FIC: Must Be Dreaming, Chapter FIVE MILLION
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 unbelievably gorgeous beta herohunter ♥
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
Part Fifteen
With Lionel being MIA, it had been difficult to do much more than track his files and his online comings and goings. For Chloe this tracking was an easy matter, something she could do in Lex's office by Lena and Mercy's side, but if Chloe had learned anything about Luthors over the years, it was that many of them were good at covering their trails, and none were quite so good as the Grande Daddy Patriarch himself.
So when Johnny in security called her to report Lionel's appearance in the building, Chloe knew she needed to move. They had to question him face to face at least a little, even if he was going to lie through his teeth. Pity she didn't keep that meteor power that had him confessing to the murder of his parents.
Chloe straightened her suit jacket and left Lex's office without waiting for Mercy to return from the meeting she was conducting with several investors. Lex had trained her for that kind of thing, not Chloe, and quite frankly, Chloe was happy with her small role working here. Anything bigger would have forced her to choose between reporting for the Daily Planet and sleuthing for the future LexCorp, and she didn't feel it was fair for her to have to choose between the two just yet.
Lionel hadn't yet entered his office when Chloe spotted him, so rather than walking into the Lion's den, she strode up to him confidently to begin her interview.
"Somehow I was starting to suspect that you'd been abducted as well," Chloe chimed, catching his attention.
"Ah! Miss Sullivan," Lionel said as he turned around and met her eye. "It's been quite a while since you and I had a chat. Why don't you come into my office?"
Chloe hesitated, since that had been exactly what she hadn't wanted to do. Lionel still gave her the creeps. She found herself following him in anyway and turned on the tape recorder in her pocket.
"It must be a rough time for you, what with Lex disappearing, him being sick, disappearing again…"
"Yes, yes…" Lionel walked toward his window slowly. "I haven't even been able to see much of him lately. I trust the police are now involved."
"They are," Chloe confirmed. "But they aren't doing anything we haven't done already. I wanted to ask you a few questions about Lex?"
Lionel turned and studied her. "I'm afraid I wouldn't know much."
"Humor me. We have to cover all of our bases, and you are his father." Chloe stepped closer. "When was the last time you saw Lex?"
"Saw him? Hmm… It was likely in a board meeting. Despite his illness, he insisted on going. We haven't really talked in… months, it seems. Not since that little pigtailed foundling moved into the castle in Smallville."
"That is a long time. What were you talking about?" Chloe asked.
"I'd discovered he was talking to a realtor, looking for a good apartment space in the city so he wouldn't have such a long commute," Lionel said, gazing up at the ceiling. "I believe. Like I said, it was a long time ago. I offered him space at the Luthor Manor in Metropolis, but he declined, on the grounds that we would likely kill one another if forced to live under one roof, and in all honestly, I do remember our last attempt at that being somewhat of a failure. If not as dramatic as Lex claims. He never made an attempt on my life."
"Plotting and doing are very different," Chloe replied dryly. "So for all these months, you and Lex haven't been talking."
"Here and there, for business. He's been avoiding me, I think." Lionel walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. "Why don't you have a seat, Miss Sullivan?"
Chloe crossed her arms and remained standing. "Do you know why he might have been avoiding you? Or who might have taken him?"
"My guess would be whoever had targeted him before, wouldn't yours?" Lionel replied, walking over to her. He smiled slickly.
"You don't seem too concerned," Chloe stated. She took a step back and blinked a few times.
Lionel didn't seem to respect the concept of personal space, and continued to move forward. "I am always concerned about Lex's well-being. He is my son."
"Of course," Chloe murmured.
"Do you have any other questions, Miss Sullivan? I have a very busy day ahead of me."
Chloe found herself shaking her head and leaving the office. Once outside she stared at the wall for a moment wondering what the hell had just happened. She used to be better at questioning people, even that one.
She rubbed the back of her neck and headed for the office to get some ibuprophen. She was developing a headache.
***
Chin in hand, Clark sat in front of Metropolis General, frustrated both with himself and Lex. Which wasn't fair, because Lex couldn't control what was in Clark's dreams. He was also frustrated at the brick walls in Metropolis General, the lack of lead lined rooms, and the utterly boring basement underneath.
Lex wasn't there anywhere, and it made Clark's stomach sink. He'd even taken a moment to consider that maybe asking Lex where he was would have been no good, if Lex didn't exactly know where he was, but Clark felt like an idiot for believing a dream. It was never easy for him to admit how ineffectual he was, especially when it came to people he cared about. It was no wonder he was grasping at straws, trying to invent ways for himself to help.
He stared down at the ground, feeling the soft warmth of Lex laying against him in his memory, and his heartbeat began to increase. Clark needed to find him, needed to hold him, needed to love him and make sure he was okay.
And now Clark was moping uselessly, but he didn't care.
"Clark Kent?"
Clark looked up then frowned as he saw his history teacher walking toward him with crossed arms.
"What are you doing out here, Clark?" Dr. Jorgenson asked. "I haven't seen you in a while."
After taking a slow breath, Clark shook his head. "My best friend has been kidnapped. Again."
"Oh. I see." She licked her lips and sat down next to him on the bench.
"Don't you have classes right now?" he asked her.
"Don't you?"
"Well. I'm obviously not there. I was checking the hospital." Clark shook his head again and looked up at the clouds. It was too cheery a day.
"I was just checking on my partner in the hospital," Jorgenson confided. She put her hands on her knees and looked down.
"What's wrong with him?"
"His heart. Not doing so well. But we have hope, you know. I'm… not really ready to be a single parent again. It takes a lot more strength than you have on hand to ever do that," she informed him. "And you never think you can survive it. Especially… if he didn't leave you of your own free will. Or at least I think so. The first time, I was so busy cursing him in my head for leaving, I…"
She shook her head and looked at Clark. "Tom will be fine. Tell me about your friend."
"My friend? I don't know. I just need him home. Now," Clark answered.
"Is this the same friend who needed you when his sister was hurt?"
"Yep."
"Is she alright?"
"Yeah, she is. Really worried about him, but yeah." Clark took a deep breath.
Jorgenson nodded, narrowing her eyes. "You two seem very close. The police are looking for him by now, yes?"
"Yeah." Clark looked over at her and saw the lines under her eyes. "Where are your kids staying?"
"With my mother. At least at the moment. I'll be going to pick them up here in a minute. My oldest, Dinah, is old enough to look after herself, really, but I don't want her to be alone right now." Jorgenson sniffed and reached over to touch Clark's knee. "Clark, here's what we're going to do."
Clark raised his brows at her and stared at the hand uncomfortably.
"I'm going to give you an incomplete, and next semester, you're taking an independent study with me, during which you'll finish this final paper and set out a course of study on a second topic. But in the next couple of weeks, you need to contact your professors and get caught up in the other classes you're taking. Don't-" Jorgenson pointed at him. "-argue with me. You are too smart to let all of this derail you. And sitting here in the hospital parking lot-alone-isn't going to make your friend appear out of nowhere. It's not going to make Tom's heart magically heal."
"I… I know. I just don't know what to do without him," Clark admitted.
"I know exactly how you feel. You think you're this independent, singular creature that functions perfectly well on its own, and then you meet him," she said with a laugh. "And you realize that you're only complete when you've got this other piece of yourself."
Clark nodded gripping the bench a little too tightly. The metal frame began to dent beneath his fingers.
"Don't fail classes that are easy for you. And don't sit around worrying. It just makes things worse," Jorgenson said in a pained voice. She moved her hand and looked away, fishing her keys out of her jean pockets. "Maybe you'll come up with some brilliant idea where he might be while you're finishing your calculus homework."
"How'd you know that I have calculus?" Clark asked.
"That weird little Lori Lemaris told me she was in it with you. She's in your class, right?" Jorgenson pressed the button on her keys to unlock the car and stood slowly. "Think of it as kismet. What a wild chance that I'd run into you here, of all places, when I can't even get a hold of you by email."
"I haven't… been checking."
"No kidding. Or you'd know I canceled my classes this week." Jorgenson ran her fingers through her long, graying blond hair. "Incomplete. Independent study. Don't forget."
"Why are you doing this?" Clark asked, standing up as well.
"I dunno. Just feel like your future has more to it than drama and farming." She laughed softly. "Is that elitist of me?"
"No. It… makes you sound like my parents."
"They done fighting?"
"I don't know. I haven't talked to them since this happened. I'll give my Dad a call."
Jorgenson patted his shoulder. "Nothing like having Dad around to talk to. Or in my case, Mom, who was both."
Clark smiled weakly and leaned over, surprising her with a hug. She was stiff, probably from the unexpectedness and inappropriateness, but since she was comparing her husband to his 'friend,' either she knew or would figure out that women didn't matter so much to him. Not like that.
"Thanks. I'll remember to sign up for the independent study. And I'll give Lori a call, too. Have her help me catch up." Realistically, he could probably get his work caught up on those classes in a day. If nothing else, it would distract him until Chloe and Mercy found something else for him to investigate.
***
"I've been dreaming of him," Lex murmured as the nurse put the blood pressure cuff on his arm. He looked at the floor steadily, not expecting an answer. They ignored him sometimes. He had no one else to talk to, though, other than his fetus, so sometimes he wore on their ears anyway.
