Chloe sat anxiously by Lana's hospital bed, holding her hand and waiting for her to wake up. She felt guilty for avoiding her the day before just because she didn't know what to say. She decided to turn on the television to break the silence in the room.
"Sources have been unable to confirm whether or not last night's chaotic breakout of three inmates at Belle Reve had anything to do with the newly released and convicted killer Lionel Luthor, but they have confirmed that Luthor Corp did sponsor the treatment for Desiree Atkins, Justin Gaines and Sasha Spencer. This incident also may or may not be related to the brief disappearance of Lex Luthor yesterday. The Luthor Corp heir's personal assistant notified authorities of his absence and police later tracked down his car where it had been abandoned on a rural road. Further investigation is pending."
Chloe used the remote to click the TV set back off.
"Chloe?"
"Hey. You're awake." She smoothed Lana's hair off of her face. "How are you feeling?"
Lana blinked sleepily up at her. "I had the weirdest dream."
"Oh?"
"Yeah," she spoke softly. "There were aliens and a spaceship. I got kidnapped along with Lex and another girl. Lex yelled at me."
"Um…I don't know how to tell you this, but it wasn't a dream."
Lana looked down at the bed as if noticing that she was indeed in a hospital. "But there were aliens?"
Chloe nodded her head.
"How? What?"
"I'll explain everything later, but I'm going to go get the doctor now. Alright?"
"Ok."
Chloe pulled her hand away and left the room.
Lex walked into his bedroom completely exhausted. He had spent the majority of the night coming up with a suitable cover story, making sure Chloe and Clark remembered it word for word and giving it to the police. They were instructed to fill Lana and Kayla in on what they were suppose to say before the police had a chance to ask them any questions. The early morning hours had been spent in an emergency meeting with his personal assistant and his head of PR, giving the same story and getting an account of what happened at Belle Reve.
The reports of strange lights and claims of some of the psych ward residents of little gray men had him questioning what exactly Clark told those aliens to get them to let their hostages go. The upside to it all was that the bad press he received last weekend had been refuted with an interview Chloe and Lana gave the Daily Planet refuting the allegations, making the Inquisitor look like the muckraking rag it really was, and this weekend's events were sure to dwarf the other story.
He toed off his shoes and started to unbutton his shirt when he felt a presence in the room. Clark was sitting on the edge of his bed.
"I just wanted to make sure you were still alright," Clark said.
Lex nodded his head and walked over into his closet where he could change into some pajamas. "I'm tired, but fine. Did Lana and Kayla wake up?"
"Yeah," Clark answered him from the other side of the door. "They both agreed to tell the police your story. Kayla said it'll keep people from thinking she's crazy."
Lex pulled on his pajama bottoms. "Clark?"
"Yeah."
"How did you get them to release us?"
Silence answered him.
Lex sighed as he buttoned up his top. He walked out of the closet to stand in front of Clark and tilted the other man's head up to look him in the eye.
"I made a trade." Clark confessed.
"Belle Reve?" He asked.
"Yeah."
Lex nodded his head in acceptance.
"Are you angry with me?"
"No," he responded immediately. "You did what you thought you had to do. It was a difficult decision to make."
Clark took his hand and traced the fading bruises along his wrist. "I couldn't let them take you." Clark's eyes teared up. "I was so scared and they wouldn't have just let you go."
Lex leaned down and kissed him gently on the forehead. "I understand."
Clark grabbed him and held him tight as he silently cried. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Lex petted his head and whispered words of comfort, but he knew Clark was more upset over the guilt he felt for having traded in three other lives for theirs.
When Clark calmed down, Lex drew back and wiped his face. "You haven't slept all night, have you?"
"No," he croaked in reply.
"Take off your shoes and get under the covers," Lex directed him.
Clark followed without question and Lex climbed into the bed next to him. The younger man wrapped himself around him and fell asleep almost instantly.
When he was sure Clark was sleeping deeply, Lex closed his eyes and followed him.
Chloe's cell phone rang shortly after she had turned it back on after powering it up all day. "Chloe Sullivan," she answered.
"Hey Chloe, what's up?" Pete asked.
"Did you see the news today?"
