FIC: Must Be Dreaming, part nine
Title: Must Be Dreaming
Series/WIP: Sequel to So Much Dreaming
Pairing: Clex!
Rating: PG-13
Summary: After being abducted by aliens and discovering that Jonathan Kent is alive, Lex must come to grips with his shifting relationship with Clark and an unexpected pregnancy.
Spoilers: Through S5, after Cyborg.
Warnings: MPREG!!
Thanks and smoochies to my spectacular sexful sparklie beta herohunter
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter 5.1
Chapter 5.2
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Part Nine
The fight between Clark Kent and his mother that day after Lex had left the farm with Maddie was the most legendary thing that had happened on the Kent farm in years. Clark had gotten into a screaming match or two with his father, but he’d never really crossed his mother before. Unaccustomed to playing peacekeeper, Jonathan found himself once again thrown into a new and difficult role. Speaking to Martha did no good, and speaking to Clark was uncomfortable and confusing. In the end, Jonathan took Martha’s advice and chose to stay out of it, but tried to encourage the both of them to be civil.
Clark had elected to give Lex a few days, which had turned into a week, then another and another. He was relieved, at least, to see very little mention of Lex in the news. It meant that he wasn’t collapsing anywhere sick or hurt. No one was attacking him, at least not successfully. Mercy had begun walking around with her short, black hair slicked back and following Lex everywhere in her cold-blooded mercenary heels. It probably scared the piss out of most of the would-be assassins, meteor freak or otherwise.
Clark spied on Lex more than he cared to admit. Lex spent his days quite normally, working, playing pool... Now that Maddie was around, Lex spent time in other rooms of the castle, but he was still in his office quite a bit. Although, shortly after their fight, he saw Lex sitting alone in his office behind the locked doors crying, and this happened more than once. It hurt Clark’s heart to see Lex so upset. Was it their fight? Or the medication? Clark was dying to rush to Lex’s side… but he just couldn’t hurt Lex again. That Woman would come by, more often these days, to sit beside Lex and rub his back. What Lex was doing with such a chubby woman, Clark had no idea.
Lex was examining his stomach again. Clark was starting to get really worried. The man was still too thin, but he’d been getting a little thicker around the waistline, and today, as Lex rubbed the tips of his fingers up and down his abdomen, it looked like he had a little bump beneath his navel. That alarmed Clark, actually, because he still wasn’t sure that Lex didn’t have cancer. Lex’s eyes had been sad for a while now, but he was beginning to smile as he explored his stomach. When That Woman walked in, he grinned lopsidedly at her.
“Oh, Lexie.” She came up to him and gave him a hug. Lex hugged her unreservedly in return. Clark had seen enough for one day. He walked back to his sofa and sat down sulkily. That Woman didn’t seem so bad… sometimes. Clark leaned his head back on the sofa and tried to resist the urge to watch them.
“Probably evil,” he grumbled.
“Hi, Clark.” Maddie’s young voice broke his sulk. Clark got up to meet her, and she gave him a little wave. “How are you?”
“Not bad. How are things at Lex’s?”
“It’s really cool. He set up a room for me to draw and paint in, and he’s hired tutors for me.” She giggled. “His servants are always trying to recruit me to help them make him take care of himself better.”
“He still getting sick?” Clark asked, trying to seem casual. She looked at him sympathetically.
“He’s not throwing up anymore. He just gets really tired and dizzy sometimes. Lena makes sure he takes breaks and uses his heating pad at night. The cramps get really bad,” she told him honestly. She looked over to the telescope. “He’d feel better if he didn’t have to be alone with it. You still spying on him?”
“I do not,” Clark protested. She rolled her eyes, and Clark sighed. He was busted. “I’m… just trying to look out for him.”
“You need to call him,” Maddie said bluntly. “He really misses you. I bet you miss him, too. You aren’t still dating that girl, are you?”
“No, we broke up.”
Maddie smiled approvingly.
“Lex doesn’t seem that lonely, anyway. He’s always got That Woman over.”
Maddie beamed. “Oh, Lena? I love her. She’s so fun!”
Clark pouted. Of course Maddie liked her. Stupid Lena. “What do they do together?”
Maddie shrugged. Shelby came in barking, and she ran down the stairs to give him a rub. “They go for long walks and stuff. Watch movies together.”
“Yeah?” Clark followed her. “How are you doing controlling your powers?”
“A lot better. One of my tutors has me meditating and practicing with small glass pieces. He said that a lot of telekinetics have problems separating their powers from their emotions. Chloe said so, too. It makes me feel better.”
“That’s good. It sucks to be alone with your powers.” Clark crouched beside her to give Shelby a rub. “Um… what was Chloe doing there?”
She shrugged. “She keeps a lot of files on weird stuff.” Maddie stood up. “I just came by to visit, and to tell you how much Lex misses you.”
“I know. I just want to give him some breathing room. The fighting has been kind of intense. I don’t think he needs that. Want to come in for some lunch?” Clark asked.
”Is um…” Maddie asked nervously. “Anyone home?”
“Nah. Just me. Mom won’t be home until the weekend, and Dad’s out in the field. He may come in later, though.” Clark thought about it. “Lois and Lana probably won’t be over.”
“Good.”
“What about Chloe? You like Chloe?”
“Not as much as Lena, but I do. She’s kinda blunt, and I think she’s uncomfortable being around me ‘cause I’m young, but she doesn’t try to force me to like her or to talk, and she doesn’t seem scared of me.” Maddie nodded. She giggled again. “Lena and Mercy like her, too. But they don’t like each other.”
“Oh yeah?” Clark took her hand and headed inside the house, listening to Maddie go on about her life at the castle.
***
Lex sighed as he heard the familiar clip of his father’s shoes closing in behind him. Lionel’s periodic “reforms,” during which he attempted to reforge the long broken bond with his son, were by no means a new occurrence, but that didn’t make them any less aggravating and painful. They bothered Lex mostly because he would have liked to believe that these reforms were real, and that his father was earnest in his desire to pull their family back together. However, his father was a pitiful actor when he was pretending to be good, and as much as Lex wanted to believe, it was nearly impossible.
“Don’t you have a report to work on, Dad?” Lex asked, turning his head just a little to look at the old man.
“Please. My assistant is more than capable of handling that,” Lionel said offhandedly as he caught up to Lex.
“True enough, but I’d rather have your eyes on it. I assume there’s a reason we still have you on bankroll. Other than the cheery disposition you bring to board meetings.” Lex paused in his step to look over to his father, who smiled and laughed. Lionel’s eyes raked up and down Lex’s body, and instinctively, Lex turned slightly in the opposite direction.
“Lex, I hear that you’re looking for a new place to live?”
Lex rolled his shoulders defensively. “Where would you hear a thing like that?”
“Really, now, Lex. Why would you hide apartment hunting from me?”
They stopped at the elevator, and Lex blinked slowly. “Honestly… Smallville isn’t the safest place to be, and I was considering moving on that account. Also, I’d actually liked to be closer to work.”
“Well, for once you and I are in agreement,” Lionel mused. “But why don’t you just come stay at the manor? It was good enough to be your home for years before you went to college.”
Lex lifted his chin as the elevator doors opened, and he gave his father an appraising look. “Dad, you and I both know that we can’t live under the same roof for more than a few days without plotting each other’s death. I don’t see why now would be any different from our previous attempts.”
Lionel nodded and pressed the down button. “You’re suspicious.”
“I’m sharp, and I’m cautious. You taught me to be this way.” Lex tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. No matter how much he wanted love and acceptance from his father, he could hardly continue to pursue it with the baby on the way. He couldn’t afford to play Lionel’s games. “C’mon. What’s with the sudden interest in Luthor family solidarity?”
Lionel raised his hands and shrugged. For a moment he was silent, then he looked over at his son, not meeting his eyes at first as he thought. Then he said slowly, “Lex, I know that your recent disappearance was not voluntary. The thought that you could be harmed without my knowing is quite humbling.”
“Oh? Or was it the thought that someone other than you might threaten my life?”
“Lex-“ Lionel chided.
“You tried to kill me,” Lex said emphatically. “How can you ever expect me to trust you after that?”
Lionel took a deep breath. “I see how wrong I was.”
“Through your prison conversion, you’ve seen the light,” Lex replied dryly.
“Nothing so dramatic, but yes.”
“That would be more credible if you weren’t in the habit of getting involved with the Asian Syndicate and Intergang as well as ordering a hit on one of my investigators and paying to have my election rigged.” Lex turned his head to look at his father again. “Don’t protest; I know it’s true. I don’t particularly care about the election right now. My priorities have changed. “
Lex watched as Lionel’s features hardened. “I can see that they have. For what it’s worth, Lex, I agree that a move from Smallville would be in your best interests. In your condition, you can’t afford to be injured so often.”
“Well, thank you for your approval,” Lex said flatly.
Lionel chuckled. He continued to watch Lex as they rode the elevator down. When it stopped, Lex turned to him slightly, running a hand down his front, and nodded. Then he left.
Lex was hiding well. His tailor was to be commended. But Lionel noticed the slight dip in Lex’s belt, and the way he carried himself, with more care for his well being as he walked. However, it wouldn’t be long before Lex was going to be making some excuses. Lionel smiled at the thought. He had been concerned that Lex would never settle down with a woman sane enough to continue the Luthor line.
Of course, this wasn’t Lionel’s preferred method of getting grandchildren, but at this point, he’d take what he could get from the boy. Lionel strode out of the elevator into the lobby, thinking that Lex had always favored his mother. But really, glass shards in the back? And this prolonged illness? Lionel would have to find a way to ensure that his son was protected during the pregnancy. After all, Lex was clearly incapable of protecting himself and the child he carried inside him. And what potential that child would have. If he or she had any of its parent’s characteristics, it could theoretically be trained to be much stronger that Lex had ever been. This time, without the mistakes.
Lionel headed out of the building with a sharp grin on his face.
***
Lena brushed her hand over Lex’s head gently, chasing away a dust mote that had settled on his crown. Lex grinned a bit and took her hand as they walked out of the movie theatre at the Talon together. His other hand was on Maddie’s shoulder. She smiled up at the both of them. Lena felt the affection Maddie had for him fill her with warmth.
“Oh! Hey! It’s Clark!” Maddie squealed.
Lex looked up uncomfortably. Grief cut into Lena. Deep deep. All around the heart. “He’s with his family, Maddie,” Lex said. “Let’s not bother them.”
Maddie scowled and walked over to them. Lex and Lena exchanged a look. “Hey, Clark!”
“Hey there!” An aging man in flannel grinned down at Maddie affectionately. The woman wearing a professional business suit smiled. It was a mostly genuine smile. Fondness. Maternal worry.
“How are you doing, Maddie?” the woman asked.
Maddie stared blankly at the woman for a moment. Distrust. Bad memories. Fear. “I’m fine.”
Lena sighed and slipped an arm around Lex’s back. He was about to send her to grab Maddie and retreat back to the car. He was that frightened of facing his farm boy. “Come on. It won’t be so bad. Introduce me to That Pretty Boy.”
“I’m feeling less and less inclined to be around pretty boys. Considering I’m increasingly not one of them,” Lex whispered back. She pushed him a little and watched Clark interacting with Maddie.
“You don’t look so bad,” she assured him. So much self-doubt.
“I’m fat,” he complained, resisting a little bit. He believed it. Though, after all, he’d been so slender before, that it was inevitable that he gained some weight to support the baby. He mostly was making excuses, though. He just didn’t trust himself to talk to Clark again. He worried that he would forgive Clark too easily because he loved him, and then they would hurt one another all over again.
“Kind of comes with the territory. But you are not fat” Lena leaned her head on his shoulder. “It will be okay. If he really cares about you, it won’t matter when he finds out.”
“I just don’t want to start this right now. It’s too complicated. I need…”
“You’re scared. I know.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. Suddenly jealousy stabbed into her hard. She looked over at Clark, who was eyeing them with a particularly stubborn frown.
