Bad news really does travel fast. It didn't even take an entire twenty-four hours to pass before Clark Kent came looking for her. After spending the rest of the afternoon and early evening with the babies, Lana returned home early. She'd had dinner with Lex at Luthorcorp and been given the go-ahead to start work on designing another nursery next to the other. No reason to stuff them all in one room when the mansion had so many to spare. She hummed to herself while trying a color scheme to go with.

"Another nursery?" came the familiar voice behind her. Lana turned to see Clark's puppydog eyes staring back at her, demanding an explanation.

"You are really going to have to start calling first before just dropping in for a visit," she said in a calm voice. The instant her eyes met his, she felt her pulse begin to race and she fought hard to keep herself under control. So much had changed since the last time they'd seen each other. Her entire life had turned upside down in a matter of mere weeks with not only the babies to think of, but her future with Lex as well. Not seeing Clark had been much easier.

"Lana, what's going on?" Clark asked with concern. Her throat went dry, and she felt terrible for what she was about to say. Clark was the last person she ever wanted to hurt, but . . .

"I'm pregnant again," she said evenly. The many months of living as a Luthor made it easier to lie so convincingly, but it didn't make her feel any better about it. Clark's face dropped as if he'd been punched in the gut at the news. She watched as the emotions crossed his face clear as day- disbelief, shock, sadness. A wave of guilt crashed over, forcing her to begin chattering nervously. "Well I wanted to build a new nursery since the old one had so many bad memories attached to it and all. Didn't seem right to put another baby in there . . ."

"But there was no other baby," Clark interrupted.

She paused, suddenly unsure as to what to say. Should she tell him about the mistake that was made and expose the babies to his scrutiny? In doing so, how many other people would find out about them? No, it was best to keep them a secret, lest people begin to question them too closely.

"That was a mistake," she told him. He began shaking his head, but she continued. "The fetus was preserved for autopsy at the hospital, and I had three separate labs run DNA tests on it to be sure that it was mine. I really was pregnant Clark. Lex didn't do anything wrong." Clark's blank face told her that she was doing well enough, and so she kept going. "I blamed Lex for something that he didn't do, and became bitter about it. That wasn't fair of me, and I'm trying to make ammends." The only piece of honesty in her explanation left Lana feeling a little too exposed, and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself for comfort.

"Lana, it could still be a lie. Let me check. I can see through things, I could see if you're pregnant or not."

"No!" she shouted a little louder than she expected to. He looked stunned.

"Lana . . ." he tried.

"Clark," she said in an effort to cover up her outburst. "You don't know what that could do to me, or to the baby. I couldn't take it if I lost another one."

"I don't think it would hurt you."

"I'm not going to chance it," she said with finality in her voice. He looked down at the floor in thought, and she held her arms around her middle tighter. If he looked through her, he'd be able to tell that she was not pregnant. It was obvious to her that she was going to have to stay away from him at least during the duration of her "pregnancy." The silence between them was long and uncomfortable, and Lana began to get antsy. "You need to go," she told him quietly. "Lex will be home soon

"So you're going to stay with him," he asked sadly. She pushed down on a pang of regret and doubt.

"He's my husband," she answered. "We're having another baby, and I want to do it right this time." Again, honesty.

He sighed, and without a word disappeared down the hall to leave. She both wanted him to come back and never come back again and the confusion left her feeling drained. Unable to concentrate on decorating, she sank down against the wall to the floor, laying her head against her knees.

Lex was less than thrilled about the news of their visitor. Clark had not only been seen by a staff member in the main hall, but he'd also been caught on three different security cameras. Lana sat cross legged in the middle of their bed as Lex paced the floor still dressed in his suit and tie. The look he gave her wasn't unexpected, but it was still upsetting. For the first time in months where Clark was concerned, there truly hadn't been anything going on.

"What did he want," asked Lex as he traveled the length of the room for the third time. She almost smiled at the thought that he could wear down the carpet soon, but she clamped down on that one.

"He just wanted to see how I was doing," she answered truthfully. If they gave out awards for honesty, she'd be all over that sucker today.

"He couldn't have called?"

She did smile this time. "That's not the Clark Kent way." He accepted that, and finally began removing his tie and cuff links.

"And what did he say?" he asked.

"He saw me working in the new nursery, and he asked about it." She paused. "I told him that I was pregnant again."

Lex looked over at her in surprise, and then turned back to the bureau, slipping his watch off of his wrist and laying it down. Lex's expressions were always so completely unreadable, and so Lana learned to read his body language for clues. Though his back was to her, the rigid line he'd been holding himself up with relaxed a bit, and she decifered this as good news.

"So who do we talk to about getting me a fake belly?" she asked teasingly.

He glanced at her over his shoulder briefly to say, "I'm surprised you said that. You could have just told him that we were planning to adopt."

