Chapter Three
A/N: Hey everyone thanks for all of the reviews! NewMD, thanks for the tips; I realized just after I read your post that you were right about the antibiotics; I looked in a medical encyclopedia at work. Some of the medical jargon is off, but I'm going to just leave it, now that's it already up, and hopefully those who actually do know proper medical procedure will be able to ignore the blatant mistakes in the story. :0) For the record, I did find out that burn victims aren't given a lot of morphine because they run the risk of having their heart rate slow down. The next few chapters will reflect that, so bear with me...
I missed some of Talisman and all of the episode just before the finale, so if someone could tell me exactly what happened to Pete I'd really appreciate it. (Where is he living, with whom, why did he go, does he still have family in Smallville, etc...)
Everyone looking to see Chloe take a painful physical recovery, you may want to back out now . . . ;0)
Lex pulled his Porsche into one of the parking stalls on the third level parking lot at Metropolis General on Saturday morning. The place was packed already and it was only ten o'clock, probably a direct result of Friday night escapades.
He'd spent most of the previous evening and that morning making phone calls to various members of the extended Sullivan family, informing them of Gabe's passing and Chloe's status. Lex and Martha Kent had divided up the contact list, both feeling the need to help out with funeral arrangements as Chloe was unable to do so herself. They'd decided that Gabe would be cremated (and through her drug induced haze, Chloe had agreed), but any services would be put off until she was well enough to attend.
A rather large bouquet of flowers was resting safely on his passenger seat. Lex walked around his car and carefully removed the bouquet, a pricey mixture of exotic lilies and orchids, and hurried to catch the elevator. He got off on the sixth floor and headed towards the wing labeled "Burn Unit", where Chloe had been moved once she'd regained consciousness.
When he was looking up at the signs on the wall, he didn't see the man walking around the corner in his direction. They collided. "Sorry," Lex reached out to steady the guy.
"S'okay," the man muttered. Lex peered at him closely; he looked familiar.
"Do I know you?" Lex asked him. The guy shook his bald head.
"Don't think so," he grinned, looking almost menacing. "Must be the hairstyle." Lex raised his eyebrows at that.
"Must be," he nodded. "Sorry again." The man walked off then, and Lex watched him for a few seconds more, nagging suspicion at the back of his mind. He shrugged and made his way to the nurse's station and set the flowers down.
"Those are lovely," the middle aged nurse gestured to the flowers. Her nametag read Sandra Connor, and she had the look of someone who'd been there at least three hours too long. "Can I help you?"
"I hope so," Lex gave her one of his most charming smiles, knowing it wouldn't hurt to get on one of the nurses good side. "I'm looking for Chloe Sullivan's room, she was moved here this morning from intensive care."
Sandra checked a chart on the desk. "Sullivan...room 614," she frowned. "Poor kid, she's still in pretty bad shape."
"Is there any news on her condition?" Lex asked her. Sandra eyed him warily, knowing that he wasn't family. She seemed to take pity on him though; or perhaps, she just knew that Chloe wouldn't have family coming to see her.
"No, not much change I'm afraid," Sandra shook her head. "Although the good news is that there seems to be no infection –"an alarm sounding from a panel behind her cut her off. She whipped around to see which patient it was. Lex followed her gaze and saw the blue light flashing beside a label marked 614. Sandra grabbed for the phone quickly. "Code Blue room 614," she announced over the page system.
Lex followed her when she rushed off down a nearby hallway. "What's going on?" he demanded when they stopped in front of Chloe's room.
"Sir, I'm afraid you're going to have to stay here," Sandra told him sharply, already hurrying into a sterile gown and gloves.
"Stay here?" Lex cried in disbelief. "What's going on?" Lex recognized the doctor that ran over. "Dr. Kim!"
"Mr. Luthor," Kim replied, hurrying into the gown that Sandra was holding out for him. Two more nurses arrived as well. "I'm afraid I have to ask you to wait here. I'll find you when we have news."
With that Kim and Sandra were gone, the other nurses following momentarily after, and Lex was left alone to wait. He peered anxiously through the window, watching them run around frantically. When Dr' Kim reached for the diffibulator paddles, Lex forced himself to look away, and began pacing across the hallway.
After what felt like hours, Dr. Kim came back out. "We've stabilized her," he told Lex and removed his gown and gloves.
"What happened?" Lex demanded all trace of pleasantries gone. Kim looked baffled.
"Chloe's IV bag had residue of some kind of mineral in it. We'll send it to the lab to be analyzed, but it looks to be traces of magnesium sulfate. The excess magnesium slowed her heart rate and altered the state of her blood vessels."
"How did this happen?" Lex roared. "Shouldn't your staff be informed not to give magnesium sulfate to a burn victim?"
"My staff didn't give it to her," Kim told him. "They know better. A burn victim like Chloe needs to have her body fluids kept at a certain level; we wouldn't bring magnesium sulfate anywhere near her."
"Then who –"Lex remembered the man he'd ran into earlier. Of course he looked familiar; he'd been one of Lionel's men. "Is she going to be okay?"
Kim looked pained. "We're going to need to run some tests to be sure, but it looks like the magnesium sulfate has caused an infection in some of the burnt tissues. We can give her antibiotics and increase her electrolytes – hopefully before the infection spreads to her circulatory or nervous systems."
