Title: Penance 18/?

Author:Smileeface

Fandom: Smallville AU

Pairings: Chloe/Oliver, Clark/Lois

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville/DC or the characters. I am just playing with them.

Summary: Penance: an act of self-abasement, mortification, or devotion performed to show sorrow or repentance for sin. I am really not like Chloe's story arc so I've decided to change it a little to suit my own needs. That's what fan fiction is right? LOL

A/N: I just want everyone to understand that I, in NO way, believe that a survivor of rape is ever at fault for being raped. You will be reading Chloe's feelings on this subject which is a very common reaction for rape survivors. But I just wanted to let every one know that this is going to be a very VERY emotional Chapter where Chloe is going to try to come to terms with what happened to her.

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Bart could hear the water running from behind the door. He could also hear the sobs as they left Chloe's body. His heart broke for her. The pain that she must have suffered and then how Ollie had treated her.

"Chloe?" He called softly to her from his side of the door. He tried the knob and found it locked. He could hear her breath come in gasps as she tried to pretend that she wasn't crying. Always trying to be strong for everyone else, never allowing herself a moment of weakness or of comfort.

"Oh…hey, Bart," She tried to sound upbeat and happy, but Bart saw right through her façade. "I'll be out in a few minutes. I just need a couple more minutes to wash up. It's been a long day, ya know?" Her voice cracked and her breath grew labored. He could hear her crying softer than she had before, but she was still crying.

"Oh Beautiful, there's no rush. I just wanted you to know that I am here for you. I am right here and I am not going anywhere. You're safe, Licious, I won't ever let anyone hurt you again…EVER! I swear." He heard her begin to sob again; he didn't mean to make her cry harder. In actuality he had meant to soothe her pain, not increase it. "Chloe, please…open the door." He knocked again and placed his palms on the door's surface waiting. "Please, you're breaking my heart, Chloe. You don't have to suffer like this. You don't have to endure this alone. I'm here, Ollie's here, Clark's here…we're all here for you. Please let us in, please let me in. Chloe please." He said to her through the door as he pressed his cheek to the rough surface of the door. "Please, Beautiful." He whispered as he turned his back to the door and slid down so that he was sitting with his back up against the door waiting for her to open it. He would wait here forever for her to let him in.

With each sob that escaped her lips an invisible fist squeezed his heart. This was his Chloe, his Chloelicious, the woman that he admired more than another woman on the planet. She took him in, gave him what no other woman had ever given him…unconditional love…she was the big sister he had always wanted, the mother figure he needed to guide him in life, she was the woman that he would forever compare any love interest to, she was his everything all rolled up into one tiny lovable package. He would wait here, like a dog waiting for his master to come home. She'd have to come out eventually, and when she did, she would see him, sitting there waiting for her, supporting her even though she kept him at a distance.

"Chloe, please, open the door. Are you ok?" He asked concerned for her.

"I'm fine, Bart. I'm fine. I just wish everyone would just stop asking me that. I'm fine." She said exasperated.

"Chlo, how can you be fine after what you've been through? You have to give yourself time to cope."

"Bart, please I know all that, alright. But I can't right now, I just can't think about it. I can't loose focus."

"Focus on what, Chloe? What is going on in that head of yours? Let us in, let me in, we can help." He pleaded with her.

"Help? God," she laughed harshly, "no one can help me, Bart."

"Talk to me, Beautiful. Maybe talking about it will help." He pleaded.

"Guh! Would you stop saying that?" She said angrily through the door.

"Saying what?" Bart asked perplexed.

"Stop calling me beautiful, because I know I'm not. I know what you all see. I know that you all pity me now. That you all think that I am some helpless female that can't take care of herself, that I'm just trouble on legs. Well, I've got news for you all, I'm not helpless, what happened to me, well that was a fluke. I deserved what happened to me. I let my guard down. Having him…having him," She couldn't even bring herself to say it to Bart. "I deserved it, ok. Those people that died in that hotel room after I ran away like a coward would never have died had I just listened to Oliver and Clark. What happened to me was my punishment for allowing that to happen to them, Bart. I'm sooo sorry that this all happened. I wish I could take it all back and start over. I'm sooo sorry." Chloe buried her face in her hands as her whole body shook with sobs.

