SMALL FAVORS

Chapter Two: Certain Achievements

~*~

It was shortly after noon on Sunday when Lex crossed his legs Indian-style on his leather chair, tucked Livvie in the crook of his knee and held her bottle with one hand while scrolling through plant projections with the other.

She drank like a fiend, little mouth working frantically at the formula while he clicked and scowled at the laptop screen, unable to believe that two lading mistakes could result in a projected net loss of nearly fifteen-percent.

Something wasn't right.

Lex sat back, thinking and absently turning the bottle, until a furious wail informed him he'd accidentally tugged it out of his daughter's mouth.

"Sorry, sweetheart," he said, quickly putting the bottle back in its proper place. The drinking continued and Lex had to smile at her determined feeding. Another week and she'd probably work her way up to something more solid or so the nanny had informed him.

He would still handle the lunch bottle for as long as she'd have them. This was their time, and while he considered himself very fortunate he didn't handle the night feedings, he still wanted a place in Livvie's schedule.

Even if strange happenings at the plant were determined to distract him.

Happenings that had the mark of one Lionel Luthor.

Lex mused silently until a hollow squeaking noise informed him that Livvie's lunchtime was over.

He pulled the empty bottle away and the screaming began. Livvie had recently decided that she would determine when the bottle was finished no matter how much colic-inducing air would be swallowed in the process.

"Okay, okay," he said, propping her up on his lap, facing away, with a hand tucked under her chin. He started to pat her back with mild thumps. "Sorry, honey," he soothed over the wails and hicoughs. "Shhhh."

"Are you torturing that poor little baby again?"

Lex didn't have to look up to know it was Clark, ever the comedian, standing in front of his desk and joking about Lex's lack of parenting skills.

Laugh now, buddy, Lex thought with a wicked grin. When I get you to start changing these diapers

"You've got to be kidding, Clark. This kid could kick my butt with one finger."

"That's only because she has you wrapped around it," Clark retorted. He shook an armload of brown shopping bags at Lex. "Mom's sent these. Again."

"More?" Lex winced. He repositioned Livvie, who, as usual, stopping screaming the minute she saw Clark and submitted to the rest of her burping with unusual grace.

"Sorry," Clark apologized. "The yarn supply doesn't seem to be going anywhere."

"Oh my," Lex laughed, not missing a beat in his patting. "Okay, let's see what we've got this time."

Martha Kent had taken to making things for Livvie with yarn left over from the days when she'd yearned for her own baby. And while the woman was extremely talented in many, many areas, knitting wasn't one of them.

Definitely not one of them.

"I think this is a hat," said Clark, retrieving a misshapen bowl-like piece from the bag. It was pink and had pom-poms and scared Lex a whole lot.

"Yikes." He nodded at the next item. "Okay, what's that?"

"A scarf? No, wait a blanket," Clark replied, holding up the off-beat multicolored panel.

Lex tilted his head to look at it. "Blankets are triangle-shaped?"

"This one is." Clark sighed. "You know, Lex, maybe I should just ditch these instead of bringing them here."

Lex was mortified. "Don't you dare, Clark. Your mother's efforts are greatly appreciated." He kissed the top of Livvie's head, still thumping her back. "We love them. They're unique."

"That's one way of putting it. Say, Lex why aren't you doing that over your shoulder?"

As if in response, a projectile of half-digested formula splattered over Lex's carefully cleared-off desk, followed by a deep belch.

Lex looked up at Clark's astonished face. "Does that answer your question?"

"Jeez," Clark said, gaping. "I didn't know babies could do that."

"It's what they excel at, Clark. You have no idea what they can shoot out of these little bodies. From every orifice too. And true to her heritage, nobody does it better than a Luthor."

Clark reached under the desk to retrieve the roll of paper towels Lex had taken to keeping there. "Are you saying your baby is the best puker of them all?"

"She's the best everything of them all," Lex replied firmly. Ah, yes, entitlement never felt quite so right. "And it's "spitting up", Clark, not puking. It's not puking until you eat food with color in it," said Lex, cleaning off his desk with a surprising lack of disgust. "Besides, this is nothing. Last week when she was over my shoulder, it slid down my back and went into my pants."

Clark's face screwed up in at least five different directions. "Oh, man."

