Hey, guys!

I think I might be catching a cold, so even though I am super inspired, I am not quite sure when the next chapter will be, lol. xD Hopefully sooner rather than later.

I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Twenty Eight.

Getting the reports from the lab had been easier than Lex had expected, in fact, it had taken just a little over twenty four hours.

Unlike the shocking ease in which he got it though, there was something there that Lex did expect. The file of lab reports was much thicker than the one that had been sent to his father.

It was Christmas Eve, almost Christmas Day at this point. Clark had been in a coma for almost three days at this point, and he still showed no signs of waking up.

He looked over at Clark, then back down at the thick stack of paper in his hands. These reports held the secret to Clark's life on Earth. Everything he didn't already know would be in there. He wouldn't have to wonder or question things anymore.

But in knowing, there would be heartache. He would know the hell that Clark had been through as a toddler and what caused the nightmares that woke him up screaming in the middle of the night.

But it had to be done. If there was the slightest chance that something in here would save Clark, then it had to be done.

He opened it and began to skim the headers of each new section. With every word, his stomach twisted with nausea.

After just a few, his eyes began to water.

Starvation.

Drug Reaction.

Sleep Deprivation.

He knew that the first ones were done before they had found out about the meteor rock, but knowing that these monsters had forced his child through these things broke his heart. They had hurt him. They had hurt his baby and they hadn't even cared.

Things only got worse as he continued to read.

Poison.

Cancerous Cells.

Blunt Force Trauma.

Hydraulic Press.

Lex's hands shook and he closed his eyes. The tears were falling freely at this point.

The monsters at the lab had used a hydraulic press as torture under the guise of research. To see how quickly Clark would heal from that. Who would do that to a child?

He felt like he was going to throw up.

He looked over at Clark. He was so small, so precious. Who could look at someone like Clark and torture him? It was so wrong…

He sighed, then wiped his eyes. The grandfather clock chimed behind him. It was midnight now. Christmas Day. He needed to continue. Surely he would find something soon.

Extreme Cold/Hypothermia

Lex sat up straighter and began to read.

33.1 was able to withstand 4 hours in a 0 degree Fahrenheit environment with green meteor rock before losing consciousness.

His temperature at the time of removal from the extreme cold was 81 degrees Fahrenheit, and was back to his normal body temperature of 104 in a span of 6 hours.

He woke up after reaching normal temperatures again and recovered in the span of 12 hours.

Lex stood up. He had found it. Maybe Clark wasn't warm enough yet, then all they would have to do was heat him up!

"Martha! Jonathan!" Lex called. He wiped at his eyes again as more tears began to fall.

He had found something. He might be able to save his son.

Maybe it would be a Christmas miracle.

Lex sat down on the couch, on his chest was the familiar weight of his son, but this time it was matched with the crushing weight of guilt and sadness.

Clark hadn't woken up.

They had given him a warm bath, warmed up the fluid in his IV, even lit a fire in the living room.

It didn't matter though. It had taken hours for his temperature to arrive at 104 degrees Fahrenheit, it didn't wake him up. He still showed no signs of stirring.

Lex's eyes watered.

It was late afternoon now. They had spent the entire morning and afternoon trying to warm up Clark. Christmas Day. Because of him, Clark wouldn't be able to celebrate it.

He had been so excited. Lex remembered the look in Clark's eyes. It was Clark's first Christmas, but he wasn't even awake.

Clark was wrapped in Julian's blanket, beside him was his rabbit doll. Lex didn't think they would help him wake up, but he knew that Clark would like to have them near when he did wake up.

If he woke up.

The tears began to fall.

What if he had killed his son? Just like he had killed his little brother.

What if Clark's first Christmas would also be his last one?

What if he had wasted his time being angry with Clark instead of enjoying the time that they had together?

Was Luthorcorp really more important than his son?

Lex swallowed, but the tears didn't stop. In fact, they flowed faster.

What had he done?

Suddenly, a thought came into his head. A promise he had made.

He reached up and began to gently stroke Clark's hair. "It's Christmas, bubba," he said, though the tears made his voice wobble. "I kept my promise. I'm here. Please wake up. Bubba, please. I need you."

Just like he had suspected, the begging didn't do anything. Clark's slow breathing stayed slow, his eyes stayed closed, he didn't breathe a word or make a sound. Nothing changed.

Lex began to sob. He couldn't keep it in anymore.

Nothing had changed.

It wasn't fair. It so wasn't fair.

The lights and tree in Martha's home mocked the pain inside of her heart, the idea of Christmas sweets or foods made her feel sick to her stomach.

It wasn't fair.

Clark didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve any of this. Why had life been so cruel to such a sweet little boy?

Lex didn't deserve this either. No one deserved to go through this sort of pain.

Martha wiped her eyes. If it were a normal Christmas Day, she would be cooking Christmas dinner right now. The gifts would have already been opened.

But it wasn't normal. It was as far away from normal as it could be.

She didn't mind not being able to open her gifts or giving Jonathan his, she didn't mind sharing her home with Lex Luthor and his alien son.

No. They were like family.

Well, sort of.

Things were still awkward, moments were still tense. But ever since Thanksgiving, Martha hadn't been able to see Clark and Lex as anything other than family. Though she did wonder if that had anything to do with the fact that she couldn't have a family herself.

She walked into the living room and her heart broke.

Lex held onto Clark tightly. His face was buried in Clark's fluffy hair, but Martha could tell that he was crying from the shaking of his shoulders.

It wasn't fair.

Martha walked over and sat beside him. "Lex?"

Lex looked up, then wiped his eyes. He cleared his throat. "I did this to him…"

Martha shook her head, but on the inside, her heart broke again. She wished she knew how to show Lex that it wasn't his fault.

"I don't blame you for what happened," she said.

"I ruined your Christmas," he said.

"I don't blame you for it," she told him.

"You and Jonathan should be enjoying your Christmas and spending time together," he began. "But instead, it's almost over, and I've intruded. My sick son is on your couch, there's an IV pole where the lamp used to be, and…"

Martha didn't let him finish. She reached forward and gently grabbed his face in her hands. "Alexander Luthor, we are not mad at you and you did not ruin our Christmas," she told him.

Lex frowned. "But."

"Ah!" She interrupted. She wasn't going to let him continue like this. "We do not blame you for what happened, Lex. And I am not going to let you blame yourself for it."

Martha watched as Lex's face crumpled, then he broke down into heaving sobs. Watching it was like being stabbed in the heart. She hated seeing him so broken.

She wrapped her arms around him. "Shhhh…" She soothed, though she wanted him to cry his heart out if he needed to.

"I just want him to wake up…" Lex said, though the sentence was disjointed from sobs. "This was supposed to be his first Christmas."

Martha nodded and she wrapped her arms around him a little tighter. Her eyes were watering now, and her throat had a lump in it that was so big she could hardly swallow. "I know," she said. "I know."

She looked to the Christmas tree with its sparkling lights and heavenly glow, then to the child who laid sick on her couch. After a moment, the sadness turned to anger. It wasn't directed at Lex or Clark though, but instead, the universe. It wasn't fair. It so wasn't fair.

Where were Christmas miracles when you needed them?

Yeah, I know... I'm kinda mean... It's Christmas and Clark didn't get to see any of it. Please follow, fave, and review! I would love to know what you thought!

Thanks for reading! Love y'all!