"Of whom?" Dr. Largess asked as he walked into the room.
"Clark. Sometimes we're in the castle, or the barn, or the balcony of my loft. It's good to see him. Then sometimes I drown or there are just fishes swimming through the air." It had been over a week, Lex guessed, since he had that dream on the balcony, but he had no means of telling time in here. It was disorienting.
"Breathe normally, Lex," the nurse advised.
Largess sat in a chair by Lex's bed and folded his hands. "During pregnancy, we can experience all sorts of wild dreams. Between your hormones and your understandable grieving-"
"You forgive me if I don't assume that this is something you'll ever experience," Lex remarked sarcastically.
"Oh? Would you prefer a woman doctor?" Largess asked.
"I'd prefer my doctor. The one I hired."
"I'll inquire after her," Largess stood, looking at his readout. "Your blood pressure is a little high. Perhaps we could get a treadmill in here for you to get a bit of exercise."
"Or maybe you could get a hamster wheel," Lex quipped. "What's wrong with a walk around the courtyard for some fresh air and sunlight?"
Largess' face did not change as he paused. "We would love to be able to allow you that, Lex. However, with your vitals being so unstable, we want you inside where we can monitor you better."
Lex sighed, nodded, and looked down at the floor again. He was thinking of his dreams about Clark, and how real they had felt. It was almost as though he had lived it; Clark's arms around his waist, the kisses on the back of his neck.
"I think I have something that may cheer you up," Largess announced. He nodded to the nurse who went outside the room, then came back in with an ultrasound machine. "We don't have one on the record, and we'd like to get a look at your little one. Is that alright?"
Looking up after a moment, Lex pressed his lips together. "Yeah, I'd like that."
"Then just lie back and relax," Largess ordered, reaching over to the machine and checking it for a moment before he got started.
"Like I haven't heard that one before," Lex said dryly. The nurse laughed, winning an annoyed look from the doctor.
"It was funny," she argued.
"I don't think I got your name. It would probably be appropriate to know that before you see something so intimate as my insides," Lex replied, arching an eyebrow.
Her lips curved up. She was wearing her pink scrubs today, and her dark hair was twisted back in an old-fashioned up-do. "I gave you my name before. I think you were a little out of it at the time, though. Opal."
"Welcome to my man-womb, Opal," Lex replied.
"Either you're feeling better, or you're feeling nervous. You shouldn't be, though." Opal gently eased him back on the bed. "Just uncover your belly. That's all we need to see, dear."
Lex lifted his shirt and pushed down his pants so just his belly was visible. Despite their complaints about his not gaining enough weight, it was rounding out pretty nicely. He wished Clark could see it because Lex suspected Clark would be giddy over the fact. "The last ultrasound I got was accompanied by quite a few pokes that required more disrobing than this."
"I don't think there would be any reason for an internal exam. You don't exactly have the parts for that, do you?" Largess looked up.
Lex didn't particularly feel inclined to give Lionel's doctors more information to prod him with, so he misdirected them. "She's a researcher. I'm as much a science experiment as a patient."
"Well, you're just a patient to us, Lex," Opal assured him.
Oddly, he didn't feel reassured. Lex looked down at his belly as Largess rubbed the gel on it, notice that it wasn't ice cold as Tanaka's had been, and as Lena told him it shouldn't be this day and age. Lex was beginning to consider finding a new doctor… but not one of Lionel's.
When Dr. Largess got the image on the screen, Lex sat up a little. He tensed his lips and tried not to laugh. The fetus was all curled up, and she reminded him of a kitten.
"I thought that would cheer you a little," Largess said, knowingly. "She's still a little small… but her heart looks healthy, and her bones look strong. We'll be keeping an eye on her lung development, but you still have several months before we'll be too concerned about that."
"Look, she's sucking her thumb," Opal cooed.
Lex narrowed his eyes and looked closely. He laughed softly and covered his mouth with his fingers. This little miracle inside him was the only thing getting him through his day, sometimes.
***
"We have a surprise for you, Mr. Luthor, and you were right. Seeing his daughter did cheer your boy up," Opal said as she walked into the discussion room on Level Two. She handed him the disk they had recorded the ultrasound on and watched the pleased smile spread across his face.
"Good. His moods will affect the child. No need for her to suffer needlessly, don't you think, Dr. Deighton?"
"Yes, sir," Opal answered. Largess followed behind her, and she continued speaking. "I am concerned about him, however. Captivity isn't suiting him well. I feel as though you need a less… restrictive cage for him."
"There's really nothing to be done about it now. This simply the safest place for him," Lionel informed her, standing up and taking the disk over to one of the computers on the wall.
"I agree with Dr. Deighton, sir," Largess put in. "What the baby needs, she'll suck away from him, and this baby needs large amounts of Vitamin D, among other things. He just cannot get that here."
"I'm not moving on this point. Find a way around it."
The two doctors looked at one another, and Opal walked over to a closet to get her lab coat. "His vitals aren't the only things concerning me."
"Oh? Do tell? Is his moodiness upsetting you? Because my son has always been emotional. He can hardly blame the pregnancy on that."
Opal made a face that Lionel couldn't see and continued. "He has an ability, sir. I'm sure of it."
"Lex has no ability," Lionel said finitely, sitting down to watch the ultrasound.
She raised her hands. "He's infinitely intelligent, can remember anything any one of us says exactly to the letter-"
"Don't you think that I would have discovered an ability by now in him?"
"I think you're in denial, or you must think it comes from the same factor that has him pregnant," Opal said matter-of-factly. "Lucas had an ability."
"Getting pregnant isn't enough of an ability for you, is it?" Largess asked.
Opal set her eyes on him and crossed her arms. "Lucas had the ability to see probabilities, which lead to the gambling. You weren't even here for the tests we ran on him. How could you possibly see the resemblance?"
"Tests which he did not survive," Lionel pointed out. "Lex will not suffer the same fate."
"I just find it suspect that your bastard child had a slightly precognizant ability, and here we have your other son. He's been having dreams, and he knows things he cannot know. Things that match up to what we've been told by other precogs who haven't even met him," Opal argued.
Lionel sighed in irritation. "Once he gives birth, you can dissect his brain, if you like."
"But…" Dr. Largess looked at them in alarm. "The baby-"
"Will be under my care," Lionel informed him, giving the man a sharp raise in his brow. "Lex isn't capable of parenting. He's a broken man in many ways and accrues many enemies. His daughter will be safer under my care."
His fingers touched the screen gently. "You can wait to do your tests on him until after she's born."
Deighton and Largess looked at one another but for a second before busying themselves with their papers. Once they'd left the room, Opal murmured, "Daddy has an ability too, if you hadn't noticed."
"He does not," Largess argued, keeping his voice low.
"He'll never admit it. We matched his brainwaves with Lucas. They're both as slick as snake oil. Have you ever tried arguing with the man? Really arguing with him?" Opal shook her head. "He's charming. I'll give him that. And he can charm almost anyone into believing whatever he wants them to believe. That's why half the people here keep working him, why his wife stayed with him all those years despite the infidelity and his beating her kid, why his sons didn't run screaming from a man who will casually steal their children and dissect their brains. You want to keep your wits? Don't make eye contact, and don't disagree too forcefully. You'd better have decent juju yourself, if you don't want to get snow jobbed by Lionel Luthor," she warned.
Largess shook his head, dismissing it as gossip, and Deighton left him alone, but the thought kept nagging him. Deighton had been around much longer than he had, despite her apparent youth. She would have seen a thing or two.
***
Clark sat cross-legged on the floor of Lex's office with papers spread out around him. Lori was sitting across from him and balancing her pen between her upper lip and her nose. Clark had caught up on most of his Comp papers, and all of his Spanish and Calculus homework. Aside from a few tests, he was doing well, and it was serving as a good distraction.
What he found, however, was that his mind never stopped working on the problem of finding Lex. Since he was working in LuthorCorp central, he listened in on Chloe and Mercy's conversations and the reports coming in to them. Mentally he had a map in his head that he was crossing locations off of.
The best part was that after all of this thinking, Clark was very tired, and usually he would dream of Lex. Sometimes Lex didn't interact much, and his dreams seemed abstract and soupy, the way that dreams tended to be. But sometimes they seemed so real, as though Lex were right there with him, and those he loved the best.
Mercy entered and nodded to Clark wearily as she walked briskly to the desk. She stopped for a moment and looked at them. "Oh, hey there, Ariel."
Lori looked up and tilted her head far to the side. "I'm Lori."
"Yes, princess," Mercy said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "I know."
She made it back to the desk and began checking through a file on the computer.
Clark blinked, looking up from his book, then arched a brow. "You two know each other?"
"Yeah," Lori nodded. "Met her a couple of months ago. She got me out of a jam. And by jam, I mean jail cell."
Clark blinked again. "You? In jail? For what, public weirdness? Aggressive veganism?"
"No." Lori wrinkled her nose and put her hands between her crossed legs as she stretched. "Flipped out. There was this guy. And he killed my brother trying to get something he wanted from him. I found him and I… kind of lost control. Then things got out of hand, and I got scared, which made it worse."
"I guess it must have. And you went to jail for it?" Clark asked.
"Well, Mercy got me out."
