All disclaimers still apply and a giant THANK YOU! to all who have replied to my posts. Thank you thank you thank you all.
Oh… and I decided to be evil in this chapter… don't get too mad.
**************************************************
"Are you listening?"
"Ears wide open."
"Okay. Bethany."
"Mm, nope."
"Sydney."
"No."
"Katherine?"
"I'm sure we can find something better."
"Okay… Gwendolyn?"
"Eh."
"Are you really considering any of these? Because I'd hate to waste my breath over here."
"Try again and we'll see."
"Right. How about Samantha?"
"…"
"Hello? Lex?"
"Nah."
"You enjoyed getting my hopes up, didn't you?"
"More than you know. Don't you have any boy names on that list?"
"Yeah, but we won't need them."
"… I thought we agreed not to find out. You haven't been bribing the doctor, now have you?"
"Extortion and inducement is your department, so that would be a no. Haven't I already told you that a mother knows?"
"Sure you have… give me the boy names."
"Ugh. Fine. Andrew."
"Andrew Luthor. No, that doesn't really fit."
"Benjamin."
"Better, but not quite."
"You're terrible, Lex."
"What?"
"You're not going to agree to any of these."
"Chloe, what in the world would make you say that?"
"Drop the innocent tone, Luthor, it reeks of phoniness. It's all about that stupid tradition, isn't it?"
"They're good initials."
"So I automatically have to have children with the same initials as you, your father, Lana-"
"Hey, it's easy to monogram, and I've got plenty of extra handkerchiefs. We'll never have to order new ones."
"I never thought I'd see that day when Lex Luthor was cutting corners. Next thing I know, people are going to start calling me Lo-ey just to please you."
"Well, that certainly does have a nice ring-"
"Snowball's chance, Lex."
"Ah. Point taken."
"Does my reminder that your first name isn't Lex, but is in fact Alexander mean anything to you?"
"Absolutely none. When was the last time anyone called me Alexander? No, Lex goes quite well with Luthor."
"Idiotic men with their insipid institutions."
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
"I believe that you're beginning to reek of phoniness."
"Bite me."
"Interesting offer. Now are you sure that there aren't any L names on that list?"
"Heh heh heh."
"And why do I suddenly regret asking that?"
"Lucas."
"Hell no."
"Why not? It starts with an L."
"I'm not about to leave my brother with the impression that we're naming a child after him."
"So much for carrying on a family name."
"Give me another."
"Lionel."
"Now you're just being vulgar."
"It's a strong name. Very prolific."
"As proven by the existence of Lucas."
"So you agree?"
"Stop sniffing paint, Loey."
"Oh, hell no you didn't."
"Hell, yes, I did."
"May I remind you, again, that I'm already home and have it in my power to lock you out of the house? The staff fears me nowadays, you know."
"Truce?"
"Why would I agree to that?"
"Because if we keep going in this manner, I have a feeling my phone will be disconnected before we agree on anything else."
"…True."
"We'll discuss this when I get home tonight. We can argue through the night if you wish."
"I'm looking forward to it. And Lex?"
"Yes, Chloe?"
"One more."
"Fine. What is it?"
"Ca-Lark."
"You are in so much trouble when I get home."
**************************************************
Chloe stepped back, staring up at the wall with an evaluating eye. Squinting just a little, she reached up and shifted the picture a little bit before turning to Ann-Marie. "How about now?"
Haplessly covered with several swatches of fabric, mouth full of color samples (which Chloe had stuffed in there only moments before), Ann-Marie gave her a vague shrug. "Iv luks etter."
"Yeah, I think so, too," Chloe said vaguely. She cocked her head to the side before giving one corner a slight nudge. "There we go."
Turning back to the other woman, Chloe finally took a little a pity into her busy mind and removed the brightly colored papers from Ann-Marie's mouth. "Sorry, didn't want to put them on the floor… takes too much time to bend down these days."
Ann-Marie would have agreed, if she didn't mildly fear her friend getting upset. Chloe's stomach was getting to the point where 'massive' would have been a compliment, but those around the mansion knew better than to mention that out loud. They went around, instead, muttering underneath their breath that the newest Luthor had just over eight weeks to go before they could once more receive the sweeter, more evenly-tempered Chloe Luthor. It was a happy thought… though a bit disheartening at times.
Chloe rubbed idly at the side of her stomach, glancing around at different areas of the room. It had taken some time for agreement, but Lex had finally convinced her that that their child didn't belong in a separate wing of the house. She'd insisted on getting reacquainted with her personal space (For heaven's sake, Lex! Don't you think nine months is enough mommy-daughter time? I need my breathing room!) while Lex had been leaning more towards having the bassinet a little closer… as in right next to their bed (Don't you see it'd be easier to get to him when he starts crying?)
Of course, that had started a whole other argument, as well as more mutterings.
Their compromise finally rested on what everyone else had insisted all along; the baby was to get its own room, directly across the hall from the Luthor's bedroom. So, all the while Lex was at work, Chloe, Ann-Marie and Lana set to work in decorating the new room. The walls were freshly painted (a nice, neutral beige), a plush carpet installed and the windows changed from their stain glass to clear panes that let in plenty of sunlight. It was to the point that Lex looked in every night when he got home, curious to see what the latest addition was.
"Let me see… how about this for the crib?" Chloe held up a color sample in deep rosewood red. "I saw one like this the last time we went shopping and I think it'll go well."
Ann-Marie only studied it for a moment before nodding. "It will. But didn't Mr. Luthor want the white furniture?"
"Well, Mr. Luthor," Chloe said breezily, "is at work all day and will have trust my decisions."
Lana's entrance at that moment was a quick save, as she turned Chloe from Ann-Marie's rolling eyes. She came loaded down with several bags full of fabric in one hand and a carton carrying three drinks in the other. "Hey, some help here?"
"Ooh," Chloe reached over and grabbed her drink out of the carton. "Thanks."
Lana looked over incredulously at Ann-Marie, who simply shrugged. Fabric scattered as the older woman rose and relieved Lana of several items. Whispering, she commented, "She's been a little distracted. Don't mind her."
