The Worst Case

They arrived back at the hotel and Lex glanced at the digital clock that was glowing at him behind the glass plated door of the entertainment center. Lex groaned; it was past midnight again. He wanted all the sleep he could get while he was here. He threw his things aside, the briefcase he had left in the car clattered and skidded to a stop against the wall. There was nothing important in it, so what did it matter? Lionel felt behind him and shut the door, locking it as he listened to his son. At least there's only the rest of the month before he can go home, to Clark. Why the fuck did he have to come here anyway? He flung his jacket aggressively down onto the coffee table, making the buttons click rather loudly as he connected with the glass. "Lex!"

"Fuck off, Dad. I am not in the mood for your shit right now."

Lionel raised quizzical eyebrows at his son's muffled and retreating voice, and he began his way to the couch since he wasn't that tired right now. His sensitized ears were assailed by the sharp and abrupt slam of Lex's bedroom door as his son stalked through its threshold and flung it shut behind himself. The older man shook his head and sat himself down on the soft leather material covering the plush cushions and felt for the remote control.

Lex pulled the light sweater he had worn to the ball over his head and threw it onto the bed as he made his way to the bathroom. He stopped in front of the sink and looked at his scowling features. He let them slowly relax as he calmed his breathing and he turned the water on, testing it with a finger. He leaned down over the sink and cupped his hands under the stream of liquid before lifting his hands to splash the cool water on his face. After several more douses, Lex picked up the towel sitting to the side of the sink and pressed it against his face. The soft fluff of it was nice against his cool, damp skin and he still wanted to scream into the material. He threw it against the mirror and it fell down to the cavity in the porcelain. God, he wanted to sleep; it was the quickest way to make the time pass while he was here, but he couldn't leave his father for some reason. He had to finish this.

Lionel brought a hand to his ear and pressed down slightly just before the opening to try and stop the faint ringing. He found the buttons he'd mostly memorized the other day and pressed the correct ones to begin the music. It was only half way through the first song that played when Lex's door swung open and a cool breeze from his open window ran into the room. Lex always did like the cool air for sleeping. Lionel sighed and leaned back against the couch more; sinking into it as he paused the music. Lex had every intention of stomping out and confronting his father, but when his eyes laid upon the scene before him, he faltered and was overcome by a sense of... regret?

Lex walked to the couch a bit sluggishly and sat down heavily, making the seat between the two of them puff up. "Why did you go and find Thorton after I left?" He asked, his tone surprisingly even, knowing how emotionally charged that he had been the past little while. Lex shifted himself on the couch and made himself comfortable. He tilted his body to one side, into the corner of the couch to look at his father more clearly.

"His slut of a daughter was harassing you," Lionel barked quietly to his son while absently playing with the remote control for the stereo.

"I wouldn't classify that as harrassment, Dad," Lex replied snidely. "And I can take care of myself, as well."

Okay, this wasn't starting off well; for either of them. Lex was strangely starting to like the caring presence of this man who'd kidnapped his father, Lionel Luthor. Even if it only flashed up once in a while, it was alright when it lasted if it wasn't at such inappropriate times that it decided to show its ugly face. It was quiet for a moment between them. The only sound Lex heard was his own saliva being shifted around inside his mouth with his tongue, and the pads of Lionel's fingers tapping on the sides of the remote he held in his hands.

"I know why you won't move back to Metropolis, Lex," was what Lionel broke the silence with. He felt he had to say something to win his son's respect and possibly some sort of affection. He didn't know what he wanted, but he wanted Lex to survive.

Lex bristled at the subject and glared a useless glare at his father. "You're happy there. And I want that for you," Lionel continued. Lex's glare took on another dimension, morphing into a frown. Maybe he should let Lionel speak, and get this out of his system, if it wasn't permanent, or only in private.

"I know you well enough to understand you won't settle down with a woman." Lex was about to interrupt, but quickly remembered his previous thoughts. "You'd be searching for someone to equal your mother." Lionel's words became softer as he trailed off at the mention of his late wife, and Lex took a moment to actually listen and think about his father's words. He had spent his whole life trying to shut his father's words out. Not wanting to hear about hostile takeovers, or 'Lex, you'll fail if you don't do this, or that,' or ways to run a business. Lex's switch to some of the more ethical practices for the plant had upset his father, but Lionel had soon dropped it when Lex *honestly* had no time to deal with him.

He felt strangely aware that Lionel was proud of him, for his ability to have blown him off with a valid excuse. Lex almost scoffed; they were never a good enough reason before, but maybe something had changed. "I don't know how serious you are... but I want you to have at least some sort of family after I'm gone." Lionel said, breathing in deeply through his nose. Ah, after he's gone. Lex had almost been fooled. Lionel may or may not want him to have a family, but he wants Lex to have an heir to continue the legacy of the Luthors even after Lex is dead and gone.

But if his father wanted to take his relationship with Clark serious, then so be it; Lex wasn't going to argue. He just wanted to go to sleep and forget his father was ever having a mental break down and being sentimental. "Good night, Dad," Lex said softly, sitting up and patting his father's leg. He stood up from the couch and made his way quietly back to his room. Upon approaching the door, a small crack had caught his attention. He sighed softly to himself and ran a finger down the split in the wood. Nothing like Clark's strength, but he would have to control himself. He plopped himself down onto his bed and dragged the blanket up over him, not caring that his pants were still on. God, he wanted to see Clark; everything would be better then. He really missed his lover.

@>*~

Clark stretched his legs out, tangling the covers even more around his limbs. He moaned happily as he made to roll over onto his stomach, feeling a sense of relief that the baby was out of his body. Instead of feeling the absolute comfort that his bed provided, well, as much as it could without Lex there, he winced as his chest rubbed against the sheets underneath him.

He rolled out of bed, thinking vaguely that he shouldn't have felt the irritating pain that he had, and made his way grumpily towards the bathroom. Clark stumbled almost blindly as he wiped the sleep out from his eyes on the way, almost running into his door frame.

After releasing the built up pressure to his bladder he moved to wash his hands and face, he let out a yawn and looked into the mirror above the sink in the bathroom. He looked... tired still. He ran his hands absently down his body, feeling the once again firm abs and frowning a bit when he felt some excess flab at his sides, nothing that some good farm labor wouldn't clear up. He brushed at an itch on his chest as he turned to leave, and it felt rather sensitive, almost raw. He turned back to the mirror and glanced at the slightly reddened flesh around his nipples.

"Oh, great. I'm growing..." Clark shoved his head into his hands and groaned as he walked back to his room, hoping he could find something to smack his head against. The teen patted down his hair and pulled a t-shirt over his head, and slipping on some sweat pants over his boxers, before going downstairs. As he walked down the stairs, the up and down motion that his shirt made over his chest made it feel even more raw, and almost swollen as his arms swung as he walked down the steps of the stairs to the kitchen.

