FIC: Must Be Dreaming, Chapter Fourteen!
This fic is soooo long.
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!!
Much thanks to my lovely beta herohunter who does not yet know she is getting something shiny and blue!! ♥
Chapter One ♥ Chapter Two ♥ Chapter Three ♥ Chapter Four ♥ Chapter 5.1 ♥ Chapter 5.2 ♥ Chapter Six ♥ Chapter Seven ♥ Chapter Eight ♥ Chapter Nine ♥ Chapter Ten ♥ Chapter Eleven ♥ Chapter Twelve ♥ Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Pacing around the castle waiting for Lex to come home was no fun at all, especially when Clark felt like he really, really needed to talk to his long time friend now before he chickened out on the things he wanted to say.
For starters, I love you.
And maybe a side of, I'm an alien. Please don't hate me.
And finally, If you can accept us when I'm not the father, then I can do the same.
First though, Lex had to get home. Clark had sped here after leaving the farm, surprised to find out from Domovoi that Lex had left for the office, the stubborn ass, promising to be home for dinner, although knowing Lex…
Clark was beginning to think that he should run to Metropolis and just bring Lex his dinner. That way, Lex could at least feel the security and power of being in his work environment before Clark started in on the serious stuff. He knew they'd probably fight. A lot. But right now, he just wanted to put his arms around Lex, feel the soft bulk where Lex's sweet little girl was growing against his abdomen, and tell Lex all the things that had been bubbling up inside of him for the past five years.
The sound of Lena's panicked voice caused Clark to tune his hearing to the other side of the castle, and only a second had passed before he appeared in front of the room where she was gesticulating wildly with her hands at Domovoi and another servant.
"No, no, no, no, you don't understand! There is something wrong! I called LuthorCorp, and they have no idea where he is! He never arrived!" she shrieked.
Clark came up to her side and grabbed the woman's shoulders. "Lena, what is it?"
"Lex!" she exploded, as though he were a complete idiot.
Clark stiffened but tried to remain calm himself. "Where is he?"
"That's just it, Clark. I don't know. I don't know where he is. A few minutes ago, I felt his fear and pain blossom in my chest, as though he had just been struck fully with the grief of losing someone he loved intensely." Lena held her hand above her heart and blink quickly. "He's in pain, emotional pain. But when I called LuthorCorp-"
"He hadn't gotten there," Clark finished. "And his cell?"
"Obviously I called his cell first," Lena snapped. She took a breath. "It's gone now. He feels troubled, but it's muted. I think he's sleeping, or drugged." She licked her lips and looked up at him pleadingly. "Clark, we have to find him."
"I know." Clark looked around for a moment wondering what could have happened. "Okay. Um…"
He pulled out his cell phone and began to dial. "Lena, stay with me, okay? I… if this is who I think it is, then he's come after you before. He might try to take you again."
"I don't care about me. I care about my brother and his baby," Lena argued.
Clark reached over and took her hand, pulling her with him as he waited for the phone to ring. "That's great, but I want you around. You're the only person right now who can tell us what's happening to Lex."
"I can't tell you much. I can only tell you what he's feeling," Lena said dejectedly.
"And that was enough to know he was gone- Chloe! Is Mercy with you? … Yeah, Lex has gone missing-" Clark paused to wait for Chloe to pass that on to Mercy. Clearly the two of them were preparing to leave whatever they'd been in the middle of and get on the road.
Clark could hear Mercy saying in the background, "I should never have taken the afternoon off!"
"This isn't your fault," Chloe argued. "Hand me my pants."
"Here they are. Yes, it is. He needs someone to watch him-"
"Okay, it is. Happy? We still have to pull our heads together and find him. Your bra is over there." Chloe went back to the phone. "Clark, we're in Granville. It might take us a little while to get back to you. Do you want to go ahead to LuthorCorp? We'll meet you there. I'll call ahead and get a search team going. You should probably have Domovoi question everyone at the mansion."
Clark looked to Lena and nodded. "I'll do that. And I'll call you back if we hear anything."
"Sounds good," Chloe confirmed. "See you soon."
After Chloe had hung up, Clark turned back to Lena. "Why don't you get Maddie?"
"Yeah." Lena looked down. "She'll want to know what's going on." Lena pointed up at him, giving him a firm look that almost made her look like her old self. "You tell me as soon as you know anything. Holler across the castle if you have to. And I'm coming with you when you head to Metropolis."
Clark didn't even think of disagreeing. He just gave her a nod and went back to find Domovoi.
"He got on the helicopter, Master Clark," Domovoi said once they'd spotted one another. "I saw him myself."
"Then we have to figure out what happened after that. Can you find out whether it landed? If it did, have LuthorCorp security hold the pilot."
"Yes, sir. I'll do this right away, and I will tell the other servants to gather down by the kitchen." Domovoi promised. "They will need to be questioned."
Clark nodded in agreement. "Go ahead. I'll…" He frowned, narrowing his eyes as the thought about it. "I'm going to look at the security cameras. Come talk to me when you've got that done, okay?"
Domovoi nodded, turning to the hallway, and departed quickly.
Roughly five minutes later, Clark was sitting in Lex's office, with the flip out LCD screen on the wall by Lex's desk out, watching six security tapes on fast-forward, his eyes flipping between them and taking in what he could. He might have to go back farther because he wasn't seeing anything that would help. No one unfamiliar was there, although he could now identify Lex's pilot by face or voice at this point.
"How the hell do you lose a five-month pregnant man?" Tanaka's cold voice preceded her as she stormed into the office. Clark quickly paused all the screens and turned around to see her censorious face as she stalked toward him. He swallowed before she spoke again. "I don't know if this particularly concerns you, Clark-" The abrasive way that she said his name almost pulled it into two syllables. "-However, Lex needs to prepare himself for the more difficult months to come. He doesn't need more stress, medical emergencies, or in particular, emotional drama from a boy who doesn't seem to realize that his presence is doing far more harm than good."
"I think you're wrong," Clark said, getting up. "About me. I know that he doesn't need stress. I'm the one who's trying to help him deal with that, while you're so cold he doesn't even feel comfortable with the idea of you taking care of him. Get a sense of perspective. He needs his friends, and he needs his family. And right now? He doesn't need us arguing about this. He needs us to find him. You have no idea how dangerous the psycho who probably took him is."
Tanaka's lips turned into a fine line, and she crossed her arms. "What is this psycho like?"
"Well, for starters, he took Lex the first time to cut him open and experiment on him. He's probably looking to continue the experiment," Clark said gravely. "Both he and the baby are in real danger, the longer he's missing."
"I gathered that. Do you have any other suspects?" Tanaka asked, angling her head to the side eerily.
"Why would I need them?" Clark gave her a grumpy look and returned to the tapes. Only he could hardly look through them all at once with her there.
She walked up behind him and took the remote, turning them off. "You aren't finding a spaceship on those tapes, are you? And therefore, it could have feasibly been another party that abducted him. If we're to find him, we shouldn't narrow our search just yet."
"Do you know anything?" Clark asked suspiciously.
"No, I don't. And I cannot tell you how deeply that disturbs me." Tanaka looked over her shoulder. "I need to contact Ruji. I will return."
Before Clark could think of a response, Tanaka had gone, and he was sitting alone again. He turned to the tapes, when Maddie rushed in with Lena walking behind her.
"Clark!" Maddie came up to him, and he wrapped his arms around her.
"We're gonna find him, okay? Don't worry," Clark said with a calm he did not feel.
Maddie stayed close to him and looked up at Lena. "I think we should go to LuthorCorp and talk to Lex's friends there."
"We're gonna contact LuthorCorp. Domovoi is talking with them now," Clark told her.
Maddie shook her head. "I mean, his friends. The metas he's helped. They can help us find him, I'm sure!"
Clark stood there, boggling for a moment. He had no idea what Maddie was talking about. He took a breath. "What metas?"
"You'll see when you get there. Maddie's not the only kid with powers that Lex has taken under his wing," Lena informed him quietly.
Clark licked his lips and shook his head. "How is he?"
"Still sleeping, I think." Lena wiped her palms on her jeans, looking both shaky and drained.
"Can I come?" Maddie asked. "With you to LuthorCorp?"
Lena looked at her and offered her hand, which Maddie took. They had been spending a lot of time together lately. "Yes, you can. Just stick with me, and we'll see if there's a way for us to help."
Maddie nodded and rested her head on Lena's side. Clark ruffled his hair and was grateful when Domovoi returned.
"They did not land at LuthorCorp tower, sir. I think the next step would be to find where it went instead. If they flew over Metropolis, then surely they would have been spotted," Domovoi reasoned.
"I agree. I just don't know, though, if they were using a helicopter…" Clark paused. "Milton Fine could have pretended to be the pilot. He can shape shift."
"This is the man with the cheekbones, right?" Lena asked, holding Maddie more closely.
"Yeah, I think so. I mean, he took Lex before."
"Will he hurt Lex?" she whispered, her voice laced with worry.
Clark fidgeted with his hands for a moment, unsure of what to say. In the end, he decided to tell the truth. "I think he'll continue experimenting on Lex. I don't know why he let him go to begin with."
Lena sighed. "Right then. So… why don't you connect with Chloe and Mercy, and Maddie and I will head to Metropolis. We'll try to find out if any of Lex's metas can do anything to help."
"It's a start. I haven't really found anything helpful on the security cameras. Do you have a phone?" Clark asked. When Lena nodded and held up her phone, he continued. "Okay, let's just check in with each other every hour, unless you find something we have to know about right away."
"Got it. C'mon, Maddie." Lena took the girl with her, encircling her shoulders with one arm.
Clark walked over to Lex's desk, leaned on it, and got out his phone to call Chloe.
"Doctor," Domovoi announced, looking Tanaka over critically when she returned.
Tanaka looked at him, but did not greet him, and instead turned to Clark. "It occurs to me that if anyone else discovered his condition, they would likely want to observe him. It might prove beneficial to compose a shortlist of any scientists he's come in contact with lately who may have figured it out, or perhaps, anyone who is interested in mutants."
"Look, I know who it is," Clark said irritably. "If you want to waste your time going after scientists-"
"I don't understand why you would be so dead set on one answer. Why put all of your resources toward going after a target you cannot reach?"
"We'll find Fine," Clark argued.
"If he truly is a spaceman," Tanaka said with a tinge of mocking in her voice, "couldn't he simply take Lex and leave the galaxy? Could you ever find him? If we're agreed that this man has alien technology, who is to say that he couldn't open up another dimension and leave Lex stranded there? I hope he's been practicing his Lamaze."
