Parallel Universes and Passionate Embraces	  Parallel Universes and
Passionate Embraces

 by hurlingturtles

 I posted this at N-S.net some time ago, if you haven't read it before
then give me feedback, please!!!! 

 

  

 Chloe was sick of Clark's crap. She watched him flirt shamelessly with
Lana and wanted to dump her iced coffee right on his head. She smiled at
that mental picture. The look of utter shock she imagined on his face,
with his dark brown hair plastered to his head, delighted her to no end. 

 Oh, Clark was undeniably hot- she had to grant him that. She was a senior
and was sick of a lot of things, like school, but she was more than
anything she just sick of his crap. She deserved better than to be his
sidekick, always there to help but never getting any appreciation.
Besides, there was more to a person than a broad set of shoulders.
Personality still mattered to her, she was gradually discovering. 

 "Hi, Chloe," Lex said, making her jump. "What's up?" 

 "Eh, nothing much. Wishing for a really good story to surface." She
couldn't disguise the wistfulness in her voice. 

 Lex laughed and sat down at her table. It was weird being friends with
Lex. She never thought they'd be as great friends as they'd become. It had
started out with them making some snide comment while coincidentally being
in the same room and being amused by each other's sense of humor.
Gradually they started hanging out together. They talked to each other out
of sheer desperation for an intelligent conversationalist at first, and
then they started sincerely liking each other. 

 They weren't romantically involved, though. Lex was in love with Helen,
whom barely tolerated their friendship. Chloe, personally thought that she
was making much too big of a deal out of their friendship. Chloe didn't
really think of Lex romantically. She just refused to even consider it
because she knew he was taken. He wasn't just in a serious relationship,
he was taken taken. Though he didn't really seriously talk about his
feelings with Chloe, she knew that he loved Helen and was utterly
committed to her. 

 "What's up with you?" she asked Lex. 

 "I'm supposed to meet my Aunt Tally here today for lunch but she's not
here yet." He caught Lana's eyes and she came over. 

 Lana beamed sunnily and Chloe wanted to vomit on her apron. "How are you
today?" Lana asked. 

 "Just lovely," his voice was mildly sarcastic but he smiled. Lana didn't
notice- big shocker. "Can I just get some coffee?" 

 Lana nodded, jotting it on her little notepad. It was obviously too much
brain work for her to remember Lex Luthor wanted a simple coffee. "And do
you want a refill Chloe?" 

 "Yes, that would be great." Lana left and Chloe asked Lex, "You have an
aunt?" 

 "Yeah, on my mother's side. I haven't heard from her in years. Dad hates
her." 

 "Why?" 

 Lex grinned. "Well, she's kind of a hippy. Big into tarot cards and
Wiccan stuff. When I was really little she got into the habit of dumping
water that she blessed on him to, and I quote, `purge him of evil'. When
it didn't work she thought that dumping more water would work. My dad got
pretty sick of having buckets of water poured on him. Took her a while to
figure out that his sort of evil couldn't be washed out by water." 

 "Maybe some stain stick or Oxiclean?" she joked. 

 His grin widened. "I don't know. Might have to use bleach." 

 "Whoa! Touting out the big guns, are we?" 

 He chuckled. "Well, I figure his evilness is so set in by now you might
as well start out fresh." 

 "Hmmm. Good point." A woman wearing a long filmy skirt and peasant top
walked into the Talon. She scanned the caf, her long braided silver hair
swinging around her waist. "Is that your aunt?" 

 Lex turned around and then stood up. "Aunt Tally!" 

 Aunt Tally eyes lit up in recognition and she walked to Lex, taking him
into a fierce hug. "Lex! It's been so long! How are you?" 

 "Good. It's so great to see you! It's been years." Lex looked kind of
awkward hugging a person and Chloe was delighted to see him caught off
guard. 

 Tally peered over his shoulder and spotted Chloe. "Hello, are you Helen?"


 Chloe laughed. "No!" 

 Tally's light gray eyes narrowed and Chloe got the weird feeling that she
was trying to look into her soul. Her laughter died in her throat. "Well,
you should be," Tally said finally with a significance that had Chloe
gaping at her. Lex looked equally stunned. 

 Tally shoved something in Chloe's hands. It was a bronze medallion. It
looked ancient, spotted and scarred with age. It was a circle with it
edges smooth and in the center was a picture of an hourglass. It hung from
an old ribbon that might have been green at one point. 

 Tally stared at Chloe for so long that her stomach began to flutter
nervously. "This is yours now. It will take you to where you need to go.
Make sure to pass it on when it tells you who it wants to go to next." 

 "What? Where am I going?" Chloe just stared at the intense, serious
woman. 

 "Where you really belong. You're going soon, too." She was gazing off
into the distance. "I remember when I left. God, it was years ago." 

 "What are you talking about?" Chloe's voice rose involuntarily. 

 Tally patted her soothingly on the arm. "Don't you fret. It'll be
alright. I suggest you say goodbye to people before you leave. You could
go at any second." 

 Chloe paled. She knew Tally didn't mean it to sound that way but it
sounded like she was going to die. 

 "Lex?" She gazed up at him, bewildered. Lex looked just as perplexed and
shrugged. 

 "Well?" Tally said impatiently. She made shooing motions. "Scat!" 

 Chloe hung the medallion around her neck and left the Talon barely
realizing what she was doing. She walked to her car and climbed into it.
She sat behind the steering wheel wondering where the hell she was
supposed to go. She started her car and pulled out of the parking lot. She
began to drive home. 

 Her hands started to tremble on the way home and she thought she was
going to be sick. She took deep breathes of air, wondering what the hell
was going on. Her vision was going black. She was losing control of the
car. It swerved along the empty road, back and forth several times before
careening off road into a tree. Chloe slammed her head on the steering
wheel and lost consciousness. 

 She was falling. Everything was black but she could feel herself fall.
She wanted desperately to grab onto something, anything to stop her
plummet. 

 Finally it stopped. 

 The first thing she heard was a steady beeping and murmuring voices.
Someone was holding her hand. Then she noticed her pounding head. She felt
like her skull had been cleaved in two. She groaned. 

 "Chloe? Chloe? Can you hear me?" It was Lex. His voice sounded strained. 

 "Is she coming to?" Clarks asked from the other side of her bed. 

 "I'm going to have to ask for everyone to leave the room and let Miss
Sullivan to rest," an unfamiliar male voice said. "Well, all except her
fianc." 

 Fianc? 

 "Thank you," Lex whispered rawly. 

 Chloe lost consciousness again.  

 Chloe woke to the warm sensation of sunlight on her face. She opened her
eyes and realized that she was in a hospital. Lex was slumped in a chair
next to her, snoring softly. He looked exhausted. Chloe wondered how long
she'd been unconscious. It appeared to be dawn. 

 She struggled to sit up, but too much movement made her head hurt so she
lay back down. 

 Hearing her move, Lex woke up. A grin lit up his face. "Chloe, you're
awake! God, I was so worried." He grabbed her hand and held her knuckles
reverently to his lips. 

 A tingle shot up Chloe's arm and she jerked her hand out of his grasp in
shock. What was he doing? 

 Lex's eyebrows furrowed and he frowned. He determinedly grabbed her hand
again. "What's wrong?" He paused as if struggling for the right words.
"You've been so distant lately. Whatever I've done, I'll change, make it
better. Just talk to me. Don't shut me out." 

 "What are you talking about?" She stared at him, wide-eyed. 

 "I feel like you've been avoiding me lately." 

 "No, I haven't!" 

 Lex smiled. "You haven't? I'm glad. I'm taking some time off. I think we
need to work out some of our issues." 

 "We have issues?" She was really confused. 

 "We won't soon. When I heard you'd been in an accident, I'd never been
more scared in my life. I can't imagine living in a world without you in
it." He kissed her fingertips gently and at the little jolt of awareness
she wretched her hand away again. This time Lex didn't grab her hand. He
just gazed at her, looking unspeakably sad. "There it is again. Don't you
like it when I touch you anymore?" 

 "What are you talking about?" Her head was starting to hurt again. 