He frowned as he caught his reflection in the glass of a framed painting at the turn in the stairs. He didn't want to turn into a woman now. But how else would his baby be fed? They didn't even know if it would survive on human foods in the beginning of its life. Lex would hate him if he grew breasts. Fuck, he had to tell Lex about the baby. There were only a couple more weeks before his boyfriend would return.

Clark sighed and let the worry settle over him as he made his way over to the fridge. His mother turned at the sound of his movements and smiled at him, before a slightly concerned look settled over her features. Clark almost stopped dead at the look; did he look that bad? "Clark, your shirt," she pointed vaguely.

He tilted his head down so his chin was resting against his chest and looked over the slightly tight, light grey t-shirt. There was a wet spot there, alright. "It's wet," Martha identified, feeling like she was stating the obvious. She reached out to brush at it after she'd closed the distance between her and her son. When her finger ran over the wet spot, she felt a small bump underneath and Clark gasped, snatching his hand up to cover his right breast.

In turn, Martha jerked her own hand back to her personal space at the abrupt response from Clark. She looked at him, concern clearly written on her face as she let a hopeful look come to her face. Clark still looked and felt worried about what was happening to him, but he obligingly lifted his shirt, knowing what she wanted to check.

She gave a slight surprised gasp of happiness, and Clark wanted to die. He looked absolutely depressed and didn't think he could ever bring himself to be happy about being able to squirt milk out of his male chest. Unless he was going to have a naturally occurring sex change that would be a very bad new 'ability.' He closed his eyes and prayed to God that didn't happen.

"It's milk!" She said, almost startled, looking up to Clark. He gave a weak smile and belatedly wondered where his daughter was. He hadn't heard any crying the night before, but he had been pretty tired.

After a completely embarrassing conversation with his mother, he grudgingly took the offered bottle from his mother and made his way back upstairs to the bathroom. He stood in front of the sink again, and set the bottle down before taking his shirt off. He looked down at his nipples and slowly brought a hand up to one of them. He pressed gently around the edge and it felt squishy. He pressed a bit harder and it hurt. He frowned and brought his other hand to join its partner and used his fore finger and thumb from each hand and tilted his nipple up so he could see where the milk was supposed to come out.

He didn't see any hole, so he squeezed experimentally and was rewarded with a squirt of milk to the face. He was startled at first, but he managed to laugh despite the stupid situation he was in. He angled himself downwards and tested out this squirting business before uncapping the bottle and attempting to fill it at least half way.

Clark got just a bit under half when he stopped squeezing himself, and held up the bottle, gauging how well he did. He felt embarrassed about this enough, and hadn't wanted the baby to suck from his nipples. He screwed the cap onto the bottle again and went back downstairs.

When he reached the kitchen, his mother was already sitting at the table with his daughter in her arms, cooing to her softly. Clark smiled at the picture and pulled out a chair beside his mother. He set the bottle down and Martha smiled at him and he almost wanted to pull his head in like a turtle and hide. She handed him his baby girl and he settled her in his arms before grabbing the bottle from the table. He mimicked what he had done the day before with the bottle when his parents got home, and she opened her mouth to allow the plastic nipple inside.

Martha sat close to her son and grandchild, and she talked quietly to Clark, knowing that he was undoubtedly stressed out about this whole thing and a lot more than he was showing. She surmised that her opinion was that he wouldn't lactate for more than the first week or so, just to provide the baby with its immunizations for its first days of life, and then it would stop. His mother patted his shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze before kissing him on the cheek and returning to her work.

He gave a small self depreciating chuckle; he was insecure about his masculinity. He *really* just wanted to smack his head repeatedly against something very very hard right now. He almost wanted to cry because it was slowly dawning on him that the baby was basically going to encroach on his teenage years, and of course the fact that he's apparently lactating now.

Clark knew his parents would help with everything, but he knew they would also be letting him do most of the work. Since it was still summer, he had the time to fully take care of his baby, but when Clark went back to school, his parents would have to watch the girl a bit more regularly. He would definitely need his sleep for the next day at school, and he knew it was almost their way of teaching him a lesson; that he should have been more careful.

Over the next weeks, the lactation did indeed trail off, and his baby was happy and healthy as far as they could tell. He had fears about her legality and how it would be presented to the law and hospitals, but he decided to let Lex help them out with that. His father disapproved of letting a Luthor have that much control over something, but he couldn't really talk since he'd done it himself and knew there was almost no way around it. Clark was dreading telling Lex and almost wanted his boyfriend to stay away so that things would stay the same. He knew that was a selfish thing to do, since he knew Lex was having a tough time in Europe with Lionel and definitely wanted to come home.

Clark sighed as he rushed to his daughter's bed and looked over her in her crib. This was the third time she had woken up, and Clark was almost sleepwalking instead of being awake. He was getting used to doing the milking himself thing, but it was still embarrassing every time, even if he was in the bathroom and no one was watching; they always knew exactly what had gone on, though.

"Mommy is very tired!" God, what had he just said? He lifted his daughter into his arms and tried to soothe her back to sleep. What the hell had he gotten himself into? He loved his daughter, but now he wasn't sure if he wanted this all the time. Having a baby was fine with him, but it would cut into his time. He saw how the single mothers around Smallville were; they had no time to themselves and half the time looked really burnt out. He sighed and continued stroking Lillian's head, hoping she'd go back to sleep soon so that he could get some rest himself.

@>*~

Clark walked into the farm house and set his bookbag into a chair before walking through the kitchen, to the living room, and plopping himself down onto the couch. School had started a week ago and with that and his daughter, he had been worn out from everything. He had asked his parents if he could just stop going to school and get his GED instead, but his father told him that he was to finish and get his diploma, child or no child. His father had thrown a platitude at him, as usual; 'you've made your bed, now sleep in it.' Clark was not happy.

He was startled out of his thoughts when the phone rang, and he reached over to the side table to grab the cordless that had been left there. "Hello?"

"Hey, Love."

"Lex!" Clark exclaimed, his day brightening and a new gloom settling over it all at once; he still had to tell Lex about the baby. "How's it going? When are you coming back?" Clark asked, getting up and walking to the kitchen to grab a bottle. He had fallen into a habit of making his daughter a bottle of formula at the same time after school everyday. His parents watched her during the day while he was at school, but once he was home it was his turn to take care of her, of course, with exceptions for when he had homework to do.

Lex took a calming breath to hide his excitement. "Well, right now I'm at the airport," he paused for a moment, "Waiting to be picked up for the ride back to Smallville." He exhaled and then frowned when he heard a loud clatter, as if Clark had dropped something. "Clark?" He asked, concerned.

"You're here, *now*?" Clark asked, his breathing picking up as he became steadily anxious. His nervousness had been wearing down as he got used to the idea about a baby, and with all his energy focused on taking care of her, he had all but forgotten about telling Lex. Now all the panic in the world rushed back into Clark's chest.