"That is not funny!" Clark snapped. He walked over to her and tried to stare her down, but her eyes were so cold that he couldn't bear the gaze for very long, not while knowing that this person was in charge of Lex's care.
"If you cannot-" Tanaka cut herself off, made a disgruntled noise, and stormed out.
Clark blinked a few times, wondering if Tanaka has just lost her temper for the first time ever. "Domovoi, do you think she has a point?"
"It couldn't hurt to keep our minds open, Master Clark. With the things you and I know are possible. If all things are equal…" Domovoi answered in a calm voice.
"Then it's likely that the simplest answer is right? Then what's the simplest answer?" Clark turned his head to the doorway once again as Lena came back in, moving quickly, and embraced him with a warm hug.
"He loves you, Clark. He'll come back to you," Lena said reverently.
Clark laughed softly and hugged her in return. "He's lived through a lot. I have faith in him."
"Then I will too," she agreed. She pulled back and wiped her eyes. "Sorry. I just couldn't leave without… I'll see you in Metropolis."
Clark caressed her shoulder and nodded. He felt better this time as she left, and turned to Domovoi again. When Tanaka appeared in the doorway for a third time, Clark felt his patience waning. "I'll put Chloe on getting a list of suspects for us, okay? You don't have to keep coming in here. In fact, why don't you go away? We're not going to let your subject get hurt."
Tanaka's head angled again, and her eyes scanned up and down Clark's form. "I'm sending Ruji with them."
When Clark groaned in relief, since she had finally gone, Domovoi let out a rare chuckle.
"She is a trying woman indeed," he said, meeting Clark's eye.
"She's really bizarre." Clark shook his head and looked back at the tapes. He pulled out his cell phone to contact Chloe once more before he zipped off to Metropolis. "Indeed."
***
"What? Don't you believe in magic?"
Lana strode toward Lionel Luthor's desk, crossing her arms with a knowing little smile.
"Really, Lana. You make me feel as though I'm speaking to my son about one of his little obsessions." Lionel leaned back in his chair, then rose to greet her.
Lana tilted her head as she smirked at Lionel. "You should listen to your son occasionally. Didn't he ever tell you about his encounter with magic?"
"Unless this refers to a Queen birthday party, I seriously doubt it."
"Last year." Lana's plump, scarlet lips pinched and bowed. She strolled over to Lionel's bar. "Lex found himself under a spell. A frightening thrall that kept him practicing his piano for hours."
Lionel threw his head back and practically cackled. "If only. Lex hates to practice."
"None of the servants checked up on him. No one came to see if he was coming down for dinner. By the time Clark found him the keys were smeared with blood," Lana continued coldly.
Lionel paused. "What now?"
"If Clark hadn't come, Lex might have gone on that way for days before anyone noticed," Lana said, turning her head back to look at him. "He could have starved, or died of dehydration. Bleeding to death was also a possibility."
Lionel pursed his lips and regarded her seriously.
"That is if Lex can bleed to death. We were stuck in a safe room for hours while he bled from a gunshot wound to the chest."
"You're serious? Surely he was under the thrall of some mutant with persuasive powers."
"No. It was a witch. A very powerful one. You remember the 'elements' that everyone seemed to be after?" Lana met his eye.
"Of course I do. Touching one of them left me in Belle Reve for months." Lionel slipped his hands into his pockets. "I was searching for them for years. The rumors said that they hold immense power."
"The witch believed that as well. Apparently Lex got in her way," Lana informed him. She paused. "If you don't believe me, you should check the security tapes the day of Chloe's eighteenth birthday and the day after. He was playing the piano for over twenty-four hours."
"Intriguing. The Teagues had a certain reputation with the dark arts. Naturally, as a pragmatic man, I've never put any stock in the notion." Lionel went to the bar and poured himself a scotch. "And this is why you insist that Kestrel's powers may be based supernaturally rather than scientifically."
"It is." Lana shrugged. "I know that there have been freaks who could see the future, but you haven't found anything to indicate that he's genetically any different than anyone else," she pointed out. "I'm just asking that you keep an open mind."
Lionel sucked his lower lip in slightly, nodding as he considered it. "That does explain some things that defied explanation."
"Yeah?" Lana took a bottle of water, tossed her hair back, and raised the bottle to her lips. "What defies explanation so much?"
Lionel's eyes looked over her with an intrigued expression. "Oh, many things, Lana."
***
"No!" Mercy turned to the host of people reporting to her and glared at each one of them in turn. "I don't care how long, how far, how many nooks and crannies of this godforsaken city you have to burrow into. You will find Lex Luthor, is that clear? Get back out there, and I don't want to see your faces until he's found!"
Chloe stepped up beside her, crossing her arms. "Call us on the hour with updates. He hasn't been gone long enough for the police to get involved, but we are better. Mr. Luthor has done a lot for each and every one of us, so let's repay the favor, hm?"
"And if anyone breathes a word, you all have people you care about," Mercy warned.
"Good luck," Chloe said sincerely, meeting their eyes one by one.
After the group had dispersed, Clark stepped into the office, almost smiling. "Nice good cop/bad cop routine."
"Clark!" Chloe ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so sorry."
"We're not cops," Mercy said flatly. She scratched the back of her short-cropped hair and sighed. "And we're not getting anywhere."
"Yet," Chloe clarified.
Clark narrowed his eyes and looked between them for a second. Then he shook his head. "There's nothing at the castle. Literally. Or in the area immediately surrounding it. I checked."
"We haven't found the helicopter yet, either." Chloe shrugged. "The girls are in Lex's office. They thought you should see something, and without Lex here, it may be the only way to find him."
"Boss wouldn't like it," Mercy said tersely, looking at Clark as though he didn't deserve the information.
Chloe's eyes flitted up to her. "But he's missing and we're in charge-"
"You're in charge?" Clark interrupted. "Not bad for your summer job."
"I'm not in charge of LuthorCorp by any means. That would be Mercy." Chloe rolled her shoulders and motioned for Clark to follow her. Mercy flipped out her phone and appeared to be contacting Lena and Maddie. Chloe continued as they walked to the elevator. "The thing is, though, that Lexy's kids are probably our best bet to finding Lex, baring you suddenly gaining psychic abilities."
"I'm thinking Mxy will be able to do something for us, if he's properly motivated," Mercy said to them both. "He comes and goes, but I think he's been sticking around lately out of sheer curiosity. Well, that…"
"He does not have a crush on me," Chloe protested.
"I swear, you don't have eyes," Mercy replied once they'd reached the elevator. She turned her head. "Are they coming or not?"
"Patience," Chloe urged.
Mercy looked down at her and smirked. "Not my best trait, no."
Clark had yet another moment in which an odd feeling came over him. Chloe was dressed in one of her smart dress suits that she wore for work at The Daily Planet, and Mercy looked like a feminine businessman. In his jeans, boots, and gray sweater, he felt more than a little underdressed. Everyone seemed so professional that he was starting to wonder what good he was doing here. Maybe his time would have been better used if he had kept canvassing Smallville outward from the castle until he found a clue.
In fact, he was about to suggest that when Lena and Maddie came up to them. Chloe and Mercy led them into the elevator and everyone stood silently, facing forward for a few minutes as the elevator whooshed downward.
"How are you holding up?" Clark asked them.
"We're fine, Clark. Just worried," Maddie told him.
She looked to the control panel and watched it. With a frown, Clark watched as well. A moment later Mercy leaned over and stopped them in between floors, then entered a security code.
"Wait… what's this?" Clark asked, looking to Chloe.
"33.1," she answered. "Just… hold your judgment until you meet them, okay?"
Clark nodded hesitantly and waited for the doors to open.
"Where… did it all go?" Maddie gasped. Lena squeezed Maddie's shoulder and muttered something under her breath that didn't sound at all friendly.
"Where did what go?" Clark asked. There was nothing there. Just a huge, empty space. The entire floor seemed empty.
"Clark, there was a lab here. Dorms. People. Scientists and meta-humans…" Chloe trailed off as she walked further onto the floor, looking around as though she didn't seem to believe her eyes.
"Lena!" Maddie wailed. "What about Ghost? And Neveah? Where did they go?"
"It looks like Lex isn't our only missing person," Lena replied in a grave tone. She wrapped her arms around Maddie and pulled the girl close to her.
Clark walked in to explore with Chloe. He blinked at the huge, empty floor. It was clean as a whistle, like nothing had ever been there. Almost unbelievable that there would be a floor of nothing in between levels.
It creeped him out a little that Lex had learned this trick from Lionel, and Clark remembered the day that Lex had learned it.
"I'm never taking a day off again," Mercy growled.
Several moments later, out of the stunned silence, Chloe spoke, turning to Clark with panic in her eyes, "Clark, I don't think this was Milton Fine. This was someone else who had the time and inclination to steal an entire lab. To steal people!"
Maddie bit her lip and wiped her fingers over her cheek, because now she was crying, flustered and upset. "What do we do now? Who would take them all?"
"I don't know," Lena replied. "But went we get Lex back, he's gonna be pissed."
Mercy suddenly let out a roar and threw her hands over her head. Chloe jumped, but then turned to put her hand on the woman's shoulder. When Mercy didn't speak, simply glared at the empty floor, Chloe looked up a Clark.
Crossing his arms, Clark took a breath and spoke. "Okay, then. We keep going on as we were. Search everywhere, and when we start finding clues, we'll put them together. If Milton Fine took him, he could be anywhere in the universe. If someone else did, the same person who did this: We'll find him. Somehow."
Lena looked at him hopefully. "I'll let you know if anything changes," she said softly.
"Where could you hide all of these metas? You would have to take them somewhere," Mercy said finally.
Clark nodded firmly. "So we're looking for a place big enough to house… how many did Lex have?"
"Give or take-some of them came and went to the lab here-120 individuals. Some of them had dorms here where they lived, some had already gained control over their powers and were able to leave for the outside. I don't know how many would have been taken," Chloe admitted.
"Do you think we could find the ones who weren't?" Clark prodded.
Mercy ran her fingers through her hair. "We… might. Or Chloe might."
"The computers here are gone, but Lex gave me access on my new laptop," Chloe concluded. "Well, if their tracking devices are working. If I were going to hijack the mutant liberation front, I'd deactivate those devices first."
"You track them?" Clark widened his eyes slightly.
"Yeah, in case someone decided to kidnap one of them," Mercy shot back acerbically.
"Then let's get to work," Lena urged, walking with Maddie to the door. "The sooner we find any of them, the better."
