Restless Nights (Chapter Ten)

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My deepest apologies for how long it's taken me to get back to this fic. My real job just took over, as did a vacation to Philly, and I just haven't had energy to put into writing. But things have settled down now and I should have more time to write. 

Anyway, I've finally finished off this chapter. After not writing for so long, it took a while to get back into the rhythm of it. But I'm hoping the updates will be faster from here on out!

Chapter Ten

Tess stared out her office window into the bullpen – or glared at the new model employees. Three weeks now, since Sullivan and Kent started, and she had nothing to complain about. All internet searches were story-related. Assignments were handed in promptly. Breaks were short. She couldn’t even catch them playing Minesweeper on company time. 

And all that would have been fine if they’d just talk. It seemed like they did nothing at work, but… work. And it was maddening. 

Hell, she’d put Chloe on obits and Clark on the police blotter yesterday. That was basement-level. No one else on this floor would stand for it. But they didn’t even grouse across their desks about it. In fact, all they talked about was what to get for lunch or their stories.

“How are you doing this?” Tess hissed before shutting her blinds and pacing away. Maybe she was getting paranoid. Maybe they were just dedicated reporters. Yet she’d always regretted not keeping a closer eye or ear on Lane and Kent last year. But Lane, for all her bluster, didn’t know about Clark. She’d bet her life on it. Sullivan was smack in the middle of everything. Having Sullivan across from Kent was supposed to be like a megaphone, broadcasting every secret Lex wouldn’t tell.

As frustrating as they were right now, Lex was worse. He didn’t seem to care that all they did was work. He even laughed when she voiced her frustrations, giving her some anecdote about Chloe storming into his office in a snit when she discovered his spyware.

“Looks like she’s finally learned to cover her tracks,” he’d said, amused. “Don’t worry about it.”

But she did. The more he said not to, the more she worried about it, damned near obsessed over it. What was Lex hiding? What were they hiding? How were they hiding it? And why the hell was she always tossed into situations with no answers?

She strode back to the window, opened the blinds, only to find them gone. It would have been even more annoying if every desk not containing an intern wasn’t also empty. Lunch. Basement might have to work through, but top floor got an hour and a half.

And that was for the best. That meant their computers were open, she realized with a smile, for scheduled maintenance.

***************

“So what are you thinking for lunch? Indian? Thai?” Clark nudged her shoulder as they moved along Front Street. 

”I’m thinking Creole.”

“And I’m thinking I should start packing a lunch from now on. All you ever want is spicy food and I’m not always in the mood for it.”

“Just keep walking,” Chloe said, moving ahead of him, then annoyed when she had to stop at the crosswalk and Clark’s arm shot out, like she was too much of a simpleton not to walk into traffic.

“Careful.”

“Clark, I’ve spent more time in the city than you,” she groused. “I know the little red hand means stop.”

“Well, you’re in such a hurry, I…”

“Yes, I am. You should be, too. We need to find somewhere we can take a good run from?” She started walking as the light changed.

He sighed behind her. “Where exactly is this Creole place you want to try?”

“New Orleans,” she said, trying for nonchalance. 

He stepped in front of her on the other side of the street. “Chloe, if this is some kind of extreme craving, that’s one thing, but if this is about Tess, then no.”

“Clark, she grew up in the bayou. Now, Katrina did a number on her home turf, but some records survived and if we can…”

“You said we were dropping this.”

“No. I said we were keeping a low profile at first. And we have. This is why.” 

“Chloe, how many times have I told you? We’ve got a system that works, here. Tess doesn’t hear a thing and you don’t poke the bear. If you start letting your curiosity get the best…”

She let him go on as she looked for their best jumping-off point. Having been raised by Jonathon Kent, Clark might have a platitude or ten to get out of his system before he’d let her convince him to do things her way. And even Clark couldn’t deny that her way had worked so far.

