What You Don't Know...

Chapter Eighteen

Martha Kent stared at her son, her mouth slightly open in her shock.

Poor Chloe.

Clark could relate to the stunned look on his mother’s face; he was fairly certain he’d been wearing a similar expression since Chloe’s return five days before.

“Lex has had her all this time.” Martha still couldn’t believe it. Not that she doubted the truth of it, she’d just always had a soft spot for the young man who’d once been so close to Clark; it was hard for her to conceive of him doing something so damaging to someone as lovely as Chloe.

“And she still has feelings for him,” Clark burst out. “How can she still care about him after what he did to her?”

It felt good - giving voice to the frustrations that he couldn’t in front of Chloe, the words he could never say; because the last thing Clark ever wanted to see again was Chloe broken the way she’d been when she stepped out of that limousine.

“Clark,” she reached out and laid her hand comfortingly over his, “you know better than anyone how large Chloe’s heart is. She’s not the kind of person who can ignore her emotions; even if she has good reason.”

Martha watched as Clark squirmed at the unspoken reminder that Chloe had never been able to turn off her feelings for him. But she knew that, despite her son’s discomfort, it was time to address the elephant far too long in their midst. Chloe had done so much for their family and she wouldn’t let her suffer anymore if she could help it; and if that required gently knocking some sense into her oblivious son, well it was long overdue.

“So,” she said, subtly changing the focus of their conversation though not the topic, “how are things going with you and Lana?”

She knew that something had happened between her son and the beautiful brunette as he hadn’t so much as mentioned her name since she’d arrived home a few hours earlier; surely a record.

“I don’t think things are going to work out between Lana and me.” Clark ran a weary hand through his hair, “I just wanted a simple, ordinary life; like you and dad. But everything seems to have gone wrong.”

Shock burst through her and a small laugh bubbled up and spilled over. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but neither was she prepared to enable such a ludicrous delusion.

“Clark, honey, as deeply as your father and I loved each other, our life was hardly uncomplicated. The city girl and the farm boy is a cliché because it’s always rife with enough drama to fill a novel. And though it was well worth the effort, we were no different.”

She knew that Clark was aware of many of the difficulties that she and Jonathan had faced, but she was only just beginning to realize that in his mind they were an abstract footnote to what he saw as a perfect life, and she knew that if he didn’t contextualize the lessons to be found in their marriage then he would continue to make decisions based on completely unrealistic standards.

“Then we were blessed with the greatest son two people could ever hope for. “But,” she continued, smiling gently to remove any possible sting from her words, “he did happen to come to us by way of another planet.”

Seeing Clark’s small smile, she knew that he was taking in what she said instead of letting himself be distracted by his unease with his origins.

“The strength that your father and I had was never in being simple or ordinary. It was in our love; in knowing that we would be there for each other no matter what happened and regardless of whatever came our way.” Martha’s voice deepened as it filled with affection and grief in equal measure. “There was a faith, strong and unshakable, that no matter what mistakes were made we’d see each other through – no punishments, no lingering, silent reproofs; just loving support.”

Feeling Clark’s hand grasp her own, she experienced the sense of peace that always came with quiet moments with her son. She loved him so much, had since the first moment she’d laid eyes on him all those years ago, and she wished as all parents did, that she could give him the world wrapped in a bow. But she couldn’t. All she could do was try her best to help him discover what it was he wanted out of life and then trust that he had the strength and fortitude to achieve it.

“That’s what your dad and I had, Clark; and if that’s what you want then you need to do some hard thinking and ask yourself if that’s what you’re building with Lana.”

A small snort escaped Clark. He’d been doing little else but thinking about the relationships in his life over the last few months and had come to the sad conclusion that whatever he’d had with Lana would never lead to the kind of connection his parents had shared.

“Actually, that sounds more like me and…” His eyes widened as he trailed off.

“Chloe?” Martha asked, although she already knew the answer.

“Clark, you’re a good man and your father and I were always proud of you,” she assured him. “And, for the most part, we believed in letting you make your own choices, learn from your own mistakes.”

She turned her hand in his, wrapping her fingers securely around his.

