Fic: Scofield Standard Time

[kitmerlot_1213]

Chapter 2


"Chloe’s been locked up at Fox River."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room, as its three occupants tried not to look each other in the face. The knowledge about what happened to Chloe hung in the air between them, but no one could quite bear to admit the truth.

A full minute passed before the original speaker had the courage to try to start a conversation again.

Clark Kent glanced around the room, as though he was afraid of being overheard. He paused to clear his throat, and then pitched his voice a bit lower than his normally loud voice.

"Chloe tried to kill herself last week, and the judge ordered her to be placed in a mental hospital, pending evaluation. And the place that the judge picked was Fox River. Fox River, Lex! You know what kind of reputation that it has."

Lex Luthor, like most Kansans, read of the mysterious deaths that had allegedly happened at the institution that housed Metropolis’ criminally insane prisoners, but the stories were only printed in the Inquisitor, so most people read the firsthand accounts with a grain of salt.

Now if a legitimate newspaper like The Daily Planet where to get actual verification of the supposed experiments that would be an entirely different matter.

Lex’s mind drifted to the last time he had seen Gabe Sullivan, which had been two days ago. The man had looked haunted, but never asked for Lex to intervene, so Lex was surprised at Clark’s presumptiveness, no matter how good the cause.

Clark continued to speak, "Her own father doesn’t even have a say about where she was placed because she’s over eighteen, but I know that he would want her in a hospital closer to Smallville."

Clark paused again, and Lex resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and ask Clark to speak a little louder. Instead he looked up at his former friend, and spoke words that he knew Clark wouldn’t want to hear.

"I’m sorry to hear about your friend’s troubles, but I don’t quite see how I can help."

Before Clark could even open his mouth, another voice interrupted. "Lex, Chloe needs help getting out of that place. She clearly doesn’t belong there, and you’re the only one with enough pull to get anything done."

Lois paused in consideration, but she started talking just as quickly when she saw that Lex was about to try and interrupt her. "And for God sake’s, after everything she’s done for you, THIS is how you repay her?"

Lex’s jaw clenched, but he fought to keep his anger under control, and his expression neutral. "I do admire how staunchly you’re defending your cousin, Lois, but there is obviously a reason the authorities saw fit to place Chloe’s in the sanitarium. And for the record, what is between Miss Sullivan and I is none of your concern. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do."

He could hear Lois mutter, "Asshole," under her breath, but she moved towards the door of the study. She seemed anxious to leave, and her attitude conveyed that she clearly thought that coming to see the son of Lionel Luthor, and asking for his help, was a monumental waste of time.

But Clark was determined to stand his ground, and normally Lex would have been proud that the he was finally showing some backbone, but unfortunately, this was neither the time, nor the place for it.

"Lex, I know that you and Chloe aren’t exactly close, but after what happened to you at Belle Reve..."

From the moment that Clark first started to speak, Lex let his mind wander. He knew that Clark would try to manipulate him into helping with whatever had happened to Chloe, and he would use whatever weapons he could in order to get his own way.

Throwing Lex’s own shaky mental history in his face was not a moral dilemma for Clark, because in the end, he could justify that he was just trying to help his friend.

Never mind what happened to Lex in the process.

Lex tried to clear his mind, and concentrated on the situation involving Chloe instead, because he knew, as sure as he was sitting there, that Chloe was no more mentally ill then he was.

He remembered the last conversation that he had with Chloe, which ironically enough, had taken place three months ago in this very study.

He could tell that there was something off about her, because she didn’t have her same sparkling smile or witty retort. She had looked tense, and was worriedly twisting her fingers together.

Lex recognized the signs, because he had seen them enough when Chloe had been in hiding during his father’s trial.

She was deeply worried about something, but more than that, Chloe was afraid. And he knew from experience that when Chloe was terrified of something, it just made her dig her feet in deeper, determined to overcome it.

Lex had been half tempted to ask Chloe what was troubling her, but something stopped him, or rather, someone. He and Chloe didn’t have their same close friendship, because they had allowed Clark Kent to come between them.

He knew that she was helping to hide Clark’s secret from him. Lex didn’t have any proof, but he knew it just the same. And Chloe was actively working against him, trying to protect Clark.

Both Chloe and Lex realized that a line had been drawn between them during the second meteor shower, and that they now stood on either side of that line, glaring at each other. Open warfare had never been declared, but they were more adversarial then friendly.

The warmth and camaraderie was gone, and in its place stood suspicion and resentment. His respect for her was still there, but he couldn’t deny that he was angry that she had so easily turned her back on their bond in favor of her friendship with Clark.

