Lex had been watching Leah for several months now. He had a lot of fun with his daughter they had gone to parks and to the zoo many times over the course of those months. Lex's office desk was now filled with pictures of Leah he had so many that he could barely work there anymore. He had tried to move some to his bookshelf but that hadn't worked so well he liked to be able to look up and see her smiling at him. The pictures made him feel like he was with her.
Lex and Leah were now waiting for Chloe to get home. Lex was anticipating her arrival because he had something that he wanted to ask her. He was afraid that she was going to say no to his suggestion but he was hoping she wouldn't.
When the door opened to the house and Chloe walked in Leah did her ritual of greeting her mother and telling her that she missed her. Once their greeting was over Lex looked at Chloe. "I have something to talk to you about." He said glancing towards Leah hoping Chloe would get the hint and send Leah upstairs for a little while.
Chloe noticed his glance towards Leah and she knew that he didn't want her there for their talk. "Leah, why don't you go upstairs and play."
"Okay." Leah said and headed up the stairs she knew that her mommy and Lex didn't want her there although she was curious as to why. But she was told to obey what her mommy asked and so she resisted sitting on the steps to listen to them.
Chloe looked up the stairs knowing her daughter liked to eavesdrop on them. Once she noticed that she had gone to her room she turned towards Lex. "What's up?" He hadn't really asked to talk to her the whole time that he had been watching Leah. They were polite to each other but they never talked without Leah being in the room.
"I want to take her for the weekend." Lex looked at Chloe and tried to read her face as she processed his words.
"I don't think that is a good idea." Chloe didn't want him taking her to his mansion it was too big and last she knew there were still people breaking into it. Also she knew that Lex liked to have his beer and she didn't want Leah getting into that.
Lex could see the fear that she held in her eyes. "Look, I already have a room ready for her and I have a great security team. Plus I have a safe room built into my bedroom and her room would be right across from mine. I also don't have any alcohol around the mansion I've stopped drinking as much as I used too. I have a scotch every now and then but there is none in the mansion and I promise not to drink at all when she is over."
"It's still not a great idea Lex."
"All I am asking for is a weekend Chloe. If something goes wrong I won't take her again I swear." Lex looked at her with hopeful eyes.
Chloe could see in Lex's eyes that this was what he really wanted and Leah knew him well enough to trust spending the night at his home. But Chloe had never gone a night without having her daughter around. She also realized that Leah needed to spend this time with Lex since he was her father. "Alright but I don't want this to become a regular thing. I mean you can take her for one weekend a month or something if this works out."
"Thank you Chloe. You don't know how much this means to me."
"I think I do Lex. I'll call to see how she is doing and to tell her goodnight." Chloe couldn't imagine not being able to tuck her daughter in like she did every night, and she felt a pain in her chest just thinking about it.
"I wouldn't expect anything less. So I'll pick her up tomorrow then?" Since today was Friday he knew that he probably should've asked earlier in the week.
Chloe didn't realize that the weekend had come so quickly. She had no idea what she was going to do with her time tomorrow since she always had the weekends off so she could spend time with her daughter. "Yes of course what time will you be here?"
"Around eight by the time we get back to Smallville it will be about ten."
"Okay I will have her bag packed and have her ready for you. I also have to give you my car seat."
"Alright I'll be here tomorrow then. If she gets too scared at the mansion I will bring her straight home no matter what time you have my word." He told her with sincerity in his eyes.
"Thank you Lex, but first let's make sure that she wants to go. Leah come down and say goodbye to Lex." She called up the stairs as her daughter clambered down the stairs. Then Chloe knelt down in front of Leah. "Would you like to stay the night with Lex tomorrow?"
"Yes!" Leah said with her eyes lighting up and a huge grin on her face.
"Alright then I'll see you tomorrow." Lex told Leah as he knelt down when the girl started running towards him. They gave each other a bear hug and Leah pecked his check beaming. She had never done that before and Lex was surprised yet happy at the same time. He was finally getting the chance to love his daughter and for her to love him back even if she didn't know that he was her father. Lex then set Leah down on the floor and ruffled her hair. "See you kiddo, goodbye Chloe." He told them as he went out the door hearing Chloe's soft goodbye. He had seen the shock in Chloe's eyes when Leah had given him a small kiss and he guessed that she was still surprised.