"Tell me about it," Lana muttered back. A grin began to creep on her face as Chloe struggled to sit down on the floor. Not quite ready to abandon Chloe to her own devices, she threw off the last of the bags and helped her sit. "Mind if I bring a crane in here to help you up later?"
Chloe glared at her, "Don't piss off the pregnant woman, Lana."
"Sorry, sorry," Lana held up her hands in defense. "Didn't realize we couldn't joke anymore."
"You get some fumbling, punching, bloat-inducing object jammed into your uterus first and then we'll talk about joking," Chloe griped.
"Is she always like this these days?" Lana put her hands on her hips and looked lazily over at Ann-Marie.
"She has her better periods. While she sleeps, for example."
Chloe scowled at the two grinning women. "I can hear you, you know."
"Oops, could have sworn deafness was a side effect of pregnancy," Lana sat down on the floor next to her. "I'll keep it in mind for next time."
"Next time, it'll be yours and Pete's, believe me, Lex is going to have a hell of a hard time trying to get me to do this again."
"Ah, the beauty of youth," Ann-Marie said dryly. She completed the triangle on the floor, dragging over the newest bags and pilfering through them. One by one, they discussed which would make for the best linens, curtains and whatnot for the entire room. Chloe would have vetoed all of them if the other two hadn't insisted on her taking another look before throwing them to the side. Luckily, by the end of an hour, they had narrowed down their choices to a select few that Chloe was sure would find approval from her husband.
It was early afternoon by the time they'd finally risen, Chloe with a bit of help from her friends. Wiping off her pants, Chloe added to their steady conversation by remarking, "I really do think he's being too stubborn about the whole thing."
"Every man wants a male heir, even more so in this case, he's actually got much more to give than a favorite item or a small inheritance. A Luthor will want a Luthor to run the business when it's all said and done." Ann-Marie neatly folded the last of the fabric and placed them on a pile against the opposite wall.
"Why can't it be a female Luthor, though? It's not like she'll have any less brains than if she were a boy," Chloe said grumpily.
Lana laughed, "How can you be so sure it's a girl anyway?"
"I just am." Chloe crossed her arms. "And any daughter of mine will be able to run the corporation with an iron fist if she wishes to, she'll be raised to do no less."
"I'm sure," Lana replied. When Ann-Marie hummed idly, she asked, "What is it?"
"My mother was always sure she'd have a boy, every single pregnancy that came by. Said she just knew."
Chloe's interest piqued. "And?"
"I'm the third of four girls."
Eyes wide at the thought, Chloe looked back and forth between her friends. "Well… I… that's not… who's to say I'm not right?"
Ann-Marie shrugged, "That's just the way it went."
"Um, well…" Chloe gulped a little. "I think… I need another drink. I think I'll go find Louis."
Lana watched her exit the room in a hurry, an amused expression coming over her face. Turning to Ann-Marie, she asked, "Is that true?"
"Certainly is." Ann-Marie winked, "Oh, wait, did I forget to mention my six brothers?"
**************************************************
He hated the whispers that surrounded him every time he stepped out of his main offices. They were an annoying buzz that followed him everywhere, whether just stepping into the elevator or if he was at another plant, evaluating its progress. No lips may have been moving as he stood in front of his employees, but Lex knew that was soon as his back turned, there were knowing looks and busy mouths.
Gabe tried to shrug it off, but the thought of his father-in-law struggling with the comments that could be readily heard around LexCorp was infuriating. It wasn't his fault that everyone found it absolutely fascinating that Lex had married his manager's daughter and, even more, she was pregnant. And judging from the blurry pictures that some 'photojournalists' had managed to take, she was far more pregnant than fit into the wedding license that had been put on display in the Metropolis Inquisitor for all to see. It certainly had tongues wagging.
Lex Luthor hated it.
So, he was close to being in the darkest of moods already when he came walked into his office to find a shaggy-haired man sitting behind his desk, looking quite too pleased with himself. He should have known something was off when Bridget has been missing from her own post outside the door, but when a mind was consumed with gossip-mongering, missing the obvious happened all too often.
"I was beginning to think that you weren't going to come at all, Lex. From my recollection, once the head of the company begins to lose his grip on things, all the others come tumbling after." Lionel Luthor brought his hands together in a steeple and leant his chin on top. "We wouldn't want that to happen, now would we?"
"If my own recollection is correct, you were told that your presence would never be requested, nor tolerated, in these offices," Lex said boldly, defying the surprise at finding his father in his personal space. "That said, get out."
"Oh, Lex, come on," Lionel leaned back in the chair, "Here I am to simply discuss the latest goings on in the life of my dear son and I'm not even properly welcomed."
"The latest occurrences in my life have absolutely nothing to do with you," Lex said with an air of coldness. "Do yourself a favor and leave the premises before I need to call security to escort you out. And believe me, I'll make sure they use the nice, public route."
"Oh," Lionel huffed, "Would the family man Lex Luthor really throw out his own father? I think not."
Lex glared at him as he rounded the desk and jerked the chair away from it. Pushing on it, he said in smooth undertones, "Would you like to give it a try?"
With a smooth refinement that only Lex could master beside himself, Lionel drew away from the seat and looked over it at his son. "Forgive me for being under the impression that your impending paternity would have made you a little more welcoming when it came to your own father."
"You wouldn't even be welcome at my death bed, as you surely know by now," Lex said bitterly. "Your plans for getting me there all the sooner withstanding."
"Promises, promises," Lionel sing-songed as he began to walk to the door. He paused, however, before reaching it. "You are the father, aren't you? I'd hate for there to be a mix-up when it came to that lovely wife of yours."
Lex was already having a bad day to rival all others, so it was a strong conviction on his part that kept him from throwing his paperweight at Lionel's poised body, which was not even facing him. Seething and trying not to show it, he said, "I have no doubt that you already have a phlebotomist on hand to draw blood at the first opportunity, surely you can wait until you receive those results? I hardly doubt you'll take me at my word that this child is mine."
"Oh, it's not that I don't trust you, Lex," Lionel said smoothly as he turned back to his son. "But you always have to be careful with women, and I must say that has never been your strong point. Wife number three, am I correct?"