Lex met his eye and gave him a false smile. “Hello, Clark.”
Clark’s frown faltered and his lips went soft. Worry. “Hey. Um… how are you feeling?”
“Pretty good, actually,” Lex told him. “Almost normal.”
“Good to see you gaining some weight back,” Jonathan said. Lex anxiously ran a hand over his stomach then slipped it into his pocket.
Lena rubbed her brow, took a breath, then offered her hand to the older man first. “I’m Lena Luciano. Lex’s friend.”
“Awful pretty friend,” he commented then smiled warmly as she laughed. “I’m Jonathan Kent, this is my wife Martha, and our son Clark.”
“Clark I’ve heard tell of,” she said. The boy looked at her with a crooked mouth. Guilt. That was surprising. What had he been up to, that he would feel guilty? Martha’s eyes fixed on her belly, and Lena felt the shock and embarrassment. She rubbed a hand it and smiled. “Yeah, check it out while it’s here.”
“Congratulations,” Martha said tensely. Clark felt confusion for a moment, then the jealousy flared up hot like a bonfire.
“Thank you,” Lena replied demurely.
“Are you going to a movie?” Maddie asked. Sweet girl.
Clark smiled at her. “We were just getting coffee before Mom left for Topeka again.”
“Okay. We just went to see Jersey Girl,” she told him.
“You didn’t want to go to Metropolis?” Martha asked, looking at Lex with veiled wariness.
Lena shrugged. “I was already here.”
“Were you?” Martha asked. She felt very low esteem for Lena, probably putting her in the same camp with the other gold diggers she’d seen around Lex. Then… contempt, distain… disgust…
Lena sucked in her cheeks and spoke cheerfully. “I do what’s most comfortable for Lex and Maddie. Have fun way up there looking down on us, though, bitch!”
Martha’s mouth formed an oval in shock. She looked to Jonathan for support, who just pursed his lips at her. Some annoyance, but no sympathy. Hm.
“Lenie.” Lex scowled at her. She stuck her tongue out at him. He felt relieved not to have to be the one to take Martha on, however.
“Want to visit awhile, Maddie? Lex and I can sit over here and wait,” she offered, turning to leave them.
Maddie shook her head. “I’ll see you later, Clark.”
Clark sighed. Embarrassment. Not for himself, though. He followed them toward the door. “I’m sorry about my Mom. I don’t know what’s up with her.”
“She thinks I’m a knocked up whore,” Lena told him bluntly. “She worries we’re bad for Maddie.”
“You are not,” Maddie protested.
Lena rubbed the girl’s shoulder. She had observed Maddie’s deep-seated distrust of women and figured that it probably stemmed from bad experiences in foster care. Lena was surprised that Maddie had taken to her at all, but it likely had to do with Lex’s feelings toward her. Maddie could see Lena taking care of him. Otherwise, she doubted Maddie would have wanted to bond. “Well, I am knocked up.”
Maddie crooked her mouth. Lex watched Clark silently for his response to that.
“That doesn’t matter,” Clark said softly. “She should behave better. I think she feels guilty.”
“Ryan?” Lex asked. Lena wondered who that was. Both of them felt sadness, loss…
“Yeah. They could have adopted him. Should have, I thought at the time, but I was just a fifteen-year-old.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Even you could have, if we had trusted you.”
“It would have been a bad idea. I wasn’t the most responsible young man back then,” Lex admitted. “Not to mention how much… control my father had on my life.”
“That’s true,” Clark said softly. Then he flushed. “I wanted to thank you. For the tuition.”
His eyes were roaming over Lex’s body. Want. Fear. Sadness. He was controlling himself, fearing for Lex’s well being. His eyes reached the small pull in the fabric of Lex’s shirt, and his brow creased in confusion. Guilt again. Recognition? Prickling fear dancing along his spine. Wave after wave after wave of obsessive adoration.
“It’s nothing, Clark. Happy Birthday,” Lex replied with a soft smile.
Clark sighed heavily. He loved Lex as much as Lex loved him, Lena realized. She set her jaw, wondering if this mess could be fixed. She might have to revert to her meddling ways. These two wanted and needed one another too much for her to stay out of it. She bumped Lex’s hip with her own and motioned to Clark with her eyes.
Lex thinned his lips and nodded to Clark. “We should go.”
That isn’t what I meant, and you know it! Lena smiled to Clark sympathetically reaching out to caress his shoulder. “Come over sometime. Maddie likes seeing you.”
“I do,” Maddie agreed. Clark smiled a little, looking to Lex again. Their eyes met. Then both looked away quickly. Maddie gave an impatient little huff and looked at Lena expectantly. Lena mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ to her.
Dizziness! Lena grabbed Lex’s shoulders before he could start to sway. “We have to go, hon. Take care. And don’t be a stranger.” She steered Lex outside where she had parked the car. “You okay?”
“For now.” He placed his hand over his stomach and walked slowly by her side to the car. Maddie looked up worriedly.
“We’re just going to get him home. Get Lex off his feet,” Lena explained, opening the car door. Maddie hopped in the backseat and watched them both with wide eyes.
Lex sat down and took the girl’s hand through the seats. “It’s fine.”
“Why are you always getting sick?” Maddie asked fretfully. Lex felt conflicted and torn. Lena patted his knee and started the car. They had talked before about telling Maddie, but he had to decide for himself who he could trust with his secrets.
“Maddie, can you keep a secret? A really weird one?” Lex asked, turning a little to look the girl in the eye. He gave her hand a little squeeze and began to tell the story.
Lena smiled. Maddie’s mouth dropped open, but her heart was delighted. Lex felt a little bit of weight lift from his shoulders.
***
Clark sighed heavily and threw a few more bales of hay into place. Seeing Lex today had about broken him. Lex didn’t look so sick anymore, of course, but it was like he couldn’t wait to get away from Clark.
Clark heaved another sigh and stomped up the stairs. He couldn’t go inside because he’d really let his mom have it for being so judgmental about Lena. He had no idea where she’d gotten the idea that Lena was a prostitute, but even if Clark wanted to call her a whore in his head didn’t mean that he was allowed to really mean it.
He flopped down on his couch and pouted. He picked up the little blue ball that he kept up here and started to bounce it against the wall. Lex, Lena, and Maddie looked like an adorable little family there all together and cozy with another one on the way. And Clark couldn’t even be there as Lex’s friend! If he tried he’d just screw it up again, and he couldn’t keep doing that to Lex.
Just then Lena’s gently lilting voice came up the stairs. “I know pity parties are usually for one, but do you mind some company?”
Clark jumped and stood. He should have been listening for her! Or… anyone. Jeez. Sneak up on the guy with super-hearing. “Um, hi, Lena.”
“Oh, my God. You’re so excited to see me!” she said ironically, laughing as she came slowly up the last few steps. “Phew. There’s my exercise for the day, unless Lex makes me come for a walk with him.”
“Yeah, well. It’s good for the baby, right?” Clark couldn’t figure out what that expression on her face meant.
“It is. And Lex will probably want to, if he’s not tired again. He’s napping right now, so I borrowed one of his cars to come talk to you. I thought we could use it.”
“Tanaka keep him on a tight schedule?” Clark asked. He still had a hard time imagining Lex taking a nap.
Lena shrugged and put her hands in her pockets. “Somehow I’ve managed never to meet the woman. Though I’m over there a lot. Maddie and I can usually convince him that it’s naptime, though. He’s got a weak spot for his girls.”
Clark nodded. They were taking care of him. Without him. Hmph. “Good.”
“Honey, you’ve got to stop feeling sorry for yourself.”
Clark gave her a sharp sideways glance. Who did this woman think she was? He’d feel sorry for himself if he wanted to!
Lena scrunched up her face into a pugnacious frown. “Don’t you get all hostile on me. Lex needs you, and here you are wallowing in self-pity? Oh, it’s so hard to be you. You have a hot, rich guy there waiting for you to come see him. and you’re just playing with your balls in the barn.”
Clark usually reserved his scathing looks for Lois, but this one belonged to Lena alone.
Lena put her hand on her hip. “You know I’m right.”
“I don’t know anything,” Clark snapped. “I mean… no. No, I don’t! And you don’t either, so get off my back.”
Lena leaned against the rail. “I’ll tell you what you know. You know that Lex loves you, and he’ll forgive you anything.”
“Yeah, but… that’s not a good thing. I’m just going to hurt him again-“
“So don’t! Don’t judge him before you know what’s going on! Don’t take the word of conniving little tramps over his! And don’t hit him or throw him or choke him-“
“Hey!” Clark protested, taking a step toward her.
“Don’t tell him what a bad guy he is. Don’t say such cruel things and expect him not to take it to heart. Whenever you do something stupid, he takes it in and he thinks that it’s his fault. And you know when it’s yours. Man up, Clark. Man. Up.” Lena’s cheeks were a bit flushed now, and she was breathing a little heavily.
Clark stood there silently for a moment and crossed his arms. “Maybe Lex likes you, but I don’t have to. I’m not an idiot! Lex has done some bad things, and I don’t see a ring on your finger. Who’s the tramp here?”
Lena tilted her head back to look up at him. Somehow his 6’3” frame wasn’t giving him much leverage on this tiny pregnant woman. She pressed her lips together calmly. “You don’t fool me, Clark,” she said in a sympathetic voice. “You’re not mad. You’re scared. And that’s okay. Guys can get scared. Even big guys like you. But you’ll never be brave if you don’t face your fear and do everything you can to make this right. You’re not a little boy anymore. You know you should go to him. Hug your friend and make up, so both of you can stop being heartbroken.”
Then she turned and began to make her way back down the stairs. Clark wanted to yell something down at her, but he couldn’t think of anything to say, and by the time he’d gathered himself, she was most of the way down the stairs. He decided to let her go. What was he going to do with Lex’s pregnant girlfriend anyway?
Once she had left the barn, Clark walked over to his telescope and tried to find Lex. Sure enough, he was in bed, napping. He looked so sweet and innocent. Vulnerable. If only he could go see him like Lena had been busting his balls to do. But he wasn’t sure that he was man enough to do that, especially when Lex already had someone else. It wasn’t like it had been with him and Lana. They were just… Clark and Lana. Lex and Lena seemed so close, already.
Adorably, Maddie was hanging out on the bed with Lex. She was reading, and she looked up with a sour expression when Tanaka came in. Little Maddie got so nervous around some grown ups; it didn’t surprise Clark that the girl was shy of her.
Then he spotted Rujuko coming in and wondered how Lex was supposed to sleep when everyone was crowding him. The girl stole a glance at Tanaka then curled up in a chair to chat quietly with Maddie. The woman woke Lex momentarily to take do a few tests and take a blood sample, then instructed him to go back to sleep.
Lex rolled his eyes and sat up to watch the girls talking. Tanaka made a swift exit, after telling Rujuko to put the equipment away. Then Lena entered and sat on the bed with Lex.
“Are you still here?” Lex asked, yawning a little.
“Do you want me to go?” Lena asked. She coaxed him to lie on his side and began rubbing his back in circles.
“No, I just thought you’d left.”
Lena smiled and leaned over to kiss the back of his head. “You ain’t that lucky, hon.”
Clark pulled away from the microscope and went back over to the couch to pout.
***
The Daily Planet was chaotic, as usual, and that was the way that Chloe loved it. She’d fought her way in her tooth and nail, and some blood, sweat, and tears to boot. Nothing gave her energy like this anymore, being in the middle of news in the making, everyone pulling out all the stops to tell the people truth about the world. She sat back and sighed contentedly. Sure her life wasn’t easy these days, but things could be worse.
Now that the semester had ended, she’d moved back in with her father temporarily. It was either that or Lois, who was one of the slobbiest people on Earth. To the point that even Chloe couldn’t put up with it, not to mention the fact that Lois really couldn’t afford to pay the rent for another person. Lex might have waved it, but then again, he’d probably try to offer her another more expensive place to live, and that always made her feel slightly moochy. There were enough people feeding off of him.
