A/N:
I had a much longer update but am still waiting for a few parts to come back from being edited. So I decided to split it and post what i had as it was long enough, longer then I thought Sorry for how long its taken for me to update this. I had my laptop break (still broke ) and then got a flu like bug at the same time and this past week was really sick from my raspberry/strawberry allergy.
Angst warning. Please don't hurt me Sky!
Part 3: Holding On and Falling Away
"She's stable, but not out of the woods yet. . ."
Clark's eyes traveled the length of the tubes that went to Chloe's mouth and nose to trace the contours of her face, imagined her smiling and the green of her eyes. His hearing and every fiber of his being tuned out the pulsing, ticking and whooshing of machinery to listen to the steady beat of his wife's heart. The rhythm was a comfort for the truth it told. She was alive but there was painful ache, a longing, for what was missing. Her voice and the words that would soothe the turmoil within him.
He snorted, feeling the familiar rage rise like a volcano threatening to erupt every time he allowed himself to think about their loss. A loss Chloe had no idea of yet. He needed her but how dare he when she would need him? Clark hated himself for the weakness of it. She was going to need everything he could give her because when she woke she would ask and he'd have to tell her.
"I'm sorry Mr. Kent. With trauma like this. . . The fetus. . ."
The smattering of words and phrases reverberated in his head like a relentless drum, its message loud and clear, a merciless reminder of once again what they weren't allowed to have. Maybe it was some sort of balance or karma from what he had taken from his parents. He knew what his father would say if he was around, what his mother would say, that it wasn't true. It felt like it, though. Worst of it was if there was even an ounce of truth to his fear, then he was the reason Chloe would suffer.
The strangled cry that escaped him sounded foreign to his ears, like it was happening all to someone else, that even the thoughts plaguing him were not his. The creaking of metal beneath his hands as he gripped the bed rail didn't register, his breathing barely controlled as he tried to skirt the other thought that soon could not be avoided.
This, what had put Lois in critical condition, his nephew and wife fairing not much better, was a message. There was no way it was random, coincidence, or just some accident. Someone or someone's had attacked them. Bold enough to be in broad day light, in a decent, supposedly safer part of the city.
At this time there were no real answers. There would be eventually, even if he had to tear the world apart to get them. He would do it for Chloe and the baby they didn't get to keep, for Lois who was fighting for her life, for the baby boy who shouldn't be in the hospital. For Oliver who was in another room just like the one that held Chloe struggling to find air as his world threatened to fall apart.
The bar snapped.
Clark looked down at the bed rail and all the rage evaporated and all that was left was just pain. They were all broken like the metal, snapped in half by a moment in time. Swallowing, he took it in his hands, forming shaping and adding heat till it resembled a former version of its self.
If only he could fix all of this the same way.
He felt the touch of her fingers , gently brushing over the top of his hand before resting on it. Relief spread over him from such a simple action and his eyes met hers.
"Chloe!"
Her eyes were glazed over, foggy from all the trauma and medication in her system, but bright with life. She blinked slowly and tried to make a sound but there was no way for her too. Clark put a hand gently on her shoulder before letting his fingers brush her cheek softly.
"Shh, baby, please. You're safe Chloe and I'm here. I am always here." Clark told her, trying to keep his voice strong for her.
Her eyes roamed over his face, her hand barely moved but it was enough for him to know she was trying to comfort him. Even drugged up and barely awake she knew what he was feeling.
Clark took her hand in his before bending down to place a soft kiss on her forehead. "It's all going to be fine. You just need to sleep. I promise." It was a lie. A lie he hated to say but she didn't need the truth right now, that would come later. "I love you."
He couldn't tell if she knew if he was lying or if she simply didn't care. She accepted his words, her eyes seemed to smile at him with love and trust and closed before she drifted off.
The fall and rise of her chest was steady and unrestrained, her whole body relaxing as she slept, her hand still within his. It was if she had been waiting for permission or for him to tell the lie so she could really sleep. Not the unconsciousness of trauma but the sleep that was needed to heal.
It never ceased to amaze him how much trust she gave him. Clark let out a shuddering breath of his own, slipping his hand out slowly from hers. He let the feel of her skin against his linger before gently placing it down at her side. Saying the words once more, the only part of it that hadn't been a lie. "I love you!"
He'd tell the doctors she woke and then. . . Then he would turn every stone over till he some how could make this right.
