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Personal Foul – Chapter 4

"Don't move her." Lex leaned over and pulled Clark and motioned for everyone to back up. Clark and Lana held her hands as she continued to gasp and lose some color in her face.

Lex had been there, and he knew nothing could be done. Remembering his childhood asthma attacks, he knew the tightening in her chest was scaring her, but CPR could kill her. Closing the phone, he pushed past Lana and brushed Chloe's hair out of her face completely. "You need to breathe as normal as possible – the excitement is going to make it hurt more."

Chloe watched and listened to Lex intently. She never understood quite the reason asthmatics could possibly turn blue in a matter of seconds but could picture herself looking about like a smurf. Biting her lip, she tried to slow her breathing by breathing through her nose as tears slipped out of the sides of her eyes. "I …," she squeeked.

"Don't talk, concentrate on breathing." Lex looked up as Clark moved out of the way for the one training staff member of the high school that stuck around for the practice.

"Chloe, you need to do as Mr. Luthor says. Count even tempo breaths until the ambulance gets here." Standing back up, he motioned for Clark to follow him. Watching Clark walk away, Lex tried to pull his hand from Chloe's but she squeezed it harder. Lana had moved around to hold her other hand and immediately noticed the squeeze to Lex as his eyes met Chloe's. Lex looked up and rolled his eyes at Lana's reaction.

Clark looked seriously at the trainer and then back at Chloe, "Clark, there's a million things that could be causing her lack of air." Staring at Chloe, he stared at her chest and then saw Lex give him an annoyed look. He didn't care at the point; Chloe was in bad shape from what Clark could 'see.' "Finally." The trainer ran out to the ambulance and talked to the EMT's as they ran out to Chloe.

The crowd around her had thinned and moved back to give them room. Lex leaned over and rubbed the back of his hand down Chloe's face and whispered, "I'll see you at the hospital – they're going to take care of you." Slipping his hand out of hers, he started toward his vehicle. Halfway there, he heard his name from behind him.

"She had me pull these out of her pocket. They said to let you know that Dr. Swanson is already enroute and will be there when we arrive." The EMT turned and ran back to tend to Chloe to get her transported. Opening the car door, he saw Lana and Clark following her and dripping encouraging words from their tongues before the back of the ambulance closed. Lex sat a single moment before starting the car wishing he could have been there. It was dangerous as it had been; he already gave away enough for people to suspect something. He wasn't about to give away their little affair while she was injured. That moment needed to be special.

Gabe Sullivan paced in the hallway of the Smallville Medical Center's emergency entrance. The call from Lana sent him nearly down a flight of stairs when he tripped at her words. Chloe had been in trouble before, physically and in connection to a story, but this was a football game. He watched the automatic double doors fly open and saw Lex in shorts and t-shirt walk briskly through next to a fast moving gurney. His daughter was a light shade of purple in the face as she kept gasping for air regardless of Lex's directions to calm down. He was holding her hand. Gabe filed the little tidbit away and moved swiftly to her other side.

"Dad," she barely got out before trying to cough and wrenching to her left side.

"Honey, just breath. You're going to ok. They said that Mr. Luthor has called in the best thoracic surgeon and you'll be good as new in no time." She nodded and closed her eyes to concentrate. She watched as both her father and Lex disappeared behind her as the EMT's spoke to the emergency nurses on call and wheeled her into a trauma room.

"She's going to be ok?" Gabe looked at Lex, his former boss for answers. He was still nervous that his little girl was wheeled in with the man.

"Dr. Swanson is the very best. She'll be fine." Lex stuck his hands in the pockets of his shorts and stood with his old employee almost nervously.

"What happened?" Gabe turned to look at Lex and finished his statement, "I know she got hurt but how are you tied up in this? No offense, but I am really tired of her being hurt and it always involves you somehow, but this time was different."

Lex knew what Gabe Sullivan was fishing for, and he wasn't quite ready to give it to him, just the scaled down version. "Chloe talked about the charity football game and I volunteered. She was out taking pictures of the practice and she was too close to the action. I happened to take care of getting a doctor for her and the luxury of a fast car kept me near the ambulance." Gabe looked at him skeptically and then turned to hug Lana, who just walked in with Clark.

