Chapter 5
The morning sun peeked over the horizon, chasing away the pale pink of dawn with shards of brunt orange. Oliver slept soundly beside her. Chloe, on the other hand, had never made it to sleep after the conversation her and Oliver had. She tossed and turned, weighing the options of telling Clark about Connor and Kincaid or keeping silent, allowing him to continue believing they were Oliver's. Everyone thought they were Oliver's. The Justice League, her Isis co-workers, Martha Kent. It had killed Chloe not to be able to tell the woman she had grand-children. The only ones who knew the true identity of the father were Lois, Oliver, Chloe and Bart. The boys knew Oliver wasn't their father, but he might as well have been.
It surprised Chloe when she delivered two toe-headed children. She'd been expecting shocks of black hair and delicately formed features. Instead, both her children were blonde headed and had her eyes. To the outside world, both boys looked like the perfect mixture of Oliver Queen and Chloe Sullivan. To Chloe, each little boy was a stunning reminder of their father. But then Chloe knew what to look for. The way Connor's eyes would laugh when he was trying to play a prank on her or the way Kaid's jaw would set in defiance when he didn't get his way. Chloe knew if Clark ever looked close enough at either one, he would see himself staring back. An uneasy knot formed in Chloe's stomach as she thought of Clark seeing a flash of himself in one of their sons.
Subtle looks weren't the only thing the three shared. There was a lot of sense in what Oliver had said last night. Clark would know how to help the boys through the obstacles they would face as they got older. Connor and Kaid were four when Chloe realized they had inherited their father's uncanny ability to break things effortlessly. Up until then, Chloe had assumed they were mostly human. Neither boy had shown any signs of having or developing any ability pre-fixed by a super. As babies they had ear infections, diaper rashes and the green Kryptonite Chloe had knocked out of the hall closet didn't seem to faze either one as they threw it between them in a game of catch at age three.
But when the boys were four, they contracted chicken pox in the Isis Employee Day Care Facility. Connor enjoyed spending the days at home with mama as she slathered him in ointment and taped oven mitts to his hands to prevent him from scratching. His twin brother, however, kept staring longingly outside. Chloe remembered leaving them for a second, to do what she didn't remember now. All she remembered was hearing a splintering crash and running frantically back into the living room to find Connor standing in the middle of the room staring at Kaid as he beat his fists against the wall in a tantrum, each blow denting the strudy material the house was built of.
As of now, both boys possessed super-strength, super-speed and the ability to drive their mother to distraction. Chloe was worried when she realized they were not vulnerable to Kryptonite. Though she would never willingly use that on her small boys, she wondered how she would be able to raise them properly or control them as they got stronger, by herself?
When the boys were six, the super-speed kicked in. Before that, all Chloe needed to worry about was the occasional broken chair or table. Mostly they were sent outside until they learned to control their strength, which they learned with help from Oliver. Somehow, both Chloe and Oliver imparted how dangerous and serious and special these abilities were. They were meant to be guarded carefully and only she and Ollie could know.
The day both her sons zoomed off from her in a rambunctious game of tag was a day Chloe would not soon forget. It was the only day she ever almost broke down and called Martha Kent, needing guidance and more importantly, a sympathetic ear. Oliver and Chloe searched for hours. Oliver brought in Bart and the rest of team to cover more ground. Bart was the one who found them. Chloe had paced the house, up and down, fiddling with the phone, each passing minute fighting the temptation to dial Martha's number at one-thirty in the morning. The phone rang in her hand. Connor and Kaid had been found, two counties over. They were scared and cold, but otherwise unharmed.
The rest of team were told the boys had wandered too far from home into the forest edging the south acerage of the Kent Farm. But Bart was not so easily dissuaded. Oliver and Chloe brought Bart into the inner sanctum. Chloe found it odd, but Bart had been a welcome added pillar of strength. Uncle Bart was the one who taught the boys to control their speed. He made special trips to see Connor and Kaid whenever he wasn't busy with League business and had become the boys favorite League member besides Oliver. Chloe often wondered how the little boys would react if they found out that their extended family were the heroes they so idolized.
It became apparent early on, Chloe would need to be a creative parent. Being the mother of two beings who were going to amass amazing powers without the strong hand of a Kent man along without any known weakness, was going to take cunning, brains and love. And then, heaven smiled down on her and took pity. Her boys, unfortunately, could still feel pain. Their skin was not invulnerable although they did heal quickly. Broken limbs were gone in hours, minor cuts and bruises virtually minutes. They had the super-strength and the super-speed, but it seemed they could still break. Could they stuff their arms down wood chippers as Clark had done once? No. Would they be able to stop bullets? Maybe later. By the day they were getting stronger and sturdier so the day may come when they would be completely unbreakable like their father, but thankfully for Chloe, that day had not arrived yet. The other weakness was odd. Night. The abilities lessened. If Connor and Kaid spent all day in the sun, then some of their power would last through the night. But if it was cloudy that day, once evening fell, they were as regular as two little full-blood earthlings. Like batteries with a severly short life span.
Short life spans were another worry. Human bodies were not made to handle the kind of stress these powers could and would extract. Jonathon Kent developed heart problems after possessing them for a period of time in Clark's youth. The boys had semi-yearly check ups with the Justice League doctor, Dr. Emil, who didn't see any long term complications. Since they were getting stronger all the time and were, as he put it since neither Chloe or Oliver would discuss paternity, half of whatever they were.
Thoughts, questions and memories all swirled together until Chloe wanted to scream. Her mind had never been so full! Even sharing her gray matter with Brainiac had never been as mentally draining as being a mother to Clark Kent's sons. Again, the draw of Mrs. Kent pulled at her heavily and it took all her will-power to stay in the bed next to a sleeping Oliver instead of yaking the senator's ear off for parenting advice.