Which made Chloe’s appearance in his study that much more intriguing.

He stared at her a full minute before she even acknowledged his walking into the room, and then she didn’t bother to greet him, but instead asked him a rather surprising question.

"Has Luthorcorp ever funded any research at Fox River Sanatorium?"

Lex had been stunned at Chloe’s abrupt question, but had answered her readily. "Luthorcorp has never funded research in any type of mental facility."

Chloe had smiled grimly, and spoke in a tone so quiet that Lex had to lean forward to hear her properly. "That was what I was afraid of."

He could feel his patience waning, and he practically snapped at her, "Chloe, what the hell are you talking about?"

Lex was shaken out of his thoughts by the shrill voice of Lois Lane. "Forget it, Smallville, Lex hasn’t heard a word you said. He was probably dreaming about his money."

Clark shot Lois an imploring look, and then turned the exact same expression on Lex. "Please, you have to help Chloe. You are her only hope."

Lex sighed, but he still tried to explain the situation has gently as he could. "Clark, I really don’t see what I can do for Miss Sullivan. Her well being is in the hands of the courts and the mental health professionals. Nothing else can be done."

All pretense of geniality disappeared from Clark’s face when he heard Lex’s words. "Why am I not surprised that you’re refusing to help anyone else? It’s always Lex’s needs first, and everyone else’s second."

Clark shook his head in disgust and walked towards the study door for his parting shot. "If you don’t change, you’ll always be alone."

Clark’s final words were still floating in the air when Lex had snatched up his phone, and told his assistant to "send Vlad in."

Clark and Lois were dumfounded when a muscular, six foot, five, two hundred and eighty pound Romanian entered Lex’s study from a side door.

"Vlad," Lex greeted his bodyguard amiably, "please show the muffin peddler and the farmboy to the door. They are no longer welcome in my home."

Lex tried not to grin in satisfaction at seeing the shocked dismay on Lois and Clark’s face. He didn’t have time to justify his attitude to them, especially with Chloe so obviously needing help.

He knew better than either of them the lengths that Chloe was willing to go to when she thought that she was right.

And from their conversation the three months before, Chloe Sullivan knew that she was right about the sinister happenings at Fox River.

Chapter 3



Dr. Kristin Bellick had the charts of all of the new inmates at Fox River brought to her so she could review them thoroughly. Dr. Bellick took pride in the work they did at the asylum, and she only wanted the best for the prisoners in her care.

Even though she was a woman in her forties, Dr. Bellick had never lost any of her youthful enthusiasm towards psychiatry, but years spent in a penitentiary did stunt her optimism. Dr. Bellick was now a realist, and she knew that keeping the more violent offenders drugged was the only way to keep them under control, but she preferred to use a combination of anti-depressants and anti-psychotics along with therapy.

She also believed in the prisoners being allowed ample time in the yard, because fresh air and sunshine did wonders for everyone’s mental health, and not just the inmates. She made sure that all of the hospital’s staff had plenty of yard time, and that her door was open if they ever needed to talk.

Dr. Bellick knew that she was fortunate that Fox River had a good hearted warden, who believed in many of the same ideals that she did. Warden Bradley Hale was what some of the older staff doctors derisively referred to as a "bleeding heart liberal", but Kristin Bellick was grateful that there was at least one other person behind these walls who didn’t want all of the inmates in straight jackets 24 hours a day..

Dr. Bellick had been a psychiatrist for the last twenty years, and she had been working at the sanitarium for the past ten years, and while they had made great strides, they still had a long way to go to completely upgrade their mental facility. And thankfully, the warden agreed with her ideas on improved patient care wholeheartedly.

Now, all she had to do was get the other staff member to get their mindsets into the 21st century, especially the orderlies. She had, on more than one occasion, seen the same orderly trying to overmedicate the more troublesome patients.

Dr. Bellick made a mental note to ask the warden to have a talk with the young man, as she took her customary seat near the garden. She liked to sit off to the side so that she was close enough to observe the patients and staff, but far enough away to not be a distraction

She sorted through her files, and paged through the new patients quickly. It never failed to amaze her how similar the inmate’s personal histories were, and how many of the same characteristics they all shared as well.

The doctor didn’t see anything unusual until she got to Chloe Sullivan’s file. She stopped and studied the picture that accompanied the new inmate’s chart, and she was struck by how pretty the blond young woman was, and that she had such a lively expression on her face. Most of the people who were brought in looked dazed, and half-dead.