"She in with the doctors right now. Hopefully we'll hear something soon." Clark looked at Lex and Gabe and knew they had walked into a tense discussion.

"We should find somewhere to sit down," Lana said as she took Clark's hand and wandered down the hall to a quieter waiting area. Leaning over to Clark's shoulder, she whispered, "Did you get a strange feeling we walked in on something?" Looking up at Clark, he nodded as they turned the corner.

"Mr. Sullivan?" The doctor motioned him forward to talk. Looking at Lex, Gabe left the man standing alone at the front desk and walked off with the doctor. Looking through the window at Chloe, the medical staff had stabilized her breathing and her color was coming back. "She's stabilizing and reacting well to the pain killers. However, she has sharp pain in her left side. We're taking her down for a scan but I'm pretty sure we're dealing with a ruptured spleen."

Gabe took a step back. Lex watched the man's actions. A step back was never a good sign. Lex gulped silently and closed his eyes. Gabe barely whispered, "Can you…I mean how bad is that?"

"We'll get some pictures, but if she is still able to breathe on her own this long, I don't think it'll be that bad. There are no broken bones, ribs, and her lung seems intact." The doctor moved Gabe out of the way seeing the crew bring Chloe out in the hallway.

Leaning over her, he smiled, "They are going to run some tests and we'll see you in a little while." Gabe squeezed her hand as she shook her head lightly and whispered something. The nurse continued to help steady her breathing as they all entered the elevator. Gabe watched the doors close and followed the nurse as the doctor instructed.

"Sir, she's going to be assigned to the ICU unit for the night. I need you to sign off on this." Gabe took the pen and signed his name for her treatment. "Are there any others you want to list as authorized visitors?" Turning back to Lex, who lifted his head and took a deep breath. "Clark Kent…Lana Lang." He stopped and paused, rubbing his head and squinting stressfully like some else he knew. "Lex Luthor."

The nurse finished writing up the paperwork and walked away after giving him instructions on the way to her room and how many people were permitted. He walked back over to the main front desk area and looked at Lex straight faced almost as if anger trembled through his veins.

"She ruptured her spleen; they're running tests and admitting her to ICU for the night." Gabe kept his vicious angry look as he passed Lex. Turning around to face the man's back, Gabe's features softened. "She'll be in 411. She asked to see you."

Lex turned and looked at Gabe, nodding almost in confusion. "You had every right to not let me see her."

"You would have anyway by bribery or other means. It really took a lot of inner strength to say your name." Gabe walked back up to Lex and locked his gaze with his former employer. "If you hurt her…" He paused seeing Lex's bewilderment that Gabe was threatening him.

"Mr. Luthor, Lex…it took my daughter years to get over the crush on Clark – I never talked to her about it; she was too proud to involve her father in her childish crushes. It was like a weight lifted from the house when she and Lana finally understood where they stood as far as Clark was concerned." Gabe took a deep breath. "It's little harder to ignore a young woman's passion for someone that is no good for her. I watched her when you were around that summer. I just want you to understand what you are getting into. She's not one of your transgressions."

Lex tried to speak in his defense but the man obviously knew his daughter's feelings from just her actions. He had never given Gabe that much credit, but his warning was one to heed. Lex was the last one who wanted to hurt Chloe.

His head swimmed. The night they had been together, the one night, she had told him in no uncertain terms that she had wanted him since the first time they met. But that didn't necessarily mean anything. Passion – that was Gabe's word, and that was all that night was. He followed Chloe's father around the corner to the same waiting room as Lana and Clark were in. Looking around the corner, he saw Lana, Clark, and Gabe all staring at him. What have I got myself into?

Chloe sat more or less comfortably in her quiet ICU room as a couple of nurses finished setting her room up. "We'll be back in a few hours. Press the button if you start to feel uncomfortable."

