Here's the chapter you've all been waiting for!

Thanks to those who gave me feedback. And thanks to rkn for betaing again.

I know there is a line in this chapter that isn't mine, although whoever wrote it was talking about Lois instead of Kiley. But more about that in the FDK thread.
(Along with a long author's note so not to give away spoilers)

A Box of Swiss Chocolates

Clark still couldn’t find what he was looking for in Switzerland, although at least he had Lois helping him now. Why had he ever thought he could do this by himself? Lois was looking up whatever financial records she could get from the Planet’s databases. It seemed Luthor had supplied money to someone in Switzerland while he was alive, although he had tried very hard to make it untraceable. So the new Luthor probably got some of his money from the old one.

Clark had found Luthor’s house in Switzerland. It was a nice place, but not exactly Luthor material. From his experience they usually went for grand, bigger-than-life type places, not ordinary homes like he seemed to have. He wondered if Luthor had several other homes in different places. He still wanted to find that fortress that some people in Zurich mentioned.

But right now, he was home for the night. He, Lois, and Alice had just finished supper when the phone rang. Lois answered it. “Hello?...WHAT!!??” Clark wondered who was receiving Lois’s wrath right now. Jimmy? His parents? Just about anybody, in her current state of mind, quite frankly. They were both on the edge these days.

Then Lois’s voice completely changed from angry and annoyed to terrified. “Okay.” Her voice shook. “Weeeellllll…..do our beessttt…..Clark will coomme by and gettt her.” Then she hung up the phone. “We need Dr. Klein. Now!” She rummaged around frantically, looking for his home phone number.

Dr. Klein? What was all this about? “Honey, what’s the matter?” Clark asked her quietly.

“We need him to examine Kiley as soon as possible.” She continued to search for the number without looking at him. “There it is!” Lois grabbed the number and quickly dialed. “Dr. Klein, we need you to go to STAR labs now!...It’s important! There’s something wrong with Kiley! Just get over there. We’ll meet you there.” Then she hung up the phone.

Clark took her into his arms as she crumpled. “Honey, what is the matter with Kiley?”
“I – I – don’t know,” she replied. “Apparently it looked like a cold at first. But now she’s becoming incoherent. And she fainted!”

Clark gulped. That didn’t sound good. Lois was right, they needed Dr. Klein. Only…“Where is she? And who was on the phone?”

“Brace yourself, Clark. She’s at her apartment. And that was Larry calling.”

Clark was shocked and, as he let the information digest, he felt betrayed. The only way, save that of a private jet which he saw no evidence that this Luthor had, that they could both be in her apartment, was if Kiley had told him she was Superwoman.

Still, that really wasn’t the point right now. He needed to take her to Dr. Klein first, so he could cure whatever her illness was. Then he’d tell Kiley how disappointed he was in her. He sighed. It was too bad he hadn’t found any concrete evidence to show her yet.

“Clark, fly over and get her. I want her to see Dr. Klein as soon as possible. I’ll take the jeep. I just hope…she’s okay. She’s got to be.”

Clark nodded, took a deep breath and took off. Luthor knew who he was. That made him feel exposed, like he was naked. How could Kiley do this to him? To the family? And she didn’t even bother to tell them that she had told Luthor herself! But, still…Lois was right. She had to be okay.

He quietly landed inside Kiley’s apartment. Well, he thought to himself, let’s get this over with. Just then, he noticed a blond man come down the stairs. This must be Luthor.

“Hi,” Luthor said nervously. That was surprising, he had to admit. He’d never seen the original Luthor nervous. But it was probably another act. “She’s upstairs. I…just want her to be okay, sir…That’s all.” Luthor’s voice sounded almost as shaken as Lois’s did.

And since when did Luthors have blond hair? That really surprised him. Logically, since this man was the original Luthor’s nephew, there was no reason why he couldn’t have blond hair. Still, he had expected him to have brown hair, like all the Luthors he’d come in contact with. But this wasn’t important. Kiley was important.

Clark entered the bedroom and looked at Kiley. She looked awful. Her face was flushed, she looked feverish, and her nose looked red from blowing it too much. He picked her up off the bed, causing her to wake up. “Hello, sir. Who are you?” she mumbled as Clark lifted her into his arms. Kiley didn’t know who he was!? This was serious.

