Disclaimer: I still own nothing.

Author note: I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter and encouraged me to keep going. You guys are totally awesome! As I mentioned before, I was originally going to make this a quick Chlavis oneshot, but then I decided not to because I figured most people reading the story would have been disappointed and/or furious with me for ending it where I did. Lol! I'm sorry it took so long to update, but work and school have been really crazy lately. Remember that my fan fic is set just after the events of “Turbulence,” so Chloe doesn't know Davis is Doomsday yet. And with all of that said, let's move on to the next chapter.

Go Chlavis!

---

“Sometimes the monster really does get the girl.” – Davis (to Oliver) in “Beast”

---

Davis opened his eyes the next morning to see a nearly cloudless blue sky through the window of Chloe's apartment after the harsh rainstorm from the previous night. Looking over at the left side of the bed, the handsome paramedic saw her sleeping peacefully, so warm and content underneath the light blue sheets. He then turned over on his side and took in the sight of her beauty, which was calm and relaxed. Smiling softly, Davis gazed upon the features of her sleeping face, wishing he could stay there and watch Chloe sleep for all eternity. He brushed a lock of hair out of her face and caressed her soft cheek with his thumb gently, making sure not wake the beauty up. While he continued to watch her sleep, Davis recalled the events of the night before. He had come to the Talon with every intention of admitting his secrets to Chloe, confess his sins to the only person he could trust and depend on—but ended up in bed with her instead. She needed comfort from a friend, a shoulder to cry on after Jimmy walked out on her and their marriage, so Davis wanted to be there for her like she had always been there for him. He didn't have to remind himself that it was his fault her husband left. He had lied countless times to people he cared about, injected Jimmy with a hallucinogen, did everything humanly possible to make that geeky, bowtie-wearing photographer look like he was delusional from medication overdoses. And now Davis was in bed with his wife. He couldn't stop himself though. The beast wouldn't let him, as the temptation was just too much for either to resist. After months of pinning for Chloe in spite of knowing she was engaged to another man, Jimmy was finally out of the way. He was no longer a threat or obstacle blocking Davis from what he desired most in this world. Many people would probably say he took advantage of the beautiful damsel by sleeping with her after what she had just been through. He was completely aware of the fact that she was in a vulnerable place and fragile state of mind when they made love for the first time last night, but something—something even beyond the temptation of finally being with Chloe—stopped him from believing he had truly taken advantage of her.

“I love you, Davis.”

Hearing those hushed words inside his head again, Davis still didn't know if what he had heard was real or not. A part of him wanted to believe what she said was real, to know that they felt the same way about each other. But even if it was real and she had said the words, one question still remained. Would Chloe still feel that way about him once she knew the truth about his vigilante killings to control the beast? Davis was suddenly cut off from his thoughts when he saw the blonde beside him begin to stir and wake up.

Taking a deep breath in, her eyelids fluttered open and she immediately saw the clear-weathered sky through the window.

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” he said in a soft tone, still mesmerized by how beautiful Chloe was even with her uncombed hair, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Slightly surprised to hear another voice in the room, she turned her head towards his direction to say something, though couldn't help but smile upon seeing Davis' gentle facial features gazing at her.

“Hey...” she replied back in a sleepy tone, almost reaching out for his hand. “How did you sleep?”

“Like a baby,” he admitted in all honesty. Davis suddenly realized he hadn't slept this well since he returned to Metropolis from that ice castle in the Arctic. “What about you?”

“Like a rock.”

