I disclaim. I own nothing.

Chapter 5

"Hey," Davis stepped into the Torch office where Chloe was absorbed in something on her monitor. He knew she was aware of his presence, probably knew he was on his way before he left class. "Lois."

"Davis," Lois gave a brief nod. This was awkward for so many reasons. Not the least of which was the fact that she saw him completely nude not twenty-four hours ago. "Come to maul my cousin again."

"If she lets me."

Lois hated to admit his smile was charming, that he looked at Chloe as if she was the most precious thing he'd ever seen. That when Chloe finally looked up from her computer, her grin was from ear to ear.

"I want you to." Chloe confirmed. "But I won't let you. What's up?"

"Remember that specialist I was telling you about?" He told her all about the blackouts that had plagued him since childhood. Told her how his father always told him they weren't anything to worry about. But now that Lionel was behind bars, Lex was doing his best to find out what was wrong with him and a way to cure him. "Well, Lex got me an appointment today. So we're going to go meet with him and then probably have lunch." As much as he wanted to cross the room to her, he remained just inside the door. If he went near her, if he touched her, odds were good he'd be dragging her out to his car.

"You and your brother better be at the Talon later." Lois warned.

"We will. I have the kids with me." He held up his backpack, that he somehow fashioned into a baby carrier without it looking as if the dolls were simply stuffed inside.

Chloe laughed. He was having much more fun with this doll thing then she was. "Call me as soon as you leave the doctor's office. Promise."

A slow smile curled the corners of Davis' lips as he placed his right hand over his heart and inclined his head in a sort of bow. Then with a wiggle of his fingers he was gone.

Lois said nothing as she watched this exchanged. Taking in the light flush and the dreamy smile that crossed her cousin's features.

"I really wish you would stop looking at me that way." Chloe didn't bother to look up from her computer screen as she spoke to Lois. "I'm not going to snap back into crazy Chloe from yesterday."

"That's not what I'm thinking. I'm worried." Lois shook her head to cut off Chloe's protest. "No, I think I've earned the right to be worried. You're not allowed to go crazy on me, Chlo. How would I survive without you?"

"You wouldn't." Chloe joked as she shut down her file. When she saw that Lois' smile didn't quite reach her eyes, she stood to face her cousin. "Whatever's going on, we'll figure it out somehow. Between the two of us, the Luthor boys, and Clark and La-" She cut herself off, paused a moment. "Well, you, Lex, Davis, and I...we'll get to the bottom of this. I just need you to believe me when I tell you: Davis had nothing to do with it."

"How can you be so sure?" Because Lois wasn't anywhere near being ready to believe it.

"I'll explain it all later, okay. It'll be better if I can just go through it all once. But just trust me, please. Davis would never do anything to hurt me."

"Okay." Lois nodded, she trusted Chloe more than anyone. "Can I ask you something, though?"

"Shoot."

"You left school yesterday, at like 9a.m...." She trailed off at her cousin's slow grin. "Okay, now I just have to know."

They couldn't have wiped her grin off with a sandblaster, but still Chloe tried to pull off the innocent look. "Know what?"

"Oh, come off it. The drive, for us, was damn near six hours." She noticed Chloe biting her lip. "Come on, I have to know. I'll explode if you don't tell me."

"I lost count of the number of orgasms I had after the seventh one." Chloe blurted out in a rush.

"Holy shit."

Just then the door to The Torch office flew open.

"Jesus, Smallville, are you just going to go around busting open doors now."

Clark's face was a bright, heated red. He couldn't say what he was planning on doing when he charged into the room the way he did.

"School's not on fire, is it? Because otherwise that was just stupidly excessive." Chloe frowned at the tall farm boy who stood in the doorway with a dumbfounded look on his face. "Clark?"

"Oh my God, is there a fire in here. Ow." Lana came running into the room, but ended up on her butt when she ran into Clark's back. "I mean really, ow." She emphasized when Clark didn't even turn to help her up.

"Clark."

"Smallville."

Clark had nothing. He couldn't really tell them that he'd heard Chloe mention orgasms and came running like he'd somehow get to be involved with her next one. "I, uh, I..." 'heard two hot girls discussing orgasms, thought the only natural way for that conversation to progress was aforementioned hot girls to start experimenting on each other, and rushed down here to watch'. No there was no way he was going to say that. Lois would kill him, Chloe would provide the weapon, and Lana would cry-all while helping them hide his dead alien body. "I thought I left the copier on...and growing up on a farm...and the son of Jonathan Kent...because Lex, kinda, you know...with the meteor rocks...and then a fire."

"Wow."

"That wasn't even remotely coherent."

"Guys, seriously, ow. I honestly think I might be concussed."

***************

It was the last hour of the day; Chloe, Lois, and Lana made their way lazily into English class. After Clark rambled off another excuse before ducking out of the room, the day continued on pretty much without incident. And as soon as the final bell rang, they would head out to The Talon to get down to the bottom of whatever was going on with Chloe and Davis.

"Okay, let's try it this way," Lois was saying as she took her seat across from Chloe. "How much time would you say passed between number seven and Clark knocking the door down?"

