The Worst Case

After they reached the castle, they went up to Lex's room, apparently because Lex had wanted to grab something. He did; a key. He then moved to a door at the far side of his room and unlocked it, walking in. Clark frowned and resteadied his grip on Lillian before following through the doorway to a room that looked like it hadn't been used at all since the castle was shipped over. "Lex?" Clark asked, confused.

"What do you think?" Lex asked after he turned around. "Would it be a good nursery?" He picked a drop sheet from up off of a chair and looked at it appraisingly before turning back to Clark, who was just standing there stunned. "I'll have it all done up; painted, refurnished, decorated - "

"Whoa, whoa," Clark interrupted, "She can't move in here! I have to take care of her and you don't know how to do it all. Plus, I'm *lactating* for Christ's sake!"

Lex laughed outright at Clark's exclamation and made a note to ask about the lactation later, wanting to see how it was done. He snickered a bit under his breath at that, and the look on Clark's face. "Calm down, Clark. I didn't mean now," he clarified. "But I'm sure your parents don't want her, or you, for that matter, under their roof forever."

Clark looked a bit stricken at that, like the thought had never occurred to him. And why should it? He had lived there all his life, felt safe there, had an awesome loft to hang out in and his parents were there. It was his *home*. "I mean, you've got to move on with things," Lex said, almost afraid he would be hurting Clark's feelings by bringing any of this up. "And what good is a castle if I can't have my boyfriend and daughter living with me?"

Clark's mouth was open from his failed attempts to say something, but nothing would come out, or even come to mind of what to actually say. He shook his head, almost not quite understanding, but then it clicked, and he smiled. Lex smiled back and nodded as he walked back past Clark and back into his own room. The adjoining position of the rooms would make it good for easy access to a crying baby.

"You're right, Lex," Clark said when they got back into Lex's bedroom. "It's a good idea, and I like the room."

Lex turned and smiled at Clark as the younger man caught up with him at the doorway. Lex leaned in to give Clark a kiss half on the lips before saying they were going down to his office so he could start into his work.

@>*~

"Alright," Lex said, interrupting Clark from his quiet musings where he was sitting on the couch with Lillian. "So, let's get the story straight so we don't have misunderstandings, or different versions when asked why we're with the baby, or each other."

Clark just waited for Lex to continue, seeing that his lover was in business mode and would want to speak clearly. "Of course, there's going to be people that take it the wrong way, no matter what we give for a reason, or excuse, whether they're valid or not, but this will suffice the general populus."

Clark nodded his agreement and Lex continued. "I knocked up a girl in Metropolis; that more or less stops people from asking so many questions about us in a relationship, because I'd have been sexually active with someone else. The mother came to Smallville looking for me, because I said I wanted to see the baby, which she had current custody over. We had a few disagreements and she was coming down to give me custody of the child, which I accepted.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't at home when she arrived. Knowing that I had mentioned you, Clark, she asked directions and made her way to your parents' farm, giving the baby to you for safe keeping, since she knew I had named you the guardian."

Clark stayed quiet and listened, nodding his acknowledgment when it was needed, and simply sat and smiled at his boyfriend in amusement at the story he was creating, and the fact that he was taking this so seriously. They had a family together now, and it was wonderful.

"So, by you being the guardian, and you and I being best friends, that would allow us to have more of a reason than just friendship to spend time together. Now, we'd be spending time with Lillian, because we both have a part in her life."

"That way the baby is still technically mine," Lex said, but that was as far as he got.

Lionel was in the hallway outside of the office. He had heard Lex upstairs when he was in the library and had decided to seek his son out, who had been absent for most of the day, and Lionel was curious. Basically eavesdropping, Lionel frowned when he heard the last thing Lex had said, and came storming into the room, tapping his cane angrily along the way. "Lex! You knocked up some slut in Metropolis?!"

Lex groaned. Great, just great. He was about to open his mouth when his father continued, "What about that Kent boy? I see you still can't take a relationship serious. How are you ever going to make a legitimate family if you can't - "

"Dad!" Lex shouted, wincing at the loud tone and then looked to Clark, hoping he hadn't upset Lillian. "Shut up, okay? If you didn't know, Clark is sitting to your left on the sofa."

