A/N : Merry Christmas to all those that celebrate it, and Happy Holidays to all those that celebrate anything else:-)
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Epilogue

The sun shining across his face woke Lex Luthor from peaceful sleep and he opened his eyes to welcome in the sights of Christmas Eve.

"Daddy! Daddy!" two voices chorused as the bed began to jolt and shift under the weight of his bouncing twins.

"Lilly! Leo!" their mother admonished them without any real anger in her voice, "Give your Dad a chance to wake up before you leap on him" she smiled, and Lex did the same as he turned to look at her.

Chloe was as beautiful now as she had been all those years ago, that other Christmas when she'd sat by his bedside and helped him to defy death. A marriage and five year old twins later, she really hadn't changed as far as Lex could see.

As the two perfect kids with strawberry blonde hair were sent back to their own rooms to get dressed, Chloe joined her husband back on the bed and passed him a cup of fresh coffee which he gratefully accepted.

"Good morning" she said with a sultry smile as she leaned in to kiss his lips,

"Can you believe its Christmas Eve again already?" she said then, sitting back against the headboard and sipping her coffee.

"It comes around fast" her husband agreed, his hand going subconsciously to the scars he bore, permanent reminders of that Christmas Eve many years ago, the near-tragedy that had led to this dream setting.

When he thought back to that dream, hallucination, whatever it was, he could see this scene as it was now and yet different. The house was quite similar to that he'd dreamt of, and he'd left the mansion behind long ago, but his situation was far different from that unhappy marriage and permanent separation from his blood relatives. Though he and Lionel saw eye-to-eye on little or nothing, especially where business was concerned, they remained civil, and when it came to Chloe and the kids, old Grandpa Lionel just couldn't do enough.

Lex wasn't sure when his father had come to like his wife so much, perhaps when she produced the gifts that were his grandchildren. Maybe it was before that, when he realised she was good Luthor material, as headstrong, stubborn, and intelligent as any of them ever had been or would ever be. All Lex knew for sure was that he was as happy now as he could ever be, as happy as he had been by the end of that magical dream.

"Hey" Chloe caught his attention once again, "Today always makes you thoughtful too, doesn't it?"

"If anything, today makes me grateful for what I have" Lex told her as he put his and her coffee mugs down on the nightstand and turned back to put a hand to her face, "It makes me remember how my life might have been, and how completely different and perfect it is... because of you" he smiled and Chloe did the same.

"You saying stuff like that to me never gets old" she told him, almost tearing up at the sentiment as they both leaned in to kiss each other.

The magic moment was broken in a moment as the kids came pelting back into the bedroom, yelling about buying a Christmas Tree and Santa coming soon. Lex and Chloe couldn't ever be mad at the twins for interrupting their quiet reverie. Life was not only perfect because they had each other but because they had their children too.

This afternoon they would head over to the home of their extended family, the Kent Farm, which would only serve to increase the joy of their Christmas. Despite all the odds, Lex and Clark had once again found a way to be best friends, and even as close as the brothers they had once aspired to. Both men knew their rediscovered bond had mostly come about due to their dating and consequently marrying cousins. Now they had this huge expanded family that would do anything for each other, and not one amongst them really thought about Miss Lana Lang who was long gone from all their lives now. She had soon been outed as a demanding, somewhat bitchy young woman, who grew both bitter and bratty when she didn't get what she wanted from the men in her life.

Lex couldn't shift the grin from his face as Leo and Lilly pulled him from his bed and urged him to quickly get dressed as they were desperate to go pick out the Christmas tree. Chloe looked almost as thrilled as the kids to be caught up in the wonder of all this Christmas joy, and Lex silently thanked God for those almost-tragic events that had happened many years ago, on a cold Christmas Eve in Metropolis, Kansas. Thanks to the changes he made in his life following that night, Lex would never feel cold or lonely again, he would never want for love or happiness, and he would always have a Merry Christmas amongst family and friends.

"Thanks, Mom" he whispered as he watched Chloe lead the kids off to the kitchen for breakfast, and he could of swore he heard her answer him.

"You're welcome, Alexander. Merry Christmas"

- The End -