"Yes, Love," Lex chuckled, but still wondered what the reason for Clark's startled response was. He would find out, though, in due time. "I got back about ten minutes ago," Lex replied, watching his father walk towards him. "Are you going to come meet me at the castle?"

Clark swallowed. "Yeah of course," he'd have to clear it with his mother first, "When should I be there?"

Lex pushed his shirt sleeve back to expose his wristwatch, looking at the time. "Meet me there in, say, an hour? We're taking the helicopter back to the castle."

"Okay, I'll be there. See you then," Clark said, gripping the bottle nervously in his hand.

"I'll be waiting. Love you."

"Love you too, Lex," Clark said as he hung up the phone. Taking a deep breath, he called rather loudly for his mother. He leaned back against the counter and unscrewed the lid from the bottle, waiting for his mother.

Martha came down the stairs with her granddaughter in her arms. "Clark, I'm here," she started, "You don't have to yell." She stopped in front of Clark, raising an eyebrow at him. She had heard him talking, and he usually didn't talk to himself, and Jonathan wasn't here right now. "Who was that on the phone?"

"It was Lex, Mom!" Clark sounded a bit too upset for it to have been a nice call from his boyfriend. "He's getting on the helicopter on his way to the castle. I told him I'd meet him there in an hour. I know I'm supposed to take Lillian, but I need to talk to him alone first," he all but pleaded. "Could you and Dad watch her while I'm over there?" he asked, fidgeting with pent up energy and anxiety.

Martha sighed and took the offered bottle from his hand. "Just this one time, Clark. But you're going to have to tell him very soon about Lillian."

Clark hugged his mother awkwardly since she still held his daughter in her arms and then bent down to kiss Lillian's forehead. "I know. I will. I'm just not sure how yet," he said, looking down.

"Go ahead and go. Don't keep him waiting." Clark smiled at her and went to walk out the door when he turned around at his name. "Make sure to use protection this time, okay, Clark?"

Clark felt his face heat instantly with a blush and he mumbled his acknowledgement before superspeeding out of there, before his mother could embarrass him any further.

@>*~

Clark slowed his running down to a normal pace as he got closer to the castle. Lex knew about his abilities, but everyone else didn't. He was about fifty-five minutes early, so he squeezed his way between the bars surrounding the perimeter of the castle and walked towards the gardens. The extra time he had let him think of how to tell Lex about his unexpected fatherhood.

He had lost track of the time when he heard the telltale sounds of the helicopter getting closer to the castle's grounds. Standing up from his seat on one of the garden's benches, he slowly made his way over to where the helicopter was fast approaching the landing pad. He bounced on the balls of his feet as he watched the helicopter land, waiting for his boyfriend to emerge from within.

Lex sighed in relief to finally be home. He snorted to himself; since when did he consider Smallville to be his home? He looked out through the front windshield to see his boyfriend waiting expectantly for him. Ah, that was it; Clark was the reason he thought of Smallville as his home. The thought and seeing Clark made him smile, before covering up his smile with his usual blank facade. He didn't need to be scaring the help.

Grabbing his personal luggage, Lex opened the door and stepped out of the helicopter. He turned back to the open doorway, waiting for his father. When Lionel was ready to step down, Lex extended his arm and led his father out of the helicopter, telling him to watch his head so he wouldn't smack it against the frame or get chopped by the whirling blades. As much as he'd love that, it just wouldn't be good.

Clark waited impatiently as he watched the two men make their way out of the helicopter. Once the two of them were safely away from the aircraft, Clark made his way closer to his boyfriend. He stopped a few feet away when he saw Lex hold up his hand a moment and turn back to his assistant and his father. He couldn't hear them, but he assumed they were telling the assistant to take Lionel back to the castle.

Lex waited until his father was a ways away from him before walking the rest of the distance to his boyfriend. Clark wasn't sure what to do since they had been apart for so long. He knew Lex, and he knew what he looked and felt like, but with him having been gone so long, it had felt a bit strange to be with him once again. Shaking the nervousness from himself, he closed the gap between them and hugged his boyfriend a little harder than was necessary. He loosened his grip when he heard a grunt of pain come out of Lex. "Sorry. God, I've missed you," Clark said, dropping his head into the hollow of Lex's neck.

"I've missed you too. How long can you stay tonight?" Lex asked hopefully as he took Clark by the hand and led him towards the castle. Clark pointedly looked down at their clasped hands and nodded towards where he saw Lionel walk off to. Lex smiled reassuringly at his boyfriend. "It's okay, Clark. My father knows."

Clark stopped, his hand clenching reflexively onto Lex's. He turned wide eyes onto his boyfriend, "He does?" Clark asked, before letting his eyes resume their usual state, and then shifting into almost a glare at Lex. "What'd he say?"

Lex pulled on Clark to get them walking again. "He didn't like it at first, but I got the oddest feeling that he let it slide since he wants to see me happy." Lex sighed, "There are times I just can not figure that man out," he said as the two of them walked up the steps leading to the entrance of the castle.

Clark smiled happily at his friend and they continued up the steps. After Lex checked in with his staff, and the cook, they made their way through the huge house to Lex's office. He dropped off his laptop and checked a few papers lying there. Clark waited for him, and Lex turned, smiling lazily at him and began walking towards the younger man. "I have massive jetlag," he said as he slipped his arms around Clark's pliant and willing waist, leaning his head into his lover's neck and giving a small kiss there.

Clark just settled into the embrace and brought his arms up to Lex's hips, nuzzling the side of his head against his boyfriend's. Lex turned them one hundred and eighty degrees and then slowly pulled his arms out from around Clark, gently pulling the teen towards him as he took a few steps backwards. Clark followed with a smile and Lex led them up the stairs, heading to his bedroom.

He wanted to lay down on the bed with Clark cuddled up beside him. Lex had missed him so much while he was gone, and was supremely glad that the long business trip was over. Lex had kicked his shoes off in the office and was now shucking his clothes off on the other side of the bed. Clark's back was facing him, the dark haired head was tilted down as he unlaced his sneakers.

Clark stood up for a moment to take the rest of his clothes off, turning around to face Lex across the bed between them, but he kept his boxers on. Lex did likewise and pulled back the covers for the two of them to get into bed. Clark lay on his side, facing the door as Lex snuggled up behind him.

Clark sighed and snuggled closer to his boyfriend, turning his head slightly so he could give him a 'welcome home' kiss. Lex pulled back from the kiss and buried his face in the back of Clark's neck, enjoying the feel and smell of his boyfriend. He tried to fall asleep, really he did, but he had been celibate for so long and he had missed the feel of Clark pressed up against him that he just couldn't sleep. Leaning back, he opened the drawer of his nightstand and rummaged around until he found the bottle of lube, bringing it back with him as he snuggled back into Clark.

