CHAPTER 3

Only a couple weeks had passed since that uncomfortable confrontation with Lex Luthor, but to Chloe it seemed like years. Her father's condition had worsened, and she seemed to be spending more and more time at the hospital, sitting by her father's bed as the monitors beeped quietly. For the first time in her life since her mother had left, Chloe felt helpless and useless. She had tried everything, spending hours at her office searching the internet for any kind of information…but of course, no one outside of Smallville had any experience with Kryptonite and the only scientists she could find were already on the Luthor payroll. Every minute seemed to drag on endlessly. The days seemed to last longer since she started calling in sick at the Daily Planet, choosing instead to stay at the hospital, waiting for her father to wake up for a couple of minutes a day out of his drug-induced sleep.

She hadn't seen Clark lately either, as his attention seemed preoccupied with the lovely Lana Lang. Chloe wasn't surprised. Although Clark and Lana had officially started dating earlier in the year, nothing had really changed. Chloe was still the sidekick, the girl friday, always willing to put herself in second place for Clark's affection. Thoughts she couldn't seem to control echoed through her mind, bitter and biting. Lana was all the way in Metropolis and Chloe still couldn't compete. She tapped her foot anxiously in time with the mechanical hum-like music. She resented the fact that no one had confronted her regarding her as of recent depression. It was petty and ridiculous, she knew, but if it had been Clark or Pete or even Lana, she knew that she would have confronted them and tried to help. And if they wouldn't tell her, she would have done some research and figured it out. A little time and effort seemed like a small price to pay for a friend. And yet no one had said or done anything. Only Lex. Lately, she had often found herself thinking back to her conversation with Lex, his offer and her refusal, the moment where she could see the utter frustration in his eyes. She stood up from the cold metal hospital chair and walked over to the sink in the corner of the room, staring at her reflection in the mirror. The dark circles under her eyes seemed to hollow out her face and her skin seemed dull and gray. She had lost some weight. She stared for a moment at the strange reflection before grabbing her purse and heading for the door. Of course she had recognized that look of absolute desperation. She knew it well.

"Mr. Luthor, Chloe Sullivan is here to see you?"

"Send her in." Lex waved his hand at the intruder without looking up from his paperwork. After a couple minutes, he heard footsteps approach the door to his office and then stop, waiting for a further invitation, or perhaps a jolt of courage. Lex sighed impatiently. "Chloe, will you just come in here?" Chloe opened the door, looking slightly flustered. "What can I help you with?"

Chloe looked at her hands. There was little in the world she hated more than apologies, especially ones she didn't feel were necessary. But desperate times….

"The last time I saw you, my behavior was…inappropriate. I've been under a lot of pressure lately…" She turned her gaze directly into Lex's eyes "As I am sure you are aware of. And I guess what I'm here to say is…"

"You're sorry?" A smirk flitted across Lex's mouth.

Chloe frowned. "Yes. I'm sorry."

"Well," Lex gently pushed his paperwork aside. "I'm a little disappointed."

Chloe laughed indignantly. "Disappointed?"

"Yes. The almighty Chloe Sullivan apologizing for a few harsh words that were fair enough, if slightly undeserved. Come now, Chloe, you should know me better by now."

Chloe felt a small weight lift off her shoulders as she shot Lex a weak smile. "Yes, I suppose you're right. You're an asshole. There, is that any better?"

Lex laughed, a genuine laugh that sounded unfamiliar and comforting to Chloe. "You're one of the only people I know who have had the nerve to say what you really think of me to my face."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm sure a lot of people just hate you behind your back."

"Yes well, thank you."

An awkward pause came between them, as Chloe fought for words to break the quiet. Lex, on the otherhand, seemed perfectly comfortable in the silence, content to stare her down with a smug little smile.

"Lex, I didn't just come to apologize. I wanted…I want to hear what you can do to help my father. I'm not signing him over to you or anything I just…I just want to hear it for myself."