She nodded and looked over at the clock. It was now 10 PM. Her breathing had improved during the hours of being poked and prodded. A couple of hours earlier, the doctor explained that he had talked to her father about her treatment. She listened as the doctor went into detail what had happened. She would have a black eye for awhile from the force of the camera hitting her, but he said she should be grateful her cheekbone wasn't fractured. He went on explaining that her spleen had ruptured from the traumatic hit and subsequent kick in the left side. The transfusions would last a couple of days but afterward just the bruising of her rib would be her main source of pain. He added that no broken ribs kept from collapsing her lung.

Thinking back through the doctor's explanation and encouraging words, she was surprised that Lex would even associate himself with someone that was so positive. On the other hand, she was grateful that he was realistic in his thoughts. The one line – you'll be in some pain for at least a month – stuck in her mind. Then she thought of Lex. Celibacy doesn't suit him, she thought as she wondered if it was over before it began.

"Knock knock." Chloe looked up and saw her father leaning around the doorway. "I didn't want to disturb you too much, but I had to check on you. They said they just got you in here and explained everything about your treatment. How are you feeling?"

Grabbing a pencil and paper balanced on her legs, she wrote,"I feel like I was hit by a car. Football players hurt. LOL."

Gabe sat down in the chair next to her and slightly squeezed her upper arm. "Lana is here. I didn't know who you would want to see; I thought Clark would stress you out. Lois is a little hysterical, so I told her to stay at the house. You don't need that stress. And …"

Chloe watched as her father couldn't quite form the words, so she wrote them. "Lex?" He looked at the pad and nodded her head. Grabbing his hand quickly, she signaled him to wait. Writing again, "Not now – I'm tired. Tell them to go home and I'll see everyone tomorrow."

Ripping the sheet off, she signaled to her dad to wait again. She wrote another note and folded it up and wrote Lex's name on the outside. Handing the note to her dad, she smiled and pressed the button on her pain killer drip for a last dose before closing her eyes.

Gabe walked out into the waiting room and showed the other three the note from Chloe. "She's having a hard time speaking. They are continuing the transfusions for the next 12 to 18 hours. They make her tired. I'm staying out here but she wants everyone else to go home and rest."

Lana hugged him and told him to call if he needed anything. Following her out the waiting room, Clark looked back one more time at Lex. Gabe looked at Lex and handed him the other piece of paper. "I didn't read it. Go home; I promise I'll call you."

Lex took a deep breath and shoved the note in his pocket. The handwriting was shaky, but he could make out, "read later," on it.

"Thank you Mr. Sullivan." He shook hands with the man and walked out of the waiting room leaving the man to pull for his daughter alone, as she requested.

Getting in his car, Lex unfolded the note, taking a deep breath. Maybe her father had gotten to her first and convinced her that she was screwing up her life with him. He sat with baited breath starting to read the note.

My dad knows about you and me – I don't know how but he does. Sorry about all this – it kind of sucks. The doctor told me no 'relations' for at least a month. I understand if you can't wait, it's not like we're dating or falling for each other or something. There's only so much time that I would be interesting anyway. It happens. I'll shut up now.

Lex reread the note and leaned back in the car seat. Licking his bottom lip in frustration, he started the car and left the hospital.

Lex walked out of his bedroom newly showered and changed. He shoved the note into his pocket after leaving it out while in the bathroom. He couldn't believe what she had written. She was caught between what Gabe saw in his daughter's eyes and her obvious attempt to cover up her real feelings. The problem now laid with him.

Gabe knew her almost better than she knew herself. Lex paced realizing that the sprite high school senior who he had had the most incredible sex with a few days ago was in much more over her head than he had first thought. She had wanted him since the first time they met. Lex could almost feel the wave of emotion hit him directly in the chest. Falling for each other, he read again. No, fallen, he thought.

Sitting down at his desk, he booted up the computer and pulled up the Torch's webpage. Clicking the editor page, a picture of the perky blond filled screen next to her biography. He read the screen, the list of her favorites; presumably all food mentions had the word coffee,chocalte, or mocha in them. Moving past that, Lex looked more specifically for something that she would be surprised that she would get.

Picking up the phone, he dialed. Giving the directions to the woman on the other end of the line, he hung up and stared at the picture on the screen. Glancing over at the pile of ignored work for the day, he shut the computer and went to bed.

