Title: An Innocent Man

Author: Uris

Fandom: Smallville

Pairing: Clark/ Lex

Rating: NC 17

Warning: male pregnancy

Notes: co-authored by Athena

An Innocent Man
By Uris and Athena

Martha made dinner for her two men. She was very happy to have Clark back in her home after his odyssey in Metropolis. Her womb still cried for her missing child. As she sat down to eat, a single tear spoiled her happiness.

"Mom, I need to talk to you after dinner." Clark's voice was very soft.

"Do you want to talk in the loft or your room?"

"The loft." The blush on Clark's face told Martha that he didn't want to discuss whatever it was around Jonathan.

After she did the dishes, she met Clark in the loft and sat on the sofa beside him. She didn't usually come to the loft. It was Clark's private space. Her son's eyes were looking out in the distance. She wanted to cradle him in her arms, but he was no longer three or four.

"I'm cycling," Clark said looking at his lap.

"You're what?"

"I bleed four days a month. I x-rayed myself and I have a womb and ovaries."

Martha looked down at her son's crotch. She didn't mean to look. He was her son after all, but she had to know. From the bulge in his pants, everything appeared to be where it should be. Good, he was still her boy. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"You just lost the baby. I was on the road on dad's motorcycle. When my bio-dad said the day had come, I didn't know he meant this."

"Do you need to know anything?"

"I can read, Mom."

Martha brushed her child's hair with her fingers. "Honey, this doesn't mean you can have children with human beings."

"I'm the last of my kind." Clark still looked down. "My dad wants our line to continue. He branded me with the mark of our house."

"Honey, you handled heat vision. You can handle this." Martha knew she stuck her foot in her mouth. She didn't know what to sat that could make this easier. "Do you need to tell me about it?"

"I got it again twenty-eight days after the first time."

"You have it now?"

He nodded.

"We don't have to tell your father until you are ready."

"Or ever." Clark lifted his head up and smiled weakly.

"I hid my pregnancy from your father and it came to a bad end. You will need to share this with him."

"Why did you hide your pregnancy?"

"Because the baby wasn't his. You're not the only one that feels shame."

Clark mumbled, "Mr. Luthor."

His mother nodded. "I feared that he would insist on a paternity test and your father would want to kill him."

"I know it is a horrible thing to say, but it's easier now that you lost the baby."

"All these years, I thought I was the one infertile." Martha held back her tears.

Clark wrapped his arms around her. "Mom, let it out. If you still want a baby, there are options."

"I'm over forty."

"You could go to Metropolis and get a sperm donation. At least, you wouldn't have to worry about the father trying to steal the baby."

"If it isn't Jonathan's, I don't want it."

Clark put a hand on his lower abdomen. "I want Lex's baby."

"Are you sure?"

"I accused him of betraying me when, every time he asked me about understanding the alien language, I lied. He must hate me."

"He loves you."

"Then why did he marry Helen?"

"You ask him."

---

Martha drove to the castle. Since Lex had a returned from the Caribbean alone, he kept to himself no longer venturing to the Talon and having his staff do all his errands. "Mrs. Kent, what a nice surprise. I was just about to call you," Lex said.

"Martha. Can we talk uninterrupted?" she asked.

"We'll talk in the library. Would you like some tea or a bottle of water?"

"Coffee," Martha said. "Black with a teaspoon of sugar."

"We can talk in the kitchen. Since I've returned from my holiday, I've cut staff. I was wondering if you could accompany me to the realtor. The castle no longer feels safe." Lex looked like a boy with as many fears and insecurities as any other of Clark's friends. The castle looked empty and dark like the boogieman hid behind every corner.

"I understand." Martha walked beside Lex down the long corridor of the castle.

"I need a smaller place. I'm afraid if I go to realtor that they laugh at me if I ask for a two or three bedroom house with a downstairs office. This is my father's castle and I can't tell the staff not to let him in." Lex walked beside Martha.

"I would love to help you find a smaller place." Martha put her hand on the young man's arm. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you return from your honeymoon without your bride?"

Lex looked into Martha's eyes. "Not at all, Mrs. Kent. Helen poisoned me on take-off and I woke to the plane crashing. Luckily, it was near an island."

"Lex, I'm terribly sorry."

"I can pick women. My first wife burns me and my second wife leaves me for dead. I'm never letting another woman into my life."

Martha said, "You're young." Lex might be interested in an alien hermaphrodite. Clark was beside himself in shame. He'd seen himself as a human male until Jonathan showed him the pod. Now Clark questioned if he was even male. Clark was seventeen years old and didn't want to cry on his mommy's shoulder. He could open up to a friend. "Do you want to move into the farm until you get a smaller house?"

"Thank you for the offer. What about Jonathan?"

"He sees you as family. That compass should prove it."

"What do you want, Mrs. Kent?"

"Martha," she insisted.

"Martha, you came here with a business proposition." Lex started to make coffee after they arrived in the kitchen.

"I want you to court Clark. Make him feel special in a good way." Martha filled the decanter with bottled water. Coffee was only as good as the water.

"What happened to Clark?" Lex poured the freshly ground coffee into a filter inside the expensive coffee maker.

"Dr. Walden was under your care. You aren't a stupid man." Martha wasn't going to give out Clark's secrets, but reminding Lex of things he already knew wasn't betraying her son's trust. Well, not too much.

Lex gave her his small smile as he turned on the coffee maker. "The day came, I take it."

"Yes, and Clark, being a teenager, made things worse because he didn't come to Jonathan and I. He needs someone his own age. He feels bad about lying to you. This is your one chance." Martha sat on one of the stools in the kitchen. The staff must have eaten here at the high wooden table surrounded by stools.

Lex took a seat beside her. "I don't usually give people second chances. I gave Helen a second chance and you know what happened." Lex crossed his legs in a less than masculine fashion, which showed Martha that he was at ease with her.

"My son isn't Helen." After getting off the high chair, Martha stepped over to the coffee maker and filled the two mugs sitting by it with coffee. Martha put the two cups of coffee on the table and returned to her seat.

Lex handed Martha the sugar bowl. "I'll talk to Clark. I can't promise anymore."

Martha stirred sugar into her coffee. "Thank you."

---

Lex came over to the loft and walked upstairs. "Clark, your mother said you were willing to talk."

"About what?" Clark looked out the window.

"She didn't say. That is up to you. All she said was you're willing to be honest with me."

Clark briefly made eye contact with Lex and said, "You did hit me with your Porsch,." before returning to looking out the window.

"What happened to Walden?"

"He attacked me. The gas tank went on fire. I don't know much more."

Lex put an arm around Clark's shoulders. "That's OK. You don't have to say more. Do you know the language in the caves?"

Clark turned around to look at Lex.

"My wife drugged me and left me on a plane to crash. You lie and you'll never see me, again."

Clark walked past Lex and sat on the sofa. "Yes, I know the language."

Lex sat down beside him. "Do you have the key?"

"No, my father has it."

"I figured as much. I had the key, then my father, then your mother, then you, now your father. That key switches hands more often than a hot potato." Lex was relieved that the younger man was being honest with him.

"What else do you want to know?" asked Clark.

"You shouldn't be ashamed that you know the language. You and I are Smallville mutants. Walden wasn't. Clark, try to be honest with me because you're a lousy lair." Lex gave Clark a small smile.

"I had no business stealing the key like that." Clark blushed.

"I know you were curious about the caves. Clark, what's done is done." Lex brushed the back Clark's wild hair out of his green eyes. "You're very pretty. Would you like to go on a date?"

"My mother put you up to this." Clark blushed again.

"I'm my own man. We could go out for an ice cream -- no pressure."

"Sure. The ice cream parlor on Elm is open until ten."

Clark and Lex stood in the long line at the ice cream parlor. Clark didn’t like being called pretty. Girls were called pretty. What did Mom tell Lex? Clark didn’t see Lex as the type of person to pour salt on a person’s wounds, so Mom couldn’t have told him anything. Still the use of the word "pretty" bothered him. He had spent too much time in the Torch office helping Chloe with her grammar. He was starting to question every word like a newspaper editor. That wasn’t good. Sometimes a cigar was a cigar.

"What happened between you and Lana?" asked Lex.

"I felt responsible for my mother losing the baby and stole my father’s motorcycle. I offered to take Lana with me and she refused," said Clark. "Things haven’t been right since."

"See how much better it feels to be honest." Lex put his hand on Clark’s arm.

"I don’t want face Lana after I left her there crying." Clark couldn’t believe he was talking about Lana again. Then, of course, Lex brought her up.

"Tomorrow, you’ll go to the Talon and apologize to her." Pete and Chloe arrived at the ice cream parlor while Lex and Clark were still in line. "Talk to your friends," said Lex.

"Get me a hot fudge sundae with cookies and cream," said Clark.

Pete tapped Clark’s shoulder. "Are you here with Lana?"

Clark went over to where Chloe was standing. "I haven’t spoken to her since my little escapade," Clark admitted.

"You have to face her," said Pete.

"So Chloe finally agreed to go out with you," said Clark.

"It’s just ice cream," said Chloe.

"Chlo, can I borrow Pete a moment?" Clark asked.

"Sure, talk about girls while I stand in line," Chloe complained. Clark knew the girl she was talking about was Lana. Now that Clark had ruined things with Lana, he hoped he could mend things with Chloe. He would hate to lose them both.

"You have to apologize to Lana," said Pete.

"Lex said the same thing," said Clark.

"How is Lex? He hasn’t spoken to anyone since he returned," Pete said. "Lex is getting as creepy as that castle he lives in. No bride and he never visits the Talon anymore. It's weirding people out."

"People meaning you," said Clark. "I’m here with Lex. He’s been afraid to leave the castle since returning from the Caribbean."

"It’s odd is all I’m saying." Pete walked back to the line.

"I read about his plane going down," said Chloe. "Did they find his wife?"

"Lex doesn’t want to talk about it." Clark didn’t want to give out Lex’s secrets, but he didn’t want to lie either. He just told his mother how bad he felt about lying. "He’s staying with us a few days. He says the castle is too large for a man living alone."

"The place looks spooky," Chloe agreed. "I can’t imagine what he’s going through. Having his wife disappear on their wedding day."

"He’s a survivor." Clark walked over to Lex. "How are you managing?"

"I came here to be with you," said Lex. "Your mother was worried enough about you to drag me away from the castle."

"Do you know why?"

Lex smiled. "She was cryptic. You aren’t part of an alien invasion force?"

"Not that I know of." Clark laughed. His bio father’s messages made him sound like an invasion force of one.

"Since the Martians didn’t land in Smallville, what was Walden talking about?"

"Who knows? He was crazy."

"You survived the download."

"I was at ground zero when the meteorites landed," Clark explained. That wasn’t exactly a lie because he was at ground zero. He was ground zero.

"Then my dad should survive intact."

"Mom really asked you to court me."

"Yes, what did you say to her?"

Clark blushed. "I can’t tell you here. When we’re alone, I’ll tell you. It’s rather embarrassing and unexpected. Mom probably didn’t know where else to turn."

"I’m intrigued." Lex took Clark's hand. "Our turn is next. We can eat in the car if you want to talk privately."

"I tell you and you'll choke on your ice cream." Clark knew he was blushing in shame. He blushed for far less. He didn't even know if he was technically a "he" anymore. "She" would be equally wrong. Did that make him an "it" or a thing?

Lex ordered the ice cream. After they finished eating, Lex and Clark waved good-bye to Chloe and Pete. While Lex was driving Clark home, Lex asked, "What happened that is so upsetting that you finally gave up lying to me?"

"If you promise not to laugh."

"I won't laugh at your misfortune until a suitable amount of time as passed."

Clark's life had taken a fast ride to Weirdville ever since he started floating in his sleep. This was only the last in a latest series of weirdness. The generic "he" would have to do. He/she/it was no way to refer to oneself. "That isn't good enough."

"I won't laugh at your pain. If I find it terribly funny, I'll wait until I'm alone to laugh."

"You wouldn't understand."

"I've drunk, done drugs, partied all night. Nothing you've done could be as horrible as half the things I've done."

Clark chuckled a little, nervous tension. "It isn't something I've done. It's something unexpected that is happening inside my body."

"Then you can tell me." Lex put a hand on Clark's shoulder. "I won't laugh."

"It's nothing really. Fifty percent of the population have it."

Lex laughed. "You're pregnant."

"No. Other than a blowjob from Jessie, I'm still a virgin," Clark said to lighten the mood. His bio dad gave him to the parts so he could get pregnant with world conquerors because Clark refused to do the job himself. Probably Jorel's way of saying, if Clark wants to act like a female and not take on his role as Last Son of Krypton, he should have the parts, a slap on the face from across time and space.

"Oh my God. I'm on the right track." Lex pulled over into an empty field. "You have my full attention. I'm listening."

"I'm not a mutant. I'm an alien. My father left a program in a pod. He wanted me to leave my childhood home and start my adult life." Now that he was talking the words came easy. "I refused and he marked me."

Lex took Clark's large hand in his. "So you destroyed the pod and caused the shockwave that messed up the electrical systems all over Lowell County. Helen's and my plane was delayed because they needed to reboot the system."

"The shockwave overturned my parents' truck, causing my mother to lose the baby. You would have a sister in two months if it weren't for me. It's all my fault." Clark put his other hand on top of Lex's slim elegant hand.

"You were afraid. You mustn't blame yourself."

"I didn't tell my parents. I tried to handle it on my own and made everything worse."

Lex put a finger through Clark's hair. "You're so beautiful. Please, don't cry."

"Women are beautiful. I'm not a woman." Clark was trying to convince himself more than Lex. Clark was the one feeling the menstrual pad being pushed into his bottom due to not shifting his weight on Lex's leather seats. He shifted his weight. It didn't help. They would need to go to a bathroom soon. Thanks to large pockets, Clark didn't have to carry a purse and still? As he told Lex, fifty percent of people menstruate. This was normal; floating and seeing through walls wasn't.

Lex started the car. "We'll talk more about this later."

After Clark got home, he took the clean pad from his pocket and, with his laser vision, disintegrated the used one. He couldn't let his parents find the used sanitary pads in the upstairs bathroom. Mom might have known, but Dad didn't. Clark went to his bedroom and climbed into bed. Someone knocked on the door. "Come in," said Clark.

Lex entered the boy's bedroom. "You didn't give me a good night kiss."

Clark sat up in his bed and blushed. "I needed to do something."

"You didn't need to push your antennas back into your head like Uncle Martin," Lex deadpanned.

Clark felt huge and ungainly sitting on the child's bed. "I knew you would laugh."

"It came out." Lex sat on the bed near Clark. "I won't make any more dumb remarks. You were very brave to tell me. That couldn't have been easy." Lex put an arm around Clark's shoulders and looked into the younger man's eyes. "I made a mistake marrying Helen. I've always loved you more than I loved her. Once you tell a lie, it's hard to come clean. I've had an inkling that you were an alien since seeing Cyrus's drawings. Before that all I had was my gut feelings."

"You said you couldn't forgive betrayal."

"You weren't betraying me. You were protecting yourself. Your parents were telling you not to tell anyone. And I was on the top of your father's list. I'll keep your secret safe." Lex tilted his head to kiss Clark on the twin bed. Clark put his hands around Lex as he opened his mouth slightly. Their lips touched then Lex put his hands behind Clark's head. Clark put a hand on Lex's back and another on his scalp as he deepened the kiss. As Clark tasted the ice cream on Lex's breath, Lex broke the kiss.

"See you in the morning." Clark put on a clean tee shirt.

"We'll talk during chores." Lex left the room.

"He loves me," Clark said to his pillow. Pete had stared at him like he grew another head. Lex had known and only wanted Clark to confirm it. Lex didn't care if he was an alien. He would be able to tell Lex everything. Clark no longer needed to be alone with his secrets. That kiss meant Lex was comfortable with truth, one person who accepted him without judgment. Clark put on his sweatpants and climbed into bed for the night.

---

Clark took his mom's baked goods to the Talon after finishing his farm chores. Lana poured his coffee. "Long time; no see," she said.

"I was embarrassed that I ran away. I'm sorry," Clark said.

"Still friends?" Lana asked.

"Sure. We can't be more. Lana, I've thought long and hard and you could never accept me as I am. I wanted to have relationship with you since we were children, but it's not going to happen." Clark drank his coffee.

"I can try harder," Lana said as she set up for the day ahead.

"I'm not comfortable; you're not comfort. It's not going to change," Clark said. Every time Clark tried to be honest with Lana she would cringe or something would happen to ruin the mood. The remark about one of her friends been an alien being too freaky topped the list.

"Are you back with Chloe?" She wiped the counter.

"Lana, it's us. Don't bring a third party into it." Clark smiled. "Besides, Chloe and Pete are hitting it off. Lana, I hope we can still be friends."

"I don't know if I'm that mature." Lana checked her coffee pots.

---

Lex wondered what Clark had that 50 percent of people had. Was that all the time or one time in their life? At least once in their life could be a wart in an embarrassing place or something similar. Teenagers act like no one else has acne when nearly everyone in the school has it. The 50 percent comment meant whatever was troubling Clark wasn't some weird alien thing.

Lex decided not to bring it up unless Clark did. That kiss made up for the strangeness of the rest of the evening. Then again, Lex had heard about Clark kissing Chloe in the Talon. Smiling, Lex started the chores remembering what he did last time he stayed at the Kent Farm. He could get used to kissing Clark.

Martha promised to go to the realtor office later in the day. He needed a place that didn't belong to his father. Martha would see that he found something suitable for the owner of a small factory. Martha finished making pies and muffins for the Talon and local grocery store and had Clark deliver them.

After Lex finished his share of the morning chores, Martha joined him in the kitchen for coffee. "I made a full pot," Lex said.

"Thanks," Martha said. "At nine, we'll head on the Wendy's office."

"I was planning to do this with Helen." Lex poured each of them of mug of coffee.

As Jonathan entered the kitchen, Martha handed him a cup of coffee and he walked back to the living room.

"If I’m with you, they’ll see you're sincere and not trying to buy out the neighborhood," Martha said. "Wendy has been my friend for years; she’ll help you out."

"I’ve been spoiled all my life." Lex sat down at the table. "I need to do for myself."

"You aren’t planning to have servants," Martha said.

"Perhaps, one. Security might be necessary," Lex said. "He can live elsewhere and get paid a normal salary."

"We can get a split level with a downstairs bedroom. Wendy was talking about a ten-year-old house on the market. If that one is sold, I’m sure she’ll have another house around the same size." Martha smiled brightly at Lex.

"Forget the security. An alarm system will work. My security lets every mutant and weirdo into the castle."

"Do you still want a downstairs bedroom?"

"For overnight guests. We’ll see what Wendy has available. I’m a widower. What do I need with seventy-five rooms?" When he came home from his honeymoon alone, people saw him as a widower. Lex didn’t believe Helen was dead, but the papers had said Helen died in the crash.

"Did you and Clark talk?"

"Yes. He feels responsible for you miscarrying."

After he walked through the kitchen door, he put some bread in the toaster and poured himself some coffee. "Good morning, Mom, Lex."

"Is that your second cup this morning or your third or fourth?" his mother asked.

"My second," Clark said. "Lana and I didn’t talk very long."

"Was she busy?" Lex asked.

"Creating work," Clark said.

"It went that well," Lex said.

"I don’t blame her." Clark sat down with his coffee. "I did run off and make an ass out of myself."

"I have to take Lex house hunting." Martha kissed her son's cheek. "We can talk later."

"Sure, Mom," Clark said as he buttered his toast.

Lex put more bread in the toaster and took a carton of eggs from the refrigerator. Remembering to use her first name, "Martha, could you hand me a frying pan?"

"Of course." Martha put a pan on the range. "Lex, you don’t have to cook."

"Never have it said that Lex Luthor doesn’t pull his own weight." Lex melted butter in the pan as he scrambled six eggs.

Jonathan returned to the kitchen as Lex put eggs and toast on a plate. "Thank you, Lex," Jonathan said as he took the plate. He took a seat at the kitchen table.

"I’ll be staying longer than three days. Mrs. Kent is taking me to a realtor’s office this morning. I no longer feel safe at the castle," Lex said.

"He wants a single family home," Martha added.

"Where will his servants live?" Jonathan sneered.

"I’m not planning to have servants," Lex said.

"So you’re going to live like the rest of us," Jonathan said.

Lex plated more eggs and handed them to Martha.

"Thank you." Martha served herself toast and refilled the toaster.

"I’m breaking all ties to my father. The first step is to move off his property. I’m going to have to learn to live within my means," Lex said.

"Lex is quite capable of cleaning his own house, doing his laundry and grocery shopping," Martha said as she started to eat.

"I did my own menial tasks in college." Lex raised an eyebrow at Jonathan before he joined Martha and Jonathan at the table. "My income isn’t as high as you imagine." Lex wasn’t a billionaire in his own right; he was a billionaire’s son.

"I wouldn’t mind having a million," Jonathan said.

"Give the boy a break." Martha sipped her coffee. "This is a large step for him. He had hoped to be putting up roots with his wife, not alone."

"The plane was hitting the water when I awoke. My bride was gone," Lex explained. "I became a widower before my wedding night."

"How do I know you didn’t toss Helen from the plane?" Jonathan said.

Jonathan must have had PMS this morning. Like the day, he said, "Look what the cat dragged in," and a second later he said he be happy to stand up for Lex at his wedding. Jonathan didn’t have PMS; he had mood swings. A tear rolled down Lex’s face.

Martha said, "He hasn’t left his house since he came back. He loved Helen."

"There aren’t any witnesses," said Jonathan.

"The controls were ripped out and the pilot baled and on a small plane there are always parachutes." Either Helen got off the plane before the plane took off or she jumped with the pilot; either way, she was alive and in hiding. Lex wasn’t in the mood to find her; he would stay a widower for now. Although it was possible that she was in plane when it went down, he should have seen her.

"And if she’s alive," Martha asked.

"I filed for divorce on grounds of abandonment. The judge laughed, but processed the order. If she is alive, it’s up to her to contest it," Lex explained. "I suspect that she’s working for my father on his illegal cloning experiments. It serves me better to act like she’s dead."

"We’re supposed to believe this garbage," Jonathan said.

"The jet was found with the instrument panel cut and there were no signs of parachutes -- they were thrown off the plane or used. I suspect that pilot used one and the others were tossed," Lex said. "I’ve spent long enough in the castle moping. I need to get my life back together."

"We’re not arguing over breakfast," Martha said. "Lex and I have to see Wendy."

"I hope he can find a place that's already vacant," Jonathan said.

"Just because you got up on the wrong side of the bed, you don’t need to take it out on our houseguest." Martha cleared the table.

"Have a good day." Jonathan kissed Martha’s cheek.

"I’ll get the dishes," Lex said.

"You made the eggs. Clark can get the dishes." Martha put the last dish in the sink before grabbing her purse.

---

They saw five houses. He narrowed it down to two by the end of the day. He liked a two-story house with a large eat-in kitchen and large dining/living room with a fireplace on the first floor. The finished basement was perfect for an office, complete with separate door.

Lex ended up buying a house out-right that cost less than the individual cost of two of his cars. Lex went to show Clark his new house before the movers arrived. "So what do you think?"

"The lot is small," Clark said.

"Close to an acre," Lex said. "The finished basement makes a perfect office. It even has a half-bath. It has more square feet as your parent’s farm house, if you include the basement and is a bit more modern."

"It needs landscaping," Clark said.

"I’ll hire a landscaper. Stop complaining." Walking on the stone path, past the overgrown shrubs, Lex led Clark toward the stairs to the first floor. Lex would have the lawn totally redone. Stan would know a good landscaper since he had his lawn done after Lionel bought his shares of Lexcorp. Lex allowed all the former stockholders that sold to Lionel to keep their jobs. Ethan had dug up go dirt on them and they probably felt they had no choice. Also the siding and the new sod told Lex that Lionel gave Stan a good price for the shares. Lex was happy that Stan was able to pay off his home and make improvements.

"After the castle, I expected more. This could be Chloe’s house."

"Gabe has a smaller lot," Lex headed up the stairs.

Clark followed. "Your garage only fits two cars."

Lex opened the door with his key. "I have a tarp for the third. I’m selling the Lamborghini; it’s too extravagant for this neighborhood. You can have the Ferrari for when you go to college. I’ll keep it in storage until then."

"You can’t be giving me expensive gifts." Lex showed Clark the foyer and living room/dining room.

"It’s a car and you like it."

"And are you going to pay for my college education, too?"

The recreation room was paneled a horrible shade - chestnut. An oak or a maple would be warmer. Lex knew part of buying a house as ripping out the paneling and redoing all the walls. "No, I’m going to help you find a scholarship."

Clark looked at the hardwood floor and the open space to the fireplace. He glared at the brick wall near the fireplace. "It will look better with furniture." Clark was seeing a particle when Lex saw a wave. The first thing a new homeowner did was paint all the walls and redo the carpeting. Then Clark lived in the same farmhouse all his life and wouldn’t know that.

"I think Lucas’s TV would look nice over there." Lex pointed to the wall without the fireplace. "Most of furniture in the castle belongs to my dad. I’ll instruct the moves to only take what is mine. I don’t want to be accused of stealing."

"Is the pool table yours?"

"It goes in the basement office. After I move my things from the castle, my office will look just the same, except for the stain glass windows." Lex walked with Clark to the kitchen. "Marble counter tops, new gas ranch, stainless steel sink."

"It’s a kitchen."

"I haven’t cooked since college."

"You made my mother eggs three days this week."

"Eggs don’t count. The appliance store is delivering a refrigerator and the washer and dryer in two days."

"Don’t you need to work?" Clark asked.

"I own the plant. If I don’t show up, it’s my loss," explained Lex. "I’ll put in a couple hours in to let Gabe know I’m alive."

"I’m sure the upstairs in just as boring."

"No master suite, just three bedrooms, a linen closet and full bath."

"You were taken," said Clark.

"Clark, you have said nothing nice about this place since we drove up. I like the house. I’m a widower. How many rooms do I need?" Lex didn’t feel like a widower. Everyone said Helen didn’t survive the crash, but Lex doubted that she was even on the plane.

"It will be fine until we have children," Clark said, looking at the parquet flooring.

"You are pregnant," Lex said, remembering their previous conversation.

Clark continued to look at the floor and the moldings. "Someone needs to teach you the facts of life. Kissing doesn’t do it."

