Part 5

He had never seen a day as bright for interminable months. While around him people celebrated minor victories and mourned venial losses that stressed their own unimportance in the grander scheme of Lex Luthor's life, he maintained a composure that rivaled that of any royalty. At each hour he waited to hear about results and developments, he neither lost his temper nor gave an outward sigh that his hope wavered. Today was the day that his efforts had been repaid.

The day before, Chloe had taken a test after a month of taking pills that he had taken a large part in the research of. With the results of the test in, Lex could not contain his triumph. He strode out of the office building and headed home, stopping only to pick up a bouquet of flowers for his wife. He tamped down the naysayer in his head who would label a different name to her.

The dozen tulips he bore in his arms wrapped him in a fragrant haze of sweetness and mystery. Lex walked purposely towards the apartment that he shared with Chloe, eager to feel her in his arms and know that they won. He succeeded. She was never going to leave him. Months of research and investment paid off to produce the drug that even now showed remarkable improvement in her.

He slipped his key into the lock and pushed open the door. Lex smiled when he heard the noises in the kitchen that for one long moment a few months ago, he had been terrified he would not hear again.

"Chloe!" He relished the assurance that the single piece of paper that told him that the destructive cells were in atrophy gave him-an assurance that he had finally earned the right and ability to say the name again a million times more into the future. "What are you doing in there? Come out. I have a surprise for you!"

"Just a minute." He yearned to burst out that now, she could take all the minutes she needed, and there never needed to be any kind of rush anymore.

Lex frowned when he heard a brief scuffle and a muttered curse. He walked over towards the kitchen and saw Chloe hastily picking up some trash that spilled from the garbage bag. He grinned at the sight of her wearing a scarf around her head to keep her hair from falling over her face. "There's a reason I hired a maid to do this for us every day, you know."

Chloe looked up at him. "Oh I just wanted to get rid of this bag." Her eyes fell on the bouquet he held in his hands. "Is that for me?" she gasped. "Tulips, Lex! They're gorgeous."

"Actually they're for me," he deadpanned. Today was too glorious and he felt the need to inject his own brand of humor, something that he never dared do with the dark cloud that hung above them for a while. "But I guess it would be a bit too feminine if I don't pretend to give it to you." With a smirk, he laid the bouquet on the table and went down on his knees to help her gather the trash.

"No. You wait for me in the dining room," she instructed. "I'll be right out." Chloe crawled a little to lean towards him. "I hope you had a great day, Lex." With one hand placed just over his heart, she pressed a long kiss on his lips.

"Ummm," he murmured. "It just got better. But I can't have the trash lady kissing me because I have someone really hot waiting for me in our Metropolis apartment. I'm going to end up smelling like produce."

"Jerk," she said lightly, slapping him teasingly on the shoulder. "Go."

Lex moved away and stood up. He was about to leave the room when he saw a flash of something white behind the refrigerator. Knowing that Chloe was probably not going to see that it rolled there together with some crumpled balls of paper, Lex bent to pick it up. The moment he felt the smooth surface, he froze. Lex read the words on the bottle in disbelief. "Chloe," he said with a touch of coolness in his voice. "Why are you throwing these out?"

The guilt on her face was so pronounced that she could not backtrack and claim that they were not meant to be thrown away.

"You promised that you would try. And we did. You're getting better, Chloe. What the hell is this?" He gripped the jar tightly in his fist and looked away. "There's an easier way of getting away from me than death, Chloe. You just had to say so."

Chloe released an exasperated breath. She grabbed the tablets in his hand and threw it back into the garbage bag. "Don't give me that drama, Lex. It's not going to work on me." She stopped when she saw his nostrils flare. He tightened his jaw to keep from saying anything. Chloe stepped towards him. She reached out and placed her hand on his upper arm. Chloe bit her lip when he flinched. "Lex, don't do this."

"Is it so difficult to understand that I want you to stay with me, Chloe? I thought we agreed that you're going to take the pills until you're completely recovered."

"Lex," she started. "We have to throw them away. Look at me." When he did not, she repeated more firmly, "Look at me, Lex." He turned his head and met her stare. Lex released a deep breath. "I need your help so badly. You have to help me not take those drugs. We're going to have a baby."