They’d done well enough. Their first week had been spent, aside from doing the kind of dry city hall reports she could do in her sleep, masking their searches. Victor had given them cell phones that acted as hot spots and it was easy enough to switch over to that network when she wanted to dig into something off the books. Clark had been using it to listen to the police scanner on low, but she kept her focus on Tess Mercer. But she kept quiet about that – even to Clark. 

They actually had no choice. She wasn’t about to run around, loudly talking about thwarting aliens and overthrowing Luthors all over the bullpen. She wasn’t that green anymore. She was going to keep things under wraps this time. On that note…

The second week had been spent developing a way to communicate that didn’t involve the very obviously bugged nameplates that had been waiting for them on their first day. Even without Clark’s X-ray vision, she could see they were a bit on the bulky side for stamped plastic. They started small. Chloe would speak under her breath and Clark could blink once for yes and twice for no. Besides that, they texted.

If they absolutely had to speak, there were places. The break room had been ruled out early on as, even if it weren't bugged, it was never empty. The copy room was monitored by closed circuit cameras. But the supply closet was always an option. Clark had visually swept it for devices, but aside from the odd electric stapler, it was clean. Chloe didn’t count on it being that way for long, once Tess Mercer figured out that Chloe’s trips there were closely followed by Clark’s. 

The big question was… why? Tess Mercer knew more about Clark Kent than anyone else outside their circle. What more did she need? She’d turned a blind eye to his over-long coffee breaks, green-lit positive stories about The Blur with barely a knowing look Clark’s way, had even made it clear before they started that she had no issue with his rushing off to save the day. Whenever Chloe tried to look at it from Tess’ perspective, she saw nothing more Tess could want. She had a specially-abled reporter working under her that fed into the news cycle every day. So why were they being monitored?

She wasn’t about to storm into Mercer’s office and declare she knew, demand transparency as if Luthorcorp was just any other company. She’d learned a few lessons with Lex. It was best to work stealthily. She’d get her answers about Tess the hard way – starting from the beginning.

She stopped at a rather rank alleyway and realized Clark was still talking.

“…like with blackbeard’s wife...”

“Bluebeard,” she corrected absently. This would do.

“What?”

She turned to him. “Bluebeard. If you’re trying to teach me a lesson about curiosity, Bluebeard was the one with the wife who found his forbidden room where he kills his wives.”

“Fine. Bluebeard, then.”

“But I can’t group that in with your other platitudes because it’s not some cautionary tale about poking around where you shouldn’t because that wife stopped his reign of wife-killing terror, so there.” She gestured into the alleyway, smiling widely. “Clark, let’s poke around.” 

His eyes widened. “Huh?”

“The sleeping bear? New Orleans? I bet you could get us there in five minutes, we have an hour to look around, fifteen for lunch, then plenty of time to zip back, so come on!”

“Yeah, well… I mean, I get you meant that because… yeah.” He groaned and pulled her into the alleyway. “Chloe, this isn’t a good…”

“Clark, Tess knows more than Lex ever did about you, probably more than Lionel, and she’s still bugging us? We need to turn that back on her. We need to figure out what she’s after. And what better way than to know her better?”

“But…”

“Clark, do you trust me?”

His eyes softened and his hands moved down her arms, gripping her hands. “Of course I trust you, Chloe. You’re my best…”

She stepped back quickly. “I mean, do you trust my instincts?” She wasn’t sure what made her pull away. Maybe it was the fact that he was making this into some tender, friendship moment that they surely didn’t need. 

If anything, their friendship was stronger than ever. Walking to work, desks across from each other, lunch together, going over assignments on the way home. It was almost high school all over again and that was a rhythm she fell easily into with him… but for one little hiccup. 

He was touching her all the time.