"Seeing as the first was a mind-controlling vamp and the second one of your loyal pawns, I'd hardly consider them to count towards much consequence in my life." Lex leaned forward in his seat and very deliberately made a steeple of his hands, carefully balancing his chin on the tip. "I suppose you really do hate that you have absolutely nothing to do with this marriage, that Chloe is in no way under your control. Nor I, for that matter."
His point made, Lex sat back in his chair, throwing one arm over an armrest and the other gently rubbing at his jaw line. The careful pose exuding nothing but bored elegance, he stared at his father with disinterested eyes. "Shall I be calling my guards in now?"
"There will come a day," Lionel's voice was cold and calculating now, all false warmth disappearing in an instant, "that you will regret turning your back on family."
Lex raised one eyebrow and shook his head slowly. "I have a family, Lionel… please excuse any lost invitations to the baby's christening. I'm sure you understand."
Glaring at Lex, Lionel made his way towards the exit and was nearly out the door before saying, "Oh, could you please tell Chloe that I do hope she's keeping up her end of the bargain? Thank you."
He was gone before Lex could recover.
**************************************************
"Okay, I went online and found a ton of names that even you have to give some thought to," Chloe's bright voice reached Lex's ears just as he came into the bedroom. She waved a stack of papers in her hand at him. "And, lucky you, I decided to give in just a little and find some boy names to go over."
Lex would normally have laughed at the small scrap of paper that she held up at him, but laughter was quite out of the question at this point. Instead, he gave only a raised eyebrow towards her small allowance and began to pull out his change of clothes for bed.
"Okay," Chloe looked slightly affronted. "Is this a sign that I should have picked out more than three names?"
"I'm not in the mood right now, Chloe," Lex muttered as he strode across the bedroom and began to pull on a t-shirt to sleep in.
"All right." Chloe looked confusedly at him as he fought to put on the shirt and then change into pajama pants. "How come you're home so late? I had to call Pete and Lana to cancel our dinner plans when you never called me back this afternoon."
"I run an important business," Lex said in clipped tones. "I don't always have time to play around, all right?"
Chloe jerked back her head, "Excuse me, what?"
"Never mind," Lex threw his shoes into the corner of the room and began to climb into their bed. "Good night."
He'd clicked off the lamp on his side of the bed, Chloe staring at his back for a shocked moment. Then, with her mouth going in a straight line, she began to hit his shoulders with the papers in her hand. "Oh, hell no, it's not going to be like this. Get up, Alexander Luthor!"
"What?" Lex smacked away the papers that she was slamming him with. "Will you stop that?"
"Okay, I don't know what kind of day you had after we spoke this morning, but you are not going to walk in like this and treat me as if I'm an obstacle you need to get past before getting a good night's rest. You want an obstacle? I'll give you one!" Chloe began to push on his back. "Get up!"
"Damn it, Chloe!" Lex stumbled off the bed, barely keeping from tripping onto his face. "I had a long day, could I please just go to sleep?"
"Oh, uh-uh, I don't think so." Chloe crossed her arms and glared at him. "What happened?"
"Nothing happened," Lex growled. "Except for the fact that my wife has decided to turn abusive and I'm losing time of when I could have been resting."
"You haven't even begun to see how abusive I can be." Chloe leaned over and turned back on the lamp on the other side of the bed, satisfied when Lex flinched from the sudden bright light. "Spill it, Lex, or believe me, you're going to be wishing that you'd gone straight to the couch instead of coming in here."
"Fine," Lex threw his hands in the air, "Do you want to know what's wrong? How about that every time you go into Smallville, photographers are waiting to get a picture of you so they can sell to the highest bidder? Or how about that half the people who are under my employ are more busy gossiping about how your father must have gotten his last promotion because I married his daughter than actually doing their job? Or the fact that YOU have abstained from informing me about your contact with my own father?"
Chloe's mouth fell open for a few seconds before she took a deep breath of air and haughtily said, "I have never, ever seen you worried about people gossiping or photographers following someone, whether it's you, me and anyone else within the name of Luthor. What the hell, then, is going on with your father?"
Lex froze upon hearing her words. Chloe cocked her head at him in a challenge, clearly saying with her body that she was willing to wait as long as possible for some straight answers. She met his gaze unblinkingly, her eyes defying the way he was trying to stare her down. Perturbed a little by her inability to back down, Lex evenly said, "I want to know what's going on between you and my father."
Blinking once, then twice at his calm words, Chloe shook her head. "What in the world are you talking about?"
"My father," Lex said carefully, "came into my office today and told me to tell you that he hopes you're keeping up your end of the bargain. Care to tell me what that is all about?"
Chloe stared at Lex for several seconds before finally snorting. Laughter grew from inside her belly rising up and releasing in a full burst from her mouth. "Your father and I? A bargain!"
"Chloe… Chloe, stop… Chloe stop laughing," Lex put his hands on his hips, not seeing what she was finding funny. "Stop laughing!"
"You are such an idiot!" Chloe began to hit her palm against the bed several times. "Lex, I thought you were finally done with letting your father get to you!"
Her body was fully on the bed now, her chest shaking with the chuckles coming from her mouth. Lex looked on, his mouth quirking as Chloe put her hands to her growing stomach and tried catching her breath. "This isn't funny."
"Yes it is! Oh, Lex, don't you get it?" Chloe stared up at him from upside down. "What in the world did you say to him?"
"I told him," Lex sighed, "I told him he wasn't a welcome part of my family."
"And let me guess, right before he walked out the door he said something to the effect that I was in league with him, right?" Chloe let out a huff of air that oddly sounded like another laugh, but she took a good look at him and sobered. "Oh, my gosh, you actually believed him? Lex, please, don't tell me you believed him."
The absurdity of it all was beginning to get past the shock of actually hearing his father say what he had and was bringing a little embarrassment with it. Lex couldn't bring himself to meet Chloe's eyes as she rolled over and lifted herself from the bed. "I…"
"Lex," Chloe said quietly. "You didn't, did you? How could you ever think that of me?"
"It was, I'd been having a bad day," Lex answered lamely. "And you don't exactly have a clean track record when it comes to dealing with Lionel Luthor."
