Her words hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was probably only a few moments. Then Chloe burst out laughing.
"I'm sorry." she gasped out as the other two occupants of the room turned to stare at her. "But you're what, twenty years old?"
Lena frowned. "Twenty-two."
"Lex is only twenty-four. How could he possibly be your father? Are you from the future or something?" Chloe said sarcastically. Her smile died when Lena remained silent.
Chloe looked at Lex, urging him to say something. "You expect us to believe that?" he finally managed.
"Why would I lie?" Lena asked in exasperation. She crossed her arms over her chest and Lex had a brief vision of another woman in a similar stance, but couldn't quite recall who.
"If," he said, skepticism dripping from his voice, "you really are from the future you won't have any trouble proving it."
"What, do you want to know who's president or something? There's no way to verify anything I tell you." she shot back.
"She has a point." Chloe interjected. Lex glared at her, and she put her hands up in a defense gesture. "Fine. But surely you must have some proof." he conceded.
Chloe watches a sad expression suddenly comes over Lena's face as she pulled something out of her back pocket. Slowly, she walked forward and handed it to Lex.
Up close, the resemblance that had been haunting Lex hit him square in the face, and he had no choice to believe that somehow, she was telling the truth. He took what she held out to him and stared intently at it. It's a picture, but not just any picture. The image was taken two and a half years in the future judging from what the date in the bottom corner says. Lex can do nothing but gape at the image in his hands. He sees himself, outside the mansion on the grounds somewhere, holding a baby girl in his arms. She's dressed in a white sundress and wisps of strawberry blonde hair are falling out of her little bonnet. There's a smile of absolute delight on her face and her big green eyes are sparkling at whoever took the picture. The look on her father's face is identical.
"That's my favorite picture. I've taken it all over the world with me. I was about a year old, just starting to walk. I had almost climbed into one of the fountains and you caught me. Or so I've been told." Lena said softly.
Lex doesn't answer, doesn't move. Curiosity getting the best of her, Chloe moves up behind him and pulls the picture from his hands. She feels her heart breaking at the sight of it. This is what Lex always wanted more than anything; a family.
"I'll admit I'm not the best at math, but doesn't that mean you'll be born in about a year and a half?" Chloe asked.
"Give or take a few months." she said.
At her words, Lex finally looks up. His breathing becomes shallow and his actions hock both women in the room. Without a sound, he charges forward and wraps his arms tightly around Lena, clasping her to him so tightly she fears he'll break her ribs. Tears began to gather in her eyes and she inhales deeply, taking in that scent she hasn't smelled in so long.
"How?" Lex's voice cracks on the word.
Chloe begins to edge out the door, knowing that they need some privacy right now. The last thing she sees before closing the office doors behind her is Lena pulling back from Lex and pushing her sleeve up to reveal a large silver watch encasing her wrist.
Lex traced over the intricate designs he knows by heart. "I haven't seen this since I was seventeen."
"When Grandfather Lionel stopped his time travel experiments." she finished for him.
His eyes showed the shock he felt at her mention of Lionel. "I finished it." he said, more of a statement than a question.
"How do you think I got here?" she joked. "God, you would kill me if you knew I did this. Well, the future you that is."
A smile began to appear on his face. "Am I overprotective?"
"You sent three armed bodyguards with me on my first date."
He smirked. "Sounds about right."
Silently, they both walked over and sat on the leather couch, their movements mirroring each others. "You said you were-are-born in a year and a half."
She nodded.
"That means you're conceived in about nine months?"
She nodded again.
"You're really not going to make this easy on me are you?" he finally asked.
"Just ask. I know you're dying to." she grinned and leaned back on the couch, once more crossing her arms over her chest.
For the second time that night, an image Lex couldn't quite see flashed across his mind's eye. A similar action, another girl. What was he missing?
"Well?" she prodded.
He couldn't help the feeling of warmth that spread through his body at how comfortable she seemed with him. Just maybe he wasn't a bad father.
"Who's your mother?" he finally asked.
She looked momentarily surprised at his words, but it passed so quickly he was sure it could have just been his imagination. "You can't tell?"
He raised his eyebrows, the sign he was growing impatient. She recognized it immediately. She had always been more terrified of that look than she had of him yelling. His temper was more potent when released slowly, more controlled.
"Lex…Dad…I'm not sure what to call you." she said , her shoulders slumping.
"Lex is fine." he told her, the words piercing his heart as they passed his lips.
"Lex," she said with a look of distaste on her face, "look at me. Who do I remind you of? Besides your mother."
He stared at her, studying every detail of her face and personality. His own mother shone through most prominently, but there were traces that could only come from hers. The eyes. That's what stood out the most. They were so familiar, like he'd seen them every day but he couldn't for the life of him remember where. The answer seemed to be floating in front of him, just out of reach, begging for him to grasp it.
"Let me give you a hint." she finally said. She pulled her hair up and fastened it with an elastic around her wrist. With her hair out of her face, he could see her features more clearly. She bit down on her bottom lip and her brow wrinkled in concentration.
There it was again. A flash of a similar gesture. But this one he recognized, he'd seen it not even an hour ago across his desk. The eyes that had seemed so familiar but unknown suddenly came into focus and the answer became all too obvious. How could he not have seen it? This girl, his daughter, had Sullivan written all over her.
"Chloe's your mother."