"Clark, are you telling me you are able to get pregnant?" Lex didn’t know if he wanted the answer.

"I have the parts." Clark didn’t look up.

Lex put his arm around Clark and kissed his cheek. "I wish we had furniture. We need to sit down and talk. What you have inside you that over fifty percent of people have is a womb."

"I just started getting my periods a couple months ago. It took me by surprise. I haven’t told Dad, yet." Clark took Lex’s slender hand. "Since talking to Mom about it, I’m getting more comfortable with the idea."

"More comfortable?" Lex looked up into Clark’s eyes.

"I though I was hemorrhaging at first. What would you think if blood poured down your leg?"

"I was dying." Lex didn’t want to think about it. He had seen enough hospitals when he was nine and younger -- asthma and then the meteorite thing.

"I have both male and female reproductive systems. This doesn’t upset you?"

"No." Lex smirked. He couldn’t begin to imagine all the kinky things he could do in bed with a functional hermaphrodite. The possibilities boggled the mind. Lex liked having sex with both men and women. This was the ultimate two for one deal. Lex only smiled, not wanting virginal Clark, knowing how much of a pervert he was.

"I’m an alien. The spaceship called to me. It seemed to be able to read my mind. It picked images from my head. I think it wants us to have children together."

"Clark, you’re beautiful." Lex touched Clark’s cheeks and let his fingers trace the curve of his face and down his neck I would love to father your children. Lex wanted to knock Clark down and have his way with him on the hardwood floor, but he would have to take things slow. Martha suggested courting; Lex could handle the kissing, dating and make out on the sofa. Lex wanted to find a sofa so his hands could roam over Clark’s body, but the furniture was still at the castle.

"I’m a freak."

Lex recalled people thinking he was on chemo. "I know what it’s like to be a freak."

"I know the boys in school won’t see that I’m different, but I know the hole is there, and it wasn’t there last year. I don’t know if I can act like nothing changed."

Lex knew that boys didn’t check out other boys in locker rooms, but being a teenager was believing you’re the center of the universe. Lex touched his bald head. "Pride in yourself helps. I’ll help you enroll in college. You’ll never have to enter a locker room again, expect as a reporter."

Clark kissed Lex’s cheek. "Thank you."

Lex wrapped his hands around one of Clark’s hands. "Let’s get back to the castle. I need to watch the movers."

Lex arrived around seven at the Kent farm. Clark greeted him at the door; he looked adorable in cut-off shorts and a red tee shirt with yellow trim. "My mother didn’t know if you were still coming," said Clark.

"I forget that you eat dinner early," Lex said. He kissed Clark on the cheek in front of Mr. and Mrs. Kent. "You look beautiful."

Clark took Lex’s hand as they walked to the table. "You shouldn’t call me beautiful."

"Don't you like it?" Lex whispered back.

"I don't think my parents need to know that I'm the kind of man that likes another man to call him beautiful." Clark pulled out Lex's seat for him.

"I'm here to tell your parents that we're dating." Lex sat down at the table. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent, thanks for inviting me."

"Have you stocked your refrigerator, yet?" Martha asked.

Lex recalled Martha visiting earlier in the day and he showed her the multiple fruit baskets his employees had given him as housewarming gifts. He had gladly accepted a fern from her. Wendy, his realtor, even came by and gave him a box of chocolates. "Yes. I have more than fruit in my house." Martha didn't mean it was an insult; she probably wanted to know if he would like her help grocery shopping since he no longer had servants to do it for him. "Mrs. Kent, I'm looking to hire a person assistant. I hate using your time without paying you for your inconvenience."

"You're nearly family." Martha handed Lex a plate and silver. The food was on the table family style. "I enjoy helping you."

"I'll have to hire someone to pick up my dry cleaning and you did a good job when you worked for my father." Lex started to eat his dinner.

"Don't you already have someone to do that?" Jonathan sneered.

"My father's staff. I'm breaking all ties to my father. The press gave him quite a beating for stealing the conservatorship of the caves from me. I need to make the press aware that Alexander Luthor is not his father. Mrs. Kent, I would appreciate if you took the job as my personal assistant," Lex said. "I couldn't thank you enough about your assistance in purchasing a house."

"What are your intentions with Clark?" Jonathan asked. He must have been referring to the brief kiss and the handholding.

"We're dating. I'm taking him to the Grandville Art Show this weekend. I would like to take him to the Metropolis Folk Festival in August." Lex smiled at Clark before returning to his food.

"What happened to Lana?" Clark's father asked.

"I left her crying when I left. She doesn't want to speak to me now," Clark said. "Around Lex, I feel good about myself. When I was on a date with Lana, I always have to act like I'm on stage. She sees me as a freak; I can't live that."

"No one wants you to live like that," his father said. "Chloe seems to enjoy your company and she doesn't see you as a freak."

"Chloe is dating Pete," Clark said. "I don't steal my best friend's girl. I like Lex."

"I gave Lex permission to date Clark," Martha said.

"Lex, you just lost Helen. Shouldn't you be mourning your lose? It isn't appropriate for you to be dating anyone," Jonathan stated.

"Especially not your son," said Lex.

"Dad, it isn't your choice," Clark said as he serves himself more food.

"Can we discuss ground rules?" Jonathan asked. "You have to have him back at a respectable hour. You'll do nothing to embarrass my son. This is a small town and most gay couples are discreet like Joe and Henry that run the auto body shop."

"Part of the scenery," Martha said.

"You can trust me to be discreet," Lex said.

"Now, if we could get Clark to behave himself." Jonathan refilled his glass with lemonade. "Lex, would you like some?"

Lex took the pitcher from Jonathan and filled the glass in front of him. "I want Smallville to get use to the idea of Clark and I together," Lex said.

"Does Clark's friends know that you're an item?" Martha asked.

"Not sure," Clark said. "Pete and Chloe have seen us walking together and eating ice cream. I can't imagine Pete's reaction when I tell him that I'm bisexual and decided that I wanted to date Lex."

"Pete has been you friend forever," Martha said.

"He got over the alien thing; he'll get over that I'm dating the enemy," Clark said. "Dad, there's something both Mom and Lex know that I haven't been able to tell you." Clark stopped eating and looked across at his father.

"Son, what is it?" Jonathan asked.

"I'm physically bisexual," Clark said.

Martha smiled. "Like a flower."

Lex touched Clark's hand. "I would like Martha to work for me. I need time to find Clark possible scholarships. It would be better for his career if he could go to college on a journalism scholarship."

"You stopped writing for the Torch," Martha said.

"You might have to make peace with Chloe," his father said.

"She doesn't hate me for dating Lana anymore," Clark said. "I'm sure a few recommendations and a fantastic essay will earn me a scholarship. My SAT scores were perfect."

"What did you get?" Lex asked.

"A perfect score," Clark said, trying his best to sound humble.

"I didn't even do that," Lex admitted. "My father thinks I should have his perfect memory and I don't."

"Lucas?" Jonathan asked.

"He uses it for card sharking. He has no understanding of his gift. If he had been brought up properly, he would have been the son that my father wants," Lex said.

"It's just like your father not to know what he has," Jonathan said.

"When he realized that Lucas was misusing his abilities, it was too late," Lex said.

"He should have been raised as your brother," Martha said.

"He can have Lucas," Lex said. "My father tells me that he's protecting me from other businessmen that will break up my businesses and sell them off, but my father goes out of his way to find way to ruin my businesses. He tried to close down a plant that was turning a profit under my management."

"You shouldn't have turned your back on your father," Martha said.

"I'm tired of the games and trying to earn his respect," Lex said before taking a sip of lemonade. "I don't need to his extravagant castle or a dozen servants. I'm fine cooking my own dinner, washing my own laundry and I'll even pick up my dry cleaning."

"Call your father. You insulted him greatly by not inviting him to the wedding," Martha said in a motherly voice.

"I'm waiting for him to make the first move. I've moved out of the castle. The few servants remaining are on his bank roll," Lex stated. "Helen suggested that I invite him to the wedding to mend fences, but I was so angry at him and I wanted the wedding to be perfect and he seems to enjoy ruining my life."

"I'm sorry that I didn't go," Clark said. "I should have told you about the second message, but I didn't want to upset you guys." Clark poured himself more lemonade and refilled his plate.

"I understand that wanted to deal with yourself," Jonathan said. "I apologized early for blaming you for your mother's miscarriage."

"I was apologizing for missing the wedding, not for the other horrible things I did that day," Clark said.

"Since my bride is missing, it doesn't matter now. The divorce is in the works," Lex said.

"Maybe you should wait until your divorce is final before dating," Jonathan said.

"If she contests, she contests. I'm not putting my life on hold," Lex said. "Clark, do you want to wait?"

"Helen won't contest," Clark said.

---

Lex's king-sized bed looked different in the bright airy room of a modern three-bedroom house -- compared to the dark half-lit room in the castle. The only time he saw Lex's bedroom was after the Palmer boy trashed it. "It's a nice room," said Clark. "Did you call your father?"

"He called me. He asked if I intended to move back into the castle or if he should put the relic on the market," Lex said.

"You told him to sell the horror," Clark said.

"I said that I didn't bloody care what he did with it," Lex said. "So you no longer hate the house."

"I see the potential. There is enough room for two children. If we have more, we can buy a bigger place," Clark said, walking around the room. "It could use some paint and a few pictures, but otherwise it isn't bad."

"I'm glad you approve. I'm thinking about painting the bedroom lilac." Lex removed his shoes and socks while he sat on the edge of the bed. Lex lay on the bed fully clothed. "I'm planning on having bathroom wallpapered. Do you prefer yellow or pink?"

"Are you trying to get a rise out of me?"

"That the general idea." Lex smiled that small smile. "Do you want to break in the bed?" Lex removed his long sleeve tee shirt showing his pale almost hairless chest. The few dirty blond hairs looked like they needed to be tweezed out.

Clark kicked off his shoes and lay on the bed beside Lex. He fingered a few stray hairs near Lex's nipple.

"I shaved them off for Helen." Lex put his hand on Clark's face. "You're so beautiful. Clark, make yourself comfortable."

"I have to be home by ten," Clark said.

"It's the summer."

"I have chores in the morning."

"You can superspeed through them." Lex leaned toward Clark finally their lips met. Lex kissed deeply moving his hand through Clark's hair. "Stay the night."

"Have sex?" Clark looked at Lex's slight redden lips.

"I wouldn't be so crude." Lex pulled off his trousers so he was only wearing a pair of white silk boxers.

"You and me, on the bed." Clark removed his tee shirt. Feeling like an overgrown child, Clark looked at Lex sitting on the bed in a come hither pose. Lex was incredibly sexy. Clark's eyes moved down Lex's slender body past the white boxers that did nothing to cover Lex's erection to the slim pale legs with little freckles and few patches of dark blond hair. Clark's eyes finally rested on Lex's long slender feet. Clark had never seen an elbow or knee before and the sight had to be savored.

"Clark, you set the pace. As much or as little as you want." Lex sat up slightly giving Clark a better view of that magnificent body.

Clark moved closer to Lex so their bodies were barely touching and moved a hand over Lex's back feeling the fine, silky skin. Although Lex was five years older than Clark, his skin felt as soft as a newborn baby's. Clark moved his over hand over Lex's hairless cheek. Clark didn't have facial hair or much in the way of body hair. His people wouldn't have looked like humans; the odds were against it. His body was made to look similar to the native people of Kansas, making the green eyes some kind of glitch or did the traveler come across some of the Spanish conquers, which may have had green eyes. Clark rolled his fingers over Lex's scalp feeling the slightly greasy film of sunscreen. Clark pressed his mouth against Lex's ear and licked below the lobe. "I want you so much," Clark whispered.Clark kissed Lex on the neck and ran his hand along the collarbone. "You're so sexy."
Clark didn't know where to put his hands or his lips. Lex had told him whatever he wanted. This was all new to him. Clark put Lex's hand on the front of his cut-off jeans.

Lex unzipped the younger man's cut-offs and took out Clark's member and held it in his warm hands. "You're a big guy."

"All over," said Clark, enjoying the touch of Lex's hands.

"I can jerk you off then you can jerk me off. We can take this slow."

Clark said, "Suck me."

Lex took off Clark's jeans then shorts. "Faster than Light underwear. We'll see if there is any truth in advertising." Lex waved the Fruit of the Looms around.

Embarrassed that his mother his brought his clothes, Clark snatched the underwear out of Lex's hand and tossed it on the carpet. Lex pushed Clark onto the bed. Clark fell back, remembering play wrestling with Pete. Clark decided to submit since Lex was the more experienced partner. Lex placed his head in Clark's lap and put his hands on Clark's waist and butt. Clark put his hand on Lex's head.

Lex's tongue licked Clark's tip, playing with his foreskin. Lex's hand fingered his scrotum before Lex grabbed his ass with one hand and the other found Clark's vagina. That single finger of Lex's made Clark wet. Lex got up for air. "Feel good?"

"Ooh-ah," said Clark.

Lex put a second finger in Clark's new hole as he continued to use his tongue on Clark's dick. Clark closed his eyes as Lex's whole mouth went around his dick. Was sex supposed to be this overwhelming? Clark feared if he jerked suddenly he could break Lex's jaw. Clark felt if he would explode with pleasure.

Clark moved his hands to Lex's shoulders. "Oh, yes," Clark cried as he bent forward and released his grip on Lex. His hands braced the headboard as he fired. "Wow!"

Lex rested his head on Clark's chest and swallowed. "Good."

"Yes." Clark sat up. "I do you."

"Why don't I sit up and you can kneel in front of me? That way you will have easy access." Lex turned his face to look up at Clark. "You don't have to reciprocate if you don't want to."

"Can I just touch it?"

"Sure, Clark."

"It's long and thin like you." Clark touched it with one hand.

"I'm glad you approve." Lex put his hand over Clark's. "Pump it up and down." Lex helped Clark jerk him off until Lex came on their hands.

"Can I taste it?"

"Sure." Lex sat up and covered himself partially with the sheet.

"Don't cover yourself up. You're beautiful." Clark brought his hand to his mouth. "Salty." Clark hurried into his clothes. "I have to head home. I'll spend the night another time. My father wants me home by ten."

Lex picked up the watch on the nightstand. "We could enjoy a few more minutes."

"I have chores in the morning. I promised Dad that I'd be home by ten and it's past ten," Clark said.

"You're at the Talon till closing many nights," Lex complained.

"You aren't Lana," Clark explained as he hurried into his clothes.

"I'm glad of that." Lex planted a kiss on Clark's hand.

"I'll stay longer next time."

"As long as there is a next time." Lex put a hand on Clark's shoulder. "A kiss before you go."

Clark sat back on the bed and tilted his head slightly to kiss Lex full on the lips. Lex's lips were soft like Lana's or Chloe's lips. Lex's lips parted and Clark could taste his own flavor on Lex's tongue. Clark released the kiss remembering that Lex needed to breath although he wanted to kiss Lex forever.

"Wow," said Lex. "I have to thank Chloe for giving you kissing lessons."

Clark blushed. "She doesn't remember."

"I'm teasing." Lex put his clothes back on. "How are we going to proceed?"

"What?" Clark had no idea what Lex was talking about.

"In letting Smallville know that we're a couple."

"We can go places together. The art show and folk festival are great ideas. You can pay for my food and drinks at the Talon. Is it alright if I tell Chloe that we're dating?"

"Sure. Tell anyone you want. I want people to know that you're mine."

Clark met Chloe at the local church carnival while waiting in line for the Tilt-a-Whirl. "Isn't Pete here?" Clark noticed that the church grounds were crowded this Fourth of July. He usually saw the fireworks with his parents. They claimed the noise bothered them. More likely, they wanted some Clark-free time.

"Getting a corndog," said Chloe. "Lana?"

"She isn't speaking to me. She thinks I'm a freak like Tina and Bugboy."

"Are you?" Chloe had her Wall-of Weird look.

"Worse. Then, again you would probably tell Lionel Luthor all about it," Clark said. The whole school was buzzing about Lionel Luthor visiting the Torch office. What business did a man like Mr. Luthor have with a teenage girl?

"I was angry."

"I'm happy to see you and Pete together; you make a great couple." Clark motioned for them to move up as the line moved. He only went to a couple rides. Who needed rides when they could outrun a speeding bullet? He was here because it was a normal teenage activity. Lana had come here with Nell and Dean. Every time Clark looked in her direction Lana would turn away, and Lex wasn't the carnival type. Clark wondered why he bothered going this year.

"I'm sorry that Lana dumped you. We're next."

Clark gave the man operating the ride eight tickets.

"You don't have to do that." Chloe sat down in the next available carriage.

Clark sat beside her. "When Pete gets back with his corndog, you're his." Clark pulled the bar down. It wasn't like he was going to use his tickets for anything else and it was better than handing them to a stranger.

"What happened to us?"

"I wanted Lana because I couldn't have her and learned that she doesn't want me." Clark put an arm around Chloe as the ride started. Actually, Lana still wanted him, but since Clark was bulletproof, he would be hickey-proof. One failed hickey and his relationship with Lana would be over. "Chloe, are we still friends?"

"Sure." Chloe rested her head on Clark's shoulder.

"Lana wants me to be this imaginary Clark Kent that only lives in her mind. I would like my job back at the Torch. I'm sorry about putting Lana ahead of my deadlines." Clark snuggled against Chloe.

Chloe held onto Clark as the ride continued to spin them. After the ride was over Clark helped her onto solid ground, Chloe said, "I need your assignments on time. Even high school papers have deadlines."

"Deadlines, understood," repeated Clark.

Pete walked over to Clark. "Get your hands off my girl."

"I was a bit dizzy after the ride," said Chloe. "He was helping me. I belong to me, Pete Ross."

Pete gave Chloe a soda. "Where's Lana?"

"We're no longer dating." Clark felt like renting a sign.

"It seems Lana's fantasy world doesn't include the real Clark," said Chloe.

"Chloe is going to take me back at the Torch," said Clark.

"As long as he turns in his assignments on time. One mistake and you're out, Kent." Chloe gave Clark a wink then sipped her soda.

"Chloe is mine. You lost your chance," Pete said.

"Pete, I belong to no one. I'm a wild free woman." Chloe tossed her head back shaking her short blonde hair. "I got a man for each shoulder. Lana, eat your heart out."

Lex, wearing a baseball cap with the visor turned back, lilac tee shirt and faded blue jean with a gold chain belt around his waist, arrived at the church parking lot an hour before fireworks were scheduled to start and walked over to Clark who was sitting on a blanket sharing a bucket of chicken with Pete and Chloe.

"Are you having a good time?" Lex asked as he sat on the blanket. He looked so sexy in jeans. Lex usually needed to present a professional appearance. Clark didn't see him dress down very often. Did Lex know that he looked flaming? Or did he dress that way to piss off the nuns?

"Do you want a thigh?" asked Pete.

"I had dinner before I left," Lex said.

"He tries to eat healthy," Clark said. "The fruit in the castle wasn't only for show."

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away and I want to stay far away from doctors," Lex said.

Chloe laughed. "That's why you married one."

"A mistake. You all heard my sad story. The plane was sabotaged; somebody wanted me dead," Lex said. Clark could tell by the look on Lex's face that he had repeated it once too often.

"That is what they say. It's strange that Dr. Bryce's body wasn't found," Pete said.

"That's because she wasn't on the plane. I'm suing for divorce on the grounds of abandonment. If she wants a piece of the Luthor pie, she's going to need to come forward soon," Lex said.

"She could be dead," Chloe said.

"I didn't see her on the plane before it went down. My drink was doctored," Lex said. "My father and her were passing notes the day of the wedding. She worked for my father all along; the only possibility is she's alive and working for him under an assumed name."

"Why would she try to kill you?" Pete asked.

"I'll see you guys in a few." Chloe picked up the empty bucket and put it in the garbage. She continued to walk away probably to use the woman's bathroom, which had a line that nearly wrapped around the church.

Lex whispered to Pete. "She had a vial of Clark's blood. At the time, I thought it was Martha's blood and returned it to her. She wouldn't have tried to kill me if she was saving a sample of Martha's blood but a sample of alien blood is a different story."

"You told him," Pete asked.

"Yes. I felt bad about lying to him. He didn't look at me like I grew a second head," Clark said, looking down at Pete.

"Man, it was a lot to absorb," Pete said.

"I knew. I liked getting the confirmation. Part of me wants to find Helen and stop her from using Clark's blood to make copies and part of me feels that it's a waste of time and money," Lex said.

"Cloning is illegal," Pete said.

"And they could be anywhere in the world. I only want my divorce," Lex said. "Revenge eats at a person. I have to move forward and Clark is helping me do that."

"I don't understand," Pete said.

"Lex and I are dating." Clark took Lex's hand in his. "Lana said that she would be freaked out if one of her friends hypothetically was an alien. When I told Lex that I was an alien, he kissed me."

"Clark, are you out of your mind trusting him?" Pete asked.

"You haven't betrayed me," Clark said. "Lex isn't his father. He's willing to forget about the past and move on. He cares about me."

Pete got up from the blanket that they were sitting on. "See you around. Dating Lex is like going over to the Dark Side." Pete walked away.

Clark saw Lana helping Dean and Nell spread out a blanket to sit on for the fireworks. Making brief eye contact with Clark, Lana then stared at Clark and Lex holding hands. As if she saw nothing, she returned to talking to her aunt.

Clark walked over to Lana; he hated the silence between them. "We need to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you. Please, don't tell me that you're dating him for his money," Lana said.

"You know me better than that. Lana, I like his company. Why does there have to be complicated reason?" Clark walked away from Dean and Nell's blanket. He didn't want Lana's aunt to see them arguing.

Lana followed him. "In other words, he's good in bed. He wears jeans and a baseball cap and thinks he's incognito."

Clark tried not to smile to himself. Yes, Lex was good in bed, but that wasn't Lana's business. "If he wanted to be incognito, he would have worn a wig."

"I hope you two are happy together," Lana sneered.

Clark returned to the blanket. Lex had lied down and kicked off his shoes. "Lex, it's over between Lana and I. I was a fool." Clark lied beside Lex on the blanket allowing his long legs to extend out over the grass.

"Call your folks and tell them that you're spending the night with me. They know that we're courting."

"Courting?"

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I thought we were on the same page." Lex put his hand on Clark's arm and looked into his eyes.

"We are." Clark closed the space between them and kissed him.

Chloe arrived back at the blanket and waited for Lex and Clark to stop kissing. "Guys, where is Pete?"

"He left when I told him that I was dating Lex," Clark said.

"He accused Clark of sleeping with the enemy," Lex said.

"That is a little more than I needed to know. Enjoy the fireworks," Chloe said before waving good-bye.

Clark, seeing an amateur fireworks canister go off in direction of a small child, ran between the boy and the fireworks. He blocked the explosion with his hand then he set the spent canister on the grass. He supersped back to Lex and Chloe. The boy didn't even know his life, an arm or an eye was saved. The packaging said to be used by people over eighteen. What kind of adult lets a child play with firecrackers? Clark returned to cuddling Lex.

"See you around," Clark said to Chloe as if he never rescued the boy. He saved a boy's eye or (if he bought his hand up to save his eye) his hand. No thank you. Clark just being Clark. Did Chloe even notice that he left her sight to rescue a child?

"I need to say hello to Lana," said Chloe. "We'll talk."

Clark didn't get sweaty doing farm work, but he want to be clean for his date with Lex. They were going to the art show; a time to be seen in public as Lex's companion. Lex wanted paintings from local artists for his new house. Clark would be driving the Chevy truck since none of Lex's car had the trunk space for six or more paintings.

Clark didn't want to be late. The only thing that would keep him from his date was a crazed mutant. After rinsing the soap off, Clark put one hand on his cock and with the other hand, he slid his fingers into his pussy. Both hands went to his cock as he thought about Lex fucking him.

He rinsed his hands before turning off the shower and dressed in cut-offs and a tee shirt. He put leather Payless sandals on his feet and hoped he didn't look too hick for Lex's taste.

Lex had on a short sleeve mauve dress shirt. Did he just buy a few short sleeve ones because Clark insisted that he could put sunscreen on his arms and show a little skin? Lex had off-white painter pants with a matching belt. He still wore his Italian leather dress shoes; Clark would need to show him that expensive athletic shoes went with casual clothes.

"I have my checkbook," Lex said, meeting Clark at the door. Lex would never tolerate his date honking the horn for him. "Let's get some color on these bare walls." After a brief peck on the lips, Lex followed Clark to the truck and climbed into the cab. "Not a Monet or a Picasso on my walls that should really piss off Dad."

"Laura Monet was my eighth grade art teacher. She might be selling her work." Clark started the truck.

"I'll be sure to buy some."

"Do you think your dad will be visiting us?" Clark hadn't move in, but he did spend two nights last week at Lex's house. His father didn't make as much of a fuss as he imagined. His father knew that they were doing more than playing pool and watching the high definition TV. Music did sound better on Lex's sound system than on the portable CD player that Clark had in his room. As Clark hit the highway, he thought about the CD player in the Porsche; it sounded so much better than the two-speaker system in the Chevy truck.

"He can't hide in his Metropolis penthouse forever."

"It was his Lear jet that went down."

"Clark, that thought has crossed my mind. We'll never prove that my dad had anything to do with the crash."

"Do you think that your father knew that you would most likely survive the crash and set up Helen so he could blackmail her into working for him?" Clark asked.

"I wouldn't put anything past my father," Lex said. "That sounds just warped enough. My father just shot Lucas to save my life; I can't believe he would have me killed. However, to convince Helen to poison me and crash a plane with me on it would be possible if my father truly believed that I would survive it. The only problem is that the pilot didn't leave me a parachute, not that it would have helped because when I woke up the plane was hitting the water."

"The pilot could have broken his part of the agreement afraid that you would recognize him and turn him in. He panicked and tried to kill you."

"Knowing my father, the pilot died under mysterious circumstances. My dad doesn't care for loose ends."

"Maybe, it was your father's intent to kill you." Clark wanted to change the subject. This talk of the crash was getting morbid, but Lex needed to get this stuff out of his system and Lex might recommend others to see therapists, but he didn't like to go to one himself. It was a half hour drive to Grandville and if they thoroughly wore out the subject they wouldn't need to bring it up again.

"Perhaps, he made a clone of me and wanted to dispose of the original. He claims that I'm too emotional like my mother," Lex said. "Either way, I don't want to be alone with the man or his employees for a very long time."