"That's no excuse," Chloe scooted over to him and put her hands up and cupped his chin. "Look at me. I would never do anything as stupid as getting involved with your father again. Not after the last time. I'm lucky that I escaped that whole fiasco unscathed. Why would I want us, this, to be in the hands of that psycho? No offense."
"None taken," Lex said dryly. Finally looking straight at her again, the embarrassment grew as Lex could see nothing but pure honesty on her face. "Damn, Chloe, I'm sorry, I don't know why I let him get to me."
"It's okay," Chloe moved to hug him. "I know it's been difficult, but we can't let him get to us. All he does is cause havoc, and most of the time he just does it for fun. Lex, you're stronger than this."
"I thought I was," Lex mused before pulling away from her. Chloe, however, drew him back.
"You are, Lex. You are." She kissed him once, softly, before chuckling. "When did this become the norm? I'm kissing my husband, Lex Luthor, on purpose."
Lex's hands stroked Chloe's forearms as he sighed and shook his head. "I have no idea."
"Eh, it's too late to be asking those kinds of questions anyway. Now come to bed before I have to give you another smack down." Chloe paused for a moment. "Lex, you really aren't bothered by that other stuff, are you? The gossip and privacy issues, I mean."
Lex paused for a second before saying, "No, of course not." He waved his hands in the air as if the conversation was pointless. "What can I say, you saw right through me, though I can't believe I actually let myself-"
"Reall-" Chloe stopped suddenly as she threw the covers to the side and gasped from the sudden pain.
"What?" Lex was just about to turn off the lamp when he heard her.
"Nothing." She was rubbing at the bottom of her back. "I've just been having these cramps every once in a while. Don't worry about it, the doctor said it was normal."
Lex looked over worriedly, "Are you sure?"
"Very," Chloe snapped off the light. She opened her mouth as if to ask one question, but then seemed as if she thought better of it. Instead, she asked "Is it okay if we skip the baby naming argument until tomorrow?"
Lex moved over and put an arm over Chloe's middle. "I still say it's a boy."
"Here comes that second smack down, then."
**************************************************
"I don't understand why he's lying to me," Chloe said slowly. She looked up at Lana who was rearranging the papers on her desk. "I mean, you should have seen the look on his face, Lana."
Lana stopped for a moment before putting her phone to the side and beginning to wipe off the dust underneath where it had been. "I've never found reading Lex Luthor as an easy thing.
"I live with the man, sleep in the same bed with him, of course I know when he's lying," Chloe sighed. "Who would have thought those things would bother him? I mean, I'm the one who has to go into Fordman's and get the cold shoulder because I'm suddenly Mrs. Luthor and not just Chloe. I'm the one who has to act like James Bond every time I want to get out of the mansion."
"It's your private life, Chloe," Lana shrugged as she said it. "Who wants their private life put on display?"
"Lex has been on display since he was born-"
"But you haven't," Lana interrupted quietly. "I think for Lex it's one thing, but when it comes to you and the baby, it goes to a whole different level."
"I know, I know," Chloe agreed resignedly. "But if he could just be honest with me about it, at least we'd be able to talk it through. I'm trying to handle it, but he acts as if it's not a true issue."
Lana tucked a dark strand of hair behind her ear and straightened some papers before saying, "I must say I'm a little surprised with you."
"What?"
"Well, this, this isn't you," Lana said hesitantly. "It used to be that you'd go charging after someone for the answers and now you're afraid to ask your own husband for what his opinion is. I would think that you'd have pried it from him ages ago."
Chloe raised her eyebrows at her friend, but finding a comeback was a much harder thing. "It's been a while since I was Chloe Sullivan, girl reporter."
Lana came around the desk and leant back against it, bending her head to the side, "I kind of miss her sometimes."
"Even when she's beating information out of you?" Chloe laughed. "I did that to Lex last night."
Rolling her eyes, Lana said, "I would think you could be more subtle than that. And a vague flash of curiosity isn't even close to the intrepid fact-searching that you used to do."
"I do miss the chase," Chloe said idly as she played with a silver chain that was dangling around her neck. "I just don't want to rock the boat here. We're getting along just fine, kind of finding our equilibrium where we don't kill each other with words half the time."
"Rocking the boat might not be a bad idea. If you want answers," Lana scrunched her nose humorously, "you're going to have to go after them."
Chloe began to bite on her thumbnail, giving Lana a thorough look. Who knew that there would come a time when Lana would give Chloe proper advice concerning one Lex Luthor? Smiling at the thought, Chloe pulled her hand from her mouth and said, "Feel like going to Metropolis?"
**************************************************
This day was definitely, infinitely, without a doubt, going worse than the one before.
First, Lex had to fire one of his top engineers because when he'd walked into the said man's office and found him enthralled with the latest Inquisitor photos rather than paying attention to the monitor in front of him. Perhaps that would have been just enough to get Lex in a foul mood, as giving a stern talking-down was not one of his favorite things to do in the morning. The man may have gotten away with just that had Lex not heard him muttering under his breath about how he was glad his own daughter was underage… though he wasn't sure if that was protection enough from a Luthor.
Yes, the office had been packed up quite quickly.
Second, Bridget brought in the bad news that Lionel was already up to his old tricks, trying to coerce his investors into selling their shares; he was using the pretense that Lex Luthor was not mentally capable to be a CEO and had invented the whole 'wife' story himself to appear more stable. Of course, his investors knew better than that, but Lionel certainly knew just how to piss him off.
The last was the absolute worst and it was standing right in front of him.
The young man shifted from one foot to another, nervously looking over his shoulder as if he were expecting someone to come in any moment and save him. Lex would have liked to think that he would handle this situation much better on any other day, but that was out of the question. So, instead, the afternoon found Lex glowering at the young man from where he sat at his desk, his eyes raking over the other man with utter disdain.
"Explain yourself."
The young man coughed. "I, see, Mr. Luthor, um, my mother is really sick-"
"Nonsense, she's in perfect health," Lex rudely interrupted. "Believe me, I do my background work before bringing someone into my office. Try again."