Her mournful wale of being sorry tore at Bart's heart. Tears welled in his eyes and he got onto his knees facing the door because he was sure that she was sitting on the floor on the other side of that door; his voice was rough with emotion. "Chloe, you need to understand something and I am not leaving here until you do. NO ONE BLAMES YOU FOR THIS! Do you understand? THIS WAS NOT YOUR FAULT! And you are the MOST beautiful woman that I have ever laid my eyes on and I'm willing to bet my next meal that Ollie feels the same way. We love you. I love you! And I am not leaving here until you realize that what that bastard did to you…you didn't deserve it. You didn't! And I want you to know that I am here for you. We are all here for you. I don't think any less of you. I do not pity you. My heart is broken, for you. I want to kill that bastard for you, but for you we are going to bring him to justice. We are going to make him pay through the justice system. But you are still my Chloelicious; you are still beautiful, strong, funny, kind, loving, and courageous. Chloe, you are not the victim of this monster, you are a survivor of this monster. You are a survivor, period. You will reclaim everything that he stole from you and we will be with you every step of the way. Every step, Beautiful, every step."

"Oh Bart." Chloe sighed as she continued to listen to him as his words began to penetrate her wall of anger and though her tears still fell from her eyes she began to feel more at ease until she heard, his voice. She swiveled her head to look around the bathroom afraid that somehow Davis had managed to hide himself in Oliver's bathroom. When she couldn't spot him anywhere she stood and walked over to turn off the water that she had left running before she had broken down. Bart stood as well, hearing her begin to move, he very patiently waited for her to come out. As Chloe reached for the faucet she heard Davis's voice again. She shook her head and looked into the mirror of the medicine cabinet. What she saw in the mirror made her scream, and made poor Bart nearly jump onto the ceiling fan as well as the guys in the living room come running. There staring at her, calling to her with his red eyes blazing was Davis.

"Chloe." He beckoned to her.

"No. No, no, no, this isn't happening." She said as she shut her eyes for a minute before opening them again to see him still staring at her from the mirror. She could hear Bart pounding on the door yelling for her to let him in. She heard him call to the others, but she didn't move from the sink. She kept her eyes glued to Davis in the mirror.

"Chloe," Davis said to her again, "you're mine, Chloe, mine forever. You can't escape me. There is no where for you to hide. I will find you. And I will take you again and again. You can't run from me. YOU ARE MINE!" He yelled at her.

"NO!" She screamed in anguish grasping the sides of her head before screaming back at Davis, "NO! I AM NOT, DAVIS!!! I'M NOT!!"

"I'm inside you, Chloe!" He mocked her, he taunted her. "I'm inside you; you can't escape."

"NO! I am my own person! Get out of my head!"

"No, Chloe, you're mine!" He laughed.

She didn't even think; she just reacted, all the anger, all the pain, all the fear exploded out from her. She didn't hear Bart or Oliver or even Clark as they yelled to her through the door. She saw nothing but his face in the mirror laughing at her and she exploded. She let all of her emotions erupt from her and she smashed her fist into his face over and over again until his face lay shattered into pieces, her blood mixing with the water as it continued to run down the drain. Both fists bloodied and perhaps a few knuckles broken as she collapsed in a heap onto the floor at the base of the sink…catatonic. This was how Oliver found her, when he broke in the door. Quickly he grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped both of her hands up. The others stood in shock at the scene before them. There was so much blood smeared everywhere.

"WHAT ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE FOR?!" Oliver yelled at the other men. "Someone call Emil! Clark, get him here NOW! She's bleeding!" Oliver sat next to her with his back against the bathtub and as he held her hands in the towel with one hand, he scooted next to her and lifted her onto his lap. He cradled her head to his chest and wrapped his other arm around her as securely as he could. They would wait there together on the bathroom floor; the only sound in the room besides Oliver's breathing was the running water draining down the sink. Oliver held onto her tightly and kissed the top of her head, "I've got you, Sidekick," his voice wavered, "I've got you." He buried his head into the crook of her neck and breathed in her scent.