Davis smiled at the woman he loved for a moment, tempted to kiss her, to show her how much he loves her again, but didn't. He couldn't. Looking down at sky blue sheets of the bed while an awkward silence quickly brewed between them, Davis was at a loss of words over what to really say at this point. He knew neither could deny their friendship was forever changed now that they had slept together. In his determined quest for redemption, Davis committed yet another sin in the eyes of the church by giving into temptation. It was the effect she had on him, though, because the more he was around her, the more Davis felt as if Chloe was the only thing in his life keeping him off the destructive path he was sent to accomplish by a greater evil. She was the only source of light and goodness guiding him through the darkness. He didn't know how that was even possible, yet it seemed to be true after what happened in the alley. Somehow his love for her kept him human in a literal and figurative sense, like out of some sort of gothic fairy tale. But she was also his greatest weakness. If he ever lost Chloe, Davis didn't know what he'd do without her...how he'd survive without her. In the deepest, darkest depths of his soul, he somehow knew the beast within him would take over, take complete control if he ever lost the woman he loved, and then the part of him that was human would cease to exist. Davis couldn't—he wouldn't let that happen. No, as long as he had Chloe in his life and close to his heart, he would be able to keep the beast at bay.

“Um, Davis,” she started to say while brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear. “I usually have a really hard time dealing with uncomfortable silences, so maybe—you know, to avoid all the hassle and everything—maybe we should talk about—”

“Wait,” he stopped her. “Before you say anything else, I—I need to tell you something first.”

“Okay,” she nodded patiently and gave him her full attention.

“If you want to play the 'friend-comforting-a-friend' card after what happened last night, I won't get upset or try to convince you it was more than that because I know you were hurting and needed a shoulder to cry on. But I would be lying if I said that's what I want to come out all of this.” Davis paused for a moment, expecting her to say something in response, but when she didn't he continued. “I can't pretend to think of you as just a friend anymore, Chloe, when that's not the way I really feel about you. You mean more to me than anything else in my life right now and I love you in every way I know how. I have loved you since the first day we met outside the Daily Planet while we were helping Bette. And I think you love me too, but if it's too soon after Jimmy or you need some time to sort your feelings out about us, I understand and I can wait. I would wait forever to be with you.”

Then before he could say or do anything else, she smiled, leaned forward, closed her eyes and kissed his lips. Davis was a little surprised by her reaction, yet closed his eyes only seconds later and kissed her back without any hesitation. He cupped her cheek with his right hand and leaned her back down on the bed. Taking her into his arms, Davis wanted to be as physically close to Chloe as possible in this moment—needed to feel every sweet inch of her body pressed up against his. Planting kisses on her cheek and along her jawline until his lips traveled down her neck and shoulders. Lost in a haze of desire, she could feel that every kiss was filled with a fire and smoldering passion that burned only for her, sending shivers of sheer pleasure down her spine from the contact. Chloe's fingertips softly grazed his bare back as his hands began to explore her body from underneath the sheets, teasing her with his gentle touch. He nearly losing all self-control, though, when he heard her whisper his name in rapture. Davis brought his head back up to her level and locked eyes with her, his brown orbs gazing into her green ones. He thought he could stay in this trance for all eternity, forever staring into those beautiful eyes, until she cupped the back of his head and captured his lips into another searing kiss. However, lack of oxygen eventually made them came up for air. Out of breath but content, he gave her one last kiss on the lips before resting his head against her chest. While he listened to the beats of her heart, she ran her fingers into his dark hair with one hand and the other hand gently rubbed his back.

“I love you, Chloe,” he whispered as she held him in her arms.

Not expecting her to say anything in return, Davis just wanted to say the words out loud so she knew his feelings for her were true. She was first person he had ever said the word “love” to, the only one who meant anything to him now. Growing up in the foster system, he learned at a young age that a word like “love” wasn't to be used lightly. It wasn't something you could say and take back. Like a person's wedding vows, to truly love someone, someone you care for and carry with you in your heart, it was like a commitment. Not one of his foster parents had ever said it to him. Davis had never given anyone remotely close to him in his past the chance to, though. Running away as soon as he became settled in one foster home and being a perpetual loner all his life, he knew nothing of love or what it really meant to be in love until he met Chloe. Everything about her made him understand the true meaning of love, what it meant to really be in love, for her amazing ability to take risks, to help others in need, and her sweet innocence drew him to her from the very first moment they met. And it was with her—only with her it seemed—that his thoughts of blood, death, and destruction would vanish; the murderer inside Davis was tamed.

