Hey, guys!
Y'all, it is a miracle that this chapter even exists, lol. The weather here has been wild and it's been impossible for me to write because of it. But I told myself that I had to write this chapter before I could watch the 48 minute long video I wanted to watch, so I made myself write, lol.
I hope you guys enjoy!
Chapter Five.
To Lex's surprise, the child seemed to really like picking the apples.
He watched as Martha showed the child how to pick apples, and as the child happily let Martha pick him up multiple times for the biggest and most beautiful apples. Lex couldn't help but wonder if only men had been on the team that was testing on him, or if the child just really liked Martha.
Lex picked a handful of apples, enough to make sure that he would be able to make a couple of pies and some to eat during the work day. He let the child keep picking though. He was sure that the Kents would appreciate the help with the harvest.
"He is a sweetheart," Martha said as she walked over, but Lex could tell that she was still watching the child.
Lex smiled and nodded. "Yeah, he's something special," he said. That was all he needed to say. It didn't matter if the child was an alien or a human, he was special either way.
They stood there in silence for a few minutes as the child climbed up one of the trees. Lex wanted to stop him in fear that he would get hurt, but he didn't. He remembered what the reports had said. Without the meteor rock, the child was invencible.
"I can babysit if you would like," Martha said.
Lex turned around, pulled out of his thoughts. He hadn't thought of Martha Kent for a babysitter, but it would be a great fit. The child had already shown that he trusted her, at least enough for her to hold him. But the secret…
"Oh, I didn't mean to spring that on you," Martha backpedaled as her cheeks turned a light pink hue. "I'm sure you've already hired somebody else…"
Lex shook his head. "No, no," he said. "I haven't found anybody yet. I think he would like that though. Would you like to be his babysitter?"
Martha smiled, and Lex had the idea that he already knew her answer. He remembered that Martha and Jonathan had told him that they couldn't have children, but had always wanted one. Just by the smile on her face, Lex could tell that this was what she wanted.
"I would love to," she said. "Would you rather I stayed at your house or brought him here?"
Lex thought for a minute. There were pros and cons to each side, but if he was being honest, he cared more about whether or not the child was happy and safe.
"Wherever you would like, Mrs. Kent," he told her. "Whether that be at the mansion, or here at the farm. The choice is yours."
"Hey, Lex."
Lex turned around and grinned. "Hello, Mr. Kent," he greeted. "How are you?"
Jonathan smiled as he put down the basket he was carrying. "I'm pretty good," he said, then looked over towards the apple trees.
Lex cleared his throat. "That's my son," he said. "I brought him over so we could get some apples."
Jonathan stayed quiet, then nodded. "Did you get the apples you wanted?"
Lex nodded back, but he couldn't help but feel nervous. The pit in his stomach coming back. "Yes, Sir," he said. "We did. Thank you."
"Can I meet him?" Jonathan asked.
Lex tilted his head. He hadn't expected Jonathan to be so interested in the child. When he realized he had been quiet for too long he answered. "Oh, yeah. Of course you can meet him."
Lex watched as Jonathan walked up to the child in the tree and began to talk to him. At first, the child hid in the tree's thick branches full of leaves, but as Lex continued to watch the child began to warm up to Jonathan, to the point where he was leaning so far out of the tree that the only thing keeping him from falling was the thin branch that he was holding.
"Lex," Martha said, interrupting the silence between them as they watched Jonathan and the child bond.
"Yes, Mrs. Kent?" Lex asked as he turned away from the child to look at her.
"Would you two like to stay for dinner?" She asked. "It's getting late and I have a roast in the crockpot and a casserole in the oven. I'm sure your little boy is probably starved by now, and you must be hungry too."
"We wouldn't want to impose, Mrs. Kent," Lex hesitated. He had no idea if the child would even be able to stomach a roast and casserole… There was no way that the child had ever been fed food as good as Martha's, and Lex wondered if the seasonings would hurt the child's stomach.
"You're never imposing, Lex," she said.
Lex hesitated for another second. If the child wouldn't eat the food, then Lex would feed him when he got home. He would just tell Jonathan and Martha that the child was a picky eater if it came down to it.
"Okay," he said. It was really too hard to turn down Martha Kent's amazing cooking. "We'll stay for dinner."
As soon as Lex walked into the warm house, he knew he had made the right decision. The kitchen smelled heavenly. The savory casserole mixed with the smell of the cooked beef. The smell of onions, green beans, and mashed potatoes reminded Lex of fall.
"Are you hungry, sweetheart?" Martha asked as she bent down to look at the child.
Surprisingly to Lex, neither Martha or Jonathan seemed bothered by the fact that he hadn't actually given them the child's name.
The child nodded shyly, but didn't try to hide behind Lex.
"Wanna help me set the table?" Martha asked the child, then turned to Jonathan and Lex. "Go wash up. I've got this little one."
They nodded, and Lex followed Jonathan towards the bathroom to the sink.
"So, did you just find out about your son?" Jonathan asked as he ran his hands under the warm water.
Lex watched as the dirt rinsed off of Jonathan's hands and down into the sink drain. Lex wasn't sure that his hands had ever been that dirty, even when he had been a kid.
"Yes, Sir," he said.
"Jonathan."
Lex's head shot up. "Excuse me?" He asked.
"Call me Jonathan," he said. "You're our friend, Lex. You can call us by our names."
Lex smiled. "Thank you," he said. "And yeah… I just found out about him yesterday…"
Jonathan frowned. "Yesterday?"
