iii. Way It Was
Two and a half years earlier
The year was 2008 and Chloe Sullivan walked into the private room in the hospital to a shock of pink balloons and various white and brown stuffed bears. She had hurriedly left her class in the middle of an exam, tossing the half-completed paper on the proctor's desk. Her phone had rang twice and stopped. She knew that the missed call indicated that Lana had gone into labor. It was a code that she and Pete had worked out.
She felt oddly regretful about Lana's decision to quit college their third year and settle down with Pete. It was not that she disapproved of the marriage. She was one of the people who were most ecstatic about the news of their engagement. It was only that in a little over a year, Lana could have finished her course. Pondering that, exactly ten months ago, she had run into an old friend from Smallville who reminded her that different women had different goals in life. Fulfillment for Lana Lang was different from her definition of it. It did not mean that Lana's decision was the bad one.
Remembering that as the start of the ten months that changed her life forever, a smile spread over her face. She approached the still beautiful young woman on the bed, looking immaculate despite having gone through a remarkable five hours of labor. Lana held a tiny baby in her arms. Asleep, Chloe could not see the color of its eyes. She reached out and run her fingers over the baby's downy hair. From the blanket, she could guess that it was a girl. Still, knowing Lana's color preference, it could just as well be a boy that his mom swaddled in baby pink.
"It's a little girl," Lana told Chloe, her eyes shining brightly. "She's so beautiful, isn't she?"
"Of course, Lana." Chloe wondered when she'd become so emotional that she was choked up at the sight of a friend holding her baby with another friend. "You're her mom."
She heard the door open and close behind her. Chloe was so enraptured with the tiny pink lips and long lashes that she did not turn around to greet the newcomers.
"So when can we take pictures of you looking like this?"
That voice made her whirl. Chloe met the crinkled eyes of Lex Luthor, standing between Clark and the new father Pete. "Some of us were not meant for this, Mr Luthor."
He nodded, acknowledging an amount of truth in her statement. "But I don't believe that about you, Ms Sullivan. I think you'll look even more gorgeous with a baby in your arms. Sexier than hell with a swollen stomach too."
Chloe blushed at his words and hid her embarrassment with a laugh. She smiled at him. "Hello Lex." She nodded at Clark and then hugged Pete. "Congratulations, daddy."
Pete moved to greet his family and Clark followed to take some pictures of the Rosses. Left along together, Lex looked at Chloe. "We were both coming from the same city. You could have joined me for the ride." He glanced at the three adults now cooing at the newly wakened child. "You'll excuse me while I check if the papers have been taken care of?"
"I'll take care of them, Lex," Pete protested.
Lex waved Pete's words away. "It's part of employee benefits, Pete. I won't even do anything but check. Other people will handle it if there's more work."
A few minutes of chatting with her old friends and Chloe felt herself craving. "I need my coffee. And I'll have to make do with the bland ones from the dispenser. I'll be back."
Both Pete and Clark offered to go with her, but she could see how attached they already were to the still unnamed Ross. She brushed a kiss on the baby's forehead and commanded the men to stay with Lana. When Chloe rounded the corner of the corridor, large hands grabbed at her waist and pulled her flush against a hard body. She blinked up at a grinning Lex.
He pressed his mouth down on hers, and Chloe parted her lips in full acceptance of his kiss. The kiss was invading and slick, and she relished the intimacy of sharing hot breath with him. Chloe's hands met at his nape and pulled his head lower. She ran her fingers at the back of his head, and he pushed himself closer to her, burying his own fingers in her hair.
Lex maneuvered them so that her back was pressed against the wall. Taking a deep breath, a trying task when he was loath to release her from the kiss, Chloe's hand ran down his shoulder and onto his chest, pushing him gently away. She chuckled at the sight of his bruised lips before realizing that her own probably looked the same.
"I wasn't kidding you know." His low voice rumbled in his chest, a vibration she felt against her breast because of their proximity. "The thought of you, pregnant with my baby, turns me on."
The words sent an electric thrill throughout her body. "Everything does."
"Everything about you," he specified.
Like a bird of prey, his eyes latched on to her moist lips once more and took them in another kiss. Chloe met him with equal fervor, surrendering her control because his statements almost made her do that. She was thankful that his body held her up as it pressed onto her. She would have fallen otherwise. Her bones have melted from the sensation.
A very loud clearing of a throat pierced through the cloud that enveloped them. Chloe peeked over Lex's shoulder and saw the nurse that glared at them in disapproval. Reluctantly, they pull apart but still managed to link their fingers together. When the nurse left, Lex leaned back against the wall and groaned. "We should really tell people so we can stop sneaking around."
"It's only in Smallville, Lex. And in Metropolis."
"Which is where we're always in. We're moving in together, Chloe. Don't you think it would make them feel better to know that we've been seeing each other for almost a year now?"
"I promise." She pulled at his hand so that he'd move closer. She turned to him and whispered, "Besides, sneaking around turns me on."
His lips curl in delight. "Okay. One more day then." Lex looked around for an empty room to take their secret affair to.
