Chapter 5/Closer

A/N: This will be the last chapter of Revival. It's kinda short. Episodes 2 and 3 won't be terribly long, but 4 will be. The next two are mostly fillerish stuff until the fourth (2 and 3 are already written and I'm working on 4). SPOILERS: Clark will probably be back in the fifth, and expect some Lana in part four. Enjoy! :0)

Chloe groaned miserably and jabbed at the off button on her remote. There was nothing on TV except for the occasional newscast about her miraculous revival. The hospital spokespeople had gone on record admitting that they had no idea what had happened to cure Chloe, but that she had been given a clean bill of health.

'You'd think that they would let me get out of here then,' Chloe laid back in her bed morosely. 'Not that I have anywhere to go.' While she'd been sick, Chloe was ashamed to admit that she hadn't really given that much thought to her father; most of her waking hours had been spent trying to ignore the physical pain that she'd been in. Now that she was better...

The doctors had removed her bandages, IV, and all of the monitors surrounding her. They had made her stay for a couple of days to be monitored, in case she had a relapse; Chloe knew that that wouldn't happen. They wouldn't believe her explanation for how her immune system managed to suddenly repair itself, how the burnt tissues had healed perfectly, or how her circulatory system had become better than ever.

All she could think about now was her father; where he was, if he was okay, did he feel any pain... She missed him desperately and had no idea what she was supposed to do now that he was gone. The lump in her throat began to grow at the very thought, and when someone knocked on her door she was grateful for the distraction. "Come in," Chloe forced the lump away, determined not to cry.

Lex opened the door, struggling slightly with the enormous flower arrangement in his arms. "They told me that you could have flowers now," he explained as he set the arrangement down on a table. "I may have gone a little overboard."

"They're great," Chloe assured him, reaching out to run her fingers over the velvety petals of a purplish lily. "I love them, thanks."

Lex sat down in an empty chair beside her bed. "Any word on when you'll be getting out of here?" he asked her. Chloe nodded, fully recognizing his attempt to distract her with meaningless small talk.

"Dr. Kim is saying probably tomorrow," she told him, now toying with a white orchid. "As long as my condition doesn't worsen of course."

Lex smirked. "That probably won't be happening," he echoed her earlier thoughts. Chloe peered intently into the flowers.

"Lex? Can I ask you something?" Chloe toyed with the purple flower again. Coincidentally it was the same color as the shirt he wore under his black suit jacket.

"Of course," he replied, his tone easy but the look on his face betraying his wariness. Probably expecting an intrusive question about him or his company.

"If you were me," she realized how absurd that sounded. "Well okay, maybe not actually me; but if it were up to you ... not that it is—"

"Chloe," Lex raised his eyebrows.

"Right," she sighed and tore her eyes away from the flowers to meet his. "What do I do now?"

He looked uncomfortable and seemed to watch her with a mix of pity, and maybe a little guilt, shining in those clear blue eyes. "What do you want to do?" he asked her.

"What I want doesn't really matter," Chloe added bitterly, knowing that she couldn't get the only thing she wanted now.

"Sure it does."

She averted her eyes. "Seriously Les," she took a deep breath. "What am I supposed to do? I can't go home... not that I really want to. Mrs. Kent offered to let me stay with them."

"Why do I get the feeling that you told them no," Lex prompted her. Chloe wasn't sure if he'd understand.

"Clark's not there," she sighed. "I wish he was here now, but he's not."

"And you don't want to be a burden?" Lex finished, not really asking though. Apparently he did understand. "For the record though, you wouldn't be. They'd love to have you."

"I'm not looking for replacement parents Lex," she told him, a small bitter smile spreading across her pale face. "I'm not a Kent. I love them but... I don't look good in flannel." She didn't want to say it, but the Kent farm was probably the farthest from Metropolis that you could get. She was a city girl at heart.

"No, you don't strike me as the Green Acres type," Lex nodded. She looked to him expectantly, begging for some kind of answer to questions she didn't quite know. To make her feel better, let her know what to do. "I'm not sure what you need me to tell you Chloe," he admitted. He looked pained having to say it.

She blinked several times and looked away. "Me neither," she whispered brokenly, and Lex felt his heart clench. He remembered how it had felt, when someone you loved that much was taken from you. "Looks like we have something in common then."

End.
Next time on Smallville:

Chloe looks up at the familiar house in front of her and freezes, the rain pouring down on her in waves and clinging to her hair, soaking her sweater...

Pete grabs Chloe by the shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "This isn't your fault!" he tells her forcefully...

Lex shows Chloe a large and richly decorated bedroom in the mansion..."I knew you felt guilty Lex but..." ... "I promised to protect you and I failed"...

Standing in Clark's loft, Pete pulls Chloe into a tight hug as sobs wrack her body...