Clark exchanged a look with Chloe as they rode in the elevator once again. He would keep his search up and wait for some kind of call.
***
After searching through the night, Clark found himself back at the castle in Lex's bedroom. He needed to sleep. Or to get ready for class. Lex would want him to go to school.
Then again, Lex would probably like to not be kidnapped.
Clark dropped into the window seat where Lex liked to hang out when he was resting or just feeling broody. He looked out the window and smiled, realizing that he could see the farmhouse from here. There was a lot of sun coming in this window at daybreak, and it was a gorgeous sight. Clark put his hand to the warm window, feeling more alone than ever.
He and Lex had fought, and Clark felt horrible about that. He should have thought of Lex's concerns before, should have known what to say to make Lex understand that this wasn't just some temporary urge. It didn't matter that mind-reading wasn’t one of his powers; Clark felt like blaming himself. He missed Lex so much that his heart hurt, and he was truly afraid that Fine had taken Lex. He would never see Lex and his baby girl again.
Clark felt his eyes drooping, then jerked up. If he was going to take a break, he'd better go check on the girls.
In under a minute, he was back at LuthorCorp, walking up to the building and listening for Chloe's heartbeat. He took the elevator up to Lex's office where the two women were talking.
"-scanned every major computer system in Metropolis-"
"And the security cameras?"
"I'm going through everything I can access, but he's got to be underground by now, if he isn't up in space. I've looked at all the hospitals and storage facilities, every minor 33.1 space."
"Argh. Well, we know Ariel's okay, even if the poor girl has no idea what's going on. Maddie and Lena are safe. I have to suspect that Mxy is out there. He's so slippery that it would be almost impossible to believe he let himself be caught."
"Point. But until we find him, we're running out of leads."
"Well… I have the one."
"One you haven't told me about?"
"Hn. Yes. I don't know if anything will come of this, but I think I've figured out who stole your laptop."
"What? Really? Well, we can track him down, find out who he's working for-"
"She. I'm about 98% certain it had to be your roommate, Chloe. It's sweet of you not to have thought of her, but she's really the only reasonable suspect."
The elevator reached its floor, and Clark stepped out, listening intently.
"…Lana? Are you sure? I… Why would she do that?"
"You'd have to ask her, but she's been doing some serious spending lately. Whoever she sold the information on your laptop to, they're grateful."
Clark's lips turned white; he was pressing them together so hard. He was moving towards the emergency stairs, zipping down them, and standing on the street before he knew it. Again his ears were pricking, for a voice, one he had listened to keening, cajoling, and whispering more than he cared to admit over the years because he'd thought nausea meant love.
It was only a matter of time before she spoke-only ever a matter of time before the conversation turned back around to herself-and Clark was there before she'd finished the syllable.
Problematically, he was in dress down clothes, and she was dining on the terrace of Jean-Jacques', a delicate hand holding her mimosa up as she laughed with three people he had never seen. He stared at her hard, wondering if he had the patience to wait for her to finish her brunch.
Luckily, as she occasionally did, Lana swiveled her head in graceful curve. Her preternaturally wide hazel eyes focused on him and her mouth tensed ever so slightly as she saw him standing there. Tilting her head to the side, she gave Clark a questioning look.
"Can I talk to you?" he mouthed. "Emergency!"
Lana screwed up her eyebrows and gave him an impatient look. She turned around, and for several minutes, he thought she was just going to ignore him. Then she excused herself and stood neatly, smoothing out her skirt. She walked into the restaurant and reappeared moments later out of the front.
"Somehow I was starting to think I wouldn't ever see you again," Lana said dryly as she approached him. She paused, giving him a little frown as she noticed the look on his face. "What's wrong? What's the emergency?"
"Lex is missing. He's been gone for about twelve hours now, and we have no idea where he is," Clark blurted out, far too tired to play verbal games with her.
"He's missing?" Lana said, widening her eyes in surprise. The corners of her mouth pinched in an unreadable expression. "Again?"
"Might be the same guy. Might not. Chloe thinks…"
"Well, she'd be the one to ask," Lana pointed out. "What does she think?"
Clark looked around anxiously. Something inside him said not to give Chloe's exact diagnosis of the situation. "Lana, I came here because you were the one who stole Chloe's laptop, and I need to know who you gave it to."
Lana's jaw dropped open slightly, and she practically sputtered. "Why would you say something like that?"
"Why would you lie? You were always the one who went on and on and on about secrets and lies," Clark snapped. "Look, I haven't slept since Tuesday. I came to ask you about this because whoever got the laptop might have abducted Lex, and Lana, I've got to find him."
"Clark-" she began with irritation.
Clark rubbed his temple. "I know you hate him for some reason, but his life is in danger, and… I've just got to find him, and I know you aren't so evil as to sit on information that would save a man's life, so please-"
"I hate him because he made you cheat on me," Lana said in a cold voice. "I don't know where he is. That's the truth."
Clark dragged a hand through his hair. He could feel his eyes getting wet, and through the blur, Lana's face was twisting. "Okay," he said in a tight voice. "Except Lex never made me do anything. If you're going to take it out on someone, it should be me. Hurt me. Come after me."
"I haven't done anything wrong!" Lana protested.
Clark threw his hands in the air and shook his head. "You stole Chloe's laptop, almost made her lose her scholarship, and you gave someone information on Lex. Chloe's going to be broken-hearted, and I'm furious, and y'know, a little disappointed. I don't have time to deal with you right now."
"Maybe I don't have time for you, Clark. I have friends waiting." She lifted her chin to indicate the people she had been brunching with.
"We're going to talk about this later," Clark boomed, leaning over her a little.
Lana held her ground and rolled her eyes. "You don't scare me, Clark. I haven't hurt Lex in any way, and I don't know anything. You're wasting your time."
"Wasting time with Lana. That's new for us, huh?" Clark replied sarcastically.
For a moment she regressed from the sleek, graceful creature that she had become over the past few months, crossed her arms, and stamped her foot before turning around and stalking back into the restaurant.
Clark walked down the street aimlessly, wishing he knew where to start looking for Lex. Comb Metropolis street by street? What if he were somewhere lined in lead? Unfortunately fighting with Lana hadn't made him feel any better. She hadn't really seemed to know anything about Lex.
He ended up back at LuthorCorp. Chloe and Mercy could give him a direction. He'd keep looking. He wouldn't stop until Lex was snug and safe back in his home.
***
Lex was beginning to hate the walls.
It wasn't just that moisture seemed to find a way into his room; although that bothered him, the water wasn't really hurting him. No, it was more that he was tired, and bored, and tired of being bored and tired. He didn't know where the tiredness came from, but his doctors kept assuring him that he was under a lot of stress, and he probably needed the sleep.
All the while, he feared what would happen when he was out. He wasn't sure how long he'd been here. He couldn't keep track of the time, but he knew that his movements had been limited, and they were dodging his questions, so even if these doctors did want to help him and his daughter, they were working under Lionel's orders, and he did not trust them a bit.
He pushed himself out of the bed and tottered toward the bathroom, holding on to his IV as he went. Lex suspected that they might be putting sedatives in his drip. If he removed it, though, they'd just stick it in him again.
When Lex came out of the bathroom, he raised a brow at the nurse waiting for him with a tray of food. "What? Ugh."
"You need to eat, Lex," she informed him.
"What time is it?" he grumbled, making his way over to the bed.
She offered him a hand back to his bed. "It's eight thirty."
"Where did the day go?"
"You slept through most of it." She chuckled.
Lex did not laugh. He laid back and looked over the tray in front of him. Not exactly hospital food. There was a piece of brazed salmon with steamed vegetables and a large glass of milk.
"This isn't drugged, is it?" Lex asked crossly.
The nurse's face registered shock, and she put her hand on her hip. "Just eat. We're not going to give you meds through your food."
"This tastes funny," Lex informed her, after taking a ginger sip of the milk.
"It's enriched with Vitamin D," she said, taking a seat and watching him. "Eat."
Lex began to cut his fish and took a thoughtful bite. "Why is it enriched with Vitamin D?"
"Because it's good for you." Her eyes flickered over him once with a look of disgust. "And your bundle."
"I'm already taking vitamins."
The nurse sighed. "You have a Vitamin D deficiency. Hence: fish and milk. Eat your dinner so I can go."
Lex looked up at her with concern. "I do? Were any of you planning on telling me about this? What's causing it?"
"I-I don't know," she said after a moment, looking alarmed.
"I want to see my chart. A patient should have some control over his care," Lex informed her testily.
"You'll have to talk to Dr. Larg-"
"Then bring him here and tell him to bring the chart," Lex ordered in the most forceful voice he could muster. It wasn't easy, feeling the way that he did, but between a sedative and a vitamin deficiency, it made sense. "Is the baby alright?"
"As far as I know, sir. They haven't told me much of what's going on," she admitted, inching toward the door.
"Don't come back here without him!" Lex called after her. At least she was gone. He trailed his fingers over his belly and dug into his dinner. Increasingly, his appetite had become more and more Clark-like. He smiled at the memory of Clark devouring a second Thanksgiving dinner at the castle. Then tears sprang to his eyes, and he pushed his plate away and got up.
Thinking about Clark at all depressed him. He would never see the damn kid again, and it was his fault Clark had died. Lex made his way over to the window. If he had a Vitamin D deficiency, he should try to get more sun. By the time he reached the window to pull back the blue drapes, he remembered that it was nighttime, but it didn't matter.
There was no outside. There was nothing but a stone wall from top to bottom. He pressed his hand to the windowpane and felt the cold glass.
"Mr. Luthor," Dr. Largess said as he entered the room. He paused. "You should get back to bed and finish your dinner."
"Why is there a wall outside my window?" Lex asked him directly. He waited a moment before he turned and gave the man a sharp look.
Largess raised a brow and rolled up his sleeves. "I apologize. Our priority was the private room, and we were unable to get you one with a window."
"Why put the draperies here at all, then?"
Largess shrugged. "Patients feel less closed in if they think there's a window. We'd hoped to be able to move you to a better room, but at the moment, we just don't have the option."
Lex walked back toward the bed, pinching his lips suspiciously. "You don't have my chart."
"No, and I don't have nurses flanking me with sedatives either. Don’t make me regret it," Largess said sternly.
Lex sat down on his bed and sighed. "What's wrong with me? My father said there was an attack. The nurse said I had a Vitamin D deficiency. "
"Both are true, although the deficiencies are the reason we're keeping you here. We don't know what is causing them, and your fetus is underdeveloped for its gestational age. Your father wanted to move you out of the hospital, but we felt that it would be best if you stayed where we could monitor you in case of an emergency." Dr. Largess walked over to the bed. "If you don't like the milk, we can put some chocolate in it. It isn't a problem, but we really are trying to keep your reserves up. They seem to be depleting quickly. Thus, the IV, the vitamins, the injections, and so on and so forth."
