Disclaimer: Smallville and its characters are the property of the WB and DC Comics and such, not me. (Thanks for the tip Shannon) Songs aint mine either. This is my story, however, and is now copyright. © Don't even TRY and steal it! (Just kidding!)
A/N: You may notice that not only does Lana not live with Chloe, but also she isn't in the story very much. The reason for this is simply that I don't like Lana and find it more interesting to write Pete. Don't all you Lana fans kill me, there is NO Lana bashing in this story. I don't take my hate out on my work.
Read and Review. Epilogue coming soon.
Last Time
Lionel started laughing, cutting him off. "That's where you're wrong, Mr. Sullivan. I'm not firing you, I was told to."
"What do you mean?"
"Why don't you ask that kid of yours. Chloe I think her name is. It was her idea in the first place."
"WHAT! I'LL KILL HER! Stupid bitch should've never messed with me."
Lionel grinned. "That's what I thought." He said softly, before turning and walking out.
Lex frowned, his eyes still glued to the screen. So that's how he did it. He would pay dearly for this stunt.
"I still don't understand it! I know Gabe, he's not violent. That might have made him angry, but he wouldn't have taken it out on Chloe like he did." Clark was still staring at the blank screen.
"Clark, it isn't that simple." Lex countered. "I have a medical record of all my father's employees. Gabe suffers from a mental illness known as Bipolar disorder."
"What's that?"
"It's a mental disease which affects the mind, mostly the mood of people. There are two types of bipolar. Bipolar type one, the moods change often and rapidly. Bipolar type two, the changes are slower, not as frequent, but the highs aren't as high, whereas the lows are three times as low. Gabe has bipolar type two."
"So...how did that trigger this?"
Lex sometimes wondered about the intelligence of his friend. "It means, given the right provocation, he would be a time bomb waiting to explode. My father probably used this to his advantage. He was most likely stepping on his toes all week, firing him and insulting him just tipped him over the edge. Unfortunately, an argument like that wouldn't hold up in court."
"Isn't there anything we can do about this?"
"Unfortunately, the only choice is to get Mr Sullivan to a hospital, until it's safe for Chloe to go near him again. I don't know that we can do much more than that. I'll fly in the best doctors from metropolis if you like Chloe." (He says it so often, it HAD to be in there somewhere) He looked beside him at the now empty seat. "Chloe!"
Clark whirled around. They had both been so wrapped up in their talk that they didn't notice Chloe had run off. "Chloe! Oh no!" Clark cried.
Lex jumped up and grabbed his keys from the desk. "Let's go. We have to find her."
Clark knew he could get there faster. "I'll go alone, I'm going to check my house first. You go to the Torch." He couldn't think of anywhere else she could be. There was no way she would return to her house.
Lex frowned, but declined. If they both searched separately, they might have a greater chance of finding her. "Ok, I'll call your cell if there's any sign of her."
"Thanks Lex."
Clark ran at super speed back to his house. The first thing he did was check the loft. "Chloe? Chloe are you in here?" He searched quickly. His mother appeared from below.
"Clark? What's wrong? What happened to Chloe?"
"I don't know mum. We were just talking at Lex's place when, she just disappeared! I don't know what happened, but I know what happened to Gabe."
"Can you do anything?"
"Not if I don't find Chloe. Where could she be?"
"Where does she normally go to hide out?"
He thought about this. Everyone had a place. Lana had the graveyard, Pete had his tree house, even Clark had the loft. Where was Chloe's place? All he could think of was the Torch. "I'm gonna ring Lex at the Torch. See if she's there."
He dialled Lex's cell phone number. "Lex it's Clark. Any sign of her?"
"Sorry, she's not here. I was just about to call you."
"Have you found anything?"
"No, but it looks like someone came to this place with a sledgehammer. It's in pieces."
"Ok, keep looking. She's not here either." He hung up and looked at his mother. "The Torch has been destroyed. I think she was there."
"I'll call the sheriff. You keep looking, you'll be faster than your father and me."
Clark nodded and raced out of the loft, passing his worried mother. Martha ran inside and grabbed the phone. After reporting her missing to the sheriff, she told Jonathon what was going on.
"You mean she just vanished?"
"That's what Clark said. He's off to look for her now."
"I don't like this. Come on Martha, we're going to join that search party."
It was one hour after Chloe had gone missing. So far, no sign of her, and Clark was getting nervous. Everyone was on the search. Pete, Lana, Lex, his parents, the sheriff, so far no one had see her. She wasn't even hiding out in a coffee shop! Then a thought occurred to Clark. Metropolis! She had always wanted to move back, work for the planet.
He knew she hadn't gone there, she had left her car outside the Torch, but there was another option. The windmill on the field, you could see metropolis from there. She might have been hiding out there. He mentally kicked himself for not thinking of checking there, and ran at top speed to reach it.
When he got there he was less than surprised. Chloe was sitting above him, at the top of the windmill, staring out to Metropolis. She was very still. "Chloe!" he called up at her.
She stood a little, wavering. It was as if she was dizzy. Slowly, as if in a dream, she walked to the edge, swayed as if trying to keep her balance, then fell.
"CHLOE!" Clark yelled, running underneath and catching her. There was blood staining her shirt. "No, don't you dare leave me. I'll get you to a hospital, it'll be ok."
"Clark?" She sounded weak. "I'm sorry." She passed out.
