Life in the Luthor mansion became a zoo after Lex and Clark found out that they were expecting twins. Delivery trucks came and went from the place everyday with items for the new baby nursery, which was created in the room across the hall from the master suite. Everything that the two men wanted for the babies' room, they got without hesitation. The color and the stencils on the walls, the cribs and bedding, among other things, were precisely chosen and kept immaculate, until the day of the twins' birth. Clark and Lex were quite excited by their new information, so excited that they planned to tell everyone with Jor-El and Ken-Yel's assistance that they were expected two babies, not one. They had no idea how they were going to do that, but it would be a surprise. One afternoon, another surprise of sorts was about to come their way. The two men were upstairs in the balcony of the den, where the library was, lying together on one of the big black couches. Clark had fallen asleep, as Lex caressed his hair and his body, giving him a much needed massage. Clark was so tense from all of the changes his body was going through. He hadn't started to show yet, but when he did, he was going to be pretty big. Lex stopped what he was doing and started to snuggle with him, laying his head on his husband's strong chest. He liked to listen to Clark's heart as he slept, hearing it thrump and bump over and over again. He had almost drifted off into the abyss of slumber, when the familiar vibration and a ringer of his cell phone went off. Gently, he pulled the mobile out of his pocket and turned down the noise, not waking his husband from his sleep.

"Lex Luthor..." He spoke softly.

"Lex, its Chloe." The person on the other end stated quickly.

"Hey, Chloe; what's new in the newspaper world?"

"There's a ton of stuff. Look, Lex, is Clark around? I need to talk to him."

"Yeah, he's right next to me, but he's asleep."

"Asleep? Well, wake him up; I need his help and yours, too, right now!"

"Whoa, hold on, Chloe. Just tell me what's going on."

"Lois is in labor."

"She's what?! I thought she wasn't due for another 2 weeks."

"Well, with twins, sometimes they come early. She's 4 centimeters dilated, and I need someone to take me to Metropolis to get her fiancee."

"I'll get my jet ready, Chloe. Hold on one sec; I'll wake Clark."

Lex turned to the gentleman sleeping beside him and kissed his jaw sweetly, causing him to sigh loudly. Clark loved it, when Lex kissed his neck or any place around it; it turned him on. When Lex stopped, he nudged his husband awake lightly. Eyes flickering open, Clark turned to Lex and smiled, "Hey..."

"Hey, yourself," Lex retorted. "Chloe's got some news for us."

"What news? What's it about?"

"Lois is in labor."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yes. Here, talk to Chloe."

Lex handed Clark the cell phone, as he maneuvered his way off the couch, heading down the stairs to the desk, where his business phone was located.

"Chloe, how is she doing?" Clark wondered.

"Well, Clark, she's not happy." The young blonde replied.

"Oh, I bet, she isn't. She's Lois; 'no pain, no gain' is not on her 'words-to-live-by' list."

"That's true. Oh, by the way, I almost forgot. I called your parents; they are on their way here now."

"Good thinking, Chloe. Let Lois know that I'm on my way."

"Got it, Clark..."

Hanging up with his best friend, Clark traveled down the stairs to the desk, where Lex was still sitting, talking on the phone with his pilot. Lex's frustrated eye-roll to him meant only one thing: there was going to be a delay in leaving for Metropolis, thanks to one Lionel Luthor.

"Well, call me back on my cell, when the plane is ready. Make sure it's fueled up for me, when I get there." Lex spoke into the phone, before hanging up swiftly.

"Are there some troubles in 'Airplane Land'?" Clark questioned lightly.

"Yes, there is, but I'm not going to let them get me down. This is a great day for Lois and we need to be there for her."

"Yes, we do, and I hope that she'll understand about our situation."

"We should ask Ken-Yel for his help with that."

"I know we should."

"But..."

"But, isn't that changing our futures?"

"It might be, Clark, but what about our children's futures? Do you think they'd have one, if we kept the world the way it was now? I don't think so; I'm not letting our children live in a world that hates them and doesn't understand them."

Lex placed his hand on his husband's stomach softly, feeling the small bump that was beginning to form in that place. His children, their twins, were growing in there, waiting for the right moment to enter the world. Come what may, they were going to be loved wholeheartedly. Clark smiled at Lex, touching his cheek with the palm on his hand.

"I love you, Lex..." He spoke up softly. "And, I know that you'll be here to protect the three of us, no matter what happens."

"I'm never going to leave you, Clark. I'm not going anywhere, not now, not ever."

< XxxxxxXxxxxxX >

Making it the hospital swiftly, Clark and Lex were met by Jonathan and Martha, who were anticipating their arrival.

"Mom, Dad, how's Lois doing?" Clark questioned promptly.

"She's fine, just in a lot of pain." Martha retorted as she hugged her son close. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, Mom, I'm fine. Nothing to worry about...."

"'Nothing to worry about'? Clark, you're having twins."

"Mom, we're fine; the babies are doing great and Dr. Klein says there is nothing to worry about."

"I just hope he's right. Has he said what he's going to do about everyone else, knowing about the babies?"

"We haven't gotten that far yet, Martha." Lex interjected. "We are taking things slow right now. It's Lois's day, so we're letting her have it, before we change things around."

"That sounds like a good idea." Jonathan answered with a smile. "Lex, are you going to get Lois's fiancee?"

