Chapter 3

"Chloe?"

Was that a voice? Her eyes refused to open, even when the sweet voice was filled with worry. Who was that? Where was she? Why was it so dark?

"Chloe… are you awake?" The voice grew louder; a bit more insistent.

She turned her head to the side and let out a little sound of protest. What happened to her? She felt so groggy and weak. There were too many unanswered questions. Perhaps the person with her would help dispel them. Slowly, her eyelids moved apart, revealing a blurred world. She blinked, forcing her eyes to adjust. When everything was in focus, she noticed she was lying in a hospital bed. Still feeling disoriented, she shakily turned her head to the other side and found Mrs. Ross, holding a small body in her arms.

The black head lifted from the older woman's shoulder and swivelled to look at her – those piercing exotic blue eyes stared back at her with a child's curiosity. Chloe's hazel ones dilated and everything came rushing back to her – Remy, an adoptive brother; Dad at a shootout – she sucked in a quick breath.

"Where's Dad?" she demanded in a hoarse voice.

Mrs. Ross smiled weakly. "He's in his room. Don't worry. He's a stubborn man and isn't giving his life up just yet."

She let out a shaky breath. "How is he?" She attempted to sit up and winced. Damn being weak. Pete's mother used her relatively free arm to assist her.

"He's… trying…" came the answer, the voice that older woman spoke in was dripping in worry. Needing the comfort, she pulled the boy tighter to her body.

Chloe glanced down at the boy who eyes hadn't strayed from her. She couldn't help but think just how beautiful the child was. The couple that had created such an extraordinary offspring had to be quite attractive as well. Her eyes welled with unshed tears. How could her father keep something as big as this from her? Didn't she have the right to know that he had adopted? Then a little hope spawned from her inner ramblings. Maybe he was just recently adopted. Maybe then her body wouldn't hurt as much from the betrayal she felt from her father's dishonesty.

"Chloe." It was a child-like voice – so innocent and hesitant as if questioning whether the name was correct.

The blonde blinked. Remy spoke. "Hi Chloe," Remy said solemnly unhooking his hand from around Mrs. Ross's neck and opening and closing his hand in a childish wave.

"Hey… Remy," she greeted back, feeling awkward about it. She attempted to give a little smile and was grateful it came out – despite the shaky nature of it. The little boy's eyes were trained intently on her, unwavering and most piercing. She could feel herself squirm under it. "How old are you?"

"Four," he answered almost immediately, smiling a toothy grin and holding up his hand to wave a four fingers in the air. Under other circumstances she would have given a genuine smile. Her upturned lips were frozen with falseness to it.

"Mrs. Ross, how long has – Remy – been with Dad?" She needed answers. Even if they would hurt, she needed them to fill the gaps that seemed many light-years wide.

At first, the woman didn't answer; not knowing if it was really in her place to be revealing such a big family issue to her. But considering the inability of Gabe doing it, she had to take on the responsibility of telling her. "Dear child… Remy has been with your father since – well, since he was practically born." She felt herself flinch as the girl's face grew cold and dispassionate. It was a lot to digest… and all in one day. The girl was going through such an ordeal. Mrs. Ross felt her stomach churn as the girl struggled hard to keep composed. "He did it only for your benefit, Chloe."

"Do you really think so?" she asked dryly. "And you would keep something as big as adoption from your kids?"

The older woman sighed. How stubborn this girl was. Got it from her dad, she did. "He did it for fear that you wouldn't accept. He was suffering, Chloe. He was so lonely. You took something from him when you left. Anyone could see how much he missed you. He would have gone and stayed in Metropolis, but you had been so intent on being as independent as one could possibly be that he respected the distance. Chloe, he needed companionship," Mrs. Ross explained. "He wanted it and you couldn't provide it because you were in Metropolis and he was in Smallville. So he adopted a child."

"He still could have told me then instead of my finding out just now," she muttered, staring down at fiddling hands.

"He wanted you to think Remy was the most perfect child, you know. He didn't want to show you a screaming baby, but a well-behaved, happy child – the boy that Remy is now," she pointed out, looking down in admiration at the toddler in her arms before returning a wary look back to Chloe. "Sometimes fear can make you do things that hurt others, Chloe. Gabe is just a man – not a god to look up to. He has faults. His fears are one of them. You need to accept this."

Remy looked up at her and smiled toothily and let out a short giggle. Chloe glanced back at him, really mulling over it as she watched his movements. The boy shifted his gaze to her again and blinked. Silence settled upon them as they seemed to analyse each other, memorize each other's faces. Suddenly, Remy began to squirm in Mrs. Ross's hold. Reluctantly, she let go and the boy slipped from her lap and walked slowly towards the blonde girl.

Her eyes never left his small little body; staying as he looked up at her from his short height. Blue met hazel; examining almost lazily, then melted under their shared look. Hesitantly, Chloe held out her arms, a gesture that Remy seemed to understand. He clambered up onto the mattress of the bed and sat promptly on her lap, cocking his head to the side as his piercing blue eyes stayed on her face.

Chloe regarded the boy on her lap, held steadily by her arms. "I see why Dad likes you," she whispered in a tentative manner. "Do you like him, too?"

The boy nodded in answer. "He's funny," he said in a matter-of-factly way. "Also he has smelly breath… in the morning."

She let out a genuine chuckle at that, feeling the muscles loosen in her stomach for the first time that day and tears flow from her eyes once again. Mrs. Ross, who had been holding her breath as this happened, finally let it out in a long quiet stream and smiled warmly at the lovely image the two created: an only child and an orphan, brought together by one man: Gabe. Her lips fell at the thought of him again as she remembered what condition he was in. Please let him live.