“But Chloe’s been an extraordinary friend to you and she deserves the same. She’s going to need you right now; 100% of you.”

“Of course I’ll be there for her,” he exclaimed; shocked that there would even be a question.

“I know that you want to be, sweetheart; but you can’t do that until you figure out exactly what it is that you want from Chloe.”

“But-”

“I’ve always cared for Lana, Clark. That’s not what this is about. But sometimes it seemed as though things like infatuation and a certain amount of physical attraction,” she smiled at his small blush, “took the place of a deeper, more enduring intimacy that’s the basis for truly sharing your life with someone…everything in your life.” Martha added significantly.

Hearing those thoughts whirling in his head for weeks had been bad, but hearing his mother spell things out so clearly was even more difficult and his shoulders slumped under the weight of finally having no choice but to reexamine all that he’d ever believe he’d wanted for his life.

“I know. I know,” he sighed the last. “These past months without Chloe, I’ve started to see things that I hadn’t really noticed before. I always thought it was just my secret that I couldn’t tell Lana. But it’s not; it’s everything.”

And truly, that had been the hardest revelation that Clark had had to face – that he wasn’t waiting to find the right words or the perfect time to tell Lana; he was just waiting. And he saw now that he never would have stopped because, on some level, he’d always known that what really drew him to her was the Lana he had created in his mind, and he couldn’t help but think that the reverse might be true. He’d never feared her betrayal, but he dreaded her revulsion.

“It’s just that,” he struggled for the right words, “Lana always made me feel like a regular guy – no mysterious origins, no dangerous powers, no crushing destiny. Just Clark Kent, small town farmer.”

“And Chloe?” She encouraged gently.

“With Chloe I’m always aware of who I really am. There’s no pretending, no hiding. But the funny thing is that I don’t mind. When Chloe’s around my differences don’t seem like such a burden; they feel like a gift.” His gaze drifted off and his voice took on a tinge of awe at the memory he often relieved. “She said I’m amazing.”

“And that’s why you keep leading her on.” Not a question or an accusation, just a simple certainty.

“What?” Clark cried. “No!”

“Son, I love you, but I’ve watched you with Chloe for years.” Although she knew that blame was generally a useless endeavor, Martha couldn’t stop a tinge of disappointment from coloring her words. “You know very well how she’s felt about you and yet you’ve persisted in sending her mixed messages.”

She pulled her hand from his; not to hurt him but because she knew that it was time for Clark to face his problems like the man she’d raised him to be. A process rarely aided by a coddling mother.

“You were able to play at being normal with Lana because you had the confidence in yourself and who you are that came with Chloe’s unwavering love. But is Lana honestly the woman that you want to be with or is she simply the mask you’ve worn over the relationship that you’ve been denying for years that you have with Chloe?”

Mind reeling at the implications of his mother’s words, Clark stared as both a sense enormity and rightness within him grew. In a moment it seemed as if his whole world had shifted and yet he knew that it was far more likely that he was just finally seeing it as it truly was.

“What do I do now?”

Martha rose and placed a comforting hand on her son’s shoulder. She knew what he was asking; what he’d finally come to understand. Sharing her final piece of motherly advice, she left him the space she knew he’d need to figure out what it all meant.

“You give her time. You be there for her as her friend. You do for her what she’s done for you for years.”


Clark rested once more on the sofa in his loft and for the first time in what seemed like forever things felt good; the future seemed…bright. So instead of his customary moping and brooding he found himself in the unusual position of anticipating what tomorrow might hold for him.

For so long he’d been trying to be what he thought Lana needed so that he could secure her love. In retrospect he wondered in maybe he hadn’t been terribly unfair to her to deny her the chance to accept him. But after the day that he’d taken back time and lost his father he hadn’t been able to completely silence that tiny whisper in his mind that said that no matter why Lana believed she needed to go see Lex that evening, subconsciously she might have done so because she knew that Lex would pick up on what she’d either been unable or reluctant to hide and demand the truth from her.

Of course he never thought for a moment that Lana would consciously betray him, which is also why he believed that she’d called to warn him when she’d realized how serious Lex was about punishing him for the years of secrets. But Lana was always a damsel in need of rescuing – largely by choice; and a part of him had come to accept that her actions may have been her way of compelling Lex to “save” her instead of having to face his alien heritage and the complexities it would bring to their relationship.