 "It's been weeks since we last made love." Chloe gasped quietly but Lex
didn't notice. He continued in a low, intense voice that made her skin
tingle, "I ache for you. When I should be concentrating on work all I
think about is your legs wrapped around my waist as I bury myself in you.
When I'm in meetings I wonder where you are and what you're wearing. I
don't know how much longer I can stand celibacy. I need you." 

 "Are you insane?" she asked and then cringed at the hurt expression on
his face. 

 "Maybe I am." His expression was bitter. 

 The pain that Chloe felt by hurting him took her by surprise. She had no
idea what he was talking about but she hesitantly reached out and touched
his hand. Lex held her hand again and the expression on his face relaxed a
bit. 

 "I don't think you're insane," she told him. "I think I'm the nuts one."
And that was the truth. She wondered if she was still unconscious and
imaging everything. 

 Lex smiled. 

 Suddenly overwhelmed with exhaustion, she tried to suppress a yawn. Lex
stood up. "I'd better let you rest. I'm going go home and sleep for a
couple hours, myself. When I get back you better still be asleep, getting
better." He paused at the door and turned around. "I love you, Chloe." He
left quickly, almost as if afraid of what she would say. 

 Though stunned by his declaration, she fell quickly asleep. She woke late
that afternoon. Lex was sitting by her bed again, watching her. She wasn't
surprised. She knew that she should be unnerved by the realization that
he'd been staring at her when she slept. Instead, she felt flattered and
safe. 

 "When am I going to be able to leave the hospital?" she asked him. 

 "Not for at least another day. Doctor Swardson said that he's going to
check in later and see how you're doing. You might be coming home
tomorrow. Besides your mild concussion, you just have some scrapes and
bruises. Thank God. It could have been worse. Why did you crash?" 

 Chloe didn't want to be in the hospital any longer than she had to be so
she told him a deer ran across the road and she swerved to miss it. 

 Something caught her eye. She looked over at the bedside table. Sitting
on the glossy table was the beat up medallion. 

 "Oh, yeah. Where did you get that?" Lex asked. "You were wearing that
during the accident." 

 "Aunt Tally." 

 Lex looked bewildered. "Aunt Tally is in town? Why hasn't she seen me?
It's been years since I've seen her! Why have you seen her and not me?" 

 Chloe frowned. What was going on? How could Lex not have seen her? Why
did Lex say he loved her? Nothing was making any sense. 

 "Because your Dad doesn't like her?" she guessed. 

 "Yeah. He's been sued so many times he's not too fond of lawyers,
especially ones as respectable and resolute as she is. He doesn't like the
fact that she's not corruptible." Lex smirked. 

 "Wait. She's a lawyer? I thought she was a hippy." 

 Lex laughed. "Aunt Tally? Are joking? Her entire wardrobe consists of
pantsuits." 

 "Hmmm. So, you're saying she's not into magic or mysticism?" 

 "Um, yeah that's what I'm saying." He was still grinning at the thought.
"Are you sure you got the medallion from my aunt?" 

 Damn right she was. But she said, "Um, maybe I heard her wrong. Maybe she
said her name was Sally." 

 "So some strange hippy woman named Sally randomly gave you a medallion
and you took it?" Lex arched one eyebrow skeptically, a smile still on his
lips. 

 "Yeah, so I did. Why shouldn't I have? It's just a hunk of ugly metal!"
she said defensively, folding her blanket across her lap and trying not to
make eye contact with him. She didn't want to burst out laughing and blow
her cover. 

 "It is Smallville, Chloe. You know better than anyone how odd it is
here," Lex reminded her. "I wouldn't trust any odd stranger. Who knows
what could be wrong with him or her." 

 "Yeah, yeah," she grumbled petulantly. 

 Lex smiled and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. Chloe started in
surprise but Lex either decided not to comment on it or didn't notice.
"Sorry for the lecture. I just don't want you to get hurt," he said
warmly. 

 Chloe could feel a blush warm her cheeks and Lex chuckled in delight. "I
haven't seen you do that for some time." 

 "Yeah, well, don't have a heart attack about it." She toyed with her
blanket some more. 

 "I'll try to contain myself." 

 "I'm sure you will," Chloe returned, attempting to be mildly sarcastic
but still unnerved by her strange reaction to Lex. 

 Someone knocked on the door. 

 "Come in," Chloe called. 

 A doctor came in. He was quite handsome, the kind of doctor that you
think you'd only see on TV. He smiled at her. "You look much better today,
Miss Sullivan." 

 "I feel much better." 

 He checked her pulse and held a stethoscope to her chest as he asked her
all sorts of questions. "Well," he said after a while, "I just want to run
a few more x-rays and maybe a CAT scan to make sure everything is all
right. If it is you'll be able to leave tomorrow." 

 "Great," she said. 

 "Make sure you make her take it easy over the next few days and call me
if anything is wrong," the doctor told Lex. 

 Lex nodded. "She won't lift a finger. I'll make her stay in bed." His
eyes were heated as he looked on her and a shiver ran through Chloe. 

 As the doctor left the room Clark walked in. 

 "Chloe! How are you feeling?" he asked and rushed to her bed. Chloe was
glad she didn't have a crush on him or she might have given more meaning
to his concern than was actually there. 

 "Pretty good considering I crashed into a tree," she said wryly. 

 Clark attempted a feeble smile. He glanced at Lex, and his smile faded.
"Can I speak with you alone for a minute?" he asked her though he was
looking at Lex. "Sure, I guess so." She looked at Lex, who sighed in
resignation and left. 

 Clark knelt and buried his head in her lap. 

 "Clark!" she protested in shock. 

 He lifted his head and looked up at her. "Sorry. I was just so afraid you
were going to die. Your accident has made me realize that life is short. I
can't just keep quiet about my feelings for you." 

 "Your what?!" 

 "I love you. God, everybody knows. Tell me if there's any chance that you
might someday feel the same way." 

 "You must be joking. What about Lana?" 

 Clark looked confused. "What about her? Lana is beautiful, yeah, but
she's a lesbian. She came out a couple years ago. Are you sure you're
feeling all right?" 

 "She's a what?!" A gurgle of hysterical laughter bubbled in her throat.
She had to be dreaming. Nothing that funny could be true. She decided to
milk her dream for all it was worth. "So you're with..." 

 "No one. I've been in love with you for years, though." 

 Please. And pigs can fly. "And Lana is a lesbian. Who's Pete with?" 

 "Huh? Pete moved away years ago. He joined a biker gang and skipped town.
He sent me a post card from Tennessee last week." 

 Chloe laughed. This was too good. "What about Helen?" 

 Clark gave her a worried look. "I think they need to do some more tests
on you. Are you sure you don't have amnesia?" 

 "I'm fine," she said impatiently. "I'm just trying to reorient myself.
What about Helen?" 

 "Helen is a lesbian, too. She and Lana have been dating the past year
now." 

 "And Lex is with..." 

 "You, duh! You just got engaged. I'm going to go get a doctor." He stood
up. 

 "No!" she ordered and Clark paused. "Sorry if I'm freaking you out, I'm
just making sure nothing changed while I've been unconscious." 

 "You've only been unconscious for a day." 

 "Yeah, well, you never know. Now, I thought I heard you wrong. You're
saying that Lex and I are engaged?" 

 He nodded. "And you've been living together since your dad went off to
search for your mom a year ago." 

 Chloe sat back in her bed, completely floored. Clark reached out and
grabbed her hand in concern. Chloe barely noticed. Her dad was gone. She
and Lex were engaged. What was going here? It felt like she'd woken up in
another world. She gazed back at the medallion on the bedside table.
Tally's words echoed in her head. "It will take you were you need to
go...where you really belong." A chill swept through her as an impossible
idea came to her. No, it couldn't be. But it made a strange sort of sense.


 She was in another dimension.	

 Lex walked back into her room and his eyes narrowed upon seeing their
clasped hands. "Back," he announced coolly. 

 Chloe removed her hand from Clark's, feeling absurdly guilty even though
she hadn't been doing anything wrong. An uncomfortable silence settled
over the room. When Clark left, telling her to call him, she nearly sagged
in relief. 