"And I've got you both." Clark said as he lifted them from the floor and carried them into Oliver's room and he put them gently onto the middle of the bed. Oliver looked up at Clark thankful. "Take care of her, Ollie, I'll be right back. I'm going to get Emil." Oliver nodded and Clark caressed Chloe's hair before he was gone. Once Clark left, Bart made his way over to the side of Oliver's bed that Chloe was lying on. He too, caressed her hair and placed a chaste kiss upon her cheek, tears fell freely from his eyes. He looked over at Oliver, silently asking permission and didn't even hesitate when Oliver nodded his head; he just climbed onto the bed and he wrapped his arms securely around her too. "And I've got you too, Beautiful. I'm not letting you go either." AC and Victor both made their way to the bed. Oliver scooted a little closer to Chloe as Victor took a seat on his side of the bed while AC sat next to Bart. AC reached over Bart and placed his hand on her arm and Victor reached over and grabbed her leg just above her knee.

"I've got you too, Tower." AC's voice cracked with emotion.

"Me too, Chloe, I'm not letting you go either." Said Victor.

It was only then did her breathing hitch and sobs racked her body. It was at that moment that she realized that she really was going to be alright because she had the greatest men in the world in her life and no matter what happened, she realized, that they were NEVER going to leave her. They had taken it upon themselves to love and protect her. She wept until all the hurt and pain left her body and exhaustion once again over took her. Although before she fell asleep, she muttered, "I love you all."

Bruce stood in awe in the doorway at the overwhelming support of these guys. He wondered briefly if Chloe or even Oliver realized just how lucky they were to have a family such as they had. Quietly he closed the door to the room, shutting out the world and he waited in the living room until Clark got back with a disheveled looking man who Bruce assumed was Dr. Emil.

"Where is she?" the doctor asked concerned.

"They're in there." Bruce said as he made his way to the bed room.

"They?" Emil questioned.

"Yes, they, all of them. You won't get them to leave her, so my advice to you is don't even try. They won't leave her until she says so."

"Aahh, ok." Emil said as he entered the room. "Ahh, I'm not sure how this is going to work, gentlemen." None of them answered him; they all just looked over at him. "Well, how am I supposed to help her, if I can't even find her? All I see of her is the back of her head."

Chloe smiled into Oliver's chest having been woken up by Emil's entrance. She looked up at Oliver then over to Victor and to Clark who now stood behind Victor having only left her to get the doctor.

"I'm ok, guys. I'm sorry to have gotten you all so worked up. Really, I'm ok. I'm sorry that I worried you all." They all looked at her, their attention focused solely on her, though it was Oliver who spoke for them.

"Chloe, you're not ok. And you don't have to be ok right now. We all love you, no matter what. Do you get that? No matter what! What that monster did to you wasn't your fault; you didn't deserve it, do you understand, Chloe? It wasn't your fault. You were violated, it's alright to feel violated but you are strong and we all know that when you are ready you will be ok again, but only when YOU are ready. There's no rush, Sidekick, we love you and are here for you…let us be here for you. We're not going to leave you, not now…not ever, so get that through your thick little head. You're stuck with us." Oliver kissed the top of her head.

Chloe was unable to speak because her throat clogged with tears again. She slowly looked over all the men in the room and when she regained her voice she said, "Thank you. All of you. I love you all so much! I can not even begin to tell you how much it means to me to know that I have you, each and everyone of you. You are my family and I couldn't have asked for a better one. But for this moment in time, I am ok, really I am. Let's let Emil do his job and then let's get the bastard that did this to me. I need to bring him to justice. I need that closure. I…just…need it."

"Then you'll get it, Sidekick. Right guys?" A chorus of 'right' was heard though out the room as the guys slowly moved so that Emil could check her hands. Chloe chuckled into Oliver's chest as Emil approached. Oliver just raised his eyebrow in question.

"Well, it looks like you and Clark get your wish. Looks like I'll have to see the doctor tonight after all."

"Always have to do things the hard way don't you, Sidekick?" Oliver chuckled too, "Stubborn woman. It's a good thing that I love you." He said as he kissed her head again.

"Yes, it is. I am the LUCKIEST woman on Earth, Oliver." She looked up at him and kissed his chin, much to the humor of the other guys in the room.

