A/N: This chapter begins at the end of 2x3, Duplicity, in which Clark shares his secret with Pete, and Lionel moves back in with Lex after abandoning his physical therapy. Using a few direct quotes. I do not own.

Chapter 17 - Pete

If Martha had been asked which of Clark's friends would—or should—find out Clark's secret, Pete wouldn't necessarily have been first to come to mind.

She thought Chloe was in the best position to handle the burden of the secret, and possibly most likely to stumble upon it, considering her investigative personality. Even though she was a journalist at heart, she would be able to keep the information quiet for Clark's sake, and she would have been a steady confidant for Clark when the pressure became too much. Besides, she obviously liked Clark—if things didn't work out with Lana, Martha was rooting for Chloe.

Assuming things did work with Lana, though, she was the one Clark would need to tell eventually. Assuming Clark ever wanted to have a real relationship with her—more and more likely, now that Whitney was far away and Clark and Lana's friendship kept growing stronger—he would need to be able to be open and honest with her. Based on what Martha could glean from Clark's stories, Lana had already been hurt a few times by what she perceived as Clark's dishonesty.

But Martha had thought Lex would probably be first to know the secret. Lex had held up under torture in the old remains of Club Zero to protect his friend Amanda, and Martha couldn't imagine him doing any less to protect Clark. He was also an adult. If Lex was in on the secret, she had no doubt he would employ all of his resources to protect Clark and support him in every one of his fights. Of course, she had mixed feelings about that, as Lex would probably put himself in danger with his involvement, and he had plenty of his own issues to deal with. Then again, the feeling of belonging such trust might bring him might be worth the weight of the responsibility.

But Pete had been Clark's choice, and it made sense. Clark had been friends with Pete the longest, and Pete was unquestionably loyal to the Kents. He would do everything in his power to keep the secret. He would support Clark as needed, but he wouldn't interfere in a way that would endanger Clark or himself.

So maybe she'd been wrong. Maybe Pete was the best choice.

"Pete . . . I'm proud of you," Jonathan said. "But I do hope you realize what a tremendous responsibility knowing this secret is. And believe me, it's not going to get any easier."

Clark grinned at Pete. "That's my dad's way of saying, welcome to the family."

Pete smiled, and Martha did as well. The reduced tension in her son's shoulders was almost tangible in the room. If she'd known that letting him reveal his secret to a single trusted friend would be this relieving to him, they might have been having a very different conversation long ago.

A soft knock on the door. Martha smiled and excused herself.

Lex stood on their porch. He wore what she'd come to recognize as his hurt expression—back straight, head raised, jaw set, eyes broken.

"Mrs. Kent, I—" His eyes wandered over her shoulder, toward where Jonathan, Pete, and Clark stood in the kitchen. "I'm sorry, I'm interrupting. I tried to call but I, ah, couldn't get ahold of you."

"No, it's okay," Martha said. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Just wanted to ask what your dinner plans were tonight, but you have company." He stepped back. "I'll call about another day—"

Martha took his arm. "Lex, Clark told me your father's staying with you for a little while."

"Ah . . . It might be more than a little while."

She smiled gently. "Come on in. There's more than enough food for five."

Martha gestured toward the kitchen and waited for Lex to pass her before she closed the door. She watched carefully for Lex's reaction upon seeing Pete—the last time they'd met, Pete had been under the influence of a toxin that had lead to him trying to kill Lex.

Lex gave Pete a half smile, which Pete returned with a glare. Neither Jonathan nor Clark seemed to notice the exchange, but Martha made a mental note to keep an eye on those two.

"Why don't you all have a seat in the living room? I just need to heat up dinner."

"Any way I can help, Mrs. Kent?" Lex lingered a few feet away from the others.

Martha had already prepared the casserole in advance, but she knew why he was asking. "Sure, Lex."

"I'm going to take care of a couple of things before dinner." Jonathan stood from the table and headed outside, while Pete and Clark retreated into the living room. A moment later, she heard the TV going.

She took the glass dish out of the refrigerator and slid it into the oven before straightening up and facing Lex. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He shrugged. "Not really."

"Well, I'm glad you're here. We've missed you." She pulled him into an embrace. He hugged her back a little tighter than usual, as he often did when he'd been fighting with his father. She kissed the side of his head, and she didn't let go until he did. When she did step back, his expression was peaceful. "Set the table for me?"

He nodded and went immediately to the cabinet with the plates. She picked up the silverware, and once the table was set, she sat beside him, asking him how things at the plant were going. They talked about business for awhile, and she watched him begin to relax at the distraction from his home life. Her hand gently covered his on the table, and he didn't try to pull away.

Jonathan returned to the house a minute before the kitchen timer was set to go off, and Martha called Clark and Pete in to wash up.