But Chloe; before she knew, after she knew, her love never changed. She loved him for who he was. She always had.

She always had.

And suddenly Clark was choked by an oppressive wave of guilt. All that time that Chloe had loved him, been there for him regardless of the bizarre circumstances that made up his life, and he’d used that love and acceptance to shore up his relationship with Lana. He didn’t understand how she could stand to look at him, much less be such a giving friend.

Hands clenching with resolve, Clark swore to himself that he would make it up to her; all of it. With Lana out of the picture and Lex no longer an issue, he could dedicate all of his energy to showing Chloe how much she meant to him. Whatever it took, however long she needed, he was committed; because finally Clark had realized what he should have seen years ago – Chloe was more than worth the wait.


Chapter Nineteen


Chloe stepped off the elevator onto the highest floor of the LuthorCorp building. The ludicrously expensive décor, clearly meant to intimidate all but their owners, was lost on her as she turned towards the office she knew that Lex now occupied.

Before she reached the large mahogany desk, at which she was certain she’d find a sleek and stunning brunette, she paused, leaning against a cool granite wall and desperately trying to prepare herself for the coming confrontation.

She wasn’t sure that she was ready for this; didn’t think she’d ever be. But, honestly, Chloe was getting tired of hiding.

No matter how reassuring Clark had tried to be, she knew that there would be no significant recovery to her heart in the near future. Her plan was far more limited in scope than her friend’s; she just wanted to piece together enough of the shattered fragments of her soul to be capable of pretending to be the person she’d been two months before.

She had the feeling that, so far, she’d been failing fairly miserably.

She’d called the Planet to let them know that she’d be back the following week, figuring that the cover Lex had provided would be good for another few days. Whatever he told them had been enough to ensure a warm welcome from her supervisor as well as sincere congratulations on her recovery. She didn’t worry about that mystery. Newspapers were a hot bed of gossip and the reason given for her absence would have certainly made the rounds; extracting the story from an unsuspecting colleague would be painfully easy.

She’d also forced herself to go out and have lunch with both Lois and Lana. The time with Lois was to soothe any worries her cousin might have concerning her time away and to try to determine exactly what story Lex had crafted for her so that she could keep up the charade.

The meeting with Lana was less urgent, as she knew that her friend had long ago resigned herself to Chloe’s journalistic bent and would be more than willing to believe that she had been caught up for weeks on end in chasing a story. Still, she cared about Lana, and didn’t want her to feel slighted if it became known that Chloe had returned home and hadn’t immediately called her.

Of course, there had been a small ulterior motive to her second foray into Smallville. During her lunch with Lois she’d had the eerie sensation that she was being watched. She could have chalked it up to any number of things – the stares that attractive women commonly drew, the simple curiosity that came with her sudden reappearance, the looks that, even after all her years in the small town, she still received as an outsider…a nosy outsider. Any one of those reasons would have explained the feeling that refused to go away. But the weirdness of her adolescence had left its mark and she was reluctant to dismiss all other possibilities out of hand; so she’d arranged a date with Lana.

Once she’d begun to indulge her paranoia she’d quickly come to realize that her anxiety hadn’t been unreasonable after all and, knowing what she was looking for, she’d identified the man trailing her before she and Lana had made it all the way across the park to the ice cream parlor for dessert.

It took no great leap of deduction to determine who was responsible for this newest intrusion in her life. Which is why she’d called Clark and told him that she and Lana had decided to spend the rest of the afternoon catching up and then grab some dinner and maybe see a movie. She hadn’t even gotten her phone back in her bag before she was on the road for Metropolis.

And there she stood, closer to Lex Luthor then she’d ever thought she’d be again; and the only thing she knew with any certainty was that she wasn’t ready for this. After a week of Clark’s endless comfort and support, Chloe had thought she could handle this. Now, with just a few walls between them, she knew she’d been wrong.

Pulling in a deep breath, she squared her shoulders. It had to be done. She wouldn’t let Lex have anymore of her life than he’d already taken.


