"Do you prefer wine, or champagne, Lynn?"

Or just being bent in half over his gleaming glass-topped desk, screaming his name to the ceiling. Not that he voiced that thought as he graced Lynn -- a beautiful, upcoming reporter who was masquerading as a business woman in the hopes of getting a scoop -- with a gentlemanly smile.

She should've known better than to trust the smile he was giving her, since the only thing she'd gotten out of him so far had been a few interesting pulled muscles and a hands on experience of the rumors about the Luthor Sex Drive.

"I was thinking we could take dinner here tonight, unless you had your heart set on dining out."

"Champagne sounds wonderful, Lex," she nearly purred at him. "And private dinners as so much more relaxed aren't they?" Her sensuality wasn't exactly subtle, nor was her disguise. A veneer of business know-how couldn't fool him. He'd had his doubts about her even before he'd finished the background check, and he'd been right. She was investigating into unethical LuthorCorp practices; mainly seeing if there were any in the two years that Lex had been at the flagship's helm.

So, Lex toyed with her. She had a beautiful body, was responsive in sex, and the moment she tried to hack into his laptop when he wasn't looking, she was going to get the surprise of her life.

Life was good.

Lex poured her a flute of champagne, and a flute for himself because he was a bad boy indulging in underage drinking, and no one cared. Then he rolled over towards the leather sofa she was sitting on so delicately. "I'll tell the chef to ready dinner for a couple of hours from now. I can think of a few relaxing things we can do..."

"Mmmm..." She smiled at him prettily over the edge of her glass seeming to think that imitating some cheap temptress from a made for television drama was the way to get what she wanted. "Sounds wonderful." It was an invitation to a kiss and more.

In the other room his personal phone rang, and rang and then finally clicked into the answer phone even as he took up that offer.

Bubble-headed... Maybe the next reporter the Planet sent after him would be smoother. Perhaps the next one would be more challenging to him and worth playing with, because 'Lynn' was a cheap whore. He had her bending backwards over the arm of the sofa for him even as he paused to listen to the answering machine.

"...Lex... damn, I thought you'd be there." It was Jonathan's voice sounding unusually ragged and tight with concern. "Look, son, something's happened to your mother. I'm following them to hospital right now but I had to call you because I think Clark will probably come to you... it's a bit, ah, difficult to explain."

It was painfully obvious that Jonathan wanted to say more but didn't dare. "I'll let you know anything as it happens. Hope you pick this up soon."

Click.

"Shit!" Lex was off of Lynn, and to his feet in seconds, and did he care if she had a breast peeking out of her pretty red dress? No. He rushed to the other room to check his phone and replay the message.

Something had happened to Martha?

"Lex? Is something wrong?" Lynn adjusted herself a little awkwardly even as there was a strange sound outside as if a sudden gust of wind had howled up to the door.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel our dinner plans for the night. Something's come up with my family." Lex came back into the living room with his mouth set in a grim line, cellular phone clutched tight in his left hand.

"With your family?" Lynn's eyes seemed to light up. "Perhaps I could help?" she offered hopefully.

There was another discrete buzz from the building security system. "Mr. Luthor, sir? There's another heat signature on the Penthouse level. It might be a glitch in the system, but we're sending a security detail up."

"No, but thank you for the offer. And Rainer! I'm expecting my kid brother to be here any moment, so tell them not to play shoot first ask questions later."

"Yes, sir," came the tinny response and the connection shut.

Lex twisted to offer his right hand to Lynn to help her to her feet so he could escort her out. "I'm sorry. I'll call you in a day or so..."

"Oh. Okay, Lex, I hope it's nothing serious..." Lynn was shepherded to the door and shown out without much in the way of subtlety. Even as Lex stepped out and ushered her away there was a gust, a movement of air behind him going into the room beyond.

"I'm sure everything will work out," Lex told her calmly as he walked with her down the hallway towards his private elevator. "But my family means a great deal to me, and I need to be sure."

She finally seemed to get the message and after a few more trite words hoping that the problems would go away soon, she was finally gone. A tall, gangly teenage Clark replaced her presence in his penthouse suite. He stood waiting for Lex with an expression of fear and self-loathing that he had never seen on his brother before.

Lex didn't say a thing until he'd strode back into the penthouse proper, closing the door behind him. "Clark, it's a surprise to see you here -- what's wrong?"

Clark looked ready to bolt again. "Lex, I... I've done something terrible," he blurted out in a voice only recently settling to a new adult depth. "I... Mom, I hurt Mom!"

"Clark..." Lex reached for his brother's shoulders with care, and clutched onto them firmly once he was touching him. "Clark, you need to calm down first, and then explain it to me. I'm sure it was an accident."

Clark was shaking and pale even as he looked at Lex, nearly eye-to-eye now with this latest grow spurt. "I hurt her Lex, I hurt Mom! I'm a monster!" It was noticeable that he remained precisely still as Lex gripped him, as if terrified to move at all.

"You're not a monster," Lex intoned as firmly as he could, and he stepped forwards to urge Clark backwards towards the sofa. "You need to calm down, Clark. Do you want a glass of water?"

"Don't touch me, please, Lex!" Clark pleaded with fresh anguish. "I don't want to hurt you, too. I'll have to go somewhere where I can't hurt anyone ever again. You could make it so I couldn't, couldn't you, Lex? Please? Say you can, I know you can!"

Lex jostled his little brother, only faintly soothed by the knowledge that he couldn't concuss his little brother by just shaking him. "Clark! Listen to me. Are you listening to me?" Clark blinked a couple of times, his green eyes glistening a little with tears as he paused in his near hysterical diatribe against himself. He took a gulping breath and nodded, actually listening this time.

"Whatever you've done, it's an accident. Understand? And you're not a monster." Lex pushed at Clark again, forcing him to sit down.

Clark plunked down on the expensive sofa, looking up at Lex. "I am," he said, his tone cracking with his guilt and fear. "I'm not even human, Lex, and... I shouldn't have... I know better..."

"Just because you're not normal doesn't make you subhuman," Lex intoned as he took a step backwards. "Now, do you want a glass of water? I want you to calm down while I tell my head of security that there's no need for alarm."

"...'kay..." Clark replied quietly, looking down at his shaking hands and the now vitally interesting plush carpet.

Lex was precise about what he did next. First he tidied away the two glasses of champagne he'd poured, dumped them down the sink; then he walked to the intercom to tell Rainer that his brother was there, and that everything was fine. Then he went back to the kitchen to pour a glass of water for Clark.

By this time he returned, Clark was a picture of teenage misery and self-absorbed angst. Trying desperately not to break down and cry, but unable to face who or what he was, he was sitting bent forward with his face in his hands almost trying to literally hold everything together. The only indication of anything being really amiss was that his breath hitched every now and then and held as if waiting for a pang of unbearable emotion to pass.

"Here," Lex offered quietly, and he stooped down to try to put himself face to face with Clark.

Clark hesitantly took a hand away from his face and reached for the glass. He tried to take the glass as if it was cobwebs or something, but his fingers closed and the glass shattered in his hand and he looked at Lex with a terrible lost look in his eyes.

Lex startled at the smashing glass, and jerked backwards, cursing -- he'd barely managed to shield his eyes, and there had been a spatter of shards against his sleeve to prove that to him. "Okay," he said shakily, "So you're having a little trouble right now. That's fine. You want a paper cup of water?"

"I can't touch anything... I can't move... without... " Clark looked at the tiny beads of blood from a nick on his brother's hand and reached out instinctively and then jerked himself away. "See? It's never been this bad, never!"

"You're growing," Lex pointed out, though he knew he sounded more thoughtful than assuring. "It's normal, in a way. You've finally hit puberty."

"Make it stop!" Clark begged. "Nobody ever said this could happen. I didn't know and...."

"It's bound to happen," Lex tried to calm him, as he brushed at the bloody and wet back of his hand. "It's not your fault. You're bound to go through growth spurts like this for a while."

"No, no... I can't Lex!" Clark looked terrified at the thought of it. "I argued with Mom... and...." He swallowed. "I was angry..."

"Stay calm," Lex urged him gently. It was a good mask for his own internal panic. "And say it slowly."

Clark nodded taking a few deep breaths before trying again. "I was out in the barn and she called me down and I hadn't done any of my chores..." Guilt warred over his expression. "I was supposed to help Dad, and Pete had wanted to show me his new bike, so I missed dinner and didn't tell her and... she yelled, and I yelled back that none of my friends had to do chores like I did, not all the time... and...." He really did look to be on the verge of tears then. "And I went to go towards the house to get out of the way, and I was so angry. I just slipped as she stepped to stop me. Slipped into full speed and.... clipped her by accident."

Lex winced, and moved to sit beside Clark on the sofa. "It's okay, Clark. I'm sure she's going to be fine."

Clark shook his head. "The paramedics thought she'd been hit by a truck, traveling at high speed." His voice wavered with emotions surging as unpredictably as his strength, "What... if she isn't, Lex? What if I've killed her?"

"Dad called," Lex tried to soothe. He laid a hand on Clark's shoulder, rubbing carefully. His brother, his baby brother, seemed so much older than he should've, so much taller and stronger than most of the boys his age. "Just before you got here. He was going to the hospital, and told me to keep an eye out for you. I'm sure Mom's going to be okay."

"I didn't know what to do, Lex," Clark said, gentling a little at that touch. "I nearly panicked... she was just lying there and ... there was blood... and I nearly broke the phone trying to call 911 and then I was there but I didn't dare touch her and she wouldn't wake up. Even when I told her I was sorry and I wouldn't lose my temper ever again... and that I loved her..." His voice choked and he buried his head in his hands again, this time his shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

"Shhh... " Lex slid that hand across Clark's shoulder, and hugged him close. "I'll come up with something. You don't have to be scared of hurting anyone anymore, Clark, all right?"

Clarks hands twitched as if he wanted desperately to hug his brother back but seemed to still as the realization hit that he would probably crush his brothers ribcage or snap his spine with his careless strength. Instead, he went as limp as possible, just crying heartbroken against his brother for that peculiar loss of innocence that came with realizing that parents are not indestructible.

While Clark struggled with himself, Lex didn't stop his susurration of soft praise to Clark, trying to soothe and urge him to buck up a little. But finally he trailed off with the soft praise, and murmured. "Do you want me to try something now, Clark?" A fractional experiment he'd toyed with when he'd had access to LuthorCorp's labs while in college, but before the actual running of the company had fallen to him.

Clark nodded eagerly. "Anything... please, Lex," he begged, not even having to ask what Lex may be trying. If he had considered it worthwhile, it would work.

"Stay here," Lex murmured. "And don't yell when I explain to you what I did to find out about it." He rose up from the sofa, chuckling a little as he rolled up the sleeve of his shirt. There was a tiny band of metal around Lex's wrist polished and buffed to the point where it looked as if it could've been a medical alert bracelet.

Clark wiped his eyes with his sleeve and while fighting the hitching breaths he watched Lex hopefully. "I won't shout," he promised, willing to forgive anything if it could help.

"I have tiny fragments of the meteor rock imbedded in this, and it's lined with lead all over the inside. With a press of my hand, though..." Lex slipped two fingers under his pulse-point, and flicked something Clark couldn't see. "Now my skin is being irradiated by the meteor rocks, ever so slightly."

Clark nearly flinched. "But why?" he asked. "I thought the rocks were dangerous?"