The tension at the dinner table reminded her of the very first night they had ever had Lex over. Though Clark continued to chatter away happily, and this time Jonathan was listening and responding, Pete alternated between giving Lex cold looks and avoiding his gaze altogether, while Lex sat very stiffly.

At a lull in the conversation, Pete looked up at Lex. "See your father much?" Venom dripped from his voice.

Lex's jaw pulsed. "He's staying at the mansion right now."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you."

"Lex," Martha warned, and he returned to eating.

It was quiet for a few moments before Pete spoke again. "Any new corporate schemes we should know about?"

Lex put down his fork. "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"Like you don't know. Who's your next victim?"

"Pete, that's enough." Jonathan spoke before Martha could.

Lex stood from the table. "For your information, my father and I don't work together anymore. I run my corporation and he runs his. Now, before you keep making accusations about things you know nothing about—"

"Lex, with me." Jonathan stood also and gestured toward the door.

"Jonathan—" Martha started, but he just squeezed her shoulder. She looked up at him, and the gentleness in his eyes spoke volumes. He wasn't going to scold Lex for defending herself. He was giving her space to find out what was going on with Pete.

Lex stepped back from Jonathan. "Mr. Kent, he has no right—"

"With me." There was no denying that tone, and Lex swallowed, giving Pete a quick glare before following Jonathan.

Once the door was closed, Martha breathed in to speak, but Clark beat her to it. "What was that, Pete?"

Pete turned to Clark. "Does he know?"

"Does he know what?"

"Your secret!"

Clark swallowed. "No."

Pete let out a sigh of relief. "Good."

"Why?"

"Because he'd betray you!"

"How could you know that? He's always been a good friend."

"His father cheated my family out of their factory! Luthors don't know what friendship is!"

Martha held herself back from correcting Pete too harshly. In his eyes, she saw no true hatred, only the fear of a child. He knew how badly Lionel had hurt his family, and he was afraid of the same thing happening to the Kents. He was only behaving this way out of love and concern.

But his parents' prejudice had been transferred to him—he assumed Lex was the same as Lionel, just like Jonathan had, even with all evidence to the contrary staring him in the face.

Martha didn't want to think about how Clark might have started treating Lex in a few years if she'd allowed Jonathan's initial opinions to rub off on him.

She wasn't at liberty to tell Pete that Lex was abused by his father—Lex would be mortified. But she couldn't leave things like this, either. "Pete, has Lex done something to you?"

"I just told you! The creamed corn factory—"

"Do you know how old Lex was when that happened?"

Pete was quiet, fuming.

"He was nine, Pete. At the time of the negotiations, he was also unconscious in the hospital due to injuries from the meteor shower."

"Am I supposed to feel sorry for him?"

He did grow up with Lionel . . . "That's not what I'm saying. I want to know if Lex ever did anything to you."

"His father raised him to be just like him. It's in his blood."

She wasn't going to fight him or try to undermine what his parents had told him. It wasn't her place, and she wasn't going to be able to argue her way to convincing him, anyway. "I understand you're angry, Pete. I think we're going to have to agree to disagree about this. But I can't let you treat him that way in our home. Or anyone, for that matter."

Pete sighed and picked back up his fork. "I hope I'm wrong about him, Mrs. Kent."

You are. She thought it, but didn't say it aloud.

Long after Pete and Lex had gone their separate ways and Clark had gone to bed, Martha and Jonathan sat beside each other on the couch.

"What did you tell Lex?" Martha asked.

"When I took him outside?"

She nodded.

He sighed. "Well, for starters, I asked him what happened at the dinner table. He was a little scared at first, I'm guessing Lionel only ever called him away like that to hurt him. But then he started ranting about how everyone assumes he's a carbon copy of his father. I let him go on for a few minutes, then I asked him if he thought it was true."

"What did he say?"

"He couldn't answer."

Martha's eyes fell shut. Had she failed him so completely?

Jonathan sighed and pulled her into a hug. "I know. I told him I didn't think he was like his father, and I gave him a few reasons why."

"Thank you." She squeezed him a little tighter and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm not sure he believed me, honey."

"We can work on that."

"I know. I was trying to help him, but he didn't say anything for awhile." He took a deep breath. "Then he said he wished we were his parents."

Martha pulled back and looked him in the eyes. "What did you say?"

"I didn't know what to say. His eyes started tearing up, and I—" He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Martha, I looked away. I didn't want to embarrass him, and . . . I didn't say anything."

She nodded slowly and wrapped her arms around him again. She probably would have struggled to find the words in that moment, too. "We'll work on it. He'll be okay, Jonathan."

"Yeah," he said, and kissed her on the top of her head.

A/N: I've posted Jonathan and Lex's conversation outside the barn as a one-shot, entitled "His Father's Son." Feel free to check it out if you're curious.