"Is that why you left the castle?"

"I was worried that his staff would poison me in my sleep. However, there is a certain amount of pride connected with buying your own home. I had painters in all week and the house is starting to feel like mine. Next week, they tear up the bathroom and put in all new fixtures."

Clark realized that a house was a work in progress. It would be a showpiece in two to three months. No rooms were painted lilac or any other shade of purple. Lex had said that to get Clark's attention. "No purple."

"I expect business contacts to come to my home and I want my house to look a certain way. I'm planning to have a housekeeper come twice a week after the renovations are completed."

Clark liked the colors that Lex picked; they were lighter and less austere then the colors in the castles. "I would love to see your decorators plans for the kitchen and bathrooms."

"Tomorrow."

"My dad is impressed by you living in middle-class home without servants. It shows you have character." Clark looked at the open highway surrounded by cornfields.

"I need character. I'm not half as beautiful as you."

"I beg to differ."

Lex had an incredibly beautiful face. Clark was offended when Chloe said that a man with Lex's money could afford a wig. However, wearing that baseball cap had bought more attention to soft curves of Lex's face and his smooth complexion. After being called a freak since age nine, Lex couldn't see how beautiful he was.

Lex put a hand on Clark's naked knee. "You continue to dress in cut-offs and little else; I'll be forced to rip your clothes off."

Clark kept an eye on the country road. There appeared to be no traffic in either direction for miles. "After the art show, you may rip my clothes off and have your evil way with me."

Lex kept his hand on Clark's knee. "You talk dirty for a virgin."

"Who's a virgin? I fucked you twice last night alone, and I'm getting quite proficient at sucking cock."

"It comes from learning from the best. Your female parts haven't been broken in."

Clark cooed, "Break me in." They couldn't do more than talk dirty on the open road. After they got to the art show, Clark introduced Lex to his eighth grade art teacher, Miss Monet.

"Lex, how do you know Clark?" she asked.

Lex put an arm around Clark. They didn't need to act straight in front of a lesbian artist. "He pulled me from the river and saved my life."

"He would have done the same for me," said Clark.

"Modest, too," said Lex.

"You, Pete and Greg were inseparable," said Miss Monet. "Do you still keep in touch?"

"Greg died, but Pete and I are still best friends."

"Sorry to hear about Greg," said his old teacher.

"I like the picture of the windmill," said Lex.

"It's nice." Clark recalled sitting on windmill in Chandlers Field with Lana.

"I think it would look good in the kitchen," said Lex. "Clark, what do you think?"

"The kitchen has too much daylight," said Clark. "The picture would fade."

"Clark always has to be contrary," said Lex.

Miss Monet smiled. "He was always a good student."

"He's only contrary with me," said Lex. "I just bought a house and he likes nothing in it."

Clark stuck out his tongue. "I do not."

"Almost nothing," said Lex.

"Clark, aren't you still in high school? Are you entering your junior or senior year?" asked Miss Monet.

"Junior," said Clark.

Lex paid for the painting. "I'll put in under the tarp in the truck. The sky looks like rain. You can catch up."

Clark watched Lex walk off with the painting. Rain? The sky was clear. "What made you leave Smallville?" Clark asked.

"I wanted to spend more hours painting. My friend manages a gallery in Grandville. I only teach art a few days a week. I like working with the younger kids. Middle-schoolers are too set in their ways to experiment."

"Peer pressure," said Clark.

"Greg drew these wonderful pictures of insects, very detailed," said Miss Monet. "It's always a shame when someone dies so young. He could have worked for some nature magazine."

"Yes, Miss Monet." Clark didn't want to talk about Bugboy.

"Greg didn't fall to peer pressure. He had his own unique style. Your friend, Lex, wasn't in my class. I try to remember all my students."

"No, he moved to Smallville two years ago."

Chloe came over, rescuing Clark from talking about Bugboy. Clark smiled at Chloe. "Hi, Chloe. I was talking Miss Monet, our old art teacher."

"Eighth grade," said Chloe.

"I teach elementary school now," said the artist.

Chloe took Clark by the hand. "Bye. We'll talk more later." They walked a few feet from the booths.

"Thank you." Clark sighed. "I don't know how long I could smile and said that Bugboy was a gifted artist and not mention he killed his mother and tried to kill Lana."

"I think he wanted to mate with Lana," corrected Chloe.

"Whatever it was, it was creepy," Clark said.

Chloe shuddered. "Greg was creepy."

Lex came over and took Clark's hand. "You have a nice talk with Miss Monet."

"Don't you ever do that to me, again," said Clark.

"Do what?" Lex smiled.

Chloe said, "Bugboy" and shivered, again. "Clark, you have a good influence on Lex --no long coats in the middle of summer."

----

Clark drove the truck to a field where they could lay out a blanket under the shade of a tree. Clark sat on the blanket beside Lex and wrapped his arms around him. "You shouldn't hide under layers of clothes," Clark said. "You have a great body."

"I still see that slender boy that other boys beat up." Lex leaned into Clark's arms.

"It's not easy being different. My parents taught me to hide my differences. I grew up without birthday parties." Clark liked feeling Lex's soft skin against his. His parents had told him time and time again to be gentle. He cuddled Lex like he was told to cuddle a kitten.

"I hid in the closet during parties. You didn't miss anything."

"Our children won't have to hide during parties."

Lex turned to face Clark. "Children? My wife is missing and presumed dead. I'm not ready for commitment."

"I see my unborn children when I look into your eyes."

"And you felt this way when Lana was in your arms."

"No." Clark looked into Lex's gray blue eyes. "There were too many secrets between us."

"I told Helen how I felt about you and she still wanted to marry me. I should have ran for the hills then."

"You broke free of your father's influence."

"Too little, too late."

"It's never too late to redeem yourself."

"I'm lying under a tree with an intersex alien." Lex slid off his shoes.

Clark smiled. "What were we doing with Lana and Helen? You told me we had a future together and I couldn't see the forest from the trees."

"After all the life lessons my father tried to instill in me, I couldn't see that Helen was too forgiving. I let my pride get in the way of my judgment. I wanted Helen to be my life preserver. I learned I can only save myself." Lex licked around Clark's ear and caressed his hair and forehead.

"From what?"

"Becoming my father."

Clark couldn't believe he was watching the sun set with Lex in his arms. "You would never become him." Clark kissed Lex enjoying the moment then undid the top button of Lex's shirt. "You must be hot." Clark could see the beads of sweat on Lex's skin.

Lex removed his shirt and undershirt before returning to resting against Clark's chest. "I'm yours."

"You have beautiful skin." Clark knew it was a stupid thing to say, but even in a heat wave Lex was always covered up. Lex was probably embarrassed about his lack of body hair. All Clark wanted was Lex's seed inside him. It was like a voice in his head wanted him to get pregnant as soon as possible. The pod must have downloaded its program into him when it marked him with the symbol of his ancestors. The burn had long healed, but the program remained telling him that he needed to have Lex's children. It said that their children would lead the world. He wanted to shut it off, but then the desire to get pregnant was so strong.

Lex touched Clark's hair breaking Clark from his trance. "You're so pretty."

"Men aren't pretty." Clark's hands went over Lex's naked chest.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" Lex's voice took an effeminate twang.

"You're beautiful," Clark admitted.

"My father would tease me as a child that I was too pretty to be a boy. I hated my red hair." Lex snuggled into Clark; his muscles may have been like steel, but his body gave like a human's when held gently. "Clark, you aren't a man."

"Does that bother you?"

"It bothers you more than it bothers me. Sweetheart, you need to be comfortable with your own body."

"A man, who wears a windbreaker in 90 degree heat, is going to tell me to be comfortable with my body." Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, not that Clark would say such a cliché out-loud.

"I wore a short-sleeve shirt today," Lex retorted.

"With a tee shirt underneath."

"What would you have me wear?"

"Nothing." Clark decided to be honest. Lex had no idea how beautiful he was.

"In public?"

"A tee shirt and Bermuda shorts if you're courageous."

"And show everyone my skinny legs."

Clark kissed Lex full on the lips as Clark's fingers undid the hook and eye on Lex's slacks. Reaching to unzip Lex's pants, Clark kissed his neck. "You're so sexy."

"Clark, don't tease me," Lex cooed. "If you take it out of my pants, you better make it worth my while."

Clark sat up to take off his cut-offs then his tee shirt and finally his underpants. "All done." He was out of his clothes in less than a minute and he didn't need to superspeed. No belts or hooks and eyes to slow him down. Clark wrapped his arms around Lex and kissed Lex, again. Lex's naked chest was now touching his, blessed skin-to-skin contact. Clark put Lex's hands on his butt cheeks. "I'm yours."

"I don't have a condom."

"I don't care." Clark kissed Lex, again. Lex tasted like popcorn salt and summer fairs. Jorel's voice in Clark's head demanded that he have children. Lex would give him intelligent and caring world conquers. Their children would be strong and just. He felt like he was part of the movie "Species" and his progeny were going to replace humankind, but at the same time, he needed to yield to temptation. Lex and he would have beautiful children together. Lex would forgo the condom and give into temptation.

Lex planted kisses on Clark's chest. "Tell me what you want."

"You naked," Clark whispered, unhooking Lex's belt, "and inside me."

"I want that, too." Lex kissed Clark's belly. "Roll on your stomach."

Clark spread out on the blanket.

"You're breathtaking." Lex planted kisses down Clark's back as he put lube on himself and Clark's ass. Lex pressed his weight against Clark's back and started to hump Clark between the legs. Clark felt Lex's penis penetrate his vagina. Jorel would have his first grandchild. Clark moaned lightly as Lex penetrated him deeper. He knew that he would become pregnant as listened to Lex's screams of pleasure.

"Wow." Clark rolled over and kissed Lex's nose.

Lex rested his head on Clark's chest as his breathing returned to normal.

Clark hurried into his clothes. "We need to return my parent's truck."

Lex put on his clothes. "They have the Ferrari."

"They can't carry farm supplies in a Ferrari."

"We'll return it tonight." Lex pulled Clark back into his arms. "I love you so much."

Clark kissed Lex's forehead. He knew Lex and he were going to become parents. Everything felt right with the world. Clark had sealed his fate; he would spend the rest of his life raising world conquers and loving the beautiful man in his arms.

Martha noticed the EPT test in the bathroom trashcan. The indicator changed color indicating a positive. Clark's bedroom door was open and he was laying in bed reading, What to Expect When Expecting. "Are you okay?" Martha asked.

"Fine," Clark said.

"Strange choice in reading material," his mother said.

Clark closed the book and hid it under his pillow. "Mom, I'm not ready to talk about this."

"We discussed condoms."

"I wanted to get pregnant. The pod uploaded the program into my mind. It didn't care that I'm heading into my junior year. It was time. I didn't feel like I had a choice," Clark said.

"You always have a choice."

"Mom, I want a baby more than anything. I can feel that deep inside. Ever since I told the pod that I wouldn't conquer the world, I have this strong urge to get pregnant. My children will have my powers. I don't know if I'm the world salvation or its doom. I couldn't help myself." Clark buried his head in his pillow.

"Lex should have insisted on using a raincoat. I thought that boy was smarter." Martha took the only chair in the room.

"I hate asking you this, but do you have the stuff for the baby?"

"Your father never throws anything away."

"What am I going to tell Dad?"

"Did you tell Lex?" Martha stood up, walked to the edge of the bed and put her hand through her child's hair.

"Not yet. I can't tell him that it was an accident. I begged him for sex and couldn't stop thinking about the child that we were creating. I feel so awful."

"That baby is what is important."

"Jorel wants me to be mother to a race of gods."

"Fight him."

Clark pulled the pillow around his head causing the pillow to burst. "I can't," he mumbled as feathers scattered all over the room. "Mom, I'm afraid."

"I'm here if you need me." Martha kissed her hand than put the hand on his face. "Tell Lex that he's going to be a dad." Martha left the bedroom.

---

Clark called Lex and told him that he'd be over to talk. Less than a minute later, Lex's doorbell rang. He would never get use to Clark's superspeed. Lex opened the office door for Clark. Clark looked at the rose tinted paneling and the paintings of wildflowers on the walls. "I'm working at home today," explained Lex.

"I have some good news to share." Clark gave a half smile. "At least, I hope it's good news."

"Out with it." Lex sat back down at his computer.

"We're expecting a baby."

"You're pregnant?"

Clark nodded.

Lex hit the key to save the program he was using then he walked over to Clark and put a hand on Clark's belly. "Wow." Then, he lifted up Clark's shirt and kissed his belly button. "Hello in there. I'm your father." A pregnant Clark was preferable over a pregnant Helen or a pregnant Desiree. At least, if he had gotten Desiree pregnant, he would have gotten the baby since prisons and babies don't mix. A pregnant Clark wasn't that bad and Lex did want to be a father.

"She can't hear you."

Lex hugged Clark. "I'm going to be a father."

"In about eight and a half months." Clark set up the rack and broke it. No balls went in.

Lex took his turn. "What are you going to do about school? Now you do have a reason to avoid the boys’ locker room."

"You can have Toby write me an excuse."

"Let's talk to your mother about homeschooling. An alien pregnancy has too many unknown variables."

"We can talk to them tonight."

"I have to meet with my stockholders. I'll join you afterwards." Lex kissed Clark's cheek.

"I haven't seen you this happy since you married Desiree."

"I told myself that I wouldn't let my emotions rule me. I was all stoic and reasonable about Helen." Lex's wife was still missing and presumed dead. Helen was probably working for Luthorcorp under a new identity. The silence bothered him, but he didn't break ties by contacting people. Having a private investigator look into his father's actions would bring attention to himself.

"I'm glad that you're happy."

"I know how much you want a baby, but you still have to finish school." Lex sunk several balls during his turn.

"We'll get a nanny. I can continue my education. My mother could watch her part of the time." Clark managed to sink a ball.

"I could hire a live-in nanny and work only four or five hours a day. The child won't be deprived of love and affection." Lex pushed the rest of the balls into the holes thus ending the game.

"I'll let you get ready for your meeting," Clark said.

Lex kissed his cheek again. "I'll see you tonight."

Clark hugged Lex. "I love you."

"I love you, too. I have some reports to look over before the meeting." Lex didn't want to let go of Clark, but work called.

---

Lex didn't arrive until Martha was serving coffee and dessert. Clark took Lex's hand. "Dad, Lex and I have some news to share."

"You're getting married," Jonathan stated.

"Not yet," Clark said. How was he going to tell his father that his seventeen-year-old son was going to have a baby? Clark decided the direct approach was best. "We're expecting a baby."

"You're seventeen years old," said his father.

"I can be homeschooled. I received a perfect score on my SAT's. I can apply for journalism scholarships with Lex's and Chloe's help. Many teenagers manage school and a baby and they don't have superpowers," Clark explained. He didn't know if he was going to finish school. All he knew at this moment that he wanted this baby and he knew he wanted more.

"We can help," Martha said.

"This isn't the child we lost," said Jonathan. "You can't replace our dead child."

"I was looking forward to have a baby in the house. Now, I'll have a grandchild. Clark and Lex will manage. They are young, but so are a lot of first-time parents." Martha handed Lex a cup of coffee. "The important thing is Clark doesn't have to go through this alone."

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that our son is pregnant?" asked Jonathan.

"Hello, I'm Clark Kent, the boy who can fly and burn things with his eyes; at least, other people get pregnant," said Clark. "I'm used to not normal."

"So that is what happened to the Talon." Lex put down his coffee.

"It was an accident," Clark said. "I have it under control for the most part."

Lex looked at Clark's belly. "We won't have to worry about our little firestarter setting the nursery on fire."

"No. I got that ability last year. When Desiree told you I helped put out the fire in the classroom, she didn't mention that I started it. That was the first time that it happened," Clark explained as he started his third piece of cake.

"Clark didn't become invulnerable until after puberty," said Martha. "Clark was an easy child to raise."

"Always willing to help out and do the right thing," Jonathan smiled in Lex's direction. "Lex, do you want some?" Jonathan said, as he took the last piece of cake.

"No, thanks. I don't care for sweets. Do you have any fruit?"

"I have kiwis and apples in the kitchen," Martha said. "Help yourself."

Lex returned with an apple. "I was an obedient child myself. I didn't become a troublemaker until after my mother died and my world crumbled around me."

"You needed love and he sent you away," Martha said. "Any child would lash out after the dead of a parent."

"He did the best he could. I lost my mother and brother, but he lost his wife and son. Neither of us handled our grief well," Lex admitted.

"Caring for a baby is a full-time job," Jonathan said.

"I have the money for a nanny and I can work less hours," Lex said. "Martha can visit anytime and help out. Clark will still go to college as planned."

"We can get a place near the school," Clark said.

"The details can be decided later," Jonathan said. "Lex, how do intent to claim paternity for the child?"

"I would like to marry Clark," Lex admitted. "I want my name on the birth certificate as father."

"I want my baby." Clark didn't like that he was being left out of the conversation. He was younger than Lex, but that didn't mean that he didn't have an opinion. "This is Smallville. No one will think I’m an alien simply because I’m pregnant. Since people may make nasty comments about green rocks, I won’t shout it from the rooftops, but I’m not hiding in my loft either."

Lex put a hand on Clark's face. "I can have Toby document that you're intersex. People older than you have changed their documentation. You'll be female on your paperwork, then we can get married," Lex said.

"Helen could reappear," Jonathan said. "They never did find a body."

"I’m not wearing a wedding dress," Clark said. "People will probably write meteor mutant on the barn door, but I’m not acting like a girl."

"Jeans and a tee shirt are androgynous," Martha said, gathered the dishes.

"He's not wearing a tee shirt to our wedding," Lex said.

"We haven't decided to get married, yet," Clark said, putting the pile of plates to the kitchen.

"Call me old fashioned, but a couple usually gets married before deciding to have children," Jonathan said.

"A number of our friends did it the other way around," Martha said.

Clark picked up the cups to take them to the kitchen. "I'll see Toby so I can have maternal rights." Clark was an alien. He didn’t know if his body would be affected by pregnancy the way a human being’s would. He could have the baby and the next day he could have no marks showing that he was ever pregnant. Clark hated that he had to leave himself open to slurs and shunning, but he needed witnesses. "I don't need to be married to have a baby."

With Luthor money, if Clark didn’t take safeguards, he could possibly never see his child, again. If something could happen to Lex, then Lionel Luthor could seize the baby. That was less likely to happen if Clark was listed as mother on the birth certificate. Clark had seen The Net. If Clark hid his pregnancy, Lionel would be able to claim Clark had nothing to do with the child. However, if all of Smallville knew Clark was the child’s mother, Lionel’s money would have less power.

Toby finished the exam of Clark and threw out the gloves. "You appear to be a healthy pregnant person. I can write you a note to show vital statistics. You've been told about safe sex."

"Lex was aiming for the other hole and missed," Clark said.

"He should have been using a condom." Toby started to writing on his prescription pad. "But knowing Lex's health, I'm not surprised that he went without."

"I don't need a talk on safe sex. My mother already gave me the lecture."

"You're lucky germs don't care for Lex or I would be seeing you for something a more serious than pregnancy."

"Lex is looking forward to having a baby. I wouldn't be surprised if he was already interviewing nannies," Clark said. "I've never seen him so happy."

"Do you have any concerns?" Toby asked.

"I don't have to start dressing as a woman." Clark got dressed.

"As the pregnancy advances, you might find maternity clothes more comfortable. There are ladies that wear sweats during the whole pregnancy and never buy maternity clothes," Toby handed Clark the piece of paper. "You have time to decide that."

"I'm changing my identity. After I turn in this paperwork, I'll be a woman the rest of my life," Clark said.

"Isn't that what you want?" Toby made eye contact with Clark.

"Yes and no. I want to marry Lex and have his children. What if I can't pass?" Clark asked.

"Take it one day at a time. One of your parents need to go with you," Toby said.

"Thank you." Clark put the piece of paper in his pocket.

"I could recommend a therapist," Toby said.

"For a pregnant male alien." Clark would have laughed if it didn't hurt so much.

"Just talking helps."

"The worst part of all this is that I can't stop thinking about the baby and I truly want to be a good mother, parent, whatever." Clark tried to laugh. "Mother, the child is growing inside me."

---

Clark put an overnight bag in the Ferrari at six o'clock in the morning. His father was already in the passenger seat. "Son, we need to talk," Jonathan said.

"I don't need a lecture," Clark said. "After I turn in this paperwork, I'll be your daughter. No lecture you can give me can make me feel any worse than I feel right now."

"This doesn't change who you are." Jonathan looked at Clark. "We're ready to go. We can grab donuts on the highway."

Clark turned on the ignition of the sports car. "It's a lot to digest."

"You should have been more careful," Jonathan said.

"This voice in my head wanted me to get pregnant," Clark said. "I shouldn't have listened. When Lex was over me, I should have pulled away. Every other time, we used a condom, but, I know, it takes only once." Clark pulled onto the road.

"The car is a bit flashy for a farm," Jonathan said.

His father didn't want to talk about his upcoming grandchild or Clark's change in identity so he talked about something safe. "Mom and I will go to the dealership and exchange it for something less pretentious. He doesn't have the garage space." Clark could talk about the car until his father was ready to talk about why they were going to Topeka.

"I understand that you have a lot on your mind," his father said.

"I don't want to talk about the car."

"People think rich when they see that kind of vehicle."

"I trade it in tomorrow. Mom and you could use another vehicle," Clark said.

"It's your car."

"A Windstar for the baby. I'd like when you call me 'son'." Clark smiled. "You didn't decide to come with me to talk about cars. We have to go to Topeka to get this done."

"Son, that is a lot of hours on the road. Maybe we should get a hotel," Jonathan said.

"The Ferrari is pretty fast and it's still very early," Clark said.

"At your age,you get caught speeding and the cops will suspend your license."

"I'll go near the speed limit. Think of this way, after this my insurance rates will go down." Clark added a little levity to the situation.

"You get rid of the Ferrari and the insurance rates will go down," his father corrected.

After nearly an hour on the road, Jonathan finally started to talk about the situation. "Are you and Lex going to get married?"

"He hasn't asked."

"If he asks," Jonathan said.

"I love him. Dad, he's the first person outside of you and Mom that I feel really comfortable with. I can be honest with him. Lana wanted to live in a fantasy world. When I couldn't tell Lana how I destroyed the storm cellar, I knew it would never work between us," Clark said. "He's a good catch. He has a good job; he's respected in the community. He's all a girl could want or, in this case, an alien that disappointed a program in a space pod." Clark wondered if in a few months would he see himself as herself. "Will this paperwork change the way people see me?" He didn't care about that. What he wanted to know if this would change the way he saw himself.

"That is up to you."

"I'll be a woman legally." Clark was trying to wrap his mind around it. "This isn't some joke, Dad. This is for the rest of my life."

"You don't have to hurry to change your driver's license," Jonathan said.

"You could use the break in the insurance. I want to hold onto the old one a bit longer. I'm frightened. Lex and I want a baby so much, but I'm not sure if I'm ready."

"That shows that you're thinking. I'll let you in on a secret; there is never a good time to have a baby."

"What about you and Mom?"

"Mom and I would have been in our sixties when the child was setting off for college. Parents make adjustments for their children."

"I want to be a good mother." There was a surreal quality about it. He couldn't believe he was saying that. It was like his mind wasn't his own, then again a computer had downloaded into his mind twice so perhaps, his thoughts weren't all his own. The same Clark that just made up his mind about going into journalism was a pregnant teenager. He couldn't tell his father his fears because he couldn't voice them to himself.

"I'm sure you will be."

---

Clark filled out the form and then Jonathan signed it. The woman behind the counter asked, "Would you like a name change while you are here?"

"No," said Clark. "I was given my mother's maiden name as a first name. It would be an insult to change it."

The woman looked at Jonathan. "When she starts college, she'll need to fill out forms. Having a middle initial would save her time."

Jonathan looked at Clark. "You pick a middle name."

"Ryan after Ryan James," said Clark.

"Good choice," said Jonathan.

The lady handed back the form.

Clark filled in the middle name. He handed back the form.

The lady nodded and said, "You can come back in a couple of hours to pick up your new birth certificate."

"Thank you," Jonathan said. "Let's get some lunch."

Clark walked down to the hall. "Dad, we could drive home tonight."

"Sure. All this has me spooked, too." Jonathan looked ahead at the elevator door.

"Hearing myself by referred to as 'she' will take some getting used to." Clark wanted to go back three months to not knowing who he was. Why did that pod have to download into his head? If he could have the birth in a hospital, people would have to say he was the mother, but since he was an alien that wasn't possible. He would have a private doctor and hopefully a friend or two witness the birth. He needed official records since he wouldn't have a hospital staff to confirm the birth. Toby had told him that getting the birth certificate changed was more a matter of protecting one's ass than necessity.

"You'll adjust. Mom needed to remind herself to use her married name for several weeks." Jonathan must have realized how petty that sounded and continued, "you got through x-ray vision and heat vision; you can get through this. Clark, God never dishes out more than we can handle."

"Tell that to people that have had nervous breakdowns or committed suicide." Clark wasn't at his breaking point, but he felt close. It was like his mind couldn't handle anymore and was slowing down. The office buildings in Topeka weren’t as new as Metropolis or as tall. It seemed more at home on the prairie than the skyscrapers of Metropolis.

"What are you thinking about?" his father asked.

Clark waited to talk until they were inside the Ferrari. "I could have walked into the UN and taken over the world, but instead I'm going to be the second Mrs. Luthor. Life has a way of laughing at you."

"Third," Jonathan corrected.

"Second. The first marriage was annulled." Clark tried to smile. "Hundreds of women would probably like to take my place and marry a millionaire. I told him once that I could be worth more than him." Clark's voice didn't get much above a whisper as he started the car. "If I wanted to, I could rob banks, steal precious gems and no one could stop me. I could conquer the fucking planet and have world leaders do my bidding, but I rather live in a small house in a small town with a no one."

"Clark, what did the program say to you?"

"That I had to leave you and Mom and start my mission of world conquest -- whatever that means. I refused and it marked me and read my thoughts. I could hear its voice in my head when I was on the road. It told me to obey and I said no."

"You're very brave."

"I couldn't face you with this when you and Mom lost the baby. I blamed myself for the baby dying since I didn't come to you for help and tried to stop the program myself by destroying the pod."

"You shouldn't have runaway."