Lex shrugged. "Live and learn. Now, let's see the rest of Martha Kent's creations. I'm hoping there's a knit garbage pail in there."

"No, but there's a powder cozy. Or maybe it's a toaster cover."

"Bottle warmer. I think." Lex tucked Livvie into her carrier, which seemed to be shrinking by the day. She was going to need a bigger one soon. "Come on, let's go into the lounge and hang out. I need some adult companionship I actually enjoy versus the jerks I see every day."

"Okay, but just don't aim her in my direction, all right? It's like having the world's cutest weapon."

Lex considered Clark's words for a moment. "Now there's a marketing angle that hasn't been exploited "

~*~

Clark was on his fourth win at Playstation as Lex looked on, letting Livvie smack the other joystick with happy abandon.

"You're making me feel crappy, here, Lex," Clark groused. "I'm not used to competing with a three-month -old."

"She's just toying with you," Lex said, sounding blase. "Waiting until the moment you're feeling overly confident and then she'll pounce in for the kill. You'll see."

"I think someone's projecting a bit here," said Clark, fixing Lex with a narrow look. He held it for as long as he could until they both burst into loud laughter, the baby squealing her approval.

After the fifth decidedly one-sided game, Clark finally put down the controls. "Okay, Livvie. You got me. I surrender to your diabolical plot."

Lex hoisted the baby in the air, imitating the cheer of a crowd. "Victory is ours!" He smiled at Clark, then held her out for him. "How about a hug and kiss for the winner? Here, take her for a minute."

Strangely, Clark blanched at the suggestion. "Oh, no. That's okay."

"Don't you want to hold her?" Lex asked curiously. "You seem okay with everything else."

A frantic head shake. "No. I I'm really clumsy, Lex."

"Nonsense," Lex insisted, holding the baby toward him, but Clark looked as though he were about to run and bolt for the door. "You won't drop her."

"Really, Lex. I break things, I mean, I drop them and break them and " The hazel eyes were huge with consternation. "I'm like an ox. A stupid ox. If I ever hurt her ... I can't take that chance."

"Clark, it's okay," he tried to soothe. "Really."

"I just don't want to hurt her. Ever." Clark looked miserable and Lex was torn between curiosity and sympathy.

"I trust you," Lex insisted, but he tucked Livvie back onto his lap anyway.

"I know. I just I know." Hoarsely, and there followed long moments of quiet, broken only by the shrill beeping of Lex's cell.

"Luthor," Lex replied into the receiver.

It was Gabe Sullivan. "Lex, I sent over Raymond Price, lading department, to your house a few minutes ago. He's been acting very weird lately, asking about our future orders, the ones you told me to hold off on. He's grown a little too insistent for my taste. I told him he'd have to speak to you directly, in person."

Ah, the culprit finally shows his greedy warts, Lex thought cynically. They always do. "That's a very good idea, Gabe. Between you and me, I think Mr. Price and I are going to have a very interesting discussion. I'll call you back later."

Lex clicked the phone shut, then turned to Clark with his sweetest smile. "Clark, I'm going to ask you a huge favor. Mrs. Atkins has an afternoon's doctor's appointment and while I thought my schedule was free, something urgent just came up. If I tuck her in for a nap, will you be okay with keeping an eye on her? I promise, it won't be long, less than an hour."

Clark hesitated. "Will I do I "

"No picking up, no diaper changing." Lex held up his hand. "Scout's honor."

"Really?" Clark raised an eyebrow. "Were you ever a Scout?"

Lex considered as he rose, picking up Livvie with him. "No, but I knew some Girl Scouts once and boy, those cookies "

"TMI alert, Lex. Too much information okay?" Clark sighed, following Lex into the hall. "Sheesh."

~*~

Raymond Price, the plant's lading manager strolled into Lex's office easily, as if he owned the world or some small portion of it he'd gained through means too clever for the common man.

Lex knew that look. He'd seen it in the mirror often enough as a child and teenager. But he was grown now and learned long ago that petty pride goes before the most embarrassing falls.

One of the very first -- and harshest -- lessons Lionel taught him.

"Hello, Mr. Luthor." The man was very ruddy and looked very satisfied with himself, like a fat, pet parakeet. Such a shame Lionel hadn't warned him about the sleek, hungry cats that lurked in the unlikeliest of places.