Clark ran to the hospital with Chloe. He stopped just a bit short, and ran at half pace, so as not to alarm anybody. He ran to the nearest doctor he saw. "Please, you have to help! I don't know what happened."
The doctor looked her over, saw the blood. He picked up one of her wrists. "You're lucky you got to her when you did. A little longer and she'd be dead." He showed the wrist to Clark. A long slash was there, stained deep red. The doctor immediately bandaged it. "You go tell you're parents. I'll fix her up. Most likely she'll need a transplant. Would you donate."
Clark's face fell. "I'm sorry, I can't. We're not eligible. But I know someone who is."
"Then hurry, you don't have long." He turned around, and the next second, Clark was gone.
Clark ran to Pete. He knew Pete was the same blood type as Chloe. It didn't take long to find him. "Pete, I found her, but she's in a bad state. We need your blood."
"Think you can run me over?"
"Sure. Lets go!"
That was quick." The doctor commented, seeing Clark with Pete.
"Pete is the same blood type. He'll donate."
"Anything to help her!" Pete said worried.
He hooked Pete up to a machine in no time. "You boys are lucky, she only slit one of her wrists. If she had slit both, there wouldn't have been anything we could do for her."
Both of the boys looked frightened. They had never seen Chloe like this before. "You can save her right?" Pete asked, anxiously.
"It's a long shot, but I'm sure she'll be ok. Now please, take some deep breaths. You'll be feeling the affects of the blood loss soon." He turned to Clark. "Could you please get me some sugar of some kind and some water? He'll need it."
Clark went to comply with his wishes, and called his parents on the way. "Clark that you? Any sign of her?" Jonathon asked.
"Dad, I'm at the hospital. She's in bad shape. Pete's donating blood, but the doctor says she'll live. Make sure everyone knows."
"Sure. And Clark?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't worry son. Chloe's a strong girl, she'll pull through."
Clark hung up the phone and reported back to the Doctor with jelly babies and a cup of water. He handed them to a very pale Pete, who ate one jelly baby before slowly sipping his drink. A few minutes later he unhooked the machine, and let Pete lie down. He had given all he could give.
"Don't worry mate, she'll pull through." The doctor said.
Clark stood with Lex and his Parents outside Chloe's room. Pete had felt faint and was lying down on the couch. They were waiting for news from the Doctor, Dr. Fosters they found out. Clark had begun pacing unconsciously, more nervous than he first thought. He was relieved when Dr. Fosters finally came out of the room.
"She's recovering. You can see her now, only I don't think she'll be able to talk just yet." He patted Pete on the back. "You saved her life with that transfusion young man, well done. And I don't think she would've lasted if Clark here hadn't found her."
Clark didn't hear this praise. He was already in the room, sitting in a chair by Chloe's bed. He had one hand in his and was talking softly to her. "You scared me. Don't ever do that again."
She didn't respond, she was still out cold. Martha nudged Jonathon, who took this as a hint. They helped Pete up, then left the hospital, Lex towing behind.
Chloe woke up feeling groggy. There was a weight next to her and someone had her hand. "Hello?"
Clark woke up and stared at Chloe. The very sight of her made him want to cry. She wasn't the same strong willed girl he knew, just a weak, fragile thing. He wanted so much just to comfort her. "How are you feeling" He finally asked.
"Sick. What happened?"
"You fell off the windmill. Chloe, why did you do it!"
She blinked back tears. "I just couldn't believe it was true. It...it was my fault. I felt if I was out of the way, he might have been happier. He wouldn't have...he wouldn't..." She burst into tears. Clark immediately hugged her, stroking her hair. (She's been falling deeper and deeper into depression, remember?)
"Oh Chloe! Don't ever think that. We would all be lost without you." He tried to calm her. Pete nocked on the door.
"Hey Chloe? You ok? Dr. Fosters told me you were awake." There was a bunch of flowers in his hand. He walked in and gave Chloe a hug.
"You really scared me Chlo!" He said. "Clark too. He hasn't left your side since you got here."
Clark blushed slightly and looked down.
"This really means a lot to me." Chloe said, sobbing. She gave Pete another hug. "I still have no idea what to do."
"Stay with me until this whole mess is cleared up." Clark spoke out.
"You sure Clark? I don't want to impose."
"It'll be fine. Right now you need to get some rest." Chloe smiled, before falling back onto the bed and instantly slipping into a slumber.
"Clark, do you think that's the best idea? I mean...well you know." Pete asked, once he was sure she was out.
"I don't care. I want to protect her. You know I can do that better than you!" He stopped. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be harsh."
"I understand, you're worried. Just be careful man."
"I will Pete. I just hope she gets better, not worse." For some reason, Pete didn't think he was talking about her sickness.
Shannon: Glad to see you liked it. Sometimes I'm a sap for the lovey-dovey scenes. Thanks, keep reading!
bade: Hope you liked this twist. The fic is almost done. Don't ya love ending things on cliff-hangers?
lode: I am aware that he was primarily in Lex's care, but for the purposes of this fic, I had to change it. I know Bipolar may seem like an odd explanation, but I have a family member with type two, I know what it's like. They could be fine for ages, then snap because they were pushed too far. This will be explained further in the epilogue, but I don't want to give away more then that.
BTW I hope you don't mind me using your idea about the reason Chloe's mum left. It seems like a good idea, and I'd like to. If you'd rather I didn't, just say so. Far from hurtful, your review gave me a lot of ideas and helped me see a few flaws which needed fixing. I like reviews like that. Thank you.