"They are," Lex blandly agreed, as he flicked the point over his pulse again, and then pulled the band off of his wrist. "Oh, they're very dangerous, but they're also very useful. I keep that on me, very seldom in the 'on' position because it can heighten my ability to heal up when I'm re-exposed." He didn't really need to tell his little brother that he had a healthy fear of assassination. "Let me put it on you."

Clark looked a little uncertain but nodded pulling back his sleeve.

There wasn't a thing for him to feel as his older brother carefully clicked it closed around his wrist; it had been a snug fit on Lex, and it was a snug fit on his younger brother.

They must've been built bigger wherever it was that Clark had come from. "If it hurts, tell me. There's such a fractional amount..."

Clark nodded again as Lex fiddled with it. It didn't hurt as such just... there... a wave of weakness and faint nausea flooded him and he turned a little pale but he didn't curl up in agony. And feeling like he had the flu was a small price to pay to be able to touch people safely. "It works."

"Grab my hand," Lex offered him.

A little tentatively he did so and was relieved to see no sign of pain or damage happening as he did so. "I'm... weak enough not to hurt you. Oh God, Lex..." The utter relief in his voice was palpable.

"I'll want to tinker with it," Lex told him carefully, staring at his brother's hand grasping him. "You should still have your abilities, just not those spikes of it. But for now, this will do. I'm going to call Dad back and tell him I've got you, and see if he wants us to come home."

"He won't want me to come back," Clark said with utter certainty. "Not after... today."

"You're being melodramatic." Lex turned his hand, grasping at Clark's fingers gently. "You're his son."

"No. No, I'm not am I?" it was a rhetorical question and Clark very nearly pulled away from Lex. "I never realized how different I really am until today, if I'm capable of doing something like that by accident what happens if I get really angry?"

"You could do some damage. But Clark, listen to me..." Lex clutched at his brother's hand, reeling him back in gently. "You are. He's raised you, and me."

Clark was silent a moment, unable to refute that statement. It was true; they were the only parents he knew. "They didn't deserve to have to have this... on them." he said quietly. "Sometimes I think it would have been better if I had... just burned up in the atmosphere or something."

"Hey." Lex shook him a little, and then settled on his haunches in front of Clark. "And then where would I be?"

"The meteors came with me, Lex. All the things that hurt you, the things you hate happened because of me," Clark blurted out. "There's nothing that can make up for that, either. Smallville was nearly destroyed because of what came with me... you can't say you haven't thought about that!"

"Sure I can. I haven't thought of it," Lex drawled, eyes holding Clark's steadily. "Because for all of the bad, there's been more good to outweigh it. That's life, Clark."

"You... you don't think I'm a monster?" Clark asked sounding years younger suddenly asking that question; like he had then they'd first both been told about why Clark was so different.

Lex shook his head firmly. "Of course not. Because you aren't." It was a good thing that Clark had spent his entire life believing and listening to his brother. It was too difficult to break that habit and he gave in, not agreeing but leaning into Lex with an absolute trust and vulnerability.

Lex hugged him loosely, staying still for Clark. "You must be hungry. I'll get the chef downstairs to make dinner."

"But... if Dad says to come?" Clark replied still sounding anxious. "I need to know how Mom is."

"I was waiting for you to say that," Lex smiled a little, pulling back. "I'll call Dad back, okay? Feel free to walk around." He left Clark on the couch and moved into the next room to make a call. Lex took a moment of pause to gather himself before he dialed the number of the cell phone he'd bought his parents.

There was a long pause while it rang and then his father's voice answered as if he'd had to run somewhere to answer the call.

"Jonathan Kent," came the automatic response. "Lex? Is that you?"

"Yeah. I'm in the penthouse, and Clark's here," Lex offered. "He's uh... having, was having trouble, but that's under control. How's Mom?"

"They've got her in surgery right now," Jonathan replied sounding anxious. "Apparently her right shoulder is dislocated, there are broken ribs, and either a bad concussion or a fracture. They're worried that there may be internal bleeding... but the doctor in charge doesn't think there is. She seems pretty young to be dealing with something like this though." His anxiety fair crackled down the phone even as he could be heard pacing. "What the hell happened, Lex?"

"I'd rather tell you face to face, in privacy," Lex said cautiously. "An accident happened."

"You can get here?" Jonathan asked, "I've... I've got to go and wait for news, I'm not supposed to have the phone on inside the hospital but they're not supposed to be done for at least an hour or two."

He'd just cancel a couple of meetings the next day, and make judicious use of his phone when he got to the hospital. "We can get there. I'll drive, and if we leave immediately...."

"Come as soon as you can... and tell Clark," Jonathan's voice cracked a little, "Tell Clark it's not his fault, okay?"

"I'll tell him again," Lex assured. He moved about his room, reaching for his coat. "Don't worry about us, we'll be home soon."

"Don't break ALL the speed limits, son," Jonathan cautioned. "I'll see you both soon."

"You will. Until then, and if Mom's awake before we get her, tell her everything is okay." Lex flicked the phone off, and shrugged into his coat.

Clark stood up as he came back in. "Is... how is she?" he asked immediately.

"The doctors are optimistic that she doesn't have internal bleeding," Lex told him as he strode back in, adjusting the collar of his coat. Wallet, coat, phone, yes, he was ready.

"But is she okay?" Clark asked with a tinge of hysteria in his demand. "What did Dad say?"

"She's in surgery. But Clark, he also said he knew it was an accident." Lex reached a hand towards his brother, to grasp his shoulder or anything he could. Don't run, don't run, he thought and kept reassuring himself as much as Clark with the attempted touch.

The temptation was there, it could be felt thrumming in his younger brother's muscles. "He... he did?" Clark seized on that. "He wasn't angry?"

"He wasn't angry, Clark." Lex slid his hand down to his brother's wrist, over the band that he was wearing. "And he wants us to go home."

"Both of us?" Clark looked at Lex, unable to suppress a peculiar shiver as Lex's hand passed over that band. It felt so open, like an exposed weakness he was sharing with his brother. "He wants me to be there too?"

"Yeah, Clark, unless I've developed a second personality and no one's told me," Lex teased softly. "He wants us both there."

Clark gave a hesitant faint smile. "Can we go then?"

"Right now. Which car would you prefer to ride in?" Lex grinned -- anything to try to lift Clark's spirit just then.

"The Ferrari," Clark replied with a faint smile again.

"I'll let you drive it next year," Lex promised him with another flash of a smile. He walked towards the door, tugging at his brother's wrist still. Sure, he could've let go. But he hadn't yet, and later he'd think of why. Later.

Clark resisted just enough to make Lex turn to look at him to see why he had stopped. "Lex... Lex, thanks." he said awkwardly and then said with the embarrassment of any teenage boy expressing emotion, but having to say it anyway, because today had taught him that those opportunities flew past all too quickly. "I... love you Lex."

Lex's mouth twitched a little, but he nodded to his brother -- to do anything else would've been an affront to the sincerity he was being offered. "I know. I love you, too." And then he added, "We all do."

Clark looked a little bit doubtful on that part considering what had happened, but smiled a real Clark smile at his brother for those words and allowed himself to be shepherded from that point onwards.

It wasn't a leisurely car trip for either Lex or Clark. Lex's phone kept ringing, and Clark ended up a secretary of sorts, until Lex had Clark call his secretary and tell her to clear the books for the next few days, because that was what he paid her to do, wasn't it?

So the ride was tense, even when Lex tried to relieve it with small talk and music. Clark looked ill -- the band, of course. When they finally headed in the door at the hospital, Lex visibly had the urge to do what he did best -- manipulate, work people. "Clark, I want you to go find Dad. I'm going to try to talk to the doctor."

"But Lex..." Clark's expression had a flicker of fear at the thought of facing his father alone and he could almost visibly be seen to pull himself together. "Okay."

"I'll be right there," Lex promised firmly, lifting his head a little to catch Clark's eyes with his. "All right? I'll be right there."

Clark nodded and then in a tired weary step, turned to head to the waiting area where his dad would be waiting for his mom. If nothing else, he could ask where they were. The hospital around him was unfamiliar and terrifying in some ways. Physical frailty was difficult for him to cope with, and even Mom and Dad rarely had anything they didn't work through. He felt totally lost in this environment and looked around with dark smudged eyes for his father and whatever judgment he might pass on him.

His father had ensconced himself into a corner, cup of coffee in a paper cup, and a newspaper clutched tensely in one hand. It was late, and he looked worse than tired in the relative quiet of the waiting room.

Clark stood a moment, once again fighting that urge to bolt and succeeding where he had failed earlier that day. "D... Dad?"

"Clark..." Jonathan glanced up at his son, tired and nervous-looking as he laid eyes on him. "I'm so glad to see that you're safe. C'mon and sit down..."

Clark felt a wash of relief. He'd wondered if his father really had told Lex that he knew it was an accident. It was only the fact that Lex never lied to him that allowed him to believe the unbelievable. He took a seat and looked at the man next to him trying to think of ways to bridge the gap. "Dad, I'm sorry, it was my fault, I'm really sorry...." he said in a soft miserable voice, his need to 'confess' overwhelming his caution.

"Clark, it was an accident," Jonathan whispered that low in his voice, giving a darting glance around the room.

"It's still my fault. I didn't mean to. I lost control of my speed and...I tried to avoid Mom... but..." Clark gulped a little. "How is she? Lex only said they thought she'd be okay... but... "

"She's not ready for visitors, but Dr. Bryce said she will be soon," Jonathan murmured, narrowing his eyes a little at Clark. He wasn't supposed to talk about things like speed, and losing control, and they were in a public place.

Clark was only focused on making sure he was at least tolerated if not forgiven that he just needed to know. "Is.... is she awake?"

"Not yet," Jonathan said, and he awkwardly patted Clark's knee. He was calmer than he must've been hours before, when he'd called Lex. "It's just a matter of sitting and waiting right now. Where's your brother?"

"He went to try and find the doctor," Clark said, his insides twisting a little at the uneasiness. He closed his eyes a moment, swallowing hard against the sick feeling again. A lot of if was probably emotional shock as much as the effects of the meteor band.

"I suppose one of us should go stop him," Jonathan murmured, and he had his eyes on Clark knowingly. "Are you all right, son?"

Clark nodded though he had gone very pale. "Lex helped me," he replied. "I'm... okay now."

"Are you?" he pressed gently, mouth thinning. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, but it couldn't have been anything good. "We'll talk when we get home, son."

It seemed ridiculous but until his father had said that, Clark hadn't been exactly sure that he had a home to go back to despite Lex's reassurances. He nodded, looking up as he heard Lex's voice coming closer down the echoing corridors.

Lex had wandered the halls, first finding out that Martha was out of surgery, and then some nurse had asked who the hell he was, and.... well. He'd lost his comfortable tense edge, and upon seeing a pretty young woman striding towards him -- with all of the markings of a doctor, approached her with a firm, "Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Any inquiries should be made at the front desk," came the rather brusque reply. "Excuse me, I have patients to see to."

"The front desk has been less than forthcoming," Lex said smoothly, and stepped back in her way again. "I want to inquire about the condition of Martha Kent."

"And you would be?" she looked irritated that he was impeding her progress and met his eyes a moment with a challenging intelligent look, very much in contrast to the air head he had been seducing hours earlier.

It was... a pleasant change of pace. No one stood up to him to his face, after all. "Lex Luthor," he drawled, eyeing her face for a reaction.