"You blamed me. I couldn't face what happened. Dad, what would you do if you were I? Should I conquer the world, try to save people one at a time, or should I just become a housewife?"

"It's up to you."

"I want to meet people. I want more than to live in Smallville all my life."

"Get your education. The world is still open to you."

"It feels like I closed all these doors because I wanted to get pregnant for those lousy five minutes before having sex."

"You're going to college next fall like you and Lex have planned. God gave parents nine months to have a baby so they have the time to mentally prepare."

"I want to do the right thing."

"You need time to accept what has happened."

---

They got the news birth certificate for Clark Ryan Kent -- female. The clerk told Jonathan that he would need to take it to Miss Kent's school. While they were on the road home, Clark asked, "What did Toby write on the prescription pad?"

"Intersex--female," explained Jonathan. "He put a female symbol near the word, female. You'll never look like a woman."

"Dad, I'm getting breasts. Mom says I have that glow that other pregnant women have. You can 't be pregnant and not feel feminine."

Clark showed his mother the birth certificate when they got home. "I added Ryan as a middle name."

Martha hugged Clark. "I think Ryan would have like that."

"I'm going to the Talon." Clark said.

"Tomorrow. You need to get your rest."

Clark looked at his watch. "Lana is probably closing up now. It's late. Mom, I promised Dad in the morning that we would take the Ferrari and trade it in for a minivan."

"Sure. The Ferrari is useless on a farm. A minivan would be great. We'll get one with a hitch for a trailer. Clark, get some rest. We have a lot to do tomorrow."

"Thanks, Mom." Clark kissed her cheek before walking up to his room. He wondered if he would be able to spend the night with Lex tomorrow. His own bed seemed so small and lonely.

Clark and Martha took the Ferrari with the title that was signed to Clark to a Ford dealership. Clark explained that he needed a family car and couldn't afford the insurance on a sports car. The dealer agreed to take the Ferrari as a payment on a family vehicle. Clark picked out a Windstar with built-in car seats.

"Got a girl pregnant?" the salesman asked.

"I'm pregnant," Clark said without embarrassment. He wasn’t human. According to Swann, he was a species of one. The likelihood that people resembled human beings was infinitesimal. Then there was the kryptonite itself that was a powerful mutagen. Either way, he wasn’t human and human rules never fit him.

"Right. Next, you'll be trying to convince me that aliens had landed." The man smiled at the boy. "I don't sell used luxury cars but I know a dealer that does. I can give you list for three-year-old Ferrari. I only have to put the make and model into the computer or you can wait for the price I get from the dealer."

"It needs detailing," Clark said.

"All cars are cleaned before being put back on the lot," the salesman said. "It doesn't have many miles. I should be able to get you a good deal. Expect to get a check not a bill for the difference."

"My friend had five vehicles. His new place has only space to park two so he sold one and gave me one," Clark said.

"And he wants you to sell it," the saleman said.

"He brought the cars with his father's money."

The Grandville Ford salesman looked at Clark. "Your friend wouldn't be Lex Luthor. It was in the local paper that he returned from the dead after someone sabotaged his father's jet. The pilot and Mrs. Luthor were never found."

"I have my own theories about that. Lex claims that his wife left the plane before it took off from the ground. I think the pilot panicked and didn't follow Mr. Luthor's orders and tried to kill Lex. I suspect Mr. Luthor paid the pilot a few million in diamonds for the job and he's living like a king on an island and will never be found again."

"His son's theory?" the dealer asked.

"His father had his flunkies kill the pilot so they wouldn't need to pay him."

"The son is probably right. Either way, the pilot will never be found," the salesman said. "It must be nice to have a friend give you a car."

Clark shrugged his shoulders.

"We'll wait to see what you get from the other dealer," Martha said.

"You can bring home the vehicle you want and after I contact my friend, I'll mail you a check for the difference," the car dealer said.

"That sounds great," Martha said.

"Mom, I'll make an appointment to get a hitch attached," Clark said.

"I'll throw that in. I'm call you with the time and place," the man said.

"Thank you," Martha said.

"You're more than welcome." The salesman gave Clark the keys.

---

Chloe joined Clark in the Talon. "How are things going?"

"Good. My father and I went to Topeka yesterday and today I traded in the Ferrari for a minivan. I don't know if I should give Lex the difference or keep it," Clark said.

"Keep the difference," said Chloe. "Lex won't take the money."

"I'll buy Lex something with the money. My mom says that we need a vehicle with a hitch and once you pull out the seats, it has covered storage space for her deliveries," Clark said.

"Weren't you suppose to take the Ferrari to college?" Chloe asked.

"I'll take the Windstar to college."

Chloe giggled. "A van with the logo Martha's muffins on the side won't attract chicks."

"I decided not to be selfish."

"The real reason is that your father was afraid someone would take the Ferrari for a joyride and vandalize the farm."

"Chloe, you have me. It's a shame the Torch doesn't do summer issues," Clark said.

"I started working at the Smallville Ledger, July 7th. Car sales might interest high school students -- it won't make the local paper. By the way, what were you doing in Topeka?"

"Getting my birth certificate changed. I'm seventeen and the clerk talked to my father like I was invisible."

"Bureaucrats are like that. A day under eighteen and you don't exist. You can get a copy of your birth certificate in the mail."

"My father needed to give them some paperwork and they never get that stuff right."

"The adoption?" Chloe's face lit up.

"No. I gave myself a middle name. I'm Clark Ryan Kent."

"Ryan would have like that. He saw you as a big brother. You didn't go all that way to honor Ryan." Chloe was looking for details.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me." Chloe sipped her coffee. "I've seen it all."

"Don't you have to go back to work," Clark said.

"Lunch break." Chloe smiled at him. "Spill it."

"I changed my birth certificate because I'm pregnant." Lana was at the working the Talon by herself and Clark had yet to get a coffee. He suspected that coffee wouldn't affect the fetus. Toby didn't have an opinion on the subject and since Clark was an alien the research on humans didn't apply. When Lana finally took his order, he decided to get real coffee, not decaf.

Lana poured the coffee and went to the next table to refill their cups.

Chloe said, "You're kidding."

"I want my child to know I'm her mother." Clark drank his coffee. "Mom thinks I should cut back on the coffee to one or two cups a day. My doctor doesn't think the caffeine will harm the fetus."

"Why take the chance?" Chloe asked. Before Clark could reply, Chloe continued. "You don't want to be the new Mrs. Luthor. The first one is in jail and the second is missing. Lex is cursed."

"You don't believe that."

Chloe finished her coffee. "He doesn't have good luck with wives. You're better off staying his mistress."

Clark drank some more of his coffee. He would get decaf the rest of the day. It wouldn't hurt to drink only one or two cups of coffee a day. "Lex likes being married."

"He should have learned after being burned the first time."

"Chloe, puns are beneath you, especially ones that bad."

"Did Lex ask you to marry him?"

"He dances around the subject like saying things like when we are married, but he hasn't asked."

"Maybe he wants you to ask him." Chloe looked at her watch. "I'm going to be late getting back."

"I can't ask him."

"A man can have a baby, especially in Smallville. You changed your birth certificate because two men can't get married in Kansas. Are you sure you want your child to raised a Luthor?"

Clark drank his coffee. "We'll talk later. Get back to work."

Chloe waved as she left the table. "I'll see you around."

"Sure, Chloe." Clark felt like Chloe's girl friend. He wanted to talk to her about sex, marriage, pregnancy and other female stuff. He could talk to his mother about these things, but Chloe wasn't as prudish. Toby was right; he needed to talk about what he was feeling. Chloe had only half a story and he didn't want to know what her mind filled in as the other half. He would need to find the time to finish his story.

---

That evening, Clark called Chloe that evening. "Can I come over tonight and we can talk about girl things and watch a movie?" Clark asked.

"You're serious," Chloe said.

"Can you see me talking about boys and menstruation with my mother?" Clark asked.

"Sure. My father will hover over us. Last week, he caught Pete and I making out on the sofa," Chloe said. "He's going to check up every ten minutes to make sure we aren't kissing. My father still thinks I'm eleven."

"In a few weeks, the whole town will know that I'm pregnant," Clark said.

"I'll do my best to keep it out of the Smallville Ledger," Chloe said.

"Thanks. Expect me at eight. Do you have a DVD or should I stop on the way at a rental place?"

"Pick out a rental," Chloe suggested.

Clark picked up "Practical Magic" at the rental place. Chloe probably had a copy, but he didn't have a cell phone and he didn't want to bother the store manager to use his phone. Clark ran to Chloe's house. He would make an excuse that his mother dropped him off before going on an errand herself.

Chloe hugged Clark at the door. "I don't know what to say to you."

"I don't know if I'm a man or a woman. I'm getting breasts and my hips are starting to fill out. My skin's texture is even changing." Clark still had his arms around Chloe. She felt so soft and cuddly in his arms. It wasn't like holding Lex. He didn't feel aroused just comforted.

"Clark, slow down."

Clark released Chloe and followed Chloe to the sofa. "I picked out this one."

Chloe put it into her DVD player. "I have this movie, but I wouldn't mind watching it again."

Clark sat down on the sofa. Chloe had put a tray with soda and junk food on the coffee table. She got him two boxes of snack cakes. "You didn't have to bother."

"I couldn't remember if you prefer Twinkies or Ring Dings, so I got both," Chloe said.

"I'm not imagining all this." Clark felt his emotions were beyond his control. He must have been getting an alien strength flood of female hormones to his body. He didn't know how close his body chemistry was to human but he must have had DNA and a similar number of chromosomes. He wondered if his body did the equivalent of DNA splicing when he conceived his child. Perhaps, his body took genetic information from Lex's sperm and incorporated it into the egg so there was no need for a one-to-one correspondence. The details didn't matter. His body did what it did and it would do it again.

"Relax." Chloe put a hand on his arm.

"Your father will enter the room and yell for us to sit at the opposite sides of the sofa." Clark leaned into the sofa. His head had nothing to support it.

"You can sit in the overstuffed chair," Chloe offered.

"Thanks." Clark moved to the chair that was tall enough to give his head support.

"Before Pete and I added sex to our relationship, I went to the gynecologist. You aren't stupid. You wanted to get pregnant."

"When I was lying there wet between the legs with a hard-on, I didn't want Lex to go to a drug store to get a condom. Lex is so handsome with his shirt off."

"Hard-on."

"After the first time, we have only had vaginal intercourse. We have foreplay, but the main course is the same. I miss fucking Lex."

"Men are that way." Chloe blushed.

"I like vanilla sex, but I'm a hermaphrodite and there are these opportunities for exploration that we're missing."

Chloe climbed onto the arm of the large chair. "Men aren't interested in exploration; they want to satisfy their erection." Chloe didn't want to shout about intimate subjects across the room.

Clark put his hand on her thigh. He didn't mean it as a come on. She was warm and soft and sitting beside him. "I have an erection, too." His father probably wanted him to get girls pregnant too or, otherwise, he wouldn't still have the parts. He wouldn't have to be careful about not spreading his seed because he was only interested in Lex. However, Chloe's legs lying over his lap was very arousing.

"Since you have multiple orgasms, you're wired more like a woman."

Clark blushed. "At this moment, I feel like a man. Chloe, you're a very attractive young woman."

"I'll get on the sofa." Chloe fondled his hair a moment.

"I can keep my clothes on." Clark said. So what if he was aroused? Being a teenager meant being aroused. He wasn’t going to set fire to the place. Was heat part of the mating process on Krypton? There was so much he didn’t know. He had the heat vision under control, but he had so many unanswered questions.

As Lana came into the room, Chloe darted back to the sofa like she didn't want to be caught sitting on Clark's lap caressing his hair. "What movie are you watching?" Lana asked.

"Practical Magic," Clark said.

"Cool. Can I join you?" Lana said. She looked so tired from her shift at the Talon.

"My father left some leftovers in the refrigerator," Chloe said.

"Thanks," Lana said. "I eat enough junk at the Talon." Lana went into the kitchen.

Lana joined them a few minutes.

"I'll restart the movie," Chloe said.

"I've seen it before," Lana said.

"We're talking about men," Chloe said.

Lana sat on the opposite side of the sofa as Chloe. "You finally noticed Pete. Clark, what guy did you notice?"

"Lex and I are having a baby in about eight months." Clark put a hand on the hard spot that must have been his growing womb.

"He's kidding," said Lana.

Gabe Sullivan walked into the room, looked around the room and left without saying a word.

After her father had departed the room, Chloe said, "She's not."

"After Tina stalking me, I don't need this stuff," said Lana.

"Everything isn't about you," said Chloe. "Be happy for Clark and Lex."

"Clark and Lex are both men," said Lana.

Clark took the copy of the birth certificate out of his pocket and handed it to Lana. He planned to show it to Chloe. "I'm legally Miss Kent."

Lana handed it back to Clark. "Is this what you couldn't tell me?"

"Not exactly. Although I did worry me that you'd notice I have more parts than Whitney."

"I had sex with Tina," admitted Lana. "I only thought it was Whitney."

"Ooooh," said Chloe.

"Tina gave lesbians a bad name," said Clark.

"Fruitcakes come in all sexual preferences," said Chloe.

Clark felt more comfortable about his body than he had since he realized blood was pouring down his leg. Talking to Chloe was the best thing, he could have done.

"The three of us should try to be friends," Chloe said.

"We tried that before," Lana said. "You became insanely jealous."

"You promised me that you wouldn't date Clark," Chloe said.

"You aren't jealous of Lex," Clark said.

"Some, but he never promised me that he wouldn't date you. Lana and you have too much history. When Lana had you, I remembered dancing with you and our one date. I promised that we would only be friends, but I couldn't handle it. I thought I loved you. I was about to give Lionel Luthor your secrets, but I knew I couldn't trust him."

"What did Lionel Luthor want?" Lana asked.

"My sixteen year old virginal body," Chloe said. "He's lucky he didn't get the end of my father's shot gun."

"Mr. Sullivan doesn't have a shot gun," Clark said.

"He would have brought one for the occasion," Chloe said. "Mr. Luthor is an attractive man, but he's older than my father. Trust me. I'm not that desperate."

"He offered you a column with the Planet," Lana said.

"Not at that price. I'm not a whore." Chloe opened the box of Ring Dings and took out a package. "Clark, eat them. I brought them for you. Preservatives and chocolate are good for babies."

Clark took the package from her and unwrapped the cakes.

"Pregnancy is one time in your life you get to pig out and not feel guilty about it," Lana said.

"I never feel guilty about eating massive qualities of food." Clark lied. When he would eat an appetizer, a large meal and dessert and Lex would play with the food on his plate, he felt like a total pig, but Lex would smile and say that he liked watching Clark eat. He was 6'3" with muscles. He needed to consume a lot of calories. "Lex says that he likes to cook for me."

"Lex cooks?" Lana said.

"He brought a couple cookbooks. It's a new experience for him," Clark said.

"He'll bore of it," Lana said.

"He has a home office and prefers to eat his own cooking. He doesn't really care to wear business suits and travel," Clark said. "He's more of a homebody than you expect."

"Is his cooking any good?" Chloe asked.

"I'll suggest that we invite you and your father over for a dinner party," Clark said.

After the folk festival in a park outside the city, Lex and Clark went to a downtown bar with two other couples that they met while listening to music. Lex looked so happy and relaxed drinking a beer and singing off key.

"We should head back," Clark said as they walked to the car. "You have work tomorrow."

"Thanks to T-Mobile," Lex said, "I work out of any wired bookstore or coffee shop. Are you in a hurry to get home? Would you like to drive to Porsche?"

"I sold the Ferrari," Clark said.

"It was yours to do what you please," Lex said as they got to the car. "We have to move the car to hotel parking lot." The Porsche was in a lot used by people paying for monthly parking spaces and could be towed in the morning.

"I'll drive the couple of blocks. That was a very expensive gift to give someone." Clark kissed Lex on the sidewalk. Metropolis at night was almost as bright as day.

"You aren't just someone. You're giving me a baby. I love you," Lex said. "I should have moved out of the castle long ago. I feel as free as I did as when I was in college."

"Except you don't get drunk every night," Clark teased.

"I didn't get drunk every night. It's just when I tied one over I really tied one over." Lex handed Clark the keys. "I get into enough trouble driving sober."

"And parking sober?" Clark remembered when Lex ruined his golf clubs breaking a meter maid's headlights.

"I ruined a good set of golf clubs. I never lose my temper like that."

Clark thought back when Lex trashed his office because his father planted bugs. "We had a great time this weekend. Just shows you that you don't need to dress up and spend lots of money to have a good time." Lex had worn tee shirts and jeans all weekend and he actually wore sneakers.

"I did things like this when I was in college. Clark, you make me so happy."

"I'm just a farm boy." Clark opened the car doors and adjusted the seat for his height.

"From another planet." Lex sat in the passenger seat. "We can get a room at the Marriott."

"Smallville is all I know. I want to see the world."

"We shall."

Clark pulled into the hotel parking lot. He got the ticket that Lex would pay later that week. He felt guilty for Lex always spending money on him. Lex would smile when Clark complained. "Do you want to put it in your wallet?" Clark asked.

Lex put the parking ticket in his wallet. "I'm not upset that you sold the car. I just thought you would want it for college."

"It's a chick magnet and I needed a family car." Clark looked at his still flat belly.

---

Lex took Clark to a top-of- the-jewelry store in Metropolis. Clark had dressed nice thinking they were going to a museum. "You pick out a band and setting you want and the jeweler will measure you."

"There are no prices," said Clark.

Lex took Clark's hand. "Pick what you want."

Clark looked at the rings in the display cases. He pointed to a platinum ring with a jade stone. "That would look good on my finger."

Lex said to the jeweler, "I need her hand measured."

The jeweler needed to use one of the largest bands on his measuring rings to fit Clark. He wrote down the size. "Who will be picking it up?"

"Lex Luthor." Lex put an arm around Clark. "Sweetheart, point to the ring you want."

Clark said, "The jade one is nice."

"I can have it ready in two days," said the jeweler.

"I'll get you a second ring when we get married," Lex said.

Clark blushed. "We don't have to get married for the baby's sake."

The jeweler gave them a nasty look.

"Clark, I love you," said Lex, touching his hand.

"I need to be told sometimes." Clark touched Lex's cheek.

Lex gave the jeweler a deposit the led Clark out of the store. "You're so beautiful. Pregnancy suits you. Do you still want to go to the museum?"

"I need to call my parents. We told them the weekend and it's now Monday morning. They'll think I ran away again," Clark teased.

"I can’t get you in trouble. I’ve been there, done that." Lex handed Clark the cell phone. Clark had so much fun at the outdoor concert that he forgot to call his parents. Lex walked beside Clark silently as he assured his parents that he was fine and he would be home Wednesday night. After Clark hanged up, Lex suggested, "We could try to find tickets to a show tonight."

Clark handed Lex's phone back. "I rather go back to the hotel room. Why do we always have vaginal intercourse?"

Lex scratched his head. "I thought you liked it."

"I do. It's just that I want to fuck you for a change," Clark whispered directly into Lex's ear.

"We need some lube. My ass is yours." Lex put a hand on Clark's behind. "If you want something different in the bedroom, just ask."

"I was talking to Chloe and she says I need to be more direct in the bedroom."

"Would you like a late breakfast before we head to the museum?" Lex asked.

"Why don't you want to talk about sex?" Clark looked into Lex's eyes.

"We'll talk about it in bedroom."

"We don't talk about it. I bet Victoria told you what she wanted. We've been having sex for over a month." Clark took Lex's hand. The ring meant that they would be engaged in two days. Lex really wanted to marry him; it wasn't words that he said. Then, again, he married Desiree over chemically induced lust and Helen because he thought she would give him security. Lex didn't take marriage as seriously as he should. Perhaps, his father's favorite platitude would serve him: The third time is a charm.

"Victoria told me what she wanted and how to do it. I was twenty-one and she was over thirty."

Clark recalled that she slept with his father before breaking off the relationship with Lex. She decided that she preferred someone with experience. Although Lex claimed that he slept with her for business reasons, he was hurt by her betrayal. "I didn't mean to bring up old news." Clark was sorry for mentioning Lex's past love.

"She enjoyed teaching me about pleasing a lady. She thought she was sophisticated and worldly. She was the first woman that I slept with. She taught me a lot; I don't regret the experience." Lex didn't want to show that it still hurt.

"Lex, you're too hard on yourself."

"I was fooling myself when I thought Helen could actually love me." Lex put his hands on his hips. "Helen insisted on seeing what was behind my locked door. She didn't want me having secrets when she had ones of her own."

Clark remembered the story about the pirate that locked up his wives in his secret room. "You didn't put dead bodies behind the locked door."

Lex smiled. "I should have, but I didn't have time to bribe a gravedigger. I think the picture of you the size of the wall was effective. Helen was speechless."

"Helen married you after that." Clark tried to act nonchalant. He picked up his pace slightly remembering that Lex couldn't supersped. Sometimes, it was tempting to put Lex in his arms and supersped to their next location, but the one time that he did that it infuriated Lex. He insisted that walking was a pleasure to be savored.

"That was before we became engaged. When I proposed to her, she laughed about my infatuation for you," Lex said.

Clark stopped walking and made eye contact with Lex. "Laughed?"

"She asked if I was thinking about you the evening I proposed."

"Were you?"

Lex chuckled as he took Clark's hand in his. "No. I saw her a force in my life for good. You had turned your back on me lying about the cave. I wanted to love her and be a man worthy of the love of woman as virtuous as I saw Helen. Now, I know I was in love with a mirage. What I have with you is real. Clark, Helen deceived me. I saw her as a saint thinking she had forgiven my betrayal. How could I be so foolish when you loved me all along?"

"You wanted to believe that the unmarked blood was my mother's. You wanted her to be the saint that you painted in your mind." Clark kissed Lex on the street. After the stares at the concert, he didn't mind giving Lex public affection. Lex, in casual clothes, screamed queer. "After your father's lessons, you still wanted to see the good in people. That is admirable." Clark's hand lingered on Lex's face. "In the park, we saw that your belief was right. People are basically good." There were a few cops patrolling the area but with a crowd in the thousands; five or six cops were uselessly.

"We'll free to marry in five months." Lex stepped away from Clark.

"I want to wait until after my eighteenth birthday." Clark took Lex's hand in his. "Did you marry Helen to prove to your father that you were straight?"

"No."

Clark squeezed Lex's hand very lightly. "You married a woman who knew you were in love with me."

"I was honest with her and hoped she was honest with me. It seemed enough at the time."

Clark stepped into a drug store and purchased Astroglide. "I'm going to fuck you all night."

"I wouldn't be able to enjoy the museum."

"We could spend the day in the hotel."

"The museum could wait until tomorrow."

"You had issues with your father when you moved to Smallville." Clark was starting to understand why Lex liked leisurely strolls. Lex admitted that Victoria was the first woman that he dated and to the best of his knowledge Lex didn't date any men in Smallville before going out with him, not that he was sure he counted as a man. Lex dressed in less than masculine colors and moved like a woman when he was relaxed.

"My father sent me to Smallville because there are no gay bars within a hundred miles." Lex smiled at Clark.

"Gays meet at the same bars as straight people." Clark laughed.

"It's not the same. The bars in town aren't pick-up joints and the Wild Coyote was disturbingly hetero. My father wanted me away from the drugs and parties and when I cleaned up my act, he cut me down. He has to make the first move." Lex took a few steps before he continued to talk. "If he continues to treat me as a business adversary, I'll continue to ignore him. I don't need his lessons."

"He loves you."

"I know that but he needs to treat me as an adult. I proved to him that I could run his business and turn a profit. I negotiated a buy out, not bad for a boy of twenty-one. I'm not as incompetent as he imagines me to be. He tells me that other businessmen would steal LexCorp from me, but they aren't interested in a small fertilizer plant." Lex slowed down his speech and his pace. "It's like he has to put me in my place. I'm tired of the games."

"You don't need to fight with him."

"I don't want to fight him. I just want my father to accept me as I am and for us to act like two adults. Why can't he be proud of how far I've come?"

"He wants you to be better."

"I can't play the game by his rules." Lex took a deep breath.

"Let's enjoy the day and talk about more pleasant subjects."

"My father and old girl friends are off limits."

"Agreed."

---

Lex and Clark returned to the jeweler; the same jeweler was minding the store. Lex paid the balance and took the ring from the box. "Clark Ryan Kent, will you marry me?" Lex got on one knee.

"Sure after I turn eighteen," Clark said.

Lex put the ring on Clark's finger. Clark wrapped his arms around Lex and kissed him deeply.

"Gentlemen, you can't shock the jeweler," said the man behind the counter.

"I'm expecting," Clark said, giving it the college try.

The jeweler rolled his eyes. "The next thing you'll be telling me that you're Smallville mutants."

Lex smiled. "We both are. We met close to ground zero or so our parents tell us."

"I was three," Clark admitted. "Lex was unconscious. I smiled at him and touched his bald head."

"And you remember that?" the man asked.

"No. My mother told me," Clark said. "My father saved Lex's life. We remet twelve years later. He was unconscious the second time, too."

Lex wrapped his arms around Clark. "That only proves that you're my hero."

"It proves you need rescuing," Clark teased back.

"Good luck," the jeweler said. "Think of us when you're in the market for wedding bands."

Martha wondered why Clark didn't come down for breakfast. She could see him missing his chores but not breakfast. She knew it must be hard on him being out of school. It reminded her of all the parties Clark didn't attend, that he never was in Little League. She hated she had isolated him out of fear. Now he was isolating himself. She wanted to kiss it and make it all better.

Finally, she knocked on Clark's door. "Clark, the day is wasting away."

Clark was sitting on the bed in his tee shirt and Fruit of the Looms. "I don't fit into my jeans."

"You put on a pair of sweats and I'll take you to Fordmans for more sweats," said Martha.

"I'm huge." Clark put a hand on his growing belly.

"You're going to get a lot bigger before this is over. After school, you can visit your friends at the Talon. You put on some sweats. What you need is fresh air and sunshine."

"I've always been a freak. I was 6'3" in eighth grade. Most of the kids in my class were barely over 5 feet. This just gives new meaning to the word freaky."

"You're not alone. There is a teenage mother group at the community health center. It might feel good to talk other girls in your condition." Martha put her hand through his hair.

"I’m not a girl. I’m an alien creature, a bug-eyed monster like in an old movie. I only look human."

"Clark, your father and I raised you. You’re human where it counts."