Chloe's brow creased in thought. "I honestly can't say." Especially when she thought she may have passed out at one point.

"You passed out!" Lana announced to the room.

"I really have to get a handle on that."

Lois laughed. "And soon."

"Alright, children." Jon Mowry closed the door behind him as he came into the room.

"I can totally see why you hit on him, Lo." Even though her tone was teasing, Chloe eyes held more than a hint of appreciation as she took in their teacher.

"You're like the worse person ever."

Jon tried not to smile as he overheard the girls conversation. "Is everyone ready for the test?"

Lois and Chloe turned to one another, the question spilling from both their lips. "Test?"

"Test." Lana concurred from behind them.

"Ms. Sullivan, you don't seem too confident." Jon commented as he handed out the tests.

"I've been a little..."

"Tied up?" Lois offered

"Pinned down?" Lana tried.

"Distracted. I was never tied up." Chloe finished, leaning over to slap her cousin on the arm. "Here's hoping this is multiple choice and you don't actually have to spell anything."

"Doesn't matter I just plan on coping off of you."

"I didn't just hear that, Ms. Lane." Jon commented on his way back to his desk. "You have the entire period to finish."

"Hey, Cuz, what did you get for the date?"

"Tuesday. What did you get for name?"

"The future Mrs. Johnny Deep."

"Okay, ladies. Get to work."

Thirty-five minutes later, Chloe was carrying her test up to the desk with the rest of the students as they filed out of the classroom.

"How did it go for you, Ms. Sullivan?" Jon smiled, already knowing that Chloe passed.

"It was a tough one." Chloe replied with a roll of her eyes. "I'm not getting any sleep tonight, let me tell you."

"Must you be so smug." Lois placed her test on the desk as well. "I don't know how you were even allowed to take this class."

"It's a requirement, Lo. Don't be bitter."

"I'm not bitter." Although Lois' tone would suggest otherwise. "It's just....you suck."

Chloe laughed. "Aw, Lo-" The pain hit instantly. Clutching one arm around her waist, Chloe used the other to brace herself against the desk. "Lo?" There was another sharp lance of pain that dropped her to her knees.

Lois and Lana were on her in an instant. The few students left paused to watch the scene with uncertain eyes. Coming around the desk, Jon went to Chloe's aide as well. When he saw her eye color had changed to a lightening blue, he had to bite back a curse. When he got his hands on his sister...

"Chloe, what is it?" Lois tried placing a soothing hand on her cousin's stomach, but Chloe flinched away in pain. "What's wrong?"

"Davis. I need-"

"Do want for me to call an ambulance?" Jon offered, though he knew what the response would be.

"No. Lo, please, just get me to Davis."

Hating it and wishing desperately for someone to hurt for this, Lois nodded. "Okay, sweetie, whatever you need. Lana?" She motioned for the other girl to help her. Together they got Chloe to her feet.

"Ms. Lane-" Jon felt he needed to apologize for her cousin's current state. But wasn't quite sure how to do that without reveling what he and his sister were.

Lois shook him off. "I've got her. I'll take care of her."

Jon nodded. Of course she would.

******************

The car had barely pulled to a stop when Davis wrenched open the back door and pulled Chloe out. Cradling her in his arms, he carried her inside. With something sounding eerily like a growl he had the kids in the closest booth scrambling for the door.

"Shh, it's okay, baby." Davis spoke softly against her ear as he gently rocked her in his arms. "I've got you, now. It'll be okay." His hand inched under the hem of her sweater to rest on her stomach.

Standing at the counter, Lex, Lois, and Lana gave the couple their privacy.

"What happened?" Lex kept his back to his brother and Chloe. He didn't want to see them that way. Because if something had been done to them, obviously they'd have to reverse it. And he knew his brother's feelings for Chloe were real, he'd hate to see what would happen if Davis were to lose her.

"She was in pain." Lana answered when it looked like Lois wouldn't. "We were just walking out of class when she just...doubled over. Like she'd been punched or something."

"She needed him." Lois stated evenly. "It's almost like she's addicted to him."

"I wouldn't say addicted, exactly." Chloe clarified sometime later as they sat together in a booth in the corner of The Talon. The pain in her stomach had disappeared the instant Davis took her in his arms.

"Okay, so what would you say? Exactly." Lois countered.

"I'm not shooting down your theory, entirely. I have a need for him that's like an addiction, I guess. But in other ways isn't."

"What are you talking about?"

The two of them continued to go back and forth. At one point drifting off the subject at hand and arguing about who's fault it was that their fathers didn't trust them alone together anymore.

"Do they always exclude others from their conversations this way?" Lex asked, his tone not at all belying his annoyance at being ignored.

"Yes." Clark and Lana answered at the same time.

"I'm just saying there are other factors that.... don't have anything to do with addiction whatsoever."

"Well are you going to stop being so goddamn cryptic and tell us what those other factors are."

God, I really don't want to do this. Chloe mentally spoke the words to Davis. I need you so much.

I know, I need you, too. Davis brushed his lips over her temple. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get out of here.

"Today, cousin. What other factors?"