Chloe didn’t spot the Person in Black until she was already at Chloe’s desk, smirking down at her confidently. Unable to formulate a sensible greeting, she squeaked out, “Oh. Um.” She cleared her throat. “It’s you.”
“It’s me.” Mercy leaned against Chloe’s desk and crossed one heavy boot over the other.
Chloe stared at her for a long awkward moment, and Mercy stared back, just smiling, almost wickedly. Finally Chloe asked, “Um, is the Daily Planet in your natural orbit, or did my gravitational pull bring you here against your will?”
Mercy laughed. “There’s a pull, alright. But I promise you, there’s nothing non-consensual about me being here.”
“Then what’s up?”
Mercy opened her briefcase.
“My laptop!” Chloe practically cheered. She could have done a dance around the basement. Her fingers stroked the sides a little, lovingly. She wanted to kiss it but… not in front of Mercy. “Did you find out who did it?”
“Sorry to say, we have no idea. It’s been wiped clean of prints, and it was basically abandoned on campus. The hard drive has been broken into, and I think that a lot of the files are missing, because we had trouble booting it. You’ll have to check yourself.”
Chloe nodded. “I’m just glad to have it back… oh. They got into it? What files are missing?”
“I just scanned the ones about LuthorCorp and Boss. Other than that, I don’t know,” Mercy said, her tone almost apologetic.
Chloe took the laptop and opened it up. “And those were still password protected? But… if they got to my other files, there’s no reason they couldn’t just copy the files and then reset the password. If they wanted us not to know, that would be the best way to do it.”
“That’s what I was thinking. The bottom line is, something’s gonna have to be done.” Mercy met her eye meaningfully.
Chloe shivered.
Mercy straightened up. “I’m not gonna kill you, kitten. We’re gonna give you a new LexCorp laptop, so your files will have better protection.”
“Oh. Right.” Chloe flushed and started to look through the files. “Oh, Jesus Christ.”
The folder on Clark is missing.
Chloe felt her blood turning to ice. There wasn’t enough stuff in there alone to tip someone off-mostly just newspaper articles chronicling Clark’s heroism-but if someone had stolen her laptop just because she knew Clark, then it might have filled in the pieces for them.
“You look pale.” Mercy’s voice startled her out of her thoughts.
Chloe looked up at the imposing woman, tenting her brows. “I really need to find out who looked at these files. I can’t say what was in them, just… someone I know could be hurt or killed if anyone figured out what those files were pointing to.”
Mercy’s expression was unreadable for a moment. Then she nodded. “I’ll do whatever I can to make that happen. Don’t worry. Whoever did this can’t hide forever.”
Chloe nodded, sighing fretfully as she pulled out an external drive. “I’ll copy my personal files and give this back to you. I don’t want anything in my possession until I’m sure someone can’t nab it.”
Mercy knelt beside her and pulled something out of her back pocket. A cloth. A soft red cloth, and she was wiping the tears off of Chloe’s face gently. “This isn’t your fault,” her voice softened, and was soothing on Chloe’s ears.
“I was careless. I can’t believe I let this happen again.” Chloe’s nose wrinkled, and she tried very hard not to cry. She couldn’t pretend that she hadn’t been affected by Alicia Baker’s death over a year ago, when her own journalism’s poison had helped the town hate an innocent, though kinda psycho, young girl enough that Alicia had died for it. When she’d found out that Clark was among the weird she would have reported on, thoughtlessly, and potentially destroyed his life. It didn’t matter that most of the mutants were completely mental. There were some that weren’t, and there was Clark, and if she’d done anything to break his trust or hurt him, she’d just have to curl up and die.
Mercy’s arms went tightly around her, and the woman began to say, “No, no, kitten. I’ll take care of it. Promise. Don’t cry.”
Finally, Chloe took a shuddering breath and nodded. She felt herself being lifted to her feet.
“C’mon. I’m buying you lunch. Look, Lex knows that this was an accident. It wasn’t your fault. You have to remember that.” Mercy put the laptop back into her briefcase, then put her arm around Chloe’s shoulders.
“I’ll try. But it’ll be a cold comfort if anything happens to my friend.”
Mercy frowned deeply. “That’s true. But being upset won’t fix it right now.”
Chloe let Mercy lead her out of the basement and tried to think how she was going to explain this to Clark.
***
Clark sat down in his calculus class and looked around curiously. He didn’t see that weird redheaded girl anywhere, and he wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or relieved. It would have been nice to have seen a familiar face. All of these kids in here were younger than him, and even though calculus was like a cute little puzzle to him, he felt really out of place. Everyone from his class at Smallville High was probably relaxing from a hard year at one of the most difficult schools in the state, while he was starting everything over.
While he wasn’t stupid by far, Clark felt like he really was. He’d missed a lot of class his first semester, barely passed Milton Fine’s class, which was kind of a laugh, and flunked a few. He really hated A&M. Everything was so boring. Smallville High had been boring too, but at least he’d had friends in class to share it with.
The instructor handed out a pack of syllabuses and turned to write on the board. Clark took his and passed it on to a kid that he recognized as the little brother of one of his classmates who had gone meteor freak. He wondered if this guy would hate him once he realized who he was. After all, Clark had made sure his brother ended up in Belle Reve.
Just then there was a sloshing noise and the squeak of sneakers and the entire class turned to look a the girl entering, sopping wet. Clark covered his eyes. What had Lori been doing?! Swimming in the fountain?
To his dismay, she came right next to him to sit down and leaned on her hand, smiling up, as the teacher glared her way.
“Please try to be on time,” the man said crossly. Then a few more students trickled in and he threw his hands up and sighed. Clark couldn’t help but laugh.
Lori turned her head and winked at Clark with her huge blue eyes. Somehow it felt familiar, and at the same time uncanny. Clark couldn’t put his finger on why he seemed to remember her. She pulled out a pencil with a fishie eraser on it and started scribbling illegibly on her paper. Clark thought that it was notes for a moment, until the squiggles started to come together to form a picture of a castle under the sea.
Weirdo.
After class was over, Clark walked out with Lori and watched as she wrung out her long ginger hair over the grass. “I… uh… so, do you want to get a burger?”
“I’m veggie,” she replied simply.
Clark flushed. And I’m a cattle farmer. “Oh. Sorry.”
Lori tilted her head and blinked at him. “Um, it’s not a disease. Why are you sorry?”
“I’m not a veggie?” Clark shrugged apologetically.
Lori laughed. God, what a weird noise she was making. She sounded like a dolphin. “Don’t be sorry. Gee. It’s dietary so don’t worry. I can’t digest most meat.”
Clark made a face. “That must suck.”
“I’m so used to it that it doesn’t matter.” Lori shrugged, shoving her hands into her pockets. “I can eat fish, but I feel sorry for them, so I don’t.”
“Oh. Okay, then. Um, no burger for you then.”
“Not unless you want to see how far I can projectile vomit,” she replied cheerfully. “Do you?”
“No!” Clark exclaimed, holding up his hands.
“Fine. Um…” Lori pinched her small mouth off to the side in thought and shifted the book bag on her shoulder. Clark noticed that she had little fish pens on that too. “Do you like sushi?”
“Sushi is fish,” Clark pointed out.
“Not vegetarian sushi.”
“I don’t really want to have rice and seaweed for lunch,” Clark complained with a frown.
Lori stuck out the tip of her tongue. “Then you pick a place.”
“We could go to IHOP. They have pretty good omelets. You could get spinach.”
Lori wrinkled her nose. “Ew, no. I’m allergic to milk and eggs.”
Clark boggled. “So… what do you eat?”
“Seaweed.”
“Surely you eat other things.”
Lori shrugged again and leaned against the bench for the bus stop. “I’m not seeing many options here.”
“I… hm. Lemme call Chloe. She’ll know more places in Metropolis where we could go.”
“You could come back to my place.”
Clark pulled out his phone and gave her a look. “For seaweed fritters? I don’t think so.”
Lori pulled a little comb out of her bag and started pulling it through her hair.
“Hello?” Chloe answered in a somewhat tight voice.
Clark frowned. “Are you okay?” There was an uncomfortable pause. “Chloe??”
“I’m fine. Look, can we meet later? Like… I dunno. Sometime this week? I need to talk to you about something.”
“That sounds ominous. Are you mad at me about something? What did I do?”
Chloe laughed softly. “You didn’t do anything. Promise.”
“Okay. Right, I called you because I’m going out to lunch with a classmate-“
“Oh, that’s right! Back to school! How is it?”
“The classes are easy, and I’m old. Anyway, she’s a vegan, pretty much, because she’s allergic to everything, and I’m a milk-fed farmboy. Where would you suggest we go eat?”
Lori was now balancing herself on the bench, as though she were trying to swim in the air.
“You’ve got to meet her, Chloe.”
Chloe laughed harder at the tone in his voice. “Her?” she teased. “Getting back on the horse already?”
“I dunno if she’s a horse. I think she’s more of a fish.”
“Clark’s got a da~ate!” Chloe sang.
“Shut up. Just tell me where we can go where neither one of us will puke from the food.”
“There’s a Japanese place a block from Campus Corner that serves both veggie and meaty stuff, so you could go there. Or there’s an Indian buffet which is um… it’s near the Centennial? Everything there is vegetarian, but there might be a few things with eggs, so tell her to look closely.”
“Do I like Indian?”
“Yes, you’ve eaten off my lunch from there before when you were hanging around the Daily Planet.”
“Really? Okay, I’ll tell her. Where are you?”
“Actually, I’m being treated to lunch by a friend,” Chloe said vaguely. “We’re at The Blue Room.”
“Oh?” Clark laughed. “A male friend? Hm?”
“No, it’s a woman, Clark.”
“Oh,” he said in disappointment. “Oh well. I’ll see you later, then, and we’ll talk about whatever I did.”
“You didn’t do anything!” Chloe protested.
Clark laughed and put his phone away. “Okay, I have direction. Japanese or Indian? Though the Indian place has some stuff with eggs, so Chloe says to keep your eyes peeled.”
Lori lowered herself from the bench. “I can taste it, so I can avoid it. Let’s go there. You like that place right? No seaweed?”
“I’m not anti-seaweed.”
“Whatever. Let’s go. Do you have a car or do we walk?”
“It’s across town. I can take the bus.”
“Okies!” Lori climbed up on the bench and sat on the back instead of the seat.
Clark frown at her and sat below her, where he was supposed to sit. “So how long have you been in Metropolis?”
“Um… I just came after my brother died. I have a lot to learn.”
Clearly. “What’s your major?”
“I dunno. I could do marine biology pretty easily. But I think my family wants me to study history and something in cultural studies.” Lori hung onto the back of the seat and leaned forward a little bit.
“Yeah, family expectations are kind of hard. I don’t really know what I want to do with myself.” Clark sighed. “It’s funny, because when I was in high school, I had this principal that made me write out this thing: Where I’ll Be in Five Years. And it’s almost four years later, and I haven’t taken a step toward any of the stuff I wrote down. I thought then that I might be interested in Journalism. My friend Chloe is ka-ray-zee about it. But I dunno. What if I get into it and don’t like it?”
“Do you like to write? Because you have to like what you do. Or you’ll stop moving and die.”
Clark looked up at her with an exasperated expression. “Where are you from?”
Lori looked away and scratched her neck. “Um… The coast of Southern California.”
“Right.” That explains a lot.
The bus pulled up, and Lori launched herself off the bench, sucked her cheeks in, and looked up at Clark. “To food?”
“To food.”
He followed her onto the bus, taking note of what he was observing so that he could explain this person to Chloe later.