Lex then walked over to his car and he couldn't help but wondered if David even really existed. In all the months that he had been watching Leah he had never seen the man. He would even ask Leah what time he came home and she would shrug. Leah did talk about him tucking her into bed sometimes or she would say that he had made breakfast for them. Lex realized that David didn't really have a set schedule and he was home at all different times. Lex wondered why Chloe didn't get annoyed with him then since she had obviously gotten sick of the way he would leave at all different times. He put that out of his mind though and thought about being able to finally tucking Leah in himself. This thought made him very happy and he couldn't wait to have Leah for the weekend.
Once he got back to the mansion however he found Lana standing with his butler Edward. "What's up Lana I don't have much time." Lex was going to go to Gary's house to see who he had given the letter too. It had taken him months just to find his old employee and he couldn't wait to get his hands on this information. However was responsible for taking that letter was going to pay in some way. They had taken his chance to be in his daughter's life and she would be calling him daddy.
"I was just wondering if I could go get another book I finished the one I got from you last week." Lana said handing him the book.
"Sure but make it fast I'm going to be leaving again once I check my email." Lex told her taking the book and walking into his office and placing the book in its rightful place. She had been taking forever lately getting a book and had been asking him all kinds of questions. He really could care less about the girl and he didn't understand why she kept showing up.
"I know exactly which one I want this time so it will be quick." Lana beamed at him and went over to the bookshelf and got the one she wanted. "See you Lex." Lana said as she walked out of the office.
Lex checked his emails and sent a few messages back to his top employees of what needed to get done and what updates he needed. Then he shut off his computer and went back out to his Porsche to take go to Metropolis.
Once he pulled up to Gary's house he wondered why it had taken his team so long to find him since he was only a few blocks away from his penthouse. He parked on the side of the street closest to the house and he could see Gary's wife Jennifer gardening. She had turned when she heard the car pull over and she gave Lex a small wave. Lex got out of his car and walked over to her. "Mr. Luthor what are you doing here?"
"Call me Lex, Jennifer and I'm here to see Gary." Once he said that he could see the sadness in the woman's eyes.
"Gary passed away five months ago."
"Oh Jennifer I'm so sorry I wish I had known I would've paid my respects. Gary was one of the most trustworthy employees I ever had. What happened to him?"
"He had a heart attack and I guess the fact that you didn't know is my fault I had a hard time dealing with his grief so I didn't really tell anyone. So it wasn't in the papers or anything, it was just too hard saying it let alone giving his obituary to a newspaper."
"I'm so sorry to hear that. If there is anything I can do for you please let me know." Lex could tell that Jennifer was still going through a rough time.
"What did you want to talk to Gary about?" She was curious what Lex Luthor wanted from her late husband.
"About a letter that was supposed to be given to me but was given to someone else. I know he wouldn't have given it to just anyone so I wanted to find out who it was." Lex knew that Jennifer would have no clue about this letter or who he gave it too. So all the hope that he had left of finding out who had gotten the letter was now gone.
"I'm sorry I can't help you." She told him sincerely. Gary hardly ever talked about his work.
"That's fine I'm sure I can find another way to find out. It was nice to see you again Jennifer I hope things get better for you."
"Thank you Lex it was nice to see you again as well." Jennifer gave him a small smile and then watched the man as he walked back to his car. She knew that she would probably never see him again.
Lex drove back to the mansion disappointed he had really hoped that he could solve this mystery. He knew that there had to be other ways to find out what had happened to the letter that Chloe had given Gary. Once Lex got back to his mansion he worked late into the night knowing that he would need to get things that he usually did over the weekend done tonight. He wasn't about to work when he had Leah she was a lot to keep up with and the mansion wasn't exactly childproof. There were many staircases that she could fall down on and many places to get lost or get locked in accidently. He was defiantly going to have to keep his eyes on Leah the whole time she was in his care. After Lex was done with his work he headed upstairs to get some sleep before he would have to wake up again to get Leah.