Yes, telling Clark would ease the burden. Chloe knew one of these days she'd wake up to find a hot and bothered teen-age boy fighting the fire in his eyes. But then she remembered a day long ago when Clark lost his memory and she handled everything just fine. She was still firm in her opinion that Clark couldn't know. Oliver had valid points in his argument in favor of telling Clark, but so had she. Clark was meant for so much more than being just a soccer-dad. And Chloe knew if she told him, he would want to be involved and around to raise his kids. His great destiny would never be fulfilled and that was not an option for Chloe.
Chloe promised Oliver she would think about it and she had. She'd spent the past six hours turning it over and over and over in her mind. And as the sun rose, Chloe arrived at the same decision time after time. Clark couldn't know. The world needed him more than a single mother and her twin sons.
Leaning upwards, Chloe looked to her right. Oliver's alarm clock would go off in seven minutes, at six-thirty. With a huff, Chloe threw back the covers and left the bed. She might as well get up and get breakfast and coffee started. The boys would be up soon, too, and they would be ravenous.
A butter colored terry cloth robe hung on the back of the bedroom door. The house was slightly chilly and Chloe slipped into it gratefully. She also rummaged in the top shelf of her closet and found an old pair of house shoes which she tugged over the thick socks she wore. Cinching the robe tightly about her waist, Chloe sailed out of the bedroom. It was then the scent of coffee hit her. Clark was up.
Descending slowly down the kitchen stairs, Chloe stopped when she had a good view of the kitchen. Clark stood at the sink, his hands braced on the stainless steel. Shelby relaxed on his haunches close to Clark's legs while his tail thumped complacently against the kitchen mat as he stared up as his original master. Clark was watching the sun rise and Chloe wondered how long it had been since he'd seen one. Did the sun rise or set where he had been? Still dressed in the clothes Oliver had lent him, Chloe tried to ignore the racing of her heart as she took him in from his broad shoulders to his bare feet. The clothes were a shade small and were stretching in places they were never meant to stretch. They would never hang the same way on Oliver again.
"Good morning," Clark rumbled in greeting.
Chloe, startled, shrieked and tripped down the last four stairs into Clark's waiting strong arms.
"Thank you," Chloe said after Clark set her back on her feet.
"Are you trying to sneak up on me?" Clark teased, a slight grin on his face. He walked back to the cabinets and took down two coffee mugs.
"Its been a long time since I smelt coffee that I didn't brew. I had to see if it was an illusion or if I had an alien invasion in my kitchen," Chloe countered. She sat down and smiled as Clark set a mug in front of her and then filled it to the brim with the dark liquid. She would need to start breakfast, but right now all she wanted to do was sit and enjoy coffee she hadn't poured herself.
Replacing the carafe back on the heated plate, Clark joined Chloe at the kitchen table. Chloe was amazed that she wasn't tired from spending the night wide awake. Of course in a few hours she would be feeling the deprivation of sleep. Mentally viewing her appointment book, Chloe decided she could take today off and move everything back a few days. After dropping the boys off at school, she could come back and take a nap and then spend the rest of the day with Clark.
"Any special plans for today?" Chloe fished, wondering if Clark's plans coincided with her own.
"No, I was just going to hang out here today if you don't mind. I want to reacquaint myself with the world and what has happened since I've been gone," Clark answered, gazing at Chloe in the early morning sunlight. She was thirty, but she still looked like the young twenty-two year old woman Clark had left sleeping soundly. With the exception of the flattering itsy lines around her eyes and mouth, Chloe was the picture of youth. Clark was even surprised to see he had aged some as well in the bathroom mirror this morning. Doing a quick mental calculation, he realized Oliver was three years away from forty, but he as well, had aged nicely.
"Okay, well, I can help with that. I was planning on taking the day off so-"
"Chloe, you don't need to do that," Clark interrupted her. "I can get by on my own. I don't want to put you or Oliver out."
"Please, Clark!" Chloe exclaimed, grasping his hand that was closest to hers with affection. Clark reacted by squeezing back, lacing his fingers through hers intimately. "I have my best friend back! And I want to hear all about your training. If you want to tell me," she finished a little shakily, her mind centered on the feel of holding Clark's hand again.
"Chloe, you'll never believe-"
"Give it back, its mine!"
"No, its mine! Go find your own!"
"Ow!"
"Ow!"
The ceiling sounded as if it was about to cave in and Chloe jumped to her feet, fearing Clark was about to find out their secret when the floor above crashed to their feet from Connor and Kaid's fight.
"Sounds as if the morning is off to a great start!" Chloe yelled brightly over the noise as Clark continued to gaze up at the ceiling. Wishing she had super-speed, Chloe raced up the stairs to meet a wild-eyed Oliver emerging from a steamy bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his hips. Chloe pushed the door open and the two adults looked inside. The room was in shambles as Connor and Kaid rolled together on the floor, a lone The Flash! sneaker clutched in between their two hands.
"Hey!" Chloe shouted, bringing both boys to a halt. Connor and Kaid turned their eyes slowly to their mother, standing in the doorway, unmistakable anger broiling on her face. Neither boy could get the offending shoe away fast enough. Connor was up on his feet first, pointing at Kaid and whining, while Kaid was a little slower, but joined the finger pointing soon enough.
"Quiet!" Chloe's normal motherly voice rang out, harsh with the anger she felt at this silly little squabble. "Don't both of you have a pair of shoes like this?" She asked, bending to grab the red sneaker off the floor.
"Yes ma'am," Connor and Kaid answered meekly.
"Then I suggest instead of fighting over the one shoe, you work together to wade through this mess to find the other three," Chloe told her sons with quiet authority.
"You heard your mother," Oliver commented as the two boys continued to stand there, throwing glares at each other. Two blonde heads nodded slightly. "Then get to work."
"Yes sir," Connor and Kaid said in unison. The boys immediately began digging through their messy room. Chloe dropped the one shoe by the door and both Oliver and Chloe turned to find a stunned Clark standing at the head of the hallway.
