6 months later

"Mom, can I have a cookie" 3 ½ year old Alex asked.
"What do you say" Lana asked.
"Please." Alex smiled.
Lana laughed and gave her son a cookie"So Sweetie, how was school" Alex had been going to a high security private pre-school for about 2 months now.
"Good, I drew a picture of me and my new friend. He said I was a big boy." Alex ran to retrieve his masterpiece. He returned shortly"Look."
Lana looked at the stick figure drawing"It's pretty. What is your friend's name" Lana loved hearing the world threw her son perspective.
"I donno. He gave me this though." Alex pulled a thin gold chain out of his pocket and held it up for his mother to inspect.
Lana saw the familiar 'LL' symbol that was the Luther trademark"Alex, you know not to touch Daddy's things." The chain looked very expensive, and Clark might be missing it.
"I didn't." Alex promised.

Lana was reading a book on the couch in the mansion, when Clark came home.
"Hey baby." He kissed her cheek.
"Hey Clark, how was work" Lana smiled as Clark wrapped his arm around her.
"Fine." Clark said"Where is Alex"
"Sleeping, I think he is getting sick, he kept sneezing." Lana told him. "Oh, here." She placed the gold chain Alex had given her earlier in Clark's hand.
"Where did you get this" Clark asked.
Lana was surprised by the edge of tension and anger in his voice. "Alex had it, he probably got it out of our room."
"No. Lana, my mother gave this to Lex and Me before she died. This was in my safety deposit box. Only people from our family can take it out." Clark felt so uneasy.
"Clark, I donno, Alex said he got it from someone at school, but I didn't believe him. How do you think he got it" Lana felt like Clark already had a theory.
Clark paused for a moment"Lionel gets out of prison in 3 days."
Lana was well aware of that, she had lost just as much sleep as Clark over the matter"You think Lionel has something to do with it"
"How would he get one of his people onto the school grounds? It's a high security school." Clark felt mad, because it scared him.
"Clark..." Lana didn't have answers either.
"He's not going to school tomorrow and I'm having more people guard the mansion." Clark was worried.
"Daddy." Alex entered the room, crying.
"What's wrong" Clark asked his son as he held him in his arms.
"My nose and throat hurts..." He cried harder.
Clark could obviously see his little boy was sick, his nosing was running and his forehead was hot"Okay buddy, we'll get you some medicine and you'll feel better soon." Clark rocked Alex a little as he cried.

One Day Later

Lana took the thermometer out of Alex's ear"oh, baby you are burning up." She read the temperature of 104 degrees. Alex had been crying all morning and now he had a high fever to go along with his cold.

Lana called the family doctor but he wouldn't pick up. Alex wouldn't stop crying and she didn't know what to do. Clark had told her not to leave the mansion, but Alex needed a doctor.
After Lana realized that the security guards around the mansion were gone, her panic doubled. What happened to them?
Finally Lana knew she had to leave to take Alex to the hospital, because she was about as safe here as she was at the hospital, because either way the security guards were missing.

Lana strapped Alex into the car seat before starting the car and backing out. Lana was about 4 minutes from the hospital when she stopped at a red light. She turned around and saw Alex's nose was running, so she grabbed a tissue and wiped his nose. By the time she turned back around she saw a black car collide with hers, smashing the back side of the car.
Lana's seatbelt caught her, but also gave her whiplash. She was kind of dazed but the screams of her toddler made her focus. She turned around to see Alex screaming and blood running all down his chin and smeared across his cheeks.

Clark was in the middle of a meeting when he felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that is was from Lana, so he exited the room and answered it.
"Lana" Clark knew something had to be wrong for her to be calling him.
"Clark, I'm at the hospital." Lana's voice was shaky.
"What? Why" Clark asked, worried.
"I was hit by a car and Alex had a fever and I know I wasn't supposed to leave but I didn't know what to do and"
"Lana it's okay, I'll be down there in 10 minutes."