Lionel looked a bit confronted at the new knowledge and he turned to his left, setting his hands on top of his cane and facing in the direction of the couch. He heard Clark shuffle his feet and Lionel frowned. "So, Clark isn't running out of here angry at you, and you weren't arguing together when I came in. What, he's just sticking around, even with your infidelity, to be your boy toy?" Lionel asked harshly, provoking his son.

"No," Lex said firmly, anger boiling up inside of him. "I have not been unfaithful to him."

"Ah, but you've gotten a woman pregnant," Lionel pointed out, unaware of what else had gone on, and about Clark. "Despite being happy for another heir after you, son, I'm still upset about this woman," he said, like 'this woman' left a bad taste in his mouth.

"I did not sleep with any woman!" Lex said, his voice raising again. He knew his father was lapsing into another one of his unexplained caring in his own special way moods, but he didn't have the patience to deal with it right now. The conversation degenerated into a shouting match, and Clark looked down warily at Lillian, who had started to fuss.

He looked back up to the two, staring at Lex and pleading with his eyes for the both of them to be quiet. Lex saw the look and wanted to kick himself for waking the baby, and kick his father for being such a bastard. But Lionel kept on spouting off, and Lex was almost about to physically shut his father up, when Lillian finally gave out and cried.

"Stop it!" Clark said, standing up with his daughter crying in his arms. "The baby is mine," Clark said, which proved to silence the room for a moment.

Lionel stopped, thinking about that for a moment, before scoffing indignantly. "Stop trying to protect my son, Clark, it won't work. I can see through his folly."

Then another silent moment, the only sounds were Clark trying to calm Lillian, soothing her and running a hand over her head, which she had seemed to take a liking to as a comforting gesture. Lionel frowned and begun taking steps towards him when Lex moved to intercept him, holding an arm up to block his way.

Clark looked up at the movements and looked at Lex's expression. He stared into his lover's eyes for a moment before finally nodding, seeing it was the best option at the moment for the situation. So, they would tell him. He is my father after all, Lex thought, sighing and telling his father to sit down.

Lionel had protested and decided to stay standing right where he was. Lex pressed a hand to his face, agreeing, and pressed down over his forehead as he tried to squash the headache that he just knew was about to start there. "No, Dad," he started again, "The baby is *ours*, as in *both* of us are the parents."

That stopped Lionel in his thoughts and speech for a moment, and he looked a bit confused, before shaking his head and continuing. "That's nonsense, Lex! Clearly you've been hit one too many times over the head during your stay here," Lionel explained, "And Clark is just a...strange...boy to begin with," he drawled the last few words out and it finally clicked in. The bullets, Dr. Hamilton's 'postmodern coffee table', and anything else that Clark had ever inexplicably done.

Lex sighed and looked to his boyfriend and daughter in Clark's arms. Clark nodded with a sad, reserved look. And then they proceeded to tell Lionel about Clark's real parents. At first the older man was skeptical, but he soon gave in to the obvious and swore, under Lex's scrutinizing oaths and promised legal hassles, and ultimately, homicide, that he wouldn't tell a soul about this.

@>*~

Lionel had been a little shell shocked, but he eventually relaxed, sitting down to hear most of the events of the past few years, being filled in on the real reasons and solvings of the mutants and other things that happened so frequently in Smallville. He was a bit surprised to find out the baby was named after both Lex and Clark's mothers, and after his late wife. The elder Luthor had become uncomfortable discussing those particular facts, standing up and declaring that he had to go.

Before he could make it out of the room, a servant from the kitchen knocked lightly on the door. Lex looked expectantly at the man and he continued with his reason for being there. "Mr. Luthor, are you going to be eating here?"

"Yes, I believe so. Three of us, plus a newborn, if you have anything for her." The servant nodded at the instructions and left, going back to the kitchen. Lex remembered the milk in Clark's bag, but just wondered what his staff would do when faced with that option at a meal.

"Yes, well," Lionel said, feeling a bit exposed for some reason. "I've got to carry on with my work. I'll see you at dinner."

Lex shook his head and headed back to the couch from his desk, sitting down with his daughter when he took her from Clark. "So, why did you pick Lillian Martha for her name?" Lex asked, curious and smiling at Clark. He loved the name, but it was odd of Clark to pick them both. Well, if he thought about it, it wasn't. But with how hard it was for some parents to name their children, Clark had seemed to settle for this one quite easily.