Growing red in the face, the man played with the strap around his neck, one hand resting on a camera against his chest. "Mr. Luthor-"
"From what I remember, there was a confidentiality contract that you were more than happy to sign when I handed over the check to you," Lex interrupted again, his voice loud with authority and just as cold. "My question is to why you found it so easy to break that contract when you were offered more money."
"It, I, um," the young man stumbled to find an explanation, but soon went mute after several failed efforts.
"Do you realize," Lex said in a calculating manner, still staring him down, "what I could do to you? To whatever pitiful career you were planning to have using my family's private life as a platform?"
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Luthor, I shouldn't have, but they were offering me so much!" The words shot out in a rapid-fire manner. He was clenching his camera with both hands now, as if it were his only defense.
"So you found it quite easy to exploit one of the most private things in my life?" Lex rose up from his desk and rested his hands on it before leaning forward. "How did you not expect me to find out?"
"I was… stupid," the young man said meekly, shrinking backwards.
"That would be an understatement."
He was backing up now, against the wall, trying to find whatever solace there was to keep him from the irate Luthor before him. He flinched as Lex's hand shot out, not even putting up a fight as Lex ripped away the strap holding up his camera. Lex held it up, looking at it closely before saying coolly, "I expect much more than this from the people I have hired, do you hear me?"
Stunned, the young man didn't dare reply in the affirmative or otherwise. He threw his hands over his head as Lex suddenly flung the camera across the room, making it shatter upon contact with the wall.
"DO YOU HEAR ME?"
"Yes, Mr. Luthor, I hear you!" Shaking madly, he pitifully said, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I won't ever do it again…"
"Of course you won't." His calm demeanor was back, but the lack of emotion was betrayed by the fury that Lex's eyes couldn't help but give away. "I want you to hear this. I want every single picture, every single copy you've made along with every negative you chose to withhold from me and I want it now, do you understand? I believe this offer is incredibly generous considering the devastation I could incur on your career, so I expect nothing but what I've fully requested."
The threat in his voice was clear and it was malicious, so much so that the younger man was near tears, but he nodded frantically as Lex turned away from him. "Yes, Mr. Luthor."
"And if you ever cross me again-"
"They were only pictures," said the young man anxiously in a last ditch effort to lessen the tension. "Just pictures!"
"Just pictures?" Lex slowly turned on his heel back to the young man, once more getting in his face. "Just. Pictures?"
His fist was in the air before he could stop himself, the other man falling to the ground in a heap, blood streaming from his nose. Shock coursed through him, but the anger was far more prevalent. "You were trying to profit off of my family! There is no way in hell that they could have been just pictures!"
The young man wiped at his nose, visibly queasy at seeing his blood striped across his hand. "I'm sorry, Mr. Luthor. You're right, you are," he admitted shakily.
But Lex couldn't hear him through the storm filling his ears. He bent over quickly, roughly bringing up the other man and pushing him against the wall next to the door. His anger barely contained, he violently muttered, "Don't make me show you how Luthor's handle things the messy way."
Nodding frantically once more, the other man hesitantly reached for the doorknob, helped along the way by Lex's angry movements. Eyes narrowing at the other man's easy show of weakness, Lex threw the door open and violently shoved the other man out of his office. "Get the hell out of my sight."
Stumbling now along with wiping at his nose, the young man steadied himself against Bridget's desk, the secretary looking at him with a mixture of pity and horror. Bringing her eyes to Lex's, she began to shake her head slowly. "Mr. Luthor."
"What?" Lex was about to slam the door shut behind him when he caught the look on Bridget's face and then turned to where her stare was now directed.
Chloe and Lana were sitting on the plush chairs against the sidewall that Lex had regretfully overlooked until right then. Lana's eyes barely registered shock, but Chloe's expression gave everything away.
It was as if his insides had collapsed all at once when he saw the absolute disgust on her face.
"Chloe," said Lex throatily as he began to walk toward her, but she stood as quickly as she could, putting her hands up and scoffing.
"Get away from me. Just get away." Taking one last look at the young man standing in between all of them, Chloe simply shook her head and strode over to the elevators. She punched the 'down' button with her full fist before sending a scathing look at Lex from over her shoulder. She turned only once inside and glared at him until the doors fully closed.
Silence filled the space between the last three people left in the waiting room, each of them looking desperately at the other as Lex's own face became blank. Without a word, he turned and went into his office, slamming the door behind him.
**************************************************
One good thing about Metropolis was that a person could easily get lost in the crowds. Chloe appreciated this as she wound her way around business people in their black suits and heavy suitcases. Getting lost in a big city meant less photographers tracking behind her.
One less camera this afternoon though, Chloe thought bitterly. She could still remember the way she and Lana had flinched when they heard the machinery breaking against Lex's wall right before he screamed at the other man from inside the office. Even through the wall, the rage in his voice was beyond fathom. Her stomach had turned when she saw the young man's bloodied nose, the flesh around the middle of his face already turning the deep purple that came with a severe bruise. Chloe felt her insides clench and a slight pain shoot through her abdomen at the thought and lowered her head slightly. That had to have been the worst Lex Luthor she'd ever heard, let alone seen.
No wonder Bridget keep trying to go back downstairs until he was done, she knew exactly what was going on. She knew and I didn't. Just like I don't know him. Even after all this time, I still don't fully know him. Tears began to sting at her eyes, but Chloe held them back. And here I thought everything was going along wonderfully. How could I have been so stupid?
The ache in her back was becoming more than a little bothersome, so Chloe looked around her spirits lifting slightly when she saw an empty bench next to a hot dog stand. She hadn't been sitting but a moment before turning to the man selling the food and ordering a fully-loaded hot dog. To hell with heartburn, what does it matter when I have a husband with a serious rage problem? Chloe rolled her eyes and bit into the hot dog, chewing thoughtfully as she stared at the people walking all around.
So, what's next, Sullivan? The corner of her mouth lifted. It'd been a while since she'd referenced to herself like that. But if what I just witnessed is what being a Luthor's like I'm not so sure I want to be a part of the club.
Sighing, Chloe looked up at the building in front of her, rather surprised to realize where she was. The Daily Planet.