As his frown melted away, Lex looked toward the window that wasn't what it seemed and felt a wave of sleepiness. He shook his head. "I'd like to go out to the courtyard, when it's possible."
"I think that would be a good idea. Not yet, though." Largess pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. "You've lost much already. Our concerns lie only with you and your baby. For her sake, please do as we say."
Lex curled his legs up underneath him and grumbled since he couldn't quite move the way he had before he'd gotten pregnant. His ache for Clark was tangible. It almost made him feel ill. Largess pressed the handkerchief in his free hand, and Lex covered his face with it, wishing that there were some way for him to see the man he loved again. The last time he had been confined to bed, at least he had the comfort of Clark's visits and Lena's calls. Now there was nothing but silence, worry, and dripping walls.
"Try to keep your spirits up, Lex," Largess encouraged. "You have her."
Lex lay back in the bed and let the handkerchief rest in his hand. He didn't want to cry while the doctor was here, if he could help it. "If Lena Luciano comes to see me, I would appreciate it if you let her through," he said quietly.
"Who? Lena Luciano?" Dr. Largess frowned and crossed his arms, looking down at Lex for all the world a grumpy old grandpa.
"Lena. She's my… friend."
"I see. Do you have any other requests?"
"Something to read would be nice," Lex murmured.
"Finish your dinner, and I'll have the nurse bring you something."
Lex nodded, and made a show of taking another bite. When the doctor had left, Lex found himself staring at the window that was not a window. His eyes kept drifting back over as he ate. The doctor was right.
It was more confining in there now that he knew there were no windows.
***
"I swear to God our men are searching every square foot of this goddamn city." Mercy sighed as she leaned back in Lex's chair, her boots propped on his desk, and rubbed her forehead. "What time is it?"
"Dunno. I only know we've been at this since… 1943," Chloe joked in a defeated tone. She held her chopsticks tightly and took some shrimp lo mein, and then offered the carton to Lena, who shook her head lightly. Maddie had fallen asleep curled up next to the woman, and Lena had wrapped her arms around the girl protectively.
Mercy twiddled an eggroll between her fingers and sucked on the inside of her left cheek. "Something is escaping us. I know it."
"Too bad all you have is an empath. You could use a seer. Even a dream-seer would do," Lena muttered.
"There's a difference?" Mercy asked with a curl of her lip. Chloe smiled softly. She could tell that Mercy was reaching her limit of exhaustion.
And anyway, she wasn't fond of Lena for some reason. Chloe suspected it had to do with the fact that Mercy didn't particularly like to be exposed. She reached over and tousled Mercy's dark hair.
"Seerers… see. Depends on the circumstance. Some see by psychometry-They can see by touching things or people. Some are hit with visions at any time. Some are blinded by it. Some have visions of the future in their dreams. It can be frustrating because dreams are crazy anyway and the visions can be just as symbolic." Lena shrugged and reached over for a wonton. "So it can be hard to tell the difference between where your subconscious ends and the vision begins. The message gets garbled. But you can learn to get better. I've never known a dream-seer myself, but the people I know who knew one didn't even know they had it."
Chloe wiped her mouth and sipped her drink. "I think I've been up for too long because that almost made sense."
"Glad it made sense for one of us," Mercy grumbled, letting her head fall back. She looked out the large window upside down. "Clark, stop pacing. Boss won't be happy if you wear a hole in his expensive rug from that monastery in Tibet."
"Lex has bigger things to worry about," Clark replied.
Chloe frowned at him worriedly and reached over to rub Mercy's shoulder, then got up and walked over to Clark, taking his arm and giving it a gentle tug. "We all know that, Clark. C'mon."
"Where am I going?" Clark asked, although he walked with her without much struggle.
"Just to relax. Okay? I think we're all getting to the point where we're useless." Chloe led him to the sofa next to Lena, where he plopped down bonelessly. "Mercy needs to run this company in the morning. You need to go to school tomorrow, or Lex will have to come back and kill you-"
"How am I supposed to concentrate while he's missing?" Clark asked, taking the pillow that Lena offered him.
"Because I'll call you the second we find out anything," Chloe replied. She eased him down and then went to lift his legs over Lena and Maddie's. "You'll be there in a flash."
"In a flash. I can't sleep knowing that he's still out there somewhere," Clark whispered.
"Then don't sleep," Lena suggested. She patted Clark's leg. "Just rest a little. Clear your head before we start again."
"He's behind lead," Clark murmured.
"What?" Mercy asked with a scowl.
Chloe turned her head quickly. "Oh, he's… It's late," she explained, waving Mercy's question off. She walked back over to her and put her hands on Mercy's shoulders. "You need to sleep too."
"You gonna come with me?" Mercy teased.
"Maybe. Maybe later. Someone has to keep an ear to the wire, and I can sleep when you guys aren't sleeping." Chloe pressed a kiss to the top of Mercy's hair. "There's a more comfortable chair. It's right over there."
"You twist my arm."
Chloe laughed softly. "Don't tempt me, you wicked woman."
"You know me too well. Boss wouldn't have me any other way." Mercy groaned softly as she rose to her feet and let herself be coaxed into a chair.
Clark's eyes flickered over their forms moving together. His lips twitched as his mind began to piece together the shared looks, the whispers behind the phone calls, care of Chloe's small hands on the taller woman's shoulders.
And here he'd thought he had the copyright. He couldn't wait to tell Lex… Well, Lex probably already knew.
Clark licked his lips and stared at the ceiling to the sounds Chloe and Mercy were trying not to make and Maddie's soft, sleepy mumbling. Lena kept petting his leg like he was another child in need of comfort.
His eyes fell closed.
He walks into the bedroom of the castle and looks to the bed expectantly. Lex isn't there, of course, and Clark feels pain in his chest.
"I'm never leaving this room, am I?"
Clark turns his head and grins as he sees Lex sitting at his window, pressing his palm to the glass.
"Never leaving this room," Lex repeats, seeming not to know that Clark is there.
Clark approaches him slowly. He knows better than to startle a pregnant man. When he touches him it is slow and gentle, and he slips his arms around Lex's waist, opening his lips slightly as Lex looks up at him. Clark's hands cup over Lex warm belly, and he gives him a squeeze.
"I was so scared," Clark whispers.
"Me too."
"Lex, I'm so happy to see you, I…" Tears stream down Clark's cheeks, and he feels overwhelmed by the soft glow of Lex's pale skin so near him.
Lex shakes his head. "I thought you were dead, Clark. They told me that you were dead. That you died for us."
"Oh, I'm alive." Clark presses a kiss to Lex's forehead and closes his eyes. "Don't ever leave again."
"I didn't leave." Lex sighs. "If you're not dead, then why haven't you come to see me? What haven't the doctors told me?"
"Come to see you?" Clark looks confused and he opens his eyes and climbs into the window with Lex. It is then he notices that instead of the horizon of the Kent farm, there is a stone wall blocking the view. "I'll come to see you. Where are you?"
"I'm in Metropolis General Hospital," Lex answers in a quiet one. "I have a deficiency. Lionel knows. They said there was an attack, but I can't remember it."
"Mercy and Chloe already checked all the hospitals. You weren't there." Clark can hear Lex's heartbeat speeding up.
"If I'm not in a hospital…"
Clark looks around, and they are standing by yet another blocked off window. Lex groans unhappily and pulls away from Clark.
"I don't want to be here! I hate these walls!"
Clark continues to look around the hospital room for a moment. Then he reaches out for Lex's hand. Lex is wearing loose pajamas and is connected to an IV. He looks weak and very tired.
"Then let's get out of here. Somewhere warm," Clark suggests. He takes them to the door and walks through. They step out onto the balcony of Lex's loft apartment, where the sun is brightly shining.
"There are so many things I have to say," Lex says suddenly, turning around. He's wearing the jeans that are too tight, and the club shirt that won't come down all the way. Lex moves his hands to cover himself, but Clark laughs and pulls Lex to him.
"Don't. You're perfect."
"Don't laugh." But Lex's lips curve in a smile as well. He lets his forehead rest on Clark's shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"For…?"
"We fought. And I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. You were right to bring it up. We need to think about it, Lex. It doesn't mean I love you any less. We just have to try to be practical." Clark rubs Lex's back. "I'm glad I had this chance to talk about this with you. I made you upset and then ran away."
"Pregnant person rule number 17. You're damned either way. If you'd stayed, I would have become more upset, and if you'd left, I'd have felt abandoned. You were trying to help, and I took everything wrong. I'm sorry for that, too," Lex says earnestly.
"Don't apologize for being pregnant. You can't help that." Clark brushes his fingers over Lex's face and then pulls him toward one of the chairs that populate the balcony. "Stop apologizing and just be with me. I missed you."
Clark holds Lex in his arms as they look up at the sun, which is red and ever so strange.
"I can never say this when I'm awake," Lex says with tears in his voice.
"What?" Clark looks at him curiously. What does he mean awake…?
"I don't know. Maybe it's because I never put much stock in words, and maybe it's because my father never told me until he was trying to steal my body and leave me to die in his cancer-ridden carcass behind state prison walls, but I do. I do, Clark." Lex turns his head and meets Clark's eyes.
"Do… what?"
"Love you. I wish you were here and alive so I could tell you properly."
"Lex," Clark complains. "I am here. Where do you think we are?"
Both men blinked as they find themselves in the middle of Evan's Field. Lex holds a knife in his hand with strange markings on it.
"I need your warmth, Last Son," Lex whispers.
Clark grabs the knife from him. "I won't let you."
"It's so cold in here."
Lex looks up, and Clark realizes that they are under water and Lex is no longer breathing. He floats limply, chained to the ground. Clark moves to grab him and realizes that somehow his superspeed doesn't work, and he begins to swim upward. Up and up and up, but although he can see the sun, he cannot reach it, and Lex is growing cold…
Clark felt himself shaking and looked up to see Lena holding his face.
"It was just a dream," she told him gently. "Lex isn't drowning."
Clark ran his hand through his hair and frowned deeply. He sat up, looking at the sun coming in through the windows of Lex's office. "Tell Chloe and Mercy, when they wake up, to recheck all the hospitals and start looking in the ones outside the immediate area."
Lena frowned, but moved back as Clark stood. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to see if Metropolis General has a hidden room," Clark informed her, grabbing his red jacket and heading out the door.