"Well, I was still mulling over the last name, but I remembered you saying your mom's name was Lillian. And I wanted a piece of both of our mothers in her, since they were so obviously the great influences in our lives." Clark finished explaining, and hoped he didn't sound stupid. Lex looked at him with a calculating look then smiled, leaning over against Clark. Clark felt warm and safe here, and so did Lex. The castle was beginning to warm up to them.

@>*~

The almost echoing sound of their feet as they walked down the stone steps to a large metal door was sort of creepy, in Clark's opinion. Lex punched in a few numbers to the security lock to the side, and a moment later the door unlocked itself from its air tight closure and let them inside. The lab was all stainless steel and sterile, with various cupboards and tables, and things still sitting out from whatever Lex had been doing previously.

Clark eyed the laboratory with some trepidation. He trusted Lex with his life, but the horror stories his parents had told him since he could remember still haunted his opinion on labs in general. Cuddling his daughter closer to his chest, Clark walked further inside, watching as Lex began grabbing various items from out of drawers.

"Place Lillian onto that table there and I'll join you in a second," Lex said as he continued rifling through one of the drawers in the cabinet. Clark moved to the indicated table, and looked around the room. There were only a few jars sitting out on a table a ways away from them, and he had no clue what would be in them. Maybe he didn't even want to know, but maybe he'd ask later.

Clark gently placed his daughter onto the specified table, smiling softly as she cooed up at him and stuffed a tiny fist into her mouth. "Lex, are you sure we have to do this? I mean, I do want to make sure she's healthy and all, but do we have to take blood from her?" Clark asked, keeping an eye on his daughter so she wouldn't fall off the table.

Lex finished gathering what he needed from out of the drawers and made his way over to his small family. "Clark, I'm not going to hurt my own daughter," he said with his voice full of conviction, and a stern look at his boyfriend. "This might not even work. She's half alien, so her skin might be invulnerable like yours," he said, placing the items onto the table at his daughter's feet.

Lex looked down at her. She looked so happy and fragile, even if she may be exceptionally strong. Clark sighed, he didn't know what their daughter would be able to do. That was the main reason they were there, besides needing to check to make sure she was okay.

Lex looked up at Clark and smiled reassuringly. "It'll be okay, don't worry," he said, giving Clark a light kiss onto his cheek. "Now," he began, turning his attention back to Lillian, who was watching them curiously from the table. "I'm going to need you to gently hold her left leg out straight and keep it from moving as I attempt to extract her blood."

Clark looked at him in horror, noting the change in his attitude; scientist mode. He didn't want to hold his daughter immobile, though. He frowned, "I thought you had to get blood from out of the arm?"

Lex didn't look up from his preparations to his daughter. "Normally, yes. But she's too small for me to be able to take blood from out of her arm. So, I have to take it from the vein in her ankle."

Clark nodded as he swallowed the lump that insisted on forming in his throat. He gently placed a hand on Lillian's leg, holding it down as Lex got the tiny syringe ready. Lex leaned over a moment to look his daughter in the eye. "Hey there, sweetheart. Daddy has to take some blood, but it'll only hurt for a little bit." Looking up, he caught sight of Clark's expression. "Alright, I'm going to do it now. If I'm able to penetrate her skin, she's going to be very mad and she may sound like she's being tortured, but it'll only last a few minutes. You with me, Clark?" he asked as he watched Clark's eyes widen in horror.

Clark took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay. Here it goes," Lex said as he attempted to insert the needle into Lillian's ankle. He exhaled the worried breath he'd been holding and sighed quietly to himself when the needle slid under her skin and into the vein; she wasn't impenetrable... yet. He fought hard to ignore the screams and cries his daughter was emitting at the prick of the needle into her little body.

Clark gently but firmly kept her leg from moving as Lex continued his ministrations. He blinked his tears away as he moved his free hand to cuddle his daughter's head, whispering reassurances to her. If she had known how to, she would have glared evilly at her daddies for hurting her.

When Lex was finished drawing blood, he had a small vial filled with it, and he removed the needle, wiping gently at the dot of blood pooling slowly at the insertion spot. He set the needle down and grabbed a small circular Band-Aid, unwrapping it and then placing it on his daughter. He pulled the vial of blood free from the actual needle, and placed it in a small container. Lillian continued to cry, little face red from the effort and Clark picked her up, cuddling her to his chest again. After a few minutes, she calmed down to light hiccups as she enjoyed the rocking her daddy was doing.