 "What is it?" she asked Lex exasperatedly after several tense moments. 

 "Are you having an affair with Kent?" he asked, a vein was popping out on
his forehead. He did not look happy. 

 Chloe sighed. "God, no. I'm not interested in him anymore." 

 "Anymore?" He scowled. "You mean you used to?" 

 She rolled her eyes. It was so weird having Lex all possessive over her.
At the same time she wanted to smile and give him a hug, she was so
flattered. 

 "Once upon a time," she admitted. "Not anymore." 

 "Prove it." 

 "What? How?" 

 He knelt down beside her bed, his face alarmingly close to hers. "Kiss
me, Chloe. Show me you still care about me." His eyes roamed across her
face as if searching for some hint of her feelings. 

 Kiss Lex Luthor? For some reason the idea wasn't as shocking as it had
once been. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more intriguing she
found it. What could it possibly hurt to kiss him? It might even be fun. 

 She lowered her head to his and watched his eyelids lower as she covered
his lips with hers. It was a soft, gentle kiss- barely a kiss at all.
Nonetheless, it still sent shivers of delight through her body. 

 Lex deepened the kiss, increasing the pressure on her lips. He brought
his hands up to stroke her blond hair. It was beginning to feel much
warmer in the room. Chloe gasped at the feel of Lex's tongue on her lips,
trying to seek entrance. He seized the opportunity and delved into her
mouth. 

 Without quite being aware of it, Chloe found herself responding to Lex's
kiss with an enthusiasm that she never knew she was capable of. She barely
recognized the moan she heard as her own. She teased Lex's tongue with her
own and he returned with the same. A fire blazed between her legs and all
she wanted was Lex's body on top of hers. 

 His hands fell to her shoulders. Then he lowered one hand to squeeze one
of her breasts. Chloe jumped a mile at the spark of electricity that shot
through her at the feeling. She pulled herself from his arms. They
separated, panting and staring at each other in amazement. 

 Chloe licked her lips, still tasting Lex's mouth on hers. Lex followed
the motion of her tongue intently. "That was..."she began. 

 "Incredible," Lex finished. "You know, you taste even better than I
remember. Your lips drive me even more insane than they used to." He
sounded a bit bewildered. "It must be true- absence does make the heart
grow fonder." 

 Chloe pulled down Lex's head for another kiss but Lex resisted. "Chloe
were in a hospital, we shouldn't be doing this." 

 Chloe grinned. "So? Does the door lock?" she asked impishly. She wanted
to see where this inexplicable attraction led them. 

 Lex stood up. "You need to rest. I should go." But he wasn't moving and
there was no mistaking the prominent bulge in his pants. 

 Chloe gave his pants a pointed look. "It doesn't look like you want to
go." She didn't recall Lex being so noble in her dimension. It was
frustrating. 

 A smile tugged at his lips and he adjusted his pants slightly. "Yeah,
well. Someone has to look out for you. Alas, that someone just happens to
be me. I can't be mauling a hospital patient. I can see the paper
headlines now: `Crash Survivor Molested by Horny Billionaire'." 

 Chloe grinned. "I don't know. Sounds like Times material to me." 

 "Hmmm, perhaps. Well, I have to take care of some business anyway.
Hopefully you'll be coming home with me tomorrow." Bent down to give her a
quick kiss. His eyes were warm with emotion. "I can't wait to get you back
in my bed again." 

 Chloe flushed and Lex laughed. When he left he seemed to suck the life
right out of the room. She sighed and glanced at the medallion again. She
wondered how it had transported her to this dimension. Had she done
something to trigger it and hadn't realized it? And if she was transported
here, did that mean that the Chloe from here was to her dimension? It
must, she supposed. There was an Aunt Tally in both dimensions. She
wondered what the other Chloe was like. 

 Chloe sighed. She supposed that she should be trying to figure out how to
get back to her dimension. As much as she liked this one, it wasn't her
home. She'd miss making out with Lex, she admitted regretfully. It still
didn't feel real, though- being engaged to him. Everything felt like a
dream that she just knew was going to end at any moment. 

 Dr. Swardson came in at that moment. "Test time," he announced
cheerfully. 

 She sighed again. Yippy. 

 Chloe passed the tests with flying colors, which surprised her. She was
almost expecting him to announce that she had some sort a brain tumor or
something. That would make more sense than being stuck in another
dimension. 

 Lana and Helen also dropped by. It was strange, though utterly
hysterical. They walked through the door holding hands. Helen's hair was
cropped very close to her head and she had a nose ring while Lana looked
basically the same. It was obvious who wore the pants in that
relationship. Lana was all girly concern and Helen was as aloof as ever.
Talking to them was a struggle because the whole time Chloe was trying to
stifle her laughter. 

 "So, how's Lex handling things?" Lana asked. "He was a fright when you
were unconscious. Wouldn't leave your bedside. The nurses were talking
about wheeling in an extra bed. He kept pacing. I personally thought the
nurses should slip him some sort of tranquilizers-" 

 Helen rolled her eyes. "Lana, shut up. It wasn't that bad. Sure, he was
stressing and worried to death but he didn't need to be medicated. Lana's
exaggerating things again, don't mind her," she told Chloe. 

 Lana pouted. "You are so mean sometimes, Helen." 

 Helen sighed and muttered something about needing a cigarette. She pulled
Lana into her arms. "Sorry, hun. I just didn't want you making Chloe
worry." She kissed her. "You do go overboard with things sometimes. I
don't mind it you know, especially if it's in bed," she said suggestively.


 Chloe slapped one hand over her mouth in a desperate attempt not to
laugh. She didn't want to know what exactly Helen meant by that. They did
look kind of cute as a couple, though. As soon as they left Chloe exploded
into laughter. She was so loud a nearby nurse popped her head in to check
on her. 

 Lex took Chloe to the mansion the next day. The tension between them as
they rode in the car was nearly unbearable. The kiss between them plagued
both of their thoughts. Chloe wondered when they would kiss again. She
figured that she might as well explore this attraction between them as
long as she was in this dimension. In her mind, there was no question that
she would figure out how to get back to her own dimension at some point. 

 As they drove up the driveway to the mansion Chloe's mouth fell open.
"It's a southern plantation!!" It was a beautiful huge white house with a
front yard with size of a football field. Trees with lovely white flowers
lined the driveway, scattering delicate petals across the pavement. 

 Lex gave her an odd look. "Of course it is." 

 "But what about the castle?" 

 Lex's brows were furrowed in confusion. "What castle? My ancestors were
plantation owners, I'm sorry to say. They owned thousands of slaves at one
point. My dad, being the bastard that he is, is rather proud of our
ancestry. That house is hundreds of years old and has never left the
family. If had been my decision, I'd tear down the house and rebuild from
scratch. I don't know why I'm telling you this again. You already know
this. We've talked about moving a million times." 

 "I don't mind the refresher. In fact, I think I'm gonna need refreshers
about a ton of more stuff." 

 Lex pulled up to the mansion and tossed the keys to his sports car to
some man Chloe didn't recognize. Then she realized Lex probably had valet
at his own house. It was disgusting how the rich lived sometimes. 

 He went around to Chloe's door and opened it for her. He lifted her
effortlessly out of the car. 

 "Hey! I can walk, you know. I whacked my head, not my legs," she
protested. In fact, she felt fine. Her head hardly hurt at all anymore. 

 Lex ignored her. He brought her inside. "You know, if we were married I'd
be carrying you across the threshold right now." 

 "You still are. Of course since we're not married it lacks the same
significance." 

 Lex sighed. "You can be really unromantic sometimes." 

 He carried her up the stairs and into a bedroom. It was a very masculine
bedroom, decked out in blues and grays, but Chloe didn't mind. Lex dropped
her on the king-sized bed and pulled off her shoes and pants before she
knew what was happening. 

 "Hungry? I'll go get you some lunch." Lex turned to leave. 

 "Hey! Wait!" 

 Lex froze and turned to face her, his face carefully devoid of any
expression. However, she noticed the way his eyes flickered over her bare
legs. 

 "I'm not hungry," she told him. 