"I mention I'm engaged to Lex Luthor and they'll all hate me."

"So don't tell them." Martha smiled at him. "You're still friends with Chloe and Lana."

"Chloe and I are as close as we were before the Spring Fling tornado. Lana and I are barely on speaking terms, but we've never been close," Clark said. "Lex will be back from Metropolis in a couple days and I'll feel better."

"You can live with him if you want. I'll talk to Dad," Martha said.

"No. Lex is busy during the week. We agreed that I would only sleep over on the weekends. I'll have the rest of my life to spend with him." Clark smiled. Lex would be home from his trip sometime Thursday and would probably make him dinner Friday. "He'll spend Friday cooking for me."

"I can send you a care package."

"I need to learn how to cook."

"When we get from get back from shopping, you can help me with dinner?"

"Sure."

---

Lex was busy acquiring a new business and didn't spend much time at his new house or with Clark. Lex did appreciate coming home to a warm dinner. Clark enjoyed cooking. Martha was right there wasn’t much to cooking except patience and a good cookbook. Martha had called the cooking lessons Home Ec. and said it was part of Clark’s homeschooling. Although he promised his parents otherwise, he was spending more nights at Lex's house then at the farm superspeeding home in the morning to do his chores.

Clark called Chloe, "Yesterday, a cop stopped me for a broken headlight, and did a double take when I handed him my license. It's time I went to the DMV and showed them the new birth certificate."

"Clark, I acted like a jerk when you started dating Lana. You, Pete and I are the Three Musketeers. I let petty jealousy ruin that," Chloe said.

"All I ever did with Lana was kiss."

"Everything was always Lana, Lana, Lana. I wanted you because I couldn't have you and Pete was there the whole time. I blew it."

"I forgive you. We can sit at the DMV. I can tell you where I put my tongue and where Lex puts his tongue."

"You're so bad."

"Lex likes it when I'm bad. Sitting to get a new picture taken is boring."

"Clark, you make a better friend than boyfriend. I'll drive you to the DMV so you don't get stopped again."

"I got the light replaced," Clark said. "The birth certificate was paperwork. This is something that I'll carry in my wallet."

"I have no idea what you're going through."

"Sex is such a part of who you are. The first thing you ask about a newborn is his sex."

Chloe paused a moment. "Clark, you're more than your gender."

"Thanks, Chlo." Clark hung up the phone. He still did the farm chores. The pregnancy wasn't slowing him down. He still hung out at the Talon with Pete and Chloe, but was starting to feel like a third wheel. He still had his tight firm muscles and he wasn't showing that much. Still according to his books on fetal development, it was more than he should at three months of pregnancy. His body was changing at an alarming rate. Someone knocked out his headlight while he was parked at Fordmans and now he was feeling sorry for himself because the cop called him "Miss."

After opening the door for Chloe, Clark picked up Chloe and wrapped her in his arms.

"Should you be lifting me in your condition?" asked Chloe, still in Clark's arms.

Clark thought about carrying Lex and superspeeding with him in his arms. He didn't want Chloe to know how strong he was. "I still carry two bags of seed at a time."

"Really?" Chloe had a look on her face that said she was going into reporter mode.

"I feel like a bigger freak than Tina. Tina had control. I feel like my body is beyond my control." Clark carried her up the stairs leading to the front porch. Clark looked in the mirror at himself that morning and saw the same face and yet, it was different. His hair that was growing faster than ever now reached his collar; he wouldn't let his mother trim it this month. His breasts didn't show under a tee shirt and sweatshirt, but Clark knew they were there. His body was still hard, but a thin layer of fat formed giving him a more feminine shape.

"Clark, put me down."

Clark put her down on the porch. Did he still look like the person she knew for three years? Was he still himself? Clark asked all these questions when he changed the birth certificate, but he didn't expect to start looking like a woman. He went to a teenage mother group on Thursday night and afterwards, he spoke to a girl of his age who just had her second child. Was school a thing of the past? The girl had been married going on three years and had two children in diapers. Her husband worked at Lex's factory driving a forklift while Sherry stayed at home with the two children working toward her GED.

"Tina's control was freaky. Clark, you're going through puberty. It might be accelerated by your pregnancy, but you're changing from a girl into a woman."

Clark sat on the porch steps. "Toby told me I'm a genetic female. The doctor and my parents were mistaken when they wrote male on the birth certificate that they created when I was adopted."

"Clark, be yourself. No one expects a girl as large as you to be dainty."

"If I'm more than my gender, why aren't you lusting after me?" Clark looked at Chloe.

"You're pregnant. Pregnant women don't do anything for me. I liked your innocence. Don't get me wrong, you still have an innocence, but it's different somehow."

Clark touched his growing belly. "I'm no longer sexy because I'm not a virgin."

Chloe blushed. "You still blush easily."

"It's hard to see myself as a girl. I look in the mirror each morning and want to shake my head and say that can't be me. I went to a meeting with other teenage mothers and mothers-to-be. I'll be eighteen when the baby is born. I'm engaged to a successful businessman. I'm luckier than most."

"How is Lex?"

"Very busy. He comes home late at night exhausted. I warm him dinner. He says wonderful things about my cooking, but I know his fatigue is talking."

"Clark Kent, you're becoming a housewife."

"I feel all I do for him is hold him in bed lately and make him breakfast in the morning and warm him dinner at night. He's so tired from work that we only talk on Sunday."

"My father seems to work seven days a week at the plant," Chloe said.

"Lex admires his dedication. Friday night, come by, and I'll make you and Pete dinner."

"Sure. Let's get to the DMV before they close." Chloe walked back to her car and popped open the doors.

Sitting in the passenger seat of Chloe's car, Clark thought back when Lex gave him a foil and told him every hero should have one. Chloe later teased him about the foil and made hints about him taking her to the Spring Fling. They had found clues about Ryan's past together. He wanted the kind of friendship with Chloe, again.

"Quarter for your thoughts," said Chloe.

"Not a penny?" said Clark..

"Inflation." Chloe turned the ignition.

"I was thinking about us looking for clues about Ryan near where my mom hit him," said Clark. "I want us to be friends like that, again. I know it's a lot to ask."

"I was the one who read more into our relationship that there was," said Chloe. "Clark, you were honest with me. That's ancient history. You can borrow my hairbrush. You want to look good for your picture."

In Chinese restaurant with mahogany booths and cherry tables, Clark and Lex sat down at a back table. Lex ordered the appetizers and told Clark to order the Chow Mein or Sesame Chicken. Lex then asked for chopsticks. The waitress bought two pairs.

When the dumplings came, Clark reached for his fork.

"It's gauche to eat Dim Sum with a fork." Lex used his chopsticks to pick up the dumpling and dip it in sauce. "You hold them like a pencil."

After Lex ate his dumpling, Clark tried. Clark couldn't get the chopsticks to work and ended up stabbing the dumpling with a single chopstick.

"Clark, it's easy." Lex took another dumpling and dipped it. "See. I can even do it with my left hand."

"Lex, you're left-handed," said Clark.

"You pinch the food between the two chopsticks. It makes you eat slowly. You can't shove as much food on chopsticks that you can pile on a fork."

"I like piling food onto a fork," said Clark.

"A lady eats slowly and chews every bite."

"Maybe, I don't want to be a lady."

"Honey, you have to accept this. The pod is gone. You'll be intersex the rest of your life. Once we're married, you'll be expected to attend dinners."

"Do I have to learn to use chopsticks?"

"Many of the companies I do business with are Japanese. Keep on trying. Watch what I do." Lex made it sound like being Mrs. Luthor would be a full-time job in itself.

---

Clark felt impatient for his new friend and her husband to arrive for dinner on Friday night. Chloe and Pete cancelled because Pete was working the phones for the congressman's campaign. Although Pete wasn’t eighteen, he was going to help his candidate win the election by mailing out flyers and calling people to remind them to vote. Clark admired his friend's dedication and Chloe and Pete promised to come over Monday night for dinner.

Clark looked at the large crystal chandelier in the hallway and walls painted what he thought to be an effeminate color. It wasn't purple, but was rose that so much more masculine. The walls had paintings from a local artist; simple landscapes from places Clark longed to visit. The living room had the large TV, a stereo system with small but powerful speakers that blended with the oak paneling and a tan leather sofa and matching love seat. The one large fern broke up all the shades of brown in the room. On one the wall were Lex's first edition Warrior Angels. Even the coffee table and end table was a light shade of brown. The brass lamps had shades of the same rose of the hallway and half- bath. The large den was converted into a library. The walks were covered by built in bookcases overflowing with books. A large black leather sofa was pressed against the large windows. The black coffee table was covered in magazines. Otherwise, that room like all other rooms in the house was immaculate.

Sherry wore faded jeans and peasant shirt that were probably purchased from Wal-Mart or another discount store. Lex would look at her like she was going to steal the fine china or the silver. Clark would buy cheap plates after their child was six months old. That was they wouldn’t have the worry about the child breaking the fine china. The off-white dining room set and the lace tablecloth and matching window dressing were stylish but the small chandelier completely overwhelmed the room.

Sherry arrived carrying a newborn in a sling; her husband was carrying the one and half year old in his arms. "We should have left the children with his mother. I can see the house isn't baby proof."

"Nothing except books are in the baby's reach," Clark said. "I hope you brought toys. We haven't decorated the nursery, yet. My father brought us furniture for the baby."

"I love to see the house," Sherry said. "Jeff, this is Clark."

"Hello." Jeff extended his hand to shake.

Clark gave him a strong handshake. Lex avoided shaking hands because he was left-handed and didn't want to give a weak first impression. His right arm was strong from boxing, but he was self-conscious about it. "I hear you work for Lex."

"I'm a forklift operator," said the man about Lex's height in a short sleeve shirt and Dockers.

"I'm being homeschooled. I hope to attend MU after the baby is born. I've been trying to teach myself calculus with the aid of a computer program."

"I took calculus my senior year," Jeff said. "I could help you."

"That would be great. I'll show you the house." Clark brought them downstairs. "Hold the babies. There are computers everywhere."

"We'll skip the home office," Sherry said. "I'd like to see the baby's room."

Clark took them to the second largest bedroom. The walls were painted pink with lavender trim. "We'll have it repainted if it’s a boy."

"The crib is nice," Sherry said.

"My father made it. It was suppose to be for my mom's baby but she lost it in her sixth month," Clark said. "We haven't brought a mattress or anything else, yet. Lex is superstitious. We aren’t buying a thing until after the baby is born."

"Why pink?" Jeff asked.

"My mother's baby was a girl. We're hoping for a girl, but we would love a boy just as much," Clark said. "Lex likes purple. He threatened one time to have the house painted lilac." Clark hoped saying something stupid would put the couple at ease.

"Honey, watch the baby. I'll check the car for toys. Put Zoe down in the living room," Sherry said.

"We have one of each. Sherry wants more, but she needs to finish her education," Jeff said.

"I want to at least five or six children. Lex thinks one is enough. I disagree. I think part of his problems with his relationship with his father is that his father has all his hopes and dreams wrapped up in him," Clark said.

"I'm an only child myself, " Jeff said as they walked down the stairs. Jeff put Zoe on his lap after he sat down on the sofa. Jeff and Clark watched Zoe toddle about in front of the high definition TV. "Sherry is the oldest girl; she has three younger sisters and one younger brother. She has been babysitting all her life."

Clark flipped the channel until they got cartoons from the satellite. As far as Clark was concerned there was three hundred stations of shit on the television. Lex paid for the movie channels but Clark didn't feel like watching them. "I was adopted so my parents want me very much. They have always let me follow my own dreams. My father returned to the farm after his brother left." Clark went to the dining room "She seems to be enjoy Toon Disney. I have to check my pots and serve dinner."

"You plan to return to the farm." Sherry said as she joined Clark in the kitchen.

"I might. I want to go to college for journalism. Lex is buying a plant in Metropolis. He has been getting home late all week," Clark said. "Did you get Zoe some toys?"

"The few I left in the car," Sherry said. "You have a very nice house."

"I think it's too small, but Lex says it's just a starter home," Clark said.

"How many children do you want?" Sherry asked.

"At least five." Clark stirred his pots. "I daydream about having ten or more."

"What are you making?"

"Pot roast and mixed vegetables."

---

"I know where I heard the name Clark Kent before. He was the kid that got locked in the plant when Mr. Luthor exchanged himself for the hostages," said Jeff while Clark poured him ice tea.

"I found Level Three for Mr. Jerkins," said Clark. "And saved Lex's life for a second time. The first time was also in the paper."

"My Porsche crashed off a bridge and Clark pulled me from the water," said Lex. "Clark, sit down. Jeff can pour his own ice tea."

"And the green rocks made you pregnant?" Jeff laughed.

"No, they made my mother pregnant, but she lost the baby." Clark sat on the sofa near Lex. His mother claimed it was the spaceship, not Kryptonite. The spaceship did save her life when she nearly died of a fever. Jeff didn't need to know about the ship. "As far as I know, I was born intersex. I was at ground zero when I was three so I can't know for sure if the green rocks weren't involved."

"Jeff, don't be rude," said Sherry. "Clark and Lex were nice enough to invite us over."

"Clark and I did it the old fashioned way," said Lex. "Green rocks would probably give the child extra limbs or tentacles. My father was doing things with green rocks on Level Three, but he claims he stopped his less than legal experiences. That's, at least, what he tells me and the press."

"According to Chloe, some of his Level Three experiments involved young girls, but she told him to go to Hell," said Clark.

"Good for her," said Lex.

"Why live with him/her/Clark when you could have a supermodel?" asked Jeff.

"I love Clark." Lex took Clark's hand. "Clark is the most beautiful person I know. He didn't rescue me because he loved me as much as I wish that were the case. He rescued me because he's a good person. While we were watching fireworks, he covered a can to prevent the boy from losing an eye and never asked for a thank you."

Clark blushed. "I did what anyone else would have done."

Lex said, "No one else did it. The church grounds were covered with people and you were the one to save the boy from a possibly serious mishap."

"He's still a freak," said Jeff.

Lex touched his bald head. "Then so am I. I admire Clark for not hiding in his parent's farm until the baby is born."

"Honey, he’s your boss." Sherry held the baby on her lap "Try to be nice."

"In my house, I’m just Lex," said Lex. "Jeff, speak your mind."

"You can buy a wig," said Jeff.

"I could, but my head is part of my identity. Wearing a wig would suggested that I was ashamed of my appearance. I’ve wore wigs at costume parties so I own them," Lex said. "I would never be ashamed of Clark and would never want him to hide who he is from the world. Clark is going to MU next year on scholarship."

Clark didn't get the scholarship, yet. MU would grant it if he got a recommendation either from the school principle or his guidance counselor. They seemed impressed with his essay and his interview. Now, he needed to convince Principal Reynolds to send him a recommendation. If Principal Reynolds said no, Miss Davies would agree. It just November and he had plenty of time. "You didn’t buy that chemical plant in Metropolis as an excuse to be near me?"

"It’s an excuse to visit, but I need to expand," said Lex. "Mr. Sullivan can handle Plant One quite well. Jeff agrees with me. Gabe is a good guy to work for."

"The best," said Jeff.

Clark got up. "I need to check on the food."

Sherry put the sleeping baby in the carrier then followed Clark to the kitchen. ‘I’m sorry about Jeff."

"I considered myself male the first seventeen years of my life," said Clark. "It’s an adjustment. Lex usually remembers to call me Miss Kent and use female pronouns. He was trying to piss off Jeff."

"It was two bulls butting heads," said Sherry.

"Lex told Chloe and me that our critics are our friends - they show us our faults." Clark put the roast on a cutting board. He then put the carrots and potatoes in a serving bowl. The mixed vegetables went in another serving bowl. "Lex enjoys verbal judo. Your husband is outmatched."

"I’ll help you take the food to the dining room," Sherry said.

"I worked for the Talon." Clark didn’t say for one day. He held the two bowls with one hand and the cutting board in the other hand. "I can balance three trays."

"That may be, but pregnancy messes with your center of gravity."

Clark put the two serving bowls and the roast back on the kitchen table. "You bring in the vegetables. I’ll get a knife for the roast."

Sherry took a bowl in each hand. "Who’s going to watch the baby while you’re at MU?"

"My mother and Lex." Clark put the carving knife on the cutting tray with the roast. "I’m only taking fifteen to eighteen credits my first semester. I’ll have plenty of time to spend with my child."

Clark had on sweatpants and a tee shirt that he brought at a maternity store. His hair had grown to his shoulders. He needed to get the recommendation before the Christmas holiday. His hips had spread to carry the baby better and only his sweatpants continued to fit. He looked down at his feet as he walked to the principal's office. It was just procedure. Miss Davies promised to write him an excellent recommendation and would mail it out before the following Monday.

"Come in," said Principal Reynolds.

Clark took a seat.

"Do I know you, Miss?" asked the older man, not getting up from his seat.

"Clark Kent, underachiever," Clark said in a soft voice.

"Mr. Kent!" said the principal. "Take the pillow out from under your shirt."

"It's Miss Kent. Check your records. My father had my birth certificate updated before the start of my junior year."

The principal checked the records on the computer then yelled, "Check Clark Kent's registration."

A secretary came to the office. "Is there anything wrong? It says her parents are homeschooling her."

"Her?" asked the principal.

"Her father updated her birth certificate over summer vacation. She had been listed as male before," said the secretary. "Those kind of errors are unusual, but they do happen. Do you need anything else?"

"No, that is quite enough. Return to your other duties," the principal said.

The secretary walked away.

"Miss Kent, what can I do for you?" the principal asked.

"I need a recommendation for MU," Clark whispered. His voice sounded almost feminine when he whispered. He suspected that Miss Davies didn't tell the principal that she was sending him a recommendation. Only in schools without guidance counselors did the principal have to send a recommendation. Clark knew that MU would be more impressed if he had recommendations from both Miss Davies and Dr. Reynolds, but he figured he didn't have much of a chance to convince Dr. Reynolds that he was deserving of a journalism scholarship.

"Why did you decide to be homeschooled your junior year?"

"Lex and I are expected in a baby. We're both mutants and Lex said there were too many unknowns for me to attend school."

"Other pregnant students attend school."

"I'm not other students. I was male until two months prior to getting pregnant. I had to lie to a doctor and act like I've always been intersex."

"Green meteorities?"

Clark nodded.

"The usual operating procedures are kill your mother then everyone else you come in contact with. Since Martha Kent is still alive, you're handling it better than most." Reynold laughed at his own joke. "Any homicidal tendencies?"

"Other than wanting to kill Lex when I could no longer button my jeans."

"According to my wife, that's normal."

"Nothing about this is normal. I was male until the day of Lex and Helen's wedding."

"What happened?" Principal Reynold leaned forward.

"Pete and I stole Old Man Luthor's refined green meteorite key. It sat in my pocket a long time. With my mother losing the baby, I forgot it was there."

"Your pants' pocket probably wasn't a good place for a meteorite."

"It was better than Lionel Luthor's hands."

"Having met the man, I can't disagree." Dr. Reynolds leaned his head on his chin, looking like he was giving Clark his complete attention. "Miss Kent, how do you plant to attend college and care for a child?"

"Lex plans to hire a nanny and my mother will babysit," Clark said. He hated that he would need to let other people raise his baby most of her first four years.

"You're late more often than you're on time for school. You only turn in homework assignments when the mood hits you. When you worked on the school paper, you missed deadlines. Why should I believe adding a baby to the mix will improve things?"

"So are you giving me a recommendation or not?"

"I can't in good conscious."

Clark looked at his expanding belly. He was huge for four months; then, he didn't know how big babies were on his home world or how long pregnancies last. Then, again, they didn't have to be mammals on their world. He could have been altered to a humanoid appearance before being put in that pod. He was the second of an experimental group. He suspected his people traveled to other worlds than Earth and he wasn't the second person altered to fit into an alien society.

"Miss Kent, you return to school your senior year, attend class and turn in your assignments and you'll get your recommendation."

"Everyone will know I was affected by the meteorites. You made a comment about me offing my mother. I can't attend school under those conditions."

"Attend junior college or get a scholarship without my recommendation. Good luck, Miss Kent."

Clark left the office and went to the Torch office to wait for Chloe. Since Chloe was in class, Clark took out Dr. Spock's last book and started reading about caring for newborns.

Chloe tapped him on the shoulder. "What a pleasant surprise."

Clark closed his book and put a hand on his belly. "Do you have any copy that you want me to check for comma usage?"

"What happened with Principal Reynolds?"

"He teased me about my mother and won't give me a recommendation."

"That well?" Chloe sat down at her computer. "What did he suggest?"

"I return to school my senior year and complete my work, attend junior college or get the scholarship without his recommendation." Clark didn't need his recommendation to attend MU and Miss Davies might be enough to earn his a scholarship; the university only rewarded one freshman with a journalism scholarship so he had to knock their socks off. If he didn't get the scholarship, his husband would pay for his education. Lex and he would be married in the spring. MU had already accepted his application, so without the scholarship he would be enrolled as non-matriculating his first semester.

"Did he say why?"

"My study habits suck and caring for a baby won't improve them."

"I'm sorry. Let's go to the Talon for coffee. A mocha heavy on the whipped cream should cheer up."

"My hips have shifted," Clark said. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life looking like the She-Hulk."

"At least, you aren't green."

"You're so funny."

"Clark, you wanted this baby. You were menstruating or you wouldn't have gotten pregnant. Your body shape might have changed even if you and Lex used protection."

"I realize that." Clark put his book in his backpack and got up from his chair. "Let's get that mocha."

Pete came in. "Clark, how is it going?"

"Principal Reynolds screwed me over. Chloe and I are going to drown sorrows in coffee-flavored drinks," explained Clark.

"Can I join you?" Pete asked.

"We'll be taking women's stuff like leaky breasts and Lamaze breathing," said Chloe.

"Pete, don't let Chloe frighten you," said Clark. "Chloe, I need t talk to Pete alone."

"I'll meet you at the Talon," said Chloe.

Pete put an arm around Clark. "What's up, my man?"

"I'm 6' 3" with muscle and feminine curves. Due to my invulnerable I can't make cosmetic changes to restore my appearance. I've read enough on the subject to know hermaphrodites are rare. Most people going to think I want to look like this."

"That sucks."

"Lex says I should hold myself with pride and let people think what they will."

"Good advice."

"Lex may walk like a girl, but physically he's very masculine. He wears purple shirts because he likes gender blending. I'm not him."

"Clark, I'm short and cute when all my brothers are tall and handsome. We make do with what God gives us."

"You're spending too much time around my father."

"Man, I don't know what else to tell you. In a perfect world, your looks wouldn't matter. We don't live in a perfect world."

"At least, you didn't tell me I have pretty face."

"You do. Clark, people, who get to know you, know you're a caring helpful person and those, who don't, aren't worth your time."

"Let's join Chloe for coffee and I'll read my baby book." Clark walked down the hall.

"Clark, are you happy?" Pete asked.

"Most of the time. I can't complain," Clark said.

"You could be a full-time mother. My mother frequently regrets that she doesn't spend time with us," Pete said.

"I'm meant for bigger things."

"Raising children is undervalued in our society. Being a full-time homemaker is a very valuable contribution," Pete said.

"I want to travel and meet people." Clark loved learning on the computer and looking things up in his textbooks and Lex's large library. He loved making Lex breakfast and dinner and sleeping every night beside the man that he loved. Still he wanted to visit all the places that he read about on the Internet. He wanted to write stories about the exciting places that he read about.

"Raising half-alien children is more than a full-time job," Pete said. "Clark, if you want your children to grow up with the morals that you have, you'll have to raise them yourself. If you want them to believe that people are good, you have to be home with them every step of the way. If your children have half your powers, they could be very dangerous if not brought up properly." Pete and Clark exited the school through the doors near the office.

Clark looked at the flowers planted by the school's horticulture club. It was long pass summer and they had turned brown due to the first frost. "I'll consider it. Perhaps, I can work out of the house as a freelance writer. I dream of being someone important."

Pete swung his book bag onto his other shoulder. "You talk about having a dozen babies."

Clark smiled at Pete struggling with his heavy book bag. He wanted to offer take the bag from Pete but that would be an insult. They would walk to Pete's car and Pete would drive them to the Talon. "That is Jorel's program in me. He wants his grandchildren to take over the world under my guidance. I have dreams where I give the UN ultimatums. I tell them that I'll protect the world and they need to destroy all the weapons of mass destruction."

"It is just a dream." Pete stepped into the students' parking lot.

"I don't know. Do I take over the world and sent myself up in charge of the world's generals? Do I tell the world that I'll keep the peace? I'm going to be a dictator that tells the world that I'll stop wars because they can't stop them themselves. The dreams seem so real." Clark looked at all the students getting into their cars, jealous that he wasn't among them.

"You want peace." Pete smiled at Clark.

"By stealing everyone's freedom." Clark stared at his feet.

"Perhaps, people shouldn't be free to create war." Pete was always the politician.

"I don't have the right to decide for the world."

"If you don't, who will? Clark, what if your father is right and you're needed to be our salvation?" Pete's car was at the end of the parking lot; they still have a few meters to walk.

"I don't want to that kind of responsibility."

---

Lex greeted Clark at the Talon with a peek on the cheek and a hand on the baby. "How are my two favorite people doing?"

"Reynolds is an asshole," said Clark.

"We knew that. How many headmasters would try to kick a grief-stricken fourteen-year-old out of school? With all the child psychology the man knows, he should have more compassion."

"That was a long time ago," Clark said.

"He never admitted he was wrong. I lost my baby brother and then my mother died. I'm sent away to school and I'm not going to act out?" Lex explained.

"They dismissed him," Clark said.

"He blames his dismissal on my father," Lex said.

"I'll get the scholarship without him. I was admitted to MU. I'll go either way," Clark said. "They might enroll me as non-matriculating because I don't have a high school diploma, but if I get better than a 3.0 my first semester, I can enroll as a full-time student."

"Good for you," said Chloe.

Pete said, "I knew Dr. Reynolds tried to have you expelled, but I never saw it from your side."

"I was a troubled kid. I hold myself responsible for my behavior and I straightened my life out. Reynolds taught me a lot." Lex sat down on an empty chair. "I'm throwing a costume party for Christmas at my new house. You and Chloe are invited. The invitation should be in your mail box."

"We'd love to go," Chloe said.

"My costume includes a wig. Chloe, you'll finally get to see me with hair," Lex teased.