Clark had made a trip back upstairs to heat up a bottle for Lillian while Lex spent the next two hours testing and looking over the results of Lillian's blood. He found that, indeed, she had human DNA, as well as foreign strands, which were obviously from Clark's genetic makeup. He sighed out a heavy breath as the results finally came out about her health. She was as healthy as a baby should be, and they didn't even know if she had inherited any 'abilities' from her fathers.

Finished with testing, he got up from his seat and walked over to Clark, who was sitting in a chair, feeding Lillian. "Well?" Clark asked, looking up at his lover.

"Everything's fine as far as I can tell. It'd be easier if she were fully human, but from what I could make out, she's as healthy as a horse," Lex said with a smile, making Clark laugh at the analogy.

Clark looked back down at his daughter. "Did you hear that, sweetheart? You're going to be fine. Yes, you are," he said, leaning down to nuzzle softly at her neck. She smiled around the nipple in her mouth before turning her attention back to more important things; like eating.

"Let's go back upstairs, dinner should be ready in a little bit," Lex said as he gestured to take his still feeding daughter from Clark.

Clark gently shifted her from his arms to Lex's when he got up from his chair. "Alright," he agreed, and placed an arm around Lex's waist as they made their way out of the lab.

@>*~

Lex had been getting used to caring for his daughter in the past few weeks. He had her for a few days throughout the week while Clark was at school and so Martha could do her work. Of course, she was still around the castle when she was doing a few errands for Lionel and she checked up on her granddaughter often. The baby's room was coming along nicely, too, but they had decided not to rush with anything and to just take their time. They didn't know where Clark would be after he was finished with highschool, so they didn't make any plans that wouldn't be adaptable.

Lionel was also getting used to a few things; the revelation about Clark's ancestry and of the baby's origin, and of course the abilities that may be inherent in her, because of Clark's own. He was happy for Lex, though, and he would keep his mouth shut about it all. He didn't want to jeopardize Lex's future any more than he had in their lives. He wanted his immortality, and he couldn't do that without Lex. As much as they had their disagreements, he couldn't have asked for a better heir, and he was proud of Lex.

It had not been a very good scene when Lionel and Jonathan had gotten together. They were all thankful that Lillian was with Lex for the day, until Clark got back from school. And just then, when Clark got home, he was surprised to see Lionel's car, and chauffeur sitting inside, parked on their driveway. He frowned and continued on inside to find his father and Lionel yelling at each other.

Martha had long since sat to the side, unable to break them apart, and left them to try and settle it between themselves. When Clark came inside she looked tired, and his frown deepened as he stepped physically between the two of them. He asked what the problem was, and they had listed off several petty little issues, and Clark sighed. He stated that everything was fine, and that all they had to worry about was his and Lillian's safety because of their illegitimate papers.

Between Lex and Lionel's power, if they had complete cooperation, everything would be just fine. Both men were silent for a moment before grudgingly agreeing and they shook hands briefly with grumbled apologies to each other. Martha had simply smiled at her peacemaker son and had brought out the pie. Clark grinned and asked if he could have his, and some for Lex, wrapped up so he could take it over to the castle.

Martha was great about the entire situation, and they both appreciated it, and her continued support. She was wary about Clark being able to handle this all, with him only being eighteen, and still very young to be raising a baby, and just starting into his adult life. Even if Lex wasn't too far ahead of him, she still worried about them both. It would be disastrous if they didn't make it. She pushed that thought out of her head and then she promptly got another idea.

She invited Lionel and Lex over for dinner. After cooking up a storm, making everything fresh and delicious, they all sat down as a family and began their meal. Lionel had been, in his own way, civil, throughout the night. And Jonathan was surprisingly happy with things as well. Between the two of them, it was a definite step in the right direction for them, and everyone else. No arguments ensued, and for that they were all silently thankful.

After dinner, Martha had cornered Lionel in the kitchen and quietly complimented him on his manner that night. He simply dismissed her comment and rattled off something or other about business procedure, and she just smiled and patted him on the shoulder before returning to the table.

She would have to invite him and Lex over for dinner more often. Though she almost felt sorry for Lionel never having any positive family influence in his own life, which in turn, Lex received the same treatment, because his father didn't know how to give him what he needed. Martha was determined to give them some good wholesome family experience, and hoped that they could benefit from it. They were a family now, and that's what families did. As strange a pairing as Luthors and Kents, it would work out. There was enough love between their sons to meld even those two stubborn men together in the best way they could.