 "Oh." He looked almost disappointed. 

 "At least not for food," she said meaningfully and patted the bed.  

 Lex's eyes widened at her proposition. "You're supposed to be resting,"
he said regretfully. 

 "I feel fine." 

 "But what if you're not?" 

 "Look, just trust me ok?" She patted the bed again. 

 A smile bloomed on Lex's face and Chloe grinned. Lex walked over to the
bed. He gazed down at her for several moments. "Are you absolutely sure? I
don't want you to get hurt or anything. This is your last chance to back
out." 

 As an answer Chloe sat up on her knees and began unbuttoning Lex's shirt.
He didn't stir as she slipped each button through its hole, he just
watched her remove his shirt. It fell on the floor and Chloe stared at his
chest for a minute. His skin was smooth and fair. He wasn't obscenely
muscular, which Chloe appreciated, but more sinewy and lean. She swept her
hands slowly across his warm chest. Unable to resist her tongue darted out
to tease one of his nipples. Lex drew in a long ragged breath. She cupped
his rock-hard erection through his tailored pants. 

 Lex groaned and hauled Chloe into his arms. "You're such a tease," he
growled. He ground his lips into Chloe's. Her knees weakened and she sat
back on her heels, dragging an all too willing Lex with her. 

 The weight of Lex's body on hers was giddily thrilling. His hands roamed
all over her body, one minute grasping her ass to grind it against the
long shaft of his erection and the next fondling her breasts through her
shirt. Suddenly, he pulled off her shirt and tossed it across the room. He
gazed appreciatively at the sight of her breasts, clad in a black lace
bra. 

 Feeling slightly self-conscious an embarrassed blush bloomed across her
face and down her neck to her chest. Lex laughed again, a deep insanely
erotic chuckle that had Chloe wanting to squirm restlessly under him. Lex
sobered up and gazed at her seriously. "You know, you seem different than
before the accident," he told her. 

 "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" she asked, unbuttoning his pants. 

 Lex drew in a deep, shuddery breath. "Good. God, yes, a good thing." 

 Chloe unzipped his pants and Lex quickly threw them off along with his
shoes. Now all that separated them from mind-blowing ecstasy were a couple
bits of cloth. Lex buried his face in her soft neck, stroking her racing
pulse with his tongue. Chloe gasped at the sensation and hugged him
tighter to her body. She wrapped her legs around his waist and rubbed the
damp crotch of her underwear against his throbbing manhood. 

 "Holy Jesus," Lex rasped and shuddered. 

 He yanked off Chloe's bra and underwear before she quite knew what he was
doing. He rained kisses down her body, pausing to give lavish attention to
her breasts. His scraped his teeth on the soft tender skin under her
breasts and Chloe arched into him at the feeling. It was difficult to
breath now, she was struggling for oxygen. He drew each of her nipples
into his mouth, savoring them like exquisite treats made for solely his
enjoyment. Chloe held his head to her body, lightly scraping the back of
his head with her blunt nails. Then Lex parted her legs, sweeping his
hands up her quivering thighs. He toyed with the blond curls for a moment
before parting the wet folds of her most intimate of regions. He rubbed
the hard little nub of her clitoris and Chloe moaned, nearly climaxing
right there. Bright lights behind her eyelids dazzled her. 

 "Lex!" she yelped. 

 "Hmm?" he said, busy paying tender care to each hipbone. 

 She rose and pushed him onto his back. "That's enough foreplay for me." 

 His eyes were hooded, luminous with anticipation. "Is it?" he asked. 

 "Yes, for me anyway." 

 She kissed him deeply and nibbled at his lips while running her nails
across his chest. Finally, she cupped his sensitive balls in her hands and
his hips jerked. One hand grasped the base of his shaft and he groaned. 

 She paused. "Should I stop?" she asked mischievously. 

 "Don't you dare," he ordered. 

 She lightly traced the prominent veins of his erection before rubbing his
pre-cum around the head of his cock. Lex squeezed his eyes shut. His chest
was heaving violently. 

 "Chloe!" he pleaded, without specifying what exactly he was begging for. 

 "Yes? What? What do you want?" God, she adored teasing him. She felt like
a different person in this dimension, like a bold temptress whose sole
purpose was to drive Lex out of his mind with passion. And she couldn't
say she minded the feeling. "Is it this?" she asked. Her little pink
tongue darted out to lap up a bit of his pre-cum. It was salty, and not at
all unpleasant. 

 "That's it," Lex pronounced and seized her hips. He lowered her on his
up-thrust and eager cock. He hissed as her heat enveloped him and she
closed her eyes, throwing back her head. 

 Fully impaled, a quiet but intense scream escaped from Chloe's lips as
she climaxed immediately. Once the roaring in her ears subsided she
realized that Lex was still hard inside of her. She undulated against his
hips, feeling raw with need once again. She rose and lowered her self
slowly on Lex. 

 "Oh, God. Chloe," he whispered. He thrust up into her and the world
teetered on its axis. "I can't take it for much longer," he growled and
suddenly flipped her onto her back. He gazed down at her as he plunged
into her again in one long, deep thrust. Her fingers dug into his back.
She lowered her eyelids as his increased the pace of his thrusts. 

 "No, look at me," he ordered. "I want to see you when you cum for me." 

 It was a struggle to keep her eyes open, but she did. They stared at each
other, eyes glazed over with lust, seeing but totally absorbed in the
fireworks erupting between their rocking bodies. Chloe's world shrank and
shrank until it was completely focused on the rhythm between the two of
them. Her entire body was tense as her climax built again. Higher and
higher she flew until with a shriek of staggering, euphoric shock she was
flung to the heavens. A loud groan clawed its way up Lex's throat as he
came and collapsed on her. 

 They both lay panting in each other's arm for several long moments. Lex
rolled off her, pulling her still joined body on top of his again so that
he didn't suffocate her. He kissed her softly and closed his eyes. Chloe
was falling rapidly asleep herself. 

 "I love you, Chloe," she thought she heard him say as she drifted off
into exhausted sleep. 

 It was a quarter after seven by the time she woke up. She blindly reached
out across the bed but Lex was gone. Confused, she sat up. 

 Lex walked into the room fully clothed again and, seeing her awake,
grinned. "How's my little sex bunny feeling?" He sat on the bed. 

 Chloe fell back in bead, throwing the sheet over her bed. "I can't
believe you just said that," she said, mortified. 

 Lex laughed. "Well, I guess I'll have to say it more often then." 

 Chloe peeked out from the sheet. "Do I have to be a sex bunny? Can't I be
something cool like a tiger of panther or something?" 

 "But tiger doesn't have the same ring to it. Besides, a tiger isn't as
cute." He reached under the sheet and gave one of her ankles a playful
little squeeze. 

 "What about a kitten? Kittens are cute." 

 He sighed exaggeratedly. "I suppose I could compromise with kitten. It'll
be tough but I think I can do it." He paused and switched topics. "So, I
was thinking about it and I think we should get married as soon as
possible. I'm sick of waiting. Let's get married next week. What do you
think?" 

 Chloe's mouth fell open. "Next week?! We can't get married next week!"
Lex scowled. "Why not?" 

 She couldn't very well say that she didn't know if she could figure out
how to get back to her own dimension by next week. The thought of never
having sex with Lex again was painful, to say the least. A little part of
her screamed in protest at the mere thought, and that shook her to the
core. She was beginning to care far too much for Lex, and she couldn't
have that. Lex loved the other Chloe, not her. Falling in love with Lex
would only get her hurt in the end when he realized she wasn't the woman
he had proposed to. No, she resolved not to even think of love in relation
to Lex. 

 She also didn't like the fact that the Chloe from this dimension didn't
have any choice of whether or not she wanted to switch. The other Chloe
must be even more confused than she was. It wasn't fair to her. She wanted
to ignore his line of thought, too. She wanted to pretend that there
wasn't another Chloe in her dimension probably wondering if she was
insane. It felt like if she could convince herself that another Chloe
didn't exist then there was the possibility that she could stay in this
dimension forever. She tried not to dwell too long on that thought,
either. 