Clark was slowly falling asleep as the tension of the past five months and Lex returning ebbed out of his weary body. He hadn't even noticed Lex moving around until he felt a hand at the waistband of his boxers. He turned his head slightly to look at Lex. "What are you doing?" he asked sleepily amused.

Lex had slipped his hand underneath the waistband of Clark's boxers and was running it up and down the taught cheeks. Lex leaned forward to whisper in his boyfriend's ear, "I want you." A small lick to Clark's ear lobe accompanied the finger that ran down between his cheeks.

Clark paused a moment, feeling a little uncomfortable, yet not able to stop himself from pressing back against the finger. It wasn't that he didn't want it, or want Lex, it had just been so long that he was a bit apprehensive. Seeing the need on Lex's face, he nodded and lifted his hips up to allow Lex to completely remove his underwear. Lex did that and then shuffled out of his own, and groped for the bottle he had placed between them. He squeezed some of the gel out onto his fingers and slowly brought it down to the crease of Clark's ass.

Clark moved his leg towards him a bit to give Lex easier access, propping it up slightly on his other knee. Lex rubbed a finger lightly over the hole, eliciting a soft moan from Clark. Taking that as encouragement to continue, he slowly worked a finger into his boyfriend, absently noting a slight looseness to the muscle but paying it no mind. For all he knew, Clark had masturbated constantly while he had been gone.

Removing his finger, he quickly added a second, scissoring them. Satisfied with his preparations, Lex squeezed a little more onto his hand and brought it down to his erection, coating it quickly before lining himself up to the ready hole. Clark pushed his ass back towards Lex as he felt him slowly entering his body. Lex began to thrust slowly at first, but picking up speed as the tight, wet heat engulfed his straining erection.

Clark moaned at every thrust, enjoying the feel of his boyfriend's hard cock rubbing against his prostate. Clark closed his eyes as he felt his body teeter on the edge of orgasm. Clark suddenly opened his eyes wide when he felt Lex's hand slip around to fondle his balls slightly, as much as he could reach from between his legs. He also remembered what his mother had said to him, and not wanting to be in a position that he couldn't get out of easily without pulling harshly on Lex's limbs to push him away. He heard Lex groan in frustration when he quickly pulled away, and pulling Lex's cock out of his ass. Lex blinked his eyes, feeling hurt. "What's wrong? Why'd you pull away?" Lex asked, frowning at Clark.

Clark shifted his body so that he was lying on his back, and leaned up to place a quick kiss to Lex's lips. His boyfriend didn't respond, and he continued, "I want you on top of me," Clark said as he spread his legs in invitation, watching Lex expectantly.

Lex sighed quietly to himself before smiling at his boyfriend. He moved to settle himself between Clark's wide spread legs and angled his cock to Clark's still wet hole. He thrust in quickly, earning an eager gasp from Clark. Clark pulled Lex's head down towards his own and claimed his lips in a fierce kiss. Lex moaned, happily joined in to the kiss this time as he continued to thrust into his boyfriend. Clark wasn't sure what he was going to do if he got pregnant again before even telling Lex about his previous pregnancy since they weren't using a condom. Clark opened his eyes and moved his mouth towards Lex's ear. "I want you to pull out right before you finish and come on my belly," he whispered, crying out as Lex jerked hard against him.

Lex felt the warm breath against his ear and felt his cock jerk, followed by an unconscious hard thrust into Clark's body at the request. Clark's cry served to further him along to his orgasm, and he felt the slow warmth as it approached. He forced himself to stop and hold still, positioning his face in front of Clark's and hearing a small whine escape the full lips before he leaned down to capture them in a firm kiss. "God, that turns me on," Lex said when he pulled back and pulled out slowly from inside of Clark, only to shove himself back in roughly.

Clark cried out again, a low deep moan reverberating in his chest as Lex pumped into him. "Mmm," he hummed as Lex leaned farther down to his neck, biting into the flesh above his collar bone, and then sucking a dark bruise over top of it. Lex definitely liked the idea, and his thrusts and grinds against Clark's body surely showed him in favor of coming on his lover's stomach.

Clark was trying to enjoy the sensations, but he couldn't completely let go and feel everything. He was restrained, and his hands rubbed absently over Lex's back or neck, depending on whether Lex was leaning down, pressing against him, or propping himself up with his arms. Lex noticed the distracted look that kept crossing Clark's face, even if the younger man had his eyes closed, Lex could still read his face as well as his eyes. Closing his eyes was fine, whatever it took for him to concentrate on what he was experiencing, but it was still almost unnerving.

Lex leaned down onto his elbows on either side of Clark's head and slowed his thrusting down as he kissed the corner of his lover's lips. The soft kisses drew his eyes open and he looked up at Lex and smiled. A sigh crossed with a moan came out of him as Lex nibbled down his jaw, and then came up to look back down to him. Lex now saw his boyfriend's eyes, and he decided to ask. As much as he didn't want to bring this particular subject up while they were having sex, he had to know if he was to make it better. "What's bothering you? Is it my father?"

Clark listened to the soft question that was asked, Lex's voice hushed, almost like if he said it as quietly as he could it wouldn't have such an impact on the mood between them. "No," Clark replied. The father that's bothering me is you, he thought. That thought had been popping up in his head all day, and it seemed not even sex could stop it. He was still feeling a bit shy about being with Lex, but he did want it. He missed this.

"Then what's up?" Lex asked, speeding his pace up a bit now that it apparently wasn't such a big problem. If Clark was preoccupied, that was fine. And if Clark didn't want to be doing this, he would have said so, wouldn't he? He just hoped Clark was enjoying it; he hated to feel like he was using his friend just to get off right now.

"Nothing." Clark shook his head gently and lifted his hands to pull Lex into another kiss, "I just missed you. I'm getting used to this again. Us." Clark smiled up at him, feeling a bit better now that he'd got at least one worry out of him. Lex smiled back and kissed him again before leaning up and angling himself better so that he could hit Clark's prostate.

Lex was spurred on by Clark's moans of pleasure, squashing his doubt about the issue of Clark not having a good time. He sped up the pace of his thrusts again, feeling himself getting closer every time Clark tightened his muscles around his cock. Lex moaned loudly and Clark looked up to him with a look on his face that was completely edible, so Lex leaned down and licked his tongue over Clark's parted lips to twine with its counterpart.

Lex's body jerked forwards involuntarily as his orgasm grew closer. He moaned into Clark's mouth, giving it one more quick kiss as he pulled away and thrust hard into the body under him before pulling out quickly and bringing a hand to his leaking cock. He stroked hard and fast; Clark's attention was rapt as he watched Lex's cock thrust in an out of the pale hand. The dark flushed color of Lex's cock combined with the pale complexion of the hand wrapped around it made a blur of pinks as Lex pumped himself hard. He moaned as he leaned over Clark's stomach, a hand bracing himself up beside the dark hair on the pillows as he let his cum spurt out in milky jets to land on Clark's abdomen and almost covering the engorged cock lying flat against them.

