Hey, guys!

So, sorry this took so long. The good news is that even though this took forever, the rest of this part is now completely planned out, so HOPEFULLY the chapters happen more often.

I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Sixteen.

Lex sat on his bed and looked through a file that he had never wanted to look through ever again.

Alistair had basically spelled out to him the fact that Clark was the key to Project Asclepius, but Lex wasn't sure how. What made his son a miracle drug? How did that even work?

Lex flipped another page and continued to read. Even if what Alistair had told him was true, he was never going to force any sort of testing on Clark. If at some point, when Clark was an adult and he wanted to do that, then Lex would help him. But not yet.

Day 702: The blood sample from the lab came back. The subject's blood has potential healing powers. Will do more research on this.

Day 715: Subject's blood is not only a cure for every disease known to man, but when mixed with the green meteor rock, it becomes the most potent poison known to man. A drug like this could rule the world.

Rule the world.

Lex swallowed, but it didn't help the dryness in his throat. Suddenly, everything made a bit more sense. The reason why Alistair wanted Clark back so badly, the reason why everything had unfolded the way it did, the reason Project Asclepius existed in the first place.

Project Asclepius wasn't just some charity or good Samaritan work, it was a double sided sword. When people could be persuaded with medicine, he would send it. When they couldn't be, he could send the poison. At some point, Alistair could start making his own diseases and be the savior who heals whatever poor country he had infected.

Alistair could not get a hold of Clark. It couldn't happen for so many reasons, but this was a completely new one to add to the list.

Lex set the folder down, then picked up his phone. He began to dial a number that he knew would be a gamble. This entire thing would be a gamble. If he was lucky, everything would work out correctly, if not…

Lex shook his head. He didn't have time to think of what if's.

"Hello?" The man on the other end answered.

Lex leaned back against his pillows, though he was in no way relaxed or comfortable. "I need to cash in that favor," he said.

"What am I doing?" The man asked.

Lex cleared his throat, then looked around the room. He knew it wasn't bugged, but that didn't do much to settle his nerves. "Breaking into WylieTech."

"No!"

Martha ran from her room to the room that Clark slept in. She didn't bother with putting on a bathrobe over her nightgown or bedroom slippers on her cold feet, she just needed to get to Clark.

She rushed over to his bed and winced at what she saw.

Clark was thrashing in his sleep and twisting to get away from whatever creature plagued his nightmares. Tears and screams escaped him too, though he couldn't escape the nightmare.

Martha gently shook his shoulder as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Clark, sweetie," she said. "Wake up."

The child stopped thrashing, then looked around. When he realized where he was, he started to cry.

Martha reached out and pulled him into her lap. She wished that she was able to cuddle all of the pain away. She wished that soothing words would help the poor child. She wished…

She wished that Lex was here.

After a moment though, the cries began to settle down and Clark curled up to her. He was getting better with touch from her, and Martha had begun to learn that he liked to be cuddled when he did allow the touch.

Martha began to rock back and forth with Clark in her arms, then sighed. At this point, it almost wasn't worth it for the two of them to go back to sleep. Plus, the cows needed to be milked.

"Hey," she began as she shifted Clark in her arms. "Wanna go learn how to milk cows?"

"Okay," Clark said, and Martha wasn't sure if he didn't want to do it or if he was just tired.

She grinned, then carried him downstairs and put him in his coat. She had the feeling that it would start snowing any day now, and she didn't want to get the child too cold.

They walked quietly to the barn, then Martha began to clean the cow. "C'mere, so I can show you how," she said softly.

Clark took a couple steps closer to her. "Bonnie?" He asked.

Martha nodded as she finished cleaning the cow's udder. "Yeah, this is Bonnie," she told him. "Isn't she pretty?"

Clark nodded, then watched as Martha showed him how to milk the sweet brown cow.

"Do you wanna try now?" Martha asked, and Clark nodded.

She grinned, then helped him before letting him do it on his own. It surprised her how gentle he was, normally children were more likely to be rough, but he was so gentle.

Suddenly, her chest felt heavy. This was something she had always wanted. She wanted a child that she could take care of and teach them the farm work. She wanted a child who she could love and raise as her own. But… Clark wasn't hers. He was Lex's. She couldn't pretend like he wasn't.

She cleared her throat, then wiped the tears that had formed out of her eyes. She couldn't focus on that. Not if she was gonna make it through the day.

"How's it going, Clark?" She asked.

"Good," he replied as he continued to milk the cow. Martha had to admit, she was a bit surprised at how much Clark enjoyed doing it. It wasn't really something she thought he would like, but he had proved her wrong.

"Day after tomorrow is Thanksgiving," she said. "Do you know what that is?"

When Clark shook his head, Martha began to explain everything about the holiday. The history, the traditions, the food… Everything. She wanted Clark to know what sort of fun he would be able to have on his first holiday since being out of the lab.

"Whoa," Clark said.

Martha smiled. "Yeah," she told him. "It's a lot of fun."

"Will Daddy be here?" He asked.

Her smile faded and her heart sank as she tried to figure out how to explain it to Clark. "Not this time, sweetie," she finally decided. She knew it was an awful answer, but how else was she supposed to answer this?

"Oh."

"Maybe next year," she said. "Or maybe for Christmas!"

Clark looked up at her and tilted his head. "Christmas?" He asked.

Martha smiled. "I'll tell you all about it once we're done milking Bonnie," she said, then added playfully. "Now hurry! It's cold out and there's hot cocoa inside!"

Clark smiled, then looked down at his hands and continued to work. And under his breath, Martha could just barely hear him humming happily.

So, there you go! I think there's only a couple more chapters left in this part, so this is exciting! I hope you enjoyed! Please follow, fave, and review! I would love to know what you thought!

Thanks for reading! Love y'all!