"That makes it worth the hassle of finding a costume," Chloe said. "Pete, we can go to the costume warehouse in Metropolis this weekend. It's on me."

"I can't take your money," Pete said.

"Pete, maybe you can rent a costume for the night," Chloe said.

"I would need it for two days so we can get it back to Metropolis," Pete said.

"It's the day before the company party. I'm having a small employee party at the Holiday Inn. I suspect your father will bring you again this year," Lex said.

"I hate being my father's date," Chloe said.

"A small party?" Pete asked.

"It was paid for in advance. I'm only paying for a little more than half the dinner."

"Can't you afford it?"

"Yes, but when I pay for everyone's dinner only a quarter that sign up show and the restaurant doesn't refund the difference. This way only people that want to go will pay in advance. A nice dinner at a high class restaurant for twelve dollars is still a bargain," Lex said.

"How many people are going?" Chloe asked.

"Only thirty," Lex said. "Will you go to my costume party? Charlotte will be catering it." Charlotte ran a baker and made party plates of pastries and finger sandwiches.

"My mother is going to help. Charlotte is trying to convince my mother to work part-time for her," Clark said.

"She should take the job," Pete said. "Charlotte has been running that small bakery alone since her husband died."

"I'll tell her," Clark said. "My mother loves to bake; it would be a great job for her."

Lana served Lex his coffee. "How is the business in Metropolis going?"

"It's busy. I purchased an old factory so it has to be brought up to code," Lex said. "I'm heading back tomorrow. Lana, I'm having a costume party December 17th. I would love for you to come."

"Mail me directions," Lana said.

"The invitation is in the mail," Lex said. "I live less than a mile from Ross house. Smallville isn't that big."

"I expect it to be at the castle," Lana said.

"I haven't lived there since June," Lex said. "It was on the market last I heard."

"You can expect me," Lana said. "I won't be dressing like a fairy princess."

"You would look cute," Pete said. "I don't have a costume."

"I could send you one," Lex teased.

"I'll make my own," Pete said.

---

Clark supersped to his parent's farm. He no longer lived there. Lex and he was married in all but name. He had moved his clothes over when Lex was staying overnight in Metropolis. He hugged his mother at the door. "Mom, I'm sorry that I don't visit as often as I should."

"You're here once a week," Martha said. "Clark, I'll consent so you can marry Lex before your eighteenth birthday."

"Lex has to wait until his divorce is final and I want to wait until I'm eighteen. I want to do this without you or Dad signing for me," Clark said as he joined his mother in the kitchen. "Are you going to take that job with Charlotte?"

"It would only be part-time at first," Martha said. "I'll call Charlotte tomorrow morning and tell that I'll take the job. How did your talk with Principal Reynolds go?"

"Not good, but my guidance counselor promised me a recommendation earlier." Clark grabbed a freshly made muffin. "Mine never come out as good as yours."

"What did Dr. Reynolds say?" his mother put two more trays in the oven.

"That you were lucky to be alive since I must be a meteor mutant and he recalls standard operating procedure for meteor mutants." Clark poured himself a glass of juice.

"Would you like me to give him a piece of my mind?" Martha asked.

"I should have expected it. Mom, I look in the mirror and no longer see me." Clark washed his mother's bowls and utensils.

Martha put a hand on her son's shoulder. "Who do you see?"

"Me. I don't look that bad with longer hair and breasts. When I talk to people on the Internet, I describe myself as a tall girl." Clark described himself as being pregnant and engaged to be married, living with her boyfriend, too -- her boyfriend, soon to be her husband. The people at MU would see as a woman; to them, she would have always been female. She would be a tall girl attending her classes, hoping to see her baby after class and definitely on the weekends. Clark could supersped home each night and every morning back to the university. "When I think of myself attending MU, I see myself as a married woman hurrying home to be with my baby and husband."

"Do you like this new Clark?"

"I don't know. Pete thinks that I should become a housewife so I can raise my babies properly. I took it as an insult, but the idea has merit. I love keeping house for Lex. Lex isn't doing the large employee party this year. He's having a party at a hotel with only guests that brought their meal in advance. Do I need a college education? Am I wasting my time since I'm never going to be more than a housewife?"

"Get your college education," his mother insisted. "I finished my BA and I never regretted it."

"But you never used it."

"I use it everyday when I manage the farm. Education is never wasted."

"I might be tall and muscular, but when people look at me, they see a woman," Clark said, before taking another muffin.

"What does Lex say?"

"It's all in the way that I carry myself. If I carry myself as beautiful and confident, people will see that."

"True. People when they look at Lex see a confident, businessman not a skinny effeminate man."

Jonathan entered the kitchen and drank juice from the jug.

"I broke Clark from that habit," Martha said.

After putting the jug back in the refrigerator, Jonathan wrapped his arms around Clark, "How are you?"

"Wonderful. Will you be coming to our Christmas party?" Clark asked.

"No. I haven't worn a costume since I was kid," Jonathan said.

"A suit will be fine. Half the guests won't come dressed up," Clark said.. "I 'd wear a suit myself if I still looked like a man."

"I'm sorry that I said that you wouldn't pass. I'm sure in whatever you wear, you'll be beautiful." Jonathan took a muffin that was cooling on the counter.

"Dad, neither of us knew. I'll have to wear something more formal than sweats." Clark had only worn sweats since he had grown too big for his jeans. Clark had brought bras and tee shirts at the maternity store. He could buy a dress or two plus a few pantsuits. He did intend to have more children. The program downloaded into his mind from the pod, wanted him to be constantly pregnant and yet he saw himself going to UN making demands. Did he do this after his children were grown or would his oldest children be watching the younger ones when he took over the world? He didn't know how he was supposed to fulfill the programming, but he had a strong feeling that it would happen.

"I have a cousin taller than you; she has two children."

"And her husband is five-ten," Clark said.

"No, he's nearly seven foot." Jonathan sat down with his muffin.

"Breeding giants." Clark smiled. "Mom will be serving food. Please, come."

"Sure. It will be an excuse to wear a jacket," Jonathan said. "Is Lex dressing up?"

"You'll have to wait and see."

---

Pete arrived at Clark's door two days before the party. "Chloe brought this great dress for the party and I have no costume," Pete complained.

"A suit is fine. My father is going to wear a jacket and tie," Clark said.

"What are you going to wear?" Pete asked.

"I won't fit into my suit." Clark smiled. "You'll have to wait and see."

"Are you going to dress like a girl?" Pete asked.

"I am a girl." Clark laughed.

"This isn't funny," Pete said.

Clark was wearing an unzipped sweatshirt over a tee shirt. He took off the sweatshirt then the tee shirt. "These are my tits in my bra. They are real." Clark took Pete's hand and gently put it against the small swell of his abdomen. "This is no joke. I'm going to be a mother in five months. I'm so afraid that as soon as I have this one the program in me is going to make me want to have another one immediately." Clark put his shirt and sweatshirt back on.

"That is freaky," Pete said.

"I've had a program downloaded into my mind twice. The first time was at the cave when I instantaneously learned the language on the cave walls, and the second was the night before Lex's wedding. That download was in two parts. As the pod was destroyed, I felt more information jump into my head. I wasn't sure it was there until I was looking for that ring no longer wanting to feel like me. My brain has been messed with by outside forces. My thinking was tampered with by the pod." Clark rubbed his hands over his face.

"What do you want?" Pete asked.

"A healthy baby. I love Lex so much. I thought his interest in me was only because I was an enigma, but now know it's more than that." Clark went to the kitchen. "I'm going to make dinner. Do you want to learn how to caponata? I'm also making shrimp, but they don't need to be cooked as long as Italian eggplant." Clark sliced the eggplant and put it in a colander and salted it liberally. "It has to sit in salt an half an hour to remove the bitterness."

"I thought you were supposed to be homeschooling."

"So I've brought a few cookbooks. Lex says that the recipes on the Internet suck. If the recipes are being given away for free, there is a reason. My mother gave me her old cookbooks; she makes most meals from memory. Most people eat the same meals in a rotation between 6 and 10 days. It's hard to stop yourself and make something different. Food is a cheap way to experiment."

"My oldest brother cooks. He used to tease about being becoming a chef when he was little. He's now a stockbroker and rarely finds time to cook for his wife and new baby," Pete said. "My mother taught my sister to cook. Us boys were on our own."

"Mrs. Ross doesn't cook much."

"Mom has a crockpot, but still we eat a lot of microwave dinners."

"You think I'm weak because I enjoy making my husband dinner." Clark said.

Pete shook his head. "Does Lex know of your dreams about taking over the world?"

"Sure. We talk about it. He wants to run for president before I take over the world. If I'm controlling the world powers, what is the challenge in running for president? I told him if I take over the world that I'll use a pseudonym so no one knows that his wife terrorized the world leaders into destroying all their weapons of mass destruction."

"Like President Bush has done to other governments."

"I'd make the United States disarm as well. I'm an equal opportunity dictator," Clark teased.

"I'll go in a suit. Half the people invited are from the plant; they never heard of fancy dress," Pete said.

"Then, they can come in rabbit costumes. The idea is to have a good time." Clark continued making dinner. "Wearing a costume means you can be someone else for a night."

"What are you going to wear?"

"If I told you then it wouldn't be a surprised."

Lex took her hand in his right hand and kissed it. "Thank you."

"Which direction is my father?" Chloe wanted to know which way to walk so she could avoid him. She had no desire to meet his lady friend of the month.

"He arrived a few minutes ago with Vanessa," Lex said. "I believe they're in the kitchen talking to Martha."

"I can't believe you asked Mrs. Kent to cater it," Chloe said.

"I asked Charlotte to cater it. Martha offered to help," Lex said. "I must see to my other guests."

A large woman in an emerald green eighteenth century gown walked over to Chloe. She had her black hair set upon her head with ringlets. The gown matched her eyes to perfection. "Chloe, Pete, welcome." That beautiful woman was Clark. "Would you care for a drink?"

Pete looked at Clark in his petticoats. "You look incredible."

"Thank you. Not all the punch is spiked. I'll show you what is safe to drink." Clark took Pete's hand.

"Your hair isn't that long," Chloe said.

"It's a wig. My hair isn't long enough to style this way," Clark said. "I'm growing it but it only grows so fast." Clark directed Chloe and Pete to a punch bowl. "Alcohol free."

"Thanks," Pete said. "I can’t believe it is you under that wig."

"What do you think of Lex’s wig?" Clark asked Chloe.

"He looks very good with hair," Chloe said. "I think he should have went with a lighter color so it would match his eyebrows."

"I agreed, but he thought blond would make him look pale."

"He is pale," Chloe stated.

Pete kissed Chloe’s cheek. "Talk to Clark while I mingle."

Sherry and Jeff arrived. Sherry was wearing a gothic vampire costume with a long black fright wig. Jeff wore a black shirt and pants with a long black cape. "The babies are with my mother-in-law," Sherry said.

"It’s good to see you both," Clark said. "Lex is in the dining room talking to other guests."

"Clark, you look beautiful," Sherry said.

"Thank you. I never wore a dress before. I was expecting giantess comments." Clark hugged Sherry. "Chloe, this is Sherry. Sherry, Chloe."

"Hello, Sherry," said Chloe. "Clark and I go back a few years."

"You’re the head of the Torch," said Sherry. "You’re the reason everyone reads the school paper."

"Thank you, I think," said Chloe.

"I knew about the two headed cows and people growing extra fingers, but I never connected the two until your paper."

Chloe smiled. "I have to show you my Wall of Weird. I lost some of the articles due to fire, but people have been good about locating copies."

"Don’t you have your own copies?"

"For most of the stuff posted on the wall. But it started as a scrapbook. I wasn’t thinking fires back then. Microfiche is a godsend. A few nickels, hit the print button and all is restored. I’ll give you the tour after vacation." Chloe glowed with pride whenever someone took an interest in her work. She tried not to smile too brightly, but she liked when people took notice.

Clark had walked off. He was probably talking to one of his other guests. He moved very well in all that satin and lace. Clark was a skilled host when she and Pete last visited. Still Chloe didn’t expect Clark to adapt so well to his role as the next Mrs. Luthor. The gown must have taken yards of fabric. Chloe would have fallen on her face with far less material and she knew how to walk in a dress. She would never ask Clark how much that costume weighed, but the Elizabethan costumes she had seen at a Renaissance Fair weighed up to twenty-five pounds and the players had scaled them down for the heat.

Chloe walked to the kitchen to get some food. Mr. and Mrs. Kent were talking to her father and his date. "Pete," she whispered, "pretend that you don’t see my father."

"This isn’t the castle," Pete said.

"It’s nice." Chloe looked at the gray counter tops and the baby blue wallpaper in the kitchen. The kitchen had a breakfast bar and high oak stools beside it. The cabinets were a natural white oak without hardware. He kept the parquet flooring and marble counters that she saw on her first visit to his house. When she and Pete came for dinner, Clark had refused to let her in the kitchen saying Chloe was a guest.

"The colors are a bit strange," Pete said. The living room was all brown and the kitchen was off-white and light blue.

"Don’t say that too loudly," Chloe said. "Lex probably took a long time deciding on them." Chloe handed Pete a small piece of cake cut to eat with one’s fingers.

"Maybe the master bedroom is painted lilac," Pete teased.

"I doubt it. Clark has to sleep in it too," Chloe said.

"I can’t imagine what it is like for Lex. Clark Kent, man of steel, is becoming a woman in front of his eyes. It’s enough to give the faggot a heart attack," Pete said.

"Lex is a complicated man." Chloe looked at him as he served a few guests drinks. Lex walked with an unearthly grace. Chloe enjoyed the way Lex’s ass wiggled in his tight short pants. He looked so thin and elegant in those old fashioned clothes. She knew he would wear something appropriate for a factory owner. "Besides Lex probably taught Clark how to walk in that gown. When you teach someone to ride a bike and they don't fall on their face, you feel like you're the one riding."

"I guess so."

Chloe could see that Pete wanted to change the subject. "I've never been to a fancy dress party before."

Lana said and handed Chloe an iced tea, "They call them balls." Lana was wearing a pink gown similar to the one she wore at the wedding; she probably had it altered slightly so people wouldn’t think she was wearing the same dress twice, holding a glass of punch in her hand. "I expected less people to come in costume."

"You only get to wear your Halloween costume once a year," said Chloe. "This is a chance to take it out of the closet and dust it off."

---

Martha helped Clark clean up after all the guests had left. "Mom, how do you think my first party went?" Clark asked as he took the garbage out.

"Good. Dad was staring at you all night," Martha said, as Clark returned to the kitchen.

"I’m not surprised. Everyone told me that I looked good," Clark said, collected more trash from around the house.

"You carry yourself well," Martha said.

"Lex showed me how to walk like a lady. He did a little drag at school," Clark explained.

"Drag?"

"He played a female part in one of his school plays. It was a way for the other boys to get Lex to wear a wig. It isn’t a big deal. It was a boys’ school; there were no girls to play the female parts. He played the daughter in ‘By the Skin of Our Teeth.’"

"I’m sure he was quite good."

"He has two gowns in the attic. He has worn them to other costume parties, but he didn’t want to outshine me." Clark walked "He has this burgundy taffeta dress. He looks incredible in it. He’ll have to model it for you sometime."

"Is he a transvestite?"

"He has worn dresses a few times, but I don’t believe he gets off on it. It isn’t like he enjoys the feel of woman’s underwear."

"It doesn’t matter." Martha was picking up the trash off the coffee table.

"This outfit is like wearing satin and lace over linen armor. Mom, I’m going to get into sweats then we can talk. The maid service will get it. That’s what Lex pays them for."

Martha walked with him upstairs. "It's scary to see you all grown up."

"I've been grown since I was fourteen." Clark had reached full height then although they didn't know it at the time. Martha and Jonathan expected him to reach seven feet. When he reached six foot at thirteen, no one expected him to stop growing the following year. Clark had a difficult time in middle school and that was before he knew he was an alien. People expected someone taller to act more mature.

"You know what I mean." After Clark removed the dress and wig carefully, he supersped into his sweats. Clark would supersped to clean the house. Superspeeding and housework didn't get along most of the time; he had to be careful not to form cyclones. With practice, he was getting better at it.

Lex entered the room wearing a red kimono; he was still wearing the wig with the hair no longer tied back with a ribbon. "I was just going," Martha said.

"There is no hurry," Lex said. "This is your first Christmas without your little boy at home."

"Christmas isn’t for another week," Martha said. "Jonathan and I put up the tree around Thanksgiving. You should come over and check it out."

"I’m very busy with getting my new factory open," Lex said.

Martha reached up to kiss Lex on the cheek. "You both are invited for Christmas dinner at my house. Formal dress is optional."

"Thanks, Mom," Clark said.

"I’ll show myself out." Martha left the bedroom.

---

Clark put a hand on Lex’s face. "You look very sexy with hair." Clark played with the wig. "You should slow down. Christmas is in a week."

"I’m close to opening the new plant." Lex covered Clark’s face with kisses.

"You said it would take up to a year to get the plant up to code." Clark untied Lex’s kimono.

"It’s just exciting to see the progress they are making. I want to watch it every step of the way," Lex said. "Clark, would you like me to take a week off to spend it with you?"

"I get so lonely without you."

"I never work Sunday and I try to spend at least one day during the week in Smallville." Lex put his hand through Clark’s hair. "You were wonderful tonight."

"I told you that I wouldn’t stumble."

"I felt so proud of you."

Clark moved his hand over Lex’s soft skin. "If you want to wear woman’s clothes around the house, I have no problem with it."

Lex pressed his lips against Clark as they kissed Clark removed the wig preferring to stroke Lex’s scalp. After the breaking the kiss, Lex whispered, "You didn’t feel like I forced you to wear that dress."

"No. It was good experience. I felt beautiful and powerful at the same time." Clark removed his sweats. "I have to hang up the dress before it’s ruined."

"Take your time." Lex watched Clark put the dress in the smaller walk-in closet. Clark didn’t have as much clothes as Lex. Lex would make certain his wife had more than enough clothes, but now they were still engaged and Clark didn’t feel completely comfortable with Lex buying him things.

"Pete and I were talking about my future," Clark said as he put the wigs back in their boxes. "I often feel like I want to stay home and give you children."

"I would love to have stay-at-home wife, but you’re meant for bigger things. You attend college in the fall and we’ll take it from there." Lex smiled at him. "I transferred more money into your account. You can buy yourself something nice. Don’t feel you have to spend all the money on food and stuff for the house."

"I’m not up to wearing maternity dresses all the time," Clark said, "perhaps, in a month or two. People will see me as a married woman when I attend MU; there is no going back."

"Unless you want me to raise the baby without you." Lex sat up on the bed. "You handled yourself beautifully. We’ll handle any problems together."

"I don’t want to talk." Clark took Lex in his arms and kissed his neck.

Clark met Sherry outside the community health center before the Thursday night meeting. Clark was wearing a blue and navy dress with navy tights. Clark turned to show her his dress. "What do you think?"

"You look great," Sherry said.

"The woman that owns the large woman’s store is five-eleven and close to three hundred pounds. She suggested that I read "Self-esteem Comes in All Sizes." Clark smiled. "I don’t need to wear sweats my whole pregnancy. I’m not going to hide in the house."

"Would you like me to go shopping with you? We can take the babies to a buffet restaurant and sit there and talk all afternoon," Sherry said.

"I hate spending Lex’s money," Clark said.

"He’s practically your husband."

"He says I could take lessons to learn to be a lady," Clark said. "Birth or green rocks, I’m going to be a woman the rest of my life and I need to accept it."

"Lex could probably teach you," Sherry said.

"Lex needs to make himself act more masculine around his business associates. He focuses on the way that he walks, keeps his hands movements in check and pays attention to little thing like the way he crosses his legs," Clark said. "He’s so beautiful when he lets himself relax. I love him so much."

"I can see that. Clark, take lessons if it will make you feel better about yourself. Until then, use Lex’s money and buy yourself dresses. If I was married to a man with Lex’s money, you couldn’t get me out of the dress store," Sherry teased.

"I thought I would look foolish in a dress." Clark walked to the door and held it open for Sherry. "You didn’t bring the babies this time." Sometimes stating the obvious helped conversation.

"Jeff and his parents are watching them," Sherry walked through the door. "Clark, you look fantastic."

"I look in the mirror and I’m amazed. I nearly had tears in my eyes as I tried on dresses today. I couldn’t believe that beautiful, large woman was I. The lady said that I could send my photograph to the modeling competition. They’re always looking for large size women to pose for their catalog."

"I’ll come over tomorrow and you can show me all you brought," Sherry said.

Clark proudly announced at the meeting that she brought her first maternity dresses deciding that she wasn’t going to hide in sweats the whole time. A few of the other girls applauded her. One told a story about that she only wearing clothes from birthright and thrift store not wanting to spend money on clothes that she would only wear five months.

"Let’s go to coffee," Clark grabbed Sherry’s hand.

"My husband will pick me up," Sherry said.

"I’ll drive you home. Call him on my cell phone," Clark said.

"He’s already on his way. I’ll come over tomorrow and we can go window shopping and then sit in a buffet and talk away the afternoon about our plans for Christmas while our husbands are at work," Sherry said.

"I’ll pick you up at eleven," Clark said. Sherry and her husband shared one car and most days she was left without a vehicle. Clark looked at himself in the small mirror over the passenger seat a moment and knew that he was no longer a man in his eyes. He was blossoming into a woman. She felt beautiful when she tried on the clothes at the maternity shop earlier in the day. She would have to tell Lex that she wasn’t afraid of what the future held.

---

Clark returned to see Lex reading a newspaper in his office. "Honey, I don’t need lessons to become a lady. I am a lady." Clark’s voice boomed with confidence. "I brought myself a half dozen dresses at the large woman store. I look stunning."

Lex lifted his head from his paper. "You look incredible."

"As soon as I’m eighteen, I’m walking down that aisle."

"Your parents would sign consent."

"I want my own signature on my marriage license. It’s important to me. I want the decision to marry you to be mine and mine alone." Clark kissed the back of his head. "The sweats can sit in my drawers."

"Did you shave your legs?" Lex touched the stocking.

"No, I have less hair on my legs than you." Clark kissed Lex’s neck. "Jorel’s program can be damned. I’m going to be happy about who I am." Clark moved her hands to Lex’s shoulders. "The woman at the store says that I’m pretty enough to be a large size model. I would never send them my picture, but her saying that made me feel so good and I wasn’t even wearing make up."

"You are beautiful."

"I feel it. I want you to put down your paper and join me in bed."

"You should have joined me at LexCorp party." Lex folded the paper.

"Next year when I’m your wife. It would have caused too much whispering."

"I would never be ashamed of you."

"I don’t want them thinking I’m another Helen. I don’t want to go to corporate functions until I’m your wife. I want no one whispering about you."

---

Lex joined Clark on the large bed. Lex had ordered a NBA size king so Clark's feet didn't hang off the edge of the bed. "By calling yourself a woman, you're denying half of yourself." Lex fondled Clark's large organ.

"I'm pregnant and very soon we'll be married," Clark said. "I want people to know I'm your wife."

"There is no crime to be intersex." Lex stroked Clark's cock. "Don't tell me it doesn't feel good when I wrap my lips around it."

"And you practically tape your hands to your sides when you talk so no one will think you're a fag. I see how you are very deliberate in the way you cross your legs or even walk across a room." Clark moved a finger lightly over Lex's thigh.

"I need to maintain a certain image." Lex planted a kiss on Clark's belly.

"And as your wife, I need a certain image. I can be both in the bedroom, but in public I need to be your wife." Clark pulled Lex's head to his penis. Clark decided to refer to himself as "he", the generic he which was preferable to it.

Lex put his mouth around it. He loved Clark's cock as much as his pussy, but Clark was right. He needed to maintain a certain image. If Clark wanted to attend a class or two at a charm school, he could go.

Lionel stood at the front door after ringing the doorbell. Lex opened it slowly. "What did I do to deserve this honor?" his son sneered.

"I read in the morning paper that you're engaged to Clark Kent," huffed his father.

"We're waiting until her eighteenth birthday. Sit down." Lex shouted toward the kitchen. "Sweetheart, we have company. Could you make us some coffee?"

"Sure. Is it Gabe and Chloe?" asked Clark.

"My father," Lex said as he entered the kitchen.

"I'll take it black." Lionel turned to his son. "No brandy?" Lionel looked Clark over in his leather sandals and maternity dress. Lex knew what his father was thinking, but Clark looked like a girl with his full hips and bosom, not to mention the swell of six months of pregnancy.

"Clark's pregnant and most of the guys at the plant drink beer," explained Lex. After his problems with drinking as a youth, Lex only drank sociably usually finishing less than two drinks besides Lex always wanted to maintain a certain image and being drunk meant losing control.

"My friends are teetotalers." Clark put the coffee into the coffee maker.

"They're all under twenty-one," Lionel said. "Are you marrying a pregnant teenager to embarrass me?"

"We're not getting married until I'm eighteen," Clark stated.

"Unlike you, I don't sprinkle the world with my illegitimate children." Lex filled a cup with coffee while the coffee continued to brew and them filled his father's cup before putting the nearly empty decanter back under the coffee maker.

"I would disinherit you, but you already live in an one-room shack with that thing you call a wife," Lionel said.

"Insult me but leave Clark out of it," Lex said.

"I'm taking classes at a charm school. Mr. Luthor, I would never do anything to embarrass your son. I know that image is important." Clark poured himself a cup after the decanter finished filling. "Did you make another key?" He joined them at the breakfast bar.

"I learned the language. Clark, I must say you don't look like the last son of Krypton or anywhere else," Lionel said.

"I see the program didn't mess with your sanity; you're still as insane as ever," Lex said.

"Honey, should I start dinner?" Clark asked.

"I would love to try your meatloaf." Lionel's voice was brimming with irony.

"Make meatloaf and mashed potatoes for my father," Lex ordered like Clark was a servant and not his fiancée. "You can make some homemade tomato soup."

"I'm sure Martha taught it to cook," Lionel got down from his stool. "Son, the download won't harm you. I lifted the restraining order. You can visit the caves all you want." Lionel moved behind his son nearly touching him.

Lex climbed down from the stool. "We'll talk in my office. I need to have a sunroom built, but there is never enough time."

"You'd be amazed at what I learned from the cave walls." Lionel's voice was like silk. "I touch the walls and the message changes. The program is using me as an interface."