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!!
Much thanks to my lovely beta herohunter who does not yet know she is getting something shiny and blue!! ♥
Chapter One ♥ Chapter Two ♥ Chapter Three ♥ Chapter Four ♥ Chapter 5.1 ♥ Chapter 5.2 ♥ Chapter Six ♥ Chapter Seven ♥ Chapter Eight ♥ Chapter Nine ♥ Chapter Ten ♥ Chapter Eleven ♥ Chapter Twelve ♥ Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Pacing around the castle waiting for Lex to come home was no fun at all, especially when Clark felt like he really, really needed to talk to his long time friend now before he chickened out on the things he wanted to say.
For starters, I love you.
And maybe a side of, I'm an alien. Please don't hate me.
And finally, If you can accept us when I'm not the father, then I can do the same.
First though, Lex had to get home. Clark had sped here after leaving the farm, surprised to find out from Domovoi that Lex had left for the office, the stubborn ass, promising to be home for dinner, although knowing Lex…
Clark was beginning to think that he should run to Metropolis and just bring Lex his dinner. That way, Lex could at least feel the security and power of being in his work environment before Clark started in on the serious stuff. He knew they'd probably fight. A lot. But right now, he just wanted to put his arms around Lex, feel the soft bulk where Lex's sweet little girl was growing against his abdomen, and tell Lex all the things that had been bubbling up inside of him for the past five years.
The sound of Lena's panicked voice caused Clark to tune his hearing to the other side of the castle, and only a second had passed before he appeared in front of the room where she was gesticulating wildly with her hands at Domovoi and another servant.
"No, no, no, no, you don't understand! There is something wrong! I called LuthorCorp, and they have no idea where he is! He never arrived!" she shrieked.
Clark came up to her side and grabbed the woman's shoulders. "Lena, what is it?"
"Lex!" she exploded, as though he were a complete idiot.
Clark stiffened but tried to remain calm himself. "Where is he?"
"That's just it, Clark. I don't know. I don't know where he is. A few minutes ago, I felt his fear and pain blossom in my chest, as though he had just been struck fully with the grief of losing someone he loved intensely." Lena held her hand above her heart and blink quickly. "He's in pain, emotional pain. But when I called LuthorCorp-"
"He hadn't gotten there," Clark finished. "And his cell?"
"Obviously I called his cell first," Lena snapped. She took a breath. "It's gone now. He feels troubled, but it's muted. I think he's sleeping, or drugged." She licked her lips and looked up at him pleadingly. "Clark, we have to find him."
"I know." Clark looked around for a moment wondering what could have happened. "Okay. Um…"
He pulled out his cell phone and began to dial. "Lena, stay with me, okay? I… if this is who I think it is, then he's come after you before. He might try to take you again."
"I don't care about me. I care about my brother and his baby," Lena argued.
Clark reached over and took her hand, pulling her with him as he waited for the phone to ring. "That's great, but I want you around. You're the only person right now who can tell us what's happening to Lex."
"I can't tell you much. I can only tell you what he's feeling," Lena said dejectedly.
"And that was enough to know he was gone- Chloe! Is Mercy with you? … Yeah, Lex has gone missing-" Clark paused to wait for Chloe to pass that on to Mercy. Clearly the two of them were preparing to leave whatever they'd been in the middle of and get on the road.
Clark could hear Mercy saying in the background, "I should never have taken the afternoon off!"
"This isn't your fault," Chloe argued. "Hand me my pants."
"Here they are. Yes, it is. He needs someone to watch him-"
"Okay, it is. Happy? We still have to pull our heads together and find him. Your bra is over there." Chloe went back to the phone. "Clark, we're in Granville. It might take us a little while to get back to you. Do you want to go ahead to LuthorCorp? We'll meet you there. I'll call ahead and get a search team going. You should probably have Domovoi question everyone at the mansion."
Clark looked to Lena and nodded. "I'll do that. And I'll call you back if we hear anything."
"Sounds good," Chloe confirmed. "See you soon."
After Chloe had hung up, Clark turned back to Lena. "Why don't you get Maddie?"
"Yeah." Lena looked down. "She'll want to know what's going on." Lena pointed up at him, giving him a firm look that almost made her look like her old self. "You tell me as soon as you know anything. Holler across the castle if you have to. And I'm coming with you when you head to Metropolis."
Clark didn't even think of disagreeing. He just gave her a nod and went back to find Domovoi.
"He got on the helicopter, Master Clark," Domovoi said once they'd spotted one another. "I saw him myself."
"Then we have to figure out what happened after that. Can you find out whether it landed? If it did, have LuthorCorp security hold the pilot."
"Yes, sir. I'll do this right away, and I will tell the other servants to gather down by the kitchen." Domovoi promised. "They will need to be questioned."
Clark nodded in agreement. "Go ahead. I'll…" He frowned, narrowing his eyes as the thought about it. "I'm going to look at the security cameras. Come talk to me when you've got that done, okay?"
Domovoi nodded, turning to the hallway, and departed quickly.
Roughly five minutes later, Clark was sitting in Lex's office, with the flip out LCD screen on the wall by Lex's desk out, watching six security tapes on fast-forward, his eyes flipping between them and taking in what he could. He might have to go back farther because he wasn't seeing anything that would help. No one unfamiliar was there, although he could now identify Lex's pilot by face or voice at this point.
"How the hell do you lose a five-month pregnant man?" Tanaka's cold voice preceded her as she stormed into the office. Clark quickly paused all the screens and turned around to see her censorious face as she stalked toward him. He swallowed before she spoke again. "I don't know if this particularly concerns you, Clark-" The abrasive way that she said his name almost pulled it into two syllables. "-However, Lex needs to prepare himself for the more difficult months to come. He doesn't need more stress, medical emergencies, or in particular, emotional drama from a boy who doesn't seem to realize that his presence is doing far more harm than good."
"I think you're wrong," Clark said, getting up. "About me. I know that he doesn't need stress. I'm the one who's trying to help him deal with that, while you're so cold he doesn't even feel comfortable with the idea of you taking care of him. Get a sense of perspective. He needs his friends, and he needs his family. And right now? He doesn't need us arguing about this. He needs us to find him. You have no idea how dangerous the psycho who probably took him is."
Tanaka's lips turned into a fine line, and she crossed her arms. "What is this psycho like?"
"Well, for starters, he took Lex the first time to cut him open and experiment on him. He's probably looking to continue the experiment," Clark said gravely. "Both he and the baby are in real danger, the longer he's missing."
"I gathered that. Do you have any other suspects?" Tanaka asked, angling her head to the side eerily.
"Why would I need them?" Clark gave her a grumpy look and returned to the tapes. Only he could hardly look through them all at once with her there.
She walked up behind him and took the remote, turning them off. "You aren't finding a spaceship on those tapes, are you? And therefore, it could have feasibly been another party that abducted him. If we're to find him, we shouldn't narrow our search just yet."
"Do you know anything?" Clark asked suspiciously.
"No, I don't. And I cannot tell you how deeply that disturbs me." Tanaka looked over her shoulder. "I need to contact Ruji. I will return."
Before Clark could think of a response, Tanaka had gone, and he was sitting alone again. He turned to the tapes, when Maddie rushed in with Lena walking behind her.
"Clark!" Maddie came up to him, and he wrapped his arms around her.
"We're gonna find him, okay? Don't worry," Clark said with a calm he did not feel.
Maddie stayed close to him and looked up at Lena. "I think we should go to LuthorCorp and talk to Lex's friends there."
"We're gonna contact LuthorCorp. Domovoi is talking with them now," Clark told her.
Maddie shook her head. "I mean, his friends. The metas he's helped. They can help us find him, I'm sure!"
Clark stood there, boggling for a moment. He had no idea what Maddie was talking about. He took a breath. "What metas?"
"You'll see when you get there. Maddie's not the only kid with powers that Lex has taken under his wing," Lena informed him quietly.
Clark licked his lips and shook his head. "How is he?"
"Still sleeping, I think." Lena wiped her palms on her jeans, looking both shaky and drained.
"Can I come?" Maddie asked. "With you to LuthorCorp?"
Lena looked at her and offered her hand, which Maddie took. They had been spending a lot of time together lately. "Yes, you can. Just stick with me, and we'll see if there's a way for us to help."
Maddie nodded and rested her head on Lena's side. Clark ruffled his hair and was grateful when Domovoi returned.
"They did not land at LuthorCorp tower, sir. I think the next step would be to find where it went instead. If they flew over Metropolis, then surely they would have been spotted," Domovoi reasoned.
"I agree. I just don't know, though, if they were using a helicopter…" Clark paused. "Milton Fine could have pretended to be the pilot. He can shape shift."
"This is the man with the cheekbones, right?" Lena asked, holding Maddie more closely.
"Yeah, I think so. I mean, he took Lex before."
"Will he hurt Lex?" she whispered, her voice laced with worry.
Clark fidgeted with his hands for a moment, unsure of what to say. In the end, he decided to tell the truth. "I think he'll continue experimenting on Lex. I don't know why he let him go to begin with."
Lena sighed. "Right then. So… why don't you connect with Chloe and Mercy, and Maddie and I will head to Metropolis. We'll try to find out if any of Lex's metas can do anything to help."
"It's a start. I haven't really found anything helpful on the security cameras. Do you have a phone?" Clark asked. When Lena nodded and held up her phone, he continued. "Okay, let's just check in with each other every hour, unless you find something we have to know about right away."
"Got it. C'mon, Maddie." Lena took the girl with her, encircling her shoulders with one arm.
Clark walked over to Lex's desk, leaned on it, and got out his phone to call Chloe.
"Doctor," Domovoi announced, looking Tanaka over critically when she returned.
Tanaka looked at him, but did not greet him, and instead turned to Clark. "It occurs to me that if anyone else discovered his condition, they would likely want to observe him. It might prove beneficial to compose a shortlist of any scientists he's come in contact with lately who may have figured it out, or perhaps, anyone who is interested in mutants."
"Look, I know who it is," Clark said irritably. "If you want to waste your time going after scientists-"
"I don't understand why you would be so dead set on one answer. Why put all of your resources toward going after a target you cannot reach?"
"We'll find Fine," Clark argued.
"If he truly is a spaceman," Tanaka said with a tinge of mocking in her voice, "couldn't he simply take Lex and leave the galaxy? Could you ever find him? If we're agreed that this man has alien technology, who is to say that he couldn't open up another dimension and leave Lex stranded there? I hope he's been practicing his Lamaze."