He didn't get one, aside from a rather efficient brush off. "If you're not a family member, I'm afraid I cannot divulge any information about patients under my care."

"If I amended 'Kent' to the end of my name, would you tell me how my mom is? I'm not family in blood, but you can check the paperwork and see that I am -- something your front desk refused to do," Lex snapped as she started to walk away from him.

"Ah, you're listed as Alexander I believe." Dr Helen Bryce turned and looked at him, connecting a name pulled from the family records in the hospital for this case. "Well, my apologies for that oversight. If you don't mind walking with me, I'll give you a brief update." Her voice was slightly warmer now he was proven in her own mind at least to be a concerned relative rather than a random snooping stranger.

Lex was sure he looked like he had no connection at all to the farm, or to the sort of man that Jonathan Kent was. Lex slipped his hands back into his pockets, keeping tension out of sight as he moved to walk with her. "Thank you for your time, Dr....?"

"Bryce, Dr. Helen Bryce, "she replied. "Well, Mr. Luthor, your mother has been remarkably lucky considering the speed that the vehicle that hit her must have been traveling. She took the impact on her right side as if it just clipped her, and most of the injuries are present there. Fortunately, there was no internal bleeding, though she has three broken ribs and they came close to puncturing her lung. Her right shoulder was dislocated completely but the surgery has dealt with that and the contusions and lacerations that are consistent with being hit like that. To be honest, Mr. Luthor, it was the head injury that was causing me the most concern but the scans and X-rays show that though there's the possibility of a bad concussion, there's no skull fracture. You don't have to tell her that she's hardheaded if you don't want to."

His mouth twitched a little, the joke just a shade too morbid for him to laugh at with any eagerness. "I think it's a family trait. Is she awake yet? Or ready to take visitors...? I drove here from Metropolis with my brother when Dad called."

"She regained consciousness in recovery, though we had to give her some pretty strong painkillers." Dr. Bryce took another look at the young man next to her and then away. "She's been dozing in and out, but has been surprisingly lucid when she's come around. She seems very concerned about someone called Clark?"

"My little brother. He's fourteen, and.... obviously distraught." While Lex was barely clutching onto calm except for the internal assurance that his mom had to be semi-indestructible. Had to be. "Is she allowed to take visitors yet?"

"I'll allow the family in to see her, as I don't think she'll become less restless otherwise." She gave him a shrewd look, "And neither will you, will you?"

"Well, I want to be sure she's getting the best care possible, and if Smallville's Medical Center wasn't up to snuff, I'd have her transported to Metropolis General." He returned those words mildly in response to her shrewd glance -- softened from what he'd been planning to say, but she'd been forthright about Martha's condition when he'd asked.

That earned him a piercing almost affronted look. "You would imply that my patients would get second rate care?" Dr Bryce bristled. "Mr. Luthor, if we were unable to cope..." The sarcasm was ladled on a little thickly there. "... then rest assured that I would have had your mother sent to Metropolis myself into the care of a specialist. Believe me, we're capable of giving our patients decent medical care."

He didn't shrug, but he flicked his eyes momentarily heavenwards. Sure they were capable. Sure. "Maybe this place has improved in the past eleven years."

"I wouldn't know about the past eleven years, only the short time I've been here," she replied tucking her hair back again. "Now then, your brother and father are in the waiting room, yes? I think we ought to update them as well." The implication that she might be incompetent had been enough to raise a flush of unnecessary anger to her cheeks.

"I believe so." And they were heading back towards the waiting room. Just a little further to go and then Clark might actually calm down some. "How long do you think she'll need to stay here?"

"In the hospital itself? Even with the new move to get patients back home as soon as possible, I'd say five days to a week minimum and that will only be if she has a lot of support at home." Dr Bryce said as they entered the waiting area. Clark was pail and leaning against the wall and against Jonathan but he immediately turning to find Lex.

"Dad, Clark, I found Dr. Bryce." Lex stepped away from her, towards his little brother who didn't seem quite so little. "Mom's able to take visitors."

The doctor gave Lex a half-amused, half-annoyed look and continued. "Mr. Kent, your wife has regained consciousness a few times since being in recovery. Since I don't think she's going to settle until she's seen her family, I'm allowing visitors for a short period. She's been transferred to a private room up here. If you'll just follow me..."

"Thank God." That was all Jonathan said as he started to his feet, and followed.

"Come on, Clark," Lex said, quieter as he tugged at his brother's arm for a moment.

Clark got up unsteadily. "She's okay?" he asked his brother where he would not ask the doctor, even as they followed him.

"Sounds like she is, Clark -- I'm going to call in to the office and take a week or so off to help around the farm, all right? There's no need for you to miss any school because this happened. It sounds like Mom could be here for a week, maybe longer."

Clark looked a little alarmed at that. "You'll stay?" he checked. Dr. Bryce paused by a door and gestured for them to enter.

"Don't over tire her. You have an hour and then I'm sending you home for the night," she announced.

"Yes, ma'am." Dry, flippant response, and Lex gave the doctor a last glance before Clark gained his full attention. "I'll stay."

She nodded and opened the door so they could see their mother lying dozing in the hospital bed with various tubes taped to her and monitors beeping rhythmically away to the side of her. It was hard to see much aside from the bruising on her face and the bulk of bandages and supports for her ribs and arms. It was probably the most vulnerable they had ever seen her in their lives. Even with the occasional flu or viruses that had touched their family, Martha and Jonathan were both the type to soldier on.

Clark at least looked very shaken at the sight. Their mom was meant to be invulnerable, and his dad, just like Lex was.

"Martha..." Jonathan looked near tears; just near them, as he edged towards her and finally placed his fingers over her hand. Somehow people looked worse coated in bandages and tubes, than they did bloody and freshly battered.

Lex flinched just a little, and then laid a steadying hand on Clark's shoulder. "Everything is going to be all right..."

Clark blinked rapidly, his eyes filling with liquid that blurred his vision. "Mom..." It was an apology and a plea all in one slightly strangled croak of a syllable.

She moved slightly at the sound of their voices as if she had been forcing herself to stay this side of sleep. Her eyes partially opened, resisting the fluttering less practical people would have made and she blinked a little, trying to focus on them all.

"Hey, Mom," Lex greeted softly, a little further away than the near wordless Clark and Jonathan. "We're all here for you."

"Lex." Martha gave a faint smile to him, proving the expression was instinctive now when it came to her children. She glanced over at Jonathan and her comparatively uninjured hand found his. "Clark?" Her eyes were half-lidded again as if staying awake was hard work.

"He's here, Martha," Jonathan assured. "Lex brought him home."

Martha's eyes dropped closed a moment as if gathering strength and when she opened them again it was if she had fought her way through the haze at least momentarily. "Clark, sweetheart," she said in a normal tone, demanding his full attention.

Lex pushed his brother gently forwards, just a prod towards the other side of the hospital bed so she could see him better. "Go on..."

Clark was practically shaking as he stepped closer to his mother. "Mom... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to... I..." His voice cracked completely and Martha reached her uninjured arm up to pull him closer.

"It's all right, Clark, I know," she said very clearly, obviously speaking to all of them there, in case they hadn't heard the real course of events. "It was an accident, and it's okay. I love you, sweetheart, it's okay..."

Clark needed to hear those words from Martha, more than he needed to hear them endlessly assured from Lex. Lex watched, tight lipped; he knew what had happened, of course, but there was no way of knowing Jonathan knew except for the understanding glint that'd been in Jonathan's eyes since he'd first looked up at Clark in the waiting room. Everything was going to work out.

It was a peculiar magic that mothers had, to strip away all the years from their children with a few words. Sometimes it could lead to embarrassment and in this case it could lead to a healing release. Lex's brother was suddenly stripped of his teenager's need to be strong and in control, and if there had been anyone else there the embarrassment might have ruined everything. As it was, the tears just came and he sobbed as he sank down perched on the edge of a chair and bowing his head over his mom's side. It had been threatening all night, only barely kept in check in the apologies made to his brother and his father, but they couldn't give him the answer he had needed to hear. Now he had it and it was too much, but it was also enough.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," Lex whispered, and he made his way over to Jonathan. "I need to make a few quick calls." Give Clark and Jonathan some privacy, too.

Martha was stroking Clark's hair gently, but it didn't stop her from focusing on him and saying softly. "Thank you, Lex," as if she knew exactly what he had done and how he had managed to deal with his brother.

She didn't know, of course, but she could guess and probably guess right. Lex smiled a little, drawled, "There's no need for thanks," as he slipped out of the door.

He always felt awkward in hospitals.

There was no reason for him to feel comfortable in hospitals, was there? Not after his own experiences with them. Surgeries, testing, testing, the implants, more testing, having to have the implants replaced every few years. The day the sky fell in. His mother's painful demise...

Lex let his mind wander as he walked down to the cafeteria, following the signs and their tidy directions. He got a coffee from the canteen, and three bags of M&M's from the vending machine, and claimed a table in the corner for himself. He'd make those phone calls after he finished his coffee and one of the bags of candy. It was a very nutritious dinner. Clark would need at least one the way his metabolism... or whatever it was worked, and Jonathan would, too. None of them were going to be in the mood to cook a late dinner by the time they got home.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dr Helen Bryce, with coat and bag in hand getting coffee and catching sight of him as she turned. She paused a little puzzled to see him there and obviously intrigued or concerned she headed over. "Hey... uh hi...." she corrected herself as if realizing she sounded a little abrupt. "Not in with your mother?"

He glanced up at her, and lowered his coffee cup back down to the table. "I thought Jonathan and Clark needed her attention more," he drawled easily. "Is this when you get off your shift?"

"Technically? An hour ago, but it's a little difficult to leave on time with things unfinished," she replied, automatically perching on the opposite chair, but in a manner that clearly signaled she could be rushing off at any moment and this was for the sake of convenience only.

"I know how that goes. Wanting to see things through, of course, is a mark of a competent worker." She looked a little familiar to him, but Lex knew if he mulled it over long enough it would come to mind. "You're young to be a doctor, Dr. Bryce. So you must be very good at what you do. I'm sorry if I offended you earlier with my remark about Metropolis General..."

"Considering I worked there prior to here, then no offense taken. And please, I'm off duty, you can call me Helen," she replied. "Bigger fish in a smaller pond at an early stage in my career. I'm the archetypal ambitious female medical professional, apparently."

"You say that as if it isn't admirable to fit an ambitious archetype, Helen. I certainly think it is." He took another sip of coffee, and a couple of M&Ms before offering them to her with a gesture. "This will probably sound like a tired line, but you look familiar. But I'm not sure if it's you, or one of your parents that I'm recognizing."

"A tired line might work on a tired doctor." Helen gave a faint smile taking an M&M. "Energy Food. Can't do without them. My father is a plastic surgeon to the elite and mother does the charity circuit in Metropolis like a pro." She sounded a little bored by the whole thing. "I'm a terrible disappointment because I haven't followed in her footsteps... or, for that matter, in my father's exactly. I shouldn't be getting my hands so dirty, you know?"

"And you think he doesn't?" Lex smirked dryly. "There's nothing more frightening than a forty year old executive trying to reclaim his youth with spotty hair implants and a facelift. I say that's getting your hands dirty. I probably know your mother, though. There's not a charity in Metropolis that my mother didn't set up a small fund for."

Helen looked at him quizzically. "But you said Martha Kent is your mother... and I'm sorry, but I know I haven't met her before."