Clark watched Lex's strokes slow and a weak thrust of his hips before Lex took a deep breath and settled onto his knees between Clark's legs. Lex was glad that he seemed to have Clark's attention now as he looked down into his lover's eyes and swooped down for a kiss, keeping his body from squishing into his cum that had pooled over Clark's stomach. Clark almost whined when Lex's lips left his own, but then he gasped sharply as teeth grazed over a nipple, and then the other. Lex kissed the abused nubs before moving down, kissing across the non-semen-splattered parts of Clark's front before he came to the teen's cock.

Pressing a soft kiss to the underside of the head, Lex used a hand to drag his cum across Clark's body and down to the heavy cock that twitched in anticipation when Clark realized what Lex was doing. He gasped as Lex's cum slick palm wrapped around him and began with firm, slow strokes. He had only masturbated a few times in the past few months, and he realized just how horny he was and how much he'd missed Lex's hands and mouth on him. He bucked up suddenly when Lex's tongue slipped out to lick the slit and then run down his shaft before coming back up and settling his mouth over Clark's cock.

Lex continued stroking as he sucked on the head of Clark's cock, his sticky semen warming up again, and he took his hand away and pushed his head down over Clark's erection, taking as much into his mouth as he could. Clark moaned out his lover's name as a warm mouth surrounded his swollen cock, and hands drifted up his sides, stroking them softly. Lex noticed the give that Clark's flesh had when he let his hands rub over his boyfriend's body, but he didn't say anything. He had never known Clark to gain any weight to make him even slightly flabby, but there's a time for everything in one's life. Again, for all he knew, Clark could have been depressed and eating twice as much, as much as he knew that would terrify his parents.

He stopped his mouth's actions and pulled away, grabbing Clark's cock with his hand again, and shifting onto his side. His other hand stayed at Clark's side and Lex leaned his head down to lap and suck and caress Clark's balls with his tongue and lips. Clark moaned and twitched his cock as Lex licked at the sensitive skin. Lex squeezed softly over Clark's erection and came back up to lick around the head some more. Clark began to rock his hips into Lex's velvety warm tongue, and Lex obliged by lowering his mouth back over his lover's cock. The suction Lex applied then was enough to bring Clark to his climax and he thrust eagerly up into Lex's mouth, and Lex briefly allowed Clark's cock to press farther back to touch his throat muscles. Lex convulsed them rapidly for a moment, earning wanton moans from Clark before he had to pull back to breath and swallow the built up spit, and of course so as not to throw up. Stupid gag reflexes.

Lex lapped at the glans in front of him and resumed his firm strokes over Clark's cock, seeing the usual response he got when his lover was about to come. He readied himself and kept his mouth open as he jerked, waiting for Clark to come. Hot wet splashes assaulted Lex's tongue and the top of his mouth as Clark came with a moan, and biting his lip to quiet himself some so as not to actually scream out Lex's name. Whether Lionel knew or not, he didn't want the older man to hear them having sex. Lex's strokes trailed off slowly as Clark's peak dissipated, and he licked the cum from between his lip and teeth, holding the semen in his mouth.

He looked to Clark and grinned. Clark blinked and took a breath to help begin steadying his heart beat, and smiled back, knowing that Lex had a mouthful of his cum. Plus what he'd gotten of his own in his mouth from the length of his cock where he'd slicked it. Lex stepped on his knees to the edge of the bed, and grabbed Clark's hand when he got his feet on the floor. Clark shuffled himself off the bed and followed Lex to the private bathroom that adjoined his bedroom, to clean up.

@>*~

When they got to the bathroom, they decided to jump in and have a quick shower to clean up instead of just wiping themselves off. Finished with their shower, Lex led Clark to his bed and sat down next to him. Lex gave his lover a chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth, then reached over and picked up his cell phone. Handing it to his lover, he said, "Call home and ask your parents if you can spend the night."

Clark smiled, though he was wary about the idea. He took the offered phone from Lex and dialed the number. After the fourth ring, his mother answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi, Mom," Clark said, trying to keep his tone even, "Lex wanted to know if I could stay the night here," he said, smiling at his lover more honestly this time. He did want to stay with Lex, and it would be a welcome night away from tending to a baby and studying.

Martha sighed and Clark could faintly hear his daughter fussing over the line. "Have you told Lex yet?" She knew they wanted time together, and that her son needed it before he could tell Lex what had happened.

"No, I haven't." He said simply, waiting for her to tell him that he really should do it. He knew that, but it was hard. He'd tell Lex tomorrow, and then he got an idea.

"Clark," she sighed tiredly. "You really need to tell him soon. He has a right to know."

"I know, Mom. I will, I promise. How 'bout I invite him over for breakfast tomorrow?" Clark asked, bringing a hand nervously up to his still damp hair, tousling it around.

"Fine." She said, and Clark knew he was pushing it. The weekends were when his parents got to spend the time not having to take care of their granddaughter, but one night wasn't going to kill them. "But be here no later then seven, understand?" Martha said, before softly shushing Lillian.

Clark smiled sadly at the phone as he heard his mother talking away from the phone at his baby. "I understand. Thanks, Mom."

"Don't thank me yet. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Okay, Mom. Love you. Bye."

"Love you too. Bye," she said as she hung up the phone.

Lex raised an eyebrow at his lover. "Well?"

"I can stay, but we have to be there by seven tomorrow morning for breakfast," Clark said, letting himself fall backwards on the bed with a sigh. This would be good. Maybe he'd finally get a good night's sleep so he could face the day tomorrow.

Lex blinked, surprised, he would have thought at least Jonathan would protest, but it seemed that he wasn't even consulted. "Alright," he said, smiling at Clark. "Let's get some sleep. Now, I really am tired."

"Okay," Clark agreed and sat up for Lex to pull the covers that were bunched up underneath of him.

Lex scooted back onto the bed and lifted the sheet up, waiting for Clark to do likewise. Clark rearranged himself until he was under the sheet and snuggled up to his boyfriend, sighing worriedly at what would happen the next morning.

@>*~

Lex shifted gears once again on the way to Clark's house before looking over to his friend. Clark was looking out of his window, watching the cornfields fly by as he tried desperately to slow down his heart. Today was the day that Lex would find out about their daughter and Clark was more afraid of this than taking down the occasional meteor mutant.

Lex pulled up on the driveway leading to the Kent's farmhouse, cutting off the engine when he stopped the Porsche. Clark smiled nervously at Lex when he leaned in to place a light kiss onto his lips. "You alright, Clark? You seem a bit tense," Lex said, frowning in concern at his boyfriend.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Let's, uhm, go in huh?" Clark said and turned away from Lex, even though he knew his boyfriend was already suspicous, as he unfastened his seatbelt and opened the passenger side door. Lex eyed his lover before doing the same. Lex came around the car and walked beside Clark as they made their way towards the house.