"Persons in Black to the rescue," Mercy murmured from her computer.
"Does Lex know you too?" Clark couldn't imagine Lex's employee getting Lori out of jail without his knowledge.
"I know him. I told you I was sorry he was missing," Lori said earnestly.
Clark looked up into Lori's huge blue eyes, frowning as something niggled at the back of his memory. "Have… where was it that the police picked you up?"
"The Metropolis Museum. The guy was there trying to do a business deal or something," Lori told him.
Clark studied her eyes with a frown.
"Don't look at me like that."
Lori turned her head, and Clark reached up and turned her head in his hand so she would look at him.
"We met, didn't we?"
"Yeah," she admitted.
Clark waited for her eyes to flicker, and sure enough, the third eyelid eventually came up and blinked vertically. He remembered what she had looked like then, with a long, serpent-like tail and webbed fingers. Her face had definitely been more fishlike, but Clark was surprised that he hadn't been fully conscious that he'd met her before. Maybe he'd been distracted when he'd met her again at the bursar's office. Maybe he should get a pair of glasses.
"How… how do you do that? This?" Clark moved his finger up and down to indicate her appearance.
She looked down and pulled her foot out, wiggling her toes at him. There was a little pearly ring on her second toe. Clark took her ankle and looked more closely at it.
"A toe-ring?"
"Well, it's the stone in the middle, see? It allows me to keep a human form," Lori explained.
"How?"
"Magic."
Clark gave her a skeptical look, but she just shrugged. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Going to college," Lori said simply, as if it should be obvious.
"What, aren't the schools in Atlantis good?" Clark joked, letting go of her foot.
"Not as good as the ones up here," she replied seriously. "Anyway, my brother and I were both going, and when he was having a swim in the harbor, he got caught and killed. It's not good to spend a lot of time in the waters when you're this far inland."
"And you guys are from the waters off the coast of California?"
"Pretty much."
Clark raked a hand through his hair. "That's amazing."
"That's home."
Clark nodded silently, thinking how lonely this strange, strange girl must feel up here with all the humans. No wonder she tried to force her company on him. He was another freak, like her, and he'd tried to help her when she'd been so distressed at the museum.
"Thank for helping me get caught up," Clark said sincerely.
"No problem. I owed you." Lori leaned back and tilted her head to the side awkwardly. Now Clark knew that it had to do with a different biology and not just some preternatural flexibility. Lori blinked her third eyelids twice. "I hope you find your Lex. It's bad when you lose someone. It's worse when they have developing eggs inside them."
"You could put it that way." Clark sighed.
"If you need anything, or um… if you think there's any way I can help, give me a call."
Clark nodded again and put his concentration back into his studies. He had to try to make this work, just until he figured out where to look next.
***
"I wish you were here," Lex murmurs, holding Clark's hand firmly as they look at the ultrasound monitor. They are alone.
"I am here," Clark says, looking up at the screen in amazement. "She's so beautiful, Lex. Oh, look at you!"
Lex closes his eyes and laughs. "I knew you'd love this. You're such a fetishist."
"What fetish?" Clark kneels by the bed and caresses the side of Lex's belly. "I'm so happy she's growing."
"The doctors keep complaining about how she's developing, but I don't have a lot of control. They won't even let me go out into the winter garden for some fresh air." Lex purses his lips in annoyance and runs his fingers through Clark's hair. "Basically it's just- eat your dinner, take your meds..."
Lex heaves a sigh and stares at the violet fish swimming throughout his hospital room.
"I hate doctors."
Clark looks up and sits on the side of Lex's bed. "I checked Metropolis General, Lex. Mercy and Chloe looked at every hospital in the area. They don't have you. Are you sure that's where this is?"
"What?" Lex frowns and allows Clark to take his hand again. "I… Clark, it's distinctly possible that they're keeping me somewhere else. You've seen the window."
Clark looks over to the window, then up to the wall, where water was dribbling down the walls. "Not a very good hospital. They can't afford proper roofing."
"How droll you are," Lex says dejectedly.
"You're too down. Let's go somewhere else."
"I can't leave-"
"We can go anywhere we want," Clark insists, helping Lex out of the bed and taking him in his arms. "Remember that night? It was just a day or two after you'd gotten back from… Fine."
"God, I was so tired," Lex murmurs. He feels them swaying back and forth and rests his head on Clark's shoulder. "And moody."
"Why are we putting the moody thing in past tense?"
"Hush, you." Lex closes his eyes and lets Clark lead, dancing them around the room until he wills them to be in the driveway of the castle, next to the Kent truck. "Here's where I want to be."
"Me too. Lex, can you figure out where you are? If you're not in the hospital, maybe we could get some clues. You can help us-"
"Well, it helps me to know that I'm not in the hospital. I didn't trust the doctors much to begin with." Lex sighs and smells Clark's neck. Even though he's dreaming, the scent that is evoked when he is awake is still there. "God, I love your scent. How did I never notice that before?"
"Maybe I went into heat for the first time," Clark jokes, swinging Lex around for a dip.
"You're not going to be able to do this for much longer," Lex informs him.
Clark just leans over and kisses him, slowly and thoroughly, like he's wanted to for a long, long time. Before he even knew what it meant to want those beautiful lips.
"Lex, I will be able to carry you no matter what. I'm a strapping young man."
"Are you serious?" Lex asks, creasing his eyes suspiciously and tilting his head back.
Clark pulls him upright again and holds him tight. "I've never been more serious. I…"
"Clark, you don't have to say anything else. I'm just glad to have you however I can. It isn't fair to ask you-"
Clark puts his hands on Lex’s shoulders, gently. He can hear Lex’s heart pounding so quickly. “Lex, this past year has been hell for me. Being away from you, it’s just not something I can handle. I want this… You…”
“Us?” Lex asks uncertainly.
Clark’s mouth presses into a fine line. “If you cry, I want to be there to hold you. If you get sick or dizzy, I want to be there to catch you when you fall.” He laughs softly. “If you’re scared or confused, I want to be right beside you just as scared and confused so you know you aren’t alone. I want to be there, every smile, frown, every awesome moment and every fight. I want to be there to touch you, all of you. Every part of you-“ His fingers caress the back of Lex’s head. “Every muscle, every curve. Heh, every inch and pound you gain with the baby. I don’t want to miss another kick or cramp or bad dream or… trip to the ice cream shop to sate a craving.”
“Clark…” Lex starts to shake his head. “I don’t know what this is-“
“I don’t care if the baby isn’t mine. She’s part of you, so I’ll love her. The end.” Clark leans in closer, then drops down on his knee as Lex’s eyes widen. This might be a mistake, but Clark can't pull back now. He knows he has to do these things when he has the courage, or he'll never be able to. “I love you more than anything else in this world. Please, let me do that. I know I’m gonna screw up, but just let me try to love you right.”
“Clark, get up," Lex whispers, looking down at Clark. On bended knee.
“No.” Clark reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a silver band studded with graceful diamonds.
“What… are you doing?”
Clark takes Lex’s hand and slips the ring on it then intertwines their fingers, looking up into Lex’s eyes hopefully. “Please, Lex. Forgive me, and let me be a part of your life with the baby.”
“You’re… willing to do that?”
Clark throws his head back and laughs. "I wouldn't ask if I didn't mean it."
Lex lowers himself in front of Clark, and they embrace tightly.
When Lex opened his eyes, he grimaced at the reality of the waking world that persisted on existing to torment him. He looked down at his left hand, which was sadly bare, then up at the door to his room. They'd put a treadmill in his room since complaining that his blood pressure was high-no wonder; he was stressed.
Still, he'd never seen the hospital outside of his room. There was no window. No other patients. Just the one nurse and doctor, and his father. A few orderlies that came through, but all the same ones. Lex's heart began to pound again as he realized his dreams, however unlikely, might have a grain of truth to them that his waking mind didn't want to grasp.
It was a few days before he had his chance.
Lex walked on the treadmill in sleek pajamas, waiting for Opal to take his vitals. Luckily, she was demanding a urine sample. He took the glass of water she offered and chugged the glass halfway down, then paused. When she looked back, he pretended to still be working on it. He gave her a nod.
"You finish that while I'm gone." Opal put the sample cup on his nightstand. "I'll be right back."
"How'm I doing?" he asked, leaning his head back against the wall.
"I think with some regular exercise, you should be doing better. I'm not thrilled about this Vitamin D deficiency, though. Maybe we can get you a sunlamp in here."
Lex rolled his eyes. She chuckled as she left the room. While the door was open, he leaned down quickly and slipped the screw he'd pried out of his bed into the hinges. Just as he'd suspected, the door didn't close all the way. So the lock didn't click. Lex smirked, grabbed the cup, and headed to the bathroom. When she returned, his sample was waiting for her, and her model patient was back on the treadmill, huffing it like a good boy.
Lex knew that he had to wait until he could be sure no doctors who knew him would be coming. He wasn't sure how much he would need. A peek at another chart? Or maybe another patient so that he could find out what hospital he was in? He would figure it out when he saw it. Until then, he did his best to imitate a man with Stockhom syndrome. He ate what he given. He took his meds as was told. When they asked for blood, he did not complain. He even smiled a little and flirted with Opal.