That was what had her pulling away, honestly. It wasn’t that it was repellent or even unwelcome. It was just… It was constant and damned confusing. Before, there was the odd hug, the casual, comfortable shoulder bump, the occasional blanket by the fire. Now, every time she turned around, there were Clark’s hands -- at her back, on her shoulder, gripping her arms, clasping her hands…

“Clark, we’ve never looked closely into Tess,” she went on, shaking off her confusion and diving into something she felt sure of. “We only ever avoided her and that, obviously, didn’t work. She knows about you. She knew a damned lot about me. And no one’s ever questioned why she ended up in our lives. Why did a lab worker leap up the corporate ladder to CEO so suddenly?”

“Because Lex implanted cameras in her eyes. Oliver told us that. She was just a pawn in his game, but he’s gone now and…”

“Then why is she still playing? If Tess is so okay with you being The Blur, why is she monitoring us? We’ve never looked into her, Clark,” she pointed out, “not really. We were always dealing with the next crisis.”

“Like now? You have enough to deal with without…”

“No,” she cut in. “This is not a crisis. I am handling it.” Not acknowledging it, exactly, but handling it. Aside from the slowly-fading morning sickness and the ever-growing bladder pressure, this baby was not a crisis… yet. Crisis. Something in her recoiled at the word. She put a hand to her stomach as she stepped closer to him. “We finally have time to delve into Tess Mercer and I’m not going to waste this opportunity. Maybe that’s our first big scoop here at Daily Planet 2.0.” 

“Like Tess would print it,” he grumbled.

“Clark, you worked under Tess for almost a year. How many stories made it to print?” She met his eyes. “This isn't about the story. It's about the truth. Don’t you want it?”

*******************

“I don’t want their internet searches,” Tess growled at her IT man. “I already get alerts in real time and they’re useless. I just want…” She stopped. She didn’t even know. It wasn’t something this man could give her. Apparently, all Clark and Chloe did on their computers was type and search for story-related details. It was damned boring. “Never mind. Go back up archives or something,” she said absently, waving the man off as she opened Clark’s desk drawer.

Gum, pens, paper clips, candy bars, snack cakes... Not exactly health food. Then again, Clark’s unique constitution could probably handle massive amounts of sugar without fattening up. Chloe’s top drawer was the opposite of Clark’s. Granola bars, those disgusting canned milkshakes that were, apparently, good for you, herbal tea bags, bottles and bottles of pills. She looked over each one, trying to find something contraband. At this point, she’d take No-Doz as an excuse to call one of them into her office. But it was all vitamins.

That was strange in itself. She’d had little enough time with Chloe Sullivan, but her records didn’t indicate she was a health nut. And tea bags? Lex had once claimed her coffee consumption at The Planet should have negated her wages. Lex…

She slammed the drawer shut and dialed him.

“What is it, Tess?” He said, sounding annoyed. “I’m…”

“There’s nothing, Lex.”

“What are you…”

“I don’t get it,” she said over him, pacing the empty bullpen. “Why did I even hire them to work here if all they do here is… work?” It sounded almost ridiculous, saying it out loud.

“Again with this.” He sighed heavily. “Can’t this wait until I get back?”

“From where?”

“Never mind where. I’ll be back by six.”

“But I can’t find anything on their computers or in their drawers and they barely ever talk and... Why are you so calm about this?”

“Because it doesn’t matter. Now will you stop bothering me about it?” 

“Then why did you have me hire them in the first place?”

“I never told you to bug them. I just wanted to make sure one of my own is near her at all times.” 

“Her?”

“Damn it,” he hissed. “Them. The both of them,” he snapped. “We’re just waiting and observing. Okay? That’s all you need to know.” He hung up.

It wasn’t all she needed to know. And she’d heard him right the first time. He’d said “her.” 

He hung up, but that was fine. She had what she needed.

She should have realized it before. Hiring Clark… Looking back on their initial talk, hiring him had almost been an afterthought to Lex. Here, she’d thought she was hiring Chloe to get Clark to follow after, that she was just a path to Clark for Lex, but Chloe… She was the one he was after.

