A/N: Last chapter. More information in the end note.
Chapter 43 - The Truth
Three children lost on a single day. Two children back in a single week. Despite the net loss, the pain back then wasn't worth comparing with the euphoria Martha felt now.
Clark's homecoming had been purely joyful. She'd hugged him over and over, insisted that she didn't blame him for the miscarriage, then she'd allowed Jonathan to help him figure out what had happened. There had been aftermath to his crimes in Metropolis, but they'd gotten through it together.
Lex was more complicated. He'd been away for longer, she'd been convinced he was dead, and once she'd gotten over the initial shock and elation of seeing him, she started to see how physically damaged he really was. She let him rest on the couch while she called and left a message for Lex's doctor to see if he could come by the Kent farm in the morning—she'd gotten the phone number from Lex's head of security ages ago.
Lex didn't want to talk much about his time on the island, and Martha didn't press him. She sent him over to the kitchen table and heated up some leftover casserole from dinner. He was only about halfway through it when he ran to the bathroom to vomit.
Martha could have kicked herself—she should have known he wouldn't be able to take such heavy food so soon after having been starved for three months. She poured him a glass of milk and told him to take small sips, which he did.
She had him change into a pair of shorts, and asked him to sit on the bathroom counter so she could attend to the cuts and burns on his face, chest, arms, legs, hands, and feet. She figured she'd let the doctor take care of anything she couldn't see. Martha was aware that sitting on the counter would probably make him feel like a five-year-old, but she didn't care, and he didn't protest.
He hissed and tensed when she dabbed on the antiseptic, sighed and relaxed when she applied the aloe, and held still when she began to bandage the worst of the cuts that were still open. Then she brought him to the guest room and made him lie on his stomach on his bed so she could take care of his back and head. He fell asleep shortly after she finished with the antiseptic, and she had to complete the rest very gently so as not to wake him.
Martha went down to the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee—this would be her second all-nighter this week, but she didn't mind this time—then she went to sit down on the couch in the living room. Jonathan was already waiting for her there.
She didn't say anything. She just sat beside him. He wrapped his arm around her.
"Get some rest," he whispered. "You're always the one who stays up when you're worried about the kids. Let me be the one to stay awake for them this time."
She smiled and rested her head on his chest. Normally, she would have told him to go to sleep anyway—he did more of the work on the farm, and it couldn't be done after an all-nighter—but tomorrow was the garage sale, and it wouldn't be as physically strenuous as his usual routine.
"We still have to talk with Clark," she said.
"He knows he has work to do to rebuild our trust and make restorations."
"Are you going to lecture him?"
Jonathan sighed. "I did before he left. The problem was, I did it while I was angry. I made him feel like you getting injured and losing the baby was his fault." He shook his head. "He deserves the scolding of his life for putting on that ring, but I'm not going to do it."
"I'll talk to him," she said, trusting he knew what she meant. "Either way, he should be grounded for at least a month."
"That's going to be tough, in the little apartment over the Talon."
"Then we won't ground him to the apartment. We'll find him community service work to do. He says he's already returned the money to the banks he robbed, but he still needs to pay Chloe back for the ring he stole, and I think he should help you rebuild the storm cellar, if not do it himself . . ." She sat up a little straighter. "It's going to be a long recovery."
"Clark will be fine, Martha," Jonathan said, his gaze growing distant again.
She winced. "You're worried about Lex."
"Can you blame me?"
She looked him right in the eyes. "We're going to have to tell him the truth."
He nodded slowly. "I know. But is it the right thing?"
Martha shrugged. "Anything else is wrong."
"But if the wrong person finds out—"
"The wrong people have been finding out. Sam Phelan. Roger Nixon. Morgan Edge. We've had some close calls, but we've gotten through them all. And other people have known, and they haven't tried to cause problems. Pete's been a good friend to Clark. So was Ryan James, and Kyla Willowbrook, and—"
"None of them are Lionel."
"Lionel was pretending to be blind for several months. For all we know, he might already have seen Clark use his powers at some point. Lex is our best defense against him." Martha took a deep breath. "And he's our son."
"Is Clark okay with this?"
