A/N - Back from vacation and being unattached from the world. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews. Chlex is coming soon - I promise. Please keep r/r.
Parenting Lessons – Chapter 5
He pulled up the driveway and looked in the backseat. He hadn't driven the particular vehicle in years. He had always chosen the slick sports cars instead, but they didn't have room for a car seat. He had watched the nanny teach him how to properly strap in the seat and even had lowered himself to taking notes about her every move. He looked back at Julian and closed his eyes. He usually didn't sleep well, but last night was totally different. Julian wanted to eat at 4 AM, wanted changing twice, of which Lex thought he would vomit through the whole ordeal, and just plain wanted human contact the rest of the night. He thought he had heard the nanny giggle when she entered the room in the morning, finding the two fast asleep in the chair.
He looked around and wondered if anyone was home. Almost turning the keys, he saw someone move inside of the house. "Here we go." He choked at the thought of certain people and what they would think and hoped that he would get some kind on conciliatory response. Quietly, he got out of the car and unhooked the seat. He closed his eyes and knocked on the door.
"Lex, what a surprise."
"Mrs. Kent, just the person I need to talk to." He smiled at her as she looked at him quizzically.
"Lex." He watched as Jonathon Kent passed through the kitchen and glared at him. "What do you want today?" He was so hoping that Jonathon wouldn't be there; he wasn't prepared to deal with his inquisition.
Still on the other side of the door, he pursed his lips together in frustration. Jonathon looked at Martha unapprovingly at letting Lex into the house. Every time he visited, things went badly.
"Mr. and Mrs. Kent," he sighed as the two observed his almost nervous actions. "I know this might sound real strange and I am hoping that you can keep a secret for me. I realize you have every right to run to the press and ruin me like I have you so many times, but…" Lex paused as he saw Martha and Jonathon take another glance at him, watching him curiously lean ever so slightly over toward their table on the porch every so often.
"But what Lex?"
Pulling the screen door open, he entered halfway, "I could really use first your silence on the matter and second, some parenting lessons from the best in town." Lex entered the kitchen while Martha and Jonathon stood in awe of Lex with a baby in tow.
"Whose is it?" Martha asked as she took the seat from Lex and sat it on the dining table. She looked over the baby as if there was something wrong with him.
"I assure you he's perfectly healthy. I had him checked out by the best doctors this morning."
"Answer the question Lex. Where did you get a baby?" Jonathon asked suspiciously.
He looked at Jonathon's angry face and pulled his paternity test paper out of his pocket and handed it to the very skeptical man. "He's my son." Jonathon handed the paper back to Lex and looked at the baby sitting on the dining table. "I found him on the end of my driveway. Chloe is trying to track down the mother but in case I don't find her, I could really use your help. I promise I will not try to buy you off. I just am hoping you can keep this in the family so to speak. I'm not quite ready for the press fiasco."
Julian coughed, and Lex produced a leather bag that was obviously doubling now as a baby bag. Jonathon and Martha watched amused as Lex wiped Julian's chin off. "For example, Julian's had this cough and the doctors don't think it's anything. He's had it since he got to the mansion."
Lex backed up as Martha unhooked the safety harness and lifted Julian into her arms. "I'm sure it's really nothing. If he was outside for any amount of time, he might have a little cold. Just keep him warm and it'll eventually wear off." Martha walked through the house and hugged Julian as if he were his. She cooed and nuzzled him next to her as Julian's eyes followed her movements.
"That's what I mean, right there. I can barely touch him and I worry that I'll break him."
Jonathon rolled his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. "Lex, we'll keep your secret, but eventually he's going to have to leave the mansion for more than secret outings to the farm. Although, I think Martha wouldn't mind seeing another little one in the house every so often. As to the parent role," he paused looking Lex over once, "we have a lot of work to do. And this does not mean that I trust you. I'm not doing this for you – I'm doing this for him."
Lex shook his head. He would take that reasoning, and hopefully learn a lot from the only true parents he had ever met.
Martha walked back into the kitchen and set Julian down. "What's his name?"
"Julian." Martha and Jonathon both nodded silently as they looked at the little one again. "Where's Clark today?"
"He's got classes for several hours. Why?"
"Because at the moment I'm really not comfortable with Clark knowing. Every time something happens to me and I tell him to stay out of it, everyone he knows somehow gets wrapped up in my business and I'm not needing that right now."
"We have several hours." Martha reassured him as Jonathon left the room and headed upstairs briefly. She looked through the leather bag that doubled as baby bag. "You seem to have everything here that you need. You may want a baby first aid kit just in case."