***
Lena sat alone in Solana packing up the last of the books under the counter before she left her shop to the care of the crew who Lex had hired to remodel the place. It was a little like leaving home. She spent more time here than in her apartment. The other tenants of the building would either be relocating with friends and family - and most of them had opted for that - or they were being put up in a hotel at LuthorCorp’s expense. She knew that Maureena’s kids had been pretty excited about that. They’d never been in a hotel before.
She picked up the small box and turned. To her surprise, she almost bumped into a tall man with steely blue eyes and sharp cheekbones.
“Pardon me,” he said, although he made no attempt to move out of her way. On a second look, Lena thought that his eyes were downright metallic.
“Um… we’re actually closed for remodeling, so…” She shivered, realizing that she’d felt no emotions while she had been working. He shouldn’t have been able to sneak up on her. What kind of person didn’t feel? She tried to step around him, and he caught her arm. Then squeezed slowly until it began to hurt. Her heart fluttered wildly in her chest.
“We should talk,” he said flatly.
Lena was scared, and her taser was in her purse upstairs. She rattled off quickly, “Don’t hurt me, please; I’m pregnant. Just tell me what you want and I’ll-“
“I hardly need your compliance for what I want,” he said, dismissively. Her breathing hitched.
Lena felt something cold in her left side, then looked down, unable to process the feelings: the cold, the burning, the shiver down her body. There was a shard of metal sticking out of her side, but it was part of him, and then it slide out of her and became his hand, and there was blood pooling around her. She was staring up at the ceiling. He was looking down on her. She was an insect he had just crushed.
***
Chloe spread out the photos on Lex’s desk. “This is about as much info as I can get. Without my laptop anyway. Every time this happens, someone covers it up really quickly. It’s kinda weird. I mean, well obviously, but it’s like this is something that people really don’t want other people to know happens.”
Lex leaned over the files and sighed heavily. “This is fucking unbelievable. Did any of these cases report alien abduction?”
“Some of them.” Chloe pointed to one. “Those guys said it was a demon possession.”
She raised her hands when he gave her a disbelieving look. Lex shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck.
“There’s no pattern. Like, none. Even the ones who claimed alien abduction, I can’t really say for sure they were abducted. By aliens, anyway.” She looked at him questioningly. “Are you going to talk to some of them?”
“I might. I could use whatever help I can get. I’m reaching the end of whatever I can find by merely studying my own samp…les oh. Ohhh oh god!”
Lex nearly fell over as he grasped his abdomen.
“Lex?” Chloe jerked up in alarm.
Mercy got to him first, catching him and holding him up. “Something wrong with the baby?” she asked, looking at Lex’s pained and bewildered face. “I’ll call Tanaka.”
“Don’t know. Just hurts,” Lex replied, allowing Mercy to help him over to the sofa. She eased him onto it and rushed out of the room. Lex pressed his hand to the spot where it hurt, his left side along his belly. It felt like he’d been impaled.
Chloe came and sat by him, taking his hand and squeezing it with a frightened expression. He pressed his head back into the cushions, waiting until Dr. Tanaka came.
Soon enough she was rushing into the room with a small kit, pulling up his shirt, pressing her expert fingers against his belly, and asking questions. After a few moments she looked at him, a bit at a loss. The pain was fading away, and Lex felt a little embarrassed that it seemed to be turning out to be nothing.
“I don’t know. If it doesn’t hurt anywhere else… look, let’s go up to your room for a sonogram, and we’ll have a bit of a look inside to see if anything’s wrong?” she suggested.
“He collapsed in pain,” Mercy snapped. “That’s not a cramp, Tanaka. That’s a problem!”
“And we will check just in case,” she returned just as sharply. “However, he seems fine now.”
Chloe watched helplessly as Mercy scooped Lex up into her arms and carried him out of the room. There she sat, smoothing her hands over her face and neck as she waited, unsure of what to do or say. Should she go? Oh… should she tell Clark? How could she possibly explain!
“Hey, kitten.”
Chloe looked up to see Mercy returning to the room.
She sat on the sofa beside Chloe and petted her shoulder. “I thought you might want an update. So far, Boss looks like he’s fine. We just don’t know what happened, so Tanaka will probably make him spend the rest of the day in bed.”
“Has this happened before?” Chloe asked in concern.
“Well, no. He’s had cramps and stuff. I don’t know much about...” Mercy waved her hand. “All of this. But I believe in Boss. He’s strong. He’ll make it.”
Chloe shook her head and rubbed her hands. She felt Mercy’s strong hand on her back, rubbing gently.
“So. How did your paper turn out?” the older woman asked.
Chloe looked up. “Paper? Oh, I got a C.” She shrugged and shook her head. “Scraped out of the class with a B-, thank goodness.”
“Well, good for you. It shows character to be able to make that work under such pressure.” Mercy’s lips were curving ever so slightly.
“How did you and Lex meet?” Chloe needed something to do, and interrogating this woman was a close at hand activity.
“I stole his car about a year ago. He hired me,” Mercy said simply.
Chloe laughed. “Lex can be so weird.”
“I think he was impressed at how I was able to get it out of his garage without tripping any of his security.”
“That is impressive, considering how paranoid he is.” Chloe smiled slightly.
Mercy nodded. “I was pretty proud of myself. Until I got caught. Darn rich people and their fancy GPS systems.”
Chloe chuckled. She looked up to see Rujuko in the doorway. Maddie peeked her head behind her. Chloe was fond of Maddie, but they hardly ever exchanged words. There was something understood in the way the two of them communicated without talking. Chloe couldn’t put her finger on it.
“Tanaka says that you can come up and do your work or whatever there,” Rujuko told them.
Chloe looked to Mercy, who moved immediately to get the papers they had been looking at. She turned her head momentarily to give Chloe a questioning look.
She shrugged. “I wanted to help. So I collected everything I could on the subject.”
“Alright,” Mercy said, though she was smiling slightly as they headed upstairs, where Lex was waiting, lying on the bed with an annoyed expression on his face. “You’ve been sentenced to bed, I see.”
“Indeed,” Lex replied tersely.
Mercy set Chloe’s files down on the table. “I don’t see why you two couldn’t continue your meeting. Don’t wear him out, though.” She winked at Chloe.
“I’ll do my best,” Chloe replied, shaking her head. She flushed slightly and pulled out the files she had been going over with Lex. She’d sent him a hardcopy of everything she’d had on her laptop, but she hadn’t gotten around to scanning her clippings at the time her laptop had been stolen.
“Where were we?” Lex asked. He crossed his legs and frowned slightly. Likely, he didn’t want to be stuck in bed anymore, but was still worried about the pain he’d felt.
“Contacting the misfortuned.” Chloe handed Lex a file.
“Do you think they’ll be willing to talk about their experience?”
“Would you? To a stranger?” Chloe asked.
Lex paused. “Not likely. I’m not particularly willing to talk about it to people I’ve known for years.”
“Maybe when you’re further along, they’ll feel some sympathy and open up,” Chloe suggested, leaning on her hand.
“You are a shrewd woman, Chloe Anne Sullivan.” Lex paused and reached into his pocket. He stared at his cell phone for a moment. “Hold on, Chloe.”
Chloe looked over the photographs and files while she waited on him. It had been amazing to her how many men had turned up pregnant. Not that it was an epidemic, but it was more than surprising enough that there was more than one case. Her eyes darted over to Lex. He would be showing soon, even if he was covering it with well tailored clothes at the moment. She wondered how he was planning to deal with the press on this one, and she hoped it wouldn’t be too stressful, considering how sick he’d already been.
“Oh no!”
Chloe’s head whipped around at the sound of Lex’s horrified voice. His nostrils were flaring, and his eyes were impossibly wide.
“Are you sure? It’s her? I… Mareena…” Lex looked around and around seeming lost and frightened. “I’ll be there… who’s her doctor? That’s not good enough. I’ll call the hospital. Oh, god…”
He choked and covered his mouth. Chloe shivered. She began cleaning up the files quickly. Lex started breathing slowly and deliberately. After a moment, he called the hospital, demanding a specialist, not taking no for an answer. By the end of the conversation, Chloe had the files put away, and she’d gleaned the gist of the situation.
Lena had been stabbed in the stomach at her shop. She’d lost her baby and was now in surgery fighting for her life, but it didn’t look good. Chloe wiped away her own tears and waited for Lex to get off the phone.
“I have to go to Metropolis,” he stated flatly, looking around for something.
“Maddie?” she asked. Lex appeared disoriented. She bit her lip. “Okay, um… I’ll have Domovoi send her over to Clark’s? Then I’ll drive with you to Metropolis.”
Lex shook his head. “I’m taking the helicopter. I have to be there now, Chloe.”
She winced. “That a good idea?”
“I have to be there,” he repeated firmly. He launched himself out of bed and searched his dresser frantically. “Where the fuck are my keys?!”
Chloe walked over to him and put her hand over his. “You don’t need them. Helicopter. Just… Okay, why don’t you sit down for a sec? I’ll talk to Domovoi.”
Lex followed her with a wild, distrustful look, and she exerted a little force getting him to sit down back down on the sofa.
”Wait. Just hang on.”
Lex closed his eyes and put his head in his hands. Chloe ran out of the room to find Domovoi and call Mercy. Lena had been stabbed in the place that Lex had felt his pain earlier. She didn’t know what was going on, but right now, Lex needed to be with Lena.
***
Maddie knocked on the screen door then looked anxiously back to Domovoi, who put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. Martha came up to the door and opened her mouth in surprise. Maddie swallowed and tried to stay calm. Something in the pit of her belly felt funny and uncomfortable.
“Hi, Mrs. Kent. Lex had to go to the hospital. Can I stay here for a little while? Just until he comes back,” she said in a rush. Martha raised her brows and opened the door.
“Come on in. Jonathan!”
She walked into the room, looking around for Clark or Jonathan. The back of her head was beginning to tingle, and she started to whisper the mantra that her tutor Richard had taught her.
“Sweetie, what are you doing?” Martha asked.
“…elekanamen…” She looked up nervously and grabbed Domovoi’s hand as the windows began to shake.
Martha’s eyes widened, and she stepped back quickly. “Stay calm, Maddie. I’m going, okay?”
Domovoi set a hand on Maddie’s head. The windows stilled.
“You are fine, miss,” he said firmly. Maddie lifted her eyes.
Clark jogged into the room. “Hey!”
“Hey,” she breathed the word and wondered if Lex knew that Domovoi had powers.
Martha released her breath and stepped closer to her son. “Lex is in the hospital.”
Clark appeared alarmed. Maddie shook her head. “No, no, he had to go to the hospital. He’s fine, Clark. But Lena got stabbed!”
“Oh, dear,” Martha gasped.
“Chloe told me to come over here. She said I needed to be out of the way, so Lex wouldn’t feel like he had to take care of me while he was looking after Lena.”
Martha frowned. Maddie frowned at her in response.
“Mr. Luthor was quite upset, madam,” Domovoi put in. “I agreed with Ms. Sullivan that it might be best to ensure Miss Maddie’s safety to ease his mind.”
“Yeah,” Clark agreed. He sidestepped his mother and crouched before Maddie. “Don’t worry, Maddie. If it’s possible to save Lena and her baby, Lex can do it. He can make almost anything happen.”
Maddie felt fat tears beginning to roll down her eyes again. “She already lost her baby. Lex was talking to some doctors from his lab about getting some special blood to save her…”
Clark wrapped her in his bear-like arms, and she began to sob on his shoulder. She had really liked Lena. She was safe, kinda boyish sometimes, and she always knew when Maddie wanted to be held or when to back off and leave her alone. Martha, Lana, and Lois, they just came at her whether she wanted it or not. She hated that, and it made her shake. Most importantly, Lex cared about her a lot, and the last thing she wanted was for Lex to be hurting more than he was.
“It’s okay, Maddie. We’ll wait here. And it’s gonna be okay.” Clark gave her his million-watt smile, and it was hard to think anything else bad could happen when Clark was promising that it would be fine. Clark seemed so sure. And sincere. She took his hand and followed. She would go wherever he wanted her to go.