Lex tossed the file he’d been reading on his desk as he heard loud, angry voices approach the large doors of his office. Most businessmen would worry about professional rivals or disgruntled employees, but his security had improved over the years and those generally weren’t pressing concerns for the young tycoon.

But Lex wasn’t most businessmen, and he rose from behind his desk, reaching towards the drawer containing a small firearm. He’d learned after far too many run in with meteor freaks that, when in doubt, shoot first and create plausible deniability later. However his hand froze on the handle as his secretary rushed in chasing a blonde he hadn’t dreamed he’d see so soon.

“You can’t go in there,” the brunette practically shouted.

As his gazed clashed with Chloe’s, he watched as she came to a sudden stop. The woman behind her took advantage of her adversary’s distraction and moved to grab her arm.

“Don’t touch her.”

The words whipped across the room and filled his startled employee with a cold terror as she instinctively stepped back in response to the menace they contained.

“Miss Sullivan’s visits are always to be given the highest of priorities.”

Lex spoke to his secretary, but Chloe felt sure the message was for her. It was as confusing as her jumbled feelings at seeing him again and she strove with everything in her to push all her emotions down as deep as they could go so that she could do what needed to be done and then go home and cry herself to sleep as she had for days.

“Of course, Mr. Luthor.”

The exquisite woman beside her seemed nearly as mystified as Chloe was herself and, even in such wrenching circumstances, she found herself almost smiling at the forlorn figure she made as she exited the office. But all humor fled as the sound of Lex’s voice once again filled the space.

“Chloe,” Lex said warmly, a softness filling his gaze. “This is a lovely surprise.”

Her eyes closed and she forced back a small gasp of pain as she remembered the last time he’d said that to her – the night that they’d recreated their imaginary first date. Her utter gullibility galled her anew and despite Clark’s insistence that none of it was her fault, she shook slightly with the shame that she, the future Daily Planet star reporter, hadn’t been able to figure out that every facet of her life was a lie.

“Chloe?”

Her eyes snapped open just in time to see that Lex had moved from behind his desk and was reaching out to steady her.

“No!” Chloe threw her hands out, desperate to ward him off as she stepped back. Her body recognized his as safety and comfort no matter how her mind screamed to the contrary. Right now her brain was winning the war raging inside her, but if he touched her she had no idea what would happen; except that she might not be able to survive again.

Lex pulled back as pain surged through him. He knew she was hurting. His dreams were split by moments of the bliss that was his short time with Chloe interspersed with an agonizingly vivid recount of their final confrontation. The last thing he ever wanted was to wound her again. She was there and it was more of a miracle then he’d ever expected, and jeopardizing it was the last thing he planned to do.

“You have people following me.” It was a statement, not a question. Chloe knew that the only way to cut this final tie was with strength, even if it felt so illusory.

“Yes,” Lex confirmed. “Although, I was supposed to have inconspicuous people following you.”

“Yeah well,” she rebounded quickly from the shock of his easy admittance, “you live with Lana for a few years and you develop a sixth stalking sense.”

Lex’s lips tilted in a small smirk at what had to be the most unlikely reason anyone had ever spotted surveillance. Not that he doubted for one moment the truth of her statement; but he did briefly wonder how on earth Lana could have escaped establishing her own internal warning system.

“Still,” he sobered, “your aptitude is hardly an excuse for unsatisfactory results.”

“Whatever.” Chloe’s eyes rolled at his unqualified arrogance. “There’s no point in this debate. Your spies have been spotted and are, therefore, ineffective. So call them off.”

“Chloe,” he soothed, “they aren’t spies; they’re security.”

“You say potato, I say massive invasion of privacy. It doesn’t matter how you spin it, Lex. Call – Them – Off.”

“I can’t do that,” he asserted as steel bled into his earlier tone of appeasement.

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Chloe, it’s no secret that, over the years, my family has made enemies both personally and professionally.” He paused, giving her a pointed look. “You know that better than most. Do you have any idea what some of those people would do to my wife?”

As his words penetrated, her spine stiffened and a dangerous fire lit in her eyes.

“Newsflash for the reality impaired – I’m not your wife.”