"Jonathan, when the plane is ready, the pilot is supposed to call me and then, Chloe & I are off to get him."

"Good, good...if you need any help with anything, let me know."

"You got it."

"Mom, is Chloe in with Lois?"

"Yes, she is. I should go back in there as well. Do you want to join me?"

"Sure. I should at least say 'congratulations' to her."

"And, you'll get to see what it feels like to have a child through the eyes of your best friend. Lex, I think you should join us as well."

"Martha, I don't think..." the young man replied.

"Lex Luthor, I may not be your mother, but as your mother-in-law, I think you should be in here supporting your best friend in her time of need. What if it were Clark, where she's at now? Would you say 'no, I don't think so'?"

"No..."

"That's what I thought. Now, come on. You, too, Jonathan, and don't think you're weaseling out of this one."

"Yes, ma'am..." the older man responded.

< XxxxxxXxxxxxX >

Lois was in pain. The contractions started to become more intense and she actively considered getting the epidural as soon as humanly possible. Chloe sat in the chair next to her bed, reassuring her that she would be alright, but to no avail, she kept telling her cousin to 'shut up', to 'leave her alone', and to 'find her some painkillers'. A knock at the hospital door silenced Lois's pleas for medicine.

"Do you want visitors?" Chloe questioned to her.

"Whatever..." Lois grumbled, adjusting herself in the bed.

Chloe peered through the window to see a group of familiar faces, smiling and waving at her. She grinned at them and opened the door swiftly.

"Be careful, guys; she's being quite a bitch right now." She stated loudly.

"I heard that, Chloe!" Her cousin yelled back clearly.

"How are you feeling, Lois?" Martha wondered.

"I feel the same way I did 5 minutes ago, when you were in here before, Martha."

"Wow, someone sounds chipper in the morning." Clark spoke up.

"Smallville, what-in-the-hell are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see you, Lois, and see if you needed anything."

"How 'bout a deer rifle and some shot?"

Clark laughed lightly, before moving next to Lex to whisper, "If I get like this, grab Kryptonite."

"It's on the list, sweetheart." The bald gent responded just as silent.

"Lex, when are you going to Metropolis?" Lois inquired lightly.

"Lois, Chloe and I'll be going, when the pilot calls me to say the plane is ready."

"What-in-the-hell is wrong with it? Why isn't it ready?"

"It needed to be cleaned. My father returned from Europe today."

"Well, they better clean it quick!"

Out of the blue, a recognizable jingle came from Lex's cell phone. He pulled out the mobile, noticing the caller i.d. name instantly: "PILOT."

He stopped out of the room and answered the call promptly, leaving the others to cheer Lois up and to keep her calm.

"Lex Luthor." He spoke up.

"Mr. Luthor, its Lt. Crawford. Your plane is ready to take off, when you are." The other man responded.

"I'll be there as soon as possible."

Lex closed his phone and walked back into the room, moving over to Clark, lightly placing his arm around his waist.

"Who was that?" Clark wondered softly.

"That was the pilot. Chloe and I have to get going." He whispered back.

"Be careful, alright, sweetie?"

"I will be, Hun; don't you worry."

Kissing his cheek sweetly, he moved to Chloe and told her that it was time to go. They both said their goodbyes and headed to Lex's silver Porsche, ready to drive the airport for their flight to the big city.

< XxxxxxXxxxxxX >

Metropolis was active as usual, existing from beginning to end with the daily grind of people working ubiquitously in their offices or on the street. Lex wished he could have seen the day's business at LuthorCorp and Chloe wondered if her application at the Daily Planet was being looked at or not, but they both were in town to pick up Lois's mysterious fiancee. They stood outside on the tarmac, awaiting his arrival, when a large van entered through the gate and stopped near the plane. A tall gentleman exited the driver's side door and strolled around to the side entry gate, opening it swiftly. The sound of a motor came from the vehicle, as a lift made its way to the land, carrying a blonde gentleman in a wheelchair on it. Finding its way to the ground, the tall helper locked the blonde from the apparatus, allowing him to roll over to where Lex and Chloe were. Chloe looked at the young man and noticed something strange. She didn't care that he was handicapped, but to her, he looked interesting.

"Lex, doesn't he look familiar to you?" She pondered to him.

"What do you mean, Chloe? I don't know who he is." He replied, still turned the other direction, making sure the pilot was doing his final exterior checks with the airport crew.

"Turn around and you'll see, Lex. Trust me."

"Fine, Chloe. Let me see this guy."

When he made his way back around, he looked the gentleman straight in the face and was shocked. He was a muscular athletic gent with blonde hair and thin-frame glasses, which covered his hazel blue eyes. He smiled at two people, as he approached them.

"Hello..." the man spoke up. "You must be Lois's cousin and you're Lex Luthor. It's nice to meet you both. Lois has told me tons about both of you."

"Whitney...is that you?" Chloe questioned to him.

"I'm sorry, but you must be mistaken. My name isn't whatever name you said; my name is Brian Drake." He answered.

The confusion set in on both Chloe and Lex's faces. The man seated before them looked, sounded and even, acted like Whitney Fordham, Smallville's former football star turned United States Marine. He was supposed to be dead, or so everyone thought. Could this be his doppelganger, or was it the real Whitney, full of amnesia & handicapped for life? No one knew for sure, but everyone was soon to meet Lois's fiancee and the father of the twins.

<To be continued.>

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