When Lex was knocking on Chloe's door the next morning he couldn't help but wonder if he would've looked for Chloe if she hadn't had his child. He thought that he would have sooner or later because without her he had shut down and all of his dreams were consumed of memories of him and Chloe together. Although he still loved Chloe with all of his heart he wasn't about to force her to come back to him. If she was happy with David then he would have to accept that fact and hope that sooner or later she would come back to him.
When Chloe's door opened he saw Leah smiling at him. She opened the door more when she saw that it really was him and he stepped inside the living room. "Hi." Lex told her kneeling down and touching her face.
"Hi." She beamed back at him. "We have fun?"
"Yeah we'll have fun just like we always do right?" He smiled at her hoping that this weekend would go well for them. Lex wanted this relationship with his daughter more than anything else in this world.
Leah shook her head and then turned when she saw her mom climbing down the stairs with a bag in her hands. She looked at Lex and gave him a weak smile she still didn't know how to act around him. Chloe wanted him around for Leah but being near him always overwhelmed her in many different ways. "I packed some extra clothes just in case she spills something on them or anything." She told Lex giving him the bag. "I have the car seat on the porch do you know how to hook it up?" Lex looked at her with a blank stare that was probably one of the things he couldn't do. "I'll help you." Chloe sighed and she took Leah's hand and they went out to her car with Lex caring the car seat. Chloe showed him how to put the car seat in since she knew this probably wouldn't be the only time Lex would want to take Leah. Then Chloe turned to her daughter who was waiting on the sidewalk close to the car. "Have fun okay and I'll see you again tomorrow." Chloe smiled at her daughter even though her heart was breaking inside.
"I will." She told Chloe and then gave her a hug. "Love you mommy."
"I love you too baby." Chloe squeezed her back tightly then she placed her into the car seat and buckled her up.
Lex had put Leah's bag in the trunk of his car and then turned to Chloe. "I'll take good care of her." He told her knowing that she was worried.
"I know you will. Drive slow okay and have her call me before she goes to bed." Even though Leah wouldn't be here with her she still wanted to tell her goodnight. "If she gets scared…"
"I'll bring her straight back I promise." Lex interrupted her knowing what she was going to say.
"Thank you Lex."
"See you tomorrow Chloe. What time would you like her home?"
"Six is fine if that's good for you."
"That's fine." He smiled at Chloe and gave her a wave then got in the driver's seat. Lex then watched as Chloe crossed the street and went to her yard she waved to Leah and Leah waved back. Then Lex drove slowly down the street. He had already planned on driving the speed limit. Lex could care less if his speeding caused harm to himself but he wasn't about to let any harm come to the small child who sat in the back of his car.
"Too fast." Leah told him when they were on the highway and it was fifty five.
"I'm doing the speed limit." He told her glancing back on his review mirror.
"Too fast." She told him again.
Lex sighed but he took his foot of the gas and did fifty instead. "Is that better?"
"No slower." Leah told him her eyes were looking scared.
So he went slower and Leah was only happy again when he was doing thirty on the highway. "At this speed we will never get to SmallVille." He told the girl with a smirk.
"Small ill?" She asked never hearing anything like that before. She thought it was a silly name and so she laughed after she said it.
"Yes that is where I live and it's Ville not ill." Lex told her knowing that Chloe corrected her as well when she said words wrong.
"Oh okay."
After they had talked for awhile about what she had done last night and other things that had come out randomly, Lex noticed that she had grown quiet. So he glanced in his review mirror and saw the child sleeping. Lex then stepped on the gas and did the speed limit for the first time in an hour. It usually took Lex two hours to get to Chloe's but for this trip it took him three and half hours to get to his mansion. When he got there he heard Leah start to stir. Once the car was shut off she rubbed her eyes and looked at Lex. "We here?" She asked him sleepily.
"Yes we are here." Lex told her and got out of the car. He moved to the side she was on and undid the straps that held her in which took him a few minutes to undue then he lifted her up and held her in his arms.
Leah turned in his arms and glanced up at the building which in her eyes looked ten times bigger than the mansion really was. "Huge." She said with wide eyes when she took in the whole view of the mansion.
"Yeah it's pretty big." He said as he smiled at her. "Do you want to get down so I can get your bag?"
"Yes." So Lex set her down and then he got out Leah's bag from the trunk of his car.
"I'll show you where your room is so we can put your bag in there. Don't worry though your room is right across from mine." Lex took her hand while holding the bag in his other hand.