 "Well," she answered Lex, "it's too soon. We can't possibly have
everything planned out by then." She felt guilty, as if she was lying to
him, and she hated it. 

 "Who cares? We both want a small wedding anyway. I also am a billionaire,
don't forget. You'd be amazed at what huge wads of cash will accomplish." 

 "I'm sure," she said dryly. "Look, I'm just not ready yet." 

 The expression on Lex's face was stiff. "When will you be ready then?" 

 "When I am. Geez, will you get off my case already?" As soon as she said
the words, she wanted to take them back. 

 Lex stood up and shoved his hands in his pants pockets. "Do even want to
marry me anymore?" he asked. 

 Chloe hesitated. What should she say? What should she say? She was so
confused. Part of her wanted to shout "hell, yes!" and leap into his arms.
What would other Chloe want her to do? It was, after all, her life she was
toying with. 

 "Well... I believe in total honesty between two people who care about
each other and-" 

 "You found out, didn't you?" Lex said, lowering himself to sit on the bed
again. He looked shell-shocked. "I've tried to hide it for so long. It all
makes sense now, why you've been so distant from me. How did you find
out?" 

 Chloe just stared at him. "Uhhh...how stupid do you think I am? You
didn't think I'd find out?" she asked, pretending to know what he was
talking about. "I was going to tell you, I swear. I just wanted to wait
until the right time." He was deathly pale. He attempted a weak smile.
"I'd hope you'd be married to me already by the time you found out what I
am." 

 "You were going to wait until we were married before you told me you were
a..." she prompted.  

 "What I don't get," Lex continued, starting out bewildered and growing
steadily more and more livid, "is why you made love to me if you knew I
was a freak of nature. Did you want to double-check and make sure having
sex with a freak would feel the same as with someone totally human? Well,
let me tell you- it's not. I've been holding back." 

 Chloe's jaw dropped and she sat there, naked under the silk sheet, and
simply stared at him uncomprehendingly. Her mind furiously worked to
process what he had just said, but she could quite wrap her mind around
it. 

 "Freak? What do you mean?" 

 "What else would you call-" Lex grew very still suddenly. He looked at
Chloe taking in her pale, shocked face. "Holy fuck. You didn't know about
that, did you?" 

 "I still don't, really. Explain it to me." 

 "Well, what do you know about me then?" 

 "Nothing," she admitted, feeling a bit guilty. "I just said I did to make
you spill your guts." 

 "Well, then why did you say there should be honesty between couple-" 

 "Lex!" She wanted to scream in frustration. "Stop avoiding me. What did
you mean you're a freak?" 

 Lex shifted uneasily on his feet. He gazed at Chloe as if trying to gage
how she'd react to his revelation. His eyes fell and he moved to the
bedroom window. He gazed unseeingly out the pane of glass and cleared his
throat. "Well," he began slowly. "Everything changed the day of the meteor
shower, as you well know. It's hard, damn near impossible, to find anyone
in Smallville who hasn't been affected by it. It just so happens that I've
been affected more than most." He motioned to his bald head. "If you think
that losing my hair was the only way I changed that day then you're
incredibly nave or just plain dense." 

 Chloe frowned faintly. She wasn't sure if she should feel incredibly
insulted by that remark. Seeing how edgy he was about telling her his
secret, she decided to let him off the hook. 

 Lex turned around to face her again and attempted a harsh, unpleasant
sounding laugh. "Well, that day I traded my hair for psychic powers." 

 "What? You've got to be joking. What kind of powers? Can you read my
mind? What am I thinking right now then?" She sat up in bed excitedly and
the sheet fell off her. Lex drew in a sharp breath at the sight of her
bare flesh. Chloe yanked up the sheet again with an embarrassed blush. 

 "They don't work that way. I haven't actually been able to explore my
powers fully. I have pretty much free reign with idiots and weak-willed
people. I can read their minds, even control them to some extent. I can
plant thoughts, erase memories." Lex shrugged. "Altering thoughts or
catching the merest glimpses into the minds of others has helped me again
and again in my business dealings." 

 "Jesus Christ," Chloe paled again. The concept that Lex could just mess
with people's minds like that was somewhat horrifying. How much had he
tinkered around with her brain and she didn't even know it? 

 Lex flinched at the expression on her face. "I'm usually very careful to
control my powers. I don't take advantage of people. Besides, my abilities
don't work on intelligent, strong-willed people unless they consciously
let me. However, once you invite me in, you can't invite me out and
pretend you never did in the first place. I have never touched your mind,
Chloe." 

 "Never?" she said incredulously. 

 Lex rubbed the back of his neck wearily. "Don't get me wrong. There were
times that I sure wished I could. But reading your thoughts would mean I
would have to tell you about my abilities." 

 "Why do you keep your powers a secret?" 

 "Are you joking? Everyone would treat me differently if they knew. I'm
already ostracized enough being a bald billionaire. No one would ever do
business with me if they knew about my abilities. My own father would most
likely gladly donate me to science. I'd be his little lab-rat son. I don't
know about you, but sounds like fun to me," he said sarcastically. 

 "Why didn't you tell me about them?" she asked. "It seems like a pretty
big secret to keep from you fiance." 

 Lex was silent for a long moment. "I was afraid to. I wanted to figure
out a way to tell you without having you freak out. What I preferably
wanted was for you to gradually get used to the idea that you were engaged
to a man with telepathic abilities. I didn't want to spring them on you
like I am now." 

 "I don't want to sound like an bitch, but I don't think there's anyway
you can gradually tell anyone something like this," she told him. 

 He sat on the bed again. "Look, I'm sorry." He reached out to pat one of
her legs consolingly. Chloe jerked away from his touch without quite
knowing why she did. Lex froze. An onslaught of emotions flickered in his
eyes until he lowered his eyelids. When he spoke his voice was
heart-breakingly bleak. "I didn't want you to treat me differently, think
less of me. The thing that terrified me the most was the possibility that
I could lose your love." 

 Then he stood up and left the room before she could so much as open her
mouth in response. She stood up to run after him but her head throbbed in
protest at the sudden moment and she sat back down on the bed. Then she
realized that she was naked and threw on some clothes. By the time she
made it downstairs the butler told her that Lex had driven off somewhere. 

 She slowly walked upstairs and back to the bedroom, feeling very tired.
She fell into the bed, clothes and all and drifted off to sleep again. 

 Lex didn't come home until late that night and he slept in another room.
She didn't see him at all the next day either or the day after that. He
was obviously avoiding her. At first she was oddly relieved that he wasn't
around. She needed to think on what he'd said, sort out her muddled
feelings. However, his absence by the end of the week began of deeply
trouble her. The house felt even more huge and empty without him in it.
She wandered aimlessly down the halls, wondering if he was hiding in one
of the dozens of rooms. She managed to discover which room he was sleeping
at night- it was the one with the only other unmade bed in the house. She
also became more and more convinced that she didn't belong here, in this
dimension. She just wanted everything to go back to normal, where she
could pretend that she didn't feel anything for Lex. Maybe once in her
dimension she could make it through a day without missing him, yearning
for his touch. 

 In the middle of the second week of Lex's disappearance Chloe got a visit
from none other than Aunt Tally. 

 She'd been in the library when the butler announced her presence and
showed her in. It was utterly shocking to see Aunt Tally in a dark blue
tailored pantsuit. Her silvery gray hair wasn't long and braided either.
It was shoulder length, and obviously meticulously groomed. The Tally that
Chloe had first met walked rather languidly, as if nothing could possibly
trouble her, while this one had a confident stride that ate up the ground.


 "Hello, Chloe. I'm only dropping by for a minute. I have to run to a
trial. How are things?" she asked. 

 It was obvious that other Tally had met her, well actually other Chloe,
before. 

 "Um, ok," she answered uncertainly. 

 Tally spotted the medallion sitting on the table near Chloe. "Anything
happen yet?" she asked. 

 Chloe's eyes widened a bit as she realized what Tally must be asking.
"Wait a minute! You know about the dimension switching thing?" 

 A grin spread across Tally's face. "I'll take that as a yes. I gave the
Chloe from this dimension that medallion." 

