Title: journalist
Author: M.
Rating: r for language
Note: crossover with Supernatural, Chloe/Dean pairing

"journalist"

She's a journalist, damn it. She writes the big stories, she nabs the scoops, she made it, she got there first.

But it doesn't matter. She's figured that one out. Growing up, Lois was the family favorite. She was the poor little abandoned girl. The one whose mother ran away and oh how sad it all was.

She's grown up, damn it, she's chased her dreams and she caught them. They're hers. But she can see it already happening. The family reunion tells the tale. The relatives coo and exclaim over Lois' latest article for the Planet. Chloe clutches her coffee and pretends not to hear when Lois glosses over just where she got her research. This is how it always happen so she lifts her coffee and swallows a gulp.

Time to go.

She's a reporter, she doesn't have time to sit around and gossip much less be the family wallflower.

They don't notice her leave. Chloe doesn't care. She finishes her coffee and tosses the empty container into the garbage as she slips from the tent. Her car's parked on the side of the street where she can make a quick exit and her cell phone's to her ear, dialing into the Planet as she goes. Jimmy's manning the phones again. He's got a crush on the receptionist and Chloe thinks she's taking advantage of that...fine by her; she'll fix that later too.

She doesn't miss much and a word or two in the right ear will land the right secretary in the wrong spot. It's fun how that works. She always was a vindictive bitch when she wanted to be.

Clark's working too, she can hear him in the background, and she doesn't have to guess what he's doing. Hard at work writing yet another Lane and Kent article that's more Kent than Lane. Some things she wishes she could fix but he'll learn sooner or later.

If not then she'll leave him to his own. He plays at the dumb farm boy, sometimes he is the dumb farm boy, but even he's not that dumb.

At least she hopes not but it would explain a few things. Anyone who thinks glasses and hair gel make a definitive disguise is not the brightest bulb in the set. Course, people are actually fooled by it so...

Jimmy, bless his heart, always has what she wants and as he chatters into her ear, Chloe demonstrates her amazing skills of multi-tasking by quite possibly violating a few traffic laws. Driving, talking on a cell phone and taking notes while kicking off her shoes is not exactly her smartest move but she figures if she crashes she can haunt Clark a bit. Maybe play ghost of Christmas past to Lex. He's got it coming, all things considered. Course, she'd have to share time with Lionel and that's never fun at all so driving more responsibly might indeed be her best move.

She'll worry about it later. The bullet train that is her train of thought has already gone way past that stop and has moved onto checking her voice mail. She really needs to remember to do that more often and snickers to herself when the first message on the system tells her exactly that. Dean never was much for subtle. Ah well, if she wanted subtle she'd be fucking Clark but she'll leave that to Lois and her Superman fetish. Dean's much more fun and less of a headache. He sticks around for breakfast, knows where the good coffee spots are, and cuts her in on the good stories. Besides, grimlocks make much better pillow talk than kryptonite.

It could be love. Of course, they'd both have to slow down and actually notice this fact before it counts. Which they plan to, really.

She half listens as he rambles on about whatever he's chasing this week and laughs when he throws in a little sex talk for flavor. She jokingly thinks of him as a man whore and well, he has his moments. Lucky for him she thinks it's cute. They're too far for her to swing by and pounce so she saves the message for later playback. The research he needs is dirt easy and she calls back to the Planet to arrange it. Jimmy, the saint, promises to have it ready for her by the time she reaches the Planet and Chloe doesn't doubt him. The kid works miracles sometimes, all without a cape and while wearing his underwear on the inside where it counts, and she really does need to buy him something fantastic for it. She'll ask Sam. The brothers Winchester have an inevitable habit of turning up and since he and Jimmy share certain geektastic tendencies he'll be the perfect one to ask. Precisely what she plans on if she can get it out of him before he disappears to wherever it is he goes when they visit. Honestly, for being the open one in the family he's got more secrets than the Question.

The rest of her voice mail is still waiting but Chloe tosses the phone onto the passenger's seat and turns up the radio.

Even journalists need a break.

finis