Did Luthor do something to her, he wondered. Clark looked accusingly at him and asked, “What happened?”

Luthor sighed. “I don’t know. I really don’t. I know you won’t believe me, but I want her better as much as you do. I told your wife you could take me back to Switzerland or throw me in jail for all I care. Just make sure she’s okay.”

“Well, as much as the idea of taking you back to Switzerland is appealing, I don’t have the time. And I don’t have enough evidence to put you in jail.”

Luthor nodded. “So, do you want me to stay here or…?” his voice trailed off, sounding unsure of what to say. Clark had to admit he was doing a wonderful job acting innocent and worried about Kiley. If he didn’t know better, he might actually believe him. But he did know better.

“No, I don’t want you to stay here. I want you where I can see you if you’re going to be in the United States. Especially with…what you know.”

Luthor nodded, looking resigned and relieved at the same time. “So how do I get to where you’re going?”

“I’m not going to fly you. You can take the subway,” he told Luthor. Then he gave him the directions and took off. Lois was going to kill him for inviting Luthor, but hopefully she’d understand his reasoning. He still felt naked, with Luthor knowing.

In the meantime, he needed to get Kiley to Dr. Klein as soon as possible.

Within minutes, Clark landed at STAR labs, near Dr. Klein’s private office. Hopefully, he would be here soon. Right now, all he could do was wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. Clark looked at Kiley again. She had fallen asleep shortly after he had put her in his arms, but he still remembered her saying, “Hello, sir. Who are you?”

Ten minutes later, Dr. Klein arrived. “So what seems to be the problem?” he asked Clark as he began examining his patient.

Clark shook his head sadly. “I don’t know. She has basic cold symptoms like a fever, a stuffed nose and everything. But she seems to keep losing her sensibility. When I picked her up, she didn’t even know who I was!”

Dr. Klein looked shocked. “This is serious. Let me see what I can do.”

Just then Lois came into the office. “How is she Dr. Klein? Please let her be okay! What’s wrong with my girl? I wish I had seen this coming! Maybe if we had been talking to her, we could’ve done something!”

Dr. Klein sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know, Lois. Your kids are harder to examine, because we can’t do blood tests. Her throat looks swollen, so that fits with a cold…but I don’t know.”

Lois and Clark clung to each other for strength. Kiley would be okay, right? She had to be!

Just then Kiley woke up. She seemed to be a little more coherent this time. “Dr Klein! What’s going on? Can you tell me why I’m so sick? Where’s Larry?”

Clark bristled at Luthor’s first name. He supposed he’d be here soon enough. Lois frowned at the name, as well.

But a minute after that, Kiley suddenly fainted on Dr. Klein’s table.

Everyone looked at each other, terrified. What was happening to Kiley?

Dr. Klein looked thoughtful for a moment. “Has she ever fainted before when she was sick?”

Lois and Clark shook the heads violently. “But apparently she’s fainted since becoming sick this time. What are we going to do? How can we help her?”

Dr. Klein sighed. “I have a colleague working on something with anthrax. I’m afraid this fits all the symptoms of the inhaled form. Cold symptoms, followed by shocks. That could account for the fainting and incoherence. Let me talk to him for a minute to get more information.”

Clark’s eyebrows went up. Anthrax? Wasn’t that sometimes used as a biological weapon? That didn’t sound good. But how on earth would Kiley come in contact with that? Luthor? He didn’t check for anything like that when he was in Switzerland. Why hadn’t he thought of that?

As Clark was dwelling on this information, and continuing to hold Lois in his arms, Luthor walked into the office. “Hi,” he mumbled, looking at the floor.

Clark let go of Lois for a moment. “You,” he spat, pointing at Luthor. “What did you do to my daughter?! Dr. Klein tells me she might have anthrax!”

Lois looked from Clark to Luthor, trying to understand what was going on. “What are you doing here? You’re not good enough for my daughter! Get out! I bet you’re the reason why she’s sick, anyway!”

Luthor sighed, and continued to look at the floor. Once again, Clark wondered where that famous Luthor self-confidence, sometimes known as conceit, was. “I’ll leave if you want me to. I just wanted to see Kiley.” He glanced, seemingly longingly at Kiley. “And I know you won’t believe me, but I didn’t get her sick. I just want her to be okay. And honestly,” he added, sounding a little angry this time, “Why would I call you if I made her sick? I even offered to let you put me in jail!” Luthor shook his head and began walking away.