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She had heard his voice, talking softly to her. Remembered briefly seeing his face above hers, telling her he loved her and that all would be all right. Felt the feel of his fingers against her cheek, his lips against her forehead.
Her body felt heavy, distant like she wasn't really attached to it. That if she wanted she could drift away and watch herself from above, yet she could feel the tube in her mouth and throat. Irritations across her skin, even the weight of the blanket covering her.
She couldn't tell how much time passed from when he had been there to when she felt consciousness return again. But the drugs in her system and the slight touches of pain made it hard to stay conscious long. Dreams flittered across her mind's eye, blending together or at times feeling like they mingled with sounds from reality.
"I love you, Chloe. Please don't leave me…" his voice sounded so lost and reminded her of another time when he had admitted he wouldn't be all right without her.
Chloe turned from pushing 'Close' on the panel to look at floor with Clark.
"Well, if I were an earring... " He began.
Unable to see the point in continuing to stare at the floor she offered up, "Let's re-enact the event, okay? "Taking a step back to the wall of the elevator as she glanced then at Clark," So Lex had Eve up against this wall right here, so..."
It wasn't hard to miss the completely awkward expression on his face. A part of her wondered if he'd be that way with just any girl.
Realistically she knew on some level he would but that small part of her found both amusement and maybe just a twinge of disappointment. It seemed she was only ever looked at by him like a girl, like someone to be awkward with when it had to do with situations where sex was a factor. Like now.
"Okay, come on, big boy, it's for the cause of truth and justice."
"Now push me up against the wall." She ordered, giving him no chance to back out of the reenactment or her own nerves to yell at her for the self-torment that was indulging in close contact with Clark Kent. Chloe grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him roughly in front of her so she was trapped between his body and the wall.
"I don't think..."
Purposely ignoring his continued awkward expression or how her body tingled from having them flush against each other, Chloe positioned his hands at her throat based on her memory of the footage. "And her hand was like this... and I think his hand was like this." Blinking and hoping to god he couldn't tell the effect he was having on her, afraid to look him in the eye.
"And they were... "
"Maybe he knocked the earring off accidentally." She could feel his breath on her face as he spoke. Courage to look at him flooded in as she forced herself to stick to the case. The expression on his face relieved her nerves, he had no clue.
It was better that way. Wasn't it?
With a thoughtful scowl Chloe moved on, spinning Clark around so he was the one now trapped. "Yeah. Yeah, and then she pushed him... up against this wall over here like this. "
She really hadn't thought it through. His eyes were on her lips, his fingers brushed her shoulders. She was keenly aware of it all. Was he?
"Hi." Why did she say that? And in that tone?
There it was the shift. The moment where awkward went to something else. Their eyes locked, Chloe could feel her heart race. Her body continued to react to him despite all the alarm bells telling her otherwise.
This was Clark. Clark who probably was still trapped in the Lana whirlpool. Clark who was only looking at her like that because of the situation. It didn't mean anything. It couldn't.
But she couldn't pull away despite the desperate attempt to tell her arms to drop and her feet to move back. Rather she pushed her body in closer, her face tilting upwards while a smiled played on the edge of her lips.
"Hi." Clark repeated back, his voice deepening and surprising her. The something else in his eyes began to take form and Chloe swallowed against the idea of what it was. If she was wrong she wasn't sure she could take it.
"I…think we can assume the..." His eyes tracked again to her lips as she tried to find a coherent thought. Neither of them had moved from away from each other or the wall. "It's safe to say… the earring isn't lost…" Why was he staring at her like that?
"Here..."
Clark nodded dumbly and continued to surprise her. His hand on her shoulder pressed more firmly against her, she became aware of the other on her back. His face seemed closer and yet infuriatingly too far away.
Stop it Chloe! He'll look away in a moment, stutter and the awkward will resume, all will return to normal.
Normal didn't come.
"Chloe, I… I want- " His eyes once again moved from hers to her lips.
"Don't Clark." She whispered back, afraid this was a dream.
Clark blinked and locked eyes with hers; the 'something else' was no longer a mystery thought that felt unreal. "I don't want to." He shook his head. "No, I mean I do but I don't want to lose you if I do." The expression on his face giving away that he wasn't entirely sure he made sense yet also showed his anxiety at the idea of her rejection.
Finally forcing herself to step back Chloe shook her head, "Clark, we really just need to-"
Suddenly he stepped forward and captured her lips. She could feel his hand shaking that pulled her closer. He was scared. So was she.