"Clark would tell him with our approval or without it." Martha looked down. "You didn't read his apology letter. He was planning to tell Lex months ago."
Jonathan's breath caught in his throat. "And you didn't tell me?"
"I would have, if Lex had come home." She smiled. "And now he has. They both have."
Jonathan wrapped his arms around her again and kissed her head. She relaxed into his arms, resting her head on his chest once again.
She didn't think she was going to be able to sleep, but within minutes she had drifted off.
Lex woke up lying on his stomach over the covers on the most comfortable bed he'd slept in for months, his skin stinging less than it had in weeks. It took him a moment to remember where he was, but even in the seconds when he didn't know, he felt no panic. He felt warm and safe.
He had his family back.
The darkness wasn't gone. He could still feel its presence, caged deep inside of him. It was still strong, probably even stronger than it had been before he was stranded on the island, and Lex knew it could still take him over.
Lex couldn't say he wasn't afraid of it. It still had the power to destroy his life. But it had taken a hard hit the night before, and it was quiet. And neither he nor it had the power to make his family stop caring about him.
He still hadn't confessed everything he'd done. He knew there would probably be a lecture for him when he did, and it would hurt. There might be punishment. It could be years before they trusted him. Even aside from that, his body and mind had been through severe trauma, and he would take time to heal.
But he would heal. They all would. He believed that.
He got up, put on the t-shirt Mrs. Kent had bought for him all those months ago, and went down to the kitchen. The whole family was already down there finishing breakfast. Mrs. Kent stood and came over to hug him.
"Sorry, Lex. We would have waited for you, but we didn't know how long you were going to sleep."
He relaxed in her arms. He couldn't believe he'd ever walked away from this. "It's okay, Mom." This time, his use of the word was a conscious decision.
"Have a seat, Lex," Mr. Kent said when his wife let go. He gestured to the empty space across from himself.
Lex sat, looking around at the remains from breakfast. He still wasn't sure if he could eat. Mrs. Kent smiled and poured him a small glass of orange juice. He took it and sipped slowly.
"Lex . . . we've been talking. All three of us."
Lex swallowed and put the glass down. "Everything okay?"
Mr. Kent shook his head. "No, it's not okay. You're a part of our family, and we love you, and we've been lying to you. We don't want to do that anymore. We don't want to keep secrets from you, either." He took a deep breath. "We may not know the answers to all of your questions, but we're willing to tell you everything we know."
Lex could hardly believe what he was hearing. A thousand questions fought for first consideration in his mind: about that first day on the bridge, about the caves, about the meteor shower, about the octagon . . . Lex could feel his insides trembling with excitement. "You're sure?"
Clark nodded. "We should have told you months ago, Lex, I'm sorry. I know you've had a lot of questions. Any place you'd like to start?"
Lex thought back to that day on the bridge, wondering now more than ever what had really happened. He breathed in to ask. But he also remembered what Mr. Kent had told him, five months ago:
As much as you're going to hate to hear it, the secrets we keep really are for your protection and ours.
I want you to think about the past year and a half. Well over a dozen of Clark's classmates have died. His Kawache friend, Kaya, passed away as well. You've had to save Clark's life several times, and he's saved yours as well.
I'm not bringing these things up to remind you of all the things you don't know. I'm bringing these up to give you an idea that what we're dealing with is dangerous. For all of us.
Lex hadn't believed it at the time. He'd thought they were just making excuses to keep him out. Now, though, he believed every word.
And he knew what to ask.
"Yeah, I do have a few questions," Lex said.
Clark slid up to the edge of his seat, his eyes fixed on Lex's face.
"When you said your secrets were dangerous, and you were keeping them to protect me and yourselves, was that the truth?"
"Of course." Clark looked almost offended.
Lex nodded. "Do I need to know your secrets?"
Mr. Kent rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, no, but—"
"And you promise if I ever need to know, or if it ever somehow becomes safe for me to know, you'll tell me? No more lies?"
"Yes." Mr. Kent didn't hesitate.
Lex sat back in his chair. "Then that's all I need."