After walking the short distance from where they'd parked, they reached the screen door on the kitchen of the farmhouse. Clark opened it and held it open for Lex, and the older man obligingly walked through it and stopped just inside, waiting for Clark. He came inside after Lex had cleared and let the door close behind them, "Mom! Dad! I'm home!" He called out, letting his parents know they were back.

Or at least his mother, since Jonathan would more than likely be outside doing some work. Lex had moved to lean stiffly against the island in the kitchen. He felt strangely nervous and like a bomb was about to drop onto him; something bad was about to happen, he just knew it. Clark turned and smiled nervously at Lex before they heard a thud from upstairs and footsteps coming towards the stairs.

Martha was startled by the shout from downstairs, and she dropped the book she had in her lap, making Lillian fuss in her arms. She shushed the child and lifted her up into her arms before making her way out of the room and down the stairs towards the kitchen. If she didn't take Lillian with her now, she knew Clark would avoid it until the baby started crying and drew attention to its self.

Lex became curious as Martha came down the stairs, holding a bundle of blankets in her arms. His eyes widened as he took in the tired look on her face and the small leg kicking out of the blanket. There was definitely a baby there, and he knew that his lover's mother couldn't have children. He caught the pointed look that the mother threw to her son, and Clark ducked his head slightly and looked towards Lex with worried eyes, and eyebrows drawn slightly together.

"Lex - "

"Clark," Lex interrupted him, holding up a hand that commanded silence as Martha pulled a chair out from the table gently and sat down in it, settling the baby in her arms in the new position.

Clark wiped at the sudden tears that fell down his cheeks; he didn't want to lose Lex. Before Clark could explain, Martha piped up. "Lex, meet Lillian Martha. Your daughter." Lex blinked and let his mouth fall open, trying to form words, but failing, and turned to glare at Clark. Clark fidgeted nervously under the angry glare thrown his way. Martha saw the exchange and tried to help. "Lex," she began, getting the older man's attention. "Clark didn't know he could have children..."

"Mrs. Kent..."

"I think under the circumstances, you should call me Martha."

"Martha," Lex corrected himself before going on. "I understand that. What I don't understand is why it took until *now* for you guys to tell me," he said, stalking to the table and startling Clark when he pulled out a chair beside the teen and sat down heavily on it.

Martha shifted her gaze from Lex to her son, smiling sympathetically at him. Clark sniffed loudly and said, "I was scared, Lex. I mean, I had no idea I could get pregnant and then when I found out..." He paused, wiping at his eyes. "I wasn't sure how to tell you. Lex," he said, crumbling into himself under the hurt filled gaze on him. "I was scared you wouldn't want me anymore if you knew."

Lex sighed under the hand he'd brought to his head. God, he hated headaches. He slid his fingers to the bridge of his nose and pinched down on it. His boyfriend could be so, so young sometimes, but he could understand. "Clark, I would never leave you," he reassured, pulling Clark's hand out from between Clark's legs where he'd shoved them. "You told me about your origins and I stayed. You told me how you felt and I stayed. What made you think I'd leave you over something like this?"

"I don't know," Clark whispered, more tears threatening to spill.

Lex squeezed Clark's hand, making the younger man look up at him with wet eyes and a still worried expression. Then Lex got up from his seat and walked towards the door. He turned around and spoke, "I need some time to think about things." Lex held up a hand and continued before Clark could respond. "I'm not leaving you," he stated firmly, hoping to make sure Clark would believe him. "I just need time to think." He walked out the door and headed for the Porsche. What he needed was some hundred year old scotch and aspirin, lots of it.

Clark turned wide, tear filled eyes to his mother. "Mom-"

"Let him go, Clark. He'll be back," Martha said, rocking her granddaughter absently.

Clark sat down in the seat Lex had vacated, dropped his head down onto the table and sobbed. Martha sighed and kept on rocking the baby, knowing when Clark was done crying, she would convince him that Lex was coming back. He better or he'd have one angry Martha Kent after his ass for hurting her baby boy.

@>*~

Two hours later, Lex drove up the Kent's driveway once again. He had driven around town, contemplating life in general and Clark in specific. He had been surprised to find out he was now a father, and he was glad. His first thought on the subject was that they were lying to him for some reason, but then he realized the Kents, and especially Clark, wouldn't do such a thing. Yes, Clark had lied about his origins, but who could blame him? Second, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to help raise a child since his childhood hadn't been the best with Lionel as a father. He was afraid he'd do the same to his child what his father had done to him.

Lex sighed as he walked up the porch steps, knocking softly on the door. He waited a moment until Martha opened the door and smiled softly at him. "I'm glad you're here, Lex," she said, hugging him awkwardly since she was still holding the baby. It was going to take a bit for him to get used to calling her his daughter, but he could do it. He had the Kents and Clark to help raise her; she wouldn't turn out bad.

Lex followed Martha inside and Clark sat at the table, absently picking pieces from a muffin sitting in front of him and bringing them to his mouth. He looked up when he heard his mother greet Lex and he felt relieved that Lex had come back. His mother had assured him that he would, but he was still paranoid about it. Lex hated surprises, and this was definitely a surprise. Martha reached a hand to stop Lex when he was about to make his way back to his seat at the table, and he turned around to look at her.

He was not prepared to have a child in his arms, much less his own. Being the way he'd been in his life with relationships, Lex had never thought he'd have any children of his own except on purpose and solely for an heir, unless he got lucky and found a woman he loved. But he was even luckier than he could ever have imagined. He was in love and had a beautiful baby girl. He tensed when Martha pressed the bundle against his chest and he instinctively lifted his arms to cradle little Lillian Martha in his arms. It took him a moment to relax and several times telling himself 'it's not going to bite,' he carried the child back to the table and sat down again.

He smiled down at her cute little face, noting the soft dark red hair. The happy smile from a moment ago turned rueful for a second, recalling the loss of his own fiery locks, but he was happy that the gene was prevalent in his daughter. His and Clark's daughter. This was more of a family than he ever could have asked for, and he let out a sudden laugh, startling Clark, who was still sitting next to him, bewildered. Lex looked up, his vision slightly blurred from unshed tears, but he quickly blinked them back. He grinned at his lover and then at Martha, and then back down at the baby. "Oh, my god," he said. "She's so beautiful."

"She looks a lot like you," Clark said quietly. He was still tentative about Lex and his -- their -- baby, but things were starting to look up, and he was happy. Clark smiled and Martha got up to get a cup of coffee, asking Lex if he wanted some as well.

Lex nodded and turned his attention back down to gaze at his daughter. She cooed up at him before sticking her hand in her mouth and sucking noisily. Clark leaned over a bit to watch and ran a finger down her cheek. "She's hungry," he said as he got up from his seat at the table and went to the fridge to grab a pre-prepared bottle from within, taking it to the microwave to warm it up.