The big question was… Why?

************************

“Isn’t it obvious?” Clark rolled his eyes. “Because it’s below sea level. After floods, bones are found in odd places an everyone acts like it’s supernatural forces. But it’s just nature.”

Chloe frowned into her gumbo before staring at the gated cemetery across the street. “For a guy from another planet, you’re ridiculously skeptical. I was right before. We’re doing high school all over again.”

Clark turned to her on the stone bench. “How do you mean?”

“You used to do this to me all the time. Every time I speculated something weird and wacky was happening, you shot me right down. Later, I decided it was just you trying to keep me from looking closer at all the weird and wacky around you, but now I’m starting to think you’re just a spoilsport.”

“I am not. I’m just being practical . And what do you mean you were right before?”

“Just something I was thinking earlier,” she said, laughing to herself. “You and me… right now, we’re almost exactly like we were in high school, except for the touching. Anyway, I’m starting to think you like shooting my ideas down strictly because I thought of them first.”

“The touching?”

She stopped. She hadn’t meant to mention that part. “Where the hell is my package?” she mused, changing the subject as she stood and stretched.

Their little trip had nearly been a bust. Chloe knew that closed adoption records were rarely handed out, so she’d taken a few precautions. She’d temporarily changed Tess’ picture in most databases to her own, gotten a reasonable fake driver’s license, and tried to appear emotionally invested. Clark didn’t approve, particularly not when she unbuttoned her sweater and put a hand to her stomach and manufactured a tear, claiming she was worried about inherited disorders. 

It didn’t work on the tired man running her window, but it did work on the gray-haired woman one window over, who took her aside and asked her to wait at the park two streets over. “I’ll see what I can do,” she’d said tearily.

“I still don’t like this,” Clark muttered, standing as well. “You’re using your… condition to investigate.”

“Well, considering how much trouble this condition could be, I might as well get something out of it. One little lie to find the truth. It’s not hurting anyone.”

“And what do you mean about the touching?”

“Nothing. You just…” She took a deep breath and turned to him. “You’re always helping me sit, helping me stand, rubbing my back…”

“Well, if it bothers you so much…”

“I never said it bothered me. It’s just a little…” She shrugged. “I just don’t remember you being this solicitous.”

“Well, it’s just your condition. I’m trying to be helpful,” he said, looking a bit on the pouty side.

“Yes, but my condition isn’t exactly severe. I don’t need help sitting and standing and crossing the street and…”

“Fine. I’ll stop bothering you,” he grumbled, sitting back down.

She groaned and picked up her soup. “Could you stop putting words in my mouth instead?”

“Well, why are you complaining about it if it doesn’t bother you?”

“I wasn’t complaining.” She said around a mouthful. “I was just pointing it out because it was… new. Maybe it’s just the boyscout in you. I don’t know.”

“Yeah. Maybe,” he said, almost too softly to hear. “So it doesn’t bother you?”

“No. It’s nice.” She shook herself. “I mean, it’s nice that you’re so helpful. Forget I said anything. Okay?” She tossed him a smile.

He stared at her for what seemed like a long time before speaking. “Okay. I forget.” He nodded at something behind her. “I think your new friend is coming.”

Chloe stiffened and glanced over her shoulder before she unbuttoned her jacket, putting a hand to her stomach. “How do I look? Pregnant enough?”

Clark frowned. “Not really.”

Chloe huffed. 

“Well, you don’t. It’s just like you gained a little.”

Chloe huffed louder.

Clark threw up his hands. “I give up. What do you want to hear?”

“Neither of those! You know, my new friend back there said I was glowing,” she turned and waved at the woman now crossing the street toward them. “I didn’t mind that.”

Clark stood next to her, waving as well. “Fine, you’re very… flushed.”

“Never mind. You’re not helping,” she said through her smile.