Series/WIP: Sequel to So Much Dreaming
Pairing: Clex!
Rating: PG-13
Summary: After being abducted by aliens and discovering that Jonathan Kent is alive, Lex must come to grips with his shifting relationship with Clark and an unexpected pregnancy.
Spoilers: Through S5, after Cyborg.
Warnings: MPREG!!
Thanks and smoochies to my spectacular sexful sparklie beta herohunter
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter 5.1
Chapter 5.2
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Part Nine
The fight between Clark Kent and his mother that day after Lex had left the farm with Maddie was the most legendary thing that had happened on the Kent farm in years. Clark had gotten into a screaming match or two with his father, but he’d never really crossed his mother before. Unaccustomed to playing peacekeeper, Jonathan found himself once again thrown into a new and difficult role. Speaking to Martha did no good, and speaking to Clark was uncomfortable and confusing. In the end, Jonathan took Martha’s advice and chose to stay out of it, but tried to encourage the both of them to be civil.
Clark had elected to give Lex a few days, which had turned into a week, then another and another. He was relieved, at least, to see very little mention of Lex in the news. It meant that he wasn’t collapsing anywhere sick or hurt. No one was attacking him, at least not successfully. Mercy had begun walking around with her short, black hair slicked back and following Lex everywhere in her cold-blooded mercenary heels. It probably scared the piss out of most of the would-be assassins, meteor freak or otherwise.
Clark spied on Lex more than he cared to admit. Lex spent his days quite normally, working, playing pool... Now that Maddie was around, Lex spent time in other rooms of the castle, but he was still in his office quite a bit. Although, shortly after their fight, he saw Lex sitting alone in his office behind the locked doors crying, and this happened more than once. It hurt Clark’s heart to see Lex so upset. Was it their fight? Or the medication? Clark was dying to rush to Lex’s side… but he just couldn’t hurt Lex again. That Woman would come by, more often these days, to sit beside Lex and rub his back. What Lex was doing with such a chubby woman, Clark had no idea.
Lex was examining his stomach again. Clark was starting to get really worried. The man was still too thin, but he’d been getting a little thicker around the waistline, and today, as Lex rubbed the tips of his fingers up and down his abdomen, it looked like he had a little bump beneath his navel. That alarmed Clark, actually, because he still wasn’t sure that Lex didn’t have cancer. Lex’s eyes had been sad for a while now, but he was beginning to smile as he explored his stomach. When That Woman walked in, he grinned lopsidedly at her.
“Oh, Lexie.” She came up to him and gave him a hug. Lex hugged her unreservedly in return. Clark had seen enough for one day. He walked back to his sofa and sat down sulkily. That Woman didn’t seem so bad… sometimes. Clark leaned his head back on the sofa and tried to resist the urge to watch them.
“Probably evil,” he grumbled.
“Hi, Clark.” Maddie’s young voice broke his sulk. Clark got up to meet her, and she gave him a little wave. “How are you?”
“Not bad. How are things at Lex’s?”
“It’s really cool. He set up a room for me to draw and paint in, and he’s hired tutors for me.” She giggled. “His servants are always trying to recruit me to help them make him take care of himself better.”
“He still getting sick?” Clark asked, trying to seem casual. She looked at him sympathetically.
“He’s not throwing up anymore. He just gets really tired and dizzy sometimes. Lena makes sure he takes breaks and uses his heating pad at night. The cramps get really bad,” she told him honestly. She looked over to the telescope. “He’d feel better if he didn’t have to be alone with it. You still spying on him?”
“I do not,” Clark protested. She rolled her eyes, and Clark sighed. He was busted. “I’m… just trying to look out for him.”
“You need to call him,” Maddie said bluntly. “He really misses you. I bet you miss him, too. You aren’t still dating that girl, are you?”
“No, we broke up.”
Maddie smiled approvingly.
“Lex doesn’t seem that lonely, anyway. He’s always got That Woman over.”
Maddie beamed. “Oh, Lena? I love her. She’s so fun!”
Clark pouted. Of course Maddie liked her. Stupid Lena. “What do they do together?”
Maddie shrugged. Shelby came in barking, and she ran down the stairs to give him a rub. “They go for long walks and stuff. Watch movies together.”
“Yeah?” Clark followed her. “How are you doing controlling your powers?”
“A lot better. One of my tutors has me meditating and practicing with small glass pieces. He said that a lot of telekinetics have problems separating their powers from their emotions. Chloe said so, too. It makes me feel better.”
“That’s good. It sucks to be alone with your powers.” Clark crouched beside her to give Shelby a rub. “Um… what was Chloe doing there?”
She shrugged. “She keeps a lot of files on weird stuff.” Maddie stood up. “I just came by to visit, and to tell you how much Lex misses you.”
“I know. I just want to give him some breathing room. The fighting has been kind of intense. I don’t think he needs that. Want to come in for some lunch?” Clark asked.
”Is um…” Maddie asked nervously. “Anyone home?”
“Nah. Just me. Mom won’t be home until the weekend, and Dad’s out in the field. He may come in later, though.” Clark thought about it. “Lois and Lana probably won’t be over.”
“Good.”
“What about Chloe? You like Chloe?”
“Not as much as Lena, but I do. She’s kinda blunt, and I think she’s uncomfortable being around me ‘cause I’m young, but she doesn’t try to force me to like her or to talk, and she doesn’t seem scared of me.” Maddie nodded. She giggled again. “Lena and Mercy like her, too. But they don’t like each other.”
“Oh yeah?” Clark took her hand and headed inside the house, listening to Maddie go on about her life at the castle.
***
Lex sighed as he heard the familiar clip of his father’s shoes closing in behind him. Lionel’s periodic “reforms,” during which he attempted to reforge the long broken bond with his son, were by no means a new occurrence, but that didn’t make them any less aggravating and painful. They bothered Lex mostly because he would have liked to believe that these reforms were real, and that his father was earnest in his desire to pull their family back together. However, his father was a pitiful actor when he was pretending to be good, and as much as Lex wanted to believe, it was nearly impossible.
“Don’t you have a report to work on, Dad?” Lex asked, turning his head just a little to look at the old man.
“Please. My assistant is more than capable of handling that,” Lionel said offhandedly as he caught up to Lex.
“True enough, but I’d rather have your eyes on it. I assume there’s a reason we still have you on bankroll. Other than the cheery disposition you bring to board meetings.” Lex paused in his step to look over to his father, who smiled and laughed. Lionel’s eyes raked up and down Lex’s body, and instinctively, Lex turned slightly in the opposite direction.
“Lex, I hear that you’re looking for a new place to live?”
Lex rolled his shoulders defensively. “Where would you hear a thing like that?”
“Really, now, Lex. Why would you hide apartment hunting from me?”
They stopped at the elevator, and Lex blinked slowly. “Honestly… Smallville isn’t the safest place to be, and I was considering moving on that account. Also, I’d actually liked to be closer to work.”
“Well, for once you and I are in agreement,” Lionel mused. “But why don’t you just come stay at the manor? It was good enough to be your home for years before you went to college.”
Lex lifted his chin as the elevator doors opened, and he gave his father an appraising look. “Dad, you and I both know that we can’t live under the same roof for more than a few days without plotting each other’s death. I don’t see why now would be any different from our previous attempts.”
Lionel nodded and pressed the down button. “You’re suspicious.”
“I’m sharp, and I’m cautious. You taught me to be this way.” Lex tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. No matter how much he wanted love and acceptance from his father, he could hardly continue to pursue it with the baby on the way. He couldn’t afford to play Lionel’s games. “C’mon. What’s with the sudden interest in Luthor family solidarity?”
Lionel raised his hands and shrugged. For a moment he was silent, then he looked over at his son, not meeting his eyes at first as he thought. Then he said slowly, “Lex, I know that your recent disappearance was not voluntary. The thought that you could be harmed without my knowing is quite humbling.”
“Oh? Or was it the thought that someone other than you might threaten my life?”
“Lex-“ Lionel chided.
“You tried to kill me,” Lex said emphatically. “How can you ever expect me to trust you after that?”
Lionel took a deep breath. “I see how wrong I was.”
“Through your prison conversion, you’ve seen the light,” Lex replied dryly.
“Nothing so dramatic, but yes.”
“That would be more credible if you weren’t in the habit of getting involved with the Asian Syndicate and Intergang as well as ordering a hit on one of my investigators and paying to have my election rigged.” Lex turned his head to look at his father again. “Don’t protest; I know it’s true. I don’t particularly care about the election right now. My priorities have changed. “
Lex watched as Lionel’s features hardened. “I can see that they have. For what it’s worth, Lex, I agree that a move from Smallville would be in your best interests. In your condition, you can’t afford to be injured so often.”
“Well, thank you for your approval,” Lex said flatly.
Lionel chuckled. He continued to watch Lex as they rode the elevator down. When it stopped, Lex turned to him slightly, running a hand down his front, and nodded. Then he left.
Lex was hiding well. His tailor was to be commended. But Lionel noticed the slight dip in Lex’s belt, and the way he carried himself, with more care for his well being as he walked. However, it wouldn’t be long before Lex was going to be making some excuses. Lionel smiled at the thought. He had been concerned that Lex would never settle down with a woman sane enough to continue the Luthor line.
Of course, this wasn’t Lionel’s preferred method of getting grandchildren, but at this point, he’d take what he could get from the boy. Lionel strode out of the elevator into the lobby, thinking that Lex had always favored his mother. But really, glass shards in the back? And this prolonged illness? Lionel would have to find a way to ensure that his son was protected during the pregnancy. After all, Lex was clearly incapable of protecting himself and the child he carried inside him. And what potential that child would have. If he or she had any of its parent’s characteristics, it could theoretically be trained to be much stronger that Lex had ever been. This time, without the mistakes.
Lionel headed out of the building with a sharp grin on his face.
***
Lena brushed her hand over Lex’s head gently, chasing away a dust mote that had settled on his crown. Lex grinned a bit and took her hand as they walked out of the movie theatre at the Talon together. His other hand was on Maddie’s shoulder. She smiled up at the both of them. Lena felt the affection Maddie had for him fill her with warmth.
“Oh! Hey! It’s Clark!” Maddie squealed.
Lex looked up uncomfortably. Grief cut into Lena. Deep deep. All around the heart. “He’s with his family, Maddie,” Lex said. “Let’s not bother them.”
Maddie scowled and walked over to them. Lex and Lena exchanged a look. “Hey, Clark!”
“Hey there!” An aging man in flannel grinned down at Maddie affectionately. The woman wearing a professional business suit smiled. It was a mostly genuine smile. Fondness. Maternal worry.
“How are you doing, Maddie?” the woman asked.
Maddie stared blankly at the woman for a moment. Distrust. Bad memories. Fear. “I’m fine.”
Lena sighed and slipped an arm around Lex’s back. He was about to send her to grab Maddie and retreat back to the car. He was that frightened of facing his farm boy. “Come on. It won’t be so bad. Introduce me to That Pretty Boy.”
“I’m feeling less and less inclined to be around pretty boys. Considering I’m increasingly not one of them,” Lex whispered back. She pushed him a little and watched Clark interacting with Maddie.
“You don’t look so bad,” she assured him. So much self-doubt.
“I’m fat,” he complained, resisting a little bit. He believed it. Though, after all, he’d been so slender before, that it was inevitable that he gained some weight to support the baby. He mostly was making excuses, though. He just didn’t trust himself to talk to Clark again. He worried that he would forgive Clark too easily because he loved him, and then they would hurt one another all over again.
“Kind of comes with the territory. But you are not fat” Lena leaned her head on his shoulder. “It will be okay. If he really cares about you, it won’t matter when he finds out.”
“I just don’t want to start this right now. It’s too complicated. I need…”
“You’re scared. I know.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. Suddenly jealousy stabbed into her hard. She looked over at Clark, who was eyeing them with a particularly stubborn frown.