And now she was smiling when all he could do was wish desperately that he would not release his agonized cry. The news that would have brought him such happiness on another occasion merely caused his frustration to mount. It took all his willpower to say in a deep, controlled voice, "No, Chloe."

Her eyes widened at his pronouncement. "Is it going to be too much of a problem, Lex?"

He placed his forehead on hers and slightly shook his head. "I'm not going to let a baby ruin your treatment. If having one means that you have to stop taking the medicines, then we're going to have it aborted."

Chloe pushed him away. "What are you talking about?" Her hands protectively went over her stomach. "Don't be crazy, Lex! This is a once in a lifetime chance for me. I may not even survive this treatment and you want me to give up my baby?" she cried in disbelief. "You're seriously deranged if you think I'll let you kill this."

"We can have a baby when you're better."

"No!" she spat out. "Lex, I can die right now and what would I leave you? A memory that we were hoping that I wouldn't. This is the real thing, Lex. This baby will be my line from wherever I would be, to you. Please help me," she ended in a whisper.

He appeared fascinated by his hand now. He kept his gaze on it as he reached to take hers. He gripped her hand in his and pulled her to him. Lex pleaded, "Don't let us lose."

The sudden shift in his mood calmed her somehow. Chloe shook her head. "This isn't losing. We're going to be parents, Lex." This time, he could hear the tears in her voice. "It's a gift."

"If we have this baby," he replied gravelly, "I just know, Chloe, we're going to lose."

"Haven't we all been put here to lose anyway?" she answered. That was when the bright day was suddenly thrown into pitch blackness. Lex knew with those words that along with this new person that she called gift, Chloe had already accepted an irreversible consequence that would balance out her universe, and destroy his own.

~~

Her footsteps echoed through the room as the dead night silenced any other noise except for hers. Lena wondered if she would see Ted still sitting outside and at once decided that he would no longer be there. Her cousin had fulfilled his part in her grandfather's will. He had handed Lena the key and it would be up to her to explore and learn on her own.

The lovely mahogany desk loomed a few feet away from her. She remembered seeing it several times in Lex Luthor's office. He had sat behind the impressive furniture and transformed from an old man to the vanguard of the Luthor power.

For all his sins, Lex Luthor had been a part of everything in her life. It was not his fault that he had been tempted away from the marital bed by this Chloe Sullivan, whose bright eyes and golden hair Lena was ashamed to note so resembled her own. Her grandfather's mistress was long gone and with her died any trace of her part in the Luthor line. All that remained to completely eradicate the influence of the woman was to burn this room down. Perhaps she would have men come over and haul the contents of this pathetic rendition of Taj Mahal that her grandfather created for his mistress.

Lena went behind the desk and pulled out the heavy chair behind it. She settled into the cushioned seat and closed her eyes briefly. Everything reminded her of the old man who at each moment in the years she knew him appeared so lacking in an intangible manner. She would not believe even for a brief second that the loss of an illicit affair encumbered him for the rest of his life.

No detour from married life had such a lasting effect on one man-especially one who was larger than life.

She laid her hand on the intricate handle of the drawer in front of her. She knew that Lex Luthor had spent most of his years with her grandmother Helen. That assured her that at least, Lex had put his sins behind him and led a life devoted only to one woman. Lena debated in her mind whether or not to feel sorry for Chloe Sullivan. How easily she had been forgotten. And then she recalled just where she was now, and knew that Chloe did not need sympathy for that. Chloe was remembered; and that was all there was of her.

Lex Luthor still continued with his life outside memories.

Lena pulled the drawer open and saw the frame inside. Carefully, she drew out the silver lined glass and held it up to the light. Her eyes swam in involuntary moisture that she hastily dried. Her heart rejected the sight. Her rational mind clicked into place as a flood of logic filled the blanks.

Her grandfather stood proudly behind a beaming Chloe Sullivan, his hands resting on her very pregnant stomach.

It seemed like a private party, with only two other people caught in the background. A glittering sign hanging from the windows proclaimed a Happy New Year. It was the year that her father was born.