Lex's smile faded, then he nodded. "He was kept a secret from me. Although I wish he hadn't been," he said, but when he really thought about it, knowing that there was a child being tortured by his father while it was still happening would have made him as bad as everyone else in the situation. He could have saved him earlier though.
Jonathan nodded as he dried his hands. "I'm sorry," he said. "At least you get to spend time with him now."
Lex nodded as he washed his hands. That's what's important. He could spend time with the child now. He wouldn't forget the past, and he would never forgive the people who had hurt the boy, but it was important that he took care of Clark now.
"Now, let's go eat," Jonathan said.
Lex nodded again, and followed Jonathan back to the table. He smiled when he saw the child placing the last fork on the table with the amount of concentration that a scientist would use when working with a radioactive isotope.
"This looks amazing, Kiddo!" Jonathan said as he placed his hands on his chair. "Good job!"
The child looked up at Jonathan with what Lex thought had to be the biggest, toothiest grin he had ever seen. He also had to admit that his heart melted just a little at the sight of it. This child was seriously the cutest thing he had ever seen.
"Thank you!" The child said, and though his voice was hardly above a whisper, the enthusiasm could be heard by everyone in the room.
Lex couldn't believe how quickly the child had opened up to the Kents. Maybe some socialization had been exactly what he had needed.
Lex helped the child up into his chair, then sat down in the chair beside him.
"This smells amazing, Martha," Jonathan said as he sat down as well.
Martha smiled. "Thank you," she said, then turned to Lex. "Would you like some casserole, dear?"
Lex nodded, then took the warm casserole dish from her hands. "Thank you, Martha," he said as he put some onto his own plate.
He turned to the child. "Hey, bud," he said and waited for the child to look up at him. "Do you want some of this?"
The child eyed it cautiously for a second, then nodded. Lex decided to give him the smallest portion possible in case he didn't like it. He didn't want to waste the Kent's food.
They continued to pass the food around until Lex could help but think that his plate looked fuller than it did on Thanksgiving.
"How's the business, Lex?" Jonathan asked.
Lex swallowed the food in his mouth, then looked down at the child. What could he say? Things had been busy, but they had also been eye opening. Without his father's death, Lex wasn't sure that he ever would have found out about the child, but he was also so busy that he hardly had time for him.
"It's been busy since my father's passing, but everything is going well," he said, deciding that it would be the safest option. "It's on an uphill trend right now. I think I'll be able to expand the company very soon."
Martha smiled. "That's great, Lex," she said. "I'm glad things are going so well for you."
Jonathan nodded. "It's good that Lionel's death didn't take a toll on the business," he said. "I have to admit that the Smallville plant has proven to be good for the economy here."
At the mention of Lionel's name, the child let out the most pitiful and heart-wrenching whimper Lex had ever heard.
"Are you okay?" Martha asked.
Lex watched as the child retreated back into his shell, and he felt himself deflate. So much progress, all destroyed by a name...
"Hey, you're okay," Lex said. He wanted to run his fingers through the child's hair the way he had earlier, but he doubted that it would help.
"Lex?" Martha asked. "Is everything alright? Is he okay?"
Lex looked up at Martha, then back at the child. He had pulled his legs to his chest and also seemed to be trying to hide his face. Somehow, the glue in his hair and the bruises scattered across his body seemed almost more noticeable to Lex.
What was Lex going to say? How could he explain the child's sudden breakdown? He had to come up with something…
"I think today's just been too long for him," Lex explained, which he had to admit was probably true. "We should probably be heading out."
Martha nodded understandingly, then stood up. "Of course," she said. "Well, let me pack you up some dessert before you go."
Lex nodded. "Thank you," he said, then turned to the child.
"Hey," he said softly as crouched down to the child's level. "You wanna go home?"
The child didn't look up at Lex, but nodded. Lex felt a small pang in his chest. Since the moment he had first met him, the child had always looked up at him when he spoke.
"Can I pick you up?" Lex asked. He knew this was a long shot, but the child had made no indication that he was going to leave the seat at the Kent's dining table.
The child hesitated for a moment, then slid out of his hair. His eyes, Lex noticed, were firmly planted on the ground.
Martha walked back over with a plastic container. "Here you go," she said as she handed it to Lex. "What time would you like me over?"
"How does 10 sound?" Lex suggested. Honestly, he didn't want to think about work right now… The thought of going back to stacks of papers and millions of calls while the child was like this seemed cruel.
Martha nodded. "Sounds good to me," she said, then looked down at the child. "Goodnight, sweetheart."
"Thank you for dinner," Lex told Jonathan and Martha as he loaded the bag of apples into the car. "I think he's just tired."
"We've all been there," Jonathan said. "Make sure he gets a good night of sleep."
"And you had better get one too," Martha added.
Lex smiled, then got into the driver's seat of his car. "Goodnight," he said.
The Kents returned his farewell, then Lex began to drive away.
The drive back was slow, and it felt as if something heavy was weighing on Lex's chest. It was almost painful how quickly things had shifted back to how they had been before.
One word. One name and the child had crawled back into the shell that he had just barely started to come out of. One name and the happy and friendly child was back to being shy, quiet, and scared.
It left Lex with at least one new question. How involved had his father been in the experiments?
Here you go! Chapter five! Both Martha AND Jonathan have been introduced, Martha is now the child's babysitter, and Lionel might have been more involved in the experiments that Lex had previously thought! Please follow, fave, and review! I would love to know what you thought!
Thanks for reading! Love y'all!