"That is not funny!" Clark snapped. He walked over to her and tried to stare her down, but her eyes were so cold that he couldn't bear the gaze for very long, not while knowing that this person was in charge of Lex's care.
"If you cannot-" Tanaka cut herself off, made a disgruntled noise, and stormed out.
Clark blinked a few times, wondering if Tanaka has just lost her temper for the first time ever. "Domovoi, do you think she has a point?"
"It couldn't hurt to keep our minds open, Master Clark. With the things you and I know are possible. If all things are equal…" Domovoi answered in a calm voice.
"Then it's likely that the simplest answer is right? Then what's the simplest answer?" Clark turned his head to the doorway once again as Lena came back in, moving quickly, and embraced him with a warm hug.
"He loves you, Clark. He'll come back to you," Lena said reverently.
Clark laughed softly and hugged her in return. "He's lived through a lot. I have faith in him."
"Then I will too," she agreed. She pulled back and wiped her eyes. "Sorry. I just couldn't leave without… I'll see you in Metropolis."
Clark caressed her shoulder and nodded. He felt better this time as she left, and turned to Domovoi again. When Tanaka appeared in the doorway for a third time, Clark felt his patience waning. "I'll put Chloe on getting a list of suspects for us, okay? You don't have to keep coming in here. In fact, why don't you go away? We're not going to let your subject get hurt."
Tanaka's head angled again, and her eyes scanned up and down Clark's form. "I'm sending Ruji with them."
When Clark groaned in relief, since she had finally gone, Domovoi let out a rare chuckle.
"She is a trying woman indeed," he said, meeting Clark's eye.
"She's really bizarre." Clark shook his head and looked back at the tapes. He pulled out his cell phone to contact Chloe once more before he zipped off to Metropolis. "Indeed."
***
"What? Don't you believe in magic?"
Lana strode toward Lionel Luthor's desk, crossing her arms with a knowing little smile.
"Really, Lana. You make me feel as though I'm speaking to my son about one of his little obsessions." Lionel leaned back in his chair, then rose to greet her.
Lana tilted her head as she smirked at Lionel. "You should listen to your son occasionally. Didn't he ever tell you about his encounter with magic?"
"Unless this refers to a Queen birthday party, I seriously doubt it."
"Last year." Lana's plump, scarlet lips pinched and bowed. She strolled over to Lionel's bar. "Lex found himself under a spell. A frightening thrall that kept him practicing his piano for hours."
Lionel threw his head back and practically cackled. "If only. Lex hates to practice."
"None of the servants checked up on him. No one came to see if he was coming down for dinner. By the time Clark found him the keys were smeared with blood," Lana continued coldly.
Lionel paused. "What now?"
"If Clark hadn't come, Lex might have gone on that way for days before anyone noticed," Lana said, turning her head back to look at him. "He could have starved, or died of dehydration. Bleeding to death was also a possibility."
Lionel pursed his lips and regarded her seriously.
"That is if Lex can bleed to death. We were stuck in a safe room for hours while he bled from a gunshot wound to the chest."
"You're serious? Surely he was under the thrall of some mutant with persuasive powers."
"No. It was a witch. A very powerful one. You remember the 'elements' that everyone seemed to be after?" Lana met his eye.
"Of course I do. Touching one of them left me in Belle Reve for months." Lionel slipped his hands into his pockets. "I was searching for them for years. The rumors said that they hold immense power."
"The witch believed that as well. Apparently Lex got in her way," Lana informed him. She paused. "If you don't believe me, you should check the security tapes the day of Chloe's eighteenth birthday and the day after. He was playing the piano for over twenty-four hours."
"Intriguing. The Teagues had a certain reputation with the dark arts. Naturally, as a pragmatic man, I've never put any stock in the notion." Lionel went to the bar and poured himself a scotch. "And this is why you insist that Kestrel's powers may be based supernaturally rather than scientifically."
"It is." Lana shrugged. "I know that there have been freaks who could see the future, but you haven't found anything to indicate that he's genetically any different than anyone else," she pointed out. "I'm just asking that you keep an open mind."
Lionel sucked his lower lip in slightly, nodding as he considered it. "That does explain some things that defied explanation."
"Yeah?" Lana took a bottle of water, tossed her hair back, and raised the bottle to her lips. "What defies explanation so much?"
Lionel's eyes looked over her with an intrigued expression. "Oh, many things, Lana."
***
"No!" Mercy turned to the host of people reporting to her and glared at each one of them in turn. "I don't care how long, how far, how many nooks and crannies of this godforsaken city you have to burrow into. You will find Lex Luthor, is that clear? Get back out there, and I don't want to see your faces until he's found!"
Chloe stepped up beside her, crossing her arms. "Call us on the hour with updates. He hasn't been gone long enough for the police to get involved, but we are better. Mr. Luthor has done a lot for each and every one of us, so let's repay the favor, hm?"
"And if anyone breathes a word, you all have people you care about," Mercy warned.
"Good luck," Chloe said sincerely, meeting their eyes one by one.
After the group had dispersed, Clark stepped into the office, almost smiling. "Nice good cop/bad cop routine."
"Clark!" Chloe ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so sorry."
"We're not cops," Mercy said flatly. She scratched the back of her short-cropped hair and sighed. "And we're not getting anywhere."
"Yet," Chloe clarified.
Clark narrowed his eyes and looked between them for a second. Then he shook his head. "There's nothing at the castle. Literally. Or in the area immediately surrounding it. I checked."
"We haven't found the helicopter yet, either." Chloe shrugged. "The girls are in Lex's office. They thought you should see something, and without Lex here, it may be the only way to find him."
"Boss wouldn't like it," Mercy said tersely, looking at Clark as though he didn't deserve the information.
Chloe's eyes flitted up to her. "But he's missing and we're in charge-"
"You're in charge?" Clark interrupted. "Not bad for your summer job."
"I'm not in charge of LuthorCorp by any means. That would be Mercy." Chloe rolled her shoulders and motioned for Clark to follow her. Mercy flipped out her phone and appeared to be contacting Lena and Maddie. Chloe continued as they walked to the elevator. "The thing is, though, that Lexy's kids are probably our best bet to finding Lex, baring you suddenly gaining psychic abilities."
"I'm thinking Mxy will be able to do something for us, if he's properly motivated," Mercy said to them both. "He comes and goes, but I think he's been sticking around lately out of sheer curiosity. Well, that…"
"He does not have a crush on me," Chloe protested.
"I swear, you don't have eyes," Mercy replied once they'd reached the elevator. She turned her head. "Are they coming or not?"
"Patience," Chloe urged.
Mercy looked down at her and smirked. "Not my best trait, no."
Clark had yet another moment in which an odd feeling came over him. Chloe was dressed in one of her smart dress suits that she wore for work at The Daily Planet, and Mercy looked like a feminine businessman. In his jeans, boots, and gray sweater, he felt more than a little underdressed. Everyone seemed so professional that he was starting to wonder what good he was doing here. Maybe his time would have been better used if he had kept canvassing Smallville outward from the castle until he found a clue.
In fact, he was about to suggest that when Lena and Maddie came up to them. Chloe and Mercy led them into the elevator and everyone stood silently, facing forward for a few minutes as the elevator whooshed downward.
"How are you holding up?" Clark asked them.
"We're fine, Clark. Just worried," Maddie told him.
She looked to the control panel and watched it. With a frown, Clark watched as well. A moment later Mercy leaned over and stopped them in between floors, then entered a security code.
"Wait… what's this?" Clark asked, looking to Chloe.
"33.1," she answered. "Just… hold your judgment until you meet them, okay?"
Clark nodded hesitantly and waited for the doors to open.
"Where… did it all go?" Maddie gasped. Lena squeezed Maddie's shoulder and muttered something under her breath that didn't sound at all friendly.
"Where did what go?" Clark asked. There was nothing there. Just a huge, empty space. The entire floor seemed empty.
"Clark, there was a lab here. Dorms. People. Scientists and meta-humans…" Chloe trailed off as she walked further onto the floor, looking around as though she didn't seem to believe her eyes.
"Lena!" Maddie wailed. "What about Ghost? And Neveah? Where did they go?"
"It looks like Lex isn't our only missing person," Lena replied in a grave tone. She wrapped her arms around Maddie and pulled the girl close to her.
Clark walked in to explore with Chloe. He blinked at the huge, empty floor. It was clean as a whistle, like nothing had ever been there. Almost unbelievable that there would be a floor of nothing in between levels.
It creeped him out a little that Lex had learned this trick from Lionel, and Clark remembered the day that Lex had learned it.
"I'm never taking a day off again," Mercy growled.
Several moments later, out of the stunned silence, Chloe spoke, turning to Clark with panic in her eyes, "Clark, I don't think this was Milton Fine. This was someone else who had the time and inclination to steal an entire lab. To steal people!"
Maddie bit her lip and wiped her fingers over her cheek, because now she was crying, flustered and upset. "What do we do now? Who would take them all?"
"I don't know," Lena replied. "But went we get Lex back, he's gonna be pissed."
Mercy suddenly let out a roar and threw her hands over her head. Chloe jumped, but then turned to put her hand on the woman's shoulder. When Mercy didn't speak, simply glared at the empty floor, Chloe looked up a Clark.
Crossing his arms, Clark took a breath and spoke. "Okay, then. We keep going on as we were. Search everywhere, and when we start finding clues, we'll put them together. If Milton Fine took him, he could be anywhere in the universe. If someone else did, the same person who did this: We'll find him. Somehow."
Lena looked at him hopefully. "I'll let you know if anything changes," she said softly.
"Where could you hide all of these metas? You would have to take them somewhere," Mercy said finally.
Clark nodded firmly. "So we're looking for a place big enough to house… how many did Lex have?"
"Give or take-some of them came and went to the lab here-120 individuals. Some of them had dorms here where they lived, some had already gained control over their powers and were able to leave for the outside. I don't know how many would have been taken," Chloe admitted.
"Do you think we could find the ones who weren't?" Clark prodded.
Mercy ran her fingers through her hair. "We… might. Or Chloe might."
"The computers here are gone, but Lex gave me access on my new laptop," Chloe concluded. "Well, if their tracking devices are working. If I were going to hijack the mutant liberation front, I'd deactivate those devices first."
"You track them?" Clark widened his eyes slightly.
"Yeah, in case someone decided to kidnap one of them," Mercy shot back acerbically.
"Then let's get to work," Lena urged, walking with Maddie to the door. "The sooner we find any of them, the better."
Clark exchanged a look with Chloe as they rode in the elevator once again. He would keep his search up and wait for some kind of call.