“I’m not sure I want to help with this, anyway.” He pasted on a smile as well. “Poking into Tess, taking advantage of this nice lady…”

“Stop it. She’ll hear you,” Chloe hissed as the woman moved across the street. “Hi. Thanks so much for this.”

“Oh, please. I’m just so sorry about making you wait in the cold, Sugar,” she said, rather harried as she approached them. “I just had to get on my lunch.”

“Wow,” Clark whispered loudly. “Giving up her lunch. What a nice lady.”

Chloe nudged him as she waved the woman off. She refused to feel guilty about this. “It’s not cold yet. I’m just so grateful to get any information before…” She cradled her stomach and looked down in what she hoped was an angelic way. “Well, you know.”

“Well, I understand what you’re going through. You know, I’m an adoptive mom, myself. Lord knows it’s tough to get anything with a closed adoption, but this one’s locked up tighter than…” The woman sighed and shook her head at Chloe. “Well, I suppose you know already with what you’ve been through.”

“Of course,” Chloe said, before nudging Clark. “Please,” she said under her breath.

“Uh… What’s she been through?” he finally asked.

The woman looked to Chloe, who endeavored to give her a sad nod.

“Well, the contact attempts, the letters you wrote that we could just… could just never deliver.” She swiped at her eyes and took Chloe by the hand. “And I wish I could get more on them for you. But I just can’t. But you listen to me. That doesn’t make you any less special. I’m sure your adoptive parents love you and wished for you more than they could ever say and gave you all the love you deserve. You have to know that, Sugar.”

Damn it. Now she did feel guilty. “I know,” she lied. From what she knew of Tess’ upbringing, it had been harsh and painful. To know she’d got nothing better from her birth parents made this feel like even more of an invasion. Still, they’d come this far. “Were you able to get anything at all?” she said, pushing away the sick feeling.

She pulled an envelope from her bag. “Well, I did get your infant vaccination records and some info from an early medical questionnaire the first agency handling you. You understand, I had to black out some of the information with the restrictions on your case. But I just wanted to make sure you could rest easy about that baby.”

“Thanks so much,” Chloe said, taking the envelope and trying not to sound disappointed. 

“You don’t have much to worry about. Some asthma and allergies, but nothing too severe. So…” She smiled. “No bad surprises. Maybe just nice surprises. Did you find out the sex or are you waiting?”

Chloe stared down at envelope. All the way to New Orleans for vaccination records. What a waste of…

“Tess?”

Clark bumped her shoulder. “She’s talking to you, Tess.”

“Huh? Tess… Yes. Right. Sorry. It’s just been a long day. Um… What?”

“Did you two find out the sex or do you want to be surprised?”

Chloe glanced at Clark. “Oh, he’s not…”

“I’m not big on surprises,” Clark said quickly, hooking an arm over her shoulders. “It’s a boy.”

The woman put a hand to her chest. “I bet you’re already buying baseball caps.”

“I’m more of a football…”

“Yes, we’re very excited,” Chloe cut in. 

“As you should be.” She smiled and nodded. “I’ve got a good feeling about you two.”

“Thanks so much… Uh…”

“Oh, it’s Mary Louise. Such a pleasure to meet you, Tess. And…” She looked to Clark.

“Rufus,” he said after a moment. “Rufus Q. Beauregarde.”

“Well, Tess and Rufus. I hope you have a happy, healthy, beautiful baby boy.”

“I do, too,” Chloe said, swallowing over a rather sudden lump in her throat. Even with the Tess and Rufus part, this was the first person to congratulate her on her pregnancy . Even if it was to a stranger who knew nothing of the true situation, it felt rather nice to have someone see this baby as good news. “Thanks so much. For everything,” she added, pushing away the sudden urge to cry and pasting on a smile.

She didn’t drop it until Mary Louise was safely across the street. 

“You talk about my lying, Rufus,” she whispered, turning to Clark and dislodging the arm around her. “Where did you get that name?”

“Off one of the mausoleums over there.” He nodded at the cemetery.

