Sorry for the delay, this chapter just didn't want to write itself.

"So how does this sound?" Clark asked his Mom as she made her way hurriedly down the stairs. "Takeout and a film of your choosing tonight." He gave a slightly strained smile. "I know today might be tough for you, so I thought that might help distract you." He shuffled slightly awkwardly as he added, "I wasn't sure what you'd want to do today, so you can pick that too."

Martha smiled at her son, he could be so thoughtful at times. Reaching up, she patted his shoulder, "That sounds like a perfect day, but I'm really sorry, I have to go into work."

"On a Sunday?"

Gathering up bag and coat, she nodded, "Lionel has made a new aquisition, so we need to go through the paperwork today."

"Does he know what today is?"

Pausing, she let out a shakey breath, truth be told she didn't want to think about her anniversary, let alone discuss it with Lionel. That edge of guilt that rubbed at her constantly was worse today, like a sharp knife in her side, the thought that she should be consumed with grief still, rather than cavorting with the man her husband hated, just wouldn't leave her alone. She couldn't say any of this to Clark of course, and she tried to soothe herself by repeating in her head that whilst Jonathan was gone that didn't mean she loved him any less, and neither did trying to piece her life back together in whatever way she could, make her a terrible person. "I haven't discussed it with Lionel," she replied after a moment. She forced a bright, encouraging smile onto her face as she told him, "Anyway, it will keep me busy and that's what I need today."

Clark folded his arms across himself. "You know he only got that deal because he stole it from Lex, he bugged his office!"

Martha sucked in a breath between her teeth, no doubt Lionel was aiming to teach Lex a lesson, God only knew what in this time. Still it wasn't her place to criticise his parenting style, and he wouldn't be the first or last business man to employ nefarious tactics to get what he wanted. "We might not like or agree with it Clark, but that is often how large businesses operate."

"That doesn't make it right."

"No, but I'm not so certain Lex wouldn't have done the same thing had the roles been reversed."

Opening his mouth to protest, Clark suddenly paused and rubbed the back of his neck somewhat sheepishly. "Well...Ok...you might have a point. But still, making you work on a Sunday?" He pulled a face.

"I know, it's not ideal." Martha looked up and shot her son a hopeful smile. "But I shouldn't be late, so if the offers still there, then we could still have takeout and watch that film." She really felt they hadn't had much time together recently and she liked to know what was going on in Clark's life.

He grinned at her. "Yeah, I think we can manage that." He pulled her into a tight hug. "Have a good day Mom."

"I'll try." Martha left the house smiling, she really did have the best son.

"Lionel, I assumed when you insisted that this had to be done today that it meant that there would be more than just the two of us in the office."

A smile played about Lionel's face as he replied, "Well I thought that perhaps you might want the chance to see your new office when it was quiet."

Martha froze for a second and the looked at him. "My new office," she echoed.

"Yes, what with this newest acquisition to manage we'll be spending more time in Metropolis and you have more then earned a promotion."

Getting to her feet, Martha moved to the window, staring out of the large picture window onto the busy streets below. "I'm not sure about whether I can accept," she told him quietly.

Lionel shook his head, moving behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders, his mouth lowering to her ear. "Of course you can, you've worked so hard and accomplished so much in such a short time."

"Clark needs me at home, I've hardly been there recently."

"Clark is growing up," Lionel countered easily. "He has two more years of high school and then I assume he'll go to college, he appears bright enough."

His words could have been patronising, but she knew they weren't intended that way. "Two years is a long time and he's just lost his father," she pointed out instead. "I don't think now is the best time for me to jump into the corporate world and all that entails."

Lionel gave a soft sigh, his breath caressing the shell of her ear, causing her skin to break out in goosepimples. "You have given your life to the drudgery of that farm. You have so much talent and it has thus far been wasted."

"I don't see it that way."

She was so stubborn, Lionel thought to himself, she couldn't or at least didn't want to see how her husband had hidden her away, how he had stifled her talents. Lionel drew in a hiss of breath between his clenched teeth, he hadn't spent a lot of time around Jonathan Kent, but he knew the type, moral, self righteous and old fashioned, he would have expected to play the alpha male and his wife would look demurely to his example and follow it unquestioningly. He also didn't doubt that Jonathan Kent had been wary about letting Martha spread her wings, lest she realised how clipped they were and decided on reflection that her talents were better served elsewhere. However, he was aware that perhaps slighting her recently departed husband might not be the best way to win Martha round to his way of thinking. "I'm sure you don't, but you have the chance to chose a different path now, to explore an option that you didn't have."

Martha hesitated, she enjoyed her job and the challenges it gave her but then she would think of Clark, of the disapointment on his face when he wanted to spend time with her but she had to work. She knew that he was sixteen, that he bounced back quickly enough and would seek out his friends instead when she was busy, but she was also aware that once he went to college that their time together would be further limited. "I won't pretend I'm not flattered, that it's not a tempting offer, but I'm not convinced that now is the right time."