"Are you Okay" Clark hugged Lana, who was holding Alex, and he was obviously upset.
"Yeah, I'm fine, and so is Alex, he just bit his lip." Lana hugged Clark tight, feeling safe now that he was here.
"You okay, Buddy" Clark asked his son, who nodded yes, but his lower lip quivered, showing he wasn't.
"Dad..." Alex started crying again, as he reached out towards his dad, wanting him to hold him.
"I gotcha buddy, you are gonna be alright." Clark held his son, as he rested against his chest. Clark felt so awful when he saw how scared and upset his son was. Clark gently rubbed Alex's back, trying to calm him down a little bit.
"Lana, who hit you" Clark asked.
"I donno, but I saw the license plate and it wasn't real. All it said was 'LL'. Clark... I was stopped at a red light and the car hit me straight on... it was on purpose." Lana revealed.
Clark wasn't surprised, but at the same time he felt so concerned and alarmed. Lionel was giving him warning, he would be a free man tomorrow and out for revenge.

It was 4am and Clark couldn't sleep. He had to find a way to protect Alex and Lana from Lionel. Lionel had somehow gotten rid of the security guards Clark had placed at the mansion the other day, and he could do it again. Clark even wondered if he had gotten Alex sick so Lana would have to leave the mansion, but there was no way to find out. Alex's fever had gone down hours ago and he seemed to be doing much better.
Clark planned on staying with Alex and Lana all day, to make sure nothing happened to them, but he couldn't do that for the rest of his life, they couldn't always wonder and have to watch their backs in constant fear that, that day would be it, the day Lionel got his revenge.
So Clark sat there, unable to sleep, and unsure of what to do. Once again, he found himself regretting his actions 3 years ago. He wished he killed Lionel then, but instead he was the one who almost ended up getting killed. Not this time though. 3 years ago he didn't have the nerve to kill Lionel, but now he had a child and Clark knew, if given the chance he wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger this time.
Lionel had really given Clark that motivation when he harassed his family. Clark swore when Alex was born he would always protect him and he planned to keep that promise.
Clark just realized that Lionel might go after people other than Lana and Alex. Of course, Clark had thought of Lex, but he wasn't even in the country at the moment, he was in Paris. But Martha and Jonathan weren't.
Clark picked up his cell phone and called and made arrangements for the Kents to spend a weekend in New Zealand. At first they objected, but once Clark told them about the car accident and the gold necklace, they finally agreed.
Clark wished he could send Lana and Alex off somewhere too, but Lionel could easily track them down, no matter the precautions. Besides, they couldn't hide forever.

3:42 pm

Clark sat there on the couch, in between Lana and Alex, watching cartoons, trying to have a normal day.
Clark pulled out his cell phone and called 3 security guards outside the mansion just to make sure they were still there, as he had every 25 minutes for the past few hours. As usual, they were all there and there was nothing suspicious.
"Everything is fine." Clark whispered to Lana, and he kissed her.
Alex started laughing, unlike other little kids he thought kissing was funny, not gross. Alex leaned over Clark and kissed Lana on the cheek, and started laughing harder"I kissed Mommy too"
Clark couldn't help but smile, his son always imitated his every move. Clark and Lana had both seen the drastic change in Alex's personality over the past 6 months since they had all been living together. He stopped his tantrums, for the most part, but every 3 year old has his moments. It wasn't even just his behavior that changed; he was a much happier toddler, he laughed more, and generally just became nicer. Yes, he was still spoiled in material things at least, there was just no avoiding it, but he always shared without even being asked.
Clark began to tickle Alex"Only I get to kiss Mommy." Clark joked as he continued to tickle Alex, who was laughing uncontrollably. Clark threw Alex into the air and caught him, as Alex bounced on the couch, still laughing.
Clark started to tickle him again and Alex couldn't stop laughing"Dad...ha ha... stop..." He managed between chuckles.
"Say Mercy." Clark snickered.
"No" Alex laughed, wanting to win"Mommy... ha ha...stop him..."
Lana couldn't help but laugh, and she jumped on Clark's back playfully and pinned him against the couch.
Alex hugged Lana before adding to the dog pile that was currently located on top of Clark.
Alex sat upon Clark's chest"Say mercy." He giggled.
"Mercy, I give up." Clark smiled, as Alex and Lana got off of him"You guys win."

The laughter was just starting to die down when everyone turned to look towards the door as it swung open, and 6 men came in, their faces were covered with black ski masks.
Clark was about to tell Lana to run, but 3 more men came in the opposite door trapping them. Lana and Clark stood back to back, with Alex in between them.
Clark felt really dizzy and weak as the men approached. They must have had kryptonite, because the things Clark saw or felt before he passed out was a blow to the head and a little voice screaming "Daddy"