Lex met his eye and gave him a false smile. “Hello, Clark.”
Clark’s frown faltered and his lips went soft. Worry. “Hey. Um… how are you feeling?”
“Pretty good, actually,” Lex told him. “Almost normal.”
“Good to see you gaining some weight back,” Jonathan said. Lex anxiously ran a hand over his stomach then slipped it into his pocket.
Lena rubbed her brow, took a breath, then offered her hand to the older man first. “I’m Lena Luciano. Lex’s friend.”
“Awful pretty friend,” he commented then smiled warmly as she laughed. “I’m Jonathan Kent, this is my wife Martha, and our son Clark.”
“Clark I’ve heard tell of,” she said. The boy looked at her with a crooked mouth. Guilt. That was surprising. What had he been up to, that he would feel guilty? Martha’s eyes fixed on her belly, and Lena felt the shock and embarrassment. She rubbed a hand it and smiled. “Yeah, check it out while it’s here.”
“Congratulations,” Martha said tensely. Clark felt confusion for a moment, then the jealousy flared up hot like a bonfire.
“Thank you,” Lena replied demurely.
“Are you going to a movie?” Maddie asked. Sweet girl.
Clark smiled at her. “We were just getting coffee before Mom left for Topeka again.”
“Okay. We just went to see Jersey Girl,” she told him.
“You didn’t want to go to Metropolis?” Martha asked, looking at Lex with veiled wariness.
Lena shrugged. “I was already here.”
“Were you?” Martha asked. She felt very low esteem for Lena, probably putting her in the same camp with the other gold diggers she’d seen around Lex. Then… contempt, distain… disgust…
Lena sucked in her cheeks and spoke cheerfully. “I do what’s most comfortable for Lex and Maddie. Have fun way up there looking down on us, though, bitch!”
Martha’s mouth formed an oval in shock. She looked to Jonathan for support, who just pursed his lips at her. Some annoyance, but no sympathy. Hm.
“Lenie.” Lex scowled at her. She stuck her tongue out at him. He felt relieved not to have to be the one to take Martha on, however.
“Want to visit awhile, Maddie? Lex and I can sit over here and wait,” she offered, turning to leave them.
Maddie shook her head. “I’ll see you later, Clark.”
Clark sighed. Embarrassment. Not for himself, though. He followed them toward the door. “I’m sorry about my Mom. I don’t know what’s up with her.”
“She thinks I’m a knocked up whore,” Lena told him bluntly. “She worries we’re bad for Maddie.”
“You are not,” Maddie protested.
Lena rubbed the girl’s shoulder. She had observed Maddie’s deep-seated distrust of women and figured that it probably stemmed from bad experiences in foster care. Lena was surprised that Maddie had taken to her at all, but it likely had to do with Lex’s feelings toward her. Maddie could see Lena taking care of him. Otherwise, she doubted Maddie would have wanted to bond. “Well, I am knocked up.”
Maddie crooked her mouth. Lex watched Clark silently for his response to that.
“That doesn’t matter,” Clark said softly. “She should behave better. I think she feels guilty.”
“Ryan?” Lex asked. Lena wondered who that was. Both of them felt sadness, loss…
“Yeah. They could have adopted him. Should have, I thought at the time, but I was just a fifteen-year-old.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Even you could have, if we had trusted you.”
“It would have been a bad idea. I wasn’t the most responsible young man back then,” Lex admitted. “Not to mention how much… control my father had on my life.”
“That’s true,” Clark said softly. Then he flushed. “I wanted to thank you. For the tuition.”
His eyes were roaming over Lex’s body. Want. Fear. Sadness. He was controlling himself, fearing for Lex’s well being. His eyes reached the small pull in the fabric of Lex’s shirt, and his brow creased in confusion. Guilt again. Recognition? Prickling fear dancing along his spine. Wave after wave after wave of obsessive adoration.
“It’s nothing, Clark. Happy Birthday,” Lex replied with a soft smile.
Clark sighed heavily. He loved Lex as much as Lex loved him, Lena realized. She set her jaw, wondering if this mess could be fixed. She might have to revert to her meddling ways. These two wanted and needed one another too much for her to stay out of it. She bumped Lex’s hip with her own and motioned to Clark with her eyes.
Lex thinned his lips and nodded to Clark. “We should go.”
That isn’t what I meant, and you know it! Lena smiled to Clark sympathetically reaching out to caress his shoulder. “Come over sometime. Maddie likes seeing you.”
“I do,” Maddie agreed. Clark smiled a little, looking to Lex again. Their eyes met. Then both looked away quickly. Maddie gave an impatient little huff and looked at Lena expectantly. Lena mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ to her.
Dizziness! Lena grabbed Lex’s shoulders before he could start to sway. “We have to go, hon. Take care. And don’t be a stranger.” She steered Lex outside where she had parked the car. “You okay?”
“For now.” He placed his hand over his stomach and walked slowly by her side to the car. Maddie looked up worriedly.
“We’re just going to get him home. Get Lex off his feet,” Lena explained, opening the car door. Maddie hopped in the backseat and watched them both with wide eyes.
Lex sat down and took the girl’s hand through the seats. “It’s fine.”
“Why are you always getting sick?” Maddie asked fretfully. Lex felt conflicted and torn. Lena patted his knee and started the car. They had talked before about telling Maddie, but he had to decide for himself who he could trust with his secrets.
“Maddie, can you keep a secret? A really weird one?” Lex asked, turning a little to look the girl in the eye. He gave her hand a little squeeze and began to tell the story.
Lena smiled. Maddie’s mouth dropped open, but her heart was delighted. Lex felt a little bit of weight lift from his shoulders.
***
Clark sighed heavily and threw a few more bales of hay into place. Seeing Lex today had about broken him. Lex didn’t look so sick anymore, of course, but it was like he couldn’t wait to get away from Clark.
Clark heaved another sigh and stomped up the stairs. He couldn’t go inside because he’d really let his mom have it for being so judgmental about Lena. He had no idea where she’d gotten the idea that Lena was a prostitute, but even if Clark wanted to call her a whore in his head didn’t mean that he was allowed to really mean it.
He flopped down on his couch and pouted. He picked up the little blue ball that he kept up here and started to bounce it against the wall. Lex, Lena, and Maddie looked like an adorable little family there all together and cozy with another one on the way. And Clark couldn’t even be there as Lex’s friend! If he tried he’d just screw it up again, and he couldn’t keep doing that to Lex.
Just then Lena’s gently lilting voice came up the stairs. “I know pity parties are usually for one, but do you mind some company?”
Clark jumped and stood. He should have been listening for her! Or… anyone. Jeez. Sneak up on the guy with super-hearing. “Um, hi, Lena.”
“Oh, my God. You’re so excited to see me!” she said ironically, laughing as she came slowly up the last few steps. “Phew. There’s my exercise for the day, unless Lex makes me come for a walk with him.”
“Yeah, well. It’s good for the baby, right?” Clark couldn’t figure out what that expression on her face meant.
“It is. And Lex will probably want to, if he’s not tired again. He’s napping right now, so I borrowed one of his cars to come talk to you. I thought we could use it.”
“Tanaka keep him on a tight schedule?” Clark asked. He still had a hard time imagining Lex taking a nap.
Lena shrugged and put her hands in her pockets. “Somehow I’ve managed never to meet the woman. Though I’m over there a lot. Maddie and I can usually convince him that it’s naptime, though. He’s got a weak spot for his girls.”
Clark nodded. They were taking care of him. Without him. Hmph. “Good.”
“Honey, you’ve got to stop feeling sorry for yourself.”
Clark gave her a sharp sideways glance. Who did this woman think she was? He’d feel sorry for himself if he wanted to!
Lena scrunched up her face into a pugnacious frown. “Don’t you get all hostile on me. Lex needs you, and here you are wallowing in self-pity? Oh, it’s so hard to be you. You have a hot, rich guy there waiting for you to come see him. and you’re just playing with your balls in the barn.”
Clark usually reserved his scathing looks for Lois, but this one belonged to Lena alone.
Lena put her hand on her hip. “You know I’m right.”
“I don’t know anything,” Clark snapped. “I mean… no. No, I don’t! And you don’t either, so get off my back.”
Lena leaned against the rail. “I’ll tell you what you know. You know that Lex loves you, and he’ll forgive you anything.”
“Yeah, but… that’s not a good thing. I’m just going to hurt him again-“
“So don’t! Don’t judge him before you know what’s going on! Don’t take the word of conniving little tramps over his! And don’t hit him or throw him or choke him-“
“Hey!” Clark protested, taking a step toward her.
“Don’t tell him what a bad guy he is. Don’t say such cruel things and expect him not to take it to heart. Whenever you do something stupid, he takes it in and he thinks that it’s his fault. And you know when it’s yours. Man up, Clark. Man. Up.” Lena’s cheeks were a bit flushed now, and she was breathing a little heavily.
Clark stood there silently for a moment and crossed his arms. “Maybe Lex likes you, but I don’t have to. I’m not an idiot! Lex has done some bad things, and I don’t see a ring on your finger. Who’s the tramp here?”
Lena tilted her head back to look up at him. Somehow his 6’3” frame wasn’t giving him much leverage on this tiny pregnant woman. She pressed her lips together calmly. “You don’t fool me, Clark,” she said in a sympathetic voice. “You’re not mad. You’re scared. And that’s okay. Guys can get scared. Even big guys like you. But you’ll never be brave if you don’t face your fear and do everything you can to make this right. You’re not a little boy anymore. You know you should go to him. Hug your friend and make up, so both of you can stop being heartbroken.”
Then she turned and began to make her way back down the stairs. Clark wanted to yell something down at her, but he couldn’t think of anything to say, and by the time he’d gathered himself, she was most of the way down the stairs. He decided to let her go. What was he going to do with Lex’s pregnant girlfriend anyway?
Once she had left the barn, Clark walked over to his telescope and tried to find Lex. Sure enough, he was in bed, napping. He looked so sweet and innocent. Vulnerable. If only he could go see him like Lena had been busting his balls to do. But he wasn’t sure that he was man enough to do that, especially when Lex already had someone else. It wasn’t like it had been with him and Lana. They were just… Clark and Lana. Lex and Lena seemed so close, already.
Adorably, Maddie was hanging out on the bed with Lex. She was reading, and she looked up with a sour expression when Tanaka came in. Little Maddie got so nervous around some grown ups; it didn’t surprise Clark that the girl was shy of her.
Then he spotted Rujuko coming in and wondered how Lex was supposed to sleep when everyone was crowding him. The girl stole a glance at Tanaka then curled up in a chair to chat quietly with Maddie. The woman woke Lex momentarily to take do a few tests and take a blood sample, then instructed him to go back to sleep.
Lex rolled his eyes and sat up to watch the girls talking. Tanaka made a swift exit, after telling Rujuko to put the equipment away. Then Lena entered and sat on the bed with Lex.
“Are you still here?” Lex asked, yawning a little.
“Do you want me to go?” Lena asked. She coaxed him to lie on his side and began rubbing his back in circles.
“No, I just thought you’d left.”
Lena smiled and leaned over to kiss the back of his head. “You ain’t that lucky, hon.”
Clark pulled away from the microscope and went back over to the couch to pout.
***
The Daily Planet was chaotic, as usual, and that was the way that Chloe loved it. She’d fought her way in her tooth and nail, and some blood, sweat, and tears to boot. Nothing gave her energy like this anymore, being in the middle of news in the making, everyone pulling out all the stops to tell the people truth about the world. She sat back and sighed contentedly. Sure her life wasn’t easy these days, but things could be worse.
Now that the semester had ended, she’d moved back in with her father temporarily. It was either that or Lois, who was one of the slobbiest people on Earth. To the point that even Chloe couldn’t put up with it, not to mention the fact that Lois really couldn’t afford to pay the rent for another person. Lex might have waved it, but then again, he’d probably try to offer her another more expensive place to live, and that always made her feel slightly moochy. There were enough people feeding off of him.