"Everything okay?" He asked stiffly. Chloe and Oliver obviously were used to providing a united front, Clark thought as he had watched both admonish the boys. It was things like this that would be the hardest getting used to. Clark had learned long ago his life would never be normal. He'd come to grips last night he'd lost eight years of his life. He would begin today putting it back together. But the glimpes into the Queen family life were too much to wrap his head around right now.
"I'll be down in a little while," Oliver told both of them before heading back to the bathroom.
"I'll have breakfast ready when you're done," Chloe replied to his retreating back.
The next hour passed hurriedly as Chloe flew up and down the stairs, helping with last minute homework or finding one of Oliver's ties while cooking a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausage, hashbrowns and toast. Clark offered to help but concluded it would be best just to stay out of her way.
"Totally routine," she threw at Clark as one of the twins yelled down about not being able to find his math book. It was barely leashed chaos and through it all, Chloe kept calm, her training in the bustling bullpen of the Daily Planet coming into play. At seven-forty-five, three blonde males marched downstairs to find plates heaped with food which they all inhaled. Clark sat amongst them, a little more talkative than the night before. He engaged both the boys, asking to be told about their teachers while Oliver and him discussed half-heartedly the possibility of the Sharks going to the play-offs that season.
"You're going to be late," Chloe sang to Oliver as he slurped the rest of the orange juice, spilling a tiny bit on the table.
"Nah, the CEO is never late, just detained," he replied, lugging his empty plate along with the twins', to the sink. Clark was still working on his breakfast, taking time since he had no where to be. "Come on, guys. I'm taking you to school today."
"Oliver, I got it. I just need to go change," Chloe stuttered, motioning at the stairs over her shoulder.
"No, I'm taking them. You two sit here, have coffee and enjoy breakfast. See ya tonight, Clark," Oliver directed at him, again, in the tone that left no argument.
"Sure. Thanks, Oliver," Clark replied, mustering up a smile.
"I'm just glad to have you back," Oliver said sincerely, laying a manly hand upon one of Clark's broad shoulders. "Connor! Kaid! Move out!" He herded the boys out after they kissed Chloe good-bye.
"See ya later, Clark!" Connor shouted happily as he sprinted out the door.
"What happened to Mr. Kent?" Clark snorted as the back door slammed shut behind them all.
"Ahhh," Chloe sighed as she lowered herself back into a kitchen chair. "He takes after us. If we don't call you Mr. Kent in front of him, he'll lapse out of his manners."
"Sounds like his father," Clark chided, remembering how quickly familiar he and Oliver became shortly after meeting.
Chloe's breath caught and she replied quietly, "Yeah, he is. More like him than you know. More coffee?"
Chloe couldn't think of any place she would rather be than sitting here at the kitchen table, still in her pajamas, sipping the coffee Clark continued to pour for them as she listened to him relive his travels for her. He reckoned he'd been to about every planet there was known to man along with a few that weren't. Half of his time had been spent in the illuminated vortex Chloe had found him in when they were eighteen, learning other languages and dialects, history from other civilizations, maths, sciences; anything you could ever hope to know. Other times, Jor-El would direct him to crystals hidden around the galaxies for him to retrieve. These held special volumes of knowledge he would only understand after he completed whatever task it took to get the crystal. Those times, a beam would shoot out and download him with the information. His second and final half of training had been more hands-on.
In detail, Clark narrated his last mission, his trip to Catyhpa, the planet with no sun but a blue star and his harrowing return to the Fortress.
"I just can't believe it," Chloe murmured when Clark seemed to have finished.
"I know. It was almost too much for me at times," Clark replied, getting up to make a third pot of coffee.
"No," Chloe countered. She joined him at the counter, mirroring his position; arms folded, hips leaning against the wood. "That you seem like he same person who left. I mean, you're much more confident and prepared, but I can still see my best friend in there. The bumbling farm boy who couldn't walk five feet without tripping," she concluded with a nostalgic smile. Although, now she knew Clark never reallytripped.
Chloe laid a palm against Clark's solid chest, over his heart and patted him gently. "You have no idea how glad I am to see that man."
Clark took her wrist in both hands, his fingers outlining her dainty bones. Why hadn't she waited for him? Clark could deal with the thought of her and Oliver being together now. He was gone longer than he expected and Clark would have never forgiven himself if she had put her life on hold that long. But they were a family. Their boys were seven! When exactly had Chloe given up on him? The silence stretched as Clark continued fingering her hand, longing to ask her all these questions. Instead, he switched subjects.
"So what have you been doing while I was gone? I know about the mom thing, which by the way, can I say how unexpected that was?"
Chloe laughed with relief. She's seen the questions in his eyes, knew all the answers he wanted about Oliver and the boys. How grateful she was he restrained himself. "I know. They were unexpected for me, too. But those two tornadoes are the best things I've ever done in my life."
"You still work for Isis?" Clark asked, non-chalantly dropping her hand, the emotion between the two of them draining into the familiar camaraderie.
"Yes," Chloe answered bracingly. She flexed her hand, stuffing it in the pocket of her robe to ward of the chill. "I head up the foundation now. Lana stepped down a few years ago," Chloe told him hesitantly, gaging his facial features when she mentioned Lana, old habits dying hard.
To her surprise, Clark remained perfectly non-plussed. "Really? I thought she gave you control a long time ago?"
"She did. But it was made official about six years ago. You'll have to come visit me sometime and see what I've done with the place. We bought the entire building back in 2011, so we're not just one floor anymore. I'm very proud of it."
"Do you still moon-light?" Clark asked, eying her carefully. In the weeks and months leading up to his departing for the Fortress, Chloe had spent a good time setting up shop in a magnificent building Jimmy bought her as a wedding gift to her. Never being able to bring herself to sell it, Chloe donated it to the use of the Justice League and had christened it 'Watchtower' where most of the proceedings were held.
