Title: The Snake in The Garden Of Eden
Author: Femvamp
Fandom: Smallville
Spoilers: Mercy
Disclaimer: Smallville doesn't belong to me
Note: I have a strangefascination with the Martha/Lionel dynamic. It amuses me.

You never trusted him, not really. Even when he was blind he was dangerous. The serpent in the Garden of Eden. You're not quite sure why you agreed to work for him after he went blind. You did your job. You read to him, you typed his memos and even accompanied him to the occasional meeting. You watched as the other businessmen looked at him like he was broken and you almost giggled when you realized he knew and used it to his advantage. Even his blindness was turned into an asset.

You never once forgot how dangerous he really was. Dangerous to you, to your husband, but most of all to your son. He knew more then he pretended to. You were no fool, you knew he could have found someone else to do what you did for him, but there was a strange little part of you that felt useful when you were with him that you had long forgotten. Yes, your husband needed you and so did your son, but the way he needed you was different. It was almost like you were young again, when you were with him.

But then all at once it ended. You found out he could see. And later he tried to use your son's best friend to destroy him. He went to jail and you visited him there. You were never sure why. Even while sitting there you didn't understand what drove you to him. Why you missed him and hated him at the same time.

He could destroy you.

He could ruin everything you've spent the better part of you life building.

He could hurt your son.

Your husband is dead now. Your son is growing into a man and will leave soon. He has a destiny to fulfill. Your husband believed it and so do you. He will not be a farmer. And you are no longer a farmer's wife.

But he is still there. In the shadows. Still as dangerous as ever. Still the snake holding the apple. He knows your secrets. And you think he loves you. You think he might always have.

You know you shouldn't trust him.

He is dangerous.

He is evil.

He is all you have left.

And that is what makes him dangerous.

And that, you realize, is the apple.