When he was able to gauge a break in the visits from the doctors, Lex made his move. He should have at least three hours, or so he guessed since he didn't have a watch, before anyone came to look at him. He got out of his bed, jerked the IV out of his hand, and went to the door, peeking his head out tentatively before he made another move. What he saw stopped him momentarily.
He wasn't in a hospital, but in a dank dungeon of some kind. A row of cells with barred windows surrounded his posh little prison. He almost retreated back into his cell, which was at least warmer than this frightening horror film of a hallway, and acceptable to his bare feet. Harder to run away without shoes, Lex guessed. He shook his head and stepped out. What would he tell Clark in his dreams if he didn't find out anything?
Lex knew he was probably losing his mind, but he continued down the hallway for a little bit, looking around before he quickened his pace. If he had the chance, he would have to get out of there.
Five minutes later, the cold of the floor was making his toes grow numb, and then his foot turned on the uneven, damp stone floor. A hand reached out of one of the cells and caught him.
"Mr. Luthor?"
Lex made it to his feet and looked inside the cell. It took him a moment to recognize the boy, one who he'd let go after the boy had learned to control his immense strength.
"Lowell? How did you get in here?" Lex peered around the cell. "How are they keeping you here? Where is here?"
"You gots questions, boss. I dunno. I woke up here one day. They got this collar on me that cancels out my powers, so I only get it off when they test on me," Lowell told him. "Why are you here? They told us that you'd put me in here, but… I didn't believe them…"
"Who's us?"
Lowell scowled. "Me. Everyone from 33.1. Well, not everyone, but a lot of them. You feelin' okay?"
"Not especially. I need to find out where we are. I… We're all going to have to get out of here." Lex looked around the room. "Underground, or something. You think?"
"Maybe." Lowell shrugged. "Look, I can't help you, but if you run fast, maybe you can get out. But not the way you were going. That way." He pointed in the other direction. "That's where they go when they're done talking and testing people. The way you're going's got scarier freaks."
Lex nodded. "Thank you, Lowell. If I get out of here, I'll send someone back to help spring you guys out, okay?"
"Good luck, boss." Lowell let go of Lex's arm and made a shushing motion to the cell across from him.
Lex looked up and saw that several of them had come to the edge of their cells, some of whom he recognized, but if he were to do any good, he didn't have time for reunions. He gave them a nod and hurried down the hallway, keeping his eyes sharpened for anything like a door. A few people reached out of their cells at him, but mostly they kept quiet. Solidarity among freaks.
When shoes began to collide with the puddles on the floor, Lex looked around wildly for someplace to hide. Of course there was no place, and he pressed himself against the wall. There was no hope that they wouldn't see him. Lex shuddered and closed his eyes.
They walked past. Without a word. Lex spotted his father chatting with Opal, who was dressed not in her pink nurses' scrubs but a pristine lab coat. How… quaintly sexist. And quite like his father. Have the girl mad scientist play the nurse.
Taking a deep breath, Lex frowned, wondering how they hadn't seen him, but counted his blessings and began to move forward again. His leg was caught on something though, and he looked down to realize that his body was invisible. Lex smiled and crouched down.
"Ghost? They didn't figure out your power, did they?" Lex said very, very quietly. The boy's face appeared through his cell as he fazed his body through. Lex touched his pale blond hair and took the boy's hand. "Come with me. We have to get information, or get out of here."
Ghost shook his head silently, but came along with Lex as he moved through the long hallway. Lex felt some hope as he saw a light, as clichéd as it seemed, and moved them forward. Ghost began to tug on his hand again and shake his head, but Lex wasn't going to stop now.
There was a set of stairs, and slowly, Lex paced himself as he made his way up. He'd gotten a bit out of shape lying around in that cell for so long. The extra weight didn't help, but mentally, he kept repeating to himself that he was doing it for her.
They reached the door, and Lex put his hand on the handle. Of course it was locked. Lex looked down at Ghost. "Can you help me out, little guy?"
Ghost shook his head again and put his hand on the door.
"I wish you could talk, Ghost. I've got to find out what this place is, okay. Look." Lex leaned down and took Ghost's hand, pressing it to his belly. "This is my daughter. You know I'm one of you? I can't let them hurt her, and to help you guys out, I need to be able to let people know where we are."
Ghost sucked on his lower lip and looked up at Lex with glassy blue eyes. He sighed and reached into the door, opening it from the other side.
"Thank you," Lex whispered to him, petting his soft hair. He took the door and stepped through it. The room was significantly cleaner, and less wet, but it still looked like part of a dungeon. There were two doors. The one he'd come through and the one on the opposite side of the room. Ghost clung to his side and started to cry as the guard turned from a wall of screens where he had been watching a series of tests in action.
"Hey!" The man stood up and rushed at them.
Lex realized that for some reason Ghost's ability wasn't working here, obviously the reason the boy hadn't escaped yet. Lex refused to go back, so he tried to skirt around the guard. Ghost quickly let Lex go and tangled himself up in the guard's legs like a cat.
"Damn brat!" the man cried, pulling out his gun.
Eyes bulging, Lex lunged for the guard, pushing his arm up and away from the boy. Then he kneed the guard in the groin and pulled his gun away, pointing it at him.
"Unlock the door," Lex ordered. "Who pulls a gun on a child?"
The guard raised his hands and moved toward the other door, his other hand in the air as he did so. "Take it easy, freak. I'm doing it. You know you can't use your psychic, whatever the hell up here, right?"
"My abilities aren't so flashy. My greatest ability so far is to get pregnant. Wait." Lex pressed the gun against the man's face. "Where are we? Where is this place? Are we in Metropolis still?"
"Well, not in Metropolis. We're kind of under it, I think." The guard swallowed, giving Lex a look up and down. "Did you just say you were pregnant?"
Lex pursed his lips and pulled the trigger back just a bit. "Don't make me have a 'mood swing' on your ass. What's your name?"
"Barry."
"Barry. We're under Metropolis. How?"
"Under the harbor, there's-"
The door behind them burst open with more guards, who slammed Lex against a console.
"Nice one, Barry," a guard snapped.
"Don’t look at me. One of them needs a collar," Barry complained. "That’s the medtechs' jobs. Careful with the bald one."
"Why? He was going to shoot you."
"That one's the boss' son, morons," a female guard with short cropped red hair said, putting her gun away as Barry took Ghost in hand. She walked over to one of the consoles and pulled out a few bottles and a syringe, which she began to load up with the fluid inside the bottles.
Lex sighed and looked up at the ceiling in frustration. They'd gotten so far. As his eyes closed and they injected him with yet another sedative, he thought, at least, he knew where he was, sort of.
***
It was one thing for Lena to see Clark so out of it. This was the love of his life gone missing, and from Lena's perspective, Clark hadn't entirely had it together before Lex had disappeared.
However, it had been quite another thing to come into the office to find Chloe with her head in her hands, shaking beside a bottle of painkillers. Chloe, despite her occasional recklessness, was a good caretaker of the people around her. While Clark might save her physically, she rarely allowed other people to see her needing help in any substantial, emotional way. Other than Mercy, of course.
And, of course, Lena sensed what Chloe was going through, and therefore she knew when the surface did not match Chloe's actual temperament. Something had happened that morning when she'd tried to question Lionel. Chloe felt strangely invaded, and when questioned, she mentioned having felt that way before around Lionel, explaining to Lena her relationship with Lex's father. More than a few stabs of guilt throbbed around her heart.
After reassuring the young woman, Lena hoped that there was something she could do. Particularly since there hadn't been anything for her to do yet.
When Lionel reappeared in the LuthorCorp lobby, Lena approached him without thinking and moved in closer than she'd ever suspected she dared.
"Where is Lex, Lionel Luthor?" Lena asked in a direct tone.
Lionel turned around. Something stirred in him. He was wearing sunglasses, but she could feel the slight arousal that told her he was looking her over.
"Unfortunately, I don't know… Might I have your name, miss?" Lionel asked with effusive warmth as he removed his glasses.
"Elena Luciano. You should remember me… Although maybe not. I guess you've got a lot of appointments in your big office," Lena replied coolly. "Where is Lex?
He paused, watching her, particularly her eyes for a long moment, and in the moment, Lena felt a click just before he spoke. "I have no idea what you are talking about."
Smugness. Insufferable smugness.
Oh, he was proud of what he had done.
"No? My mistake," she replied with a tight smile. Chloe had been onto him. Pity he was human, and not a computer. She'd have more influence with the latter.
Lionel reached over and caught her bicep. "No, it's no problem. You're Lex's friend, are you not? We should meet for lunch. I'd like to know what you have found regarding his absence so far."
"That's okay. I'm not hungry, and I have a lot of work to do."
"I insist," he said lightly. "The meal is on me. You won't have tasted the like." Lionel's grip grew firmer, and as his eyes bore into hers, she felt a slight pushing, then frustration and almost anger.
She pulled her arm away and took a step back. "No, thank you. Goodbye."
There was a shock of confusion as she left him quickly for the private elevator up to Lex's office. She had to get back up and have a word with Mercy. The last thing she wanted was for Lionel to realize she was on to him and move Lex before they had a chance to get him back. One thing she was certain of, however, was that she was the lucky sibling, to not have grown up with that man constantly pushing into her mind.