"She is, but I'm... well, not adopted. The Kents were my legal guardians. After my parents both died suddenly." Oh, now that was surprising, and Lex gave her a slight, genuine smile as he explained. "I'm Lex Luthor of the Metropolis Luthors. You know, LuthorCorp, Starr Labs, Metropolis General, Luthor Towers, a hundred other things that my father's vanity demanded carry our proud last name?"

That plainly surprised the doctor. "Well, well.... of course. I didn't make the connection, I'm afraid, Mr. Luthor. I'm at the most only dimly aware of business politics."

Lex took another swallow of his coffee, smiling still. "That's perfectly all right.... and please, call me Lex. My last name is still anathema in Smallville."

She smiled. "Something I should put on my diagnostic charts then Lex," she said in a blunt manner. "Perhaps I should apologize. I've never been blessed by an overdeveloped sense of tact. I've even been on a compulsory anger management course for my... overreaction to inefficiency. I hope I haven't offended you too much, but I can't honestly say that I didn't mean anything I said."

"No, no offense taken. If I didn't have a steel spine, they'd have eaten me alive in Metropolis." He offered her the M&Ms again, and drawled, "Anger management, hmn? You're a little young for that, aren't you? Or are the people you work with just that intolerable?"

"Metropolis General had its fair share of know-it-all interns." Helen smiled as she took another M&M. "I was one of them after all, but I never ignored an ER doctor's instructions in a manner that endangered a life. Drug overdose -- a student from MetU. Nearly lost him as well and... we shouldn't have. That near miss made me irritable enough to drop kick the guy." Helen looked anything but repentant. "Pastures new beckoned not only for career reasons."

"Wise decision," Lex grimaced a little. Ah, drugs -- a memory not quite five years behind him, and one not likely to soon be forgotten. "I can only imagine what it's like to have to work for someone."

"Pardon my bluntness, Lex, but you seem young to be running everything." Helen said tilting her head questioningly. "Do you?"

Now that was offensive, but it was also a genuine question. "Unlike most of my contemporaries, I do. My father was my age when he held the reins of LuthorCorp, and steered it away from mere chemical manufacturing to the marketing and creation. I plan on taking it as many steps forward as possible."

"A great accomplishment." Helen Bryce seemed as blunt with praise as she was with her questions. "And you haven't let your connection with your foster family fade." She sounded impressed by that at least.

"Why would it? They were there for me during what would've arguably been the shittiest years of my life if they hadn't been there. I could've been that overdosed druggie, otherwise." He took another sip of the coffee, then rotated the cup to stir up the sludge that'd settled on the bottom. "I'd be a complete ass if I didn't spend the time with them that I do."

"Busy people tend to lose touch with other people. I would be hard pressed to recall the last time I spoke to my parents," Helen admitted, drinking her own coffee. Not a word said about the drugs, though. "Speaking of which, you might want to think about fetching your family shortly," she said glancing at her watch briefly.

Lex glanced down to his watch, and popped another M&M. "Five more minutes. I really can't stand hospitals. Not the buildings themselves, but the tubes and the wires..."

"Ah..." Helen nodded. "A lot of people are uncomfortable around them, which is natural I guess. Who really wants to be in hospital if they can help it? But those tubes and wires help save lives when it comes down to it."

"Which I'm well aware of. But they can also extend the hours of someone dying, and I've seen enough of that to make me more than a little wary." He finished off his coffee, and then sat back, looking Helen over before he added flippantly, "Plus, I'll make my little brother nervous if I pace. There really isn't anything I can do to make her get any better faster."

"He's reacting badly?" Helen asked with a touch more sympathy. "He looked a little pale when I took you all to the room."

"He was supposed to be home with her, but came to see me, and he blames himself for not being there. It's understandable." And technically, Lex wasn't lying -- Clark did blame himself. He hadn't been there when the ambulance arrived.

"Ah." Helen nodded and picked up her empty cup. "Well, my bed is calling me Lex, so I hope you'll excuse me. I'll most likely see you tomorrow if you're not returning to Metropolis."

He rose smoothly, picking up the two other bags of M&Ms, and wadded the empty one into his own empty cup. "I'll see you tomorrow, Helen. Have a good night."

She nodded. "You too, Lex." She gave him another smile that made her face bright and attractive behind the stern unforgiving lines that seemed odd on one so young. "Hope you all manage to rest well."

Lex scoffed a little, but shrugged with his eyes. "Thanks. I'll pass that on." And then he turned, dropped his trash in a can, and headed back towards the elevators.

Phone calls could be made early in the morning, he decided.

He arrived back at the room with not long before they had to leave. Clark had at least stopped crying though the combination of emotion and the meteor band made him look dreadful, even as he glanced around to see who was coming in the room.

"Hey," Lex greeted softly as he strode in, and closed the door behind him quietly. "Is she asleep?"

Clark shook his head. "Not quite," he answered only to have that reinforced by Martha opening her eyes again.

"You boys should all be in bed by now," she said in a faint version of her usual good-natured scolding.

"Soon enough," Lex smiled a little as he neared the bed on the side where Clark sat.

"We'll be back tomorrow, Martha," Jonathan promised softly, and he leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said with a hint of her dry wit, being as normal and unaffected as possible. If none of them looked any deeper than her voice they would have assumed that maybe she was a little tired and just inconvenienced by having to stay here, rather than seriously hurt; but then, that was the idea. "Go on, go home," she said again, the weariness creeping in.

Jonathan nodded a little, and started to stand. That was when Lex darted in, and brushed a brief kiss over Martha's forehead. "Rest up, and don't worry, okay? The only thing you need to concentrate on is resting."

"I don't think they'll allow me to do anything else," Martha replied and then smiled up at her oldest son, not having to say anything else. That was just as well because it seemed like the need for rest finally won out over her will and her eyes closed into sleep.

Lex stepped back, quiet a moment, and then he glanced over to Clark as he walked towards him. "C'mon. Once we get home, you're taking that thing off. Here, and I got you something from the vending machines."

"It's safer not to," Clark replied giving a faint smile at the packet of M&M's "Thanks, Lex."

"It's not configured properly. I need a chance to tinker with it a little," Lex countered as he urged Clark towards the door. As long as he didn't stop moving, he could probably keep himself going for hours. "You look tired, Dad. Did you drive here, or...?"

"I drove. Phoned you from the truck," Jonathan replied indeed sounding weary. The emotional stress of waiting in that room had tired him in a way that a full day working on the farm couldn't. "You drive Clark back? And I want to know what... needs configuring?"

"Later," Lex assured him smoothly. "Why don't you leave the truck here overnight, and we can bring it back tomorrow? You need some sleep."

Jonathan seemed to consider that and then nodded. "That's a good idea, Lex." he admitted.

"You and Clark can argue over who sits in the back 'seat'," Lex teased gently, and paused in the doorway to peer in at Martha one last time. They'd all come back the next day, after all; but it still felt wrong for the three of them to be leaving her here alone, even though they had been told that she would sleep through the night, and that there was nothing they could do to help. It didn't feel right even though she wanted them to go home and be as normal as possible. For Lex in particular there was always that feeling, that faint tug, that hospitals weren't places where people got better. They were places of tests where people went to die.

He knew he wouldn't be comfortable until Martha was out of that bed and home, and from the look of Clark and Jonathan, neither would they.

The house seemed curiously empty without Martha there. The days had passed with the three men of the Kent household 'getting-by' and putting on an appearance of coping with what had happened, though coming back from the hospital always seemed to end in few words and a silence born of each of them disappearing into their own thoughts.

In Clark's case, they were thoughts that couldn't and wouldn't leave him alone. For all the reassurance Martha herself could give him, his gentle nature tortured itself about the injury he had caused, even by accident. Every night horrific nightmares devoured him, and sleep had been something that eluded him. It was now something he avoided as long as he could. Eventually, the utter exhaustion that sank into his bones from wearing the meteor rock band and helping out and then dealing with everything that was going on would try and tip him into sleep, though, and the nightmares would swallow him whole, getting worse and worse.

Five nights after and the worst yet had him trapped in its grip. He was too exhausted to wake properly, and he had defied his brother by wearing the band even at night.

The farm was empty around him, and he looked up at the sky as the green fire started to fall again, ripping the sky apart and then causing destruction everywhere. Yet somehow he could control where they fell and always he had to choose who would live and who would die...

And the choices got harder and harder... and he just wanted it to be him so that he didn't have to choose...

So he ran out and stood wanting to be hit... god, yes... and it hurt, it hit him and hurt.... but then he was stronger -- stronger even than he was now and it was forever and he turned and people died because he looked at them, died because he breathed on them, because he touched them and oh god, there was Lex and Mom and Dad and...

His Mom lying still, blood trickling from her mouth... And she was dead.

And Lex...

"Murderer! You're no brother of mine! You're an alien..." The vicious words tore into him where nothing else could. "You expect us to love you now?"

Clark pleaded even in the dream. "It was an accident, Lex, you told me it was!"

This Lex was different, vicious and hard. Not his Lex but one that hated him as if his existence depended upon it. This Lex had a gun. This Lex had a gun that he knew could stop him. The bullets would stop all of this and he was terrified. Shaking and terrified. And when his brother fired all the bullets even though he screamed the only thing he felt was... grateful.

And then hands on his shoulders, jerking at him with the strength of training and pointed exercise.

"Clark, Jesus, Clark -- wake up, c'mon, wake up..."

It was hard to let go of that feeling of dying, even as he was brought to awareness and the fear made him shake. "Please, Lex! No! Don't!" he moaned still hazy with the dream, shaking all over with the shock of it as he had night after night. Every night it was the same. Everyone died, and then Lex would kill him because for some reason Lex was the one person he could never ever kill. Even if in some of the dreams he hurt him and oh god, they were the worst but... maybe he was going to do it again.

"Clark, get a hold of yourself!" Lex hissed, and he gave Clark another's shake before he slipped a hand up to his brother's cheek, touching his face.

"Stay away! Stay away! I don't want to hurt you again!" Clark babbled, pushing the hand away weakly. "Just use your gun, please... Oh, please, Lex!"

"Clark." Lex's command tone, and he slipped past Clark's brush and cupped his cheek again, other hand on his shoulder. "Clark, wake up. You're dreaming."

The touch was enough to convince him. In the nightmares no one could touch him and he swallowed a whimper and blinked his eyes open, his head feeling raw inside.

"Lex?"

"I hope I am," Lex smirked a little, but he went on less dryly. "Clark, I told you to not wear that when you're sleeping. It's too strong, and I drove all the way to Metropolis and back yesterday so I could get the supplies to fix it."

"Have to," Clark mumbled looking down in the dim light. "Could be dangerous otherwise."

"You're asleep," Lex reminded him softly, and he sat on the edge of the bed. Clark had been so ragged, so erratic the past few days, and it hurt to watch that. "I'm not sure how that could be dangerous."

"I'm not... sleeping well," Clark said in a massive understatement. "I destroyed my lamp in my sleep a couple of nights ago. I... thought... maybe..." He stopped, too tired to even explain. He so wanted someone to be with him but he just didn't dare ask. What if in a nightmare he hurt them? What if he had one of these growth spikes in his sleep?

"You've been breaking stuff by accident for years, Clark. Lamps don't matter much." Lex patiently reached for Clark's wrist, inspecting the band. "It's almost four. Do you think you can get back to sleep, or do you want to sit up and talk?"

The skin was livid around the area and painful looking. "You... you go back to sleep Lex. I'll... just go downstairs or something."

