in a few minutes."
"Pete! I forgot to call Pete!" Gabe Sullivan suddenly exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, Chloe! I knew you would probably want him here as well, and I forgot. I'm sorry."
"It's alright dad, it doesn't matter. Pete's here now. And as for you, what do you mean you noticed that something was wrong with Lex before we did?" Chloe asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
"Uh," Lance began, nervously taking in the wary glances from everyone in the room. 'Can I really tell them my secret? What will they think? What will Chloe think? What if they think I'm a freak?' After debating internally for a minute longer, Lance finally opened his mouth again to give an answer to Chloe's question.
"Is this the right room? Chloe! You're alright! Girl, don't ever do that to me again! And why didn't you call me? I had to hear about you being in here from Mrs. Peterson at the Talon. Lana should be on her way soon, as well. She had to close up first. Now, tell me. What happened?"
Chloe sighed. "I will Pete, I promise. And it's good to see you. We were going to call you soon, I promise. But right now, Lance has something that he wants to share with us. Don't you Lance?" She finished, turning to look at him again.
"Yeah, I do. I'm an, an empath." He said at last. "I know what people around me are feeling. I know when they are lying to me. I've been able to do it for most of my life. That's how I knew something was wrong with Lex. I didn't exactly know what was wrong with him, but I knew that there was something that he was hiding from you. Right now for example, I know you're mad at me for not saying something sooner, Chloe."
"Of course I am! All of this could have been prevented if we had just known!"
"How could I tell any of you? I'm the new kid. You wouldn't have believed me if I had said anything anyway. You would have thought I was a freak. Some of you do now anyway."
"You still could have told us." Clark said. "I don't think you're a freak. If you'd lived in this town as long as the rest of us have, you would know that we've seen much weirder things around here than an empath."
"Yeah, so you're an empath, so what? That's nothing compared to the bug boys, people who could turn invisible, and coaches who could set things on fire with their mind. We've had all of those, and that's roughly normal for this town." Pete said.
"What? Really? Man, I knew I shouldn't have moved here." Lance mumbled. "But I'm glad you're taking my ability so well. Most people wouldn't. And I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about Lex, Chloe. I didn't think you'd believe me."
Chloe sighed. "Well, there's nothing we can do about that now. We just have to deal with what's right in front of us."
"And what is that? What didn't Lance tell you about Chloe? Bring old Pete into the loop."
Chloe glanced over at Lex before speaking. "Lex is going into heroin withdrawal, Pete. Apparently he's been taking it ever since he was kidnapped."
"What? That son of a bitch! How could he have done this to you, Chloe?" Pete shouted, immediately regretting the words that left his mouth. "I mean, I guess it's not really his fault. I mean," Pete sighed as he reigned in his temper. "I don't know what I mean except that I'm sorry, Chloe."
"I'm glad you came to the conclusion that it wasn't Lex's fault on your own or I would have had to come over there and beat some sense into you. I don't blame Lex. I blame that bastard Caldwell. They still haven't caught him yet, have they?" Chloe asked the room in general.
"Not that I'm aware of, no." Jonathan Kent spoke up. "The last I'd heard was that he seemed to disappear off the face of the earth. No one's seen or heard from him since Lex got away."
"You mean they never caught-" Gabe was cut off from a rather loud and long groan emanating from Lex. Immediately, everyone in the room seemed to loose interest in whatever they were talking about and focused on Lex. It was Martha Kent who first spoke up.
"Lex? It's me, Martha. Are you alright? How are you feeling?" She asked, walking slowly over to his side as if approaching a wild and dangerous animal.
"Clark---" He started hesitantly.
"Clark? Do you want to see Clark? He's right here behind me. Clark? I think Lex wants to talk to you."
"No! Clark, Clark hit me! Clark wouldn't let me go!" Lex said, flinching away from Clark's approaching form. Clark saw his friend's reaction and backed away, the hurt plain on his face.
"Oh man, has he been like this the entire time?" Pete asked, looking to Clark for an answer.
"Yes, ever since he first woke up. The doctor said he doesn't exactly know what's wrong with him, but attributes his current behavior to the shock of seeing what, what he did to Chloe on top of going through heroin withdrawal."
"Is he going to snap out of it anytime soon?" Pete asked, casting a cautious glance in Lex's direction. "Because right now, seeing Luthor like this is seriously freaking me out."
"You and me both, Pete. You and me both." Clark said quietly.
TBC
A/N: Ok, dang it, I didn't actually get into any a serious withdrawal scene in this chapter, I'm sorry. I took a look at how long this one was getting and decided to end it before it got too long. Hope you liked, the next part should be up soon. Thanks for reading!! Please post your reviews!!