Disclaimer: I own none of these characters. They are the property of the WB and producers of the Smallville series.

Clark's Challenge VII

The next morning Lexie was eating cereal and watching television when she heard a knock at the door. She went to the front window and peeked out, as she had been taught to do, and was surprised to see Lex Luthor on the porch. She went to the front door and opened it.

"Hi," she greeted him.

"Good morning, Lexie. Is Clark at home?" he asked pleasantly.

"He's outside somewhere," she said. "You wanna come in?"

"Thank you very much," Lex said, stepping inside.

Lexie closed the door and walked into the living room. Lex followed.

"Want me to call Clark?" she asked.

"Ummm…why don't you and I visit a minute," Lex suggested.

Lexie shrugged and sat down. "Okay."

He held out a bag. "I believe these are yours," he said as he handed the bag to Lexie.

She opened it and pulled out a pair of shoes.

"You left them at the mansion last night. I thought you might need them," Lex explained.

"How come they're so clean?" she asked, looking them over.

"My housekeeper washed and dried them for you," he told her.

"Wow. Tell her thanks."

"I certainly will," he promised.

Lex was drawn to some framed photographs on the mantle. He walked over and picked one up.

"I'm guessing this is your great-grandmother?" he speculated.

Lexie nodded. "That's her and my great-grandpa at a party they gave them for being married a long time."

Lex smiled and replaced the picture. He looked at the one beside it. "And who is this?"

"My grandma," Lexie told him. "I've never met her. She didn't want me," she said flatly.

Lex was caught off guard by her frankness. "I'm sure that's not so," he said, not at all convincingly.

"Yes it is. I heard Gram talking to her on the phone one day. She said she was too selfish to take care of her own granddaughter and that's why she didn't want me," she reported.

Not knowing what else to say to that, Lex quickly moved on. "Is this your mom?" he asked her.

"She's pretty, isn't she?" Lexie asked with a smile.

"She's beautiful," Lex agreed. "You look like her."

Lexie beamed. "Thanks."

Lex walked to the couch. "May I?" he asked.

"Sure."

Lex sat down. "So. How are things around here this morning?" he asked vaguely.

"You mean, is Clark still mad at me?" she asked.

Lex smiled. "Yeah, I guess that's what I'm asking."

Lexie thought it over. "Not really." She leaned towards Lex slightly and said quietly, "Actually, I think he feels kind of bad about it. He let me eat cereal out of the box this morning while I watched TV."

She picked up the box and held it out. "You want some?"

Lex held up his hand. "Unfortunately, I've already eaten, but thanks."

The front door opened and Clark came inside.

"Lex, what brings you by so early?" Clark asked as Lex stood up and shook his hand.

Lexie spoke up. "He brought me my shoes," she said, holding them up. "Look how clean they are!"

"Yeah," Clark said, actually impressed. "I didn't know you were supposed to wash shoes."

"Listen, Clark. I was thinking. Since Lexie didn't really have much of a chance to play with the trains yesterday I thought she might like to come back to the mansion with me now. She could play with them all she wants, have some lunch, and I'll bring her back this afternoon.

Lexie nearly jumped out of her skin! "Can I, Clark? Please? Please?" she begged, jumping up and down.

"Well, I do have a lot of stuff to do around here today. That'd be great, Lex. Thanks."

"Yes!" Lexie yelled, jumping up on the couch.

"Hey! Get down from there," Clark said pulling her down by her arm. "If you're going with Lex you'd better get some clothes on," he advised.

Lexie took off running towards her room.

"Hey, don't forget these," Clark said, holding up her shoes.

Lexie ran back and took the shoes from Clark. "I'll be right back," she told Lex.

"No hurry," he said.

"Brush your hair and teeth," Clark called after her.

"I will!"

"Cup of coffee?" Clark asked Lex.

"Definitely," Lex said gratefully.

They walked into the kitchen and Lex took a seat at the table while Clark poured coffee into two cups.

"It's hard to believe that's the same kid who was kicking and screaming and trying to gouge your eyes out less than 12 hours ago," Lex said, taking a cup from Clark.

"I know. It's amazing how fast kids can switch gears emotionally," Clark said as he sat down at the table with Lex.

"I can't believe she doesn't seem to harbor any grudge against you," Lex said as he took a sip of coffee.

"My dad says kids have a finely tuned sense of justice. I guess Lexie doesn't hold it against me because she knows she deserved it."

Lex looked doubtful. "I don't know. Deserving or not, if somebody had jumped all over me like that when I was a kid I would have gotten up this morning plotting my revenge."

Clark frowned. "You never got in trouble for anything?"

Lex shook his head. "My mother was…let's say…fragile, both emotionally and physically. And my father was…otherwise occupied."

"Who took care of you?" Clark wondered.

"I had governesses when I was little. When I was six I went to boarding school," Lex revealed.

Clark leaned back in his chair. "But, I mean, who was in charge of teaching you values and morals and right from wrong and that sort of thing?" he asked.

Lex smiled sadly. "I believe you may have just hit on the reason you're the man you are and I'm the man I am."

"I guess I've never really thought about that before," Clark admitted. "All things considered, I think you should be sort of proud of the man you grew up to be. You had to find your way on your own."

Lex took a long drink and then smiled slyly. "I'll have to remember to remind you of that the next time you and I are on the outs. What about you?"

"Me?" Clark asked, not understanding.

"Well, I can't imagine anyone as sweet and gentle as Martha Kent yelling at her kid," Lex said.

Clark let out a short laugh. "You don't know my mom very well!"

Lex was openly surprised. "You're kidding!"

Clark shook his head. "I'll admit, my dad handled most of the discipline at our house, but Mom could swing a pretty mean wooden spoon when she had to!"

"You're kidding! I may never look at your mother the same way again," Lex joked. "But, seriously, didn't you ever resent being punished like that?" Lex asked him.

"Nah. The truth is, it didn't happen very often and when I did I knew it was my fault, not theirs."

"I have a hard time imagining you ever doing anything wrong," Lex confessed. "At least not intentionally."

Clark suddenly smiled broadly. "I remember once when I was about seven or eight, we had this cat that lived in the barn, for catching mice, you know. Anyway, one day – for some reason – I decided the cat would look better orange so I got a took a can of paint and sort of gave her a makeover."

Lex laughed out loud, almost spitting his coffee. "No way!"

Clark nodded. "I did. Then I got scared about what my dad would say when he saw her, so I got the hose and tried to wash it off." He paused and shook his head. "Cats really don't like water that much. The thing took off and ran in the house and somehow managed to get orange paint all over practically every piece of furniture in the house."

Lex was nearly rolling at this point. "Oh, my God! Your mother must have been so pissed!"

"You have no idea," Clark said. "She started screaming and my dad came running downstairs. By the time we managed to catch the cat we were all covered in orange paint. I swear, I was scrubbing floors and furniture for a month!"

Lex erupted in fresh laughter just as Lexie came back from getting dressed.

"I'm ready!" Lexie announced, bouncing back into the kitchen. "What's so funny?"

"I'll tell you about it some other time," Clark promised. "Did you remember to brush your teeth?"

"Yes, I did."

"You look beautiful," Lex complimented. "What time would you like me to have her home?" he asked Clark, standing up.

"I'll pick her up about 2:00," Clark said. "Then we'll go see your Gram," he told Lexie.

"Today's gonna be fun!" she said excitedly.