 "You mean this isn't mine?" 

 "No. The medallion itself doesn't switch dimensions." 

 "How much do you know about it?" Chloe asked, utterly fascinated. 

 "I did a lot of research on it when I was given it. Apparently it's some
ancient Celtic relic. They used it to commune with spirits, but they were
really contacting other dimensions and didn't know it. When people came
back confused and different they just said that it was the influence of
the spirits. Anyway, apparently when a person gets a hold of the medallion
in at least one other dimension their other self gets it too. Then, if
neither of them feels particularly attached to their dimension, or if one
is really unhappy then you get switched." 

 "So, is there anyway to switch back?" Chloe asked. 

 Tally frowned. "Why do you want to switch back? No one gets switched to a
dimension they can't stand, from what I've read." 

 Chloe sighed. "It's complicated." 

 "It's Lex, isn't it? Does he know?" Tally questioned. 

 "No." 

 Tally took a scrap of paper form her purse and scrawled on it. "Here's my
cell number. You tell Lex everything and if you still want to return to
your dimension then I'll tell you how to switch. Deal?" 

 Chloe took the piece of paper from her hand and nodded. "Deal."  

 Chloe hid in the closet of the room that she knew Lex was sleeping in and
waited for him. She kept her breathing as silent as humanly possible and
moved only when she thought she was going to go nuts if she didn't. Hours
seemed to tick by with only Lex's suits to keep her company. She sat on
the floor and leaned against the wall. She started to drift off to sleep
when she heard the bedroom door open and close. 

 She jumped to her feet and burst out of the closet. "Lex!" 

 "Holy fuck!" he swore, jumping a mile. "Chloe! What the hell do you think
are you doing in my closet?" 

 Chloe put one hand on her hip. "It's the only way I could get to you.
You've been avoiding me, or have you forgotten?" 

 He shrugged off his coat and sighed. "I was being considerate and wanted
to give you a little space." 

 "A little?" she scoffed. 

 "Look, what do you want?" He hung up his coat and sat down on the bed to
take off his shoes. 

 "You told me your secret," she hesitated, feeling queasy with
apprehension. "Now, I want to tell you mine." Lex simply raised an eyebrow
and waited for her to continue. "You see, I'm not actually the Chloe you
think I am." 

 "What do you mean?" 

 "I'm not from this dimension. I switched minds with the Chloe from this
dimension. Well, actually this medallion switched me." She showed Lex the
medallion. 

 A smile tugged at Lex's lips. "You're from another dimension?" 

 "I'm totally serious. Okay, ask me something that only the Chloe you were
engaged would know." 

 "Yeah, but then you'll just fake an answer," he argued logically. His
eyes were still bright with amusement. 

 Chloe threw her arms up exasperatedly. "Look, I'm not joking around. What
do I have to do to prove it to you?" An idea struck her. "Okay, then read
my mind and see if I'm kidding or crazy or whatever." 

 Lex just looked at her. "Are you serious?" 

 "Yes. Tell me what to do and I'll let you." 

 "You trust me enough to let me read your mind?" He sounded amazed.
"Remember that once you let me in, I can come in anytime after that." 

 "Yes, but you realize that people need to keep some thoughts private,
right?" 

 Lex nodded. "There are some things that people think that are better left
unsaid." 

 "Right. Well, I trust you not to invade by brain all the time. I expect
to be asked unless there's some kind of emergency. And I seriously doubt
you'll try to use some kind of mind control on me." 

 "Of course not." A grin slowly lit up Lex's face. He nearly beamed with
joy. "You have no idea what your trusting me means to me." 

 "Yeah, well," Chloe mumbled, slightly embarrassed. "Let's just get on
with it, okay? What do I have to do?" 

 "Sit down and relax." He patted the bed beside him. 

 She sat down next to him, acutely aware of the body heat emanating from
his body. "Okay, now what?" 

 "I said relax," Lex teased lightly. "I'm not your enemy, remember that.
Try to keep your mind blank. Don't think of anything. Try mediating. When
I think you're relaxed I'll try to read your mind, okay?" 

 She nodded and closed her eyes. She was tense, waiting for the moment.
The last word that Chloe would use to describe herself was mellow and she
knew it. She hoped that she was able to relax enough. Deciding it was
uncomfortable sitting she scooted back on the bed and laid down. She felt
Lex move on the bed and lay down next to her. She took several deep
breaths of air and concentrated on feeling nothing. It took a while but,
without quite knowing when, it stopped being so hard and it became
natural. 

 "I'm in," Lex whispered. 

 Chloe's eyes snapped open. "Are you still in?" 

 "Yes." 

 "I don't feel you." 

 You're not supposed to His voice came from inside her head. Chloe jumped
a little, unnerved by the sensation of hearing something without using her
ears. 

 "Sorry," Lex said out loud. "I was showing off," he admitted. 

 "Well?" she asked. "Do you know I'm telling the truth?" 

 Lex was silent for several moments. She glanced at him on the bed. He was
looking blindly up at the ceiling. 

 He turned his head to stare at her. "Yes, you're telling the truth.
You're from a different dimension." 

 Suddenly she was afraid of what Lex must be seeing inside her head. Was
he discovering a person that he didn't like? Was she someone he could
never love? She wanted to escape, return to her dimension before she
discovered an answer to those questions. Her feelings for Lex terrified
her. Resisting the impulse to get up and run from the room was damn near
impossible. 

 Lex touched one of her cheeks lightly. His lips followed his hand, a mere
brush of his mouth to her skin. Chloe's heart leapt at that slight touch
and she turned toward his mouth helplessly. She smothered his lips with
hers, savoring the kiss as if it were her last. Lex folded her into his
arms pressing her body against his, deepening their kiss. At last, they
tore their lips from each other gasping for air. 

 "God, Chloe," Lex rasped. She couldn't tell if he was praising her or
chastising her. 

 He drew her in for another, electrifying kiss. Moist heat pooled between
her legs and she rubbed restlessly against the erection growing in his
pants. 

 Suddenly the world tilted on its axis and she gasped. She stopped being
merely Chloe Sullivan. She could feel Lex's passion, too. The combined
lust was almost too much for her. 

 "It's my powers," Lex explained as he nuzzled her neck. "You make them go
insane." 

 Chloe shuddered. "I'm not complaining," she whispered rawly. 

 Lex nipped her sensitive neck, sprinkling delicious little kisses over
her. It was amazing how she could feel his genuine pleasure about pleasing
her. She wanted to throw everything to the wind, chain herself to the bed
and become Lex's permanent sex slave. 

 Lex chuckled. "Sounds good to me." 

 He dragged her shirt over her head and shucked off her pants while Chloe
lay on the bed befuddled by their combined passion and let him. He eagerly
removed his clothes, throwing them carelessly about the room. Soon their
naked bodies were pressed together, hot skin against hot skin. Chloe
wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed her sensitive breasts again
his chest. They both trembled as a fierce bolt of desire rattled them
senseless. Chloe ached for their joining, yearned for Lex to fill her with
him, and she could feel his need for the same as if it were her own. Fluid
trickled down between her legs at the need. 

 She grabbed Lex's waist and he let her guide him to her. They both knew
that neither of them could handle much foreplay now with their heightened
emotions. Lex and Chloe slowly merged. Chloe held her breath as they fit
together, like two puzzle pieces. Her mind swam. Her skin was burning up,
on fire with excitement. At the same time she was rocked the feeling of
being stretched by Lex, she could also feel his ecstasy of being gripped
by her white-hot heat. 

 They both stilled, trying desperately not to teeter over the edge too
soon. Chloe knew this might be the last time she had sex with him and she
wanted it to last a little longer. 

 "Chloe..." Lex's voice was tight and he struggled for meager shreds of
sanity. 

 "Shhh." She didn't want to hear that he only lusted after her because she
looked like his Chloe. 

 She rocked against him and they both clenched their eyes shut at the
friction. Lex's throbbing shaft rubbed against that little spot that made
her quiver for release. Lex groaned gutturally and thrust deeper into her.
Chloe raised her hips eagerly to meet him halfway. They fell into a rapid
rhythm. Their bodies were entwined, rocking the bed and glistening with
sweat. Chloe grabbed onto his firm, cute little ass and Lex's fingers were
leaving possessive little imprints on her hips. 