Clark sighed and put his head in his hands. What was he going to do? He’d still rather have Luthor were he could see him, though. “Lois, the reason why I told him to come was so that he wouldn’t be able to do anything behind our backs. Does that make sense?”

Lois sighed and nodded slowly. “Come on back in,” Clark called to Luthor, sighing. What was he getting himself into, letting him be acquainted with Superman’s family medical practice?

So Luthor wandered back into the office. All three of them sat down and stared at each other, and at Kiley. Would she really be okay?

Just then Dr. Klein came back in. “I’m pretty sure it is the inhaled form of anthrax. I have to tell you, I don’t know what to do here. That strain is hard to treat, and it has to be treated with IV drugs. But with her invulnerability…?”

Clark found it hard to breath for a second. Dr. Klein couldn’t possibly be saying what it sounded like he was saying, could he?

Lois, who had always been braver than he was, asked the question he couldn’t bring himself to ask, “What will happen to Kiley if she can’t get the medication?”

Dr. Klein took a deep breath and responded, “She’ll die within twenty-four to thirty-six hours.”

Clark’s face crumpled. Lois buried her head in his chest. This could not be happening. He was not facing the possibility of losing Kiley!

Luthor’s face also fell. “No, no,” he mumbled to himself.

“But if she’s sick, maybe her invulnerability’s not complete. We could try, right? We can’t just give up!” Lois, of course. She never gave up without a fight. And she could very well be right. It could work, right?

Dr. Klein nodded. “Yes, we should try that. Let me get some drugs from the hospital. I’ll be back in about twenty minutes. In the meantime, try to keep her comfortable.”

Clark noticed her face was still warm, so he picked up a clean cloth and began wiping her face. He’d do anything to help Kiley. Lois picked up another cloth and wiped her chest. What were they going to do?

In the background, Clark could see Luthor looking sadly at the situation and longingly at Kiley.

Just then Kiley woke up. “Mom? Dad?” she asked quietly as she looked at their faces. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Lois and Clark nodded. “It’s okay,” they said at the same time.

Then she looked past her parents, toward a blond-headed man. “Larry?” she mumbled softly. “Come here.”

Luthor looked at Kiley as if his heart were breaking. Then he looked at Lois and Clark questioningly. Clark sighed and nodded. Lois paused and nodded as well. He hated Luthor anywhere near his daughter, but the man didn’t seem to be doing any harm at the moment. And if it would make Kiley happy…

Luthor stepped up to the table that Kiley was laying on and took her hand. “Hi there,” he said softly.

Kiley looked from Clark to Luthor intensely. She took each of their hands and told them, “You guys have more in common than you realize.” Then her face became confused again. “What is this place? Why am I here?”

Clark, Lois and Luthor all looked at each other at the same time. Clark was sure they were all thinking the same thing. She needed the drugs now!

Fifteen minutes of waiting and trying to keep Kiley comfortable, Dr. Klein arrived with the drugs and the IV. He took a deep breath. “I hope this works,” he commented grimly, before attempting to drive the needle into Kiley’s left arm.

The needle broke and fell to the floor.

Everyone in the room looked at each other in terror. This couldn’t be happening! “Maybe her other arm is more vulnerable?” Lois asked, obviously grasping at straws. But everyone nodded. It was better than giving up.

So Dr. Klein picked up another needle and attempted to inject her right arm. Once again, the needle broke, without even knicking Kiley’s skin. He tried several other places to put a needle into a patient, including both thighs, and several spots along both arms. But they all proved futile. Dr. Klein picked up the last needle he’d tried and threw it across the room. “This stuff is useless! This is exactly why I went into research!” Then he left the room.

They all gazed at each other again, sharing looks of horror and broken hearts. They were going to lose Kiley, and there was nothing they could do about it. Within 24 to 36 hours, Kiley’s heart would stop beating. Clark glanced at Luthor. To think, just two hours ago, he was worried about her because of what this man might do to her. But it seemed he should have been worried about something else all together.

Because as hard as it was to believe, Clark no longer could see Luthor as responsible for Kiley’s illness. He had a point. Why would he call them if that was the case? And Clark had been looking for ANY sign of a crack in his act. In the original Luthor, he had found it early on. But he couldn’t see it here.

