Bring Me to Life (Four/?)
Prologue | One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten | Conclusion
Chapter Four
Jonathan sat down at the kitchen table across from his wife, who was staring at a mug of tea she’d made for herself. “You okay, Martha?” he asked quietly.
She managed a faint smile as she let out a breath. “I’m just a little worried.”
“About Clark or Chloe?”
“Both, actually.” She cradled the mug in her hands. “Do you think this new ability of Chloe’s is permanent or do you think it’ll wear off?”
He shook his head. “I really don’t know.” He looked toward the stairs. “They’ve been up there a long time.”
“They’re sleeping,” Martha said absently.
“Together?” Jonathan stared at her in disbelief.
“Not like that,” she said, giving him a look. “It’s completely innocent. They were both exhausted and they need their rest.”
“Yeah, but Martha…”
“Jonathan. Think about what they’ve been through in the last few hours. Chloe died, Clark almost died…if they need to be close right now for comfort, do you really wanna be the one to deny them that?”
Looking reluctant, he slowly sat back in his chair.
A faint, satisfied smile on her face, she took a sip of her tea.
* * *
When Clark woke up, it was dark outside and one glance at his alarm clock told him it was just after Midnight. He was still tired, though he wasn’t feeling nearly as drained as he was before he’d fallen asleep. Looking down, he swallowed hard as he spotted Chloe snuggled up against him, still sleeping peacefully.
During some point in their nap, he had wound up draping an arm around her and pulling her closer to him. Surprisingly it hadn’t woken either of them from their slumber.
Letting out a breath, he rested his head on the pillow and took the moment to gaze at her as she slept. A strand of blond hair had fallen across her cheek and he resisted the urge to reach out and sweep it away, to brush his fingers lightly over her soft skin. And that’s when his gaze dropped to her lips.
The sudden desire he had to lean down a little closer and kiss her was nearly overwhelming, and he quickly closed his eyes, trying to banish the thought from his mind. It was wrong for him to think about her like that--she was his best friend! Not to mention the fact he was going out with Lana. Still, he couldn’t completely rid himself of the images he had of her kissing him at various times in their relationship.
One time in particular popped into his memory. He’d been under the influence of Red-Kryptonite and she under the influence of a parasite, and she’d all but jumped him at the Talon, undressing him and climbing on top of him in the middle of the café. The memory was making his eyes burn. Swallowing hard, Clark slowly untangled himself from her, trying not to disturb her while she slept. He climbed out of bed, rubbing his eyes and squeezing them shut.
It was way too hot in there. He moved to the window and quickly pulled it open, letting out a breath as cool air flooded the room.
“Clark?”
He turned to see her prop herself up on one elbow, squinting, her hair messy. And yet he found himself even more attracted to her than he had only moments ago. What the hell was going on? He wondered.
“Hey. Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“It’s okay,” she murmured, rubbing her eyes. “What time is it?”
“A little after Midnight.” He swallowed hard, consciously aware of how his robe had slipped off one of her shoulders, exposing her bare skin.
“Wow.” Chloe sat up, raking a hand through her hair. “I didn’t mean to sleep that long.”
“It’s okay, you needed it. I actually just woke up myself.”
Nodding a little, she reached over and turned on the lamp by his bed. “I’m starving.”
“Me too actually.”
“Want me to see if I can float something up here for us to eat?“ she joked.
Clark couldn’t help but grin. “Why don’t we just go down to the kitchen and I’ll fix something?”
“You cook?” She raised an eyebrow.
He gave her a look. “There’s a lot I can do you don’t know about, Chloe.”
An evil grin tugged at her lips. “I bet there is.”
His cheeks flushed and he shook his head, moving to his closet. “Here, why don’t you…uh…put on some of my clothes and I’ll go down and start cooking?”
“Okay.” She crawled out of bed and he swallowed hard, gazing at her intently for a moment. He had to force himself to turn and leave the room rather than stay there and stare at her.
He didn’t know what was wrong with him.
* * *
Chloe dressed in a pair of shorts that were much too big for her, and one of Clark’s flannel shirts that went almost all the way down to her knees. It was starting to dawn on her for the first time ever that she was incredibly short compared to Clark. Their size difference had never really occurred to her before--not really anyway. Sure, she realized he was taller than she was, but it was never something she dwelled on.
Now as she looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn’t suppress a giggle at how utterly ridiculous she looked. She’d have to go to Lois’s later and borrow some of her clothes. She and her cousin weren’t the same size, but they were much closer to the same size than she and Clark were.
She headed out of his bedroom and walked quietly down the stairs so as not to disturb the Kents who were undoubtedly asleep. She paused momentarily, wondering if they knew she’d fallen asleep in Clark’s bed with Clark. A little weirded out by that, she shook her head and went into the kitchen, sniffing the air and grinning when she smelled freshly brewed coffee.
“Do I smell bacon?”
Clark turned to look at her, nodding and offering her a small smile. His eyes lingered on her for a moment longer than necessary and she raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, your clothes are a little too big for me.”
“And I was just thinking they look better on you.”
Her mouth dropped open and she caught the look of shock on his face. Apparently he hadn’t intended to say that out loud. Her cheeks flushed and she swallowed hard, both flattered and embarrassed and more than a tad confused. “Uh, thanks?”
He had turned a brilliant shade of red and quickly faced the stove once more. “Omelet okay?”
“Sounds great.” She gazed at him for a moment, wondering what was going on with him as she slid into one of the kitchen chairs.
“What do you want to drink?” he asked, still faced away from her.
She raised an eyebrow. “Hello, Clark? You’re making coffee.”
“Oh, right.” He gave a nervous chuckle and she frowned a little, feeling apprehensive herself.
“Clark, are you feeling okay?” she asked, concerned.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Why?” Clark turned to face her, holding a spatula. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m all right. It’s just…I feel kinda weird.”
“Weird how?” he asked without hesitation, his eyes growing dark with worry.
Chloe pushed some hair out of her face. “I don’t know…different.”
He gazed at her for a moment, neither of them speaking. Then he looked down at the floor, letting out a breath. “Maybe it’s just a side-effect from…”
“Dying?’
He cringed but nodded. “Yeah.”
“Yeah. Maybe.” She chewed on her lower lip, perplexed.
“Maybe we should go see Jor-El.” His voice was quiet.
“No. Absolutely not.” She shook her head vehemently.
“Chloe--”
“Look, whatever it is, I’ll figure it out. I really don’t wanna go back up there anytime soon, Clark.”
Clark gazed at her, his eyes sad, and he slowly nodded his agreement. He didn’t really want to go back there, either. “All right. Then we’ll just…figure this out ourselves.”
Chloe relaxed a little. “You mean both of us?”
“Of course.”
A small smile tugged at her lips.