Thanks for all the great reviews everyone. Please keep them coming. They are the reason I post. Also, thanks to Julie, my beta. I promise Julie, there will be more.

****************************************

PDA

Chapter 5: The Decision

Lex Luthor hated hospitals. His mother died in a hospital. Pamela died in a hospital. Hospitals were not good places. And yet, here he was sitting in a hospital waiting for Chloe to wake up. Lex sat in a chair in Chloe's room, watching her breathe. Her pale eyelids fluttered rapidly with the movement of her eyes. Lex knew that this meant that she was dreaming. He hoped that, for her sake, they were pleasant ones, but given the shape of her car, probably not.

Lex was of course, also a car crash survivor. In fact, that was how he had first meet Clark Kent. If hadn't been for that crash, and Clark pulling him to safety, he might have never known the Kent family, or Lana, Whitney and Pete. Or Chloe. His Chloe.

Lex watched as a clear fluid steadily dripped through the IV. The bag was attached to a tube, the tube was attached to a needle, and the needle was cutting into a vein on the back of Chloe's right hand. The minute Lex saw that IV, he had only one thought, [Chloe won't be able to type with that in. She's going to be angry.]

Technically, Lex wasn't even supposed be in Chloe's hospital room. he wasn't "family". Whatever that meant. Lex didn't understand this concept. [If I were dying, the person I would want holding my hand isn't my father, it's her. And in the 19 hours Chloe's been in the hospital, Clark and Pete have stopped by, I have never left her side, but her father hasn't even called. I don't know how others define the word "family" but in my mind, Chloe and I are closer to each other than we are to our blood relations.

Luckily for Lex, he was a Luthor. Like all Luthors, he did not take no for an answer. Not that the hospital had told him that he couldn't sit with Chloe. Especially after he promised Smallville Medical Center a new cardiac wing. So here he was, sitting watching Chloe sleep, and hoping that she would be okay when she woke up.

Lex shifted in his seat. He felt a spasm go up his back. Sitting in an uncomfortable hospital chair and staring at these same four walls, while questionable for his mental health, was positively dreadful for his spinal health. He stood and walked out of the room's open door. He called to a nurse. A middle-aged, ginger haired women walked over to him.

"Is there anything Miss Sullivan needs Mr. Luthor?" she asked with a smile.

"No, Chloe isn't awake yet. But I need you to do something." He handed her a slip of paper. "I am going for a short walk. This is the number of my cell phone. Please keep an eye on Chloe. If she wakes up before I return, please call this number immediately."

"Yes, Mr. Luthor."

"Thank you."

Lex turned and walked down the hall and toward the elevator. He needed a breath of fresh air, and what better place to get it than outside. Smallville Medical Center didn't have a garden, per say, but it did have a nice landscaped area with a few flowers, a fountain and a short path.

Lex grabbed a cup of coffee from a vending machine, then stepped outside into this mini-paradise next to the hospital. He closed his eyes and breathed in. He turned and looked back up at the window he knew to be Chloe's. Lex knew that Chloe wouldn't be looking back at him and the thought broke his heart. He took a sip of his drink and winced. It was partly from the heat, but mostly from the taste reminding him of Chloe's infamous caffeine addiction.

Lex walked to the fountain. A small brass plaque was attached to the side. "Donated by Lionel Luthor." Lex smirked. His father probably didn't even know that Smallville had a hospital. The check that purchased this fountain had been signed by his father, but that was most likely the beginning and end to his contribution. Lionel had an entire staff of people whose sole job was to make the elder Luthor seem like a humanitarian. Lionel donated millions of dollars every year to charitable organizations. Few people knew that those millions were only a fraction of the man's wealth. To Lionel Luthor, tossing away a few million to enhance his public image meant no more than tossing a penny in a wishing well would meant to an ordinary man.

Lex felt a swell of anger towards his father and he began screaming at the tulips. "How dare he. How dare he give gifts that mean nothing. How dare he throw money at problem and make them go away. How dare he hide who he really is. The whole god damn world thinks he's some king do saint. A king amongst men. Only this small little nowhere town knows the truth. That he is the devil incarnate. And I'm the Spawn of Satan."

Patients with open windows started to peek out to see who was making so much noise. Lex didn't care that he was making a scene and that it would probably end up on the front page of tomorrow's Smallville Ledger. He was just so angry. Chloe was hurt and there was nothing he could do and it was all his fathers fault, and he was ANGRY.

"Chloe got into that car accident because of a fight with her father. Gabe was only angry because he found out that Chloe was dating ME. Any other guy on earth would have been fine, but since it was me, he blew his top. People hated me before I even came to this town. Spoiled rich brat. Lionel Luthor's son. 'The sins of the father.....' Bullshit. I can't help my lineage, any better than they can. Chloe is upstairs hurt and I can't help her. I can't write a check and make it better. I don't know what to do."

Lex threw his cup against one of the walls. The styrofoam cup bounced and fell to the ground. The coffee spilled all over the place. It formed an ugly brown puddle. Lex didn't know why he did that His anger just got the better of him sometimes. In the Luthor household, Lex was taught not to feel emotions. He bottled up all of his fear, frustration, sadness, and self-loathing. He let it out as rage. Pure, undiluted anger.

This anger scared Lex . Often he would throw things. Sometimes her broke things. Occasionally, he broke people. Once, he was thrown out of a boarding school for breaking a boy's arm, clavicle, and three of his ribs. That boy was in the hospital for two months. The worse part, Lex didn't know from where the rage came. One minute he would be fine, then some little thing would set him off. Lex knew that he had to do something. He couldn't make Chloe a permanent part of his life while the rage still ruled him.

[Christ, here I am talking about making our relationship permanent. She's not even awake yet. If I was a good man, I would let her go. I've caused an irreparable rift between her and her father. Her reputation at school is probably ruined. That car accident could have killed her. What am I thinking!]

[Someday we are going to get into a fight and I'm going to hit her. I won't mean to, but it will happen nonetheless. Then I will have to see that broken look in her eyes. I'll have to see a little bit of the sparkle go. And every time I hit her, her beautiful blue eyes will deaden a little more. Just like Mother. No. I won't let that happen. I don't care what I have to do, but I will protect Chloe from my dark side. Even if I have to give her up to do it.]

His decision made, he walked calmly back to the entrance to the hospital. [I am going back up to sit with Chloe. I am going to wait for her to wake up. I am going to nurse her back to health. Then I am going to tell her that I can never see her again.]

TBC