***
After searching through the night, Clark found himself back at the castle in Lex's bedroom. He needed to sleep. Or to get ready for class. Lex would want him to go to school.
Then again, Lex would probably like to not be kidnapped.
Clark dropped into the window seat where Lex liked to hang out when he was resting or just feeling broody. He looked out the window and smiled, realizing that he could see the farmhouse from here. There was a lot of sun coming in this window at daybreak, and it was a gorgeous sight. Clark put his hand to the warm window, feeling more alone than ever.
He and Lex had fought, and Clark felt horrible about that. He should have thought of Lex's concerns before, should have known what to say to make Lex understand that this wasn't just some temporary urge. It didn't matter that mind-reading wasn’t one of his powers; Clark felt like blaming himself. He missed Lex so much that his heart hurt, and he was truly afraid that Fine had taken Lex. He would never see Lex and his baby girl again.
Clark felt his eyes drooping, then jerked up. If he was going to take a break, he'd better go check on the girls.
In under a minute, he was back at LuthorCorp, walking up to the building and listening for Chloe's heartbeat. He took the elevator up to Lex's office where the two women were talking.
"-scanned every major computer system in Metropolis-"
"And the security cameras?"
"I'm going through everything I can access, but he's got to be underground by now, if he isn't up in space. I've looked at all the hospitals and storage facilities, every minor 33.1 space."
"Argh. Well, we know Ariel's okay, even if the poor girl has no idea what's going on. Maddie and Lena are safe. I have to suspect that Mxy is out there. He's so slippery that it would be almost impossible to believe he let himself be caught."
"Point. But until we find him, we're running out of leads."
"Well… I have the one."
"One you haven't told me about?"
"Hn. Yes. I don't know if anything will come of this, but I think I've figured out who stole your laptop."
"What? Really? Well, we can track him down, find out who he's working for-"
"She. I'm about 98% certain it had to be your roommate, Chloe. It's sweet of you not to have thought of her, but she's really the only reasonable suspect."
The elevator reached its floor, and Clark stepped out, listening intently.
"…Lana? Are you sure? I… Why would she do that?"
"You'd have to ask her, but she's been doing some serious spending lately. Whoever she sold the information on your laptop to, they're grateful."
Clark's lips turned white; he was pressing them together so hard. He was moving towards the emergency stairs, zipping down them, and standing on the street before he knew it. Again his ears were pricking, for a voice, one he had listened to keening, cajoling, and whispering more than he cared to admit over the years because he'd thought nausea meant love.
It was only a matter of time before she spoke-only ever a matter of time before the conversation turned back around to herself-and Clark was there before she'd finished the syllable.
Problematically, he was in dress down clothes, and she was dining on the terrace of Jean-Jacques', a delicate hand holding her mimosa up as she laughed with three people he had never seen. He stared at her hard, wondering if he had the patience to wait for her to finish her brunch.
Luckily, as she occasionally did, Lana swiveled her head in graceful curve. Her preternaturally wide hazel eyes focused on him and her mouth tensed ever so slightly as she saw him standing there. Tilting her head to the side, she gave Clark a questioning look.
"Can I talk to you?" he mouthed. "Emergency!"
Lana screwed up her eyebrows and gave him an impatient look. She turned around, and for several minutes, he thought she was just going to ignore him. Then she excused herself and stood neatly, smoothing out her skirt. She walked into the restaurant and reappeared moments later out of the front.
"Somehow I was starting to think I wouldn't ever see you again," Lana said dryly as she approached him. She paused, giving him a little frown as she noticed the look on his face. "What's wrong? What's the emergency?"
"Lex is missing. He's been gone for about twelve hours now, and we have no idea where he is," Clark blurted out, far too tired to play verbal games with her.
"He's missing?" Lana said, widening her eyes in surprise. The corners of her mouth pinched in an unreadable expression. "Again?"
"Might be the same guy. Might not. Chloe thinks…"
"Well, she'd be the one to ask," Lana pointed out. "What does she think?"
Clark looked around anxiously. Something inside him said not to give Chloe's exact diagnosis of the situation. "Lana, I came here because you were the one who stole Chloe's laptop, and I need to know who you gave it to."
Lana's jaw dropped open slightly, and she practically sputtered. "Why would you say something like that?"
"Why would you lie? You were always the one who went on and on and on about secrets and lies," Clark snapped. "Look, I haven't slept since Tuesday. I came to ask you about this because whoever got the laptop might have abducted Lex, and Lana, I've got to find him."
"Clark-" she began with irritation.
Clark rubbed his temple. "I know you hate him for some reason, but his life is in danger, and… I've just got to find him, and I know you aren't so evil as to sit on information that would save a man's life, so please-"
"I hate him because he made you cheat on me," Lana said in a cold voice. "I don't know where he is. That's the truth."
Clark dragged a hand through his hair. He could feel his eyes getting wet, and through the blur, Lana's face was twisting. "Okay," he said in a tight voice. "Except Lex never made me do anything. If you're going to take it out on someone, it should be me. Hurt me. Come after me."
"I haven't done anything wrong!" Lana protested.
Clark threw his hands in the air and shook his head. "You stole Chloe's laptop, almost made her lose her scholarship, and you gave someone information on Lex. Chloe's going to be broken-hearted, and I'm furious, and y'know, a little disappointed. I don't have time to deal with you right now."
"Maybe I don't have time for you, Clark. I have friends waiting." She lifted her chin to indicate the people she had been brunching with.
"We're going to talk about this later," Clark boomed, leaning over her a little.
Lana held her ground and rolled her eyes. "You don't scare me, Clark. I haven't hurt Lex in any way, and I don't know anything. You're wasting your time."
"Wasting time with Lana. That's new for us, huh?" Clark replied sarcastically.
For a moment she regressed from the sleek, graceful creature that she had become over the past few months, crossed her arms, and stamped her foot before turning around and stalking back into the restaurant.
Clark walked down the street aimlessly, wishing he knew where to start looking for Lex. Comb Metropolis street by street? What if he were somewhere lined in lead? Unfortunately fighting with Lana hadn't made him feel any better. She hadn't really seemed to know anything about Lex.
He ended up back at LuthorCorp. Chloe and Mercy could give him a direction. He'd keep looking. He wouldn't stop until Lex was snug and safe back in his home.
***
Lex was beginning to hate the walls.
It wasn't just that moisture seemed to find a way into his room; although that bothered him, the water wasn't really hurting him. No, it was more that he was tired, and bored, and tired of being bored and tired. He didn't know where the tiredness came from, but his doctors kept assuring him that he was under a lot of stress, and he probably needed the sleep.
All the while, he feared what would happen when he was out. He wasn't sure how long he'd been here. He couldn't keep track of the time, but he knew that his movements had been limited, and they were dodging his questions, so even if these doctors did want to help him and his daughter, they were working under Lionel's orders, and he did not trust them a bit.
He pushed himself out of the bed and tottered toward the bathroom, holding on to his IV as he went. Lex suspected that they might be putting sedatives in his drip. If he removed it, though, they'd just stick it in him again.
When Lex came out of the bathroom, he raised a brow at the nurse waiting for him with a tray of food. "What? Ugh."
"You need to eat, Lex," she informed him.
"What time is it?" he grumbled, making his way over to the bed.
She offered him a hand back to his bed. "It's eight thirty."
"Where did the day go?"
"You slept through most of it." She chuckled.
Lex did not laugh. He laid back and looked over the tray in front of him. Not exactly hospital food. There was a piece of brazed salmon with steamed vegetables and a large glass of milk.
"This isn't drugged, is it?" Lex asked crossly.
The nurse's face registered shock, and she put her hand on her hip. "Just eat. We're not going to give you meds through your food."
"This tastes funny," Lex informed her, after taking a ginger sip of the milk.
"It's enriched with Vitamin D," she said, taking a seat and watching him. "Eat."
Lex began to cut his fish and took a thoughtful bite. "Why is it enriched with Vitamin D?"
"Because it's good for you." Her eyes flickered over him once with a look of disgust. "And your bundle."
"I'm already taking vitamins."
The nurse sighed. "You have a Vitamin D deficiency. Hence: fish and milk. Eat your dinner so I can go."
Lex looked up at her with concern. "I do? Were any of you planning on telling me about this? What's causing it?"
"I-I don't know," she said after a moment, looking alarmed.
"I want to see my chart. A patient should have some control over his care," Lex informed her testily.
"You'll have to talk to Dr. Larg-"
"Then bring him here and tell him to bring the chart," Lex ordered in the most forceful voice he could muster. It wasn't easy, feeling the way that he did, but between a sedative and a vitamin deficiency, it made sense. "Is the baby alright?"
"As far as I know, sir. They haven't told me much of what's going on," she admitted, inching toward the door.
"Don't come back here without him!" Lex called after her. At least she was gone. He trailed his fingers over his belly and dug into his dinner. Increasingly, his appetite had become more and more Clark-like. He smiled at the memory of Clark devouring a second Thanksgiving dinner at the castle. Then tears sprang to his eyes, and he pushed his plate away and got up.
Thinking about Clark at all depressed him. He would never see the damn kid again, and it was his fault Clark had died. Lex made his way over to the window. If he had a Vitamin D deficiency, he should try to get more sun. By the time he reached the window to pull back the blue drapes, he remembered that it was nighttime, but it didn't matter.
There was no outside. There was nothing but a stone wall from top to bottom. He pressed his hand to the windowpane and felt the cold glass.
"Mr. Luthor," Dr. Largess said as he entered the room. He paused. "You should get back to bed and finish your dinner."
"Why is there a wall outside my window?" Lex asked him directly. He waited a moment before he turned and gave the man a sharp look.
Largess raised a brow and rolled up his sleeves. "I apologize. Our priority was the private room, and we were unable to get you one with a window."
"Why put the draperies here at all, then?"
Largess shrugged. "Patients feel less closed in if they think there's a window. We'd hoped to be able to move you to a better room, but at the moment, we just don't have the option."
Lex walked back toward the bed, pinching his lips suspiciously. "You don't have my chart."
"No, and I don't have nurses flanking me with sedatives either. Don’t make me regret it," Largess said sternly.
Lex sat down on his bed and sighed. "What's wrong with me? My father said there was an attack. The nurse said I had a Vitamin D deficiency. "
"Both are true, although the deficiencies are the reason we're keeping you here. We don't know what is causing them, and your fetus is underdeveloped for its gestational age. Your father wanted to move you out of the hospital, but we felt that it would be best if you stayed where we could monitor you in case of an emergency." Dr. Largess walked over to the bed. "If you don't like the milk, we can put some chocolate in it. It isn't a problem, but we really are trying to keep your reserves up. They seem to be depleting quickly. Thus, the IV, the vitamins, the injections, and so on and so forth."