Lex regarded him coldly. "Take a seat, please. Before we start our meeting, tell me, are you a father, Mr. Price?"

Confused, Price blinked. Obviously not the conversation starter he'd been expecting. "Uh, yeah. I have two. Two boys."

"How nice," Lex said, smiling thinly. "Normally, I wouldn't care about the intimate matters of my employees except for the fact that I've recently become a father myself and I find my attitude toward certain, shall we say, types of perfidy have modified themselves accordingly."

Perfidy was a magical word. Lex often thought as much.

A bead of sweat rolled down the ruddy neck. "Sir?"

Lex sharply cut to the chase. "You've been working for my father, haven't you, Mr. Price?"

Surprise, shock and horror all battled for their place on the man's face. "Um I why how " he stammered.

"You've purposefully sabotaged those orders so we'd have register that quarter loss. And you did this on his orders, didn't you?"

The man was flummoxed. "Sab sabotage?"

Lex continued, not missing a beat. "And while normally I'd fire you and spread the word that anyone who hired you could kiss any present or future business with me goodbye, I'm now inclined to think about your family first and you last. Is any of this getting through to you, Mr. Price? Please tell me it is, because I really don't have time for these petty games."

Resignation lined the man's face, aging him considerably. "Yes, sir."

"Good." Lex leaned back in his chair, hands steepled on the desk's edge. "So now that we understand each other, I assume you know what I now expect of you."

Price swallowed hard. "To spy on your father?"

"Spy is such a harsh word," Lex replied smoothly. "Sort of like the word sabotage, wouldn't you say? No, I don't want you to spy on my father, just be sure you inform me of any future requests he has of you in time for me to counter them. Without informing him that's what you're doing, of course."

"Of course," Price muttered.

"Have a nice day, Mr. Price," Lex finished sweetly. "Be sure to give my best to your lovely wife and both your fine sons. I'm sure you'll teach them a lesson someday about duplicity and price of getting caught."

Deflated, the man limped away and Lex watched him go, feeling sick in the pit of his stomach; a thick rolling sense of unease that spread throughout his body and soul.

So this was the world his daughter would grow up in. A world of betrayal and fear and lies. He'd never seen it so certainly as he did at that moment, through the prism of her innocent existence.

Clearly, some changes would have to be made.

~*~

Lex had to grip the handrail hard on his way upstairs, to avoid punching it or simply ripping it from its moorings in a blind rage. In the past it wouldn't have mattered, but he had to gain control over his monumental temper for Livvie's sake.

She was never going to see this side of him, even if he had to eliminate from his being entirely, by any means necessary.

Deep breaths, he cautioned himself before stepping into the nursery, casual smile firmly in place.

Surprised then, to see Clark and Livvie, sleeping together atop the nanny's daybed, pillows lined up like a fort across the open side, so as to prevent Livvie, settled smack dab in the middle of the mattress, from rolling anywhere near the edge.

Clark lay on the far end, his hand resting lightly atop the baby's hip, his thumb tucked in her tiny fist.

Lex silently took the pillows away then toed off his shoes before climbing in on the empty side. He curled around his daughter's left, as Clark was curled around her right.

Lex lay for a long time like that, watching Livvie and Clark breathe in tandem, their mouths hanging open, just a little.

He took his infant daughter's free hand within his own and let Livvie curl her fingers over his thumb. She took a deep, content breath at the touch, then fell back into slumber.

He wanted to shut his eyes and nap as well, but something compelled him to keep watching. To keep watch. Over both his daughter and Clark, who seemed more connected in his mind than he could have thought possible.

Who needed his protection and care and love, for separate, but equally important, reasons.

Clark's eyes fluttered open. "Oh hey, Lex" he yawned. "How did your meeting go?"

"Fine," he lied. "Just a trifle that had to be taken care of."

"Good. And I'm sorry about this, Lex, but she was really crying in the crib, so I laid her down here instead and she liked it better and then we well "

"Don't be sorry, Clark. You did great." Lex insisted. "You'll be up to diapers in no time," he said slyly.

Clark made a disparaging noise and closed his eyes. "Ain't doing no diapers." Sleepily, and Lex felt the tug toward a nap finally overtake him as well.

It felt oddly like peace, a certain achievement in itself.

~*~

more to come