"I do," Chloe answered smugly. Clark had never been in favor of her joining in with 'his kind' as he put it occasionally when she'd first begun. "Isis is just my cover. My day job. Night falls and I slip into my black pleather and sky-high stiletto boots and go fight the big and bad of Metropolis." At Clark's horrified look, she giggled. "Seriously, Clark! I'm just tech support. Dinah has been the only target to attack me and that was pre-Justice League. The gang doesn't let anyone get near me. Or vice versa."
A few hours later, Clark sat on a bar stool, surveying what he could see of the house. "Nothing has changed," he marveled.
"What did you expect? Futuristic furniture and robotic maids?" Chloe teased, looking up at Clark from the kitchen hardwood floor where she was seating Indian style.
"I didn't expect to be gone eight years. If I had known, I would have expected a lot of changes, but you've kept everything the same. Even most of the dishes are the same," Clark remarked, spying his father's chipped cowboy mug in the drainer.
"I didn't want to change anything," Chloe explained as she unfolded her legs. "I practically grew up in this house myself. I like everything the way it is. It's home."
"Hey, want to go for a walk?" Clark suggested.
Chloe's eyes lit up. "Sure, let me change! You want to borrow something of Oliver's again? I didn't get a chance to throw any of your arctic ware in the wash."
"Nah, I'll run into town and pick up some things while you change."
"With what, Clark? Have you been collecting a paycheck from Jor-El these past years? Let me give you something." Clark slid off the stool and held a hand out to Chloe, his foot catching the tie of her robe. Pulling Chloe to her feet, the knot at her waist came undone, revealing her pajama top tucked partially into a pair of red boxers. Chloe padded over to a battered old Folgers coffee can and fished out a wadded up twenty. "Go buy yourself something pretty.
Clark nodded dumbly, his eyes glued to the baggy boxers riding low on her hips, as he took the twenty from her out-stretched hand. He was sure if he could find the tag, he would find a crude C.K. marked in black sharpie.
"Meet ya back down here?" Chloe waved and ran upstairs. Ten minutes later, Chloe and Clark met back downstairs, both dressed in jeans, work boots and light cotton t-shirts.
"Blue is still your color I see," Chloe quipped while leading him around the barn and the loft, which had been rearranged to allow more floor space. They then made their way out onto the land with Shelby prancing happily ahead of them, tail swishing in the soft wind. Clark drank in the sight of the rich land he'd grown up on and worked with his father. He had missed the farm so much, with its wide open fields and timeless days. Shelby halted in the bird dog pose when he heard something off in the distance. Clark sharpened his own hearing as Shelby took off after the rustling of some forest creature, bounding high along the tall grass.
"Chloe, is that my Shelby?"
"Yeah. I'm glad he still remembers you," Chloe answered with a smile as she, too, watched Shelby disappear into the brush.
"What happened to him? He looks. . . Almost new," Clark replied. When he'd left Shelby in Chloe's capable and loving hands, his furry friend had been a little rough around the edges and worse for wear.
"Well, we found out that his joints were rapidly deteriorating. A procedure could be done to reverse this but it was highly complicated and the recovery time was a concern because of Shelby's age. The vet told me to either put him down or let him finish out his days at home and he could prescribe him something for the pain," Chloe began.
"You did all that," Clark said, referring to the surgery. "Just to keep him around a little longer?" Clark knew Chloe didn't like to give up but what she had just imparted seemed quite extreme. Even if it was for Shelby.
"No. We tried some of left over healing serum Oliver experimented with that time."
"But that had some not so healthy aggressive tendencies attached to it," Clark responded worriedly. When he'd first got Shelby the poor dog had been juiced with some kind Kryptonite induced steroid that gave a new definition to 'Roid Rage'. The side effects were quite similar to what he'd seen in Oliver when he tried out his own miracle healing serum while patrolling the streets.
"We added enough serotonin to counteract whatever chemical instigates the heightened levels of testosterone. The next day, he was running and jumping and playing like he was a puppy again. The x-rays were clear and he was in perfect condition once again."
"Chloe. . . You did all that. . . For a dog?" Clark glanced over at her, a sheepish smile on her face at the lengths she'd gone to, to preserve Shelby.
"I did it for your dog," Chloe answered quietly. When Clark didn't respond, Chloe continued. "So I went a little psycho with the dog rescue, but it was worth it since he hasn't been in pain or sick for the past three years."
Clark swung a friendly arm around Chloe's shoulders, loving that she went to so much trouble to save something she felt was very special to him. On the heels of his glow of affection came the thought of his blonde replacement, dampening whatever warmth was suffusing his insides. His arms remained on her shoulders for a few seconds before he brought it back to swing at his side.
"You know, I got rid of the rest of our herd when I went to work at the Planet. Where did all these come from?" Clark asked, motioning to the placid, cod-chewing black and red Angus milling around as he and Chloe walked the length of the pasture.
"They belong to the Hubbards'," Chloe told him. "Ben was injured a couple of years ago when his cattle stampeded. He walks with a cane now and the weather really bothers him. His son, Marcus, took over and has become the New Kansas Cattle King. Marcus wanted to buy it, but your mom and I didn't want to let your family's legacy go. He pastures some of his overflow here for a legal donations to Senator Kent's Campaign Fund and allowing a couple of underage cow hands to help him out."
"Connor and Kaid?"
"And me from time to time."
"You feed cattle?" Clark asked in disbelief. It was like the city girl Chloe fought so hard to be seen as when they were younger wasn't even there anymore. What else did she do now, he wondered?
"Yes, I do," Chloe answered indignantly as Clark and her strolled along the long wooden fence that separated the Kent land from the Hubbard. "I feed cattle, I groom the horses and I take care of the chickens. Connor and Kaid take care of your mom's garden. Looks like I can be domesticated."
"How is my mother?" Clark wondered aloud. What his mother must think. He would need to go see her as as he could.
"Martha's Martha," Chloe sighed. Clark raised his eyes at hearing Chloe refer to his mother by her given name. "She actually was approached by the party to run for President in these past two elections but she didn't want to. She says she feels her place is with the people, making sure their views and opinions are heard by the Senate. We're all very proud of your mother."