She was the Beauty to his Beast.

---

“Thank God you heard me.”

“You're hard to miss.”

---

About two hours later, Chloe walked out of her bathroom in black slacks and a red blouse. Dressed in the jeans he wore from the night before and one of Jimmy's new black t-shirts, Davis had taken a shower a half an hour earlier and was now pouring a cup of coffee for himself from behind the counter in her kitchenette. She smiled while watching him look so “at home” in her apartment. Chloe tried to shrug off the feeling; it wasn't right for her to feel this way after her husband just walked out on their marriage, yet she couldn't help but feel content with having Davis around. He was so sweet and wonderful to her, always so gentle and understanding. The sparks between them had been there from the start, but she chose to ignore, to deny harboring any sort of romantic feelings for him because she was engaged to another man.

---

“I can't go to your wedding, Chloe, because I can't watch you marry the wrong man.”

“Okay, Davis, you need to slow down and put your ambulance in reverse. I'll admit when we first met, there was an attraction. I mean, you're kind...and you've saved peoples lives, and you look great in an uniform. So, of course, I'm going to like you... But I love Jimmy.”

“Do you? Do you really?”

---

Although Chloe now knew that denying her feelings for Davis and hiding the truth from Jimmy about what had happened between them out in that alley behind the Talon was wrong. If she had just gone to Jimmy before the wedding and admitted that had Davis kissed her—and that she kissed him back—the chaotic mess in her life at the present time probably could have been prevented. She would have still lost Jimmy; he would have walked out on her before their marriage even started either way, because in the bottom of her heart Chloe knew their relationship wasn't as “happily ever after” as she had led others like Lois and Clark to believe. Even though she loved Jimmy, Chloe also understood, especially after watching her best friend's relationship with Lana crash and burn so many times from the lies of keeping his abilities a secret, that it takes more than love for any sort of relationship to survive. It takes complete trust and communication as well, which was something their relationship had always lacked mostly due to the secrets she carried for Clark, Oliver, and the rest her superhero friends.

“Hey,” he smiled when he looked up and noticed that she was staring at him. “Want a cup?”

“Are you kidding?” she asked with a grin, walking towards the counter. “I would feel like a zombie every morning without my daily dose of caffeine.”

“Well, in that case, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you live above a coffeehouse.”

After grabbing a clean cup from out of the white dish rack, Davis poured her some coffee while she got out the cream from out of the refrigerator and some sugar from one of the metal canisters beside the coffeepot to add to her hot beverage, then asked if he wanted any, but he preferred his coffee black. They went over to the couch with their cups of coffee and sat down together, enjoying each other's company while Chloe told him about her days when she was a reporter at the Daily Planet and being editor of the Torch back in high school.

“The Wall of what?” Davis asked with a bewildered look on his pale face.

“I called it the Wall of Weird,” she repeated with a smirk before rolling her eyes. “Okay, I know it probably sounds like something out of the Sci-Fi Channel, but hitting the mute button on my curiosity complex towards the strange and bizarre has never been one of my strong suits.”

“Something tells me the Daily Planet wasn't ready for the Wall of Weird when you came on as a hard-hitting reporter for them. Am I right?”

The blonde laughed for a moment before grabbing a pillow and playfully hitting his shoulder with it. “Very funny.”

---

“Chloe, I think we need to finish talking about what's happened,” Davis said later on in their conversation, “because there's something I need to know before this goes any further.”

“All right, I'm listening.”

Davis was quiet for moment, trying to choose the right words to say, and then he looked up at her again. “Chloe, I'm not going to pretend to think you're over Jimmy because it would be nearly impossible for anyone to lose their feelings for someone they've been with for so long that quickly. And I know he said marrying you was the biggest mistake of his life, but if you think there's any chance you two could work things out, then maybe—”

“Davis,” she reached out and covered her right hand over his left one. “This isn't your fault. I know you feel guilty about Jimmy after he started accusing you of being a murderer and almost attacked you out in that alley the other night, but you can't blame yourself for what happened to him.”