"Okay." She told him brightly she had started waking up faster when she saw the mansion.
Lex led her up a flight of stairs and then took her down a long hallway. The whole time they were walking Leah was looking at the tall ceilings and the paintings on the walls. Then he stopped in front of a door and pushed it open. "Here it is." Lex flicked on the lights and then he could see Leah's mouth open wide.
Leah looked at the room that was painted like the outdoors with butterflies all over the leaves of trees and on the grass. "Butterflies!" She said excitedly and started running around the room touching each one. Then she turned towards Lex her eyes were shinning even more than they usually were. "Thank you."
"You're welcome I'm glad you like it." He had loved watching her get so excited, he had hoped that he would get this reaction. "I got you a night light I wasn't sure if you used one or not but I figured since this is a new place you might want it." He pointed to the butterfly night light he had gotten her and she saw her smile. All of her bedding was made to match her walls. She also had a bookshelf that was painted to blend in. Except there were no books in it and there were no toys in the toy box that were in the room.
"No toys?" She asked with disappointment.
"I thought that we should go pick those out together." Lex hadn't wanted to get anything that Leah wouldn't like so he figured he would wait until she got her.
"Where?" Her eyes asked him beaming she hardly ever went anywhere to get toys. Most of the toys she had had come in bags that were dropped off by her mommy's friends from work.
"Well I know this great toy store that we can go to." Lex said smiling at the girl as her eyes grew wide. "Have you ever been to one?"
"No." She told him sadly. "Now please?" She asked looking at him with her bright eyes hoping that he would say yes. She couldn't wait to get new toys she rarely got them.
"Of course it's only a few minutes away." Thank goodness Lex thought because he didn't want to go somewhere far away when Leah would only let him go thirty.
"Okay." She took his hand and they walked back the way they had come and Lex placed Leah back in her car seat once they had gotten outside. He figured out how to buckle her up fairly quickly and then he hopped in the driver's seat and started to head to the toy store that had been built only a few weeks ago.
Once they got there he got Leah out and they walked in together. He knew that there were paparazzi around and he couldn't care less. When they were inside the toy store Leah was so excited that she started running around through every part of the store. Lex followed her through the store with a cart and laughed as he watched her. Then he saw her pick up one thing and put it into the cart. "All done." She told him with a smile she had never been allowed to get more than one thing at a time except on Christmas when there was lots of presents under the tree and she was allowed to have them all.
"That's all you want? You can get more you know." Lex told her and finally realized how hard Chloe's situation was. It wasn't Chloe's fault that she couldn't get Leah the things she wanted it was his. He should've been there to help Chloe and he felt guilty about Leah going back and telling Chloe about everything he had gotten for her.
"Really?" Her eyes beamed as she went over to the doll aisle and started grabbing things off the shelf wondering just how much she was allowed to get. When Lex didn't say anything about the toys she had put into the cart she started to get more.
Once the cart was full of toys and stuffed animals Lex looked at Leah. "Let's get some books."
"Ok." Leah smiled she had never gotten this much stuff before.
Leah helped him pick out the best children's books since she recognized the covers of the books that she had at her house. Once they were done and Lex had checked out Leah looked at him her eyes beaming with gratitude. "Thank you." She told him hugging him tightly.
"You're welcome." Lex told her as he put the bags of toys into the trunk of his car. Then he lifted Leah up and buckled her into her seat.
Then they drove back to the mansion and Leah helped Lex carry all of her new toys up to her room. Once they were there Lex opened up all the toys while Leah started playing with everything as he got it out of the boxes. Once he opened all of her toys he put the books he had gotten her on her bookshelf and lined up her stuffed animals on her bed. "You know we aren't going to do this every time you come here right? You have enough toys to last you a lifetime." Lex told her as he laughed at all the empty boxes that covered the room.
"Okay." She told him, she was just happy with everything she had gotten today.
Lex then picked up all of the boxes, and twist ties and threw them into a bag then he walked out into the hallway. "Maria, can you throw this out please?" He asked the woman who was cleaning the bedrooms.
"Of course Mr. Luthor." She told him as she took the bag from him and went to throw it away.