Well, hello there, old life of mine. Nice to see you again.
"Chloe?" The voice interrupted before she could start losing herself in the memories of Smallville Torch and Metropolis U Oracle. "Is that you?"
She dared one glance at the other person before sighing loudly. "Hi, Clark."
He stood before her, looking a bit out of place with overly large glasses perched on his nose and an ill-fitting suit crookedly trying to find a decent place to lay on his body. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to wallow in self-pity, do you mind?"
"Not at all." Clark sat down on the bench next to her and held up a finger to the man who had previously served Chloe her snack. "The usual, Bernie."
"Sure thing, Kent."
Chloe regarded him with an interested look. "The usual?"
Clark shrugged, his cheeks growing a little red. "Oracle business brings me around here a lot. I'm not sure if you heard, but I got the editor position after you turned it down. It makes me come around every few days to the Planet."
"Oh." Chloe looked at him once and then shot a double take. "Why in the world are you wearing those ridiculous things?"
She was reaching out to take off the revolting plastic frames from his face, but Clark pushed her hand away lightly. "Don't. They're my… my glasses."
"I'm sure. When in the world did you hurt your eyes enough to warrant breaking off the bottom of coke bottles and sticking them on your face?"
Clark didn't answer her, instead taking his order off of Bernie's hands and handing over his payment. He gave Chloe a concerned glance as he began to eat. Mouth full, he said, "Didn't expect to find you here."
"Surprise, surprise," Chloe drawled. "I would have thought your radar would have been screaming 'damsel in distress!' and you came running right over."
"Damsel…" Clark looked confused before asking, "Are you all right?"
"Well, I'm pregnant, tired, staring at the life I left behind and have a husband with serious medulla oblongata volume problems." Chloe shrugged. "I'm just spiffy."
"What happened?"
Chloe would have much rather stood up and started walking away from all of it, but there was something in Clark tone that had her defenses lowering a little. For once in a long time, she was starting to see a little bit of her old friend looking back at her, so after a few moments hesitation, she said, "I, ugh, I just walked in on something I'd rather not have seen."
"Lex." Clark's face grew stony. "What did he do to you?"
"Nothing, nothing." Chloe assured him as she rubbed her forehead. "I just overheard him giving a very, very thorough 'lecture' to the guy who took pictures at our wedding. At least, I think it was him, I didn't get to see him for very long."
Clark's face grew, if anything, more puzzled. "Why in the world would he be doing that?"
"I can only guess that he, the photographer I mean, was planning on selling pictures from our wedding to the highest bidder," Chloe said. "I don't think Lex handled it very well."
"Lex rarely does," Clark murmured as he sat back. "Are you okay, though?"
"I guess. Disillusioned. Shocked. Upset. All of the above times two." Chloe looked over at him. "It's just made me realize how much I don't know about Lex, especially concerning his temper."
"Lex was always hard to read," Clark assented.
"That's what Lana said."
They locked gazes and cracked a smile at each other. "Clark-"
"Chloe-"
They both started at the same time, but Clark held out his hand as if letting her go first. Chloe took a deep breath before saying, "The last time we spoke didn't exactly go as I planned you know. Then again, hardly anything does these days."
Clark nodded slowly as she continued. "It wasn't my intention to ride on you so badly, but, well-"
"I didn't give you much of a choice," Clark finished.
"Yeah."
"Hmm," Clark murmured. "Chloe, it's just that-"
But before he could teller just what 'that' was, a scream could be heard from down the street. Clark's eyes grew wide at the sound and Chloe laughed. He gave her one desperate look before she waved her hand. "Go ahead, I should get going anyway. Self-pity hasn't ever really been my thing. It's best if I get out of it."
"Thanks, Chloe." Clark stuffed his unfinished hot dog into her hand. "Gotta go."
"Bye," Chloe said softly as she saw him disappear into the crowds. Everyone was turning to where the cries were coming from, but Chloe simply looked up at the sky expectantly. Sure enough, only seconds had gone by before a blur appeared out of nowhere, racing towards the woman who was still screaming bloody murder.
"Oh, geez, Clark," Chloe grumbled as she got up from her seat, ignoring another pain at the bottom of her back and wondering just what to say when she came face to face with Lex once more. "Red underwear?"
**************************************************
She was already in bed by the time he got home, their room filled almost completely with darkness, save a few rays of light coming in through the window by means of the moon. Lex stared at her still figure for a moment before undressing, not bothering to fold his clothes, instead flinging them onto the dresser and climbing into bed.
He stared upwards at the ceiling, wondering what it would take to reach a hand across the expanse that separated them. Her breathing was slow and even, but Lex blinked with surprise when he realized that Chloe was no closer to being asleep than he was. Looking over at her back, her hair barely shining from the light, he quietly said, "Chloe?"
Her back visibly tensed, but she said, "Yes?"
"I-"
"Not right now, Lex. I don't know what to say to you."
Bringing up his hands to rub at his face, Lex sighed, "I didn't mean for you to see that."
"Do you really want to discuss this right now?" Chloe didn't bother turning over to him, rather her voice was the only thing that reached out to him, wooden and defensive as it was.
"Fine, never mind," Lex muttered. He'd begun to turn his back to her when he heard a slight whimper. "Chloe?"
"Leave me alone," but she whimpered again.
"What's wrong?"
She sighed. "Not that it matters, but I've been having those stupid Braxton-Hicks contractions all day."
"Contractions?"
"Braxton-Hicks. They're false labor, don't worry about it, the doctor told me they're normal at about this time. Maybe it's jus the stress from today that's bringing them out more." She gathered up more covers and huddled them around her shoulders. "Just go to sleep."
Lex fell silent for a moment, not missing the way she had pointedly made him aware of her opinion. Mouth setting in a straight line, Lex sat up. "You don't understand what was going on today."
"Ugh!" Chloe threw back the blankets covering her and turned to him. "Fine! You want to discuss this, than fine!"
"Do you realize who that was in my office today?" Lex tried to lower the flare of his temper, "It was the man-"
"Who took our wedding photos, I know," Chloe interrupted. "I'm not stupid, Lex. It was more than obvious what was going on in there."