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 unbelievably gorgeous beta herohunter ♥
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
Part Fifteen
With Lionel being MIA, it had been difficult to do much more than track his files and his online comings and goings. For Chloe this tracking was an easy matter, something she could do in Lex's office by Lena and Mercy's side, but if Chloe had learned anything about Luthors over the years, it was that many of them were good at covering their trails, and none were quite so good as the Grande Daddy Patriarch himself.
So when Johnny in security called her to report Lionel's appearance in the building, Chloe knew she needed to move. They had to question him face to face at least a little, even if he was going to lie through his teeth. Pity she didn't keep that meteor power that had him confessing to the murder of his parents.
Chloe straightened her suit jacket and left Lex's office without waiting for Mercy to return from the meeting she was conducting with several investors. Lex had trained her for that kind of thing, not Chloe, and quite frankly, Chloe was happy with her small role working here. Anything bigger would have forced her to choose between reporting for the Daily Planet and sleuthing for the future LexCorp, and she didn't feel it was fair for her to have to choose between the two just yet.
Lionel hadn't yet entered his office when Chloe spotted him, so rather than walking into the Lion's den, she strode up to him confidently to begin her interview.
"Somehow I was starting to suspect that you'd been abducted as well," Chloe chimed, catching his attention.
"Ah! Miss Sullivan," Lionel said as he turned around and met her eye. "It's been quite a while since you and I had a chat. Why don't you come into my office?"
Chloe hesitated, since that had been exactly what she hadn't wanted to do. Lionel still gave her the creeps. She found herself following him in anyway and turned on the tape recorder in her pocket.
"It must be a rough time for you, what with Lex disappearing, him being sick, disappearing again…"
"Yes, yes…" Lionel walked toward his window slowly. "I haven't even been able to see much of him lately. I trust the police are now involved."
"They are," Chloe confirmed. "But they aren't doing anything we haven't done already. I wanted to ask you a few questions about Lex?"
Lionel turned and studied her. "I'm afraid I wouldn't know much."
"Humor me. We have to cover all of our bases, and you are his father." Chloe stepped closer. "When was the last time you saw Lex?"
"Saw him? Hmm… It was likely in a board meeting. Despite his illness, he insisted on going. We haven't really talked in… months, it seems. Not since that little pigtailed foundling moved into the castle in Smallville."
"That is a long time. What were you talking about?" Chloe asked.
"I'd discovered he was talking to a realtor, looking for a good apartment space in the city so he wouldn't have such a long commute," Lionel said, gazing up at the ceiling. "I believe. Like I said, it was a long time ago. I offered him space at the Luthor Manor in Metropolis, but he declined, on the grounds that we would likely kill one another if forced to live under one roof, and in all honestly, I do remember our last attempt at that being somewhat of a failure. If not as dramatic as Lex claims. He never made an attempt on my life."
"Plotting and doing are very different," Chloe replied dryly. "So for all these months, you and Lex haven't been talking."
"Here and there, for business. He's been avoiding me, I think." Lionel walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink. "Why don't you have a seat, Miss Sullivan?"
Chloe crossed her arms and remained standing. "Do you know why he might have been avoiding you? Or who might have taken him?"
"My guess would be whoever had targeted him before, wouldn't yours?" Lionel replied, walking over to her. He smiled slickly.
"You don't seem too concerned," Chloe stated. She took a step back and blinked a few times.
Lionel didn't seem to respect the concept of personal space, and continued to move forward. "I am always concerned about Lex's well-being. He is my son."
"Of course," Chloe murmured.
"Do you have any other questions, Miss Sullivan? I have a very busy day ahead of me."
Chloe found herself shaking her head and leaving the office. Once outside she stared at the wall for a moment wondering what the hell had just happened. She used to be better at questioning people, even that one.
She rubbed the back of her neck and headed for the office to get some ibuprophen. She was developing a headache.
***
Chin in hand, Clark sat in front of Metropolis General, frustrated both with himself and Lex. Which wasn't fair, because Lex couldn't control what was in Clark's dreams. He was also frustrated at the brick walls in Metropolis General, the lack of lead lined rooms, and the utterly boring basement underneath.
Lex wasn't there anywhere, and it made Clark's stomach sink. He'd even taken a moment to consider that maybe asking Lex where he was would have been no good, if Lex didn't exactly know where he was, but Clark felt like an idiot for believing a dream. It was never easy for him to admit how ineffectual he was, especially when it came to people he cared about. It was no wonder he was grasping at straws, trying to invent ways for himself to help.
He stared down at the ground, feeling the soft warmth of Lex laying against him in his memory, and his heartbeat began to increase. Clark needed to find him, needed to hold him, needed to love him and make sure he was okay.
And now Clark was moping uselessly, but he didn't care.
"Clark Kent?"
Clark looked up then frowned as he saw his history teacher walking toward him with crossed arms.
"What are you doing out here, Clark?" Dr. Jorgenson asked. "I haven't seen you in a while."
After taking a slow breath, Clark shook his head. "My best friend has been kidnapped. Again."
"Oh. I see." She licked her lips and sat down next to him on the bench.
"Don't you have classes right now?" he asked her.
"Don't you?"
"Well. I'm obviously not there. I was checking the hospital." Clark shook his head again and looked up at the clouds. It was too cheery a day.
"I was just checking on my partner in the hospital," Jorgenson confided. She put her hands on her knees and looked down.
"What's wrong with him?"
"His heart. Not doing so well. But we have hope, you know. I'm… not really ready to be a single parent again. It takes a lot more strength than you have on hand to ever do that," she informed him. "And you never think you can survive it. Especially… if he didn't leave you of your own free will. Or at least I think so. The first time, I was so busy cursing him in my head for leaving, I…"
She shook her head and looked at Clark. "Tom will be fine. Tell me about your friend."
"My friend? I don't know. I just need him home. Now," Clark answered.
"Is this the same friend who needed you when his sister was hurt?"
"Yep."
"Is she alright?"
"Yeah, she is. Really worried about him, but yeah." Clark took a deep breath.
Jorgenson nodded, narrowing her eyes. "You two seem very close. The police are looking for him by now, yes?"
"Yeah." Clark looked over at her and saw the lines under her eyes. "Where are your kids staying?"
"With my mother. At least at the moment. I'll be going to pick them up here in a minute. My oldest, Dinah, is old enough to look after herself, really, but I don't want her to be alone right now." Jorgenson sniffed and reached over to touch Clark's knee. "Clark, here's what we're going to do."
Clark raised his brows at her and stared at the hand uncomfortably.
"I'm going to give you an incomplete, and next semester, you're taking an independent study with me, during which you'll finish this final paper and set out a course of study on a second topic. But in the next couple of weeks, you need to contact your professors and get caught up in the other classes you're taking. Don't-" Jorgenson pointed at him. "-argue with me. You are too smart to let all of this derail you. And sitting here in the hospital parking lot-alone-isn't going to make your friend appear out of nowhere. It's not going to make Tom's heart magically heal."
"I… I know. I just don't know what to do without him," Clark admitted.
"I know exactly how you feel. You think you're this independent, singular creature that functions perfectly well on its own, and then you meet him," she said with a laugh. "And you realize that you're only complete when you've got this other piece of yourself."
Clark nodded gripping the bench a little too tightly. The metal frame began to dent beneath his fingers.
"Don't fail classes that are easy for you. And don't sit around worrying. It just makes things worse," Jorgenson said in a pained voice. She moved her hand and looked away, fishing her keys out of her jean pockets. "Maybe you'll come up with some brilliant idea where he might be while you're finishing your calculus homework."
"How'd you know that I have calculus?" Clark asked.
"That weird little Lori Lemaris told me she was in it with you. She's in your class, right?" Jorgenson pressed the button on her keys to unlock the car and stood slowly. "Think of it as kismet. What a wild chance that I'd run into you here, of all places, when I can't even get a hold of you by email."
"I haven't… been checking."
"No kidding. Or you'd know I canceled my classes this week." Jorgenson ran her fingers through her long, graying blond hair. "Incomplete. Independent study. Don't forget."
"Why are you doing this?" Clark asked, standing up as well.
"I dunno. Just feel like your future has more to it than drama and farming." She laughed softly. "Is that elitist of me?"
"No. It… makes you sound like my parents."
"They done fighting?"
"I don't know. I haven't talked to them since this happened. I'll give my Dad a call."
Jorgenson patted his shoulder. "Nothing like having Dad around to talk to. Or in my case, Mom, who was both."
Clark smiled weakly and leaned over, surprising her with a hug. She was stiff, probably from the unexpectedness and inappropriateness, but since she was comparing her husband to his 'friend,' either she knew or would figure out that women didn't matter so much to him. Not like that.
"Thanks. I'll remember to sign up for the independent study. And I'll give Lori a call, too. Have her help me catch up." Realistically, he could probably get his work caught up on those classes in a day. If nothing else, it would distract him until Chloe and Mercy found something else for him to investigate.
***
"I've been dreaming of him," Lex murmured as the nurse put the blood pressure cuff on his arm. He looked at the floor steadily, not expecting an answer. They ignored him sometimes. He had no one else to talk to, though, other than his fetus, so sometimes he wore on their ears anyway.