"Oh yeah. A breakout at Belle Reve and Lex disappeared."
"I suppose you called to get the inside scoop?" She asked amused.
"Hey, I rub your back, you give me the juicy details." He laughed. "So what really happened?"
"Aliens, Pete. Little gray men and their dogs."
"Your kidding me?"
"Nope. They kidnapped Lex, Lana and some other girl from high school, but Clark managed to rescue them as per usual."
"Man…" he exclaimed, "and they kidnapped both Lex and Lana? It's usually one or the other."
She giggled at the absurdity of it all. "Yep, they landed and everything. You picked the wrong weekend to come back to Smallville."
"I can't believe I missed this! So what happened at Belle Reve?"
"I don't know," she replied. "But I have a feeling this had something to do with our missing mutant population."
"What? You think they went into hiding or something?"
"I think they sensed the danger and scattered."
"So, are you going to write a story about it?"
She snorted. "Mutants are one thing, Pete, but aliens? Come on, no one would believe me? I'd probably be committed to Belle Reve myself if I wrote that story."
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Aliens are pretty unbelievable," he conceded.
"Listen, I've got to go and get back to Lana. I'll fill you in on all the juicy details later."
They said their goodbyes and she clicked off the phone.
Martha turned off the news when Jonathan came in from doing the morning chores.
"The cows are fed," he informed her. She smiled at how simple and normal he managed to make their lives feel when they were anything but.
"Good, you should probably take a nap. I know you didn't get much sleep after Clark and Lex took the girls left to take the girls to the hospital," she said, yawning at the end.
"You look like you could use one yourself"
She nodded, took his hand and stood up to follow him to their bedroom.
"What do you think Clark said to those aliens?" Jonathan asked her as they climbed the stairs.
Martha thought about it. "I have my suspicions, but I don't think we should ask him."
Jonathan raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"He'll come to us if he needs to," she assured him.
Chloe yawned and sipped the coffee she had bought in the hospital cafeteria as she opened the door to Lana's room.
"Hey."
"Hi yourself," she replied. "How are you feeling?"
Lana grimaced. "I wish people would quit asking me that, but otherwise I'm fine."
Chloe smiled. "Good. I wanted to talk to you before this all happened."
"About what?" Lana asked as Chloe sat next to her on the edge of the bed.
"About us…is there an us?" She asked tentatively.
"You mean for real?"
"Yeah. I mean, I know we started out pretending, but it's been confusing me lately," Chloe admitted. "When you kissed me in the elevator in Metropolis, it got me thinking."
"Yeah?"
"It's been nice between us…dating."
Lana gave her one of her genuine smiles. "It has," she agreed. "It's probably the most healthy relationship I've ever been in."
She couldn't help but chuckle. "So do you want to try it? For real this time?"
The other girl gazed into her eyes with a look Chloe couldn't quite place, but which made her feel alive in every fiber of her being. "I'd like that."
Chloe grabbed Lana's hand with her free one, not caring if she looked dopey with the large grin on her face.
Lana sat up further in the bed, until they were at eye level. "But you know, we still have to find a way to get Lex and Clark together."
"Actually, they already are," Chloe informed her. "I have a source willing to swear that he saw them kissing at the penthouse last Saturday."
"Really? Do you think it was because of the plan?" Lana asked hopefully.
She nodded her head. "How could it not be? After all, you came up with it."
Lana pushed a stray lock of hair behind Chloe's ear, leaned in and kissed her.
Chloe didn't know whether or not she should blame the lack of sleep or the massive amounts of caffeine she had consumed that day, but when Lana's lips touched hers they set off fireworks behind her closed eyes and something that felt like true happiness in heart.
The End.
A/N: I'm a little late with my weekly deadline, but hey - it's a two for one deal and the story's completed.
There might be a sequel tentatively titled "Clark Kent and the Holy Quest to get Laid." It'll be posted at the Adult Fanfiction site while I work on it since it's likely to get risqué.
I'd like to thank you all for your comments and support. I'd also like to put a request out there for betas and suggestions on how to clean up the story before I post it on the Smallville Slash Archive. If you want, leave your contact info with your comments and I'll e-mail you the full document.