"We can discuss it in depth," he assured her, he waved his hand airily as he added, "In the meantime, perhaps you should check your desk drawer."

Shooting him an almost suspicious glance, Martha opened the top drawer carefully and slid out the large box that had placed within. Lionel's face could almost be called solemn as he watched her, his eyes flickering between her face and the box. She clicked it open, unable to stop her eyes from widening as she took in what she found. The watch was clearly expensive, much more extravagent than anything she had ever owned before. "Take it out, turn it over," he urged her.

She did so, turning the cool metal over in her hand, reading the words engraved onto the back aloud, "To Martha, with deep affection, L.L."

Her eyes met his again and she saw him swallow, if she didn't know better then she would have assumed that he was nervous, his voice however was steady, confident as he told her, "I mean that."

"Lionel...I...I don't know what to say." She looked away from him, she felt blindsided, almost bewildered, unsure what he meant, if he meant anything, sometimes with Lionel it was difficult to tell.

He reached out, clasping her hand within his. "I'm aware what we said, that this was nothing more than the physical but I think we've gone beyond that." A wry grin crossed his features. "You have become very important to me, not just as an employee." His hand squeezed hers in a way she was sure was meant to be reassuring. "And before you ask, the promotion is seperate to any of this, it's just that I see no reason not to be honest. What we have Martha, is somethng I thought was lost to me."

Martha felt bewildered, this all felt almost surreal. She looked down at the watch again and heard herself blurt out, "It's my wedding anniversary."

Lionel stiffened, his shoulders drawing back as he realised the error in his timing. "That is unfortunate," he admitted. "I didn't realise-"

"Why would you?" Her eyes briefly met his before looking back at the engraving on the watch. "I didn't mention it." She didn't know how to respond to this, she still wasn't sure what this even was. The silence drew out between them until finally she shook her head and admitted, "Lionel, I don't know what you mean by this."

"My timing has admittedly been poor, but I was attempting to use this opportunity to try and tell you how much you mean to me and that I would like more from our relationship."

"Oh." Martha rubbed at her temples, she wasn't sure what she wanted.

Lionel's hand covered hers. "We don't need to discuss this now, had I realised the date..." he tailed off and then shrugged. "I would have waited," he admitted dryly. "But as for work, we could discuss your promotion and new role over dinner, perhaps put your mind at rest over that."

Martha opened her mouth to tell him that she had plans, that she had to go home this time, when the door flew open and two men armed with guns marched in.

Lionel knew he had miscalculated the timing of his gift and he had cursed himself for it, but then as Martha had curved against him, sought comfort from him, he had allowed himself to hope that perhaps he could salvage the situation. He'd believed that he could take control of this situation, all of it, even of the madmen who held them against their will. Money was power, money could dissuade men from any course, you just had to find the right price.

He didn't allow himself to flinch when they fired, didn't allow himself to show fear when they shouted in his face, instead merely allowed that slow smile of amusement that always irritated Lex so much to curve his mouth. He could play this, he would win and both himself and Martha would leave here safely.

It was only when the files hit the floor, papers sliding out of the manilla folders that encased them and Martha was ordered to pick them up that he felt a small shiver of unease traverse his spine. Her hands shook as they pushed the papers hastily together and then stiled as she saw the name of her son, printed across the edge of one folder. She looked up, confused blue eyes meeting his and hardening at the expression they saw in his face and Lionel realised that his miscalculation was even greater than he had first realised.

As he splashed the scotch into his glance, Lionel considered the events of the day, considered what he had witnessed, what he had been told. He thought of Clark Kent's miraculous appearance, of the unexplained broken window so many floors up and he downed his glass in one. He was irritated with Lex, had considered telling him that he would leave, that he would return to Metropolis and yet instead he had blanked his son when he had finally walked out of Luthorcorp, had left those words unsaid, simply because of Martha, he was staying for her.

He hadn't had the chance to speak to her, she had walked out of the building, her arm around her son and not once glanced at him, her spine rigid, her jaw tightly clenched. He was no fool, he knew he was going to have a fight on his hands to try and convince her that she should forget the file, that they should move on from it, but he was going to try, he felt something for Martha Kent that he didn't want to let go of just yet.

As though magically summoned by his thoughts, the office door opened with a quiet creek and she stepped into the room, her figure as stiff and unyielding as it had been a few hours ago. Lionel stepped out from behind his desk, pausing when he saw Martha wince at his movement. "It's good to see you," he told her after a long drawn out moment. "I wanted to speak to you early, but I felt it wouldn't have been appropriate."

"No, it wouldn't have been," she concurred.

Lionel's lips thinned, was she here to read him the riot act? "As pleased as I am to see you, I admit to being surprised."