Sighing, Davis knew he should feel guilty because it was his fault that Jimmy walked out on their marriage. But he didn't. And the beast inside himself didn't either. Neither wanted Chloe to go back to her husband, especially after the way he left her, but there was still a part of Davis that thought he should say it because what if there was a part of her that still wanted to give their marriage another try? Or what if Jimmy came back to her in a week and wanted to patch things up and start all over? Where would Davis stand in Chloe's life then? Would they go back to being “just friends” again? Go back to denying how they really feel for each other? But how could they do that after what had just happened between them the night before? Feeling the beast inside began to growl in hate and anger, Davis wouldn't let that happen. Jimmy was gone—making his choice when he walked out on his marriage with Chloe—and now she was finally free to be with him.

“And as much as I hate to admit it,” she continued after letting go of his hand. “I think Jimmy was right about me.”

“What do you mean?” Davis questioned her, confused yet curious by her new observation on the situation. “Are you saying you really don't trust him?”

“No,” she said shaking her head three times. “It's not that I don't trust Jimmy. Believe me, after all the zany adventures we've been through in the past few years I trust him with my life, but the thing is I—”

“Trust Clark more,” he finished her thought. “And it's easier for you to confide in him because he's your best friend, right?”

She nodded sadly. “I know that probably sounds really lame, but Clark is my best friend and he's been a big part of my life for a long time now. I never meant to hurt Jimmy or make him think I—”

“Chloe,” he said softly before grabbing her hand once more. “You don't need to try and win me over with your side of the argument because I'm already there. I always have been.” She smiled. “From the first day we met, I could see how important friendship is to you and I know how much Clark means to you as your best friend. I'm just sorry that Jimmy doesn't understand that.”

“Yeah...” she whispered.

“Can I be completely honest with you about something, though?”

“Of course.”

“I get where Jimmy's coming from as much as the next guy, but it kinda sounds like he's had some serious...insecurity issues with your relationship for a while now if he decided to walk out on you after the first bump in the road of your marriage.”

Chloe couldn't help but nod her head, making an admission to him about Jimmy that in the past had been difficult for her to even tell Clark, but was surprisingly open to discussing with Davis, still amazing the blonde at how easy it was for her confide in him. “He's had his issues with my former feelings for Clark since Day 1. I constantly tried to tell Jimmy that I didn't feel that way about him anymore, yet seemed whenever the skies finally cleared up for us, another thunderstorm of his jealousy towards Clark would strike our relationship. And no matter what I said or did to prove my feelings for Clark were in the past, Jimmy wouldn't believe me.”

“Are you sure your feelings for him are really gone?”

“Yes,” she said, perplexed. “Why would you say that?”

“Not to take his side or anything, but maybe Jimmy thought you did still have feelings for Clark because he saw a spark there that you thought was gone but really wasn't and he felt threatened by it.”

Chloe was quiet for a moment or two, staring down at the white coffee cup in her hands before looking back up at Davis. “I'll admit that I've always held special place in my heart for Clark because he was my first love, but whatever romance novel feelings I had for him as a teenager in high school are gone now. I've accepted the fact that I'll never be the one he wants to spend his life with. But as his best friend, I want Clark to find someone special, who'll love him completely, and share their life with him.”

He lightly kissed her knuckles, then squeezed her hand a little before letting it go. She smiled again for the sweet affection and comfort, not knowing where she'd be right now without his support. But as much as she enjoyed having him here, it almost felt ironic that Davis would be her rock when he was actually one of the reasons why Jimmy left her.

“You know, it wasn't all Clark, though. Jimmy also—”

“I know,” he interjected, not needing a reminder of his part in the destruction of her marriage. “And I'm sorry about that.”

“Really?” Chloe eyed him with a glint of curiosity. “Because if I recall correctly, you were the one who said I was marrying the wrong guy a week before my wedding day, then kissed me in an attempt to prove your point.”