"Does she think I am. . ." Clark let his voice trail off.
"None of us wanted to think that, Clark. For the first few years we kept telling each other you were just missing, but as time went on, it got harder to dismiss," Chloe replied, fighting the instant lump in her throat as she thought of the few years after Clark's estimated return came and went. She reached over and took his hand, needing the physical reassurance he was real. The tall wheat grass brushed their thighs, creating a musical whisper that harmonized with the call of the birds and cattle. "When people started to ask questions, your mom and I came up with the story you were working with the orphans of Ethiopia or some other war ravaged country. For all we knew, you might have been. When are you going to see her?"
"I thought probably tomorrow. I'll call her tonight, let her know I'm back so I don't give her a heart attack when I show up. Anything surprising about her I need to know?" Clark questioned Chloe cautiously.
"Not that I know of. Still the same Mrs. Kent," Chloe laughed, knowing Clark was scared of change more now than ever.
Silence fell upon them as Chloe and Clark continued to walk, hand in hand. They circled the same path they use to walk as kids; talking when they were teenagers about the colleges they planned on attending and then later, Chloe the supportive listener as Clark poured out his frustration of being a super-ordinary person. To his side, Chloe snuck another glance as his profile that was silhouetted by the setting sun. Time was a funny thing, she mused. For two years she waited with bated breath. Every time Bart would flash into her office or Victor would throw open a door on a mission, Chloe's heart did a little blip. Now-
"Hey, someone's here," Clark pointed out. A red, very expensive looking sports car could be seen parked a few feet from the house as Clark and Chloe approached.
Chloe glanced at her watch. "It's just Lois with the boys. She picks them up on her half days at the Planet and takes them for ice cream. It's her cool 'Aunt' thing to do. You know what," Chloe started, grabbing Clark's shirt front with her free hand and pulling him to a sudden stop. "Lois doesn't know you're back and it might create some awkward questions, so why don't you zip on outta here until I tell her," Chloe suggested hurriedly.
"Too late," Clark replied.
"Why?"
"Because she's seen me and is heading this way. Why does she look so angry? Hi, Lois," Clark greeted. With his quick eyes, he saw her shoulder hitch backward and moved his face just in time to receive her her slap convincingly.
"Lois!" Chloe cried, shocked at her cousin's unprovoked assault.
"That is for making my cousin cry, you low-down, one-night-stand Casanova!" Lois pulled her arm again and slapped the other cheek before Chloe jumped on her, holding her arms down at her sides. "And that is for being a dead-beat-"
"Lois!" Chloe screamed, drowning out the end of her sentence as she struggled to keep Lois immobile.
But even if her arms were restrained, her mouth was not. Lois continued her rant, her eyes flashing with anger as Clark stood looking at her as if she'd gone rabid, his mouth agape. "You think you can com crawling back here after eight years? Did you think she'd still be waiting for you? I never thought that you, of all people, would behave in such a disgusting way toward a woman who gave you everything!"
Finally, Chloe got a good grip on one of Lois' arms and drug her backwards. Roughly and with difficulty, tossed her a few feet away from her.
"Get a grip!" Chloe hissed. "You wanna give us a minute?" She directed at Clark. Not having to be told twice, Clark took his escape clause and jogged the last few yards to the porch where the twins were peeking around the corner, watching their aunt go ballistic.
"Come on, guys. In the house," Clark said, taking both boys by the shoulder.
Chloe turned back to her cousin. "Okay, I can understand where my hostility would come from, but the what the hell were you thinking going all Mrs. Rambo?"
"So you're telling me that whenever the Heartbreak Kid showed up on your doorstep today, you gave him the boot? Because it looked to me like your boots and his boots were doing the two-step!" Lois exclaimed, pushing her red (this week) mane off her neck.
"Look, Lois, let me handle this. I can take care of myself-"
"Not when it comes to Clark Kent, you can't. You've never been able to say no to those Crest White Strips!"
"Please, Lois. If I've told you once, I've told you one hundred-thousand times. I seduced him! Clark Kent did not lure me into bed with sweet words and unkept promises. We both knew he was leaving the next morning. It was a consensual one night stand!"
"Yeah," Lois agreed, hands going to hips in the staple Sullivan-Lane fashion. "A one night stand with seven year old consequences."
"Consequences I said I could handle. I think you need to leave, Lois. I can't take the chance of you slipping and saying something-"
"Hold up there one momento, Mary the Martyr. He doesn't know?"
"He never knew!" Chloe cried, shaking her hands over her head to emphasize the loving frustration Lois inspired within her. "I never told him. He didn't know eight years ago and he doesn't know now."
"But-"
"No, Lois. You assumed. And I let you," Chloe said with defeat, rubbing her right temple where a migraine was beginning to throb.
"I'm sorry, Chloe, I'm sorry," Lois apologized quickly, noticing the tell-tale beginning of one of Chloe's stress related headaches. She's getting those too often, Lois thought. She pulled her baby cousin into a strong, sisterly embrace. "How did you let this become so complicated?"
Chloe snorted into Lois' designer clad shoulder. "When has anything not been complicated for me?"
Lois rubbed Chloe's back. She had always been there to protect Chloe. When they were little, Lois had always been the bully who punched the little twerp who made Chloe cry. When they were pre-teens, she was the one who punched Rawley Parker for telling the whole camp that Chloe was wearing her first bra and made her cry. When they were teenagers, she was the one who threatened Clark Kent she would break his legs if he broke her cousin's heart. Chloe's heart had been broken more times than Lois could count and yet Chloe kept giving it away! Little by little, her heart was shrinking and Lois was scared this final bought with Clark would cause it to vanish for good. And Lois couldn't protect Chloe from a broken heart, no matter how hard she tried or how hard she punched.
"I'm so sorry," Lois told Chloe again.
"It's okay, Lois," Chloe replied, pulling back from her cousin's hug. "But it's not me you need to apologize to." Chloe bit back a laugh as she regarded Lois' disgusted face.