 The tension was getting unbearable as they reached the absolute peak of
their climax. Lex's breathing was loud, punctuated with harsh little
gasps. Desperate, high pitched cries escaped Chloe's throat. The noises of
their passion filled the nearby empty halls of the mansion. 

 With a mutual explosion of release they were both set free. Chloe rose
off the bed with her climax and Lex's arms tensed as he shouted in triumph
and then gave out, making him collapse on top of her. They lost all
concept of time or place. They were nothing and everything all at once.
They held each other for some minutes before sleep sucked them under. 

 When Lex woke early afternoon the next day Chloe was gone.  

 Clark peered over at Chloe as if he wanted to say something. Chloe was
uncharacteristically silent, staring out the window of the pickup. 

 "Thanks for picking me up, Clark," she said at last. 

 "No problem. Where are we going?" 

 "I don't know yet." She turned on her cell phone and dialed the number
that Tally had given her. 

 "Hello?" Tally said. 

 "Hi. This is Chloe. I told him." 

 "How'd he take it?" 

 She wasn't sure what to say. Lex still lusted after her, she knew. But it
wasn't enough. She needed love she'd decided that morning when she'd woken
up. It had been one of the hardest things to do in her life, to tear
herself away from that bed. Lex had looked so peaceful and content with
the world sprawled across the bed. When she'd gotten up he groaned a
little and she froze. When he didn't wake up she threw on her clothes and
left. The first person she could think of that would be able to pick her
up was Clark. "He doesn't love me," she told Tally. Clark nearly swerved
off the road. 

 "He said that?" Tally sounded incredulous. 

 "Well, no. But I know he doesn't." 

 "Did you actually ask him if he loved you?" Tally asked patiently. 

 "I shouldn't have had to," she said. Lex had been reading her mind last
night, he would've known that she wanted to know if he loved her. He'd
said nothing, though. That only could mean that he didn't. 

 "Chloe-" 

 Feeling a lecture coming on she cut Tally off. "Look, just tell me
somewhere to meet you. I want to go home." It was odd, but she had started
to think of this dimension as home. 

 Tally sighed. "Fine, if this is what you want." 

 "It is." 

 "Go to some place where you think that you would go to often, no matter
what dimension you were in- but especially your original dimension.
Someplace that you feel comfortable in, someplace familiar." 

 Chloe thought about it for a moment. Someplace she went to often... Then
it came to her. "The Talon." 

 "The Talon?" 

 "Yeah, I went there practically everyday. They have great lattes." She
felt kind of silly admitting it. She wished that she could have said she
went to someplace less dopey all the time. 

 "Okay, I'll meet you there in ten, fifteen minutes okay?" 

 "Okay. Bye." 

 "Bye." 

 Chloe hung up. 

 "Can you drive me to the Talon?" she asked Clark. 

 "Sure." He paused for a moment. "Who doesn't love you?" 

 Chloe sighed. She knew he was going to ask that. "Lex," she admitted. 

 "Lex? Lex doesn't love you? Are you leaving him then?" he asked eagerly. 

 "Kind of, yes." 

 "You know, you can stay at my house until you get your own place," Clark
offered, carefully casual. 

 "Thanks," She paused, "but you and I will never be a couple. You know
that, don't you?" She felt a little twinge of guilt at her brutal honesty.


 Clark hesitated. "Maybe you could learn to love me-" 

 "I won't. I'm sorry Clark. You'll find someone who loves you back, I know
it." 

 A heavy silence fell upon the car. "But they won't be as cool as you,"
Clark tried to joke but she could hear the pain in his voice. 

 She felt absolutely wretched. She wished could tell him that she could
learn to love him. Lying had never been her forte, however. She could
never truly love him, at least not the way he wanted her too. She could
love him as a friend but nothing deeper than that. 

 She loved Lex, she admitted to herself and tears burned behind her eyes.
Her heart ached with the realization. Somehow her discovery didn't come as
much of a surprise to her. She must have loved Lex all along and not known
it. She skimmed over her all too brief relationship with him. She started
off remembering their odd friendship back in her original dimension. She
had adored their friendship but had never let herself fall in love with
him because she knew he'd loved Helen. Then when she got to this dimension
everything changed. Without Helen in the picture and Lex declaring his
love to her it became only all too easy to fall in love with him. She had
to have been half in love with him back in her own dimension. 

 "I'm in love with Lex," she whispered out loud. 

 "I figured as much," Clark said resignedly. "Why are you leaving him
then?" 

 "He doesn't love me." 

 "As much as I'd love to agree with you, I have to ask if you're insane." 

 A reluctant smile tugged at her lips. "I've been wondering that myself
all too often lately." 

 "Look, it's obvious that he loves you. He can barely tear himself away
from you and when he's with you he practically glows. It's disgusting." 

 "Oh, Clark! That's the nicest thing anyone said to me in a while." She
laughed a sad tear-choked laugh. "You're such a great friend." 

 "I know, I know." 

 "You're going to make some lucky girl very happy." 

 "Geez, you sound like my mother." A sincere smile spread across his face.


 "Well, it doesn't make it any less true." 

 "Thanks." 

 They parked over in front of the Talon and got out. Lana was washing a
table and beamed at them as they came in. 

 "Chloe! It's been quite sometime since I've seen you in here. Shouldn't
you be resting?" she asked. 

 "Nah. I'm all rested up. Where's Helen?" 

 "Oh, you know Helen. She's staging some sort of gay rights protest. She
left early this morning, I was half asleep when she told me. What's up
with you Clark?" 

 "Just dropping off Chloe here. I have to go and finish up some chores or
else my dad will have my neck." He looked inquiringly at Chloe. "You all
set?" 

 She nodded. "Yeah, I'm good." 

 "Call me if you need a ride or anything, okay?" 

 "Thanks, I will." Not that she'd be here long enough to need to. 

 She settled at a table in a far corner of the Talon and Lana brought her
a latte. She cupped it in her hands, absorbing its warmth while she drank.
The caffeine felt heavenly pouring down her throat. 

 She stood up when she saw Tally enter the Talon. Tally spotted her and
came over to her table. She was carrying some sort of bag. 

 "Are you sure you want to do this?" 

 "Yes." 

 "Okay...You do have the medallion, don't you?" 

 "Of course." She laid it out on the table. 

 "Good. First, I should explain some things to you. You see the thing that
kind of looks like an hourglass on it?" 

 Chloe looked at it again. "Yes." 

 "Well, it's not actually an hourglass. It's a feather." 

 "Funny looking feather." She looked at it closer. The longer she looked
at it the more she could see its resemblance. 

 "Yes, well, considering the medallion is thousands of years old it's
amazing that it hasn't crumbled into a pile of dust. Naturally, it's not
in wonderful shape. You remember how I told you that this is a Celtic
artifact? Well, Freja is the Norse goddess of fertility, love, and magic.
In mythology it says that she traveled between the worlds using a coat
made out of feathers. Getting back to the dimension you're from is a lot
more difficult than it was coming here." 

 "What do I have to do?" She asked, hoping it would be some sort of
ritualistic sacrifice or something. 

 "Well, you have to chant `Freja, return me, return me to whence I came'
in your head, concentrating on keeping your mind solely on those words and
holding the medallion." 

 "That doesn't sound too hard. A little stupid, but not that bad." 

 "It's not as easy as it sounds. It's hard to clear away all other
thoughts. I'm not sure what will happen if this works right. I haven't
read of anyone successfully switching back before." 

 "Wonderful." She rolled her eyes. 

 "Oh, and you have to wear this." Tally pulled out a mass of white
feathers from her bag. She shook it out, making feathers fly everywhere.
She handed it to Chloe and Chloe took it. 

 "Don't tell me this is what I think it is," she said with a laugh. 

 "It's a coat entirely made out of swan feathers," Tally said indignantly.


 "Where the hell did you get it?" 

 "I made it. It took forever to find all the feathers. There was a time
where I wanted to switch back, too. But I don't anymore." 