Lex didn't need to ask what would happen if it did. "I want security on watch at her room, around the clock," Lex told him seriously. "No one is to get in that room unless they have a legitimate reason to be there."
"I agree," Kim nodded. "Obviously Chloe needs some form of protection. I can have hospital security watch –"
Lex shook his head and the doctor immediately stopped talking. "I have my own security team," he told Kim. "They can stand watch. I'll call them in right away." Lex began to walk to the nearest exit door, already pulling out his cell phone. "Get me a list of all staff members that will be allowed access to her for the next week," Lex ordered, not looking back.
One hour later there were two large guards stationed outside Chloe's door, each of them well armed and glaring menacingly at anyone who approached. Each had two lists on them; one was a roster of all hospital staff members permitted in Chloe's room, the other was a list that Lex had compiled of every visitor that was permitted.
"If anyone comes that is not on one of those lists I want them detained, and you are to call me right away," Lex ordered them before he went in to see Chloe. He suited up in the standard scrubs and went in to see her. She was awake now. "Hi," he greeted, his tone markedly different that the one he'd just used with his security team. "How are you doing?"
Chloe stared blankly back at him. "Great," she scoffed. "I feel great. It's such a thrill knowing that someone out there is just waiting to kill me off." He sat down.
"I have my private security team stationed outside your door at all times," Lex assured her. "No one gets in here without me knowing. "Okay?"
"The same security team that let you be poisoned?" she asked doubtfully.
"No," Lex smirked bitterly. "A better team."
"Okay," she winced slightly. He gave her a concerned look. "Dr. Kim told me that they can't increase my morphine anymore," she explained.
"I'm sorry," Lex said quietly. He felt completely useless, knowing that he could hire every security guard in the country, and buy her every flower in the world, but he still couldn't really help her. Chloe's morale was obviously low. Her father had died, she was in real physical pain, and her prognosis wasn't good. "I..." Lex struggled for something to say. "I brought you some flowers... but they said that I couldn't bring them in. Didn't want them to make the infection worse."
"Thanks anyways," she tried to smile but couldn't quite seem to make her face cooperate. Lex watched her blank expression and felt rather sick.
"Can I get you anything?" he asked her eagerly. "A book? Maybe they'll let me bring a lap top in for you."
Chloe shook her head. "Not worth it," she nodded to the IV stand. "I'm knocked out most of the time."
"Okay then, "he nodded. The more he looked at her, the more depressed he got. She didn't even look like the same snarky girl he'd known just a month ago.
"I should have listened," she said quietly after what had seemed like ages of silence. "You warned me that he would try something, but I didn't listen. We should have never gone through with that trial."
"Chloe," Lex leaned towards her. He began to put his hand over hers but then remembered that the doctor had told him not to touch any areas of skin that had been burned. He dropped his own hand in frustration. "This isn't your fault, you know that. If anything," he closed his eyes, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry I didn't protect you, like I said I would. This shouldn't have happened..."
"Just," Chloe silenced him and caught his eyes with her own, looked pleading into him. "Make sure that the Kent's are okay. With Clark gone, they'll have no one to watch out for them. Please?"
"It's already done," Lex assured her. Chloe nodded and then yawned. "Get some sleep," he told her. "I'll stay until you fall asleep."
Chloe smiled weakly before closing her eyes. It took less than five minutes for her to fall asleep, her chest raising and falling in a steady rhythm. Lex stood up quietly, and made his way to the door. He didn't want to leave her alone, but he had some things to take care of.
The guards at the Kansas State Penitentiary opened a large metal door and led Lionel Luthor, clad in and orange jumpsuit and military-esqe haircut, into a holding cell. Lionel walked, the best he could with all of his limbs in shackles, over to the large gated fence where his son awaited him.
He smiled a sadistic smile at Lex. "You're looking well son," Lionel sneered in greeting.
"Sorry," Lex sneered back. "Looks like you could stand to hire more efficient help, Dad." He spat the last word out.
"I don't know," Lionel shrugged. "They're not all bad. How is Miss Sullivan doing by the way?" Lex grabbed viciously at the fence.
"Keep your lackey's away from her!" Lex yelled. Lionel laughed.
"Temper, temper Lex," he scolded. "You have an image to uphold."
"If Chloe doesn't make it you're going to pray for that liver disease to kill you quicker," Lex seethed.
"Are you threatening me Lex?" Lionel feigned shock. "Because you have a lot to learn about intimidation son."
"I think you've taught me everything I need to know," Lex released the fence.
"I don't know about that," Lionel smiled.
"I do," Lex nodded. "Besides, I don't need to intimidate you. I just have to sit back and watch you hang yourself."
"My being behind bars doesn't mean that I've lost this fight," Lionel informed. "You should know that Lex."
"The winner will be the last one standing, Dad," Lex reminded him. "When this is all over I'll be standing on an inheritance of several billion dollars and full control over Luthor Corp. You'll sit in your prison cell until you die. While you're tied up in court with appeal after appeal, I'll be biding my time until you drop dead and I can convert your empire into Lex Corp and run things the way that I want to." Lex began to walk away.
"You know very well that I won't be here forever Lex," Lionel called after him, sounding a little uncertain now.
Lex stopped and turned to face him again, knowing it would be the last time that he did so, a dark grin on his face. "You're right Dad," he nodded. "Forever is a long time. And you've only got a couple of months." Then he left.
TBC...