Frozen for a moment Chloe made no reaction to the contact though it lit her insides on fire. As if believing he had made the wrong move he let her go, causing her to gasp when he pulled away.
"I'm so sorry Chloe. I … just… " Clark turned and ran a hand through his hair.
Chloe stood there staring at him trying to decide if she sniffed some chemical and was hallucinating this moment. Reality was probably her either lying in a hospital bed or slurring words at Clark as she drooled on him in her delirium. It couldn't be real. If it was how did she not see it coming?
Clearing his throat, Clark hit the elevator button and the door began to open.
The look on his face was one she'd only ever seen when he had watched Lana and felt disappointed or rejected.
A heat rushed up through her and the idea that he was about to walk out that door and pretend what he had just done hadn't happened tore at her. This was her chance, maybe it was delirium but why not ride it out till the end, die in happiness?
Springing forward just as the doors began to open revealing a mother and her two children Chloe hit the close button once again.
"Okay, why did you do that?"
Clark looked sharply at her, his eyes wide. "Do what?"
"You know what."
"What does it matter?"
Chloe threw her arms out, "You did not just say that? No of course you did!"
Clark turned to face her, "What do you want from me Chloe? I thought… It doesn't matter what I thought. I was obviously wrong and now you're going to wring my neck for it. Just forget it."
Stepping in front of the buttons as he went to reach for them Chloe scowled, unsure how to feel in that moment. "You kissed me Clark. I say that is news-worthy considering -"
"Considering what?" Clark cut her off, "Lana? Chloe, despite what everyone thinks I don't actually think about her all the time. And lately, I realized that I'm okay without her. But you… I wouldn't be okay without you."
Chloe's eyes widened, she opened her mouth to say something but when words didn't come, she snapped it shut.
Clark continued, his eyes holding her own showing a strength Chloe loved seeing especially directed at her. "You aren't just my best friend. I've been pretending or trying to that that is all I feel. And I don't know what this all means Chloe, but I do know I'd like to find out. "
The strength was replaced once more by the look of a young man nervous and waiting for the final rejection.
Even if she hadn't already been battling feelings for him there was no way she could resist the puppy eyes of a Kent.
"Do you think you," He continued with a deep nervous breath, "We could...try?"
At her lack of reaction Clark gave a resigned sigh and moved once more to open
the elevator doors. He was taken by surprise as Chloe grabbed him by the front of his jacket and kissed him hard.
It didn't take more than a few seconds for the kiss to soften and for Chloe to find herself wrapped in strong arms, something that to her delight would happen often.
It all had started then. From that kiss, their own journey, one filled with more happiness than sadness but it hadn't been smooth.
She tried to talk despite the tube in her throat, to mumble out the words playing in her head. Lois never did like to admit how much she valued Clark's friendship.
A faint smile traced Chloe's lips as the memory rolled in, leave it to Lois to stop her from fighting herself and finally end the battle with Clark.
"I can't believe I am taking his advice."
Chloe looked up from where she was sitting on Lois's bed flipping through a magazine. "I'm not. It's good advice."
Lois looked up from going through her jewelry to give Chloe a funny look via the mirror. "This is Smallville we're talking about; the man is totally clueless on relationships."
Chloe snorted, "Only the ones he's involved in, which makes it safe for you to take his advice."
"Maybe. Still… it's his advice. "
"He is your best friend Lois."
"He is a best friend, Chloe… and a plaid wearing one at that."
Chloe chuckled and shook her head, "Technically by your rules he is your best friend. You are neither related to him nor romantically involved with him. And you spend time with him as well without having to have either me or Oliver around." She looked up with a grin loving to tease her cousin about her reluctant friendship with Clark, "And you listen to his advice."
Lois rolled her eyes as she held up a two pairs of earrings. "These? Or these?"
"Depends on the dress."
"Fine. And as my best friend he is gonna get an earful from me if you don't give it to him."
"Lois, having dinner with her is hardly something I can give him an earful about now is it?"
Turning Lois put a hand on her hip, "You are being far too charitable to him considering the circumstances, Chloe. Why are you not raging? Ranting?"
Tossing the magazine aside Chloe sighed, "I want to be but really I did this to myself. I pushed him away when he finally got the courage and now she's back. "
Lois stalked to her closet, her sleek slip accenting her every movement and Chloe raised a brow. Lois getting this dressed up wasn't common. Even when dating a millionaire.