 Chloe put it on. The feathers scratched uncomfortably against her skin.
She grabbed the medallion. "Okay, now all I say is `Freja, return me,
return me to hence I came' in my head over and over again, right?" 

 "Yup, and concentrate on only the words." 

 "Okay." She took a deep breath and started to chant the words in her
mind. It was a lot harder than she thought it would be. She had to tune
out the noises in the Talon, forget she was surrounded by people. She had
to ignore any thoughts of Lex. On top of everything else, the coat was
making her itch. 

 Just as she thought she was succeeding a familiar voice demanded What the
hell do you think you're doing? in her head.  

 Freja return me, return me from whence I came, she said louder in her
mind. Freja return me, return me from whence I came... 

 What?! Wait a minute, Chloe- Lex protested. 

 FREJA RETURN ME, RETURN ME FROM WHENCE I CAME!!! Now she was shouting the
words in her head, drowning out Lex's voice. The words throbbed in her
skull but she kept chanting them. A roar began as a whisper in her ears
and grew louder and louder until she thought her eardrums were going to
explode. 

 And then it happened. 

 She felt a sharp pain in her chest, as though someone was trying to suck
out her heart through her breast plate with a straw. Her skin went numb
and she lost all sensation of being in her body. She was floating in an
inky black pool of nothingness. 

 Then there were lights, tiny little orbs of rainbow color that danced
merrily about her. They brushed against her but Chloe couldn't feel them.
A woman emerged from them. She was an Amazon, amazingly tall and
voluptuous with masses of fiery red hair that fell to her waist. She wore
a leather bodice with a long flowing skirt and filmy shawl. 

 The woman spotted Chloe and smiled. "You again?" Her voice was like rain
on a summer night, beautiful and cleansing. Then she frowned. "Why are you
here? You want to return to your former dimension? But you belong in the
one you're in now. I never make a mistake about that." 

 Chloe wished that she had a mouth so that she could talk to her. 

 Freja sighed, knowing what Chloe wanted to say without words. "Stubborn
humans, don't know what's best for them. You want to go back, fine. But
first..." She waved her shawl and she was gone. 

 More lights passed her by. Chloe wasn't sure if she was moving or if the
lights were just moving around her. She felt like the Millennium Falcon
shifting into hyper-drive. 

 Then another person came into focus. It was...herself. 

 The other Chloe frowned. "So you must be the other me that I switched
with. What do you think you're doing now?" 

 Switching back she said in her mind. 

 "Why? You belong in my old dimension now." 

 Why don't you want to switch back? she asked. 

 "I like this one better. It was too stressful in mine. I didn't love Lex
like he loved me. I wanted out of the relationship but I couldn't figure
out how." 

 You didn't love Lex? Her feelings made it hard for her to understand that
anyone, much less herself, could not love Lex. 

 "No, I don't, but I'm guessing by the way you said that that you are."
She smiled. "That's good. I didn't want to break Lex's heart. I've been
thinking about it and I think I have it all figured out. You and I are
basically the same person, true. We both have the tendency to speak our
minds, want to know everything, and hate waking up in the morning. But
we're also two different people. We were raised differently. Our friends
are different. We are not totally the same. We are merely different
versions of ourselves. I am a possibility of you and you are a possibility
of me. Lana in your old dimension is straight, but somewhere inside her
are homosexual tendencies. That's how it is possible for her to be gay in
my old dimension. So somewhere inside of me there is the possibility to
love Lex. I just haven't realized this possibility. You get what I'm
saying?" 

 Makes sense Chloe agreed, impressed by her own brilliance. 

 "I guess I could switch dimensions again if you're unhappy. It's not fair
of me to make you stay because I don't want to." The other Chloe muttered
reluctantly and began to fade away. 

 She started to feel the pain again, the feeling of being sucked to
another place, and she knew she was leaving. 

 "NO!!!" 

 The lights stopped moving past her, like frozen shooting stars. 

 "Chloe! Don't leave me!" Lex appeared before her as a transparent copy of
himself, lights glowing through his body. He stretched out his hand to
her, his face twisted emotionally. 

 How did you get here? Why shouldn't I leave? 

 "I followed you in through your mind. And you shouldn't leave because I
love you!" 

 No, you love the other Chloe, she said. 

 The other Chloe appeared beside her again. They were replicas of each
other in all but clothes. "Tell her Lex," she said. "She's terribly
confused." 

 "I love you both," he admitted. "You were in my head when we made love,
didn't you feel my love? Do you think I could feel such incredible
passion, such terrifying tenderness if I didn't love you?" 

 You can't love us both! 

 "Yes, I can. You both are Chloe. You are the same person. The only
difference is that you love me and the other Chloe doesn't." 

 Chloe's resolution to leave wavered just a little bit. 

 Lex's voice grew a bit louder as he seemed to sense her hesitance. "And
your love makes every bit of difference. I could never be truly happy with
the Chloe originally from my dimension because she doesn't love me back.
You're the Chloe I want. I need you. You make me whole." He drew closer to
her until he stood right in front of her. He looked deeply into her eyes
and raised his hand as if he were cupping her cheek. She swore she could
feel his gentle touch and something turned over inside her. 

 "Chloe, I only want you happy. If you really want to leave me, I'll let
you." His eyes were bright with unshed tears and his voice was raw. "I
just wanted you to know that we fit, that you're the only Chloe for me.
I'll never be the same if you leave, but knowing that you're happy will
make it easier to live each day." He took a deep shaky breath. "Goodbye,
Chloe." Then he faded away. 

 Wait, Lex! she cried. 

 She didn't want to leave, she realized desperately. She loved both Lexs,
too. But she belonged with this Lex, the Lex that loved her. His dimension
was her home now. 

 The other Chloe grinned. "Good. I would've argued with you forever even
if he hadn't shown up, you know. Stubborn as a mule, we both are." Then
she vanished too and Chloe was alone with the beautiful lights. 

 The pain shot through her again. No! she shouted in terror. She changed
her mind. The lights dimmed around her and the numbness faded. 

 "Chloe, Chloe," a voice chanted from some distance. 

 "I told you so," Freja's voice said merrily. 

 Suddenly Chloe was back in the body. She scratched the back of her neck
absently. 

 "Chloe!" The call was closer and more urgent 

 She opened her eyes to see Lex's face close to hers. His eyebrows were
furrowed and lines bracketed around the corners of his mouth. He grabbed
her by the arms, his grip almost painfully tight, and he shook her
frantically when she continued to stare at him blankly. He clenched his
eyes shut and a single tear slipped out of his left eye. 

 "Please tell me you're my Chloe," he whispered. He sat on the floor in
front of her chair and buried his head in her lap. 

 His words made her snap back to reality and she realized that she hadn't
switched dimensions. "Oh, so it's your Chloe now is it?" she teased. 

 He looked up at her, his eyes searching hers for a minute. Then he
smiled, not a reluctant half smirk sort of smile but a smile that lit him
up from the inside. He stood and drew her into the warmth of his arms. His
mouth was brutal on hers, a mixture of desperation and joy in his kiss.
Chloe sagged against him with a delighted sigh. 

 Tally cleared her throat. "Yes, well. If you're done with my coat can I
have it back?" 

 A rumble of laughter shook Lex. They parted and Lex looked at her feather
coat. He arched an eyebrow. "Chloe, you could start a new trend." 

 Chloe gave him a weak jab in the stomach and gave the coat back to Tally.
"Very funny. If you're not careful you're going to make me wonder why I
didn't switch back after all." 

 Lex's smile dulled significantly. "You don't regret not switching, do
you?" 

 Chloe smiled reassuringly and pulled him closer. "No, I was just kidding.
This is where I belong, I know that now." 

 "Good." Lex brushed his lips over her cheek to nip her ear playfully.
"Now, let's go home and I'll do my best to remind you why you belong
here," he growled suggestively. 

 She slipped a hand underneath his shirt, savoring the feel of his skin
with her touch. "Hmmm, yes," she said. "You know, I'm finding my memory
isn't as good as it used to be. I think I'll need frequent reminders." 

 End.	
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