She watched as Lex scribbled something on a small pad and put it back in his coat, "To be honest, the nanny packed that bag – I don't even know what's in it." Lex looked as Martha walked him through the contents and explained what is to be done when taking a baby on an outing.
"When can he fly?"
"Now, I suppose. But I wouldn't be taking him in that helicopter anytime soon."
He continued to bounce questions off of Martha while she and he both watched him. He would blow bubbles and occasionally reach for a finger. Martha explained that Julian would need to be his priority for the next few months to establish a bond. She gently squeezed his arm and reassured him that his bond would be different from his father's to him. He wasn't his father, and if he thought he was, he still had the opportunity to change.
She politely excused herself and saw Jonathon come around the corner of the stairs. "Where have you been?"
"Upstairs." Looking around the corner, he watched as Lex wipe Julian's face off again. "I'm really concerned about this. He doesn't know anything about being a father."
Martha took him by the arm and tried to calm her husband, who was ancy at best. "Neither did you when Clark came along."
"But Clark wasn't practically a newborn. And this is Lex Luthor – we've seen what he does to adults Martha."
"Maybe this will soften him up. Give him a chance." She looked up just as Julian started crying. They had noticed that Lex had gone back to looking a small pad from his jacket, reading intensely. Martha jumped and started in the kitchen but was met with a firm arm.
Looking down at her, Jonathon smiled, "Ok, I'll give him a chance." They watched out of sight while Lex removed Julian from the seat and looked around the room. Not seeing any help, Martha noticed a slight look of panic on his face.
"Jonathon."
"Just wait," he whispered as he held Martha back.
Lex grabbed up the leather bag, went into the living room and laid Julian down on the couch. Putting his knee between Julian and the edge of the couch, he removed his coat, picked up his son, and then laid him down again with his coat underneath him. "Kind of an expensive baby blanket," Martha whispered giggling.
They watched as he changed Julian; they didn't know how long he had been with Lex but was remarkably impressed. Lex, meanwhile, went over and over in his mind the points his mother had taught him when dealing with Julian, his brother. He remembered how to change diapers and somewhat how to feed. He had cared for Julian once when his parents were fighting and the help had been dismissed for the night. He rocked Julian for hours, listening to his parents argue. Cringing, he put the thought out of his mind and rearranged the hand woven blanket on the rocking chair in the living room. He pushed the leather bag over with his foot and reached for a bottle. Holding Julian in one arm, he popped the top of the bottle off and cringed when it flew to the floor. Rolling his eyes, he sat back and proceeded to feed.
Martha and Jonathon continued to gawk as Lex made all the right moves and was gentle. He wasn't at all what they thought he would be. "Martha, I may have misjudged him, but I still want to keep a close eye on that baby." She looked up at him and smiled.
She reappeared as Lex slightly smiled, "I feel like I'm doing something wrong." Martha looked at him quizzically. "I know you've been watching me – Jonathon still doesn't trust me. He would just assume me give you Julian."
"No, you haven't done anything wrong. And we were watching; parenting is about learning from your mistakes. And we'll be here to help." She laid a kitchen towel over his shoulder.
"What's that for?"
Just as she was about to answer, Julian answered for him. "That, and you may want to reconsider some of your wardrobe, at least your shirts, for awhile."
Lex partially grimaced and rolled his eyes. He watched as Martha wiped Julian's face and removed the towel. "Lex, I put together a few things upstairs that might get you started." Lex held Julian on his shoulder as he looked at the stack of materials on the table. Jonathon had pulled old parenting books and manuals. Lex looked at him and gave him an awkward smile. "Look, I know with the money you have, you could buy anything you want for him. You could have the best care for him and never have to see him. But that's not real parenting. All the expensive clothes, the fancy toys – he's not going to understand any of that for a long time." Jonathon pulled another armchair up next to Lex. "He's going to need you – to feel your heartbeat, your touch – hear your voice. This is his bonding time. Please, Lex, promise me for once, you'll do the right thing."
Lex looked directly at Jonathon and smiled, "Mr. Kent, I promise. I don't want to be my father."
"Then, you're going to be fine." Jonathon patted him on the back, shook Julian's little hand, and walked away.
Lex sat a little longer holding his son. My son, my responsibility, mine to screw up. He closed his eyes as he rocked in the chair. He now understood exactly the stress and worry that plagued his mother and why she was afraid for his brother. And now, he had burdened his own child with the same name, but hopefully not the same legacy.