Memories flitted through his mind. Chloe was still a little girl – small enough for him to be able to lift her up in his arms and twirl her in a circle as he watched her laugh out loud with her legs swinging around. The child in his grasp suddenly changed to Remy, his childish giggles and shouts ring in his ears as the boy's short black hair flew with the wind created by their movement.

Then it changed to Chloe – older and smiling at him as she held her ceremonial morning coffee in her hand. The thought came unexpectedly to him at that point: I wonder what Remy would look like when he was 18. The pain came rushing back to him; flashes of a gun and the fearful attendant; the police screaming through loudspeakers for the robber to let go of his hostage. He felt a raspy breath leave his throat as he struggled against the aching in his body; his lower back. When the throbbing lessened and was at a level that he could stand it somewhat, he focused on one thing: trying to open his eyes.

He had barely just lifted his eyelids when someone walked into the room. As he breathed in, he noted that it was not a familiar scent. It must have been a doctor or nurse checking up on him. He stayed relaxed, though fearful that they would notice that he was awake.

"Konnichiwa, Sullivan-san," a low male voice greeted in a soft foreign accent. "I know you are awake, but cannot speak or move. Near-death experiences can cause that, you know."

Gabe thought he ought to laugh, but he was unable to do so. There was too much pain in just attempting. Instead, he resorted to just listening.

"I am sure you are wondering who I am." There was a dramatic pause. "I – am your adopted boy's uncle." The monitors picked up the quickening of Gabe's heart rate. "It's a strange occurrence, I know. You are not accustomed to being tracked. But you have been… by me." Gabe's ears picked up a slight rustling of clothes. "I have been monitoring you, Sullivan-san. I have been making sure that you have been taking care of my nephew. I am glad that you have. He – seems to be growing into a good boy. Arigatou gozaimasu… for taking him in and treating him with respect."

Gabe let out a raspy sound, trying to say a coherent question – or at least one word.

"I decided to come out now to tell you that I am willing to help you. I know that you are in no position to be able to take care of the boy alone."

Gabe tried wetting his throat and scrunched up his eyes when the walls stuck together instead. He fought to open the air passage and was relieved when it grew moist, allowing him to breathe again. He tried speaking again. The sound came out clearer but it was inarticulate. He forgot to move his mouth.

"I cannot help directly as my father –" the words were said with a great bitterness to it "- refuses to have me interfere in the illegitimate boy's life. But we are bound by blood, the boy and I… my sister shall always be my sister, despite the shame she has caused our family." Light footsteps and the rustling of clothes moved closer came closer to Gabe's ears. He felt a cool hand touch his forehead; almost endearing in manner. "I shall send for a –"

"Chlo – e," Gabe finally rasped out.

"Your daughter…" he trailed off, thinking about it, then sighed. "Yes, she can take responsibility, I suppose." The man said it quite begrudgingly, indicating his plans were different from what the injured man wanted. "Very well, I shall allow her to handle the situation. However, if she gets into any trouble, I will make it a point to interfere significantly."

As Gabe's eyes finally cooperated and opened to a point that he could see blurred shapes, the man was walking off, his tall form hunched in a brooding manner – much like a Lex Luthor would, he thought offhandedly – to him. Before he could tell him to wait, the door was closed.

Lex rubbed his tired eyes before frowning at the screen of his computer. He had been working all night and most of the morning and he was just about done with looking over the figures and documents for LexCorp. There were still a few quirks here and there…

The door to his office opened abruptly and he lost his train of thought as his eyes focused on his visitor. His eyes widened as his father stepped in a lazy smirk on his lips. "Son, is there something that you haven't told me yet?"

Lex in return, raised a brow. "Is there something you know about?"

The older Luthor chuckled. "Lex, Lex, Lex… are you skirting around the subject like a little pansy? Come, now, you know what I'm talking about." He began to saunter nearer, making Lex shift slightly in discomfort. Lionel always liked pushing people out of their comfort zones. "Won't you tell me about a woman… a Japanese woman who was employed here just a few years ago and had a little… affair with you… if you could even call it such…"

The bald man struggled not to react. "I don't know what you're talking about." His voice was as deadpan as he could make it, but he heard the waver – knew that his father heard it, too – and cursed himself inwardly for it.

"I'm so proud of you son," Lionel announced with a grin. "You have finally come to your senses and decided to give up fighting the inevitable end of being who you are: a Luthor."

"I'm not, under any circumstances, turning out like you," Lex seethed, narrowing his stormy grey eyes at his father.

"Oh, but you already are; you just took the first step to succumbing to the darkness that is your destiny: created a spawn – and an illegitimate one at that. I've done that; your grandfather has, too. It is what is expected of a Luthor. You are no different from the rest of us." The smirk upon Lionel's face grew into a full-fledged sneer. "You are my son and will take my place – in every aspect of life."

"No!" Lex screamed out and catapulted upwards.

He was surrounded by darkness, save the light filtering through the windows. There was cold sweat covering his entire body. A dream… only a dream. Lex could feel his heart slow and his breath even out of its erratic state. Groaning covered his face with one hand as the other clenched a fist of his bed sheets. Damn it, it's been two years since it happened. And in that time, he had forgotten the child had existed. What had prompted his mind to suddenly dig up old problems?

Falling back onto the pillows he sighed heavily, then took a look at his bedside clock. It blinked three a.m. in bold red lettering. He'd only been asleep for two hours. Damn it. Taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out, he turned to his side and closed his eyes, willing himself to just rest, but telling himself not to dream. It took him a full half hour for that to happen, but he finally went back to sleep with no more dark memories coming back to haunt him.

To be continued...

A/N.:

Some words that you need to know:

Konnichiwa - good afternoon

(name)-san - sort of like Mr. or Sir...

Arigatou gozaimasu - Thank you (formal)

So what do you think so far? o0