Then Lex turned back towards Leah it was about time for lunch. "Would you like some lunch?" Lex asked her pretty sure he knew her answer.
"Yes." She said as she stood up and followed him down the stairs to the dining room. Lex had made sure to ask his cook to make some kid friendly meals. Once they were seated at the table the cook brought over some chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes with some steamed carrots and broccoli. They both ate in silence; Lex had realized that when Leah sat down for a meal that was the only time she was quiet during the day.
Once they were done with lunch Lex realized that his dad was going to come over. So he took Leah into his office. She went straight to his chair and smiled when she saw all of his pictures of her. After she had finished admiring the pictures she started spinning around in his chair. He watched her as he giggled at Leah; Lex was always amazed how the simplest things could make her the happiest. In this way Leah acted like her mother, Chloe never wanted anything extravagant she was always happy with a simple dinner with just the two of them. Other woman had demanded more a night at the most lavish restaurant or having him buy them the most expensive thing they could find.
At that moment his dad had walked into the room. When Leah saw him after stopping in the chair for a minute she ran behind Lex and hid from him. She remembered him coming to her house and her mommy not liking the fact that he was there.
"Hi dad." Lex told him and then he looked at Leah. "It's okay." Lex told Leah and took her hand.
"It's nice to see you again Leah." Lionel said as he gave the girl a small smile. "I brought you all the paperwork that you asked for." Lionel told his son as he handed him the folder that he had brought.
"Thank you dad." Lex told him as he took the folder and sifted through it making sure everything was there.
"You still don't trust me?" Lionel looked at his son with hurt in his eyes.
"I believe that people change dad but I need time to actually believe it. I'm sure you can understand that?" Lex looked at him while he held Leah's hand, she wasn't about to let go of it.
"I just wish that you would trust the fact that I have changed for the better. But I'll go and let you two have more time together. I'm glad Chloe let you have her for the weekend. Has she told her yet?" Lionel looked at Lex knowing in his eyes that Chloe had yet to tell the child that Lex was her father.
"I'll see you later dad." Lex told him knowing that his father already knew the answer.
"Bye Lex, Leah." He told them and then he walked out of the mansion.
After Lionel left Lex took Leah back to her room and they played with her new toys until it was dinner time. After dinner Lex noticed that Leah was getting tired she kept rubbing her eyes and so Lex thought that it was time for her to get ready for bed.
"Why don't you go put your pajamas on for bed?" Lex asked her once they had walked back to her room.
"I can't." She told him as she looked up at him.
"You don't know how to dress yourself?" Lex asked her as she shook her head no. So Lex dug in her bag and found her some pajamas and helped her put them on. "We have to call your mom so she can say goodnight." Lex told her as he got out his phone and dialed Chloe's number. He handed the phone over to Leah once he had told Chloe that Leah was ready for bed.
"Goodnight mommy." Leah told her and then listened for a few minutes. "Love you too." Leah said and then she said goodbye and handed Lex the phone. Lex told her goodnight and then looked at Leah. "Book?" Leah asked him once she had finished talking to her mom and pointed to the bookshelf.
"Sure go get one and I'll read it to you." Leah ran over to her bookshelf and came back with The Little Engine That Could. Then she got up on the bed and handed the book to Lex. She listened intently to the book while he read it to her. Once it was done Lex turned on her nightlight. "Goodnight Leah. If you need anything remember I'm right across the hall." He told her with a smile.
"Goodnight." She told him as she got under the covers and Lex pulled them up for her. Then he turned off her light and left the door open. After that he went to his room to look through the paperwork his dad had given him and then he was going to go to bed as well.
In the middle of the night Lex was awakened by screams. He soon realized that they were from Leah and he rushed into her room. He turned on the light and saw Leah tossing and turning in her sleep. Lex went over and shook Leah awake knowing that she was just having a bad dream. Leah looked up at Lex her eyes were filled with freight.
"Are you okay?" Lex asked her as he ran his fingers through her hair. Leah shrugged her shoulders and looked at him. "Do you want to go home?" He looked at her hoping that she wasn't spooked at being with him.
"No." She told him quietly. "Stay." Leah told him gripping his arm.
"Alright just let me turn the light off okay?" Lex looked at her, and he was glad that she hadn't had a bad dream about being with him. Then he got up and turned the light off and went back over to her. "Do you want to tell me what you had a bad dream about?"