Chloe didn’t spot the Person in Black until she was already at Chloe’s desk, smirking down at her confidently. Unable to formulate a sensible greeting, she squeaked out, “Oh. Um.” She cleared her throat. “It’s you.”
“It’s me.” Mercy leaned against Chloe’s desk and crossed one heavy boot over the other.
Chloe stared at her for a long awkward moment, and Mercy stared back, just smiling, almost wickedly. Finally Chloe asked, “Um, is the Daily Planet in your natural orbit, or did my gravitational pull bring you here against your will?”
Mercy laughed. “There’s a pull, alright. But I promise you, there’s nothing non-consensual about me being here.”
“Then what’s up?”
Mercy opened her briefcase.
“My laptop!” Chloe practically cheered. She could have done a dance around the basement. Her fingers stroked the sides a little, lovingly. She wanted to kiss it but… not in front of Mercy. “Did you find out who did it?”
“Sorry to say, we have no idea. It’s been wiped clean of prints, and it was basically abandoned on campus. The hard drive has been broken into, and I think that a lot of the files are missing, because we had trouble booting it. You’ll have to check yourself.”
Chloe nodded. “I’m just glad to have it back… oh. They got into it? What files are missing?”
“I just scanned the ones about LuthorCorp and Boss. Other than that, I don’t know,” Mercy said, her tone almost apologetic.
Chloe took the laptop and opened it up. “And those were still password protected? But… if they got to my other files, there’s no reason they couldn’t just copy the files and then reset the password. If they wanted us not to know, that would be the best way to do it.”
“That’s what I was thinking. The bottom line is, something’s gonna have to be done.” Mercy met her eye meaningfully.
Chloe shivered.
Mercy straightened up. “I’m not gonna kill you, kitten. We’re gonna give you a new LexCorp laptop, so your files will have better protection.”
“Oh. Right.” Chloe flushed and started to look through the files. “Oh, Jesus Christ.”
The folder on Clark is missing.
Chloe felt her blood turning to ice. There wasn’t enough stuff in there alone to tip someone off-mostly just newspaper articles chronicling Clark’s heroism-but if someone had stolen her laptop just because she knew Clark, then it might have filled in the pieces for them.
“You look pale.” Mercy’s voice startled her out of her thoughts.
Chloe looked up at the imposing woman, tenting her brows. “I really need to find out who looked at these files. I can’t say what was in them, just… someone I know could be hurt or killed if anyone figured out what those files were pointing to.”
Mercy’s expression was unreadable for a moment. Then she nodded. “I’ll do whatever I can to make that happen. Don’t worry. Whoever did this can’t hide forever.”
Chloe nodded, sighing fretfully as she pulled out an external drive. “I’ll copy my personal files and give this back to you. I don’t want anything in my possession until I’m sure someone can’t nab it.”
Mercy knelt beside her and pulled something out of her back pocket. A cloth. A soft red cloth, and she was wiping the tears off of Chloe’s face gently. “This isn’t your fault,” her voice softened, and was soothing on Chloe’s ears.
“I was careless. I can’t believe I let this happen again.” Chloe’s nose wrinkled, and she tried very hard not to cry. She couldn’t pretend that she hadn’t been affected by Alicia Baker’s death over a year ago, when her own journalism’s poison had helped the town hate an innocent, though kinda psycho, young girl enough that Alicia had died for it. When she’d found out that Clark was among the weird she would have reported on, thoughtlessly, and potentially destroyed his life. It didn’t matter that most of the mutants were completely mental. There were some that weren’t, and there was Clark, and if she’d done anything to break his trust or hurt him, she’d just have to curl up and die.
Mercy’s arms went tightly around her, and the woman began to say, “No, no, kitten. I’ll take care of it. Promise. Don’t cry.”
Finally, Chloe took a shuddering breath and nodded. She felt herself being lifted to her feet.
“C’mon. I’m buying you lunch. Look, Lex knows that this was an accident. It wasn’t your fault. You have to remember that.” Mercy put the laptop back into her briefcase, then put her arm around Chloe’s shoulders.
“I’ll try. But it’ll be a cold comfort if anything happens to my friend.”
Mercy frowned deeply. “That’s true. But being upset won’t fix it right now.”
Chloe let Mercy lead her out of the basement and tried to think how she was going to explain this to Clark.
***
Clark sat down in his calculus class and looked around curiously. He didn’t see that weird redheaded girl anywhere, and he wasn’t sure if he was disappointed or relieved. It would have been nice to have seen a familiar face. All of these kids in here were younger than him, and even though calculus was like a cute little puzzle to him, he felt really out of place. Everyone from his class at Smallville High was probably relaxing from a hard year at one of the most difficult schools in the state, while he was starting everything over.
While he wasn’t stupid by far, Clark felt like he really was. He’d missed a lot of class his first semester, barely passed Milton Fine’s class, which was kind of a laugh, and flunked a few. He really hated A&M. Everything was so boring. Smallville High had been boring too, but at least he’d had friends in class to share it with.
The instructor handed out a pack of syllabuses and turned to write on the board. Clark took his and passed it on to a kid that he recognized as the little brother of one of his classmates who had gone meteor freak. He wondered if this guy would hate him once he realized who he was. After all, Clark had made sure his brother ended up in Belle Reve.
Just then there was a sloshing noise and the squeak of sneakers and the entire class turned to look a the girl entering, sopping wet. Clark covered his eyes. What had Lori been doing?! Swimming in the fountain?
To his dismay, she came right next to him to sit down and leaned on her hand, smiling up, as the teacher glared her way.
“Please try to be on time,” the man said crossly. Then a few more students trickled in and he threw his hands up and sighed. Clark couldn’t help but laugh.
Lori turned her head and winked at Clark with her huge blue eyes. Somehow it felt familiar, and at the same time uncanny. Clark couldn’t put his finger on why he seemed to remember her. She pulled out a pencil with a fishie eraser on it and started scribbling illegibly on her paper. Clark thought that it was notes for a moment, until the squiggles started to come together to form a picture of a castle under the sea.
Weirdo.
After class was over, Clark walked out with Lori and watched as she wrung out her long ginger hair over the grass. “I… uh… so, do you want to get a burger?”
“I’m veggie,” she replied simply.
Clark flushed. And I’m a cattle farmer. “Oh. Sorry.”
Lori tilted her head and blinked at him. “Um, it’s not a disease. Why are you sorry?”
“I’m not a veggie?” Clark shrugged apologetically.
Lori laughed. God, what a weird noise she was making. She sounded like a dolphin. “Don’t be sorry. Gee. It’s dietary so don’t worry. I can’t digest most meat.”
Clark made a face. “That must suck.”
“I’m so used to it that it doesn’t matter.” Lori shrugged, shoving her hands into her pockets. “I can eat fish, but I feel sorry for them, so I don’t.”
“Oh. Okay, then. Um, no burger for you then.”
“Not unless you want to see how far I can projectile vomit,” she replied cheerfully. “Do you?”
“No!” Clark exclaimed, holding up his hands.
“Fine. Um…” Lori pinched her small mouth off to the side in thought and shifted the book bag on her shoulder. Clark noticed that she had little fish pens on that too. “Do you like sushi?”
“Sushi is fish,” Clark pointed out.
“Not vegetarian sushi.”
“I don’t really want to have rice and seaweed for lunch,” Clark complained with a frown.
Lori stuck out the tip of her tongue. “Then you pick a place.”
“We could go to IHOP. They have pretty good omelets. You could get spinach.”
Lori wrinkled her nose. “Ew, no. I’m allergic to milk and eggs.”
Clark boggled. “So… what do you eat?”
“Seaweed.”
“Surely you eat other things.”
Lori shrugged again and leaned against the bench for the bus stop. “I’m not seeing many options here.”
“I… hm. Lemme call Chloe. She’ll know more places in Metropolis where we could go.”
“You could come back to my place.”
Clark pulled out his phone and gave her a look. “For seaweed fritters? I don’t think so.”
Lori pulled a little comb out of her bag and started pulling it through her hair.
“Hello?” Chloe answered in a somewhat tight voice.
Clark frowned. “Are you okay?” There was an uncomfortable pause. “Chloe??”
“I’m fine. Look, can we meet later? Like… I dunno. Sometime this week? I need to talk to you about something.”
“That sounds ominous. Are you mad at me about something? What did I do?”
Chloe laughed softly. “You didn’t do anything. Promise.”
“Okay. Right, I called you because I’m going out to lunch with a classmate-“
“Oh, that’s right! Back to school! How is it?”
“The classes are easy, and I’m old. Anyway, she’s a vegan, pretty much, because she’s allergic to everything, and I’m a milk-fed farmboy. Where would you suggest we go eat?”
Lori was now balancing herself on the bench, as though she were trying to swim in the air.
“You’ve got to meet her, Chloe.”
Chloe laughed harder at the tone in his voice. “Her?” she teased. “Getting back on the horse already?”
“I dunno if she’s a horse. I think she’s more of a fish.”
“Clark’s got a da~ate!” Chloe sang.
“Shut up. Just tell me where we can go where neither one of us will puke from the food.”
“There’s a Japanese place a block from Campus Corner that serves both veggie and meaty stuff, so you could go there. Or there’s an Indian buffet which is um… it’s near the Centennial? Everything there is vegetarian, but there might be a few things with eggs, so tell her to look closely.”
“Do I like Indian?”
“Yes, you’ve eaten off my lunch from there before when you were hanging around the Daily Planet.”
“Really? Okay, I’ll tell her. Where are you?”
“Actually, I’m being treated to lunch by a friend,” Chloe said vaguely. “We’re at The Blue Room.”
“Oh?” Clark laughed. “A male friend? Hm?”
“No, it’s a woman, Clark.”
“Oh,” he said in disappointment. “Oh well. I’ll see you later, then, and we’ll talk about whatever I did.”
“You didn’t do anything!” Chloe protested.
Clark laughed and put his phone away. “Okay, I have direction. Japanese or Indian? Though the Indian place has some stuff with eggs, so Chloe says to keep your eyes peeled.”
Lori lowered herself from the bench. “I can taste it, so I can avoid it. Let’s go there. You like that place right? No seaweed?”
“I’m not anti-seaweed.”
“Whatever. Let’s go. Do you have a car or do we walk?”
“It’s across town. I can take the bus.”
“Okies!” Lori climbed up on the bench and sat on the back instead of the seat.
Clark frown at her and sat below her, where he was supposed to sit. “So how long have you been in Metropolis?”
“Um… I just came after my brother died. I have a lot to learn.”
Clearly. “What’s your major?”
“I dunno. I could do marine biology pretty easily. But I think my family wants me to study history and something in cultural studies.” Lori hung onto the back of the seat and leaned forward a little bit.
“Yeah, family expectations are kind of hard. I don’t really know what I want to do with myself.” Clark sighed. “It’s funny, because when I was in high school, I had this principal that made me write out this thing: Where I’ll Be in Five Years. And it’s almost four years later, and I haven’t taken a step toward any of the stuff I wrote down. I thought then that I might be interested in Journalism. My friend Chloe is ka-ray-zee about it. But I dunno. What if I get into it and don’t like it?”
“Do you like to write? Because you have to like what you do. Or you’ll stop moving and die.”
Clark looked up at her with an exasperated expression. “Where are you from?”
Lori looked away and scratched her neck. “Um… The coast of Southern California.”
“Right.” That explains a lot.
The bus pulled up, and Lori launched herself off the bench, sucked her cheeks in, and looked up at Clark. “To food?”
“To food.”
He followed her onto the bus, taking note of what he was observing so that he could explain this person to Chloe later.
***
Lena sat alone in Solana packing up the last of the books under the counter before she left her shop to the care of the crew who Lex had hired to remodel the place. It was a little like leaving home. She spent more time here than in her apartment. The other tenants of the building would either be relocating with friends and family - and most of them had opted for that - or they were being put up in a hotel at LuthorCorp’s expense. She knew that Maureena’s kids had been pretty excited about that. They’d never been in a hotel before.
