4. Part 1 of 2

Lex whistled softly under his breath. He wasn't sure what he'd have done if she'd gone all kick boxer on the doctor in the lobby. But she'd held herself in check, he thought. She'd done a fine job of getting her point across and then walking away proud. As soon as they stepped through the automatic doors leading outside Chloe flinched and stuffed herself as close to Lex's side as she could get. Lex squeezed her hand softly, the one that was still curled into his. "We're outside now." She seemed to be taking it all in at once. He felt her hand go slack in his, could sense the wonder as she looked around them at the bright sky and the traffic whizzing by in front of them. "Now we're just going to wait here and someone will bring the car around. Then I'll take you to my home." He glanced down at her as the company valet swung into an empty spot in front of the building with his Porsche. She stared in awe at the low slung bullet in front of them. Lex smiled, thinking he probably looked the same way the day he'd seen the model in the dealership showroom.

"It's something else, isn't it?" He led Chloe to the passenger door the valet held open. Chloe leaned down a little, not letting go of Lex's hand, and peered into the car.

"Something else." She said softly, earning an ear to ear grin from Lex. She was too busy touching the seat carefully to notice.

The valet gave Lex his keys and stepped back. Lex thanked the young man and motioned for Chloe to get in. "Just sit down and make yourself comfortable." Chloe looked at him, unsure of what to do. Lex smiled softly. "It's okay, it won't bite." He held her by her elbow and lowered her into the seat. Then he leaned inside and buckled her in. "Just to be on the safe side," he said as she stared at what he was doing.

He made sure all her parts were inside and shut the door, didn't miss the expression of panic on her face as she watched him through the window. Lex held up a finger and jogged around the front of the car to the driver's side. After he settled himself in, he looked over at her and turned the key in the ignition. "This is a car," he said as he ran his hand over the dashboard. She did the same, her fingers bumping into his lightly. "Well, it's not just a car, it's a Porsche, but we'll talk about that later." He tuned the dial to classical music and Chloe jerked her head back looking around her wildly.

"Chloe?"

Chloe shook her head violently, looking around for the music, finally she screamed and put her hands over her ears. Lex flipped through stations until he settled on some soft rock. "Chloe." He grabbed one of her hands and pulled it down far enough for her to hear the change. "It's okay." Chloe slowly lowered her hands from her ears, shaking as she did so, and tilted her head a little to the right. "This is rock. Since you obviously don't think too highly of Chopin."

Chloe settled into the seat, playing with the buttons on her side as she stared at the radio. "Good."

Lex smiled and shifted the car into gear. "Yeah, it's pretty good." He pulled out into traffic and made his way to his penthouse. "I prefer classical while I'm driving, but I can make an exception for you, I suppose."

Chloe looked over at him then her eyes shifted past him and to what was beyond his window. She gasped and tried to lean closer, struggling with the seat belt that held her back. Lex glanced away from the road as she fought with the shoulder strap. He chuckled softly and then pointed out her window. "You have one, too."

Chloe turned her face in the direction his finger was pointing and stopped struggling, sat still, and let her jaw open slightly. She made a sound in the back of her throat that Lex couldn't quite pinpoint the origin of and then she had her hands against the window, her face pressed between them. "Good," Chloe said with enthusiasm and Lex smiled as he pulled into the building's garage. He rolled down his window and was once again attacked as Chloe pushed against his face and struggled against her belt to get a better look. Lex grabbed her wrist, kept his grip light, and swiped his card. He then rolled his window back up as the metal bar leading into the garage was opened. He leaned over and rolled down her window. "You have one of those, too."

Chloe laughed and stuck her head out the window into the stale air of the underground garage. "Good!" She smiled over at Lex as he turned into a parking space close to a set of elevators. "Lex take Chloe out...good."

Lex turned off the car and reached over her, rolled up her window. "Well it's definitely been interesting."

Chloe nodded and then frowned down at the contraption holding her in place. He could tell she was starting to get a little claustrophobic and was glad the traffic had been smoother than normal. "This is it." He undid her seat belt and opened his door, made his way around to her and opened hers, held out a hand and lifted her out. He shut the door and remote-locked the car, then turned towards the elevators. He reached out to touch the button and noticed the little frown line between Chloe's eyebrows. "Uhm. Would you like to press the button?"