After the dishes were cleared, Lillian had fussed minorly and then was laid down for a nap, but quickly changed her mind. They left her with Martha, and Lionel was surprisingly interested in getting to know his granddaughter a bit, so Lex had reluctantly agreed to leave their daughter with his father. He and Clark had escaped to the barn for some time to themselves. They hadn't gotten to do that much lately, because of school and work and Lillian, and they had missed it a lot.

They relaxed into the cool night air that permeated the barn, and took a seat on the couch, cuddling close to each other for warmth, and falling into a companionable silence together. Lex had his head leaning almost fully on Clark's shoulder, and he stared off into the distance at the far wall of the loft. He had been thinking about the whole family thing lately, and he liked it. He would never be alone as long as he had his baby girl and Clark around.

Clark tightened his arm around Lex in a comforting embrace, and Lex got a strong reminder of a question that had been burning in his mind for quite some time now as Clark's arm pressed the small box into his side, against his ribs. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable. He waited a moment, wondering if he was doing the right thing.

Clark would probably move in with him when he was finished with school, and he would ask, not assume, about that development at a later date. Lex didn't really want to leave Smallville, and it was still Clark's home. It was his, too, now, and he was glad for it. If he had never stayed here to begin with and tried to make the best of it, he wouldn't have met Clark, and he definitely wouldn't have this family.

What his father had said in the past few months had really stuck in his head, and he was beginning to think that Lionel was right. He needed a family, and it would be good for him, and ultimately Lionel, that selfish bastard. Lionel would get his heir, and so would Lex. He wondered if he could put Lillian in charge of LexCorp and LuthorCorp after he was gone. Or if they'd have another child, try for a boy. He wouldn't want his daughter to grow up in that world; the ruthless cold business empire. He had grown up there and look how he turned out; he wanted something better for her, and he'd give it to her no matter what.

But that was the future, what was he supposed to do now? He had Clark, he had Lillian, he had his father, as strange as the older man may have been acting. And he had Martha and Jonathan, a nice home, and a good company on the rise. What else did he need now? Security. He needed security in his endeavors, and didn't want to lose any of it.

Lex chuckled softly to himself, "So, you want to get married?"

Clark snorted indelicately at the silence breaker Lex had chose, "Yeah, we can do it tomorrow."

Lex froze. Shit, he'd said that outloud. Not that he was angry that he did, it was a good thing, because if he had sat and mulled it over in his head for much longer he'd have persuaded himself not to do it, that it was a bad idea. He sat up straight, pulling out of Clark's arms and looked into his boyfriend's eyes.

"I'm not joking, Clark," Lex said. Take a stand, Lex, you got yourself into this, go through with it. He had no idea where this confidence was coming from, but he was glad it was there.

Clark just looked at him, slightly shocked. He didn't know what to say. Lex was starting to get worried at this no response business from Clark, and he began thinking that maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. He didn't mean to sound possessive about Clark, or their daughter, but he wanted them. He wanted to be with them forever; he loved them.

"Oh. Uhm," Clark inarticulately mumbled, still a bit stunned. He barely registered the movement when Lex began to reach inside of his jacket, closing his hand around something. A box. A soft, fuzzy, blue box with hinges at the back was being opened in front of him and all he could do was stare. Two platinum bands were nestled in the slit inside the box, and Lex held his breath as he watched his boyfriend.

"Okay," Clark said, smiling, and Lex sighed with relief. His smile grew as Clark took one of the rings from the box, and looked on the inside, where he saw some script, engraved in tiny black writing into the ring.

'With my undying love, my every breath; I will love you forever.'

He smiled as he read it and then slipped it on his left ring finger lovingly. Lex's heart almost stopped as he realized what Clark's answer to his ultimate question was, but he didn't have any time to think before Clark's lips were pressed against his own. Soft tongue pushing between after a quick lap at the scar adorning his upper lip, and intermingling with his own. The worst case scenerio: Lex would end up penniless after failing to save his daughter and husband from being cross sections on a lab table. Lex couldn't help but smile again, though, making the kiss awkward, but he couldn't bring himself to care about that, or the possible dangers ahead of them. They were getting married.

End