"Please! Don't do that!"
"Do what?"
"Excuse him and blame yourself!" Lois tossed two dresses on to the bed before turning to give Chloe an intense stare.
Chloe put her legs over the side of the bed and returned Lois's stare. "First, I'm not excusing him. Right now if I saw him I'd probably shove a shard of kryptonite down his throat which is pretty much why I've been avoiding him. Second, I do share some of the blame and you know it. I wish I didn't but I do. And if I hadn't of been the coward it would be me with him right now and not her."
Eyes narrowed and Lois crossed her arms, "Why did you?"
"Why did I what?"
"Push him away. You never did explain that to me. I never understood it when you two broke up and then danced around each other for ages. And when he finally gets the gumption to actually do more than the UST tango you turn him down."
Chloe looked down, unsure of how to answer that , it was complicated. Or rather her feelings were.
"I see so you are going to allow him to be sucked back in again? You and I both know that this dinner could turn out to be another ride on the Lana and Clark roller coaster. One which I do not want to be on. Even if it wasn't hurting you, which I despise the fact it does, it hurts him too. The man is completely brain dead when it comes to her."
"I'm not telling him to go on this dinner, if anything I was hoping my silence would send a message. " Chloe said defensively. Standing and throwing her arms out, now feeling in the mood to rant. "I know I didn't make it easy but does he really have to just drop it all because she comes back? She bats those damsel eyelashes and looks like she fell right out of the friggin' sky."
The tiny tirade unwittingly gave her cousin the clue as to what was going on inside her heart and head, "Wait a minute!" Lois abandoned the dress she was looking at to take Chloe by the shoulders, "You actually think you can't compare to her, don't you?"
Chloe looked away, "No…"
"Yes, you do! Look at me!" Lois gave her a gentle shake and when Chloe, a moment later, met her eyes Lois continued, " You are far better than her, Chloe. He doesn't love her. He tries, but he doesn't. Not the way he loves you. The two of you have this thing, not only do you know each other so well but you finish each other's sentences, have the same interests. "
"You also finish his sentences."
"He and I are friends. Lana can hardly claim that let alone having anything in common with him. She's a dream he goes back to when he thinks he has no shot with who he really wants and that is you. It's not her he orbits or causes the world to fade away around him. It's you, which is why you can't let him go back to what is safe and convenient. So you screwed up. Don't let him make it worse!"
Chloe nodded dumbly, "I know. I know! It's just I remember before, you know? How he'd drop things for her."
"But he hasn't always cuz. There have been plenty of times he's dropped them for you. Including ignoring her, I remember, when you two practically ignored me because of each other. Sound familiar?" Lois gave her a pointed look before letting go of her shoulders.
"Okay. Yeah, we were intense, weren't we?"
Lois nodded and picked up a dress in each hand, one a deep green that brought out the color in her hazel eyes and the other black, both very sexy. "Another reason why I never understood how you broke up. Which dress?"
"The green." Chloe said with a light grin. Sighing, she sat back down on the bed, "It wasn't supposed to be a break up. That whole fiasco happened with Dark Thursday and Jimmy came back and Clark misunderstood something I said. Then there was the awkward moment which I have to admit I did look guilty. And even though Clark seemed to have understood and accepted we just… I don't know. It just got all out of whack. Taking a break turned into breaking up. It didn't help either that Lana had to be in trouble."
Lois snorted, "He has damsel in distress issues. I think it's a 'hero' thing to be honest. This is why I, for one, am ruffling some feathers tonight."
"So this dressing up is to..?"
"Fishnet screech may be part of the hero group but there is no way I am letting her put her talons into my man! Especially with her recent woes."
"You do love the whole bird insults, don't you?"
Lois gave a wicked grin and turned her back for Chloe to zip her up, "Yes, I do. She had the nerve to give Ollie doe eyes the other day. And what does he do? Fall for it. What do I get? Practically ignored for a whole week and I'm his girlfriend."
"Men." The two women said in union.
Continuing, Lois walked back over to her jewelry. "I put up with tramps making eyes at him cause he is the dreamy former playboy millionaire but no way is some bird-lady is going to come along and steal him."
"You honestly think Ollie would leave you for Dinah?"
Lois scowled in the mirror at Chloe, "No, but she is sure trying to get him and he isn't seeing it. Tonight, I am making my mark, one he won't forget. I've got a plan, slightly influenced by Clark's advice to bring clarity on the intentions of little Miss Ca-Caw. "
"Lois, I don't think Dinah does it intentionally."