“Yes...” Davis admitted with a shy smile, trying to hold back a blush of embarrassment in his cheeks. “But even though a part of me is happy you're not with the wrong guy anymore, I can also be unhappy with how he left you. Nobody deserves what Jimmy did to you at the hospital.”

A few moments of silence past before he spoke up again. “So what really happened between you two? I mean, if your relationship was always so rocky, why did you accept his marriage proposal?”

Stunned by his question, the blonde didn't know how to respond to answer it. However, Chloe wasn't surprised Davis had asked her this. She had learned fairly early on in their friendship that directness was a rare quality he possessed—and used more often than not whenever he was around her. But torn over whether or not she should really be discussing something so personal with Davis, even though it wouldn't be the first time, Chloe turned her head away slightly, thereby breaking the eye contact between them.

“Hey,” he said in the gentlest tone, sensing her distance and wanted to draw her back in. “I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable by asking you those questions. I just thought that you—”

“I know...” she nodded, staring deep into his brown eyes once more. “And maybe you're right. Maybe I do need to vent a little get and everything off my chest.”

“Then I'm here for you, Chloe. For as long as you need me.”

She leaned over, kissed his lips, and then took a moment of silence to collect her thoughts before she began to speak again. “The truth is Jimmy and I had more up and downs when we were together than the Supreme Scream. When we started dated after he became a photographer at the Daily Planet, he was always worried that I never really got over my feelings for Clark and constantly insisted that I would rather be with him instead. After Clark affirmed to Jimmy that we were nothing more than friends, things finally settled down between us and we were happy together. But about a year or so later, Clark's cousin Kara arrived in Smallville, and it was obvious from the beginning that she was really attracted to Jimmy. I could tell he was attracted to her too, but, of course, he denied it for my sake.” Chloe stopped again, letting the words of what she said sink in before she continued. “I was also going through a lot of difficult...changes in my life around that time—changes that I wasn't willing to be honest with Jimmy about—and when I saw that he was getting close to Kara, we broke things off. They started dating shortly after our breakup and I missed him, but I knew I couldn't be in a relationship with Jimmy unless I was being completely honest with him about what was going on in my life. When I was finally able to be more honest with him, we got back together again and he proposed.”

After setting her coffee cup back down on the table, Chloe got up and walked over to the kitchenette where she saw a photo of her and Jimmy that was taken at their engagement party. In the picture they were smiling at each other, each holding a glass of champagne.

“I really wanted to believe our relationship could work out because he was the only serious relationship I had had up to this point in my life, so I tried to convince myself that getting through all those rough times was a sign that we would finally have our 'happily ever after.' But I guess I was just kidding myself, huh?”

Davis opened his mouth to say something, yet nothing would come out. After hearing the long version of Chloe's relationship with Jimmy, it was too overwhelming for him to say anything. Her words about completely honest in a relationship got to him, cutting deeper into his skin than any knife ever could. No relationship could survive without complete honesty on both fronts. And if there was one thing is this world Davis didn't want to lose, it was Chloe. But if he couldn't tell her who he really was, how could they ever truly be together? A secret like his, though, wasn't just one skeleton in the back of his closet. It was the entire space inside. No matter how much he wished it wasn't true, Davis was the human camouflage to a horrific monster from another planet. In the weeks since he returned to Metropolis, the paramedic side of Davis wanted to distance himself from Chloe, to protect her from the darkness inside. Even went as far as killing that malicious Linda Lake so she wouldn't expose his secret to her. But the more he tried to stay away, the more Davis helplessly found himself drawing closer to the angel of his redemption.

“Chloe...” he said in just above a whisper while getting up off the couch, her back still faced towards him.

There was no escape.

She had to know the truth, for it was the only way.

“There's something I need to tell you.”

---

That's the end of this chapter. Sorry if it was a little too long, but once I start writing about Davis Bloome, the words just keep flowing and take on a life of their own it seems. ^_^ Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I would really love to read your thoughts on my story.

Please review!