"Then you understand."
"No, I don't understand," Chloe insisted. "I don't understand how in the world you could justify your actions!"
"My actions-"
"Smashing his camera? Assaulting him? Those are not the actions of a man who's thinking of the consequences!" Chloe swung her legs off the bed and stared at Lex from where she stood. "I can't believe that you would actually go that far-"
"Go that far?" Not one to be put in a submissive position, Lex quickly jumped from the bed and stood across from Chloe. "You have no idea what I have to put up with every single day, Chloe! And then to hear that someone that I trusted, who I paid good money was willing to sacrifice our privacy-"
"Our privacy? How the hell could I possibly know what you think of our privacy if you're not willing to talk to me about it, Lex?" Chloe's face could barely be made out in the shadows, but he could see the stubbornness clearly on her features. "I even asked you last night and you brushed me off. Don't you think I can tell when something's bothering you?"
"I was handling-"
"You were not handling it!" Chloe was starting to get louder. "Taking out all your frustration and anger out on one man who made a stupid mistake? Damn it, Lex! People screw up! And they don't need some self-righteous rich boy all over their ass for it!"
Lex's chest drew up with a deep intake of breath. "You have no idea what you're talking about, you haven't had to live with this sort of thing you're entire life. I have."
"How am I supposed to know, Lex? When you're lying to me? When you're trying to protect me from what I should be more than aware of? I am a grown woman and I will not be put in a position where I'm babied!" Chloe was yelling now. "I am not your ward, damn it, I'm your wife! And being such, I should be your partner in everything and I certainly want to have a say in something before you start decorating your office with blood!"
"I will take whatever means in order to protect this family, Chloe," Lex yelled back. "If I have to wield power in order to do so, then so be it!"
Chloe shook her head quickly. "No, I will not allow it to be like that, Lex. What I saw this afternoon was the Lex Luthor that I have always been afraid of, the one people in this town have always hated. How could you possibly give them more ammunition when you know better? When you can be better than that?"
"To hell with this town," Lex shouted. "They don't have to live in this house, knowing that every single time we strive to be normal, we get treated like pariahs, like circus freaks. I am going to make my decisions without regard to them, or anyone, anymore!"
"Then you shouldn't be afraid of what your father tries to do to us, Lex! You should be afraid that you're turning into him!"
The words rang out between them, hanging heavily in the air as Lex took a step back, as if he had been struck. Chloe brought a hand up to her mouth as if amazed she'd actually said the words herself.
It was as if his lungs had ceased the ability to draw in air, the way his body had frozen. Lex's hands began to shake, but he widened his fingers in an effort to control them, stretching the skin taut and then slowly relaxing, finally bringing them into fists. His voice low, he finally said, "I am not my father."
Chloe arrogantly replied, "Well, you sure could have fooled me after what I saw today."
Why was his hand hurting? Lex broke his gaze with Chloe to look down, finally seeing that he'd clenched his hands so tightly that the skin he'd broken earlier today while punching the other man had opened once more. A trickle of blood slid out of a wound on the second finger of his right hand and he stared at it for a moment before looking back at his wife.
Chloe, too, was staring at the abrasion on his hand with revulsion, her face clear now even through the darkness. Very quietly, she said, "Is this the way our life is going to be like, Lex? That man coming out every once in a while, under the pretense that he's trying to take care of us?"
Before he could answer, she'd moved away from the bed and gone straight over to her closet. The door burst open and the light flicked on, spilling light into their room and outlining Chloe's body through the doorway. She came out a few seconds later with a few hangers and a bag in her hand. Lex stood still as she ripped the clothes off the hangers and stuffed them in the bag. He continued to only simply watch as she started rifling through drawers and pulled out different items, then in turn putting them in the bag.
Trying to keep his voice even, he finally asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to Lana's," Chloe laid her hands on the bag which was now bursting at the seams. "I think we need to… I need to get out of here for a little bit."
"No," Lex rounded the bed and grabbed her forearm. "I'm not going to let you run away."
She yanked her arm away. "I'm not running away, Lex."
"Then what is this?"
"This is my way," Chloe swallowed quickly, "This is my way of showing you that I am not going to stand by as you begin to destroy yourself."
Lex looked too stunned to answer, so Chloe continued, "I care about you, Lex. I know I've never said anything pertaining to that, and neither have you, but I do. More than you could possibly know, maybe more than I ever thought was possible. And it's because I do… I can't stand here and watch you use me or this baby as an excuse to turn into something you've fought your entire life." She reached and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. "You're better than him, Lex. You're better than what you did today. And if I have to do something drastic in order for you to realize that, then I'll do it. I'm not going to wait until it's too late."
She lifted her hand away from his, closing her fingers over a sticky wetness. Raising it into view, Chloe realized that she'd grabbed his injured hand and his blood was now smeared between her own fingers. Turning her hand to his face, Chloe shook her head. "Don't you think there was once a man worthy of your mother's love? That would have done anything to protect her? Absolutely anything?"
Her slow and gentle statement hit him harder than anything else and it hurt all the more when she added, "I've refused to become my mother, Lex. It's your turn to stop becoming your father."
**************************************************
Lex stared out the window of his high-rise office, as lost in thought as he'd been since the night before. While his eyes did look out at the scene before him, his mind was too addled with rushing thoughts to allow him to appreciate it. Truly, he'd been in this state ever since he'd dropped Chloe off at Lana's the night before, his last sight of her being her rounded shape walking in front of the headlights and into the small clapboard house.
He'd continued to sit in his car for at least ten minutes afterwards, urging himself to take action, whether it would be by putting his car in reverse and going home or going inside and retrieving his wife. It was when he put his hand on the stick shift that he was hit with the fact that without Chloe… there wasn't much of a home to go to.
Still, shame and pride had stopped him from turning off the car and going inside. Two beings warred inside of him and that in turn led to his comprehension that two Lex Luthors were trying to get on top. It had always been a joke to him, how Chloe had said she knew more than one, but as he looked at his workers, interacted with Bridget, it became all the more clear.
Family man Lex.
Corporate Lex.
Which one was he, really?