Lex walked toward the stairs. "Clark can teach me the language the old fashioned way." Lex walked down the stairs.

"Son, the castle is empty. If you say nothing, I'll sell it. A hotel chain is willing to make a deal." Lionel looked across into his son's eyes. "I don't know what point you're making living in this shack eating meatloaf."

"Sell the castle or give it to Lucas." Lex sat down on the leather sofa opposite a small bar. "I never felt safe there."

"Lucas would trash in less than a month. His new wife and he have no respect for anything," Lionel said. "You should see the whore that he married. Every other word out of her mouth is vulgar."

Lex smiled at his father. "Should I have Clark make up the guest room or will you be staying at the castle one last time?"

"Have it make up the guest room. I'll call my representative and tell him to sell the castle," Lionel said. "You care so little about a piece of our family history."

"You never intended to live there," Lex looked at the paintings of flowers on the wall.

"Clark was sent to this world to conquer. It isn't your servant," Lionel said.

"She's my fiancée. She'd be my wife if she didn't want to wait until her eighteenth birthday to marry. I understand that she wants her signature not her mother's or father's signature on the marriage license."

Lionel walked to the small refrigerator in the minibar and grabbed two bottles of water. "Son, the program changed. Jorel intends to conquer through Clark's children."

Lex took the second bottle from his father. "That should make you happy since you'll be their grandfather."

"You're too much like your mother -- kind, generous, ruled by your emotions." Lionel tried to touch his son's face.

"World conquers need to be able to empathize. What did the program say? Enlighten me." Lex wouldn't let his father touch him.

"I came here to make peace. Clark is using you. It wants more than one baby." Lionel drank down some water.

Lex fondled the water bottle in his hand. "She agrees not to have more children until after she finishes her degree. Father, wouldn't you like a house full of your grandchildren?"

"They'll be half-alien." Lionel drank the rest of the bottle.

"Clark didn't get most of his powers until he was a teen. We would be raising gods. That should swell your ego."

"She must be a hit at office parties," Lionel teased finally using the feminine pronoun.

"She hasn't gone to one, yet. She wants to wait until we're legally married. Appearance is important to her. Dad, you aren't going to tell anyone that Clark is an alien."

"No. I wish your children the best. By marrying Clark, you'll assure my silence. I do have a little news for you. Dr. Bryce is alive and working for me. If you have your private eyes look for her, I'll have your business shut down so fast that neither Clark or you could blink."

"I have no interest in Helen." Lex's divorce from her was final and if Helen was under his father's protection, it wasn't likely she would contest it.

"I think I can persuade her not to interfere with your marriage."

---

While Clark was serving pie, he asked, "So how does it compare to my mom's cooking?"

"Good," Lionel said. "You use a bit more spice than your mom. Did you make the pie, too?"

"Yes. She gave me the recipe. She's been teaching me how to make a flaky crust. She says the trick is not overworking the dough." Clark served himself pie and sat down.

"You're becoming quite the hostess," said Lionel.

"Thank you, sir," said Clark.

"Clark, we both know you're an alien invasion force of one so stop the act." Lionel put down his fork.

"You seem to know more about this than I," Clark said. "The invasion is cancelled or, at least, postponed, considering my condition."

"And you have no plans of having the member countries of the UN disarm," Lionel stated.

"Maybe when I'm fifty. I promised Lex that I wouldn't take over the world until after he served his two terms as president," Clark teased. "The program isn't in any hurry."

"Clark, this isn't some joke," Lionel said.

"Lionel, if I manage to take over the world, as the program suggests then your grandchildren will lead the world in a benevolent dictatorship. If I were you, I'd keep my temper down so you live to see it," Clark said. "Considering Lucas's upbringing, you should want my children to wear the Luthor name proudly. They will inherit much more than LuthorCorp."

Lex ate another bite of pie; he normally didn't have room for dessert but arguing with his father gave him an appetite. He liked seeing Clark hold his own against Lionel. Clark told him about dreams about taking over the world and he said he would do it under a pseudonym. Lex didn't have to worry about anyone knowing who was in charge until their children took their place as world leaders and then it wouldn't matter.

---

Lex joined Clark in the bedroom. "Honey, my father decided to sleep at the castle."

"Is he going to sell it?" Clark asked.

"No. He wants his grandchildren to live in it." Lex removed his clothes and put on his kimono.

"He makes me uncomfortable." Clark removed his dress and stockings.

"Do you think Helen is using your blood to make copies?"

"Imperfect ones if Emily is a clue."

"Dangerous nevertheless. I had the blood in my hand, but I gave it back to her. I was a fool."

"I can run an one person espionage program and get back the blood. Unfortunately, it's probably cultured and we'll never find all the samples."

"Emily proves that he can accelerate growth and the cave gives him a clue on accelerating learning. He'll clone you and we'll need to track your brothers," Lex said.

"My brothers might not be dangerous." Clark put on some lingerie; he wasn't going to get sex for a while.

"With my father's lessons." Lex lied down beside his future wife.

Clark touched Lex's face. "We can't kill my brothers. Why clone me when I'm going to be giving him superhuman grandchildren? Those clones won't be his progeny."

"I love you so much. Do you think my father is right? Will our children be conquerors?"

"They'll have your drive and my abilities. I see nothing that will stop them." Clark moved his mouth to under Lex's ear. "I have dreams of them leading a peaceful totalitarian society. My father's program is in my head and I do my best to ignore it."

"Trying to outthink your father's program got you into this situation."

"Marrying a man that I love and having his children." Clark licked the back of Lex's scalp. "What would you have me do? Follow my father's advice and seize the UN."

"You don't have the experience to do that." Lex moved his hand over Clark's hair. "What would you do with the UN now?"

"Tell the world governments to disarm and set up links with the world's leaders. I would have all wars stop and have food and water available to all people."

"How would you manage it?" Lex moved away from Clark's touch.

"I would hire the best minds. Lex, when I take over the world, I'll let you advise me." Clark leaned his head on Lex's belly and the stroke the inside of his thigh.

"I can't think when you do that," Lex complained.

"If I lead the world, it will be on my schedule. All I want is to be a good wife to you. I want you to be proud of me." Clark touched Lex's arm.

"I am." Lex kissed him. There was no way they were going to have a heavy conversation in bed.

---

During the night, Lex put on his kimono and went down to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water and an apple. Clark joined him in the kitchen and cut himself some pie. "We can talk seriously now," Lex said.

"I should have kept my hands and mouth to myself while you were talking." Clark ate more pie.

"Honey, my father might clone you while we're waiting for our children to grow up. One doesn't eliminate the need for the other."

"If I were him, I'd put all my attention on my superhuman grandchildren so when they grow up, they give me a slice of the pie." Clark decided to eat the rest of the pie from the tin.

"Manners."

"You have no interest in eating it and I'll finish it in one seating." Clark continued to eat.

"I'm proud of you."

"I could rob banks, destroy world governments and no one could stop me. I could make world records in sporting events. I could do the marathon in ten minutes."

"You haven't ran supersonic speeds since you got pregnant?" Lex didn't know if supersonic speeds would harm their child, but why take the chance.

"No, Honey." Clark ate the last of the pie. He put the empty tin in the sink. "I don't steal the world supply of diamonds because I have morals. Besides, it wouldn't be much of a challenge knowing that no one could catch me. Phelan wanted me to steal for him, but I wouldn't. Lex, when I use my powers, I use them for good. Perhaps, any clone of mine will have the same nature."

"Jonathan and Martha Kent taught you right from wrong. Your clones wouldn't have the same lessons. They could have your speed and strength without your reasoning."

"They would make mistakes. If Lionel is cloning my brothers, I'll find them. When Eric had my gifts, he couldn't stay out of the paper. My clones will have the same problems. I'm going to become a journalist, so I'll know long before it hits the presses."

"I wish I had your confidence."

"I think your father would rather make copies of you."

"I was never the son that he wanted."

"A clone could be raised in a sterile environment and wouldn't have your quote emotional shortcomings. Why don't you get one of your gowns and wigs from the attic and put in on for me? I'd love to see you made up."

"Clark, I'm sorry that I told you about that period of my life."

"It scares you. You're afraid if you let yourself go that you'll look like a queen. Mom says that most transvestites are straight. I still don't know how the human mind works after all the books of psychology that I've read. Lex, I love you. Seeing you in a dress won't change that." Clark found the last of the meatloaf and ate the cold leftovers.

"I don't need to do that now."

"What do you need?" Clark looked at his man.

"Going to a bar in a dress won't help."

"It might reduce stress. You could be someone else for a few hours."

"It's too late now."

"You need a vacation. Helen tried to kill you on the last one."

"We'll take a nice honeymoon."

"It'll be my last month of pregnancy when we get married. I doubt they will let me on a plane. We'll have to drive or I can superspeed and meet you there unless you want me to carry you as I run."

"Is that safe?"

"Let me dress in something less revealing than this nightie and we'll give it a try. I'm sure it will cheer you up."

---

Clark put on his sweats and waited for Lex to change into a tee shirt and jeans. "So would you like to go to the beach?" Clark asked.

"We're in Kansas. There isn't an ocean nearby," Lex said.

"The Atlantic or Pacific?" Clark asked. Lex had no idea how fast Clark could run even if he was careful not to break the sound barrier. He wanted to go to the Atlantic; it was warmer.

"The Pacific. I only got to see it from the air the last time I went to Japan," Lex said.

"We're not going to Japan. I can superspeed over water but that was small ponds," Clark said. Clark wrapped his arms around Lex once they were out of the house. Clark picked Lex up and started to run. Before they covered a block, Clark noticed they were off the ground. "Lex, don't look down."

"Shit," Lex screamed. "We're flying."

"It could be the baby," Clark said.

"It's not the baby. You floated in bed before," Lex said.

"I can go faster this way and it's easier on shoes," Clark said as they went higher. "Hold on tight."

Lex squeezed his arms around Clark.

"Let me get some altitude and we'll go to the California coast," Clark said.

"Tell me I'm dreaming," Lex said.

"Afraid not," Clark said. "Do you still want to go to Japan?"

"I don't have my wallet," Lex said.

"Get your wallet." Clark turned around in the air. "I'll practice landing a few times."

"No. We can't go to Japan. What if you went into labor? You're a minor without a passport," Lex said.

Clark landed. "I guess that would complicate things. Let's go to California."

"I should still get my wallet and cell phone," Lex said.

"We should go to the Atlantic. We could see sunrise over the ocean," Clark said.

"You win." Lex ran inside and returned with his wallet and cell phone. "We'll go to Florida."

Clark felt a pain in his back. "It's time. Call Toby and my mother." After Clark put on a nightgown and removed his Jockey shorts, Clark got out of the bed and started to pace around the house.

"I'll be in the kitchen making the calls," Lex said.

Clark stretched. The pain hit again. Pain was an unusual experience for Clark. His experiences with Kryptonite were short-lived. The only he felt long lasting pain was when he broke a rib when Eric had his powers and the time he had that spore-induced fever. "Lex, you manage two factories. You can make two phone calls."

Lex rubbed his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Four in the morning," Clark said, looking at the clock on the nightstand. Clark walked downstairs. This was the first time during his pregnancy that he waddled. Then with the baby's head between his legs, it was hard to walk in a graceful manner. Putting his hand on the small of his back, he waited for the next pain. Being invulnerable didn't save him from labor pains. "Little Kent Luthor is going to be arriving whether my mother arrives or not."

Clark walked back up the stairs to the bedroom. He could pace there as well as anywhere else. It had only been eight lunar months and he thought he had two more to wait until the baby was born.

Lex returned to Clark's side. "I'm not going into work today."

"Tomorrow, you can buy a case of candy cigars to tell everyone that you're a father. We haven't discussed names."

"Anything other than Kent Luthor or anything resembling LL," said Lex.

"You’re AJL. You only go by Lex." Clark felt a terrible pressure on his lower back that he couldn’t push away with his hands. "My grandfather's name was Hiram."

"Something more contemporary," Lex said.

"I thought we were going to have two more lunar months to discuss names. I've only been pregnant 32 weeks. There wasn't a guide on the pod for alien pregnancy. I don't know what is normal for my people."

"You were altered to look human. You're not normal for your people. We should have discussed this before you started labor."

Clark opened one of his name books, sitting on the dresser and thumbed through it as he paced.

"If it is a girl, we can name her Pamela for my nanny," Lex said.

"Pamela Wendy. I always loved the name Wendy," Clark said.

"Did you x-ray yourself and find out the sex." Lex picked up the book, Beyond Jennifer and Jason.

"No." Clark didn't want to know the sex of his child.

"Julian," Lex suggested before opening the book.

"He'll die in two weeks," said Clark. "You're the superstitious one."

Lex was pacing as much as Clark. "My grandmother on my mother's side was superstitious. She stopped visiting us after my mother died. The woman believed in the evil eye among other things." Lex put down the name book he had and took another from the dresser. "You have enough name books to decide on one name."

"Too many names." There were four name books still remaining on the dresser. The house stayed clean except there were always more books than shelf space. "Nathaniel Spencer," Lex said picking two names from the list of the hundred most popular boys names. "Nathaniel Luthor sounds better than Kent Luthor."

"We have names. The next time, I'll know that I'll only be pregnant 32 weeks and plan accordingly," Clark said. "Are we going to fight about names every time I have a baby."

"How many do you want?"

"At least, five or six. I could have ten or twelve; I'm not yet eighteen. I doubt birth control is going to work on my body," Clark said.

"I could get a vase," Lex said.

"That's not funny." Clark cringed in pain. "Your parents were happy together. Your father didn't become a bad parent until after your mother died. Grief is hard on the best of us," Clark breathed through the pain then continued. "We'll be good parents."

"We're talking kids with superpowers and you want a football team of them."

"I promised that we'd wait until I graduated college before I had the next one. I could have a job that I love by then."

"Nate is a terrible nickname," said Lex. "He isn't going to want to write Nathaniel. Lex is easier to yell at a playground than Alexander."

"Nate is fine," said Clark, "and a hundred kids won't come running like if you called Michael."

Lex laughed. "He'll probably end up called himself Spence. Spence doesn't sound like a world conqueror."

Clark moaned in pain. "He sounds like a business man, a person that owns a chemical plant and a shit factory. The names are fine. Don't second guess yourself."

"I'm nervous," admitted Lex. "We were supposed to have eight more weeks."

Toby arrived and took Clark's pulse. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," said Clark, "but I think Lex is having a nervous breakdown."

"That's normal," Toby said. "Calm down. Lex, boil some water."

Lex went downstairs.

"What is the water for?" asked Clark.

"To keep Lex busy," Toby said. "Let's take a look. Seven centimeters. I'm going to break your water."

Clark bore down. The water broke without Toby's help. Clark felt like he needed to push. Holding his breath through the pain, he tried not to bear down for a second time.

Toby checked again. "Ten centimeters. That's a girl. Give me a good push."

Clark grabbed the headboard as he pushed. The headboard broke, but Lex could afford a new one because the chemical plant had opened and was expected to turn a profit.

"That's my girl. You're doing great. I can see the head."

Martha came upstairs. "Lex is boiling water."

"For tea," said Toby.

"Mom," cried Clark.

"I'm here," said Martha.

"I need you to push again," the doctor said.

Sweat poured down Clark's face.

"Another good one and the baby will be out," Toby said.

Clark held his knees and pushed.

Toby helped the baby out, then clamped the cord. "Your son," Toby said, handing Clark the baby.

"No extra holes?" asked Clark.

"A boy," said Toby. "Your problem is congenital, not genetic."

Clark let the baby lie on his breast since he was too tired to hold him. "Nathan, I'm your mother."

Martha kissed Clark's cheek. "Honey, best wishes. Wendy nursed all five of her children. I told her that you were having your baby at home. I hope you don't mind if she visits."

"Not at all," Clark said.

"Mrs. Kent, excuse me. I need to ask Clark about disposing of the placenta. We can't have the hospital examining it," Toby said.

"Put it in the freezer," said Martha. "Clark will probably eat it. She ate flowers when she was younger."

"The freezer?" asked Toby.

"I'll send Lex up and get a freezer bag," Martha said.

---

Martha shook her head as she walked downstairs. Toby wasn't a farmer. Most mammals ate their placentas. Toby may have dressed like a hippie, but his attitude showed that he was a doctor. Lex was at his computer, probably playing a computer game. Martha couldn't see him being able to work while his child was being born. "Lex, Nathan is waiting to see his daddy," Martha said. "Where are the freezer bags?"

"Under the sink," said Lex.

"I'll get one," said Martha. "Clark and Nathan need you." Martha waited until Lex was walking up the stairs before she got the freezer bag. Martha grabbed a gallon one to be safe; Clark was proportionally larger than most people.

Martha took the placenta off the metal tray and put it in a freezer bag then went to the bathroom to wash her hands. The doorbell rang. "I'll get it." Martha yelled. "I need to take this downstairs." Martha put the placenta in the freezer before getting the front door. Finally, Martha opened the door. "Chloe, what a nice surprise," said Martha.

Chloe came inside. "How's Clark?"

"Lex, Clark and the baby are upstairs with the doctor," said Martha.

Martha walked Chloe to the bedroom. Clark was sitting up and nursing Nathan. Clark, through half-closed eyes, said, "Hi Chloe."

"He's a big baby," said Chloe.

"Nathan has big mother," said Clark. "We haven't had him weighed or measured, yet."

"Nathan?" said Chloe.

"Nathaniel Spencer Luthor, meet your aunt Chloe." Clark removed the baby from the breast and burped him. "His head is pretty sturdy. If you don't support it, don't tell the social workers."

Chloe put the baby in her arms. "Hi, big guy."

"Lex named him while I was in labor out of a name book."

"I think he has Lex's nose," said Chloe.

"He has more hair than Lex," said Martha.

"That isn't hard," said Chloe.

Clark looked at the few fine red hairs on his son's head. Martha kissed Clark's cheek. "You visit with your friend."

"Lex isn't completely hairless," said Clark. "He has eyebrows, nose hair and some sparse hairs on his chest and other places."

"I'm sure he does," Chloe laughed.

Lex stood by door. "Chloe, we need a best man and a maid of honor. Would you and Pete be interested? I would pay for your flight and your suite in Vegas."

"I guess you can’t ask Clark to be your best man this time around," Chloe teased.

"I could, but we would have an awful small wedding party and a confused minister," said Lex.

Clark said, "Chloe, will be you be my maid of honor?"

Chloe handed Clark back the baby and kissed Clark’s cheek. "A free trip to Vegas. Why not? No pink."

"You pick the dress," said Clark.

---

Toby took Clark to the clinic that he worked at before the other doctors were in. The clinic didn't open until eight-thirty and it was before six. The baby was twenty-three inches long and fourteen pounds. There was no way Toby could explain why an eight week premature baby was that huge. The apgar score was ten. The baby could lift his head and roll over. It wasn't a normal newborn, but nothing in Clark's pregnancy was normal.

Clark held the baby in his arms and put him to his breast. The baby rooted without being showed how to do it. Clark could feel his suction on his breast. Clark held the baby close to him as he supersped back to the house still only in a bathrobe. Toby would take care of the birth certificate.

Over the next two weeks, Clark's pre-pregnancy body returned and he was able to wear his jeans again. The female hormones had left his body and his alien body readjusted. He still had ample breasts to nurse the baby and Nathan Spenser took milk all hours. Clark was glad that he needed to eat less when he spent the day in the sunshine. Now, that the chemical plant was running, Lex could manage it over the phone and Internet and didn't have to travel to Metropolis as often. They had a nanny that lived in their guest room. She was a woman a few years older than Martha that adored children and didn't require much more than a roof over her head.

Veronica, the nanny, joined Clark in the backyard as the workmen were starting on building a sundeck. "There is something strange about you and the baby," the woman said.

"I was affected by green rocks when I was three." Clark put the baby on his breast. "You must have heard of stories."

"Nathan is only two weeks old and eight weeks premature. He weighs at much as a six-month-old baby and is cutting his first tooth. He rolls over and is starting to scout on the floor. He even tries to pull up against the furniture," Veronica explained.

"Babies develop at their own rate," Clark said.

"He’s nothing short of phenomenal," Veronica said.

The baby didn't make much in the way of sounds only a cry when he was hungry, but most of the time didn't cry at all. "I was over three when I started talking and I have a full scholarship at MU starting in September," Clark explained. "We all develop at our own speed."

"He's unnatural quiet," Veronica said. "He sleeps through the night and only cries for his morning milk."

"And you're complaining about being nanny to a good baby," Clark said. "Do you think Nathan will be alright for a three days without us? Lex and I were planning to get married in Vegas, but Nathan came eight weeks early."

"I think you should wait until Nathan is six weeks old," Veronica said. "Young man, return to your studies. I can handle the baby a few minutes."

Clark put Nathan on the other breast. "Veronica, you mind making us some dinner. Nathan is still hungry."

"I can make some spaghetti and warm some sauce," Veronica said. "After he's done nursing, you're hitting the books."

"Yes, Ma'am," Clark said.

---

Sherry arrived after the Thursday night meeting. Clark hadn't gone since the baby was born. "So, do I get to see the baby?" Sherry looked at Clark in his flannel shirt and jeans. "You look different."

"I'm back to my pre-pregnancy body. My hips shifted back. I don't understand it myself." Clark blushed and pushed a hair out of his eyes. "I feel good; that's what matters."

"You're a very handsome man. I can see why Lex was infatuated with you." Sherry sat down. Sherry looked at the baby crawling on the floor. "So is Lex around?" she asked.

"In the yard, watching the workmen building our deck and sun room. He takes time off from his factories so he can hassle other workmen," Clark said.

"Whatever floats his boat," Sherry said. "He can't be crawling at two and half weeks."

"Mr. Luthor was working with illegal cloning using growth-accelerant. Lex could have been exposed. Lex and I tried to close down his father's operation, but by the time the police got there the equipment had all been moved. We had no proof that Lionel was doing anything illegal."

"You think it affected Lex's sperm?"

"Or my eggs," admitted Clark. "A hose leaked and sprayed growth-accelerant all over me." He recalled visiting the lab with Lana, the sleeping girls, and the hose breaking. He didn't have any eggs back then. However, Lana had witnessed the leak and it could be confirmed.

"Clark, are going to change your license back to male?"

"No. Lex and I are getting married in a few weeks and I intend to have more children." Clark picked up the baby and put him to his breast.

Sherry said, "The kids are with my in-laws. You look amazingly good for less than three weeks postpartum."

Clark touched his ring finger. "My fiancé is outside."

Lex returned to his home office after the workmen complete their work for the day on the sunroom. Lex talked about not having money to pay taxes, yet he could afford to have a sunroom built. It must have been a male human thing; his mother complained about the same thing. Jonathan would spend money on 'useless toys' but not fix his farm equipment when things were rough. His mother said that men believe money to be power and must spend it when things are tightest; of course, his father would deny it. Clark knew better than asking Lex about finances.

"Lex claimed he didn't have the money to hire a private investigator," Clark said, looking at the nearly completed sunroom. "Then, again private investigators are more expensive then sunrooms."

"He doesn't believe he'll get much return on hiring a private investigator. A sunroom increases the property value and give the children a nice room to play in," Veronica said.

"He claims things are tight and spends money like my parents would never dream of," Clark explained as Veronica picked up the baby off the kitchen floor.

"I'll help you make dinner. Clark, I'll give you a secret as a divorced lady: Don't ever try to understand men," Veronica said. "I'll help you peel shrimp."

"I'll put up rice," Clark said.

"It's easier if we put it all in one pot. I'll show you how to paella."

"I feel like I don't let you do your job," Clark said.

"I'm here if you need help," the older woman offered. "You're the child's mother. Please, don't feel you're stepping on my toes."

Nathan sat in his child carrier on the kitchen floor. He smiled innocently as he watched the grown ups chat while they cooked.

As Clark was putting the dishes on the table, there was a knock on the door. He opened the door for Lionel. "Sir, Lex is working and doesn't want to be disturbed," Clark said.

"Can I visit with my grandchild?" Lionel asked.

"Of course." Clark picked up the baby from the carrier. "Nathan, this is your grandfather on your father's side."

Lionel took the baby into his arms. "Good size," he said. "He was early?"

"I must have miscalculated," Clark said. Veronica didn't need to know he was an alien.

"Clark, I'll serve dinner," Veronica said. "You visit with Mr. Luthor."

Clark watched Lionel hold the baby a few minutes while Veronica put the food on the table. Clark didn't trust the man, but he couldn't deprive him of visiting his only grandchild.

"I'll tell Lex that his father is here," Veronica said.

Lionel handed the baby back to Clark after he started to squirm. Clark pulled out a chair and put the baby to his breast. "So Clark, are you starting to desire another one?"

"Mr. Luthor, I'm starting university in the fall."

Lionel leaned down at the back of Clark's chair nearly touching his beard to the back of Clark's head. "Kal-el, you're wasting your time and my son's money going to college."

"Mr. Luthor, education is never wasted. If I'm to educate world conquers as you believe, I'll need the best education money can buy," Clark whispered to Lionel.

"Then, by all means go to Harvard or Princeton," Lionel whispered into Clark's ear.

Lex took a seat at the table near his wife and child. "Dad, it's always a pleasure to see you."

"What a scene of domestic bliss!" Lionel said. "I see you found time to hire workmen to build you a sundeck."

"My home improvements don't concern you," Lex said.

"Making a hundred thousand dollar home into a two hundred thousand home is beneath you, but I'm not here to talk about that." Lionel took a seat at the table. He served himself a serving of paella. "May I?"

"Veronica and I made plenty," Clark said, before burping the baby. Nathan didn't really need to be burped; his digestive system seemed advanced for a child his age. He didn't have any signs of colic and practically burped himself after a feeding.

"You must instruct your wife not to assist the staff," Lionel said.

"Veronica is the nanny, not the housekeeper," Lex informed his father.

"You really need a bigger house," Lionel said before starting to eat the food on his plate. "I must congratulate you on your brilliant idea of mixing our genes with the alien. I'm having a small set back with the cloning project."

Clark put the baby back in the carrier then walked to the kitchen. He opened a bottle of white wine and held two wine glasses with the other hand as he returned to the dining room. "Mr. Luthor." Clark poured a glass of Chablis for Lionel.

"Thank you," Lionel said.