"I didn't see the point in dragging this out," Martha told him calmly, although her fingers tightened on the strap of her bag. She hesitated slightly before her hand reached in and pulled out a white envelope, she walked forward and placed it on his desk, her eyes meeting his as she informed him, "My letter of resignation."

"Ah, I assume you want it to be effective immediately."

"I think given the circumstances that would be for the best."

He reached out and slid the envelope towards him, his fingers tapping against it. "I'm sure this letter is very polite, professional even, but I doubt it will give me the real reason why."

Martha's eyes blazed for a moment before she composed herself. "I would have thought my real reason would be obvious."

"Really? Enlighten me." He needed to hear her say it if he were to have any chance of talking her round.

Martha hesitated, she wanted to know what Lionel had uncovered, he was giving her an opportunity to do so, or he was giving her the chance to let more information slip. In the end her curiousity won out. "The file on Clark," she replied, her teeth gritted in anger. "The fact that you've been investigating my son."

Lionel gave a casual shrug. "Can you blame me? Your son has a habit of turning up exactly when needed, saving the day and leaving dangerous situations without a scratch on him."

"Sheer luck," she replied easily. "Believe me, I have had multiple conversations about keeping himself safe."

"I'm sure you have." He stepped closer to her, so that he was almost touching her, he looked down, his voice soft as he added, "And you are both almost entirely convincing in your charade, but none of that explains what happened tonight."

Martha forced herself not to react to his words, forced herself to stay calm. "I don't know what you mean."

"How Clark got into a building surrounded by police, his reaction to the green rock and his sudden recovery."

"Clark snuck in when no-one was looking," Martha reminded him.

Lionel gave a soft snort of disbelief. "I somehow doubt that, and yet I have an unexplained broken window on the 49th floor."

Martha managed to give a laugh of disbelief. "So you can't accept that he managed to sneak in, but you think what? That he climbed up to the 49th floor and managed to break in?"

"I'm saying that a lot of unexplainable incidents happen around your son." His eyes narrowed. "In fact a lot of unexplainable incidents have happened in this town since the meoters." His eyes gleamed with a sharpness that Martha knew well enough to be concerned by as he added, "And even you have to admit that his reaction to the rocks was curious."

Her stomach in her mouth, Martha tried to keep her voice even as she replied, "I don't know what you mean? Clark didn't react to the rocks, he hurt himself when he forced the door open, that's what made him fall."

"So then why did you force the rocks back into the safe? Why put yourself at considerable risk if there was no need to?"

"Of course there was a need to! Moving the rocks distracted their attention from Clark, I didn't want them to hurt him."

"He made a very quick recovery following that." He gave a humourless laugh. "Although let me guess, that was coincidence."

"Lionel, you clearly want to find some outlandish explanation for tonights events when there isn't one." Martha shook her head. "You want to know why I've handed in my resignation? Because I was foolish enough to let myself become involved with you, to cross the line with my employeer, and you felt it was appropriate to investigate my son behind my back. I can't trust you, not even in a work capacity, so never mind anything else." She cursed the slight wobble in her voice as she continued, "You claim that I'm important to you. Well if this is how you treat the people you care about then I want no part of it."

If her words were aimed to hurt then they hit their mark, but Lionel refused to show his feelings. His tone became dangerously smooth as he replied, "Think about what I can give you."

"I have and I don't want it."

Martha turned to leave and she was halfway to the door when Lionel's words halted her in her tracks. "I find it odd that Clark's file was amongst the few that somehow caught fire."

She didn't bother to turn around as she pointed out, "Let's face it Lionel, you didn't have anything on Clark. If you did you would be throwing it in my face right about now."

He chuckled, causing the hairs on the back of Martha's neck to prickle. "You're right, I found nothing out about your son, but I know that there is something to find." Lionel moved until he was behind her, his hands sliding up her arms, his mouth lowering to her ear as he told her, "I know you took that disc" He smiled knowingly as he felt her stiffen slightly. "It wasn't found on any of the burglars and you clearly have a secret to protect."

"You can't prove that."

"No you're right, at this point in time I can't." He slid one hand up and brushed her hair from her face, his fingers caressing her cheek as he did so. "I'm not even convinced that I want to. I meant what I said, Martha, you mean a great deal to me and I wouldn't do anything that would intentionally harm you."

"You lied to me, Lionel." She pulled herself free from his grasp and forced herself not to look at him in case she lost her resolve. "I don't know what your game is but I don't intend to play it. Whatever this was between us, I'm putting a stop to it." She didn't wait for him to reply but instead left the room, the door falling shut with a firm thud, behind her.

Lionel let out a deep sigh at Martha's departure, before stilling and letting out a loud chuckle as he realised that she hadn't returned the watch. He would return to Metropolis in the morning, give her some time and space while he considered his next move, he wasn't done yet.