"Ah, don't make me," Lois whined, dropping her arms and kicking back on a high heel.
"Don't you want to stay for dinner?" Chloe asked. She highly suspected this was the only meal Lois ate once a week that didn't come wrapped in plastic or from a cup.
"That's not fair! Thursdays are always Family Dinner Night!"
"Then you have to apologize. Clark's family," Chloe said with a shrug. She hugged Lois one more time and then made her way back to the house.
Lois stood for a full second before yelling, "Fine!" and scampering to catch up with Chloe. "I'll apologize. But you and I, missy, are going to have a long chat tonight."
"Between you and Oliver I'm going to have my ears talked off!"
"What does Oliver think about all this?" Lois asked, Chloe and her halting outside the kitchen door.
"Later," Chloe whispered when the door opened magically before them and Clark stood on the other side, having been watching them from window. Chloe, for a split second, worried he'd been eavesdropping, a nasty habit he'd picked up back in their younger, reporting days. When Clark gazed warily at Lois, she knew he'd obviously been refraining. Or helping the boys with their math homework, seeing books and papers spread across the kitchen table, Connor and Kaid chewing on the ends of their pencils.
"I think I got it, Clark!" Connor cried happily.
"Let me see, Buddy," replied Clark as he hunkered down next to the little boy to look at some scribbled work. Chloe's heart did another funny blip. If this kept up, she'd have an irregular heart beat in no time.
"Whatcha working on?" Chloe asked her sons, both her and Lois taking the seats opposite the boys.
"Long division. I don't remember covering that in second grade," Clark answered, still carefully checking Connor's work as the little boy squirmed in his chair.
"No, Connor and Kaid are in a special class for the gifted," Chloe told him, a motherly pride coating her words. "They'll be able to skip third grade next year, but I haven't decided if that would be a good idea yet."
"Aw, Mom, no!" Kaid whined, taking a time out from peering over Clark's broad shoulder at his brother's work. "All of our friends-"
"I haven't made up my mind yet," Chloe cajoled him.
"Hey, kiddo, I skipped the third grade. You're not missing much," Lois quipped as she slipped off her heels and kicked them under the table.
Chloe growled as she stooped and picked up the heels to put them somewhere that wasn't in the way. "You skipped third grade because the General had you schooled on the base and you somehow snuck into the fifth grade class to make goo-goo eyes at Mason Barker."
"Still, I skipped it, didn't I?"
Chloe rolled her eyes. "So, how is work?"
"Argh," Lois groaned, flopping her head face down on the table top dramatically. Clark peered at her through unsympathetic eyes before returning his attention to the boys. "Well, the Chief found out I spent a semester of my senior year here and who arranged my late admission to Met U, so I've been handed the expose for Lughead Luthor the paper has planned on a platter."
"Luthor?" Clark's head snapped up. "I thought he was dead."
"Come on, Clark. Did they not have news under whatever rock you crawled under? 'Allegedly dead'," Lois corrected. "He was found about four and half years ago, unconscious and hog-tied on the steps of the District Attorney's office, a note attached to him by a green arrow naming him a gift to the city. Turns out Dr. Frankenstein was found in a little village in the Russian Tundra conducting unauthorized experiments on humans with money embezzled from Queen Industries after they absorbed LuthorCorp. He was tried for Crimes Against Humanity and is now serving multiple life sentences."
"I'll explain later," Chloe whispered, seeing the almost terrified look in Clark's eyes. He no doubt believed this Lex was the same one who lured him to the Fortress and knew his true identity. She tried to assure him with her eyes but it did no good. Of all nights for it to be Family Dinner Night, Chloe thought with irritation.
An hour later, Chloe began making dinner. Connor and Kaid finished their homework at a record-speed, thanks to a lot of help from their 'Uncle Clark'. Lois eyed Chloe, wondering if, she too, caught the irony of Clark allowing the boys to call him uncle. After checking their work, Clark suggested they go outside and show him the chores they did.
"Are you three going to have time to get it all finished before dinner?" Chloe asked pointedly hoping to provide a gentle reminder to her sons to be discreet. Clark thought it was only meant for him.
"Yeah, Oliver should be here in a minute. He can help," Clark replied as he listened to the sound of Oliver's tires speeding down the country road toward them. So Connor, Kaid and Clark tramped out the door.
Lois poured herself a glass of red wine with a cookbook open in front of her, flipping through the pages and suggesting dishes they could try in the coming weeks. While Chloe was cubing up uncooked chicken breasts, Lois sidled over to her and Chloe knew the moment for their 'chat' had arrived.
"Why did you never tell Clark you were pregnant?" Lois jumped in, gulping down the last inch of her wine and pouring some more.
"Lois, no offense, I love you, but that is none of your business. I had my reasons," Chloe stated. She threw the chicken into a cast iron skillet drenched in olive oil where it sizzled deliciously.
"Okay," Lois breathed patiently. " Are you going to tell Clark about them now?"
"I haven't decided yet. Oliver wants me to, but I'm not sure I should," Chloe answered, moving the chicken around with a wooden paddle.
"I think Oliver is right," Lois countered, knocking back another swallow of wine. "How can you not tell him, Chlo? You two were best friends and those are his sons! I can't understand why you wouldn't tell him. Especially if Oliver thinks you should."
"Lois, it's more complicated than the matter of paternity. The boys are close to Oliver, they think of him as their father even if they know he's not their biological one. I'm still thinking about it," Chloe replied with a smile toward her cousin who sat perched on the island with her legs crossed in her Ralph Lauren trousers.
Swishing around the wine in her glass, Lois observed her cousin's back. There was something Chloe wasn't telling her. Lois always assumed that if Clark would return, even if Chloe and Oliver were doing the nasty, she would still give Clark credit for her awesome nephews. Lois, switching into reporter mode, asked a different question. One she would hope would lead them back to the original subject. "So when did the Prodigal Son of Smallville return?"