"I know, but I want to be able to call at least one of them ours for real," she answered. "I'm sure there will be one that we can pass off as the right age by then."

"Should be." He pulled his shirt off over his head and flung it into a chair. As he removed the rest of his clothes, she focused on her fingernails, pretrending to be lost in thought. The encounter with Clark earlier had left her feeling raw, and she wasn't quite sure that she felt up to any after-dark shennanigans tonight. Lex left to shower, and she fell backwards into the pillows and growled at herself. Why must she constantly feel guilty? When would the pity party stop, and her life finally begin?

"Right now," she told herself, jumping up out of the bed. If she really was going to dedicate herself to this life, she needed to move on from the person she used to be. Give up on those past hurts, and be this new person as best she could. She didn't know how that could ever be possible, but it must start with Lex.

She stepped into the bathroom and watched him through the clear shower door. He had both of his hands up against the wall, bracing his weight against them with his head down, eyes either closed or looking at the floor. All three sprayers were pointed towards his neck and back to relieve tension, and she felt bad suddenly to have caused him yet again to be upset. She pushed thoughts of herself away, and slipped out of her nightgown and panties. When she opened the shower door and stepped inside, he looked surprised, and in his eyes she caught a rare glimpse of vulnerability. Clark always did this to him. He was so good at that.

Lana wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss, her wet body pressing up against his. His hands wound their way around her back and the curve of her hip and pulled her in even closer, the space between them non existent. "I love you," he whispered. A thrill passed through her body as she felt him legnthen and harden against her belly. "I love you too," she said softly, and though she'd said it often since they'd been married, this time felt much more truthful.

The fake belly turned out to be something that Lana really enjoyed. She decided that this time she would gain weight faster, and so by "10 weeks" she had a visible baby bump for all to see. Hordes of photographers captured her image and beamed the pictures around the globe. It was kind of nice to get the attention of being pregnant, without actually having to go through it. The belly stayed on at all times, even in the mansion in front of the staff so that there was no chance for the truth to get out. The only time she took it off was in her bedroom, but when Lex wasn't there, she gazed at it through the mirror, imagining the pregnancy to be true. It sort of was.

Lana still spent a great amount of time at the lab with the babies. Several more had died, and this began to greatly worry and sadden her. Why did they suddenly just take a turn for the worst? Did they somehow know that the way they were brought into the world wasn't right? Was there something wrong with them? Or with her or Lex's genes? She tried asking him these questions, but he usually just got aggitated and ended the conversation. Looking to get answers out of him was an impossible task, and so she decided it was time to revisit Loose Lips Luthor.

Lionel had been a person that she avoided ever since he told her about the lab. It bothered her the he knew something that she didn't, and upset her that he kept it to himself as long as he did. Why not tell her sooner if it was so important? Did he not know? Would he not be able to help? She decided to try anyway since he would unfortunately be a grandfather very soon.

"Ah, Mrs. Luthor," he exclaimed with a bright, false smile as she stepped into his guest house. He shut the door behind her and offered her a seat. "Wouldn't want you to tire yourself out," he said sarcasticly. She ignored him and sat down, looking at him intently as he seated himself across from her. "May I offer you anything? Tea?"

"No, thank you," she said, glancing around herself. "I was wondering if you could help shed some light on something for me," she said. He nodded, and she continued. "The babies in the lab. . .are they sick? Why do they keep dying? It seems so sudden that they just wink out like that right before they're full term."

Lionel smiled sadly and shook his head. "What are you doing Lana?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

"What do you mean?"

"Just like Lex. You become so emotionally distracted that you completely miss the bigger picture."

"Lionel, if you have something to say, don't play games with me. Just say it."

"I don't believe that I am the one playing games with you," he answered curtly, rising to go into the kitchen. He came back with a cup of tea for himself, and one for her as well. She took it and set it down on the table.

"Lionel," she warned.

He smirked over his cup at her. "The real question you should be asking yourself is not why they keep dying, but where they're being buried." He nodded, taking another sip. "Yes, I should think that would be a great deal of help."

The thought had occured to her, but she hadn't realized it was important. "Where are they buried?" she asked, feeling frustrated.

"First answer me something," he said, and she could have screamed. "Why are you continuing to play house with Lex?"

"Is that not what you wanted when you forced me to marry him?"

"I did that so you would keep an eye on him," he answered. "Is that what you're doing now?" The answer was no, and he could see it in her eyes. "You're playing with fire my dear."

"You still haven't answered my question," she reminded him. Why had she ever considered him to be a trustworthy person? It seemed that he only told the truth when it either amused or benefitted him.

Lionel snickered in that Cheshire way of his that she hated. "Well," he began. "It's quite obvious my dear, that the answer to your question is that they're not. Those babies are not being buried anywhere."

Shock rang through her ears as she tried to process what he was telling her. Without having to ask, he indulged her by adding, "You can't bury what isn't dead."