"Good morning sir. You have a phone call from Gabe Sullivan." Lex shook his head to clear his still sleepy head as his servant handed him the phone.

"Luthor."

"Mr. Luthor, she's awake and was hoping you would be available. I told her not to disturb you at the absurd hour, but she said you would be awake anyway."

Lex halfway laughed, thinking that Chloe knew him better than his past two wives. "Tell her I'll be there in the hour." He paused and heard Gabe get unsettled at the silence. "Thank you."

Gabe hung up the phone and realized that the thank you was completely soft and sincere.

Lex arrived at the hospital and waited outside of her room as the nurses explained that her transfusion was being updated and it would be a few minutes. A couple nurses blushed as Lex finally walked into the small room.

Chloe smiled softly, still reeling from the transfusion change. The tubes were uncomfortable and she wasn't very happy about Lex seeing her in that way. She was tired and felt dopey after the last few hits of pain killers she had taken. On the other hand, he was a sight she had wanted to see since they carted her away. He was dressed more casual than normal with a simple pair of black slacks and hunter green sweater, carrying several things under his arm.

"Nice sweater, but not exactly your wardrobe or color." She grinned and rolled her eyes playfully.

Pulling the chair over to her bed, he laid the items down on the table. "I figured that hospitals are cold and the green might cheer you up. I got you something too." He pulled the larger box out and gently laid it in her lap.

Opening the box, Lex helped pull the hunter green crocheted blanket out of the box. "Lex, you didn't have to go buying me gifts."

"I didn't. The housekeeper's mother makes them for the little county flea markets. I asked for one for you since the hospital blankets are substandard, and she asked your favorite color." Lex removed the box and the other blanket and delicately laid the new blanket on her. "How's the pain?"

"Not as bad as yesterday but then again I haven't tried to move yet. I have a feeling that soon as I do, I'm going to be screaming in agony." She tried to giggle and caught herself.

Lex took her hand seeing the sudden wince of pain roll over her face. "Calm down there Sullivan. You didn't break any ribs- let's keep it that way." Lex sat down in the chair without letting go of her hand. "Besides, I'll be here for you."

Chloe stopped struggling in pain and stared at Lex. He just said he'd be there for her. "Lex, I don't need a babysitter." Chloe tried to smile but was still rotating her shoulders uncomfortably. Lex watched and moved his fingers up her arm.

"Can I help?"

"Actually, get behind the bed and grab the top sheet at both ends." She waited until she felt his hands grip the sheet. "Count to three and then carefully pull up. My chest feels all crunched up."

Lex counted and watched as Chloe slightly pushed off with her heels and gasped in pain as her body moved up the mattress. Hurrying around the bed, he grabbed her hand. "I'm ok – it's the only way to do it – it just hurts like hell though. Thank you."

Looking at him, Chloe could tell he wasn't just being friendly. He had read her note, deciphered it, ingested it, and blended it with whatever her dad had told him. She had left too many clues, and now she had to dig herself out of her feelings for him.

He stared at her with such sad brooding eyes it made her hurt even more, just in a different place. She normally wasn't at the end of these conversations. She was Chloe Sullivan – she was the reporter known for the crush on Clark Kent and nothing more. She had a lapse of judgment and that's was it.

"Chloe," Lex spoke softly as her eyes wandered away from him and stared at the wall. "We need to talk."

Turning back to him, she smiled. "Lex, look about yesterday and the note. I was on a ton of medication and was a little looped out of my mind. You've been that way before. I said a lot of things and …" She paused and looked in his eyes. "Last weekend, it was a moment, and it's passed. I just really need a friend right now. That's it."

Lex looked down at the bed and rubbed his hand down her arm and strained a smile. "Of course." He sat back and watched as she fidgeted for the remote. Removing his hand from hers, he picked up her other gift and laid it in her lap. "TV is overrated. Besides, I hear you are more for the print world." She looked up and smiled as he pulled the Sports section out of the Daily Planet and sat back in the chair.

Then this is the way it's going to be, he told himself.

TBC