Lex stood, and rubbed an absent hand over his scalp. "Get a glass of juice for yourself, and meet me in the barn -- will you take that off long enough to let me work on it with you watching?"

Clark nodded. "Yeah, okay." He could just sit away from his brother during that time until it was safe again he reasoned. "It can wait 'til morning?"

"It is morning, isn't it?" Lex asked wryly. "Dad'll be up in another hour, after all."

Clark hung his head a little. "I'm sorry, Lex. I didn't mean to wake you up," he said getting up anyway, if a little unsteadily.

"It's not a problem, Clark," Lex said, watching his brother carefully as he got up. "I'm a light sleeper."

"How did you know I wasn't sleeping well?" Clark threw on an over shirt out of habit and some pants, too, though he could have gone across as he was and not felt any different. It was a good habit of mind for him to get into.

Lex left the room, and crossed to his own room, and mechanically slipped out of his pajamas and into clothes for the day. "I heard you whimpering."

"Oh." Clark flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry. I'll uh... meet you out there in a minute okay?" he called in a low voice and didn't wait for an answer before disappearing very slowly downstairs with a weary sound to his step. By the time Lex came downstairs, he was getting a glass of juice and the faint perk of the pot showed he had thought to make a coffee for Lex as well, although he was in the process of being sleepily slumped over the table in the dim light waiting for it to boil.

Lex paused for a moment, just inside of the kitchen's space, watching him.

Clark glanced over at him, his eyes murky and dark. "Hey. Thought I was meeting you in the barn?" he said in a low voice.

Lex smiled a little deprecatingly, and nodded as he paced towards the fridge. "Guess I'm still a little fuzzy."

"I'm making you some coffee," Clark replied pillowing his head again on his hands staring at the juice in front of him. He seemed to be trying to see something in the murky orange depths and he was feeling a bit better for not wearing the band already but even that was worrying.

"I noticed," Lex agreed. He glanced through the contents of the fridge. "Look, Clark? I'm going to work on this but I also want you not to wear it all the time. It looks like it was seriously hurting you."

"What? But I need it!" he protested, "I'm not normal enough without it." Never mind the fact he hadn't dared TRY to be normal since the accident, that no matter how much it made him feel lousy, sometimes it was the only way he felt sure.

"I've been watching you, Clark. It's a crutch. Maybe it's a good idea in limited amounts, but you're using it all the time. Dad's worried." Lex closed the fridge door, and then moved to stand beside his brother.

"You... you can't take it away from me, please, Lex! What if I hurt one of you?" Clark talked fast, desperately trying to persuade him, "I need it!"

"No, you don't, Clark. This strength is something you're gifted with, and it's probably going to be with you all of your life. You need to learn how... how to cope with things."

"You don't understand! I don't want it. I don't want to be able to do this sort of thing to people. I don't want everyone I love to die because of me!" Clark looked nearly frantic. "It's going to get worse, I can feel it, Lex and.... it just CAN'T!"

Lex gave in then, touched Clark with a firm clutch of his shoulder. "It's not. That's just a fear. You're afraid it'll get worse, but honestly, Clark. It was an accident. And look at all of the good you've been able to do with your strength."

Clark nearly jumped away but he wanted the contact so much he didn't and he couldn't risk moving in a way that would hurt Lex. "Like what?" he said his mood swiftly becoming depressed.

"How about when the bookcase fell?" Well, it had fallen because of Clark... "Or when the stairs in the mansion collapsed. What about that?"

"Didn't stop you getting hurt, and it was my fault anyway," Clark said morosely. He wasn't going to cry anymore, he'd decided that. Lex didn't cry, so he wouldn't either. It didn't stop the need to though, and that was congealing into a hard lump in his throat.

"How was that your fault?" Lex challenged seriously, and he moved away for a moment to pull a chair up near Clark.

"You were taking my friends out because I asked you to, and if I hadn't dropped the bottle I would have hit that step first and everything would have been fine," Clark said as if reciting dry, incontrovertible facts.

"That's a hell of a lot of maybes," Lex chided. He rested his chin on his forearms after crossing them over the back of the chair. "Let's work in the realities. The people who were supposed to keep the place up to snuff weren't, and if you hadn't protected me, I would've died."

Clark shook his head hesitantly. "No... 'cause you wouldn't have been there. Or... something."

"Then they would've collapsed on someone else, or me, at a later time. And maybe you wouldn't have been there to keep my neck from snapping." Lex looked at him candidly. "Let's not play the maybe game, all right?"

"Okay," Clark seemed to realize the futility of that at least, but there was obviously something still troubling him that he seemed to be trying to work out how to ask.

Lex was silent for a moment, still watching him intently. "I'd like to try to help however I can, Clark -- you know that."

Clark looked at him, opening his mouth a moment and then closing it uncertainly. He needed to ask it... but... He went at obliquely. "In the dreams, Lex, I hurt lots of people, choose if they live or die. And I'm too strong, too dangerous and everyone dies." He took a deep breath, "Except you. You always kill me in the end." There was a long pause before a rather rough emotional voice asked, "I need to know if you would do that for me."

Scoffing probably would've been a bad idea; so would saying 'yes'. But Lex looked seriously at Clark, and seemed to be weighing his expression and his words to his tone. "If.... if you were to really lose it, Clark... if anyone I knew were to really lose it, I'd do everything possible to stop them from hurting others or themselves."

"You would?" The relief in Clark's voice was evident as if he had managed to share somehow the burden of responsibility of what he could become with someone he trusted. "I don't want to hurt anyone Lex, especially not you, Dad or Mom... again."

"I know, Clark, but accidents happen. It's just as likely that you'll do that again, that as... that I'll hit someone with my car," Lex shrugged a little. "But if it makes you feel better, I would."

"It does, because you've never lied to me and I trust you," Clark replied, looking at his older brother with tired but much happier looking eyes.

Lex shifted when he heard the coffee pot's drip turn off, and then patted Clark's arm as he stood up. "All right. So then it's settled. You're not wearing the band any longer."

Clark looked like he was going to protest but then deliberately clammed up. "Okay," he agreed in a quiet voice.

"I understand why you want to wear it, Clark, but there are better ways to cope than that. Just like I've found healthier ways to stay awake than doing meth." If large amounts of coffee could be considered healthy, but Clark wouldn't seriously argue that point.

"It's... it's okay, I'll just try not to touch anyone or anything." Clark replied, unable to hide the loneliness that filled that comment.

"Clark... that wasn't my point." Lex pivoted away from the tempting coffee pot, and back to his brother. "Stand up. You're going to hug me. To prove to yourself that you won't crush me in the process."

Clark did get up but it was to back away. "No! No, Lex, I can't!" he said sounding panicky.

Lex stood his ground, but didn't move closer to Clark. "Clark. You're not going to hurt me, and you can't act like this forever."

Clark looked at his brother." I could hurt you," he replied, "Don't you understand? I could really hurt you. I wouldn't want to, but that doesn't matter! It could still happen, just like it did with Mom!"

"The circumstances are different," Lex countered. "You... dammit, never mind. Fine, Clark. Fine. I give up, I surrender. What would you like for breakfast?"

"I'm not hungry," Clark replied looking relieved that Lex was going to keep his distance. He hadn't been hungry since it happened. He hadn't been much of anything.

"You are," Lex countered. "So for breakfast you're getting whatever will clean out the fridge. C'mon and help me."

Clark looked at him again and just gave in. Now he was annoying Lex, and he didn't want to do that, even if he had no appetite to eat. "Okay, Lex," he replied quietly. He'd still do anything Lex said as long as it meant that Lex wouldn't get hurt.

"Okay, Lex, okay Lex..." It was almost cruel mimicry, but Lex was good at it, and tossed out a smile and a frustrated expression to go with it. "We've still got fresh eggs. You want an omelette?"

Clark gave a bit of a shrug. "Okay," he repeated showing his willingness to play along by bending to get a frying pan out of the cupboard. He turned on the light next to the stove, blinked as his eyes hurt from the sudden change and nearly backed into his brother by accident as he stepped back instinctively

"Easy there," Lex murmured, and he put a hand on Clark's back. Just one hand, because he had the plastic container they put the cleaned eggs into in his other hand.

Clark froze a moment. They probably looked silly, Clark with a frying pan in one hand like a statue, and Lex behind him, touching him with one hand and eggs in the other. He didn't want that touch to go away. For five days, he had avoided touching anyone and anything with varying degrees of success but the deprivation made him hungry for more in a way he couldn't even express. Touching was natural to him, and everything felt wrong and off center and totally unbalanced without it.

"Amazing. My hand didn't shatter to dust while touching you when you were moving. How did that happen?" Lex reached past Clark, and set the eggs on the counter.

It was plain that Clark didn't know, or understand. Perhaps under more settled circumstances he might have realized he was being an idiot and putting himself through some sort of penance for hurting someone he loved but right now, he looked totally astonished and it showed as he glanced to look at Lex.

Lex patted his brother's back, and then ducked to put his forehead on Clark's shoulder, snickering a little. "Clark, Clark, Clark."

"You're... laughing at me?" Clark asked some of his tension vanishing under the sustained contact and lack of Lex falling apart.

"Mmhm, I am," Lex agreed, and he lifted his head a little. "You seriously need to stop being an idiot over this, Clark. It was an accident, but look. You just touched me, and I didn't shatter."

Clark considered this. He was being an idiot, even he knew he was being an idiot but he couldn't help it. Irrational connections were protecting his sanity. He still felt guilty but... Lex had taught him over the years to believe the evidence, not the speculation. He put the frying pan down and then decisively and carefully turned to face his brother. "You sure about this?" he asked.

"Absolutely."

With the sort of attitude he usually used for approaching meteor rock he very, very carefully slipped his arms around his brother and gave him a gentle hug, his closeness wonderful and reassuring. Lex remained uncrushed, unhurt. Clark's strength surge had probably started to fade by the time they had reached the hospital on the first night, but he had been so worried about it that he hadn't even dared to try and experiment. He gave a startled half laugh as he realized everything worked under his control again.

Lex half-hugged him back, rubbed Clark's shoulder, and murmured, "See?"

Clark leaned his head in against his brother, his soft hair mussed and tickling against his skin as he chuckled almost hysterically into his shoulder. Fragments of words were audible through the heaving laughter, "I'm an idiot... stupid... thicker than shit..." That brought a fresh burst of laughter.

"Let's not go that far, Clark."

Clark was still laughing. "Oh God, Lex, how do you put up with me?" he asked disentangling himself slowly and had to steady himself against the table even as he continued giggling.

"Not sure," Lex teased him a little, and he ruffled Clark's hair a little as he went to the stove and started up one of the burners. "But I've been doing it for years, so I don't see why I'd stop now."

Clark eased himself onto the stool, still unable to stop the laughter at himself from bubbling up over and over. "I'm glad you don't," he said with a real Clark smile. "Really glad."

"Then we're in agreement. On whatever. Look, could you pour me a cup of coffee so I don't pass out in the pan?"

Clark did so, still trying to stop the hysteria from making him laugh any more as he passed over the strong brew and listened a moment. "I think Dad is up."

"Great. Pour him a cup and then we can try smiling a lot like we've done something suspicious."

There was no problem with that, as Clark still hadn't completely controlled his giggles after he'd poured a cup of coffee and had it waiting for his father when he arrived downstairs.