"Does it really matter what the other factors are?" Clark demanded. "When I think it's pretty safe to say that whatever was done was done to Chloe and not him. He's not in pain like she's been. Or going around uncharacteristically attacking people. Or slipping into mini-comas-"

"Wait," Lex interrupted. "Are saying Chloe's having black-outs?" He shot his brother an annoyed look. Talk about information he could have had before hand. "Davis has black-outs as well."

"No, not black-outs." Davis corrected. "Not in the way you mean. I"m sleep. When I wake up, I can remember my dreams, I can remember everything, just like when I'm asleep." He knew what his brother was concerned about and did his best to reassure him. "It's not a black-out."

"Yeah, it's the same for me."

"That could just be apart of whatever he did to her." Clark refused to believe that Davis had nothing to do with this. "It would explain why he's not at all physically affected the way Chloe is." And he hadn't completely ruled out Davis using the meteor rocks. They would explain how Davis was able to hurt him.

"There is this." Standing Davis pulled his sweater over his head so that they could see his back.

"So what, you got a tattoo." Clark wondered if Davis was just looking for a reason to take his shirt off.

With a shocked gasp, Chloe reached out to dance her fingers over the design she'd drawn on him. It was much larger than she remembered making it, spanning the width of his shoulders. " 'you are Mine, said she'." Chloe whispered the words she wrote on him.

"What is it?" Clark asked.

"It's a claddagh." Lex answered.

"Like the ring Angel gave Buffy."

"Seriously, Lana." Lois stared at the brunette incredulously. "At this moment, that's what occurred to you."

Chloe continued to ignore them as she tried to process what she was looking at. At the moment this was beyond even what she was capable of processing. Then she remembered, she'd done more than the one design. "The others."

"Just one." With a shrug Davis pulled his sweater back on, before pulling up the sleeve so they could see where Chloe's name was written inside his right forearm.

"I'm so sorry, Davis."

"It's okay." Especially since he had the sneaking suspicion that he was the one responsible for his new body art.

How? Chloe asked. I drew them on you. You never even looked.

"I can't explain it." Davis answered out loud.

"But Chloe just said she drew them last night." Lana answered, unable to know of the silent questions Chloe whispered in his head.

"Did you see any tattoos on him last night?" Lex asked. "And I don't think I'm going out on a limb here when I say that Chloe likely dropped into a deep sleep before she even got to her car."

"We're connected...subconsciously." Chloe spoke directly to Lois. "We can hear each other's thoughts. We can feel what the other is feeling. And...we're sharing dreams. I drew that on him last night in our dream."

For several long moments everyone was quiet. Lois opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it. This town, she thought, needed to be condemned. God forbid some of this craziness seeped out into the real world.

"We have to figure out who would have wanted to curse one of you." Lex looked across the table at the teenage reporter with the acidic tongue and his brother who could be every bit as ruthless as his father when he wanted to be. "This may take a while."

"No," Lana shook her head. "All we have to figure out is who hates both Chloe and Davis enough to curse them." At the odd looks she was getting she continued. "It's just that with the shared dreams and everything, it seems like they would both need to be cursed."

"Lana's right." And isn't that scary. Chloe jabbed Davis in his side with her elbow when he started to laugh. Unfortunately she couldn't get to Lois to keep her cousin from choking on her latte. "And I can only think of one person who would be out to get us and not be above using witchcraft to do it."

"And usually I wouldn't put anything pass Lionel." Davis began as he absently ran his fingers up and down Chloe's arm. "But I don't think he would link you to someone else."

Chloe was finding it hard to concentrate with the feel of Davis' fingers on her skin. She vaguely heard him mention something about Lionel being too possessive, but she couldn't seem to care about Lionel or anyone else at the moment. Not when her mind was so full of Davis and the way he made her feel with just a simple touch of his hand. Her mind began to drift to the previous afternoon spent in his bedroom. The way it seemed like each individual muscle in her body began to tremble at his touch. The way her orgasms seemed to build at the mere thought of his mouth on her. God, she wanted him again.

"Okay, you really need to figure out how to stop doing that." Lois advised her cousin.

Chloe cringed. "I said the wanting part out loud didn't I."

"The orgasm part, too." Lois confirmed.

Chloe nodded, tried to think of something to explain her statement away. Came up with nothing. Admittedly she didn't try too hard. "On that note." She began to shove Davis out of the booth. "We'll catch you kids later."

Davis started to say something, but Chloe grabbed a fistful of his sweater and pulled him out of the front door.

"You know what they're going to do ." Lex asked Lois.

"And how do you suppose I would have stopped them." Lois spoke in the same easy tone as Lex.

Lex conceded her point with a nod. "So, we're all just going to sit here and pretend Chloe isn't taking Davis somewhere to fuck their brains out."

As calm and collected as she wasn't, Lois stood from the table. "Let's also pretend you didn't just say that. Besides," She paused on her way to the door. "Someone in this God forsaken town should be having fun."

To hide the appreciative curl to his lips, Lex lazily lifted his cup of coffee. Once again he had to conceed her point and wondered if she was hinting at something a bit more in her statement.

AN: The line Chloe wrote on Davis is from the e.e cummings poem 'may i feel said he'