As his frown melted away, Lex looked toward the window that wasn't what it seemed and felt a wave of sleepiness. He shook his head. "I'd like to go out to the courtyard, when it's possible."
"I think that would be a good idea. Not yet, though." Largess pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. "You've lost much already. Our concerns lie only with you and your baby. For her sake, please do as we say."
Lex curled his legs up underneath him and grumbled since he couldn't quite move the way he had before he'd gotten pregnant. His ache for Clark was tangible. It almost made him feel ill. Largess pressed the handkerchief in his free hand, and Lex covered his face with it, wishing that there were some way for him to see the man he loved again. The last time he had been confined to bed, at least he had the comfort of Clark's visits and Lena's calls. Now there was nothing but silence, worry, and dripping walls.
"Try to keep your spirits up, Lex," Largess encouraged. "You have her."
Lex lay back in the bed and let the handkerchief rest in his hand. He didn't want to cry while the doctor was here, if he could help it. "If Lena Luciano comes to see me, I would appreciate it if you let her through," he said quietly.
"Who? Lena Luciano?" Dr. Largess frowned and crossed his arms, looking down at Lex for all the world a grumpy old grandpa.
"Lena. She's my… friend."
"I see. Do you have any other requests?"
"Something to read would be nice," Lex murmured.
"Finish your dinner, and I'll have the nurse bring you something."
Lex nodded, and made a show of taking another bite. When the doctor had left, Lex found himself staring at the window that was not a window. His eyes kept drifting back over as he ate. The doctor was right.
It was more confining in there now that he knew there were no windows.
***
"I swear to God our men are searching every square foot of this goddamn city." Mercy sighed as she leaned back in Lex's chair, her boots propped on his desk, and rubbed her forehead. "What time is it?"
"Dunno. I only know we've been at this since… 1943," Chloe joked in a defeated tone. She held her chopsticks tightly and took some shrimp lo mein, and then offered the carton to Lena, who shook her head lightly. Maddie had fallen asleep curled up next to the woman, and Lena had wrapped her arms around the girl protectively.
Mercy twiddled an eggroll between her fingers and sucked on the inside of her left cheek. "Something is escaping us. I know it."
"Too bad all you have is an empath. You could use a seer. Even a dream-seer would do," Lena muttered.
"There's a difference?" Mercy asked with a curl of her lip. Chloe smiled softly. She could tell that Mercy was reaching her limit of exhaustion.
And anyway, she wasn't fond of Lena for some reason. Chloe suspected it had to do with the fact that Mercy didn't particularly like to be exposed. She reached over and tousled Mercy's dark hair.
"Seerers… see. Depends on the circumstance. Some see by psychometry-They can see by touching things or people. Some are hit with visions at any time. Some are blinded by it. Some have visions of the future in their dreams. It can be frustrating because dreams are crazy anyway and the visions can be just as symbolic." Lena shrugged and reached over for a wonton. "So it can be hard to tell the difference between where your subconscious ends and the vision begins. The message gets garbled. But you can learn to get better. I've never known a dream-seer myself, but the people I know who knew one didn't even know they had it."
Chloe wiped her mouth and sipped her drink. "I think I've been up for too long because that almost made sense."
"Glad it made sense for one of us," Mercy grumbled, letting her head fall back. She looked out the large window upside down. "Clark, stop pacing. Boss won't be happy if you wear a hole in his expensive rug from that monastery in Tibet."
"Lex has bigger things to worry about," Clark replied.
Chloe frowned at him worriedly and reached over to rub Mercy's shoulder, then got up and walked over to Clark, taking his arm and giving it a gentle tug. "We all know that, Clark. C'mon."
"Where am I going?" Clark asked, although he walked with her without much struggle.
"Just to relax. Okay? I think we're all getting to the point where we're useless." Chloe led him to the sofa next to Lena, where he plopped down bonelessly. "Mercy needs to run this company in the morning. You need to go to school tomorrow, or Lex will have to come back and kill you-"
"How am I supposed to concentrate while he's missing?" Clark asked, taking the pillow that Lena offered him.
"Because I'll call you the second we find out anything," Chloe replied. She eased him down and then went to lift his legs over Lena and Maddie's. "You'll be there in a flash."
"In a flash. I can't sleep knowing that he's still out there somewhere," Clark whispered.
"Then don't sleep," Lena suggested. She patted Clark's leg. "Just rest a little. Clear your head before we start again."
"He's behind lead," Clark murmured.
"What?" Mercy asked with a scowl.
Chloe turned her head quickly. "Oh, he's… It's late," she explained, waving Mercy's question off. She walked back over to her and put her hands on Mercy's shoulders. "You need to sleep too."
"You gonna come with me?" Mercy teased.
"Maybe. Maybe later. Someone has to keep an ear to the wire, and I can sleep when you guys aren't sleeping." Chloe pressed a kiss to the top of Mercy's hair. "There's a more comfortable chair. It's right over there."
"You twist my arm."
Chloe laughed softly. "Don't tempt me, you wicked woman."
"You know me too well. Boss wouldn't have me any other way." Mercy groaned softly as she rose to her feet and let herself be coaxed into a chair.
Clark's eyes flickered over their forms moving together. His lips twitched as his mind began to piece together the shared looks, the whispers behind the phone calls, care of Chloe's small hands on the taller woman's shoulders.
And here he'd thought he had the copyright. He couldn't wait to tell Lex… Well, Lex probably already knew.
Clark licked his lips and stared at the ceiling to the sounds Chloe and Mercy were trying not to make and Maddie's soft, sleepy mumbling. Lena kept petting his leg like he was another child in need of comfort.
His eyes fell closed.
He walks into the bedroom of the castle and looks to the bed expectantly. Lex isn't there, of course, and Clark feels pain in his chest.
"I'm never leaving this room, am I?"
Clark turns his head and grins as he sees Lex sitting at his window, pressing his palm to the glass.
"Never leaving this room," Lex repeats, seeming not to know that Clark is there.
Clark approaches him slowly. He knows better than to startle a pregnant man. When he touches him it is slow and gentle, and he slips his arms around Lex's waist, opening his lips slightly as Lex looks up at him. Clark's hands cup over Lex warm belly, and he gives him a squeeze.
"I was so scared," Clark whispers.
"Me too."
"Lex, I'm so happy to see you, I…" Tears stream down Clark's cheeks, and he feels overwhelmed by the soft glow of Lex's pale skin so near him.
Lex shakes his head. "I thought you were dead, Clark. They told me that you were dead. That you died for us."
"Oh, I'm alive." Clark presses a kiss to Lex's forehead and closes his eyes. "Don't ever leave again."
"I didn't leave." Lex sighs. "If you're not dead, then why haven't you come to see me? What haven't the doctors told me?"
"Come to see you?" Clark looks confused and he opens his eyes and climbs into the window with Lex. It is then he notices that instead of the horizon of the Kent farm, there is a stone wall blocking the view. "I'll come to see you. Where are you?"
"I'm in Metropolis General Hospital," Lex answers in a quiet one. "I have a deficiency. Lionel knows. They said there was an attack, but I can't remember it."
"Mercy and Chloe already checked all the hospitals. You weren't there." Clark can hear Lex's heartbeat speeding up.
"If I'm not in a hospital…"
Clark looks around, and they are standing by yet another blocked off window. Lex groans unhappily and pulls away from Clark.
"I don't want to be here! I hate these walls!"
Clark continues to look around the hospital room for a moment. Then he reaches out for Lex's hand. Lex is wearing loose pajamas and is connected to an IV. He looks weak and very tired.
"Then let's get out of here. Somewhere warm," Clark suggests. He takes them to the door and walks through. They step out onto the balcony of Lex's loft apartment, where the sun is brightly shining.
"There are so many things I have to say," Lex says suddenly, turning around. He's wearing the jeans that are too tight, and the club shirt that won't come down all the way. Lex moves his hands to cover himself, but Clark laughs and pulls Lex to him.
"Don't. You're perfect."
"Don't laugh." But Lex's lips curve in a smile as well. He lets his forehead rest on Clark's shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"For…?"
"We fought. And I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. You were right to bring it up. We need to think about it, Lex. It doesn't mean I love you any less. We just have to try to be practical." Clark rubs Lex's back. "I'm glad I had this chance to talk about this with you. I made you upset and then ran away."
"Pregnant person rule number 17. You're damned either way. If you'd stayed, I would have become more upset, and if you'd left, I'd have felt abandoned. You were trying to help, and I took everything wrong. I'm sorry for that, too," Lex says earnestly.
"Don't apologize for being pregnant. You can't help that." Clark brushes his fingers over Lex's face and then pulls him toward one of the chairs that populate the balcony. "Stop apologizing and just be with me. I missed you."
Clark holds Lex in his arms as they look up at the sun, which is red and ever so strange.
"I can never say this when I'm awake," Lex says with tears in his voice.
"What?" Clark looks at him curiously. What does he mean awake…?
"I don't know. Maybe it's because I never put much stock in words, and maybe it's because my father never told me until he was trying to steal my body and leave me to die in his cancer-ridden carcass behind state prison walls, but I do. I do, Clark." Lex turns his head and meets Clark's eyes.
"Do… what?"
"Love you. I wish you were here and alive so I could tell you properly."
"Lex," Clark complains. "I am here. Where do you think we are?"
Both men blinked as they find themselves in the middle of Evan's Field. Lex holds a knife in his hand with strange markings on it.
"I need your warmth, Last Son," Lex whispers.
Clark grabs the knife from him. "I won't let you."
"It's so cold in here."
Lex looks up, and Clark realizes that they are under water and Lex is no longer breathing. He floats limply, chained to the ground. Clark moves to grab him and realizes that somehow his superspeed doesn't work, and he begins to swim upward. Up and up and up, but although he can see the sun, he cannot reach it, and Lex is growing cold…
Clark felt himself shaking and looked up to see Lena holding his face.
"It was just a dream," she told him gently. "Lex isn't drowning."
Clark ran his hand through his hair and frowned deeply. He sat up, looking at the sun coming in through the windows of Lex's office. "Tell Chloe and Mercy, when they wake up, to recheck all the hospitals and start looking in the ones outside the immediate area."
Lena frowned, but moved back as Clark stood. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to see if Metropolis General has a hidden room," Clark informed her, grabbing his red jacket and heading out the door.