Jonathan stopped a moment once he was in the kitchen, and glanced at their matching off kilter smiles. "Isn't it damn early for whatever you two are up to?"

"I'm just making breakfast," Lex tsked a little, and he waved his spatula as if that was his defense.

"I'm just serving coffee," Clark said waving the mugs around, "Oops." His chuckle was just a little strained as he passed it over to his father. "Sorry, Dad."

Jonathan eyed Clark a little, now wary, and took the cup from his hand. "So what're you two doing up so early?"

"I... couldn't sleep." Clark said and glanced at Lex, "Lex heard me so he got up, too."

"And we haven't done anything to the tractor."

"Lex!" Jonathan's voice rose in weak imitation of Martha's startled tone, more shocked than angry. "You--"

"Just kidding," he drawled, and slid the makeshift omelet onto a plate for Clark. "Do you want one? They should be edible."

Jonathan relaxed a bit. "Well it beats going out in the cold with only toast in me," he said watching Clark carefully. He was trying not to show how worried he was about his youngest son because he kept finding things Clark should have eaten in the trash. Admittedly their cooking wasn't great, but it wasn't that bad.

Clark sat with his plate and after a moment's hesitation actually began to eat the omelet in front of them.

"I don't think the toaster's willing to work with me this morning," Lex decided when he broke another three eggs into the pan. It was good to just be. And sure, there were probably twenty messages waiting for him to answer, and ten more phone calls, and an astonishing amount of work, but not yet. Not. Yet. Being back in Smallville for 'vacation' beat an island in the Caribbean any day.

Jonathan turned his attention from Clark to Lex moving closer. "You coming in today? Dr. Bryce is going to let us know when your mother can come home today."

"Of course. Thought I'd get some groceries to stock the pantry again, and then I'll go over there." Clark had school, so Lex would probably drive him in again. Lex shifted, pushing his sweater sleeves up with his sides.

"That would be good." Jonathan nodded and they were both conscious of a sudden hollow thump on the table behind them.

Lex turned, and couldn't help but stare for a moment. He let out a low short whistle, and then moved to haul Clark at least semi-upright in the chair. Clark had slumped over the plate having eaten his first hot food in a while and his system had crashed, catching up with him rather abruptly.

"I suppose we should leave him here?"

"We should try and get him to the couch at least." Jonathan rubbed the back of his neck. "He needs to sleep himself out, Martha will hang, draw, and quarter us if she sees him how he's looked this morning." He glanced at Lex even as he moved to lift Clark. "What really happened?"

Clark was heavy for fourteen, and Jonathan was just strong enough to lift him, as long as Lex sort of helped by keeping Clark's head from lolling too far down. He didn't answer until Clark was on the sofa, and looked for the familiar afghan. How to phrase it best...?

"He had a nightmare, and that woke me up. He's been wearing that damned band through the night when I told him not to."

"Shit, he hasn't?" It was a rhetorical question. "I know he hasn't been sleeping, but I didn't know about the band."

"I told him to not wear it at night, but he's honestly scared he'll hurt someone." Lex efficiently snapped the afghan over Clark, and let Jonathan settle it down on Clark. "So, I made him hug me, and told him to stop worrying."

"I'm just so used to things not really hurting him." Jonathan looked uncomfortable. "He's doing better now?"

"He looks better, doesn't he?" Lex commented easily. He slipped his hand into his pocket, and pulled out the band, before putting it around his own wrist, and 'turned' it 'off'. "I guess you'll have to put up with me helping with chores today. Let's let him sleep. I'll drive him in to school."

"If he's still sleeping when it's time, let him stay home. Call him in sick. I think the school will understand," Jonathan said. "Come on son, don't want to keep you away from your business too long. Let's get the cows seen to."

Business -- it was easier when he called it that, because it seemed less intrusive into his life, less demanding of his time. Lex nodded, and turned to follow Jonathan out to the barn.

Martha wasn't used to being at home and not being allowed to do anything. Admittedly, to start with, she didn't register the problem, being too tired and in too much pain or woozy from drugs to do much aside from sleep anyway. After being home nearly a week, she was becoming aware again of the dynamics around her. Jonathan she dealt with privately and gently when they were alone, Clark was proving more difficult, but it was Lex who was currently concerning her. He seemed to have tried to shut himself off from displaying emotion about the whole thing, and that wasn't healthy.

Even so, while no one was there she made a slow steady trip to make coffee and wondered if she could persuade Lex to sit for a moment.

That was hard to do. If he wasn't in conference with Clark over something, or helping Jonathan, he was perched somewhere near or in the kitchen, with cell phone up to his ear and laptop out and plugged into the wall. It wasn't a matter of getting him seated so much as paying attention.

Martha made the coffee carefully, just how Lex liked it and then caught him between calls. "Coffee break, Lex?" she said in a tone of voice that made it more a gentle order than a question.

"Uhmn." Lex twitched an eyebrow at her -- out of bed and doing too much was out of the question -- but he curtly told his gopher, "I'll call you back. Something's come up," before he hung up. "Hey, Mom. Are you feeling better today?"

"Not too bad." Martha looked at him. "Could use some company... I know you've been here but I don't feel like I've been able to see much of you."

"I've been trying to keep on top of things," he excused, and tried to not look quite as guilty as her words made him. He closed the laptop, and mindfully laid the phone down on the table. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Martha replied. "I really wanted to set my own mind at ease. I haven't had chance to talk to you about how this has effected you Lex. Do you have a minute? Then I can stop worrying about it. "

"I'm all yours," he smiled a little, and made a loose, expansive gesture with his hands. It was a gesture that Lionel Luthor would've made, in Martha's vague memory of his existence. Maybe it was hereditary. "But I'm not sure what you're getting at."

Martha sat a little uncomfortably on one of the kitchen chairs. "You were very uncomfortable being at the hospital, weren't you?" she asked directly.

"A little," he confessed. "I'm sorry if I didn't visit you much..."

"It's okay, sweetheart, this isn't an exercise in guilt," Martha said, "Quite the opposite in fact. That's the sort of thing I want to clear up. I know my family. We all have this tendency to be selfish with responsibility for things that have nothing to do with us, or heap guilt on ourselves. Jonathan I have... under control... Clark is a work in progress, and that leaves you." She looked at him steadily, and sipped her coffee. "So, make me feel useful here, Lex. Tell me how you are."

"Just fine," he answered honestly enough. Fine as long as he didn't think about being tired and strained, and half-propping up his little brother, and... and. And, it shouldn't have been a problem, but he was always best at coping with things when he could shout and give orders, and Martha knew it.

"You look tired," Martha said with a hint of concern for him in her voice. "You're doing too much."

"I do more at work." Things he was good at, that took thought but didn't delve into his emotional well. "I'm just not very good with this sort of thing. Dad's tense, Clark acted like an idiot most of the time while you were in the hospital, and you..." Lex cracked a slight smile for her. "I'm really not used to seeing you hurt, Mom. I know you had some bruises when Clark was growing up, but..."

"Ah..." Martha nodded, "I thought that might be the case after what happened to your own parents." It was a rare thing for Martha to speak of them so directly. "I'm sorry about that, Lex, really, and sorry about you having to cope with both Clark and your father. They've both leaned on you heavily, I know that, but I also know that they appreciate it a great deal. I know I do, sweetheart."

Lex took a long sip of his coffee, and laid it down carefully before he rested his chin on his palm. "Thanks. Clark's been... a handful. Was I this... jumpy, hard to pin down at his age?"

"In a different way." Martha smiled. "You were less obviously unpredictable. It was only when the sparks flew that we realized something had been going on. Or when we argued, the explosion would come out of nowhere. Clark is scared of what he might become. It's not something most teenagers worry about, it makes him jumpy, and the natural teenage leaning to angst and melodrama makes his problems the worst anyone anywhere has ever had."

Lex couldn't help but chuckle a little, solemn as he agreed. "When he came up to the penthouse, it took forever to convince him that you and Dad wouldn't hate him forever, and that he wasn't a monster."

"I seem to remember someone else being a little sensitive about something like that as well," Martha replied referring to Lex's sensitivity over being called a freak. "Truthfully Lex, if you had been in his position and done something similar, what would you think about yourself?"

"The same thing." But without the same flair for melodrama that Clark had displayed. "Well, almost the same thing. Perhaps. It's hard to say."

Martha nodded. "It was an accident, it happens, I'm not indestructible, unfortunately, unlike other members of this family. I'll get over it," she said again dismissing what had happened all too easily.

Too easily. She could see that Lex wanted to harp on that, but he didn't say anything. "I'm glad you're all right."

"So am I." She paused a moment. "And I am, Lex, okay?" She was giving all of them everything they needed to hear so things could be normal again. "And you've even got a way figured to help Clark control himself, too."

"I did?"

"The band, if you fix it. Clark keep telling me that it will be okay because you're working it out for him." Martha's blue eyes found his. "Is that right?"

He eyes dropped a little guiltily to his own shirtsleeve, and he shook his head. "No. I'm not giving it back to him."

"Why?" Martha asked noticing the movement.

"Because it's a kind of like what would have happened if you and Jonathan had tried to coax me to wear a wig." Carefully chosen words, though he was waiting to see if they were worth the choosing.

"Ah. And pretending to be something you aren't doesn't help you deal with who you are." Martha replied with a nod that made her give a slight flicker of pain.

A quiet, slight wince, and Lex nodded almost for her. "It would be a crutch, and I'd rather he didn't use a crutch that constantly reinforced that he was something different, and that he had to hide it away."

She smiled. "Where did you get all this wisdom from Lex?" she asked, "He's going to be disappointed."

"I already thought I broke that news to him, but if I have to re-disappoint him..." Lex rolled his shoulders and swallowed another mouthful of coffee. "And maybe I subliminally picked it up from you and Dad?"

"Good heavens, you mean you've listened to us?" she teased a little, still smiling. "Seriously, Lex, you're doing okay? You seem to be trying to do so much..."

"Now you've got me concerned, Mom. I don't feel stressed, so what makes you think that I'm not doing okay?" he countered seriously in the face of her gentle smiles.

Martha paused a long moment and shook her head, not knowing why. It was gradually beginning to dawn on her that perhaps it wasn't about Lex after all, but about her. She needed to be wanted and needed and the time in hospital and at home had served to reinforce to her that they could all get by without her very easily with each well meant refusal to let her do anything.

"Nothing, Lex," she looked a bit disheartened.

Lex let his mouth thin out as he looked at her. "Well. It must be something. Your instincts are usually dead on..."

"It's probably nothing, Lex." She gave a sigh. "It's probably more about me thinking the world will fall apart without me." She lightened the last statement with a smile so he would know that she was joking. Well, semi-joking. Actually, not really joking much at all.

"I think it would," Lex remarked honestly. "If you weren't okay and doing better, Mom. I don't know what we would've done. Honestly? I know everything is so neat and tidy here because we all wanted to impress you when they did let you out."

"I feel pretty useless, Lex," Martha replied still with a smile trying to hide the seriousness of her words. "All of you seem to deal with your own problems now. I should be grateful, I guess, but... in some ways I miss it."

"Maybe it's just that all's quiet on the western front? That doesn't mean the battle's over." Lex toyed with his coffee mug, mouth twisting away from the flat tired like of the frown he'd had for a moment. "You're recovering. Maybe none of us want to bog that down with out own trivialities right now."