"Of whom?" Dr. Largess asked as he walked into the room.
"Clark. Sometimes we're in the castle, or the barn, or the balcony of my loft. It's good to see him. Then sometimes I drown or there are just fishes swimming through the air." It had been over a week, Lex guessed, since he had that dream on the balcony, but he had no means of telling time in here. It was disorienting.
"Breathe normally, Lex," the nurse advised.
Largess sat in a chair by Lex's bed and folded his hands. "During pregnancy, we can experience all sorts of wild dreams. Between your hormones and your understandable grieving-"
"You forgive me if I don't assume that this is something you'll ever experience," Lex remarked sarcastically.
"Oh? Would you prefer a woman doctor?" Largess asked.
"I'd prefer my doctor. The one I hired."
"I'll inquire after her," Largess stood, looking at his readout. "Your blood pressure is a little high. Perhaps we could get a treadmill in here for you to get a bit of exercise."
"Or maybe you could get a hamster wheel," Lex quipped. "What's wrong with a walk around the courtyard for some fresh air and sunlight?"
Largess' face did not change as he paused. "We would love to be able to allow you that, Lex. However, with your vitals being so unstable, we want you inside where we can monitor you better."
Lex sighed, nodded, and looked down at the floor again. He was thinking of his dreams about Clark, and how real they had felt. It was almost as though he had lived it; Clark's arms around his waist, the kisses on the back of his neck.
"I think I have something that may cheer you up," Largess announced. He nodded to the nurse who went outside the room, then came back in with an ultrasound machine. "We don't have one on the record, and we'd like to get a look at your little one. Is that alright?"
Looking up after a moment, Lex pressed his lips together. "Yeah, I'd like that."
"Then just lie back and relax," Largess ordered, reaching over to the machine and checking it for a moment before he got started.
"Like I haven't heard that one before," Lex said dryly. The nurse laughed, winning an annoyed look from the doctor.
"It was funny," she argued.
"I don't think I got your name. It would probably be appropriate to know that before you see something so intimate as my insides," Lex replied, arching an eyebrow.
Her lips curved up. She was wearing her pink scrubs today, and her dark hair was twisted back in an old-fashioned up-do. "I gave you my name before. I think you were a little out of it at the time, though. Opal."
"Welcome to my man-womb, Opal," Lex replied.
"Either you're feeling better, or you're feeling nervous. You shouldn't be, though." Opal gently eased him back on the bed. "Just uncover your belly. That's all we need to see, dear."
Lex lifted his shirt and pushed down his pants so just his belly was visible. Despite their complaints about his not gaining enough weight, it was rounding out pretty nicely. He wished Clark could see it because Lex suspected Clark would be giddy over the fact. "The last ultrasound I got was accompanied by quite a few pokes that required more disrobing than this."
"I don't think there would be any reason for an internal exam. You don't exactly have the parts for that, do you?" Largess looked up.
Lex didn't particularly feel inclined to give Lionel's doctors more information to prod him with, so he misdirected them. "She's a researcher. I'm as much a science experiment as a patient."
"Well, you're just a patient to us, Lex," Opal assured him.
Oddly, he didn't feel reassured. Lex looked down at his belly as Largess rubbed the gel on it, notice that it wasn't ice cold as Tanaka's had been, and as Lena told him it shouldn't be this day and age. Lex was beginning to consider finding a new doctor… but not one of Lionel's.
When Dr. Largess got the image on the screen, Lex sat up a little. He tensed his lips and tried not to laugh. The fetus was all curled up, and she reminded him of a kitten.
"I thought that would cheer you a little," Largess said, knowingly. "She's still a little small… but her heart looks healthy, and her bones look strong. We'll be keeping an eye on her lung development, but you still have several months before we'll be too concerned about that."
"Look, she's sucking her thumb," Opal cooed.
Lex narrowed his eyes and looked closely. He laughed softly and covered his mouth with his fingers. This little miracle inside him was the only thing getting him through his day, sometimes.
***
"We have a surprise for you, Mr. Luthor, and you were right. Seeing his daughter did cheer your boy up," Opal said as she walked into the discussion room on Level Two. She handed him the disk they had recorded the ultrasound on and watched the pleased smile spread across his face.
"Good. His moods will affect the child. No need for her to suffer needlessly, don't you think, Dr. Deighton?"
"Yes, sir," Opal answered. Largess followed behind her, and she continued speaking. "I am concerned about him, however. Captivity isn't suiting him well. I feel as though you need a less… restrictive cage for him."
"There's really nothing to be done about it now. This simply the safest place for him," Lionel informed her, standing up and taking the disk over to one of the computers on the wall.
"I agree with Dr. Deighton, sir," Largess put in. "What the baby needs, she'll suck away from him, and this baby needs large amounts of Vitamin D, among other things. He just cannot get that here."
"I'm not moving on this point. Find a way around it."
The two doctors looked at one another, and Opal walked over to a closet to get her lab coat. "His vitals aren't the only things concerning me."
"Oh? Do tell? Is his moodiness upsetting you? Because my son has always been emotional. He can hardly blame the pregnancy on that."
Opal made a face that Lionel couldn't see and continued. "He has an ability, sir. I'm sure of it."
"Lex has no ability," Lionel said finitely, sitting down to watch the ultrasound.
She raised her hands. "He's infinitely intelligent, can remember anything any one of us says exactly to the letter-"
"Don't you think that I would have discovered an ability by now in him?"
"I think you're in denial, or you must think it comes from the same factor that has him pregnant," Opal said matter-of-factly. "Lucas had an ability."
"Getting pregnant isn't enough of an ability for you, is it?" Largess asked.
Opal set her eyes on him and crossed her arms. "Lucas had the ability to see probabilities, which lead to the gambling. You weren't even here for the tests we ran on him. How could you possibly see the resemblance?"
"Tests which he did not survive," Lionel pointed out. "Lex will not suffer the same fate."
"I just find it suspect that your bastard child had a slightly precognizant ability, and here we have your other son. He's been having dreams, and he knows things he cannot know. Things that match up to what we've been told by other precogs who haven't even met him," Opal argued.
Lionel sighed in irritation. "Once he gives birth, you can dissect his brain, if you like."
"But…" Dr. Largess looked at them in alarm. "The baby-"
"Will be under my care," Lionel informed him, giving the man a sharp raise in his brow. "Lex isn't capable of parenting. He's a broken man in many ways and accrues many enemies. His daughter will be safer under my care."
His fingers touched the screen gently. "You can wait to do your tests on him until after she's born."
Deighton and Largess looked at one another but for a second before busying themselves with their papers. Once they'd left the room, Opal murmured, "Daddy has an ability too, if you hadn't noticed."
"He does not," Largess argued, keeping his voice low.
"He'll never admit it. We matched his brainwaves with Lucas. They're both as slick as snake oil. Have you ever tried arguing with the man? Really arguing with him?" Opal shook her head. "He's charming. I'll give him that. And he can charm almost anyone into believing whatever he wants them to believe. That's why half the people here keep working him, why his wife stayed with him all those years despite the infidelity and his beating her kid, why his sons didn't run screaming from a man who will casually steal their children and dissect their brains. You want to keep your wits? Don't make eye contact, and don't disagree too forcefully. You'd better have decent juju yourself, if you don't want to get snow jobbed by Lionel Luthor," she warned.
Largess shook his head, dismissing it as gossip, and Deighton left him alone, but the thought kept nagging him. Deighton had been around much longer than he had, despite her apparent youth. She would have seen a thing or two.
***
Clark sat cross-legged on the floor of Lex's office with papers spread out around him. Lori was sitting across from him and balancing her pen between her upper lip and her nose. Clark had caught up on most of his Comp papers, and all of his Spanish and Calculus homework. Aside from a few tests, he was doing well, and it was serving as a good distraction.
What he found, however, was that his mind never stopped working on the problem of finding Lex. Since he was working in LuthorCorp central, he listened in on Chloe and Mercy's conversations and the reports coming in to them. Mentally he had a map in his head that he was crossing locations off of.
The best part was that after all of this thinking, Clark was very tired, and usually he would dream of Lex. Sometimes Lex didn't interact much, and his dreams seemed abstract and soupy, the way that dreams tended to be. But sometimes they seemed so real, as though Lex were right there with him, and those he loved the best.
Mercy entered and nodded to Clark wearily as she walked briskly to the desk. She stopped for a moment and looked at them. "Oh, hey there, Ariel."
Lori looked up and tilted her head far to the side. "I'm Lori."
"Yes, princess," Mercy said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "I know."
She made it back to the desk and began checking through a file on the computer.
Clark blinked, looking up from his book, then arched a brow. "You two know each other?"
"Yeah," Lori nodded. "Met her a couple of months ago. She got me out of a jam. And by jam, I mean jail cell."
Clark blinked again. "You? In jail? For what, public weirdness? Aggressive veganism?"
"No." Lori wrinkled her nose and put her hands between her crossed legs as she stretched. "Flipped out. There was this guy. And he killed my brother trying to get something he wanted from him. I found him and I… kind of lost control. Then things got out of hand, and I got scared, which made it worse."
"I guess it must have. And you went to jail for it?" Clark asked.
"Well, Mercy got me out."
