It wasn't even noon yet, but Lex poured himself a drink from the onboard liquor cabinet of the jet. He needed something to busy his hands and a glass of scotch would work. He held the bottle up as an offer to Chloe, but she shook her head without really paying him any attention. Getting back into his seat, he sipped his drink and watched the blonde furiously typing away on her laptop.

A few pieces had fallen into place.

When he had showered, his hands had worked over an unmarred body. He hadn't thought about it until now, still so lost in their unexpected encounter this morning. But now his mind was working properly again. The bullet wounds had been gone, as if they never existed. Then he thought of her almost dead state in the car, and he finally understood her power and what she had done.

A healer. She was a f***ing healer.

And not just that. She took on the wounds of those she healed. He had taken the bullets to save her, and she had turned around and taken them back to save him. Even to the point of her own almost-death.

The revelation gave him pause. In all his studies and experiments on the meteor-infected he had never come across anything like it. All the cases he had found had worked in only one of two ways. The powers either caused detriment to others, or gave power to the meteor-infected. He hadn't found a single case where the meteor infected individual had a power that helped others, and caused harm to themselves as a result.

The knowledge that such a power - that such a person - existed, changed all his assumptions about the freaks and how to handle them. What if he had been looking at the freaks the wrong way? He had been so focused on containment and protection from them because of their dangerous gifts. What if he should have been looking at ways to channel them into doing something good for mankind directly? Growing their powers, not just to see how much he could, or to drain them for some exterior application, but so they themselves could do good for world? Chloe could be just the first of the...meta-humans that could channel their powers for good and not destruction.

But that opened a new thought. Could people want to do good, but just got lost along the way?

Lex didn't pretend to himself that he was a good man, but the last few days with Chloe he had felt like a better man. Someone worthy of...he wasn't sure what. But he wanted to find out.

"Chloe?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why did you save me?"

Her fingers froze on the keys for a long moment, before resuming their typing. "I don't know what you mean."

He looked at her hard. "Don't lie to me, Chloe. I know you have some sort of healing ability. Not even my high white blood cell count would save me from triple gunshot wounds. You did something..." His voice dropped low. "And nearly died for it. You know who I am and what I've done, and you still chose to save me. I have to know why."

Chloe shifted uncomfortably. "These past few days, and then when you pushed me clear of the bullets...I thought I saw something. Something in you. Something of who you used to be." Her eyes rose and held his. "Who you could be again if you tried."

A strange hope and lightness filled his chest. He had thought himself truly a monster by now. He had thought that after all he had done, no matter how necessary, that he would always be written off as soulless. He had only done what he thought he must, but with the power he had wielded, he hadn't expected to ever see the light again.

But here Chloe sat, the very real and human champion of good and light, telling him he wasn't lost. For years now, he had seen her as both his equal an his opposite. She was the light, while he was the dark. They worked for the same goal, but while his methods had compromised and twisted him, she somehow remained light and warm. She fought against him from the shadows, but only so she could bring his works into the light. This girl that had taken down Lionel Luthor, he had never underestimated. He had never written her off the way a foolish man would have because of her age and background. He knew better. Her drive and intelligence, her heart and resolve, had always been equal to his own. That was part of why he had let her stay free, even after uncovering she was meteor infected. The world would have been a smaller, darker place without her moving in it.

And now this small force of nature said she saw something in him that was good. Something worth saving.

Hearing that, after she had nearly given her life for his, it triggered something in him. That a person as warm and...good as Chloe thought he was worth saving - even at the risk of her own life - meant something. He hadn't thought about it at the time, but when he had seen that gun pointed at her, a part of him knew that if either of them made it out alive, it should be her. He really wanted her methods to be the way to protect the world.

So he had taken the shots instead.

He didn't know anyone that was willing to lay down their lives for his, except maybe the security teams he paid for protection. And even then, he wasn't really sure if when push came to shove, they would have. None of the women he had married would have been willing to do so. In fact, they mostly tried to kill him. Even Lana had tried to destroy him. There was a time Lana may have killed for him, but she never would have died for him.

Yet Chloe Sullivan had been willing to give up her life for his. He had expected to die, but then she had flipped the game on him. She had given him back the gift of his own life.

And he found himself wanting to be worthy of that gift.

Last night, he had told himself he was claiming her as he slid into her body, but it seemed she had the true claim - on him.

And what about what had happened this morning? Was that extraordinary sex a way of reaching back into himself? When she had looked into his eyes, who had she seen looking back? The person he was now - all sharp angles and twisted soul - or some better version of himself?

"But what if you are wrong? What if I truly am the monster everyone thinks I am?"

"Then I guess I'd be wrong in my assessment of you." She paused. "Wouldn't be the first time."

They were both silent for a long moment. Then very softly and sincerely Lex said, "Thank you."

She shrugged in reply, but he could tell she was moved by the simple declaration. She resumed her typing a moment later.

He continued to watch her, but finally his natural curiosity set in, and he pushed his deep thoughts aside.

"What are you typing so industriously over there, Chloe?" he asked.

"Story for Grant," she replied.

"You have got to be joking. You can't publish any of this." He responded in a disbelieving tone, waving his hand to indicate everything about their situation. She had to know that he wouldn't let her write a story about what they had done the last few days. The informant was still at large, and they had no way of knowing if this was an isolated incident or not yet. It would take some major digging to see if any other disasters pointed squarely at Luthorcorp were in the offing.

Not to mention that her father was still number one on his suspect list as a mole.

The look she gave him was pure annoyance. "Of course not, but I have been gone for nearly a week supposedly working on a story about you. I have to have something to turn in."

His disbelief faded, to be replaced by amusement. "Don't you think then that you should ask me some questions?"

She didn't look up. "Nope. I'm going to do something with the interview I did with you from The Torch. I'm thinking a retrospective interview. Something like what you answered then and what you've done since."

Lex raised a brow at her. "The interview from seven years ago?"

"That's the one."

"You think people will want to read a rehash?"

In reply, she started reading a section from that long-ago interview.

"Mr. Luthor, what do you most hope to accomplish with your work at Luthorcorp Plant #3 here in Smallville? Reply: I hope to build a solid economic base for our community with good-paying jobs and quality products for which we can be proud."

Looking up at him, she continued, "So what do you think, Lex? Did you build an economic base with good-paying jobs and quality products?"

He smiled. "That sounded like an interview question."

She shrugged, trying for nonchalance, but Lex saw through the ploy. She was trying to get an interview without actually having to ask for one. She didn't want to owe him any debts, even though the cover story had been his idea.

After all they had been through the last few days, a part of him was glad to see that some things hadn't changed. Chloe was still Chloe. He was the one looking through new eyes. The Chloe he had always known was still the same. She still wanted to act on her own initiative - using her own wits and drive to get what she needed. She didn't see their teaming up or the sex as a pathway for her advancement. She was still going to challenge him at every turn to accomplish what she thought should be done.

He found himself happy at the prospect.

Smiling, he replied, "Well, Chloe, since you ask..."

Author's Note: for noellesullivan because she asked - In my stories, Chloe is ALWAYS on the pill, even if I don't say so specifically.

Also, don't forget to check out the svsunkenships event! It starts this week! Link to community is on my profile.