Spinning around Lois pointed a finger at her, "Probably not but she is regardless, same with the pink sourball who is going to eat dinner with the plaid king in an hour and you are sitting here letting her get away with it!"
"I'm not going to play the scorned woman again, Lois. It didn't work out all that well last time." Chloe flopped back on the bed.
Lois shook her head, "It didn't? Clark seemed to have eyes glued on you when you did."
"Yes. And we argued all the time."
"So, hello? Arguing means making up which means…"
"I know what it means, Lois," Chloe turned her head to look at Lois, "You can say we've had our fair share of makeup inspired sex. But as much as the sex was great I really don't want to be like that."
"Then don't be jealous. Be sly, tempting and stop pushing him away!"
Groaning Chloe covered her head with a pillow. "I will." The rest of her words came out muffled.
"Sorry, didn't get that."
Chloe pulled the pillow away, "I said I will, I just need to regroup." She sat up holding the pillow to her chest, "Why Lois? Why did I tell him I wasn't interested in more than friends?"
Having been about to hold up earing choices, Lois mouth dropped open. "You said that? I thought pushing him away was… " She frowned "Okay, there is no way you are letting it settle there. Oh my gosh, Chloe! I can't believe you did that!"
"I know! I don't know why I said it. I just I don't know. Why is it Clark Kent can turn me into mindless mush? "
"Because you love him." Lois shook her head. "And you have the power to knock the man of steel off his feet. So do it! "
"How?" Chloe knew she had to fix her mistake but the feeling of dread at seeing Lana and Clark together was a bit much. She could face down the scum of Metropolis when out on a story but dealing with the man she was head over heels in love with and his not always ex was enough to make her feel weak and sick.
A phone was suddenly thrust in her face; Lois gave her an encouraging nod to take it. "Call him. Tell him you want to talk to him tonight when he gets back. Say that you've been thinking about what he asked earlier."
Chloe took the phone slowly, "Then what? 'Sorry Clark but I didn't mean it. I do want you, take me now' and throw myself at him?"
Lois just grinned.
"I'm not the desperate sort, Lois!"
"Don't think of it as being desperate. That's just your fear talking and you know it. Think of it as being proactive."
Chloe sighed, Lois was right. They had been playing this game for too long. Ever since an unexpected kiss led to her finally getting her wish of having Clark Kent. She always figured that once she had him it would be easier, that it wouldn't be hard but the hero stuff and other things got in the way and complicated it. Deep down she knew that neither of them was happy apart or with other people, that even with the complications they were so much better together. So why did she resist?
Unable to answer that question and fed up, Chloe's eyes met her cousins and she made a decision. "You're right. It is. And I'll do one better then meeting him after. " She glanced down at her watch, "If I leave now I can catch him before."
The last thing Chloe saw as she sprinted out the door was Lois's proud smile.
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"I can't do this if I lose her!" The words were said with so much pain it hung in the air. It wasn't simply just an emotion but a sensation that washed over him like a crashing wave against rocks. It was all too familiar at the moment.
Clark didn't know what to say back to Oliver. What could he say? Lois was the mans world just as Chloe was his. What did you say to someone when they might be losing everything that gave them purpose?
Chloe was stable, he left her briefly and then had come back to find himself once again staring and causing damage to hospital property, so he left to check on Oliver who he found pacing and barely hanging on. Lois was back in for more surgery and each passing moment the fear was worse rather than relieved.
"Why?" Oliver looked up from watching his baby sleep, bandaged, bruised and looking so fragile. "Why them?"
"I don't know, but I'll found out," Clark replied darkly, struggling to take his eyes off Sam. He felt the weight of his own loss and what Oliver had almost lost; what they had all almost lost. He loved Sam himself, had pride in being an uncle. For Oliver it meant more. Since Sam had been born, even before that when Lois and Oliver had found out they were having a baby, Oliver had seemed to find additional inspiration. Lois had given him hope and a peace but Sam gave something only children could give.
Clark could remember seeing the same expression on his father's face once, the one that Oliver often gave his son. Love, strength, and pride: the sort of pride that pushed one to better themselves. Clark wanted to experience it for himself, had thought he was going to. Now...