Martha set the cup of coffee down in front of Lex, smiling at Lillian as she leaned over to look at her, "She eats quite a bit. I'm surprised she still fits into her clothes."

"Well, I just hope she doesn't go through terrible growth spurts like I did," Clark said as he waited for the beep, and then took the bottle from the microwave and walked up behind Lex, looking at his baby in his boyfriend's arms. Lex looked over his shoulder at the bottle near his head. Leaning his head back, he frowned at his boyfriend, insecurity flooding back to him about how to care for a child this young. "You want me to feed her instead?" Clark asked, unsure of Lex's reaction to feeding a baby.

"No, I'll do it," Lex said, rather valiantly. "I have to get used to this anyway." As he took the bottle from Clark, the teen moved and sat beside Lex, ready to coach him if needed. It wasn't as if he had too much experience with this himself except for the past weeks, but he was better than Lex was, no doubt. Lex took the bottle from Clark and brought it slowly to his daughter's little mouth. She removed her hand and opened her mouth wide for her food, drinking contently from the bottle. Lex smiled down at her, mesmerized by the happy noises she was making.

"Has she really grown that fast?" Lex asked after a moment, when he could tear his eyes away from the baby. Lillian had shut her eyes and gripped the edges of the bottle with her little hands and was sucking happily.

"Well, it's normal for a baby this age," Martha began, moving to sit down in her chair again. "But, then, we're not all too sure about her body, being as one of her parents has an alien heritage, and the other has been affected by the meteors." She hadn't wanted to say it so bluntly, but it was true and they needed to deal with this. Oh, and something had just hit her. How were they going to make her legal? What they had gone through with Lionel for Clark wasn't something that would be readily repeated.

Lex held back the wince at the reminder of that day in Riley Field and gently eased the bottle away from Lillian's mouth. The baby had fallen asleep and she looked so soft and fragile. Lex smiled and shuffled her to make her more comfortable in his arms and set the bottle back on the table. "You're right, Martha," Lex said seriously. "I'll take care of things just let me make a call to a friend in Metropolis."

"Lex..." Clark began, unsure of how this was going to work. He'd heard the stories about Lionel and he knew Lex was a lot different than his father, and also one of the fathers, but he was still wary about going through any legal hassles. He put his trust in Lex, though, and he knew everything would be alright.

"Clark, it's okay. I have a responsibility here to help raise her, and that includes everything from pacifiers to forged birth certificates and whatever else she may need." Clark nodded and Lex moved slightly in a gesture to move the baby from his arms to Clark's, and he stood up.

Clark took Lillian in his arms and stood up gently himself, making his way towards the stairs. She didn't need to be around them right now and she was already sleeping, so she could go lay in her crib. Lex got up and stretched his arms before reaching into his inside coat pocket to grab his cell phone, and flipped it open. He creased his forehead for a moment, trying to recall the number, before it came to him and he began dialing.

Clark heard the shuffling as Lex got up, and he set Lillian down into her bed, pulling a light blanket up over her body and brushing over the soft hairs on her head. He smiled before going back downstairs. Lex had an arm crossed over his chest, holding onto the opposite elbow, and was speaking into his cell phone. "That's good to hear, John, but this isn't a social call." He chuckled for a moment, "I didn't think you did," he continued, "I need some blank papers for some confidential work.

Clark settled into his chair opposite his mother, and looked to her. She looked impressed at how Lex was handling things, and it was true. Lex had accepted the fact rather easily, and having known already that Clark was an alien had surely made it less of a surprise. They shared a smile and then turned their attention back to Lex. "Wonderful. So, one thirty?"

"Great, I'll see you then." He disconnected the call and placed the phone back into his pocket before responding to the awed looks in front of him. He fought the urge to ask a defensive 'what?', and instead he grinned. "We need to be in Metropolis at one thirty this afternoon to pick up the papers for Lillian.

Clark smiled and as Lex was moving to sit down into his chair Clark reached up a hand and pulled him down faster into the seat, giving him an awkward sideways hug and a kiss on the cheek. Martha smiled at them, and got up from her seat to refill her cup with coffee.

Lex leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful expression landing on his face, before he spoke. "Huh," he said, "So, that's why you asked me to come on your belly." Clark immediately felt his face heat and he smacked Lex's arm with almost enough force to bruise, looking at him incredulously.

Lex laughed at what he had just said, obviously out loud, and mock pouted. "Ow," he said, smiling and obviously not meaning it, "Sorry." Thankfully Martha had her back to the two of them at the time, and she smothered a laugh of amusement. At least Clark had taken her seriously about being careful. She turned back when she had her amusement under control and looked at the two bashful looking boys in front of her. She smiled and sat down at the table again, faithfully ignoring the previous comment, and changing the subject.

@>*~

After Lex offered to make sure Lillian was sleeping, and she was, Clark finished up his chores quickly and they left for Metropolis. Jonathan had stayed outside while he knew Lex was going to be there, so as to make sure he avoided the whole potentially ugly scene. Clark informed him that it went well and that it was all clear to go in to eat and get caught up on everything.

On the way to the city, Lex explained that he knew his friend was secure and about a lady friend of his that he trusted to put on the birth certificate, with him as the father, since Lillian looked most like Lex. But, they'd have to get Lillian's blood tested so they could mark down her blood type and everything else. Clark had fussed to begin with, but Lex had reassured him that he could do it himself in the lab with completely sterile needles.

There was still the issue about making sure she's healthy, but that would have to come after the proper certificates and documents were finalized and legal. They pulled into a small medical center in a small core of an outer suburban area of Metropolis and got out. Going inside, Lex asked for John Holmes and they sat down to wait after the nurse said it would be a moment.

"Mr. Luthor," John addressed him when he came out of a door marked employees only and held out his freshly washed hand to Lex.

"Please, call me Lex," Lex said as he shook his friend's hand. And gestured for Clark to get up and follow along. "John, this is a good friend of mine, Clark Kent."

"Mr. Kent, pleased to meet you," John said, smiling and shaking Clark's hand as well. Lex could see that Clark was nervous, but it was alright. He had a right to be and this wouldn't take long here. John guided them through the door marked employees only, and they walked down a blank hallway to another door. It was an office, John's presumably, and they went in and John sat down at the desk.

He rummaged through papers and Lex gestured for Clark to sit down. Clark did so and then so did Lex, and they waited patiently while John looked for whatever he was looking for. "Ah," he said, pulling a paper out from a drawer he was digging through. "Here we are," he righted the paper and looked at it for a moment before handing it across the desk to Lex.

Clark leaned over to get a look at it as well, and it was just a blank birth certificate. "Alright," Lex said after agreeing with the form. "Let's go print it up, shall we?"