Lex immediately resumed the businesslike air he had possessed earlier. A professional demeanor is imperative to controlling whatever situation is at hand, and he pulled it off flawlessly. "I have some information here for you, if you'd like to look it over." He rustled through some papers, pulled out a few and put them aside. "And if you have any questions after that, you can call my office."

"Thanks, I'll read through them…but Lex? This isn't bullshit, is it? I mean, I know your work. This…this can't be like the other projects, okay? This is different."

Lex scanned his eyes over the girl in front of him. He had made hundreds of business deals in his lifetime, and yet felt instinctively that this was going to be nothing like any of the others. For one thing, his partner in these sorts of endeavors was rarely a high school girl. He would admit it; he had an odd respect for Chloe Sullivan, who at the moment looked like she had gotten run over by a truck. He carefully examined her disheveled appearance- dark gray t-shirt, dark jeans, tangled hair falling in her face, further darkening the shadows under her eyes. She looked vulnerable and broken, a pale impression of the colorful blonde spitfire he had come to know during his father's trial. His lip curled in distain, in her grief she clearly hadn't been taking very good care of herself. And yet he stepped in close to her, his hand slowly moving up to brush her hair from her face as if it had a mind of its own. He pulled it away a sheer moment before it made its desired contact, sharp as if he'd been bitten. Frowning at his own weak sentimentality, he handed her the stack of papers and walked quickly to the other side of the room, turning to face her from there with a curt, "It would be completely taken care of."

Chloe stood still, mesmerized. She faintly recognized that this was an unsatisfactory response to her demand, but found her tongue thick and silent. What was Lex trying to do? Seduce her? She quickly dismissed the idea, sure that Lex had all the beautiful women he could possibly want, he had no reason to flirt around with a stupid teenager. A thought flashed through her mind and she gritted her teeth. Unless he was flirting with her, knowing she was so pathetic as to jump on any romantic advances he sent her way, just to manipulate her into giving over all power and control in the conversation. A small angry noise sounded in her throat. Lex Luthor thought he could charm his way out of anything. She looked down at the papers, breaking whatever unspoken moment she had taken part in and furrowed her brow. Panic started to rise in her throat. She shouldn't have come back here. She shouldn't have been foolish enough to think a Luthor might actually have something decent to offer her. She gripped the papers tightly in her hand as she repressed an urge to cry, or maybe just explode. Brushing her hand through her hair anxiously, she took in a deep breath and steadied herself.

"You know Lex, I think I'll just look them over right now, so that if I have any questions, I can just ask you here." She reached over and grabbed a chair from up against the wall, pulling it beside his desk. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Well, I'm rather busy this afternoon, with the election coming up, but if you-"

"Of course you don't mind." Chloe sat down, grabbed a pen from his desk and started scanning over the papers. "What's this?"

"Maybe you should take the papers home with you and read them over a few times first before-"

Chloe shot up from her seat and shoved the paper into his face. "What…is...this?"

"It's a chemical combination I've found in certain specimens of DNA that I believe could potentially assist in eliminating the strains of meteor-induced virus in the subject's system."

Chloe thought over his answer for a moment. "In 'certain specimens'?"

Lex cleared his throat. "In a certain specimen."

"Damnit Lex, are you absolutely insane?" Chloe asked quietly.

Taken aback by her reaction, Lex solemnly shook his head. "I don't think so."

Chloe sat back down and narrowed her eyes at Lex. "Why can't you let this go? You're obsessed; you're letting it cloud your judgment. It's impossible."

"No." Lex shook his head fiercely. "It's not. I'm not."

"I can't have a part in this." Chloe felt her anger flaring up to match Lex's determination. "You know I can't." Lex just stared at her blankly.

"Thank you Lex. As always, you've been quite a help."

Lex looked back down at his desk. "Always ready to help a friend out."

Chloe stifled a scream as she slammed the door behind her.