Dr. Bellick read through the information provided on Chloe Sullivan, and she found herself even more intrigued. The young woman simply didn’t fit the profile of an inmate at Fox River. Ms. Sullivan had never been in trouble with the law in any capacity, and she didn’t have any type of juvenile record. She was a college student, who was also a cub reporter at The Daily Planet.

Chloe Sullivan was raised by a single parent, her father, and Dr. Bellick noted that the space where her mother’s information should have been was left blank. Perhaps this was a reason for the sudden deterioration in Chloe’s mental health. But the doctor did not want to jump to conclusions before speaking to the girl, so she made another note to ask Chloe herself about this lapse.

In fact, the more Dr. Bellick read about Chloe, the more she became convinced that there was more to this young woman then what was recorded on her chart. Again, she knew it was not wise to form any judgments, but there was a reason Chloe was here. She was clearly very troubled, and would probably need a lot of coaxing to get to the root of why she had tried to kill herself.

Nodding her head, Dr. Bellick closed the file that she had been reading on Chloe Sullivan and vowed to help the girl anyway she could.

~~~

Chloe knew that what she was doing was the very definition of crazy, but she also knew that she had to get her mom out of Fox River. Yes, her mom was mentally ill, but she also needed better care then she was likely to get in this particular facility. Especially after Chloe had learned about the myriad of mysterious deaths that had plagued the prison for the past ten years.

She didn’t regret making this decision, but she did hate that she had to involve so many other people in her plan. Lois, Clark and Lex all knew pieces of what Chloe’s plan was, but only her dad knew the entire thing.

When she first broached her idea to him, he hadn’t spoken to her for the rest of the night. He had been so angry and terrified that his couldn’t stop his hands from trembling, but at the same time, he was fiercely proud that his daughter would go to such lengths to help someone she thought was in danger.

Gabe tried his best to get past his fears, and think as rationally as Chloe obviously had, so he came to her the next day, armed with questions. Unsurprisingly, Chloe had all of her research laid out for him on their kitchen table, and together, father and daughter went over all of the information she had uncovered in the last three months.

He was still afraid for her, but he did feel better knowing that Chloe had involved Lex Luthor in the escape, as well as her cousin and Clark Kent. While he knew that Lois and Clark’s hearts were in the right place, they both lacked discipline. Lex, on the other hand, was a person who could be relied on to keep calm in any given situation.

Chloe was also calm under pressure, so they made a good team. Unfortunately, she was also becoming a bit Machiavellian, because she had set it up that neither Lex or her cousin or Clark actually knew the full extent of what she was planning. She deliberately kept them in the dark, and only told them what they needed to know to be worried enough about her to work together, and hopefully, realize that Chloe had been up to something, and decide to work together.

Gabe knew that Lois and Clark would be concerned, but he couldn’t help but feel that it would be Lex who would figure things out first. After all, he was a brilliant strategist, and Gabe knew that Chloe had been influenced by Lex’s attention to detail when she thought up her escape plan.

But as for the three of them working together, Gabe had his doubts, but if Chloe felt it could be done, he would give her the time she requested.

Gabe was not ashamed to admit that he liked the idea of someone as powerful and influential as Lex being on Chloe’s side. If it came down to it, he would need someone with enough power to cut through any red tape thrown at them when the time came to get Chloe and her mom released. If the plan went wrong, that is.

And Gabe believed in preparing for the worst, because for all of Chloe’s meticulous planning, any part of her escape could easily go awry, and Gabe was not about to let Chloe rot in an insane asylum.

Not when it wasn’t her time to anyway.

Chloe’s plan brought all of Gabe’s secret worries, and his biggest worry was that not only would he have lost his wife to insanity, but also his little girl. The thought was enough to give him plenty of sleepless nights, but to now know that Chloe was locked up in a sanitarium, well Gabe was now relying on No Doze to get through his days.

Gabe had done his best to protect Chloe from her mother’s mental illness, but his wife had taken care of it for him. She divorced Gabe, and then promptly turned her back on Chloe, preferring to pretend that she didn’t have a daughter.

At first, Gabe had been furious, until he discovered that Chloe’s mom had entered into therapy, and that she couldn’t have contact with any family members. But, her illness was too far gone, and it was not long before she was permanently confined to an asylum.

Gabe refused to think about Chloe’s chances of inheriting her mother’s insanity. He choose to think about the bright future that Chloe had ahead of her, and he knew that he wouldn’t get a proper nights rest until Chloe was out of that place, and back with him, living the life she was supposed to.

Chapters 4 and 5