The darkness inside him screamed and raged, but he felt none of what it felt. It was as if he were hearing it from a distance, and he didn't even care what it was saying. The Kents had just taken away most of the darkness's ammunition against him. It had always tried to gain control over Lex by making him investigate their secrets. Now he knew that if the curiosity ever drove him to the edge, he could just ask them, rather than breaking the law or betraying someone's trust out of anger.
He knew it wasn't a total fix. Ideally, he would never be tempted to ruin anyone's life just because he felt deceived. But it was a step.
Clark's voice caught in his throat. "But . . . Lex . . ."
"Is there a reason you need me to know?"
"Well, no. But I want you to."
"But is it safer for you if I don't know?"
"I—I guess so . . ."
"Then I don't want to know, Clark." Lex shrugged. "I care more about your safety than your secrets."
Clark looked him in the eyes. "Then be careful what you ask me in the future, Lex. Because I'm never lying to you again."
"Understood." Lex smiled. "And likewise."
Mrs. Kent reached out and placed a hand on his. "Sweetie, I am so proud of you."
"Don't be proud of me yet." Lex winced. "I haven't told you everything I did before the island."
Mr. Kent glanced down at his watch. "And we'll talk about it, but not right now. We need to get moving on the garage sale."
Lex raised his eyebrows. "Garage sale?"
"Ah, we didn't get to tell you." Mr. Kent took a deep breath. "We lost the farm. We're moving in to the apartment over the Talon until I can get a job and we can get back on our feet again, so right now we're doing some purging to fit into the smaller space."
"You lost the farm?" Lex knew they'd had their financial difficulties, but he had no idea they were that bad.
Martha and Jonathan exchanged a look. Jonathan cleared his throat. "Clark was . . . away, for the entire time you were. We couldn't keep up with the work, and—"
"You lost the farm."
Jonathan lowered his head. "We'll be okay, Lex. We're going to—"
"No, no. I'm not letting that happen. I'll buy the farm and put your names in the deed."
"Lex, you don't have to do that."
Lex knew Mr. Kent would protest, but he wasn't going to bend on this one. "You're the one who said we're family."
"Yes, but we've talked about how I feel about gifts like that, and about feeling indebted. I need you to respect that. I could never—"
"Respectfully," Lex said, "shut up, Dad."
Mr. Kent's jaw dropped.
Lex blinked. The word Dad had meant something very different to him for his entire life up to this point, and it felt much weirder to use that term for Mr. Kent than it did to call Mrs. Kent Mom. However, he knew that if he didn't start using the word, its meaning would never change in his mind. He made up his mind to keep calling them Mom and Dad, no matter how strange it felt.
He made himself focus on the issue at hand. "You really think I'm going to let you lose the farm? After everything you've done for me?"
"Lex, you don't owe us anything."
"And you won't owe me anything. Do you have the vaguest idea of how little that amount of money means to me? How could you possibly expect me to stand by and let you lose the farm when I could have saved it with no effort at all?" Lex shook his head. "Mom, what did you say to me when I walked in that door?"
"I—I said . . . you're home."
"Yeah. This is my home, too. I might not live here all of the time, or even most of the time, but coming here is coming home for me." Lex folded his hands on the table. "I'm buying the farm. You're not changing my mind."
Mr. Kent ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what to say, Lex."
"I do." Mrs. Kent looked Lex right in the eyes. "Thank you, Lex. It means a lot to us, more than you know." Her eyes narrowed. "But if I ever hear you tell your father to shut up again, you're going to be tasting soap, young man."
Lex smiled, and then his smile turned into laughter—not quite a laugh of humor, but one of pure joy. Clark and his father joined him in his laughter a moment later, and his mother not long after them.
A/N: The sequel, Truth & Justice, should begin in late August 2020. In the meantime, I have a few "Smallville" shorts and one-shots to post, both in and out of the ISLO universe. I hope you'll check them out. (There's one, "Red Kryptonite," that specifically follows up this chapter.)
In addition, if you have any story requests, feel free to either comment or PM me. (I can't make promises, though, and the relationship between Martha and Jonathan you've seen in this story is about as "romantic" as I get. I also like to keep most of my stories K or K+, though I'll occasionally push to T. I focus on Lex in most stories, but not all.)
Your reviews are much appreciated! I'm my own beta, so you're also quite welcome to PM me if you find errors.