Lex took a step forward and had to focus on keeping himself from crossing the small space between them and shaking some sense into her.

“And I’m sure any potential kidnappers who learn that we lived as man and wife for two months will just take your word on that.”

Despite the biting sarcasm, Lex’s words seemed laced with a concern so deep and genuine that it terrified her. She knew that it had to be another ploy, and if she let herself believe him - let herself be weak - even for a moment, she wouldn’t be able to withstand the pain that would inevitably follow.

“This is still about Clark.”

At her accusation, Lex didn’t even try to stop himself, and closed the distance between them, grasping her arms before she had a chance to step away.

“I know that I’ve destroyed any trust that you had in me. And believe me,” his lips twisted in a bitter smile, “I pay for it every day that I’m without you. But this isn’t about Clark Kent.”

Being so close to her, touching her after what felt like an eternity apart was driving Lex mad, and he couldn’t stop his fingers from moving over the warm skin beneath them in a gentle caress.

“Whether you accept it or not, I love you,” his voice was fierce and his gazed burned with a torrent of emotions. “I won’t let anything happen to you again. And just because you doubt that right now doesn’t mean that I’m willing to let you risk your wellbeing.”

“My wellbeing?!” Chloe was too enraged that he’d continue with such a painful lie to even attempt to escape Lex’s hold. “You’re the one who kidnapped me, who kept me away from my family and friends. If anyone’s a threat to my wellbeing it’s you.”

She was glorious; her cheeks flushed in anger, her heavy breaths pushing her breasts against the thin white cotton of her blouse. His hands tightened as he fought the urge to pull her to him and prove how real his feelings for her were.

Instead, he uncurled his fingers from her arms; forced himself to turn away.

“The security stays.”

Chloe had known Lex for years; intimately for eight weeks. She knew his moods, the lines of his body, the tones of his voice; and she recognized in all of those things his absolute determination. There would be no swaying him, no making him see reason.

Just the idea that he believed he had a right to any part of her life incensed her and robbed her of her ability to speak. With an inarticulate and highly embarrassing cry of fury she turned and stomped out of the office, her dramatic exit only slightly diminished by her inability to slam the impossibly heavy door.

In her general loathing of the world at large and sexy, devious billionaires with unwieldy doors in particular, Chloe missed the figure concealed by a nearby alcove observing her departure with avid curiosity.

Stepping into the light as the elevator doors closed on the angry young woman, Lionel decided to forgo his impromptu visit with his son. Something was going on – had been for months – and he was certain that Chloe Sullivan was, once again, the key to a major Luthor intrigue.


“Spencer.”

“Tell all your men they’re fired. I want a new team in place by morning.”

Lex’s voice was cold, icy like the rest of him. It was how he had functioned throughout the constant crises that had plagued him in recent years. And this was a far greater disaster than most.

He’d planned to give Chloe space; to let time dull the sharpest edges of his betrayal of her faith. And now, because of one fool’s incompetence, he’d been forced into a confrontation far too early and had driven her even further away with actions that infuriated her and demands with which he’d had no choice but to refuse to comply.

“Of course. May I ask the reason for the change?”

“One of your men was identified.” He didn’t need to justify his decision and knew that Spencer would acquiesce regardless of his rationale. However, the man was the best in his particular profession and Lex could hardly blame him for underestimating Chloe when he himself had spent years doing the same thing. Of course that didn’t mean that he would abide any future missteps.

“Do we know who?”

“No,” the response was curt. “And it doesn’t matter. I want people, with no preconceived notions of their target. They need to be made aware, as do you apparently, that Chloe is in no way an ordinary college student. She has a sense of self preservation honed by years of danger and journalistic observational skills second to none. You need to take every precaution.”

“Consider it done.”

And he did. Lex expected no less than absolute obedience. Still, he’d found that it never hurt to make himself perfectly clear.

“And Spencer,” the silk of his voice only amplified the underlying danger, “the rewards for success in this endeavor are great, but the consequences for failure are staggering.”

Lex paused a moment to let every unpleasant possibility play through the man’s mind before ending the call.

“Don’t disappoint me.”


TBC