And the fact of the matter was it was really Clark’s fault that Kiley was sick. Or at least that she couldn’t get better. He had given her that invulnerability! To think, when Clark first learned his children had his invulnerability, he was overjoyed. He wouldn’t have to worry about them the way he always worried about Lois. But if she didn’t have invulnerability, she’d be able to be treated.

Clark buried his head in shame in the corner of the office. This was all his fault. He stayed there for the rest of the night, while Lois looked torn between helping him and giving Kiley comfort.

Luthor sat next to Kiley, and eventually fell asleep.

Lois got up the next morning. “I’m going to call Alice and Thomas. They should have a chance to see her before…well, before…” Clark nodded. It was obvious what she couldn’t say.

Alice showed up a half hour later. “Hey, sis,” she commented, walking over to the table. “I wish it wasn’t like this, you know? I never really told you how much I looked up to you. You knew you wanted to paint, even though the rest of Metropolis kept telling you to be a reporter. You knew you wanted to work with Dad, right from the beginning. I wish I could be like that. But I’m always changing my mind every two weeks…I just wish…we…could have had more time,” she finished before sitting down.

Dr. Klein had set up something of a “hospital room/waiting room” in his old office, which was particularly useful today. Actually, Dr. Klein was officially retired now. After all, he was almost eighty. But he was the only doctor the Kents could trust to treat their family, so had agreed to continue serving them. Occasionally, he would also have a part-time project as well.

Thomas said he would be by soon, and with Clark’s parents as well. Clark looked at his little girl again, without touching her. He didn’t feel he had the right. After all, this was partly his fault, right? Then he happened to glance in the corner of the room. There was a lead-lined box sitting there. Kryptonite.

If Kiley were vulnerable to Kryptonite, they could give her the drugs. It wouldn’t even have to be a long exposure. Just a couple of minutes would all it would take. It would be a small price to pay to get her those drugs. And to think, how overjoyed Clark had been when they had first found out Kiley was invulnerable to Kryptonite. She’d never have to face that intense pain, he had thought to himself. She’d never have to worry about some villain surprising her with it when she’d least expected it.

To think, how grateful he had been that she hadn’t been affected by Kryptonite when he had been exposed a month ago. He’d laughed at himself now. Clark would give anything for Kiley to be vulnerable to Kryptonite now, even if she had to leave him in that warehouse. His life didn’t matter when Kiley wasn’t a part of it. Before he knew it, tears began streaming down his face. Clark picked up a tissue and wiped them off.

Then he picked up a cloth and wiped Kiley’s forehead again. At least he could make her more comfortable.

Thomas arrived with Clark’s parents. Thomas walked over to her and said, “I’m sorry it had to be this way, sis. I wish there was something I could do,” before sitting down.

Suddenly, Clark’s super hearing snapped to attention. There was a train headed off course! A lot of lives could be lost! But then he looked at Kiley. And what did it matter if Kiley was going to die anyway? He wanted to spend her last…her last…days with her.

Thomas glanced at his father and nodded. He would go. He spun into Whirlwind and left.

Mom and Dad also talked to Kiley. About how proud of her they were, and about how much they loved her.

Luthor still sat next to Kiley, but it seemed to improve her comfort, so Clark was getting used to it. Suddenly, Kiley woke up again. “Larry,” she mumbled. “I want to stay with you…I…we…have so much left to do…so much left to see…”

Luthor stroked her hair tenderly. Clark had to admit, it reminded of him of the way he touched Lois. “We will stay together,” he told her. “We’re two haves of the same whole, remember?” His voice cracked.

Kiley, still lying down, struggled to reach out for Larry. But before she could reach him, she passed out again. Larry turned from the Kents quickly, but Clark noticed the tears running down his face first. A few minutes later, Dr. Klein told them she was in a coma. Lois reached for her daughter’s hands, crying for her to stay with them.

Clark sighed. If only the Kryptonite…

He looked at Luthor, deep into the man’s eye’s, and saw no signs of evil. He remembered how he was able to sense evil in the original Luthor, Tempus, and many other villains, including the latest, Mr. Riccoi. He had seen how much he cared for Kiley. Maybe…?

“So,” Clark commented, “Larry.” He stressed the first name. “You say you’re not like Lex Luthor?” The two of them went to sit down.