"He got back last night," Chloe answered vaguely.
Lois stared at Chloe for a second or two, waiting for her to go on. She shook her head. Duh! Chloe was the one who invented the 'Misdirection Tactic'. "Is that all?"
"Yep," Chloe nodded, also aware of what Lois was trying to needle out of her. "Decided to come home."
"I know there is something you're not telling me-" Lois said again, in a last ditch effort.
"Lois-"
"Chloe," said Lois shortly, hopping off the bar. "I get that you and Clark have secrets that only the two of you know about each other. I've been the one every time who picks up the pieces after Clark does the Heart Hoe Down. Ever since you were fourteen, you've allowed Clark to worm himself back inside the apple of you eye and every time you end up with your face in a puddle of Ben & Jerry's. But he is the father of your children. Give credit where credit is due," Lois finished seriously, looking intently at Chloe. "You're chicken is burning."
"I thought I might find you up here."
Clark turned at the sound of Chloe's voice as she crested the stairs to the loft where Clark sat alone in the moonlight. Chloe felt her way over to the string of old timey lights bordering the open window and pushed the plug into the electrical socket. Shadowy light filled the loft from the twinkle bulbs hung around the ceiling of the barn. Chloe joined Clark on the sofa, a tattered book held in her hands.
"Afraid I'd pulled another disappearing act to the Fortress again?" Clark asked, scooting over to the end, giving Chloe more room as she crossed her legs and faced him.
"Not exactly since I still have your vanishing cabinet," Chloe replied, tapping the book between them with a trimmed and polished nail. "I know it's not the only way to travel, but. . ."
"Thanks," Clark said. He opened the book and touched the key within. It warmed as if it recognized him. Clark closed the book with a snap.
"I remembered it this morning when you mentioned wanting to go to the caves. Sorry we didn't get a chance to go have a look around," Chloe apologized.
"It's okay," Clark replied. "I can go by tomorrow on my way to see my mom."
"Did you get a hold of her?"
"No. She didn't answer the two numbers you gave me, but I got a hold of her aide and he said she has some down time tomorrow that he'd put me in for. Its in the morning, so I'll spend the rest of the afternoon poking around the caves."
Chloe opened her mouth to say something but Clark beat her to the punch. "I won't be making any unscheduled stops in the arctic so you don't need to worry."
"Is it that obvious?" Chloe smiled softly as she ducked her head. Clark could tell she'd showered recently. Her skin was dewy looking with a satin sheen thanks to the nice smelling lotion she rubbed on afterwards. Initially, Clark had thought Chloe's hair was only a couple of inches longer than before, but now he saw it was damp and wavy, long past her shoulder blades. She looked soft and cuddly. Usually years spent climbing the corporate ladder or being in life and death situations on a daily basis hardened one. It certainly had Lois, who was even more hard-nosed and foul-mouthed than when he left. But not Chloe. The years or possibly motherhood, had softened her instead. If Clark looked close enough, he could see the young fourteen year old girl who would cry at Hallmark commercials when she thought he wasn't looking or get all giggly over a fat puppy. Or the girl who would make cow eyes at him when his back was turned.
"I'm glad," Clark responded, laying an arm along the back of the couch.
Chloe turned her head to the side, careful not look Clark in the eye. "I really missed you, Clark."
Clark bit back a sharp retort, the warmth of the moment being cooled by a splash of reality. He could see she'd really missed him. Move on, Kent. How many times had Chloe been shelved for Lana? Maybe this dish of irony was being served cold for a reason. Clark Kent finally felt what Chloe had felt all those years ago. Every almost gesture and unspoken words caused a sarcastic smile to blossom on Clark's face.
"What's that look for?" Chloe questioned, not missing the subtle shift in Clark's temperament.
"Nothing," Clark brushed off. "You don't have to keep me company. I know you've got a full house."
"Actually, Lois and Oliver left about thirty minutes ago and I have already put the boys to bed so I'm all yours." Chloe immediately regretted her choice of words and shifted with unease.
"Where did Oliver go?"
"He had some work he needed to finish up at the loft so he offered the drive Lois home. She had a tad bit over the legal limit."
"Works hard, plays harder. Same old Lois. By the way, the apology you coached her through was very touching. I take it she knows about. . ." Clark trailed off, his boyish modesty asserting itself.
"You should know better than anyone Lois always gets her story," muttered Chloe more to herself than Clark.
"Speaking of Lois and stories," Clark began. "Were you planning on telling me about the return of Lex?"
"As a matter of fact, that was the other side of the two fold reason for tracking you down tonight." Chloe pulled her legs up. They were encased in fleece pants and her feet were stuffed into her ratty bunny slippers. She tucked her legs under her in a side saddle position. "The Lex Luthor that came back is not the one who brought your ice castle crashing down around you. Neither was he the same man who got blown to bits by Oliver's toy monkey bomb."
"Then who was it? A clone?" Clark asked in jest.
"Yes."
"Chloe, seriously, I need to know-"
"I am being serious, Clark. Lana and Wes were not the only prototypes Lex was working on. Like any intelligent, morally twisted, evil dictator he was making decoys. A decoy he sent in his place to destroy the Fortress and whoever the Traveler was when he showed up."
Clark mulled that over. It made sense. Lex would never willing sacrifice himself. "But what about the Prometheus suit? He needed that to survive after he was lost in the north pole. If he was a clone-"
"Lex hired one of the most scientifically advanced technologists in the world to implant TLEX6N and turn him into a walking surveillance system. But his stint in the northern exposure severely damaged the hardware beyond repair so Lex had no way of downloading the information off him or Tess Mercer. He was totally unaware of his clone's activities after he went off-line when he walked out of range and into the Fortress. The clone had one directive, though. Return to Lex Luthor unharmed. When he was created, he was created with all of Lex's current and past knowledge of all his Luthorcorp projects and memories. TLEX6N chose the Prometheus project to achieve his purpose, until Lana beat him to it. So, Oliver didn't murder Lex, he just fried a highly expensive spy-bot."