"Persons in Black to the rescue," Mercy murmured from her computer.
"Does Lex know you too?" Clark couldn't imagine Lex's employee getting Lori out of jail without his knowledge.
"I know him. I told you I was sorry he was missing," Lori said earnestly.
Clark looked up into Lori's huge blue eyes, frowning as something niggled at the back of his memory. "Have… where was it that the police picked you up?"
"The Metropolis Museum. The guy was there trying to do a business deal or something," Lori told him.
Clark studied her eyes with a frown.
"Don't look at me like that."
Lori turned her head, and Clark reached up and turned her head in his hand so she would look at him.
"We met, didn't we?"
"Yeah," she admitted.
Clark waited for her eyes to flicker, and sure enough, the third eyelid eventually came up and blinked vertically. He remembered what she had looked like then, with a long, serpent-like tail and webbed fingers. Her face had definitely been more fishlike, but Clark was surprised that he hadn't been fully conscious that he'd met her before. Maybe he'd been distracted when he'd met her again at the bursar's office. Maybe he should get a pair of glasses.
"How… how do you do that? This?" Clark moved his finger up and down to indicate her appearance.
She looked down and pulled her foot out, wiggling her toes at him. There was a little pearly ring on her second toe. Clark took her ankle and looked more closely at it.
"A toe-ring?"
"Well, it's the stone in the middle, see? It allows me to keep a human form," Lori explained.
"How?"
"Magic."
Clark gave her a skeptical look, but she just shrugged. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Going to college," Lori said simply, as if it should be obvious.
"What, aren't the schools in Atlantis good?" Clark joked, letting go of her foot.
"Not as good as the ones up here," she replied seriously. "Anyway, my brother and I were both going, and when he was having a swim in the harbor, he got caught and killed. It's not good to spend a lot of time in the waters when you're this far inland."
"And you guys are from the waters off the coast of California?"
"Pretty much."
Clark raked a hand through his hair. "That's amazing."
"That's home."
Clark nodded silently, thinking how lonely this strange, strange girl must feel up here with all the humans. No wonder she tried to force her company on him. He was another freak, like her, and he'd tried to help her when she'd been so distressed at the museum.
"Thank for helping me get caught up," Clark said sincerely.
"No problem. I owed you." Lori leaned back and tilted her head to the side awkwardly. Now Clark knew that it had to do with a different biology and not just some preternatural flexibility. Lori blinked her third eyelids twice. "I hope you find your Lex. It's bad when you lose someone. It's worse when they have developing eggs inside them."
"You could put it that way." Clark sighed.
"If you need anything, or um… if you think there's any way I can help, give me a call."
Clark nodded again and put his concentration back into his studies. He had to try to make this work, just until he figured out where to look next.
***
"I wish you were here," Lex murmurs, holding Clark's hand firmly as they look at the ultrasound monitor. They are alone.
"I am here," Clark says, looking up at the screen in amazement. "She's so beautiful, Lex. Oh, look at you!"
Lex closes his eyes and laughs. "I knew you'd love this. You're such a fetishist."
"What fetish?" Clark kneels by the bed and caresses the side of Lex's belly. "I'm so happy she's growing."
"The doctors keep complaining about how she's developing, but I don't have a lot of control. They won't even let me go out into the winter garden for some fresh air." Lex purses his lips in annoyance and runs his fingers through Clark's hair. "Basically it's just- eat your dinner, take your meds..."
Lex heaves a sigh and stares at the violet fish swimming throughout his hospital room.
"I hate doctors."
Clark looks up and sits on the side of Lex's bed. "I checked Metropolis General, Lex. Mercy and Chloe looked at every hospital in the area. They don't have you. Are you sure that's where this is?"
"What?" Lex frowns and allows Clark to take his hand again. "I… Clark, it's distinctly possible that they're keeping me somewhere else. You've seen the window."
Clark looks over to the window, then up to the wall, where water was dribbling down the walls. "Not a very good hospital. They can't afford proper roofing."
"How droll you are," Lex says dejectedly.
"You're too down. Let's go somewhere else."
"I can't leave-"
"We can go anywhere we want," Clark insists, helping Lex out of the bed and taking him in his arms. "Remember that night? It was just a day or two after you'd gotten back from… Fine."
"God, I was so tired," Lex murmurs. He feels them swaying back and forth and rests his head on Clark's shoulder. "And moody."
"Why are we putting the moody thing in past tense?"
"Hush, you." Lex closes his eyes and lets Clark lead, dancing them around the room until he wills them to be in the driveway of the castle, next to the Kent truck. "Here's where I want to be."
"Me too. Lex, can you figure out where you are? If you're not in the hospital, maybe we could get some clues. You can help us-"
"Well, it helps me to know that I'm not in the hospital. I didn't trust the doctors much to begin with." Lex sighs and smells Clark's neck. Even though he's dreaming, the scent that is evoked when he is awake is still there. "God, I love your scent. How did I never notice that before?"
"Maybe I went into heat for the first time," Clark jokes, swinging Lex around for a dip.
"You're not going to be able to do this for much longer," Lex informs him.
Clark just leans over and kisses him, slowly and thoroughly, like he's wanted to for a long, long time. Before he even knew what it meant to want those beautiful lips.
"Lex, I will be able to carry you no matter what. I'm a strapping young man."
"Are you serious?" Lex asks, creasing his eyes suspiciously and tilting his head back.
Clark pulls him upright again and holds him tight. "I've never been more serious. I…"
"Clark, you don't have to say anything else. I'm just glad to have you however I can. It isn't fair to ask you-"
Clark puts his hands on Lex’s shoulders, gently. He can hear Lex’s heart pounding so quickly. “Lex, this past year has been hell for me. Being away from you, it’s just not something I can handle. I want this… You…”
“Us?” Lex asks uncertainly.
Clark’s mouth presses into a fine line. “If you cry, I want to be there to hold you. If you get sick or dizzy, I want to be there to catch you when you fall.” He laughs softly. “If you’re scared or confused, I want to be right beside you just as scared and confused so you know you aren’t alone. I want to be there, every smile, frown, every awesome moment and every fight. I want to be there to touch you, all of you. Every part of you-“ His fingers caress the back of Lex’s head. “Every muscle, every curve. Heh, every inch and pound you gain with the baby. I don’t want to miss another kick or cramp or bad dream or… trip to the ice cream shop to sate a craving.”
“Clark…” Lex starts to shake his head. “I don’t know what this is-“
“I don’t care if the baby isn’t mine. She’s part of you, so I’ll love her. The end.” Clark leans in closer, then drops down on his knee as Lex’s eyes widen. This might be a mistake, but Clark can't pull back now. He knows he has to do these things when he has the courage, or he'll never be able to. “I love you more than anything else in this world. Please, let me do that. I know I’m gonna screw up, but just let me try to love you right.”
“Clark, get up," Lex whispers, looking down at Clark. On bended knee.
“No.” Clark reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a silver band studded with graceful diamonds.
“What… are you doing?”
Clark takes Lex’s hand and slips the ring on it then intertwines their fingers, looking up into Lex’s eyes hopefully. “Please, Lex. Forgive me, and let me be a part of your life with the baby.”
“You’re… willing to do that?”
Clark throws his head back and laughs. "I wouldn't ask if I didn't mean it."
Lex lowers himself in front of Clark, and they embrace tightly.
When Lex opened his eyes, he grimaced at the reality of the waking world that persisted on existing to torment him. He looked down at his left hand, which was sadly bare, then up at the door to his room. They'd put a treadmill in his room since complaining that his blood pressure was high-no wonder; he was stressed.
Still, he'd never seen the hospital outside of his room. There was no window. No other patients. Just the one nurse and doctor, and his father. A few orderlies that came through, but all the same ones. Lex's heart began to pound again as he realized his dreams, however unlikely, might have a grain of truth to them that his waking mind didn't want to grasp.
It was a few days before he had his chance.
Lex walked on the treadmill in sleek pajamas, waiting for Opal to take his vitals. Luckily, she was demanding a urine sample. He took the glass of water she offered and chugged the glass halfway down, then paused. When she looked back, he pretended to still be working on it. He gave her a nod.
"You finish that while I'm gone." Opal put the sample cup on his nightstand. "I'll be right back."
"How'm I doing?" he asked, leaning his head back against the wall.
"I think with some regular exercise, you should be doing better. I'm not thrilled about this Vitamin D deficiency, though. Maybe we can get you a sunlamp in here."
Lex rolled his eyes. She chuckled as she left the room. While the door was open, he leaned down quickly and slipped the screw he'd pried out of his bed into the hinges. Just as he'd suspected, the door didn't close all the way. So the lock didn't click. Lex smirked, grabbed the cup, and headed to the bathroom. When she returned, his sample was waiting for her, and her model patient was back on the treadmill, huffing it like a good boy.
Lex knew that he had to wait until he could be sure no doctors who knew him would be coming. He wasn't sure how much he would need. A peek at another chart? Or maybe another patient so that he could find out what hospital he was in? He would figure it out when he saw it. Until then, he did his best to imitate a man with Stockhom syndrome. He ate what he given. He took his meds as was told. When they asked for blood, he did not complain. He even smiled a little and flirted with Opal.