"No." She told him and buried her head into his chest and he held her to him.
When Lex woke up in the morning Leah was staring at him her eyes no longer held the fear that had been there last night. "Are you better now?" Lex asked her as Leah started getting out of bed.
"Yes." She said as she looked at him. "Mommy." She told him as she looked towards the door.
"Do you want to go home early?" Lex asked her as he stood next to her.
"Yes." Leah said and looked at him.
"Alright we will eat breakfast and then we will go." Although it broke his heart that Leah didn't want to stay longer he knew that she hadn't been out of her mother's care for a night before. Lex took Leah down to the dining room and had her eating the breakfast that was ready for them. Then Lex took out his cell phone and dialed Chloe's number. "Hi Chloe." He told her when he heard her say hi. "I'm going to take Leah home soon."
"Why is she scared there?" Chloe asked him she had secretly hoped that Leah wouldn't like being there over the night so she wouldn't have to have Lex take her again.
"I don't think so I think she just misses you." Lex said as he looked at Leah eating and Leah shook her head yes at him, telling him that she did just miss her mom.
"Alright well I will be here." Chloe told him and then they both said goodbye.
After Leah had got done eating they went back upstairs and Lex helped Leah get dressed for the day. Then he got dressed and went back over to Leah's room. She was hugging one of her dolls that they had gotten yesterday. "You can take that home if you want." Lex told her seeing that Leah didn't want to leave it behind.
"Okay." She told him and she put it into her bag.
Lex then zipped the bag up and took the bag and Leah down to the car. He buckled her up in the car seat and then put her bag in the trunk and they took the long drive back to her house. During this trip Leah didn't say much, Lex thought it was because she was still tired. Once they started getting close to Chloe's house though Leah started to perk up. Once they were at her house she was in a hurry to get out of her seat. She tried to undue herself but couldn't. "Hold on I'll get you out." Lex told her as he unbuckled her. "Wait there okay. I have to get your seat and your bag and you can't cross the road by yourself." Leah shook her head at him and waited while he got out her bag and then took her car seat out of her car. He put the bag and the car seat together in one hand and then took her other hand and crossed the street with her.
Once they were on her lawn Leah let go of Lex's hand and ran to the door and threw it open. "Mommy!." Leah said as she ran into the house.
Chloe emerged in the doorway when Lex was in the doorway with car seat and Leah's bag. "You can just set them down right there." Chloe told him pointing next to the door.
Lex set them down and then he looked at Chloe and saw the cut on her face. "What happened?" Lex asked her suddenly.
"I got cut on a nail when I was looking for something in the cupboards. I didn't even see it hanging out of the wood." Chloe told him while she looked at him.
"You sure he didn't…"
"No Lex if he was doing that sort of thing I would've left him. You know I wouldn't put up with that especially with Leah around." Chloe told him sternly. "We just had a fight and I wasn't paying attention that's all." Chloe didn't feel like Lex was making her tell him this but she needed to tell someone what had been going on in her life lately.
"Okay Chloe I just wanted to make sure. I do still care about you."
"How was she I mean other than missing me?" Chloe asked him as she looked at her daughter in her arms.
"She had a nightmare last night it was a bad one. I asked her if she wanted to go home then but she said she didn't. Other than that she was fine the whole time." Lex said smiling at Leah glad that they had gotten to spend a lot more time together than they usually did.
"Lex stayed." Leah told Chloe as she smiled at him.
"She didn't want me to leave when she had her nightmare." Lex explained to Chloe. "So I'll see you on Tuesday then, since tomorrow is a holiday?" Lex looked at Chloe waiting for her answer.
"Yeah Tuesday will be fine." Then Chloe set Leah down knowing that her daughter would want to say goodbye to Lex.
"Bye." Leah said as she hugged him tightly as he picked her up. "We have fun." Leah told him as he set her down.
"We did have fun. I let her keep a doll I gave her it's in her bag just so you don't think she got it from somewhere else." Lex told Chloe so she didn't worry about it.
"Alright thank you Lex. Bye." Chloe told him as she opened up the door and let him out. Leah and Chloe then watched Lex get into his car and leave.