Larry took a deep breath and looked straight at Clark. “No, sir, I’m not. I admit, I knew him. And there was a time I looked up to him. But I don’t approve of the things he did. From running general crime here, to cloning, to what he did to you and your wife. Kiley told me about the Kryptonite cage. I wish you hadn’ had to go through that. Not to mention what he did to my mother. He destroyed her self-esteem throughly.”

Clark sighed. “You know, as Superman, I claim to stand for justice. And one of the big things about justice is to give everyone a fair chance. I never even tried to do that for you.”

Larry shrugged, “It’s completely understandable. You were just trying to protect Kiley. I would have done the same thing if she were my daughter. I just wish…there was something I could do for her now,” Larry sighed and looked longingly at Kiley again.

“I wish there was something I could do, too. Maybe Kiley was right when she told us we’re not that different.” Clark held out his hand to Larry, and he shook it.

“You know, this situation is partly my fault. I gave her the invulnerability to the needles. If she didn’t have that, Dr. Klein could give her the treatment,” Clark grumbled.

Larry shook his head, “That’s not true, sir. You didn’t give her the anthrax virus.”

Lois looked up, flashed Larry a thank you glance, and went to her husband. “Clark none of this is your fault. Like he said, you didn’t give her the virus. And it’s MY genes that makes her unresponsive to Kryptonite. How do you think that makes me feel?”

Clark sighed and took her in his arms. He hated for her to feel bad. And he was just wishing they could’ve used the Kryptonite, too. Larrry hesitated, and then hugged them both.

Then they all went back to facing their living nightmare. Baring a miracle, Kiley was going to die with in twelve hours.

Two hours later, Dr. Klein walked back in to check on Kiley. She was getting progressively weaker, he told them. He would be back again.

When Dr. Klein arrived again, Kiley was just barely holding on. He looked at the Kent family, nervously. “I was talking to a colleague, and he gave me an idea. This is probably way too far-fetched but, well…nothing else is working…so…” Dr. Klein shrugged. “Anyway, here’s the idea. Anthrax is bacterial. It’s supposed to be killed with these drugs,” he gestured to the useless treatment. “But it COULD possibly be killed with high power radiation, if it’s powerful enough to get through her aura. I don’t really know…but I thought maybe we could try it…” Dr. Klein seemed uncertain about this, like he didn’t want to give up on his patient, but he also didn’t want to give the Kent family false hope.

Clark, however, happily clung to anything that might work, as did the rest of the Kents, and Larry as well. They all nodded eagerly at this new possible development. “So where would we get high power radiation?”

Dr. Klein shrugged. “It would have to be one of those big power plants. Could you take her there?” he asked Clark.

He nodded. Anything that might let Kiley live was fine with him. He picked her up gently and flew off. Then he landed inside the biggest power plant in the state of New Troy. He ignored the protests from the workers, who shouted to him that civilians were NOT allowed inside. Unfortunately, Kiley was not wearing her Superwoman costume. It would have been too hot with her fever. So it looked to them like Superman was exposing an innocent woman to harmful radiation.

But he didn’t care about that right now. He just wanted Kiley to be okay. He held her there for several minutes, hoping against hope there would be a change in her.

Then suddenly, he noticed her heartbeat speed up! She was coming out of the coma! “Larry,” she mumbled softly. “Larry.” Kiley was okay! She would recover! Clark flew out of the power plant, thinking about Kiley mumblings, as well as Larry’s speech just before she drifted into a coma.

He remembered a similar circumstance, back when he and Lois were engaged. Somehow, intergang had infected him with a Kryptonian virus. Clark had ended up in a coma, just like Kiley had been.

*******************************(flashback)********************************
As he had hovered in consciousness, just before slipping into a coma, Lois had told him, “Remember once I asked how you felt about me... And you said being with me was stronger than you alone? Grab onto that strength now. We'll be strong enough for everybody.”

Somehow, Clark had done just that. So even though the Kryptonite technically saved him, Clark credited Lois with saving his life that night.
*****************************(end of flashback)****************************
It was quite possible, under the circumstances, that Larry had done the same for Kiley. When he got back to Dr. Klein office, Clark placed Kiley on the table and hugged Larry in open gratitude.

Kiley opened her eyes and said, “I must be in heaven now. Dad and Larry are hugging!”
Everyone in the room lit up and began hugging everyone else. Kiley would be okay!