"But I like trivialities!" Martha gestured a little too enthusiastically with her hand and that obviously did hurt, because she had to take a sharp intake of breath. "Maybe you're right. Isn't there anything I can do to help you? I can't help Jonathan for a while. Besides, you and Clark are doing that..."

"And in four days, I hands down have to return to Metropolis," Lex pointed out gently. "I have a meeting with the board to conduct about expanding the research Starr does. Should be 'fun'."

"I know that." Martha was most definitely not feeling quite her usual self. "We do miss you, Lex, in case you ever wonder... I know how easy it is to start thinking that sort of thing because it's just not said out loud. That's not to make you feel guilty or anything," she added hastily realizing that Lex might interpret it that way. "It's just to let you know that even though officially we're not your guardians anymore, we all think of you as belonging to us, and that this is your home."

"I know." Lex's mouth curled a little, and he reached across the table to clasp his hand over his for a comfortable moment. "I sometimes worry that you guys are getting on too well out here without me. I know Metropolis isn't far, but most days it might as well be New York City."

"Sweetheart, even at our best, having you around could only make things better." Martha replied appreciating the rare voluntary touch. "You know that. I don't think I could ever tell you how grateful I am that you came to be our son, and how special your connection with Clark has been."

Right out of left field again, and she thought she saw a tinge of guilt flash over his face even as he nodded. "I guess we're all pretty lucky then. Bruce was always telling me not to let you guys out of my life."

"And I'm glad we did the same about Bruce. Have you heard from him recently?" If Martha noticed the flicker of guilt she chose to ignore it, or assumed it was to do with something else.

"Not... really." Best childhood friend, to lover, to confidant, to barely ever talked with over the last couple of years, and Martha hadn't missed that. "He's, ah... had some issues that I really try to not think about."

"Oh, that is a shame." Martha did look genuinely sorry and then gave a slight grin. "So there's nothing stopping you from pursuing an interest in Dr. Bryce then?"

"All right," he half-whispered, half chuckled, "Who tipped you off -- Clark or Dad?"

"Your father." Martha grinned back at him, her humor recovered, "He said you spent a lot of time with her... finding out additional information."

"She's a very ambitious woman, quite good at what she does," Lex drawled slyly. "And she turned me down when I asked her to lunch. That in itself has a certain appeal."

"And you certainly don't want someone who sees only dollar signs when they speak to you," Martha said nodding sympathetically a little. "She seems very dedicated."

"I think so." Lex shifted away, standing just to refill his coffee cup. "I bet you never thought the day would come where you'd be talking to me about dating women."

Martha shrugged a little one-sidedly. "To be honest, Lex, with Clark in the family, you tend to try and expect the unexpected. But no, you seemed pretty happy with your choice of preference, it seemed to be a fixture... but I don't really mind who you're interested in as long as you're happy and interested for the right reasons."

"I just can't help but think that if... if my parents were alive, they wouldn't say things like that," Lex mused quietly. "I'm... I'm glad things have turned out this way, Mom."

"I'm sure they would have still loved you just as much as we do," Martha replied touched by that declaration. "I appreciate you saying that, Lex. I've never wanted you to feel that you had to choose, or had to acknowledge me as your mother and Jonathan as your father, but I've never been able to stop thinking of myself as that." She gave a brief smile. "Not since the second day you were here."

"Was that because me and my big mouth decided to publicly humiliate you on the street?" Lex chuckled as he sat back down across from her once again. His cell phone leapt to life, blessedly on vibrate, and he flipped it off with his right hand. Whoever it was could have a lengthy conversation with his voicemail, Martha supposed.

"That might have been the start of it. I think it was probably when I promised you I'd always listen to you no matter what, and that even if we disagreed, it would never mean you wouldn't be part of the family." Martha chuckled a little. "It was the following day when you seemed to realize that and thanked me for listening that I knew. I'll admit I was worried. You did look pretty shocked a lot in those first few days. I felt like the evil stepmother condemning you to poverty and hard labor."

"It helped that Clark was every bit as out of place as I was," Lex admitted as he leaned his elbows on the table, hunching his shoulders for a moment in relaxation. God, it felt like an eternity ago but it was only over a decade.

"It was uncanny how you two took to each other," Martha agreed. "Most older brothers wouldn't want a younger brother being so dependent on them. Clark was inconsolable when you went away the first time. I think he thought it was forever. Once he understood it wasn't, everything was fine. He could wait as long as necessary for you to come back. He still does that now."

"Yeah." Lex glanced down to his laptop and cell phone, and then to the cup of coffee in his hands. "I was thinking of moving out of the city and away from the damned reporters."

Martha looked at him. "The Castle?" she queried allowing some of her pleasure to seep through. "We don't get that much in the way of reporters out here in Smallville... which is the whole point of staying here. I thought you had some big deals to sort out there though?"

"I've been almost micromanaging LuthorCorp for two years. I need to see if what I've done can run itself to a point. Worst case scenario..." He shrugged his shoulders, and patted his laptop. "I work out of the castle, and drive to Metropolis once or twice a week. You know I've got some beautiful cars. It's a shame not to put more miles on their wheels."

"Ah, the real reason hmm?" Martha teased. "That makes sense, Lex. You should never have a business that doesn't have a system to manage itself. Too many people do that and eventually for one reason or another it fails... A victim of one person's indispensability."

"Which is still better than being a figurehead like... someone I know." Wayne Enterprises, owned by Bruce Wayne only in name, but Lex didn't say that aloud, even if he did let his voice twist towards dryness.

Martha raised an eyebrow. "Build a self sustaining system that will last and if there are problems then it will survive. Something most businesses forget is that it's the people that make or break it, at all levels. Not just at the top. Make it attractive and the best will want to work for you. But then, you already know that."

"Yes, Mom," Lex drawled, mouth quirking up a little. "I'd like the freedom to see what I can personally contribute to LuthorCorp other than guidance and the stability of the family name. So a first test would be to see if it could survive a commuter CEO."

Martha quirked a smile back. "You want to be inventing things, don't you?" she asked. "You most certainly would be wasted as a pure businessman, sweetheart."

"I could do it," he told her with confidence. "But LuthorCorp is more fiscally stable than it's been since my father died. I don't have to do it, I don't think. Who knows. If the place goes to hell with less than my full attention I'll go back to Metropolis for however long it takes to get it functioning again."

"Nothing lost for trying," Martha replied. "And I know someone who would be ecstatic if you were back here... and that's just me. Clark will probably be overwhelmed with delight."

"Don't tell him I'm planning this?"

"I won't." Martha replied, "I know it might not be able to happen the way you'd want it, and if it does happen, it could take time. Besides, that's something I think you could save for a special occasion."

"Mmm, now that's an idea." Lex lifted a hand to rub at his eyes. "Right -- I'm sorry, I probably need to return calls, and then see if Dad needs help with the hay. Will you be all right in here?"

Martha nodded. "Yes, sweetheart. I'm sorry I took up so much of your time... for no real good reason," she admitted even if the feeling hadn't entirely gone that there was something to discuss.

"Don't say things like that, Mom. Any reason at all is a good reason to talk to you."

"I think this is a good demonstration of a reason why I should never get hurt again," Martha replied getting up slowly. "I'd drive the lot of you mad."

"Mad with worry," Lex half-agreed as he started to open up his laptop again. "Do you want to go to the living room and watch some TV?"

"I'll just do that... you carry on, Lex, I've forced you to have enough of a break." Martha said as she turned and walked slowly away.

She hadn't been expecting him to follow her, that much was obvious from the way that her expression was showing she was in a lot of pain as she lay on the sofa with her eyes closed and the TV switched on to a random channel. It was more vulnerability than she had ever allowed herself to be seen displaying at the hospital, at home, or with any of them.

Lex stood in the doorway for a moment, watching her drawn expression. Then he padded quietly into the room, and set his laptop down on the floor. "Mom... do you need your painkillers?"

Martha's eyes flew open as if she had caught in a guilty secret. "Ah, I can't take them for another couple of hours. I didn't hear you come in Lex, I thought you were staying in the kitchen." She was aware that she even sounded like she was guilty of something. Guilty of showing weakness perhaps, guilty of making them all feel horrible if they thought she was hurt badly, or just guilty of letting them down, and needing them to help her for once.

"I thought I'd keep you company." Lex looked at her. "I'll stay with you until you've taken it again -- if you don't mind, that is."

She hesitated a moment, knowing that if she tried to stop him he most definitely wouldn't leave. "Of course not. I'd appreciate it," she said instead, managing to pull up her mask of normality again. "You just keep going with your work, don't mind me."

"Mom..." Lex sighed, sitting down near the sofa on the floor. "It's okay to not be in top form. Just relax?"

Her hand patted at him gently. "Okay, Okay... I'll relax," she said. "And try not to peek over your shoulder."

"Promise," Lex playfully demanded, stretching forwards on hands and knees to reach the plug and hook his laptop back in. Then he settled again, back to the sofa but very close to it, with his laptop balanced on his crossed legs.

Little by little, Martha did relax, more comfortable knowing that Lex was there, and more to the point on the whole not looking at her. She dozed fitfully a little behind him but the resurgence of the pain started making her attempts to rest futile. It was ridiculous; the doctors... Well, Dr Bryce described it as 'rather bad discomfort, controllable by painkillers' and that seemed to be doctor speak for paralyzing pain, worse than when it first happened.

With still an hour to go, Martha was sure she couldn't wait another moment, but was forcing herself to do so. It had been two weeks, for crying out loud. Surely it was meant to be getting better! She kept shifting uncomfortably, hoping the throbbing pain would just fade or diminish a little.

Eventually it was unbearable. All of a sudden, Martha seemed to just make her equivalent of a run for her medication. It was admittedly in slow motion and she was ashamed of the fact that she was very nearly in tears by the time she got there. No one was usually around to see it usually, but if there was one thing any serious injury would do, it was to make someone emotional and tearful no matter how controlled they usually were.

She was still hurting when she eventually moved back into the living room. Empty. Lex's laptop and phone were still there, but there was no sign of him.

"Mom?" A footstep from the kitchen, and Lex lingered in the doorway, a new mug in hand. "Do you want some hot cocoa?"

"That... that would be nice, please." Martha replied, stupidly feeling her throat tighten at that small offer of kindness. She was probably a worse patient than Jonathan ever was and Lex and Clark... well, the Kent household just wasn't designed to cope with disability.

Lex healed fast, and acted offended the few times he had been hurt. Clark bore pain, when he felt it, like a true Catholic Martyr. Jonathan was much the same as Lex -- offended that he was hurt, except without the healing ability that sped Lex's few injuries along so quickly.

None of them made for good patients. "Here. Sit down, it's filled almost to the top. Not too hot."

Martha took it gratefully. "Thank you," and then rather belated said. "Sorry about that. I guess I'm not as stoic as the rest of you after all."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Mom." Lex wanted to support her to the sofa, but settled himself with following her closely and making sure she had the cup fully in her hands before he settled onto the floor again, half-watching her.

"It is," Martha said seriously. "It is. If Clark knew... or Jonathan..." Clark would spiral back into a decline, and Jonathan who could be so protective of her he lost his reason sometimes, might end up hating his own son over it. Being stoic wasn't so much a choice as a personal necessity.

"It'll take time to heal." A concept that was half-familiar to Lex from the distant past, unfamiliar to him in that moment. "I don't suppose you'd let me hire an assistant for you until you're better?" It was a nice idea, but probably unwise because of Clark. Not that it stopped him from at least suggesting it.