"Ok, ok enough of this lovey dovey mushy stuff." Bart said from the other side of the bed, his arms still wrapped around Chloe.

"Ahh ok Bart, it's time to let go now." Oliver said to him.

"Ah man, this is the longest I've ever had her in my arms. Dude, you are sooo ruining my moment!"

"You're moment's over, there Short stuff. It's time for Emil to check out her hands."

"Oh you are so lucky that the doc here has to do his thing. I think that I could sway my Chloelicious away from you if I just had a few more minutes."

"Ha, that's a good one, Bart." Laughed AC.

"What? It's true! What's Jolly Green Giant here got that I don't got?" Bart said sullen as he got up so that Emil could sit next to Chloe to check out her hands.

"Jolly Green Giant?" Oliver said from his seat next to Chloe.

"Yeah, he's like this wicked tall dude who likes to run around in green clothes and stuff. Hmmm, sounds familiar, right?" Bart said cockily.

"Well, that's a new one." Oliver said as he rolled his eyes at Bart.

"Yeah, well, think of it as pay back for the 'short stuff' comment there." Bart said as he stuck out his tongue. Chloe laughed truly happy for the moment. Bart smiled and his stomach growled. "Oh, I'm sorry Licious, I have to go get something to eat…be back in a few minutes." Chloe was still smiling even as Emil cleaned up her wounds on her hands. She didn't even feel the sting of the alcohol as he rubbed it into her cuts.

"Well, nothing looks broken, but I can't really be sure without an X-ray." Emil said, worried that she may have broken her knuckle on her middle finger.

"Well, I'm not going to the hospital so I guess we're just going to have to wing it." She told him. There was just no way that she was going to the hospital now.

"Hey Clark," Oliver said, "you've got X-ray vision, how about you see if she has any broken bones?"

"Sure, so long as it's ok with Chloe?" He asked, she just nodded her head yes. Clark squinted his eyes a bit and stared intently at her hands. He looked over at Emil and smiled. "No broken bones."

"Good, good." Emil said, "ahh how about you all give us a moment alone? I would like to speak to Chloe about a private matter." He said as he looked pointedly at Chloe.

"Chloe? Is that ok with you?" Oliver asked her.

"Yeah, but ahh, don't go too far, ok?" She said nervously to Oliver.

Emil waited until they had all left them alone and shut the door. Chloe scooted up into a sitting position on the bed and watched Emil and waited for him to speak.

"Chloe, we both know what happened in that motel room. I," He paused and rubbed the back of his neck, "I wanted to tell you how sorry I am that it happened to you, but I really feel that you need to be checked thoroughly by a medical professional. If you don't want me to examine you, I completely understand, however, I do know some wonderful female doctors who specialize in rape trauma cases. They don't need to know the specifics but they will help you."

"Emil, thank you for your concern especially after what just happened tonight. But until Davis is caught, I am staying with my guys. I'm sorry, but I promise that after Davis is brought to justice, I will go and see one of your friends."

"How about I leave you a card with some names on it? You can call one of them when you are ready."

"That would be wonderful, thank you." He handed her a card with three women's names and telephone numbers written on it. She smiled at him when she took it. "Thank you, Emil, for everything."

"You're welcome, Chloe." He patted her wrist just above the bandages and then he got up to leave. As he opened the door he turned back to her, sadness in his eyes, "Really, Chloe, I am sorry about what happened to you, but you are strong and resilient. I know it may be a struggle, but I know that you will bounce back. If you need me, I am but a phone call away, remember that please." He smiled at her softly and then left the room. Chloe could hear him ask Oliver to get him a cab because he didn't want to travel by the Clark Express again, no matter how fast it was. She could hear the guys' chuckle and she smiled. That was her family out there. She stood and walked to the door of the room where she quietly observed them, Bart had returned and he was munching noisily in AC's ear as they played video games on the big screen; Victor was at the desk behind the computer doing what he does best, probably researching something for Oliver. Oliver, Clark and Bruce stood with Emil at the elevator doors waiting for the cab to arrive just talking small talk. There was only one other person missing from this 'family' gathering and Chloe wished beyond anything else that Lois was here with her.

TBC...

A/N: Constructive feedback is always appreciated! Thanks for reading! :)