Two and a half years earlier
The year was 2008 and Chloe Sullivan walked into the private room in the hospital to a shock of pink balloons and various white and brown stuffed bears. She had hurriedly left her class in the middle of an exam, tossing the half-completed paper on the proctor's desk. Her phone had rang twice and stopped. She knew that the missed call indicated that Lana had gone into labor. It was a code that she and Pete had worked out.
She felt oddly regretful about Lana's decision to quit college their third year and settle down with Pete. It was not that she disapproved of the marriage. She was one of the people who were most ecstatic about the news of their engagement. It was only that in a little over a year, Lana could have finished her course. Pondering that, exactly ten months ago, she had run into an old friend from Smallville who reminded her that different women had different goals in life. Fulfillment for Lana Lang was different from her definition of it. It did not mean that Lana's decision was the bad one.
Remembering that as the start of the ten months that changed her life forever, a smile spread over her face. She approached the still beautiful young woman on the bed, looking immaculate despite having gone through a remarkable five hours of labor. Lana held a tiny baby in her arms. Asleep, Chloe could not see the color of its eyes. She reached out and run her fingers over the baby's downy hair. From the blanket, she could guess that it was a girl. Still, knowing Lana's color preference, it could just as well be a boy that his mom swaddled in baby pink.
"It's a little girl," Lana told Chloe, her eyes shining brightly. "She's so beautiful, isn't she?"
"Of course, Lana." Chloe wondered when she'd become so emotional that she was choked up at the sight of a friend holding her baby with another friend. "You're her mom."
She heard the door open and close behind her. Chloe was so enraptured with the tiny pink lips and long lashes that she did not turn around to greet the newcomers.
"So when can we take pictures of you looking like this?"
That voice made her whirl. Chloe met the crinkled eyes of Lex Luthor, standing between Clark and the new father Pete. "Some of us were not meant for this, Mr Luthor."
He nodded, acknowledging an amount of truth in her statement. "But I don't believe that about you, Ms Sullivan. I think you'll look even more gorgeous with a baby in your arms. Sexier than hell with a swollen stomach too."
Chloe blushed at his words and hid her embarrassment with a laugh. She smiled at him. "Hello Lex." She nodded at Clark and then hugged Pete. "Congratulations, daddy."
Pete moved to greet his family and Clark followed to take some pictures of the Rosses. Left along together, Lex looked at Chloe. "We were both coming from the same city. You could have joined me for the ride." He glanced at the three adults now cooing at the newly wakened child. "You'll excuse me while I check if the papers have been taken care of?"
"I'll take care of them, Lex," Pete protested.
Lex waved Pete's words away. "It's part of employee benefits, Pete. I won't even do anything but check. Other people will handle it if there's more work."
A few minutes of chatting with her old friends and Chloe felt herself craving. "I need my coffee. And I'll have to make do with the bland ones from the dispenser. I'll be back."
Both Pete and Clark offered to go with her, but she could see how attached they already were to the still unnamed Ross. She brushed a kiss on the baby's forehead and commanded the men to stay with Lana. When Chloe rounded the corner of the corridor, large hands grabbed at her waist and pulled her flush against a hard body. She blinked up at a grinning Lex.
He pressed his mouth down on hers, and Chloe parted her lips in full acceptance of his kiss. The kiss was invading and slick, and she relished the intimacy of sharing hot breath with him. Chloe's hands met at his nape and pulled his head lower. She ran her fingers at the back of his head, and he pushed himself closer to her, burying his own fingers in her hair.
Lex maneuvered them so that her back was pressed against the wall. Taking a deep breath, a trying task when he was loath to release her from the kiss, Chloe's hand ran down his shoulder and onto his chest, pushing him gently away. She chuckled at the sight of his bruised lips before realizing that her own probably looked the same.
"I wasn't kidding you know." His low voice rumbled in his chest, a vibration she felt against her breast because of their proximity. "The thought of you, pregnant with my baby, turns me on."
The words sent an electric thrill throughout her body. "Everything does."
"Everything about you," he specified.
Like a bird of prey, his eyes latched on to her moist lips once more and took them in another kiss. Chloe met him with equal fervor, surrendering her control because his statements almost made her do that. She was thankful that his body held her up as it pressed onto her. She would have fallen otherwise. Her bones have melted from the sensation.
A very loud clearing of a throat pierced through the cloud that enveloped them. Chloe peeked over Lex's shoulder and saw the nurse that glared at them in disapproval. Reluctantly, they pull apart but still managed to link their fingers together. When the nurse left, Lex leaned back against the wall and groaned. "We should really tell people so we can stop sneaking around."
"It's only in Smallville, Lex. And in Metropolis."
"Which is where we're always in. We're moving in together, Chloe. Don't you think it would make them feel better to know that we've been seeing each other for almost a year now?"
"I promise." She pulled at his hand so that he'd move closer. She turned to him and whispered, "Besides, sneaking around turns me on."
His lips curl in delight. "Okay. One more day then." Lex looked around for an empty room to take their secret affair to.