Martha shook her head. "You know I can't," she said softly . "But thank you for offering. It's okay with the painkillers... I just thought it would be getting better by now...I keep hoping."

"I know, Mom." And Lex wished there were something he could personally do. "Are you sure you don't want a second opinion at Metropolis General?"

The fact that she hesitated was proof that the idea was tempting. "No, sweetheart, I can't say I wasn't told that I would have reasonable discomfort for some time after. It's early days yet. I'm sure Dr. Bryce is more than competent."

"All right. But if you change your mind..." Lex let the offer hang for her, let it stay, because it was something he could do with no hassle at all. "Okay?"

"Okay," Martha agreed. She smiled more to herself than at Lex, wondering when exactly her son had started taking care of her... or them, instead of the other way around. If there was one thing she could do, it was be proud that he had learnt that so well.

"Good." That comforted Lex, even if she didn't quite mean it, and he picked up his typing and note-reading again.

It was easy after that for Martha to drift off.

Dr. Helen Bryce was about to go off-shift and was thoroughly glad of it. Part of her contract stated she was meant to have a certain amount of research time allocated to her in the Hospital Lab, but lately it seemed that the 'ordinary' cases took up more and more time. A lot of the other doctors didn't seem to think she was serious about utilizing the time; she'd heard tell the common opinion was that it was something in her job description to make her look keen and ambitious. Still, there was an interesting experiment waiting for her and she wasn't going to be put off this time. Grabbing her lab coat, she reached her door to leave and with a sinking heart saw a shape looming outside.

Oh god no, not another interruption.

There was a knock, and then, "Dr. Bryce? Helen, are you in?"

She opened the door. Well now, at least it wasn't some intern come to drag her back down to the ER for some reason.

"Mr. Luthor... Lex... You just caught me, I was about to head up to the Lab," she said politely enough. All of the rumor and gossip of Smallville aside, she had to admit that Lex Luthor had a definite presence.

A strong presence, a flash of smile on his mouth, and a muted something behind his eyes. "Can I walk you up -- or down -- there? I just have a couple of quick questions to ask you."

She gave a surprised genuine smile, pleased at not being interrupted. "Of course, Lex. You know how it is, if you stay in your office people know where to find you all the time for anything." She closed the door and glanced at him as she led him towards the first floor lab. "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to ask you a couple of questions about my mom. She seems to be handling things... all right, but she's been in a lot of pain. The painkillers wear off before they should." Lex slowed his pace to match Helen's, though he still carried himself with the same sense of purpose. "I have to go back to Metropolis soon, and I'd prefer not to leave her like this."

"Hmm. How bad does she seem?" Helen asked frowning a little as they walked. It was rather heart warming to see a billionaire who was concerned enough to come personally to talk to his mother's doctor. That was not the sort of thing the rumors described.

The rumors, once she'd started to listen to them -- and they'd picked up in strength since Lex had blown back into town again -- described an affluent, obnoxious young man who was sharp, insulting, and essentially every other negative trait possible. Everyone gossiped, excluding the LuthorCorp employees at the fertilizer plant, who generally didn't care about the rest of the rumors as long as they could maintain above minimum wage again.

"On a scale of one to ten, a ten. I sat with her most of the day yesterday while Clark was at school, and Dad was seeing to the cows; the hour before it was time for her to take another dose she seemed to be in unbearable pain."

"Hmm..." She frowned. "I didn't think I had misjudged the dose that much. She seemed to be managing the pain while she was in hospital and I put her to a lighter dose because she seemed to be doing so well." She became aware that perhaps she shouldn't be musing aloud like that. "I'll do a prescription for a stronger dose, but I do want to see her as soon as possible... in the next couple of days."

"I'll bring her in tomorrow so you can reevaluate if you need to. Just tell me when," Lex offered. "It's just that she's been putting on a really hardy face for Clark and Jonathan's sakes. We're, ah, not a family of good, forthright patients."

Helen gave him a smile. "You're not a family of patients at all," she commented. "The last time you graced these hallowed halls was when you were... what... 12?"

"Broken leg," Lex agreed. "It's a family curse. Dad broke his just two years back. Slipped while bailing hay. Clark's disgustingly healthy, and Mom usually is." Except for that bout of abuse-like wounds and bruises, and Helen had looked over that, too.

"Hmm, looks like your mother has born the brunt of the family injuries." She looked at him again. "But even she hasn't been into the hospital for a good few years. They must grow them resilient around here... have to, to take that sort of impact. Did they ever track down who did it?"

"No, but I'm not surprised. It was probably someone driving through, and by now there's probably no proof to be had wherever they may be hiding," Lex murmured darkly, and then shrugged it off.

She seemed to accept that as an explanation as they reached the lab. "At least whoever it was phoned the paramedics, otherwise..." She paused realizing once again she might have drifted into tactlessness. "Well, it was good that we got to her when we did," she amended as she opened the door. "Damn, they said they were going to leave the higher powered microscope out for me, I didn't want to waste time doing set up."

"Maybe I can help?" Lex suggested, a slight glint lighting up his eyes. "I have a Masters in Biochem."

"A Masters?" Helen looked impressed. It was enough for her to tacitly invite him into the lab with her. "What was your specialty?"

"It's easier to ask what wasn't my specialty," he said without a hint of humbleness in his voice. The environment was familiar even though the layout wasn't, and he spotted the microscope she'd mentioned tidily put away on a shelf and covered with the protective cover. "I had the lab wrapped around my fingers in my freshman year."

"Really? A real scientist and a businessman?" Helen said going over to the culture cupboard and looking for her methodically numbered specimens, snapping on some surgical gloves to be on the safe side as she picked them up.

"Who better to head up a chemical company that has a sparkling EPA record?" Lex went about setting up the microscope, a mindlessly easy task. "I learned a lot of my business tricks from my friend Bruce, who has sadly decided to shun his family business. Still, people should pursue things that make them happy."

"Oh yes? What has he chosen to do instead?" Helen asked easily enough, noting that he hadn't been lying about knowing his way around lab equipment at least. It seemed ridiculous, but she found a prickle of more than interest at the sight of him adjusting the delicate equipment like that.

It had been far too long since she last got laid, obviously.

"Race cars and travel Asia. It's all very 'playboy with too much money', and not quite the Bruce Wayne that I went to school with," Lex tsked, adjusting the microscope to focus on the 'test' paper until he could see the too-fine details of the fibers.

"Mmm... Nice if you have the opportunity and want that sort of thing," Helen replied. "You do much biology? You might be interested in this," she asked hopefully "I've been doing research time on some of the biological material in and around Smallville. I think the technical term is that there is definitely something... weird going on. There appears to be an abnormally high degree of mutagenic cells around. You wouldn't believe the worms around here. Seriously."

Lex smiled, and drawled, "A lot of people suspect it's because of early contamination by LuthorCorp from years ago."

"Well, if is, then it's worth investigating. If there's a substance that can be such a biological accelerant as whatever caused this it could be invaluable," Helen said. "Once it was controlled, of course. It seems to link directly into the DNA and micro cellular level. I think it does something to RNA messengers and rewrites the DNA code."

"And you've been researching this since you got here?" Lex asked with a note of being impressed in his voice.

"Yes. I noticed something very odd in a peculiar cell biopsy on a tumorous lesion of a local woman. The tumor seemed self contained, and was removed easily enough, but the biopsy showed the cells refusing to die after being excised from the body. Can you imagine how exciting that was?" Helen's voice was truly animated.

"Actually, I can -- imagine not having cells die off the way they do. Muscles wouldn't age and atrophy, there wouldn't be dementia."

Helen's smile was dazzling. "Exactly! Exactly. Of course, some government sponsored agency took the original sample but I managed to secure a portion of it for my research and it's still going strong!" She lifted one of the sample dishes. smiling. "After that I've been looking for correlates; trying to identify the substance and the mechanism of alteration because the alterations that I've discovered don't seem to be consistent in nature."

"It could be a mutation," he murmured. "Government, you said?"

"Yes. I submitted my initial report and the next day they turned up and took it." Helen nodded. She smiled. "Perhaps this might answer the reason of why I'm here a little more satisfactorily than before?" There was something a lot warmer and more human about an enthused Helen than the colder persona of Dr. Bryce.

"Oh, it does," Lex drawled, and he shook his head a little. "Have you come across other samples?"

"Human or otherwise?" Helen asked rhetorically. "A few human samples. I have some highly unconfirmed theories that the hormonal system has a great deal to do with the unlocking of the DNA process... sort of making it active. " She laughed a little. "I found a litter of wild rabbits, their dam showing signs of this... mutation. I took the little ones home and they appeared totally normal. And then they reached maturity... and..." She laughed again in disbelief, shaking her head. "I came home one day to find the metal wire had been devoured and they were long gone. After they'd eaten part of a shovel that was in the yard as well... I haven't yet found a way to put that in an official report though."

"Notate it," Lex said seriously. "Notate everything. I miss the days when I could do experiments very often. Maybe soon I can do them again..." He smirked at her a little, looking over the equipment table. "You know, we test some pretty wild things at Starr Labs. I'd be damn pissed with my people if they didn't notate every last thing they observed, whether it was usable in a tidy report or not."

"Oh I have notes," Helen nodded. "My own private notes, but.. metal eating bunnies would be a sure way to lose credibility and grants. Interestingly though, their mutation seemed specifically useful to their environment, or environmental pressure. Same with the worms. Some of the earthworms have developed super chaetaes. You've seen those cartoon where the worm drags the bird down as opposed to being dragged out themselves? Some of these really could."

"I'd have to see it to believe it, but I've seen some pretty weird things in Smallville, so let's just say I wouldn't be surprised. In fa--" Lex stopped talking when his phone started to ring. He slipped a hand inside of his jacket, and turned it off without glancing at it. "Sorry, it seems I'm needed elsewhere. Have a good day, Helen, and good luck with your experiment. I should bring my mother around tomorrow... when-ish?"

"Around ten if that's possible," Helen replied, some of the flush of excitement in find someone who seemed at the least a little interested in what she was doing fading as it became evident that he was going to have to leave. Strange really, that not long before she had been wishing him away, and now she was starting to wish he wouldn't leave.

"Thanks," he told her, and meant it with a surprising sincerity. Lex hesitated at the door, and glanced up to her face. "And maybe you can tell me more about the real reason why you're in Smallville? I've never seen metal eating rabbits, but for a while there, we had some cannibal chickens."

Helen smiled. "I'd love too," she replied. "Oh hey." She hastily took out a pad and jotted down some notes. "Instructions for your mother to up her doses until you bring her in tomorrow. Should hold her over."

Meeting of the scientific minds, and Lex reached out for it with his left hand so he'd put the paper in the proper pocket. "I really appreciate this. She needs it."

"I'll have words with her about full disclosure to her doctor tomorrow, never fear," Helen replied smiling. "And thanks for the help with the microscope, I appreciate that as well... and the company." That was a rather bold statement and Helen seemed to deflect its importance by saying, "I've taken up enough of your time already... go, business calls... stocks, shares and all that..."

"Actually, it's probably a guided tour at the crap factory that calls." He smiled smoothly, and then turned to stride confidently out of the door.

Helen found herself smiling to herself at that comment, and for all her desire to work and get to the lab she was distracted now. Blue eyes, sharp and knowing, distracted at her along with a half smile.

A different type of Smallville mystery but one that could be revealed with the right type of practical research. She smiled.

Lex Luthor wouldn't know what hit him.