"Button." Chloe looked up at Lex, then down at the little square set in the metal panel. "Press the button."

"I'll take that as a yes." He held her hand in his and pressed one of her fingers to the button. The elevator dinged immediately and opened and Chloe went into a figthing crouch. Lex looked down at her and shook his head. "It's an elevator."

She slowly stood back up as Lex stepped into the elevator and stared out at her, one of his hands placed against the door to keep it from closing. "It will take us home."

"Home," Chloe said and looked in at Lex. She stepped forward and hesitated. "Lex."

The way she said his name tore at his heart. He stepped towards her and opened his free hand. "Come in, Chloe."

Chloe grabbed onto his hand and let him pull her into the elevator. As the doors whirred closed, Lex inserted a small key into another metal panel lined with buttons and an automated voice from above him said, "Welcome home, Mister Luthor." Lex smiled down at the top of Chloe's head, where she was currently burrowed into his side once more.

Lex settled her more comfortably into his side and found himself despising the elevator when it dinged and announced it was at the penthouse. The doors opened into the entry way and Lex held onto Chloe as he stepped out of the elevator. Once on the plush carpet he felt Chloe relax beside him, felt the stiffness seep from her body. He looked down at her bare feet, her dirty toes digging into the thick white carpet. He laughed and was rewarded with a bright smile. She let go of him completely and took a few steps forward. Then she turned around and looked at him. "Lex home."

Lex shook his head and picked up the stack of mail sitting on the small glass table beside the elevator. "No, this is our home. Chloe and Lex's home."

Chloe stared at him wide eyed. He was sure that during her captivity she'd been spoken to. Ordered around, mostly, but she'd been spoken to. She'd been rewarded with a beating for talking back or even trying to repeat a word so he figured she did understand him most of the time. She may not understand more than a sentence spoken to her at a time, but she seemed to be smart enough to get the gist of what he said.

Lex motioned ahead of them, down the hallway and through to the den and study. "You can go." She turned around and looked down the hallway. Lex walked a few steps ahead of her and continued flipping through the mail. "You should probably get a shower. I'll send Maria out later to get you some things. She could probably guess your size, whereas all I see are rags. Anyways, why don't we get something to eat and you can just..." Lex's words trailed off as he entered the den and turned to glance over his shoulder. Chloe stood staring at him from the entry way. Even from the distance between them he could see the tears gathering in her eyes. "Chloe?"

Chloe seemed to realize she'd been crying and furiously wiped at her eyes. She shook her head as he began walking toward her. Lex ignored her protest, positive that if she was going to commence with the ass kicking, she'd have done it by now. She looked so torn, though. He wrapped his arms around her, held her to him and let her weep. When the first big sob came out of her she tried to push away. Lex leaned his chin against the top of her head and held her in place.

"It's going to be okay, Chloe. Everything's going to be okay." He stroked her back with his fingertips, let her cry out and sniffle into his shirt. "I know it's a big change, and we'll try to go slow if you need to." He pulled back and looked down at her, lifted his left hand and thumbed away a tear as it rolled down the side of her dirt streaked face. "It's going to be better." She blinked and looked up at him. "I promise." His whisper put her at ease and she stepped back carefully.

"Bathe," she said slowly. Lex watched her try to reign in her emotions. He nodded and with a soft touch to her arm led her down a different hall and into a bedroom. It was his bedroom, but he didn't think she needed to know that yet.

"There's a shower right through here." He opened up the door that led into the bathroom and was sure he heard her gasp as she walked into the gleaming brilliance of white tile. It was interesting, he thought. When he looked at it, he saw nothing more than a bathroom, but he imagined if he could see it through her eyes he'd probably see a palace. He watched her as she looked around the room. Curiously studied herself in the mirror. He wasn't sure what she saw there. Wondered fleetingly if she saw what he did; a beautiful young woman who had her whole life ahead of her. And it would be a long and healthy one if he had any say in it.