"Clark!" Oliver's voice cut through the momentary rage that had threatened to spill back up. Clark glanced at him and down at his hands, realizing he had damaged the wall where he had rested his hand by curling his fist into a ball of anger. How did he not feel that? It had been years since he had lost that kind of control.
Despite barely controlled agony on Oliver's face he gave Clark a soft look. "Chloe is stable, right?" the man sighed, it was a sound of someone lost trying to be there for another. Clark appreciated the effort but didn't want to bring Oliver further down.
"She is fine." Liar. She won't be, he thought but continued, skirting over his own pain for the sake of his friend. In some ways it made it easier to handle. "She woke up for a moment. Doctor thinks it's a good sign."
Oliver continued to stare at him and then nodded but didn't seem convinced it was all okay. "I hate feeling helpless Clark. I love Sam but if... I don't think I could do anything without her."
"Oliver, Lois is a fighter; I don't think she'd give up." Such a clichéd thing to say and yet it was true. He didn't think Lois would. "Look I promise we'll get answers, it won't fix this but..." But what?
"I don't think I can." Oliver cleared his throat, his gaze having returned to his son. "I can't be out there and looking Clark. If I do, I don't think I can leave whoever did this in one piece." He looked back at Clark, his eyes showing that he needed Clark to carry that. He knew it was asking a lot even for Superman, whose own wife lay broken a few rooms down the hall.
There was no need for his friend and colleague to ask, but the fact he did only confirmed for Clark that he needed to get answers. The difficulty was could he hold back and not cross the line? His wife and others he loved had been viciously attacked, perhaps with intent to send a message, and he wasn't sure he could remain Superman when he found them.
Grasping his friend by the shoulder Clark told him the only thing he could. "You focus on your family. I'll take care of it. " He wanted to say more but there simply weren't words to give.
Oliver nodded numbly and then with pained filled eyes asked, "Is she okay. How is it going? I need to know I wouldn't ask otherwise but I..."
"It's okay." Clark reassured, held up a hand and tuned into Lois' surgery. After a moment he was able to make out that she seemed to be doing well and would be out shortly. He repeated it back.
For the first time in hours Oliver resembled a bit of his former self as relief washed over him. With suddenly shaky legs he started to stumble. Clark helped him sit down, feeling bad when his super hearing picked up on more. "I have to go. Sorry!"
Oliver shook his head. "Don't be. Go. I'll check on Chloe in a minute for you. I just need to catch my breath."
"Thanks." And he was off, able for a short time to pretend he wasn't hurting.
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Superspeed couldn't fix everything and there were times where it didn't seem all that fast either. He had spent a good deal of the day out as Superman despite wanting to be at his wife's side and getting back to her felt slow. It had been three days since she initially woke. Since then she had been moved from ICU but remained fairly the same, drifting in and out and when awake, out of it enough that she didn't seem particularly aware of much.
It left one thing hanging over him.
How did he tell her about the baby? She looked pale and fragile, and with how she herself hadn't brought it up in her brief moments of consciousness concerned him. No mention of their baby. Did she suspect and was afraid to know? If so, it made it all the harder to get himself to bring it up.
Clark was at a loss. Nothing was right in the world.
He arrived at the hospital, back in Clark Kent attire and made his way to her floor. He wanted to be there; especially today as the last time Chloe had woken she seemed more alert than before. It meant the question could come up. He didn't want the doctors telling her. He didn't want her waiting to know either.
It left the options to himself if he was there and his mother if he wasn't. She had come to sit by Chloe for the day when it became obvious he wasn't going to be cut a break. It made Clark feel better to know that she wouldn't wake to find herself alone and she'd have someone who could understand the loss.
As the elevator began to move up and Clark heard the change in Chloe's heart rate. He knew and regretted not taking the stairs.
"No… No!"He could hear the denial in her voice. And his mother's soft tones trying to calm her.
The elevator felt like a trap. He was trapped and he wasn't there again. Only so many feet away and he couldn't get to her, save her. This time he couldn't save her from the truth.
It felt like all air had left his lungs when the elevator finally stopped and the doors opened. His wife's every sob, cry, plea reverberated inside of him as Clark made his way down the hall to her room. He couldn't have sped to her if he tried, his legs felt like lead. He wanted to be with her, holding her as she came to terms, but the world was spinning.
Everything had shattered.
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If this made you sad then you'll really need tissues for the next part. Hopefully out tomorrow if not tonight.
Comments are cookies. feed me! *hides behind Summer