Clark poured some wine for Lex and set the bottle on the table before returning to his seat. Clark finally put food on his plate. Veronica obviously didn't want to eat with the senior Mr. Luthor, a wise choice on her behalf. "Your father believes that I'm wasting my time going to college."

"Kal-el, what does an alien need with a college education?" Lionel asked between bites.

"What would you have me do? Pop out babies every year," Clark asked.

"What do you want? Do you want the stares of the other college students when the professors address you as Miss Kent?" Lionel asked. "You can learn just as much from the Internet and a good library."

"College is an experience," Lex said. "I think Clark would benefit from going to university. She can learn from books at home, but she can’t get the environment "

"I intend to become a journalist. I want to discover the truth," Clark said.

"Truth is a myth," Lionel said. "Kal-el, you’re better off staying at home giving my son a baby every year. The world isn’t kind to freaks."

"So Dad, you’re still working on the cloning experiments." Lex smiled before taking a sip of wine.

"Emily and her sisters need to be educated. I’ve been trying to clone the alien, but the accelerant is made with kryptonite and the cells react violently to it. If I have to wait for the normal amount of years to pass, I might as well encourage the alien to breed with my son. Why put all my eggs in one basket?"

After Clark finished eating, he brought the baby to Veronica’s room. "Would you like a plate?" Clark asked.

"I didn’t feel it was my place," Veronica said.

"Lex and his father engage in verbal judo each time that he visits," Clark said. "You get used to it. I’ll be back with a plate." Clark filled a plate with food for Veronica and poured her a glass of wine. After Veronica had the baby in the crib and was starting her dinner, Clark started to clean the dinner dishes. When Clark started to live on campus, Lex would need to do the dishes himself, but that was still a few months away. Lex and his father had taken their conversation to the downstairs office much to Clark’s relief.

---

"Father, Clark isn’t going to give you a sperm sample so you can impregnate women with his spawn," Lex said. "For all, we know, Clark’s babies could kill a normal woman. He told me that he had no interest in getting Lana pregnant when he dated her." The pod told Clark to stay away from Lana and she was exposed to kryptonite. Then again, Lana was small and Clark's baby was born in 32 weeks and weighed over 14 pounds. Perhaps, a large human woman exposed to kryptonite could carry Clark's baby, but Lex didn't want to give his father any ideas.

"It might have been lying," his father said sitting moving closer to his son on the leather sofa.

Lex moved to a chair. "Father, Clark only wants to have children with me. Clark will go to college and get an education. We’re not having another baby for four years."

"Kal-el wants a baby. Did you see the look in its eye when I mentioned having more children? It won’t wait four years. I have perfectly good sperm that was also exposed to the meteorites. If you don’t give it a baby, I will. Either way, the Luthor genes will combine with the alien's." Lionel lightly twirled his wine glass.

"I didn’t ask for kryptonite poisoning." Lex refilled his wine glass.

"Son, you have it and without it, the alien wouldn’t have decided to breed with you." Lionel sipped his wine. "So are you going to give the alien a baby each year? I would make it quite profitable for you."

"Marriage is not a business." Lex sipped his wine, not looking at his dad.

"It’s always business." Lionel peered over his wine glass at his son.

"I thought that with Helen and you see where that got me. I love Clark and I want the best for her," Lex said. "She deserves a proper education. Children will have to wait."

"Lex, the alien is using you. When will you understand these things? It doesn’t love you. It wants your sperm. Don’t think for a moment there’s a human mind in that skull. Lex, you can’t let your emotions rule you. The alien, when it gets enough of an education, will conquer our world and it won’t let its emotions for you or another human stand in its way."

"Father, go make your clones," Lex said, still not returning his father’s eye contact.

"Why clone the alien when it is so willing to breed with you?" Lionel sipped his wine.

"Clark isn’t some kind of machine."

"Never forget that it isn’t human. No matter how pretty it looks or how well it imitates human emotion. Trust me. It intends on conquering the world and neither of us will stand in its way."

Lex poured himself the last of the wine. "And father, what do you intend to do when Clark declares himself dictator?"

"Sit back and enjoy the show." Lionel smiled at his son.

"And you believe if you manage to clone him that you can control that kind of power. Father, you could never put me in my place and I’m a human child. What chance do you have of keeping an alien clone under control?"

"I won’t spoil it with foolish emotion. By the way, Lucas is living in the castle if you would like to visit. I convinced him that a partnership would benefit both of us."

"You can’t trust him."

"I’m aware of that, but fortunately, I’m more experienced and know his every move before he does. He doesn’t understand that your children will inherit the Luthor fortune." Lionel stroked his beard in a way that suggested that he was thinking.

"Does he have children?"

"His spoiled little wife doesn’t want to ruin her figure having babies so I doubt babies are in the near future."

"Do you want me to give them a visit?"

"That is up to you. Lucas is still a scorpion so don’t turn your back on him."

"Father, I won’t."

Lionel walked over to the seat that Lex was sitting in. "Son," he looked over his son, "you could still have your place in the Luthor Empire. I’m willing to forget the past."

"Do you want me to backstab Lucas? Daddy, I’m long though with your games," Lex said.

"Marrying that alien is one of the smartest things you could do." Lionel breathed into his son’s ear. "Not only do you insure my silence, you’re eliminating the aggravation of having to clone it. What did you do with the alien placenta? Is it in one of your specimen jars?"

"Clark ate it," Lex said. His father could have the place torn apart and he would never find it since it had long been digested.

"You’re lying. I’m sure you’re preserving it."

"No joke. Martha suggested that Clark eat it."

Lionel nearly pressed his lips to his son's ear. "I knew she was a smart woman. I should have never let her go."

"As soon as Clark returned from the clinic, she cooked it slightly and ate it."

"With salt and pepper?" Lionel pulled away from his son and looked rather ill.

"I didn’t ask." Lex smiled.

Lex and Clark went back to the same jewelry store. Lex allowed Clark to fly them there to save time. Clark assured Lex that he could take him faster than the speed of sound and he would suffer no ill effects from the sonic boom, but Lex argued that the surrounding neighborhoods would. Either way, they made the trip in fifteen minutes. The walk to the jewelry store once they landed within city limits took longer than the rest of the trip.

"Mr. Luthor, it's a pleasure to seeing you, again."

"You remember Clark," said Lex. "My divorce came through. We're interested in the wedding bands."

After the man punched some keys on the computer, the jeweler looked at the screen several times. "I have Clark Kent's ring size on file."

"Unlike Miss Kent, I wear a standard size," Lex said.

"Would you be interested in a two-ring or three ring set?" asked the man.

"Two unless Clark wants a more traditional engagement ring," Lex said, looking at the rings in the display case.

"I like the jade and platinum ring," said Clark.

"Why did you come back after I made a rude remark about you expecting a baby?" asked the jeweler.

"The baby is a month old and with the nanny," Clark said.

"Your mother seems to know when we're out of town and snatches the baby from Veronica. Mrs. Kent won't let Veronica earn her pay," Lex said.

Clark showed the jeweler the pictures taken after Toby had weighed and measured Nathan. "She's a new grandmother. She won't be as excited when we're having our second or third child."

"I’m sorry that I called you Smallville mutants," the jeweler said.

"You had the courage to speak your mind," said Lex. "Comments don't hurt people. Staring does. When I was a child, lots of people would ask me if I was on chemo."

"They sell wigs," said the jeweler.

"And I own a few. This is who I am, besides my future bride can't hide her height or her biceps. You were right about us being Smallville mutants. I admire your strength of character." Lex smiled.

"Thank you, sir. Have you and your young lady decided?" the jeweler asked.

"We'll need a few more minutes," Lex said, looking at the rings.

"Take all the time you need," the man said.

---

Clark kissed the baby twice before leaving Nathan with Veronica. His mother would probably visit and take the baby home. Lex drove the Porsche through the night somehow managing to avoid cops the whole time. After getting two suites at the Palms, Lex and Clark drove to the county clerk’s office and got the marriage license. All they needed was a minister to marry them.

Lex, Clark, Pete and Chloe took a limo ride to one of the many small chapels in Vegas. Lex and Clark were both casually dressed. The baby was already born and the whole thing was anti-climatic. The minister looked at the Clark and Lex then the paperwork.

"Which one of you is claiming to be the bride?" asked the minister.

"I'm the bride," said Clark.

The minister said, "I can do a commitment ceremony, but gay marriage isn't legal in Nevada."

"I'm female." Clark took his identification from his shoulder bag. "Would you like to see my birth certificate and driver's license?"

The minister looked at the driver’s license. "All that proves is you were on hormones when you had this picture taken and you aren’t now."

Chloe said, "Reverend, Clark had a baby less than two months ago. Do you need a picture of her womb and ovaries?"

Lex said, "Chloe, it’s quite alright. We’re fine. Someone else will take our money."

"He needs to be educated. He has never heard of people being intersex. Clark was born with a penis and a vagina." Chloe stared up at the minister. "She is XX like I am, you moron. Her body was flooded with male hormone during a critical stage of her mother’s pregnancy."

"Be that as it may, I’m not marrying them," the minister said. "The state of Nevada gives ministers the right to refuse to marry any couple."

"That law is to prevent ministers from marrying people who are intoxicated or just met in the casino an hour ago," said Chloe.

"Let’s go," Lex said.

They took the limo back to the Palms. Clark opened up a large bag. "I packed our costumes from the Christmas party."

"Great. Pete and I have nothing to wear," Chloe said.

"This is Vegas. There has to be places that rent costumes for the day," Pete said. "Chloe, there has to be a phone book in this huge suite."

Clark tossed the phone book to Pete. "I’m right on it." Pete started to thumb through the yellow pages.

---

In two hours, Chloe and Pete were dressed in period costumes and Lex was finishing Clark’s makeup. Pete found a wedding chapel that did period weddings. Their sets were little more than wood and cardboard but it would look good on videotape. They could squeeze them in during the dinner hour for a few extra dollars. Lex decided it was easier to keep the car at the hotel and they took a cab to the wedding chapel; they could change back to their street clothes after the ceremony.

The receptionist greeted them. "We usually have the wedding party dress up here."

"We brought these costumes for last year’s Christmas party," Clark said. "I thought it would be a cool idea to be married in them."

"We’re game," said the minister. "I assume you have your paperwork in order."

Clark handed her the paperwork.

"Can I see your licenses so I can see if the names match the names on the license?" The minister looked at everything. "Everything seems in order."

After the minister dressed in costume, the wedding was videotaped. While the tape was still going, Clark picked up Lex and kissed him. "That gives us something to show our grandchildren."

While Lex’s credit card was being approved, the minister said, "She’s a big girl."

"Our baby was fourteen pounds when he was born; would you like to see some pictures?"

"If you join us for dinner," the minister said.

The receptionist had Lex sign the receipt and the completed marriage license to take back to the clerk’s office. "We usually provide limo service to the clerk’s office, but we squeezed you in."

"We’ll drive over tomorrow morning," Lex said.

"After you change in the dressing rooms, we’ll find a buffet," the minister said.

Clark and Chloe went to the women’s dressing room with their bag. Clark changed back into his jeans and tee shirt after putting wig away. He brushed his long hair and redid the makeup, so he would still look feminine enough that the minister wouldn’t think she just married two men.

Clark took both bags. "We need to take Chloe and Pete’s costumes back."

"We’ll sort everything at the hotel," Chloe said. "Let’s eat."

After they got to the buffet, the minister and receptionist went their own way. When Lex went to pay the bill, he found out that two meals had been covered. He would have to send a thank you note to the minister.

----

Clark woke in the middle of the night. He wanted to fly home to see Nathan, but he didn’t want Lex to wake to an empty bed on his wedding night. Clark put on a pair of briefs and called his mother. "Mom, I want to fly home to nurse my baby. How is he?"

"He’s fine. He drank two cans of formula and ate a little baby food. He crawled all over the living room floor. He’s just like you when we found you. He doesn’t make a sound, but looks like he’s listening to everything. I know you miss him."

"You didn’t insist that Veronica give him to you," Clark said.

"She’s a nanny, not a loving grandmother. He’s a very happy baby. I thought you were older than three when you found us, but now I have my doubts. You may have been less than a year when they put you in stasis in that pod."

"Mom, you did the best you could. Thanks you for watching Nathan."

"He’s a pleasure. Have a good time on your honeymoon. Give my love to Lex."

"I will, Mom. What if Veronica can’t handle a half-alien baby?"

"I’ll give her tips. You’re just nervous about starting college in the fall."

"I’ll miss him so much. I can’t imagine him growing up over a hundred miles from me."

"You can fly home every night after you finish your homework. You’ll find time to see him."

"I want more than that."

"You’ll see him in the summers, during school vacations and weekends."

Clark looked at his baby in his arms as Veronica set the table for dinner. "You weren't hired as a housekeeper," Clark said.

"I don't mind. The last place that I worked included light housework," Veronica said. "You shouldn't let Mr. Luthor call you a thing and it."

"I'm not going to argue with him. You heard him argue with his son. It changes nothing. I prefer just to listen to him and agree with everything that he says," Clark said.

"You're a human being not an object," Veronica served the food family style. "Is Lex joining us for dinner?"

"I'll bring a plate to his office. Lex gets so involved with his work that he forget to eat."

"I did that when I was younger." Veronica sat at the table. "Would you like me to take the baby?"

After handing Veronica the sleeping baby, Clark put food on a plate for his husband. "Mr. Luthor is right. I do want another baby. I liked being pregnant."

"Many women feel that way. My best friend had ten children," Veronica said as she walked toward the stairs.

"We'll talk after I bring my husband his dinner." Clark brought the food to the downstairs office and handed it to Lex. "Honey, Veronica doesn't like the way your father treats me."

"I don't like it either. He says you're desperate for another baby. If you need to have another baby, come to me." Lex put his arms around Clark and kissed his neck.

"I only want your children." Clark kissed him briefly. "Our baby is only two months old. I can wait to get pregnant again. Eat your dinner."

"Thanks, Sweetheart. Would you like to take a visit to see Lucas tonight?"

"I thought you had work to do."

"Work can wait. We'll go after I eat. Get the baby ready."

"We should take the minivan," Clark said.

---

When Clark and Lex arrived at the gate of the castle, the security guard opened it without question. Lex knocked on the door and one of the staff opened it. Lucas must have hired new staff because Lex didn’t recognize the man opening the door. Lucas and his wife greeted Clark and Lex in the parlor.

"Lex, this is my wife, Holly," Lucas said. "Sit down."

"Hello, Lex," she cooed. Fitting her name, Holly was a blonde bimbo slightly taller than Lex. Then, of course, she was wearing heels.

"Holly," Lucas said with venom, "Clark is Lex’s significant other."

"She’s my wife," Lex said with an arm around Clark who was carrying Nathan in a sling. "This is your nephew, Nathaniel Spencer."

"Hello, Holly," said Clark. "Would you like to hold him?"

"You had a baby?" Holly said.

Clark sat on the sofa and adjusted the sling to nurse the child. "So, Holly, how do you find living in the castle?" With the sling positioned correctly, all anyone could see was him holding a baby in a sling. Lex admired Clark’s ability to nurse anywhere and never show any breast.

"It has a lot of rooms," Holly said.

"Find anything interesting?" Lex asked.

"There was a broken Porsche with a ripped off roof in one of the rooms. We had it savaged; apparently, the engine was still good," Holly said.

"Brother, why were you keeping it?"

"Because I would look at it and feel lucky to be alive. Anytime, I needed to feel better about myself; I could look at the remains of that Porsche and be glad to be alive." Lex smiled. "When I woke from the accident for the first time in my life, I no longer feared the future. Lucas, I knew I was meant for great things." Lex sat down beside his wife and put his arm around Clark’s shoulder.

Lex smiled slightly. "So Lucas, are you and Holly planning to have children? It isn’t like two people need seventy-five rooms."

"Not immediately," Holly said.

"Brother, you could have had all this." Lucas poured himself some brandy then sat back on the leather recliner. "Holly, we should have some water in the bar. Clark can’t drink. It would affect the baby."

"Holly, I’ll have a water, too," said Lex.

Holly opened the mini fridge, took out two bottles of water and handed them to Lex. Lex gave one to Clark. Holly sat down on Lucas’s lap.

"Is there any reason you called?" asked Lucas.

"Lex and I wanted to introduced you to your new nephew," said Clark.

"Dad said you were living in the castle," said Lex. "I thought it was time I paid you a visit."

Lucas put his hands around Holly’s waist. "This isn’t Germany. Who did you pay off to marry that thing?"

"I didn’t pay off anyone," said Lex. "Clark is so much a woman as Holly and more of a lady."

"I'll not be insulted by a fucking freak." Holly jumped off her husband's lap and ran out of the room.

"Brother, it was nice meeting your bride," Lex said.

After the baby had finished nursing, Clark sat a moment to straighten his shirt under the sling still the epitome of decorum. "Lucas, it was a pleasure meeting Holly. The baby is sleeping, but you can take a peek."

Lex said, "I know we didn’t grow up together, but, maybe, our children can."

---

Clark put the baby into the carseat. He had to use a forward facing seat; he was too big for the infant ones. A cubby baby would have fit, but Nathan was a tall, solid baby. Clark suspected that Nathan was rather unbreakable like Clark was when the Kent found him. After Lex had started the car, Clark said, "Honey, you look better in a dress than she does."

"That is a matter of opinion," Lex said.

"You walk like a lady and the skirt doesn't run up your ass. I wish I could carry myself as well as you." Clark belted his seatbelt.

"You carry yourself well. You walk with confidence. You have modesty and decorum. Did I tell you how proud I was of you when you hosted our Christmas party?"

"A hundred times."

"This makes a hundred and one. I meant it when I said you are more a lady than Mrs. Holly Luthor will ever be."

---

Lionel came over when Clark was at the college for Freshman Orientation. Martha had Nathan, so Lex was in the house alone. That made Lex wonder if Lionel had his spies watching the house. Lex knew there were no bugs in the house because Clark inspected regularly. A car circling the neighborhood could tell him what cars were in the driveway.

"Two weeks, that's a record for you," Lionel said. "Did your visit Lucas go well?" Did Lucas realize that he was a fish and a fishbowl? Living in their father's house with their father's staff and eavesdropping equipment, Lucas's every movement was tracked.

"As well as expected," said Lex.

"Clark has been living with me since the fall," Lex said. "Dad, you've been calling Clark my wife for months."

"Now its legal. After all I taught you about public image." Lionel walked over to the sofa and made himself comfortable.

"Clark is more a lady than Holly will ever be," said Lex. "Dad, would you care for a drink?"

"Do you have brandy?" Lionel asked.

Lex had filled the downstairs bar. He went downstairs and half filled a large snifter with two hundred dollar brandy. He waited for his father to join him in the downstairs' office.

"Thank you." Lionel took the glass twirled it slightly to partake the aroma. "Taking a few classes in etiquette doesn't make it a lady." Lionel tasted the brandy. "Good year."

"Are you here to insult my taste in wives?" Lex sat at his desk.

"No, Clark hasn't tried to kill you. The problem with your other wives was they were human."

Lex crossed his legs deliberately and folded his hands; hoping sitting behind his desk would show his father that he was in charge. "Are you trying to imply that I'm difficult to live with?"

"You were never an easy child," said Lionel. "Lillian gave into your every whim."

"Father, cut to the chase. I'm not in the mood for your riddles."

"The cloning is going well. Without the accelerant, they'll be fully grown in twelve years." Lionel sipped his brandy.

"Long before then, they'll have minds of their own." Lex opened a bottle of water.

"That is why I'm asking for your assistance." Lionel walked over to the desk.

"Hire a staff of nannies." Lex wasn't about to tell his father that Clark could pick up a tractor by the time he was five. Let his father find out the hard way. Children didn't do well in confided spaces. Emily had broke out and attempted to kill her father.

"I'll keep that in mind," Lionel said

Lex knew that Lionel would raise them in a secure location with a hired staff and strong behavior modification program. Hopefully, the children would have loving caretakers. "So how is Helen?"

"She's fine. I hear she's engaged."

"When the clones realize your part in creating them, the first thing they will do is kill you." Lex drank most of his water. He could sit back and enjoy his father's downfall.

"Son, must you always be a cynic?'

"You taught me so well." Lex knew his father was terrified that the clones would kill him, but he had to open Pandora's box.

Lionel finished his drink. "I see no point in staying for dinner." Lionel put down the empty glass on the bar. "Thank you for the drink."

After watching his father leave, Lex returned to his work. Lionel came here to gloat and sneer at him. Lionel must have enjoyed seeing his son live in what he thought was humble surrounding. His fleet of cars had been reduced to four vehicles including the minivan. He only had one full time household servant although he did have housekeepers and landscapers, but they only visited once a week.

Why did he still let his father have power over him? Lex grabbed some grapes, finished his bottle of water and continued his work. His split-level house was far more comfortable than the castle. When Clark got a job for the Planet, he would buy a five-bedroom brownstone in Metropolis, but for now this suited their needs adequately.

Clark put the schoolbooks he just bought from the university bookstore in his dorm room. A young woman with long brown hair tied in a ponytail was unpacking a suitcase. She turned around and said, "I know the dorm is co-ed, but I didn’t think the rooms were."

"My scholarship says I need to live on campus the first year, but only my books will be living here." Clark said. After he put his books away, he offered her his hand. "I’m Clark Kent Luthor."

"Three last names," said the woman. "I’m Melinda Schneider."

"Nice to meet you." Clark sat on the bed. "I’m enrolled as Clark Kent. I got married this spring."

"You should tell the RA that someone made a mistake. I’m not sharing a room with a man, married or not."

"As you can see, I didn’t unpack any clothes," Clark explained since the woman was obviously dense. "I plan to go home to my husband and baby every night. Do my books offend you that much?"

"You have a husband?" Melinda sat on her bed.

"Alexander and our baby is Nathaniel Spencer. He’s a handsome boy. He’s six months old. I’ll probably be bringing him around campus while my husband is working in his Metropolis office. Do you want me to ask for another room?" Clark started gathering up his books.

"Wait a second." Melinda put a hand on his shoulder. "You don’t have to go."

"Good. I need to take at least fifteen credits a semester and work on one of the school papers to fulfill my scholarship. I need a place on campus to store my stuff."

"Alexander Luthor, any relationship to Lionel Luthor?"

"Not if he can help it. Would I be here on scholarship if my husband had that kind of money?" Clark asked. "I have pictures of my husband and baby in my wallet." Clark took them out and walked over Melinda’s bed. "This is Lex and this is Nathan when he was two days old."

"He’s a beautiful child. How much did he weigh?"

"Fourteen pounds, two ounces at birth. At his fourth month check-up he was thirty-one pounds."

"What do you feed him?"

"Formula, breastmilk, cereal, and fruit and we just started him on vegetables."

"He doesn’t look fat." Melinda looked at a more recent photo.

"He’s big. I reached my full height by fourteen. My mother teases me that he’ll be six foot by the time he’s ten," Clark said.

"Your husband isn’t tall," Melinda said.

"No, he’s average height. I’m adopted so I don’t know if I’m runt in the family." Clark smiled. "I ran for class president my sophomore year. My campaign manager threatened to write, ‘Clark Kent someone you can look up to.’"

"Did you win?"

"No. Can I stay?" Clark sat back on his bed. "A man probably would be less comfortable having a hermaphrodite share his room than you are. Since I’m female according to my registration, I’ll just get assigned to another female dorm room."

"Sure. You seem like a nice person."

"Thanks. Melinda, I was real shy in school. I was this big awkward geek. Here I am this on a journalism scholarship stumbling over my words."

"Clark, it isn’t how well you write," said Melinda. "It’s how well you rewrite. That’s why everyone has a computer."

"What I am trying to say is you don’t see this awkward kid that is just as nervous as you are, you see a big man threatening your space. What’s your major? I’ve told you my whole life story and I barely know more than your name."

"Math. I’m taking two math courses and the rest are liberal arts requirements."

"All liberal arts requirements. I can’t take any courses in my major until I take Intermediate Comp," Clark said.

"Straight As in high school." Melinda lay on the bed.

"My principal didn’t give me a recommendation because I was late to school and only turned in homework assignments when the mood hit me," Clark said. "High school bored me to tears."

"I was the perfect student," Melinda said. "Let me see your schedule." Melinda put his card beside hers. "We have the same psychology class. We can keep each other awake."

"There are probably 200 students in the class."

"Then, the snoring will keep us awake." Melinda looked over at Clark.

There was a knock on the door. Clark answered it. "Chloe, you didn't have to bring Nathan."

"Your mother was worried that you would rush home to see the baby, so Aunt Chloe bought him here." Chloe pushed the stroller into the dorm room then she sat on the bed near Clark. "He's heavy so if you want him, you pick him up. I almost pulled up my back putting him in his carseat."

As Clark took Nathan from the stroller, Nathan popped a button off of Clark's flannel shirt. "Mommy will get you milk. You need to be patient." After lifting his tee shirt for Nathan to nurse, Clark took off his flannel shirt. "Chloe, Melinda, do you have a sewing kit? I'm forever sewing on buttons thanks to Nathan."

Melinda said, "No."

Clark folded the shirt. "I'll buy one at the student union. Lex says I should wear tee shirts and pullovers until Nathan grows out of this stage, especially after one button hit him in the face and nearly took out his eye."

Chloe winced.

Melinda said, "I'll get the sewing kit. You pay me back. I need to get a candy bar. Chloe, do you want one?"

"Sure." Chloe took a bill from her wallet. Melinda took the money and left.

"Chloe, what's wrong?" asked Clark. "You didn't come all this way for me to see Nathan."

"I miss you. Pete and I have to stop killer mutants without you. I realize after the baby you couldn't go back to Smallville High, but things aren't the same without you."

"Lionel Luthor is a powerful man. If I had hid my pregnancy, he could have made sure I never saw Nathan."

"What about Lex? He would have never allowed anything bad to happen."

"The plane that went down was Lionel's." Clark didn't want to talk about such things. He looked down at the child sucking happily at his breast. "If Lionel wanted the baby, Lex couldn’t stop him."

"Then it was worth having half the people in Smallville thinking you’re a meteor mutant."

Clark touched Nathan’s red curls. Lionel said his silence was assured by his son's marriage, but Lionel was a weasel and he couldn’t be trusted. Clark had his baby. Chloe didn’t have to bring the baby then Chloe didn’t know he could fly home several times a day, even between classes if he wanted. "You don't have to need to ask." Clark looked down at the baby. It wasn't only his secret that he needed to keep.

END