Clark sagged against the ratty old sofa in relief. When Oliver came clean on what he'd done to Lex, Clark was furious. Nothing warranted taking a human life. Even if Lex knew his secret the worst thing he'd done so far was orchestrate Lana and Clark's fateful parting. And then when Doomsday made his bloody appearance, all things that did not concern Chloe and her safety flew from Clark's mind. Oliver and his team banded together once more to help Clark bury Doomsday in the ground and send Davis on to a better life without his bone-protruding alter ego. After Doomsday was eradicated, Oliver and Clark ended the cold war and began the road back to a tenuous peace. But as life settled back into an uncharacteristically quiet routine on the farm and at the Planet, Clark could no longer bury his heartache in work. That was when he decided to leave. Thoughts of Lex's murder were never farther from his mind.
But tonight, when Lois off-handedly threw out the Luthor name, all of Clark's old insecurities came rushing back, making him feel half his age. Back to when Lex was knee deep in his 'The Mystery of Clark Kent' obsession.
"How do you know all this? It sounds as if you stole the exclusive interview right from under Lois," Clark quipped.
"Well, lets just say one of Lex's closest bosom buddies decided to throw his boss to the wolves for a shortened jail sentence. Gave evidence of all Lex's proceedings before and after his trip down the rabbit hole and into the Russian oblivion," Chloe told him.
"How did Oliver track him down? We all thought Lex was dead and scattered."
"Oliver hired forensic accountants to comb through the company accounts to find any proof of an inside hit that was performed on Tess Mercer six or seven years ago," Chloe explained.
"Tess? She was murdered?" Clark cut in, almost unable to believe Tess had met her end at the business end of a barrel. It seemed so. . . Common.
"Lois found her," Chloe continued softly. "She was at her office in the Planet. She'd been shot twice in the chest at close range with a small caliber pistol."
"Why did Oliver think it was someone inside the company?"
"I don't know. There were a lot of board members who were still very resentful of the coop she and Oliver pulled in 2009. He took her death really hard. For about two or three years he couldn't think of anything else. It was hard on all of us to see him spiraling out of control again. And then one day he stormed into Watchtower raving on about how he had tracked Lex down to some Russian prison in the middle of nowhere."
"What was he doing in a Russian prison?" Clark asked.
"It was a political prison. He was working for a radical political group trying to overthrow the government. For his own personal gain, of course."
"And Russia is home to one of the biggest nuclear arsenals known to man. Yeah, sounds like Lex," Clark responded, shaking his head like a drained parent. "Oliver found him just with forensic accountants?"
"I told you Tess' murdered consumed a few years of his life. He found money being laundered from over seven different accounts, little by little. He tracked the transactions across the globe until they finally settled down in a business account for a French art dealer who was fronting for the Russian political group called Black Sky. So the League made a trip over to the Kremlin and that was that," Chloe finished.
"What exactly was he working on?" Clark questioned. It was like they were going back in time to when she'd fill him in before he went and knocked the bad guys out. Except this time, Lex was already taken care of.
"Oliver and Victor saw, but they would never talk about it. Even today, neither one will go into detail of what was in the lab they dragged Lex from."
The newspaper and all reports only said 'Illegal Human Experimentation'. I don't think I even want to know what Dr. Evil was doing down there," Chloe answered with a shiver, visibly upset by what might or might not have been the subjects of Lex's House of Horrors.
"Come here." Clark reached out and grasped Chloe's arm, pulling her the remainder of inches between them to lean against him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as Chloe settled down next to him, her head nestled on his chest.
"I really did miss you, Clark," Chloe said again. Clark's hand was splayed on his thigh. At his silence, Chloe lifted the big hand and began toying with his blunt fingers. She'd always loved his hands. Clark's hand holding hers at the Talon. Clark's hand wiping away her tears at the Torch. Clark's hand caressing her arm at the Planet. Clark's hands framing her waist. . .
"I missed you too."
Chloe moved her head upward, gazing at him as he gazed down at her. And before Chloe could stop herself, she slid a hand behind Clark's neck and pulled him down.
Chloe pressed her lips to his, wondering how the hell she was stuck between two men again! She felt Clark hold back but finally melt against her, turning her more into him and hooking her legs over his lap, kneading her thigh through the soft pants.
The loneliness each had felt at the other's absence poured into the other, causing things to escalate quickly between Clark and Chloe until the what and who of why they shouldn't be doing this disappeared from thought. Clark braced his hands on Chloe's back as he shifted her and laid her back on the couch, pausing to push the book off onto the floor. Crouching over her on his knees, one sank down between the back and the cushions. He didn't feel it but he heard something snap.
Clark lifted his head and looked down at Chloe whose heavy lidded eyes were becoming perplexed at the noise. Freeing one of his hands, Clark rooted around his knee cap. His fingers brushed something cool and plastic. He grabbed it and pulled, bringing the interruption into the light.
And there it was. The reason why Clark shouldn't be kneeling over Chloe's form on the couch. The reason why Clark couldn't continue along the fantasy road he'd been walking down in his head. It laid in his palm, the severed form of a G.I. Joe action figure, no doubt belonging to Connor and Kaid.
Clark heaved himself off the couch and went to place the toy in a toy chest off to the side already holding sports balls and building Legos. He dropped the broken soldier into the box with a loud thunk, the sound echoing through-out the silent loft.
Chloe sat up, fidgeting nervously while Clark took his time over by the boys' toy box. When he turned, his handsome face was settled into the vacant look he wore at times. Times when he preferred to leave things unsaid. What a corner Chloe had backed herself into tonight.
"I'm gonna go to bed-"
"I'm sorry about that-"
Both stopped short, waiting for the other to finish their sentence.
Clark spoke first. "No need to apologize. It's not like it meant anything. Good night."
She watched Clark's black head disappear down the stairs. Not for the first time, Chloe wondered if she'd made a huge mistake.