When he was able to gauge a break in the visits from the doctors, Lex made his move. He should have at least three hours, or so he guessed since he didn't have a watch, before anyone came to look at him. He got out of his bed, jerked the IV out of his hand, and went to the door, peeking his head out tentatively before he made another move. What he saw stopped him momentarily.
He wasn't in a hospital, but in a dank dungeon of some kind. A row of cells with barred windows surrounded his posh little prison. He almost retreated back into his cell, which was at least warmer than this frightening horror film of a hallway, and acceptable to his bare feet. Harder to run away without shoes, Lex guessed. He shook his head and stepped out. What would he tell Clark in his dreams if he didn't find out anything?
Lex knew he was probably losing his mind, but he continued down the hallway for a little bit, looking around before he quickened his pace. If he had the chance, he would have to get out of there.
Five minutes later, the cold of the floor was making his toes grow numb, and then his foot turned on the uneven, damp stone floor. A hand reached out of one of the cells and caught him.
"Mr. Luthor?"
Lex made it to his feet and looked inside the cell. It took him a moment to recognize the boy, one who he'd let go after the boy had learned to control his immense strength.
"Lowell? How did you get in here?" Lex peered around the cell. "How are they keeping you here? Where is here?"
"You gots questions, boss. I dunno. I woke up here one day. They got this collar on me that cancels out my powers, so I only get it off when they test on me," Lowell told him. "Why are you here? They told us that you'd put me in here, but… I didn't believe them…"
"Who's us?"
Lowell scowled. "Me. Everyone from 33.1. Well, not everyone, but a lot of them. You feelin' okay?"
"Not especially. I need to find out where we are. I… We're all going to have to get out of here." Lex looked around the room. "Underground, or something. You think?"
"Maybe." Lowell shrugged. "Look, I can't help you, but if you run fast, maybe you can get out. But not the way you were going. That way." He pointed in the other direction. "That's where they go when they're done talking and testing people. The way you're going's got scarier freaks."
Lex nodded. "Thank you, Lowell. If I get out of here, I'll send someone back to help spring you guys out, okay?"
"Good luck, boss." Lowell let go of Lex's arm and made a shushing motion to the cell across from him.
Lex looked up and saw that several of them had come to the edge of their cells, some of whom he recognized, but if he were to do any good, he didn't have time for reunions. He gave them a nod and hurried down the hallway, keeping his eyes sharpened for anything like a door. A few people reached out of their cells at him, but mostly they kept quiet. Solidarity among freaks.
When shoes began to collide with the puddles on the floor, Lex looked around wildly for someplace to hide. Of course there was no place, and he pressed himself against the wall. There was no hope that they wouldn't see him. Lex shuddered and closed his eyes.
They walked past. Without a word. Lex spotted his father chatting with Opal, who was dressed not in her pink nurses' scrubs but a pristine lab coat. How… quaintly sexist. And quite like his father. Have the girl mad scientist play the nurse.
Taking a deep breath, Lex frowned, wondering how they hadn't seen him, but counted his blessings and began to move forward again. His leg was caught on something though, and he looked down to realize that his body was invisible. Lex smiled and crouched down.
"Ghost? They didn't figure out your power, did they?" Lex said very, very quietly. The boy's face appeared through his cell as he fazed his body through. Lex touched his pale blond hair and took the boy's hand. "Come with me. We have to get information, or get out of here."
Ghost shook his head silently, but came along with Lex as he moved through the long hallway. Lex felt some hope as he saw a light, as clichéd as it seemed, and moved them forward. Ghost began to tug on his hand again and shake his head, but Lex wasn't going to stop now.
There was a set of stairs, and slowly, Lex paced himself as he made his way up. He'd gotten a bit out of shape lying around in that cell for so long. The extra weight didn't help, but mentally, he kept repeating to himself that he was doing it for her.
They reached the door, and Lex put his hand on the handle. Of course it was locked. Lex looked down at Ghost. "Can you help me out, little guy?"
Ghost shook his head again and put his hand on the door.
"I wish you could talk, Ghost. I've got to find out what this place is, okay. Look." Lex leaned down and took Ghost's hand, pressing it to his belly. "This is my daughter. You know I'm one of you? I can't let them hurt her, and to help you guys out, I need to be able to let people know where we are."
Ghost sucked on his lower lip and looked up at Lex with glassy blue eyes. He sighed and reached into the door, opening it from the other side.
"Thank you," Lex whispered to him, petting his soft hair. He took the door and stepped through it. The room was significantly cleaner, and less wet, but it still looked like part of a dungeon. There were two doors. The one he'd come through and the one on the opposite side of the room. Ghost clung to his side and started to cry as the guard turned from a wall of screens where he had been watching a series of tests in action.
"Hey!" The man stood up and rushed at them.
Lex realized that for some reason Ghost's ability wasn't working here, obviously the reason the boy hadn't escaped yet. Lex refused to go back, so he tried to skirt around the guard. Ghost quickly let Lex go and tangled himself up in the guard's legs like a cat.
"Damn brat!" the man cried, pulling out his gun.
Eyes bulging, Lex lunged for the guard, pushing his arm up and away from the boy. Then he kneed the guard in the groin and pulled his gun away, pointing it at him.
"Unlock the door," Lex ordered. "Who pulls a gun on a child?"
The guard raised his hands and moved toward the other door, his other hand in the air as he did so. "Take it easy, freak. I'm doing it. You know you can't use your psychic, whatever the hell up here, right?"
"My abilities aren't so flashy. My greatest ability so far is to get pregnant. Wait." Lex pressed the gun against the man's face. "Where are we? Where is this place? Are we in Metropolis still?"
"Well, not in Metropolis. We're kind of under it, I think." The guard swallowed, giving Lex a look up and down. "Did you just say you were pregnant?"
Lex pursed his lips and pulled the trigger back just a bit. "Don't make me have a 'mood swing' on your ass. What's your name?"
"Barry."
"Barry. We're under Metropolis. How?"
"Under the harbor, there's-"
The door behind them burst open with more guards, who slammed Lex against a console.
"Nice one, Barry," a guard snapped.
"Don’t look at me. One of them needs a collar," Barry complained. "That’s the medtechs' jobs. Careful with the bald one."
"Why? He was going to shoot you."
"That one's the boss' son, morons," a female guard with short cropped red hair said, putting her gun away as Barry took Ghost in hand. She walked over to one of the consoles and pulled out a few bottles and a syringe, which she began to load up with the fluid inside the bottles.
Lex sighed and looked up at the ceiling in frustration. They'd gotten so far. As his eyes closed and they injected him with yet another sedative, he thought, at least, he knew where he was, sort of.
***
It was one thing for Lena to see Clark so out of it. This was the love of his life gone missing, and from Lena's perspective, Clark hadn't entirely had it together before Lex had disappeared.
However, it had been quite another thing to come into the office to find Chloe with her head in her hands, shaking beside a bottle of painkillers. Chloe, despite her occasional recklessness, was a good caretaker of the people around her. While Clark might save her physically, she rarely allowed other people to see her needing help in any substantial, emotional way. Other than Mercy, of course.
And, of course, Lena sensed what Chloe was going through, and therefore she knew when the surface did not match Chloe's actual temperament. Something had happened that morning when she'd tried to question Lionel. Chloe felt strangely invaded, and when questioned, she mentioned having felt that way before around Lionel, explaining to Lena her relationship with Lex's father. More than a few stabs of guilt throbbed around her heart.
After reassuring the young woman, Lena hoped that there was something she could do. Particularly since there hadn't been anything for her to do yet.
When Lionel reappeared in the LuthorCorp lobby, Lena approached him without thinking and moved in closer than she'd ever suspected she dared.
"Where is Lex, Lionel Luthor?" Lena asked in a direct tone.
Lionel turned around. Something stirred in him. He was wearing sunglasses, but she could feel the slight arousal that told her he was looking her over.
"Unfortunately, I don't know… Might I have your name, miss?" Lionel asked with effusive warmth as he removed his glasses.
"Elena Luciano. You should remember me… Although maybe not. I guess you've got a lot of appointments in your big office," Lena replied coolly. "Where is Lex?
He paused, watching her, particularly her eyes for a long moment, and in the moment, Lena felt a click just before he spoke. "I have no idea what you are talking about."
Smugness. Insufferable smugness.
Oh, he was proud of what he had done.
"No? My mistake," she replied with a tight smile. Chloe had been onto him. Pity he was human, and not a computer. She'd have more influence with the latter.
Lionel reached over and caught her bicep. "No, it's no problem. You're Lex's friend, are you not? We should meet for lunch. I'd like to know what you have found regarding his absence so far."
"That's okay. I'm not hungry, and I have a lot of work to do."
"I insist," he said lightly. "The meal is on me. You won't have tasted the like." Lionel's grip grew firmer, and as his eyes bore into hers, she felt a slight pushing, then frustration and almost anger.
She pulled her arm away and took a step back. "No, thank you. Goodbye."
There was a shock of confusion as she left him quickly for the private elevator up to Lex's office. She had to get back up and have a word with Mercy. The last thing she wanted was for Lionel to realize she was on to him and move Lex before they had a chance to get him back. One thing she was certain of, however, was that she was the lucky sibling, to not have grown up with that man constantly pushing into her mind.