Chloe snorted. “What if she asked you what the Q stood for?”

“I’d have… said… I don’t know. I had to say something. You don’t want her thinking you’re a struggling single mother on top of your painful closed adoption. She was weeping for you already, the poor…”

“Well, I am about to be a struggling, single mother, so maybe I deserve some of her sympathy. Okay?” God, she wanted to cry again.

“Oh. No. Okay. I’m sorry,” Clark said in rush. “Please don’t cry. You know, we could stop by that bakery we passed before…”

“Oh, stop it. I’m fine. It’s just… just hormones. I don’t know.” She swiped at her eyes. “Maybe I’d feel better if this hadn’t been a waste of time.” She tore open the envelope. “All the way down here for vaccination records…”

Clark sighed and looked over her shoulder -- rubbed it, too. She’d said his touching didn’t bother her, but that didn’t mean it still wasn’t confusing as hell… but while he was there, he might as well rub her neck. She tilted her head and he seemed to get the hint, moving his hand to her neck.

“Well, I don’t want to say I told you so, but…”

“Then don’t,” she cut in. 

“Well, we got this far and hit a brick wall,” he said as his thumb made circles on her nape. “Since I never wanted to dig into Tess in the first place, I’m fine with this.”

She huffed and moved away, since he’d effectively ruined her neck rub. “But why was her adoption closed up so tight? Mary Louise even said it was locked up tighter than most.” Chloe leafed through the records. Most of the info was even blacked out, there was hardly anything to… Chloe stopped, her eyes widening at Tess’ infant inoculation card.

“It doesn’t matter. Even Tess couldn’t get the info. If that’s not a sign we should drop it…”

“Oh, no. I just got a sign we’re nowhere near dropping this.” She turned to Clark, holding out the card. “Look where baby Tess got her shots.”

Clark frowned and took it. “Metropolis General.”

*************

Tess stared at the through her blinds again, but with new eyes this time. It was Chloe Lex was after. That changed everything. She’d spent the afternoon looking over all she’d had on her, but none of it told her what she needed to know. She may have shut down Black Creek, but she kept the files. 

Chloe had been tested extensively there, but her original meteor abilities had been found to be dormant. There had been some freak power involving heightened processing skills, but her little birds had told her that had been eradicated some time before her wedding. There was Davis Bloome’s fixation on her, but he was gone. She’d like to think she knew about as much about Chloe Sullivan as she did about Clark Kent. But it seemed like little enough right now.

There were a few things that surprised her, now that she was looking again. She’d never observed the two of them together before now. They seemed to touch a lot more than she’d expected. Nothing huge, just little touches that, when added up, seemed to explain why their other relationships never seemed to work out. Clark was also extremely... she'd call it protective, but it was all too ridiculous. She once saw him berate her for trying to microwave her soup, insisting he do it. He pulled the same thing when she tried to lift a box of paper in the copy room. She'd known they were close, but maybe they were closer. Was that it? Was that why Lex was focused on her, some kind of bargaining chip to use against Clark? It didn’t seem like the answer. 

Strangely enough, the more she watched Clark, the less interesting he seemed. Take the powers away and he was just a farm boy, a fair enough writer, and definitely not a good enough investigator considering all the tools in his grasp. She watched him pouring M&Ms into his mouth in a particularly unremarkable way as he typed. Chloe was reaching across for his coffee, but he pulled it away and pointed at her cup, ever-present tea bag sticking out of it.

Chloe frowned and sipped at it, grimacing before unwrapping a granola bar. It made Tess think of their drawers again. She’d think Chloe had the junk food drawer as she’s the one who’d gained a few. Nothing massive, but Tess had noted her face and her hips seemed fuller, maybe her stomach just a little…

Tess gasped as she stared at them. The weight gain, the vitamins, the protective little freakouts... When you put it all together, it was almost too obvious.

“Pregnant.”

Chapter Eleven