Was it possible to live a life where he had all of his father's business savvy and confidence, yet not rely on intimidation tactics to get his way? Would one day punching reporters in his office turn into illegal espionage to buy a company? It seemed so farfetched and when he said it with his own lips, Lex almost laughed out loud. Almost.
That's when he remembered a young boy, lying in a hospital bed and telling him to remember that reaching one's evil nature wasn't a light switch, but a pathway.
Chloe had seen the pathway. Even from so far ahead, she saw it.
Lex thrust his head into his hands. Chloe had refused to stay because she knew that she couldn't stop him. He had to stop himself.
So, what's it going to be, Luthor?
**************************************************
Pete pushed a glass of water into her hands, "Come on, you have to take something."
"No, I'm fine," Chloe murmured as she stared out the window. She gently pushed the glass away as her toes slowly pressed against the floor, setting her body in motion with the rocking chair.
"Come on, Chloe," Pete held the water in front of her face until she finally rolled her eyes and took it from his hands. "There you go."
"Don't treat me like a child, Pete," Chloe took a sip and then put the glass to the side. "I've had enough of that, all right?"
"Fine, fine," Pete sat back in his seat and frowned when he saw the sadness on Chloe's face. "Are you going to go back tonight?"
She didn't answer for a long while, instead pushing off the floor again, rocking silently. "I don't know."
"How long then, you know, do you think you'll be separated?"
"We're not separated," Chloe corrected him as she rubbed at the side of her belly, wincing. "We're… oh, I don't know what we are."
"Don't you think…," Pete hesitated for a moment. "Don't you think that you're overreacting a little bit?"
"Pete, he attacked a man inside his office in an effort to 'protect' his family. How would you take it?" Chloe glared at him once before turning away. A frown flashed against her features before it relaxed once more into sadness. Her voice was soft when she said, "That's not the kind of man I want to be married to. That's not the kind of man he has to be, Pete."
"Couldn't you just tell him that?"
"Can you just tell Lex Luthor anything?" Chloe shot back.
Pete nodded his head in thought before grudgingly agreeing, "I guess not."
"I can take that Lex has a temper, even that he can manipulate a situation to his advantage. Heaven knows," Chloe laughed darkly, "I do it enough."
"Then, why-"
"Because there has only been one other time that Lex Luthor has scared me. I hated him then and I hated him yesterday," Chloe shook her head as she thought back to the first time, where Lex had been sitting in her car, a coldly pleased expression on his face. "The first time… I could swear it was a front, Pete. Knowing him like I do now, I would put money on the fact that he was putting up a front, though it was a good one because it sure caught me off guard. But yesterday, it was real. And it was real because of me. Because of the baby."
When she began to sniffle, Pete glanced up and saw her wiping at her eyes. "I don't like that Lex and I'm not taking any chances when it comes to him."
Pete moved off his chair and was in front of her before she knew it, raising a hand and wiping off a tear that had escaped her. "Do you want me to stay with you? At least until Lana gets back?"
"No," Chloe smiled at him with blurry eyes. "You need to get back to work."
"We haven't been busy, I could at least take another hour for my break," Pete offered. "Come on, we can play Uno or something. Maybe even find a soap opera on tv that we both like."
Chloe chuckled a little through her light tears, but finally nodded, "Okay."
Pete was helping her rise from her seat when all of a sudden her knees buckled and she leant against him. "Hey, watch it. You all right?"
"Ah, I…" Chloe grimaced. "I think so. Wow, that was weird."
"What was?"
"The-" Chloe suddenly cried out, her hand gripping his shirt tightly.
"Chloe!" Pete grabbed at both her arms and she fell against him once more. Lifting her up straight, he settled her against his chest. "Tell me what's wrong."
"I feel terrible," Chloe shook her head. "They haven't hurt this much before. Pete, I don't think they're supposed to hurt this much.
"What isn't?" When he didn't get an answer, Pete moved her face upwards to ask again, but stopped short. Her face had quickly gone white, beads of perspiration beginning to shine on her forehead. "Chloe?"
"I-" Chloe shut her eyes as she felt the baby kick harshly against her side. "I think we should go to the hospital."
**************************************************
Getting back to work hadn't been an easy thing with his mind traveling elsewhere, but Lex has finally been able to concentrate on small tasks at a time. In between them, of course, had been long silences, filled with ways wondering of what was going to come next. A part of him was insisting that picking up Chloe from Lana's house would be his first task upon getting into Smallville, while another was quite adamant about calling her right away. He'd even reached out his hand a few times to the phone, but had jerked it away at the last moment. Lex didn't want to call when he didn't know what to say.
So it was with some surprise that he heard the phone ring shrilly beside him, a few minutes after his latest failed attempt at contact. For a moment, Lex just stared at the phone with some surprise. Hardly anyone knew his direct line, hardly anyone, but…
He nearly knocked over the phone in his rush to pick it up. His overeager hands jumbled a little bit, before finally getting the receiver in the correct position and practically throwing it to his hear. "Hello? Chloe?
"No, it's Pete," the voice answered, more than a little urgently. "Lex?"
"Yeah," Lex answered dully, disappointment quickly growing.
"Lex- ah, damn it, hold on a second." There was some scuffling in the background and bickering voices, but nothing he could make out. "Okay, I'm back."
"Pete, come on, what is it, I'm a busy man," Lex massaged his forehead out of frustration. "Can't it wait until later?"
"No, I can't wait until later!" Pete's voice grew distant as if he were again pulling the phone from his mouth. "Will you please just get away from me? I know it's a cell phone and I know I can't use it in here, but this is important! If you get off me, I'll be done sooner, you hag! Lex… you there?"
"Yes, I'm here," Lex said impatiently.
"Lex, you need to get to Smallville right now, I mean it – GET AWAY FROM ME"
A woman's jabbering filled the background, inciting Lex's curiosity, but it was the urgency in Pete's voice caused a coil of unease to begin in his stomach. Lex gripped the receiver tighter in his hand and raised his voice. "Pete, what the hell is going on?"
"You have to get to Smallville General, right now. It's Chloe," Pete's voice was shaking. "Lex, she's gone into labor."