She picked up the small box and turned. To her surprise, she almost bumped into a tall man with steely blue eyes and sharp cheekbones.
“Pardon me,” he said, although he made no attempt to move out of her way. On a second look, Lena thought that his eyes were downright metallic.
“Um… we’re actually closed for remodeling, so…” She shivered, realizing that she’d felt no emotions while she had been working. He shouldn’t have been able to sneak up on her. What kind of person didn’t feel? She tried to step around him, and he caught her arm. Then squeezed slowly until it began to hurt. Her heart fluttered wildly in her chest.
“We should talk,” he said flatly.
Lena was scared, and her taser was in her purse upstairs. She rattled off quickly, “Don’t hurt me, please; I’m pregnant. Just tell me what you want and I’ll-“
“I hardly need your compliance for what I want,” he said, dismissively. Her breathing hitched.
Lena felt something cold in her left side, then looked down, unable to process the feelings: the cold, the burning, the shiver down her body. There was a shard of metal sticking out of her side, but it was part of him, and then it slide out of her and became his hand, and there was blood pooling around her. She was staring up at the ceiling. He was looking down on her. She was an insect he had just crushed.
***
Chloe spread out the photos on Lex’s desk. “This is about as much info as I can get. Without my laptop anyway. Every time this happens, someone covers it up really quickly. It’s kinda weird. I mean, well obviously, but it’s like this is something that people really don’t want other people to know happens.”
Lex leaned over the files and sighed heavily. “This is fucking unbelievable. Did any of these cases report alien abduction?”
“Some of them.” Chloe pointed to one. “Those guys said it was a demon possession.”
She raised her hands when he gave her a disbelieving look. Lex shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck.
“There’s no pattern. Like, none. Even the ones who claimed alien abduction, I can’t really say for sure they were abducted. By aliens, anyway.” She looked at him questioningly. “Are you going to talk to some of them?”
“I might. I could use whatever help I can get. I’m reaching the end of whatever I can find by merely studying my own samp…les oh. Ohhh oh god!”
Lex nearly fell over as he grasped his abdomen.
“Lex?” Chloe jerked up in alarm.
Mercy got to him first, catching him and holding him up. “Something wrong with the baby?” she asked, looking at Lex’s pained and bewildered face. “I’ll call Tanaka.”
“Don’t know. Just hurts,” Lex replied, allowing Mercy to help him over to the sofa. She eased him onto it and rushed out of the room. Lex pressed his hand to the spot where it hurt, his left side along his belly. It felt like he’d been impaled.
Chloe came and sat by him, taking his hand and squeezing it with a frightened expression. He pressed his head back into the cushions, waiting until Dr. Tanaka came.
Soon enough she was rushing into the room with a small kit, pulling up his shirt, pressing her expert fingers against his belly, and asking questions. After a few moments she looked at him, a bit at a loss. The pain was fading away, and Lex felt a little embarrassed that it seemed to be turning out to be nothing.
“I don’t know. If it doesn’t hurt anywhere else… look, let’s go up to your room for a sonogram, and we’ll have a bit of a look inside to see if anything’s wrong?” she suggested.
“He collapsed in pain,” Mercy snapped. “That’s not a cramp, Tanaka. That’s a problem!”
“And we will check just in case,” she returned just as sharply. “However, he seems fine now.”
Chloe watched helplessly as Mercy scooped Lex up into her arms and carried him out of the room. There she sat, smoothing her hands over her face and neck as she waited, unsure of what to do or say. Should she go? Oh… should she tell Clark? How could she possibly explain!
“Hey, kitten.”
Chloe looked up to see Mercy returning to the room.
She sat on the sofa beside Chloe and petted her shoulder. “I thought you might want an update. So far, Boss looks like he’s fine. We just don’t know what happened, so Tanaka will probably make him spend the rest of the day in bed.”
“Has this happened before?” Chloe asked in concern.
“Well, no. He’s had cramps and stuff. I don’t know much about...” Mercy waved her hand. “All of this. But I believe in Boss. He’s strong. He’ll make it.”
Chloe shook her head and rubbed her hands. She felt Mercy’s strong hand on her back, rubbing gently.
“So. How did your paper turn out?” the older woman asked.
Chloe looked up. “Paper? Oh, I got a C.” She shrugged and shook her head. “Scraped out of the class with a B-, thank goodness.”
“Well, good for you. It shows character to be able to make that work under such pressure.” Mercy’s lips were curving ever so slightly.
“How did you and Lex meet?” Chloe needed something to do, and interrogating this woman was a close at hand activity.
“I stole his car about a year ago. He hired me,” Mercy said simply.
Chloe laughed. “Lex can be so weird.”
“I think he was impressed at how I was able to get it out of his garage without tripping any of his security.”
“That is impressive, considering how paranoid he is.” Chloe smiled slightly.
Mercy nodded. “I was pretty proud of myself. Until I got caught. Darn rich people and their fancy GPS systems.”
Chloe chuckled. She looked up to see Rujuko in the doorway. Maddie peeked her head behind her. Chloe was fond of Maddie, but they hardly ever exchanged words. There was something understood in the way the two of them communicated without talking. Chloe couldn’t put her finger on it.
“Tanaka says that you can come up and do your work or whatever there,” Rujuko told them.
Chloe looked to Mercy, who moved immediately to get the papers they had been looking at. She turned her head momentarily to give Chloe a questioning look.
She shrugged. “I wanted to help. So I collected everything I could on the subject.”
“Alright,” Mercy said, though she was smiling slightly as they headed upstairs, where Lex was waiting, lying on the bed with an annoyed expression on his face. “You’ve been sentenced to bed, I see.”
“Indeed,” Lex replied tersely.
Mercy set Chloe’s files down on the table. “I don’t see why you two couldn’t continue your meeting. Don’t wear him out, though.” She winked at Chloe.
“I’ll do my best,” Chloe replied, shaking her head. She flushed slightly and pulled out the files she had been going over with Lex. She’d sent him a hardcopy of everything she’d had on her laptop, but she hadn’t gotten around to scanning her clippings at the time her laptop had been stolen.
“Where were we?” Lex asked. He crossed his legs and frowned slightly. Likely, he didn’t want to be stuck in bed anymore, but was still worried about the pain he’d felt.
“Contacting the misfortuned.” Chloe handed Lex a file.
“Do you think they’ll be willing to talk about their experience?”
“Would you? To a stranger?” Chloe asked.
Lex paused. “Not likely. I’m not particularly willing to talk about it to people I’ve known for years.”
“Maybe when you’re further along, they’ll feel some sympathy and open up,” Chloe suggested, leaning on her hand.
“You are a shrewd woman, Chloe Anne Sullivan.” Lex paused and reached into his pocket. He stared at his cell phone for a moment. “Hold on, Chloe.”
Chloe looked over the photographs and files while she waited on him. It had been amazing to her how many men had turned up pregnant. Not that it was an epidemic, but it was more than surprising enough that there was more than one case. Her eyes darted over to Lex. He would be showing soon, even if he was covering it with well tailored clothes at the moment. She wondered how he was planning to deal with the press on this one, and she hoped it wouldn’t be too stressful, considering how sick he’d already been.
“Oh no!”
Chloe’s head whipped around at the sound of Lex’s horrified voice. His nostrils were flaring, and his eyes were impossibly wide.
“Are you sure? It’s her? I… Mareena…” Lex looked around and around seeming lost and frightened. “I’ll be there… who’s her doctor? That’s not good enough. I’ll call the hospital. Oh, god…”
He choked and covered his mouth. Chloe shivered. She began cleaning up the files quickly. Lex started breathing slowly and deliberately. After a moment, he called the hospital, demanding a specialist, not taking no for an answer. By the end of the conversation, Chloe had the files put away, and she’d gleaned the gist of the situation.
Lena had been stabbed in the stomach at her shop. She’d lost her baby and was now in surgery fighting for her life, but it didn’t look good. Chloe wiped away her own tears and waited for Lex to get off the phone.
“I have to go to Metropolis,” he stated flatly, looking around for something.
“Maddie?” she asked. Lex appeared disoriented. She bit her lip. “Okay, um… I’ll have Domovoi send her over to Clark’s? Then I’ll drive with you to Metropolis.”
Lex shook his head. “I’m taking the helicopter. I have to be there now, Chloe.”
She winced. “That a good idea?”
“I have to be there,” he repeated firmly. He launched himself out of bed and searched his dresser frantically. “Where the fuck are my keys?!”
Chloe walked over to him and put her hand over his. “You don’t need them. Helicopter. Just… Okay, why don’t you sit down for a sec? I’ll talk to Domovoi.”
Lex followed her with a wild, distrustful look, and she exerted a little force getting him to sit down back down on the sofa.
”Wait. Just hang on.”
Lex closed his eyes and put his head in his hands. Chloe ran out of the room to find Domovoi and call Mercy. Lena had been stabbed in the place that Lex had felt his pain earlier. She didn’t know what was going on, but right now, Lex needed to be with Lena.
***
Maddie knocked on the screen door then looked anxiously back to Domovoi, who put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly. Martha came up to the door and opened her mouth in surprise. Maddie swallowed and tried to stay calm. Something in the pit of her belly felt funny and uncomfortable.
“Hi, Mrs. Kent. Lex had to go to the hospital. Can I stay here for a little while? Just until he comes back,” she said in a rush. Martha raised her brows and opened the door.
“Come on in. Jonathan!”
She walked into the room, looking around for Clark or Jonathan. The back of her head was beginning to tingle, and she started to whisper the mantra that her tutor Richard had taught her.
“Sweetie, what are you doing?” Martha asked.
“…elekanamen…” She looked up nervously and grabbed Domovoi’s hand as the windows began to shake.
Martha’s eyes widened, and she stepped back quickly. “Stay calm, Maddie. I’m going, okay?”
Domovoi set a hand on Maddie’s head. The windows stilled.
“You are fine, miss,” he said firmly. Maddie lifted her eyes.
Clark jogged into the room. “Hey!”
“Hey,” she breathed the word and wondered if Lex knew that Domovoi had powers.
Martha released her breath and stepped closer to her son. “Lex is in the hospital.”
Clark appeared alarmed. Maddie shook her head. “No, no, he had to go to the hospital. He’s fine, Clark. But Lena got stabbed!”
“Oh, dear,” Martha gasped.
“Chloe told me to come over here. She said I needed to be out of the way, so Lex wouldn’t feel like he had to take care of me while he was looking after Lena.”
Martha frowned. Maddie frowned at her in response.
“Mr. Luthor was quite upset, madam,” Domovoi put in. “I agreed with Ms. Sullivan that it might be best to ensure Miss Maddie’s safety to ease his mind.”
“Yeah,” Clark agreed. He sidestepped his mother and crouched before Maddie. “Don’t worry, Maddie. If it’s possible to save Lena and her baby, Lex can do it. He can make almost anything happen.”
Maddie felt fat tears beginning to roll down her eyes again. “She already lost her baby. Lex was talking to some doctors from his lab about getting some special blood to save her…”
Clark wrapped her in his bear-like arms, and she began to sob on his shoulder. She had really liked Lena. She was safe, kinda boyish sometimes, and she always knew when Maddie wanted to be held or when to back off and leave her alone. Martha, Lana, and Lois, they just came at her whether she wanted it or not. She hated that, and it made her shake. Most importantly, Lex cared about her a lot, and the last thing she wanted was for Lex to be hurting more than he was.
“It’s okay, Maddie. We’ll wait here. And it’s gonna be okay.” Clark gave her his million-watt smile, and it was hard to think anything else bad could happen when Clark was promising that it would be fine. Clark seemed so sure. And sincere. She took his hand and followed. She would go wherever he wanted her to go.