John nodded and they stood up, and followed the good doctor out of the room and back up the hall to the secretary's office. He excused himself after Lex and Clark were in the room and went to the front desk, telling the secretary that the main papers office was going to be closed for a moment and not to worry. When he came back he took out a blank piece of paper from the shelf and took a pen from his pocket. Poised and ready to write, John asked, "So, what's the baby's name?"

"First name Lillian, second name Martha," Lex paused and glanced at Clark surreptitiously, and Clark shrugged just the same, unsure of what they should put as a last name. "Last name Luthor," Lex finished at John's prompting look. John wrote it down and handed the paper to Lex to see if all spellings were correct. Lex handed it back after inspection and they proceeded.

"Date of birth?"

"August 8th, 2004," Lex answered, looking to Clark for his agreement, since he wasn't entirely sure. Clark gave a slight nod, unsure of whether John was supposed to know that it was Clark's baby, or just Lex's and some girl's.

"Metropolis General?"

Lex nodded, and John went ahead and wrote that down. "Alright, that's all we need." John moved over to the printer and placed the blank sheet into it, and entered the information into the computer, Lex standing behind to make sure it went in correctly.

The computer printed out the certificate with the correct name, date of birth, hospital and whatever other numbers that the government needed when a person was born. "All done," John said a moment later when the printer was finished and shot out the paper.

"Great," Lex said and took it from him, inspecting it once again for errors. "Looks good, John. Thank you." Lex reached into his pocket and felt for what he wanted, and then held out an ornate money clip to the doctor. John grinned at Lex and took the offered money with a snap of the clip when the bills were pulled out of it.

"Nice doing business with you, Lex," John grinned again and nodded back at them as he left and unlocked the door, leaving it open, and made his way down the hall. When Lex turned back to Clark, the teen was looking thoroughly impressed, much like he had earlier when Lex had made the arrangements over the phone.

After they pulled out of the parking lot at the medical center, they began driving. Clark frowned as the buildings got bigger, from housing to businesses, to complexes. "I thought we were going back now?" Clark asked, still watching the scenery. If they were going this way, he was going to look; it's not like he could make Lex turn around.

"Okay," Lex basically ignored the actual question and asked one of his own, "So, what does she need?" Lex glanced over to Clark, who was looking at him almost surprised.

"Well, she'll need some more toys soon, and of course, clothes," Clark said. "Mom didn't want to spend too much money on things because, well," Clark paused for a moment and then continued sheepishly, "She knew that you'd be buying things, too."

Lex laughed at that, "That's exactly right, Clark. She's my baby too and I intend to care for her just as well. I have money to spend and she'll receive whatever she may need."

"Alright," Clark said, smiling happily at his boyfriend. He was glad Lex was taking this so well and enthusiastically taking part in the raising of their daughter, and of course spending money on her. "We're almost out of diapers, so we can pick some more of them up," he said, then realized the car wasn't one of Lex's bigger ones. "And that's about it for today. If you want you could pick up some toys from her daddy," Clark grinned over at Lex and Lex just smiled.

@>*~

When they returned to Smallville, they made their way to the Kent Farm, to bring what they had bought for baby goods to the house. Martha was astonished at the supply of diapers that were lugged by the boys into the house. She directed them to the closet they were kept in, and then waited for them to close up the car and grab whatever else they had before she said anything more than hello.

Martha had just checked on the baby and she was still sleeping, so they talked for a bit, and the revelation was that Lex really had to do some work. He still wanted to spend time with Lillian and Clark, so he asked if they wanted to go to the castle for a while. "Oh, but Lionel will be there," Martha said, not quite sure if that would be a good idea or not.

"So? We'll just avoid him, or I'll make up some story," Lex said, shrugging. It wouldn't be hard to bypass Lionel for a while at the castle. "It has my name on the birth certificate, too, and he'd believe it judging from my, uh, more promiscuous years."

Martha nodded and didn't press the issue. She was sure they would get it all worked out, and it wasn't really their -- her and Jonathan's -- place to tell the boys what to do; they were both adults, and Clark would be eighteen this October.

So after dropping off the diapers, Lex went out to his car and got a few things from it. He brought in a blank photo album for a baby girl, saying that they'd pick up a camera when they had more time. They could take a picture of her at least once or twice a month, and on special occasions, to make a very good documentary of her life for future reference.

Also, a nice, soft, pink blanket with a picture of a kitten embroidered on one side, and patchwork on the other with kittens in various states on each square. And, of course, some various Fisher Price learning centers. Clark had said she was too young for them, but Lex had insisted, saying it's never too young to learn, and that they'd still be there when she was 'old enough', according to Clark.

Martha inquired about the legal things and the birth certificate that they obtained earlier in the day. "For the last name," Lex said, "We put 'Luthor' on it." It was the best way to do things, since less could be done about it and he could deter people from investigating because he had the more capable means to do so.

"So," Clark began, "All we need to do is get the health things sorted out and she's good to go?" He wasn't sure about what all had to be done with a child, and he hardly remembered his own young days, and definitely not what his parents went through with Lex's father.

"Yes," Lex confirmed, before continuing with more things, just to clarify what he and Clark had discussed on the drive. "We won't talk about school until she's older. We'll get used to it and have everything perfectly legal before we do that."

"And then we'll decide whether to go with private schools, or just into public Smallville High."

They talked for a while more before Lex caught sight of the time and said he really should get to work, or else he'd be too tired by later, since he had been up at an ungodly hour this morning, and then the stress at finding out he was a father. Work would be a welcome distraction, even with Clark and Lillian there; especially with them there, because he wouldn't have to worry about them.

Going to get Lillian from her nap, they found her already awake, which was good. Clark grabbed a bottle of milk from the fridge and shoved a couple of diapers into a bag along with the milk, and followed Lex out of the house after they said good-bye to Martha. On the porch they ran into Jonathan, who was just coming up to the house. "Hey, boys," he said, nodding at Lex.

"How'd work go today, Dad? Sorry I wasn't around to help, but we kind of had to," he trailed off a bit, gesturing generally at himself, Lex and the baby. Jonathan got the picture.

"It went good, son. And I'm glad you got yourself sorted out. Lex," Jonathan said, "You take care of that baby girl, you hear?"

"Absolutely, Mr. Kent," Lex said proudly, "I fully intended to give her the best life has to offer," and before Jonathan could point out that another Luthor would raise a spoiled, selfish, uppity child of the next generation, he continued, "And with growing up in a small town and having you and your wife as grandparents, she is sure to have the best experience and sense of compassion and love that a parent could ever wish for."

Jonathan smiled. "Good," he patted Lex a bit too hard on the back and moved between them and into the house. Clark grinned as they walked farther out to the car. He knew they couldn't expect a big heartfelt speech from Jonathan, but what they just went through was definitely good. Sure, there would be disagreements down the line, but for now, everything really was good.

@>*~