AN: Thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far. I really appreciate it and hope that you continue to enjoy the story.  This chapter took me awhile to figure out and I've had a couple different versions. I finally found something I'm happy with though. Some of the quotes I used from the episodes I've put in from memory so they may not be correct word for word.

Jonathan Kent headed in from the fields a little earlier than usual. Even his work today couldn't keep his mind off of what was bothering him. Cecily was finally letting everyone know who it was that she was seeing - was marrying actually.

It wasn't that his daughter was getting married that bothered him. He was happy about that. He wanted both of his kids to find that special someone to share their lives with so that they could be as happy as he and Martha had been over the years.

No it wasn't that. The problem was that she had felt it necessary to keep it a secret as to who it was. His daughter didn't keep many secrets from him. Jonathan knew that meant that for whatever reason, Cecily thought they weren't going to like the guy. Or maybe a better way to put it is that he wouldn't like the guy.

Then she had told Martha that they already knew her fiancé. That had just made Jonathan worry more. He had tried to think of people he knew that he wouldn't care for his daughter to be dating. There weren't many. Most people around here were pretty decent folks.

As he approached the driveway he saw the two extra cars in the driveway.

'Looks like they're here already," Jonathan thought to himself as he went to the barn to put stuff away. As he started to enter the barn he looked back at the silver Porsche in the driveway. He knew whose it was right away. Not many people in Smallville drove a Porsche. Even if he would have had any doubt the vanity plate would have gotten rid of it.

Right away Jonathan Kent realized why Cecily had kept her secret all these years. He hadn't even considered Lex as a possibility. How could his daughter have fallen for a Luthor? Well he wasn't going to just go along with it. He wasn't about to let his only daughter throw her life away.

Jonathan put the equipment away and then headed for the house. He was going to put an end to this real quick. He had tolerated Lex Luthor in his family's life too long and it was time that he did something about it.

"Well, the casserole's done," Martha said coming back into the living room where she had left Clark, Cecily and Lex. "We're just waiting on Jonathan now," she continued looking at the clock on the wall. It was almost the time he normally came in from the fields in the evening. "He should be in shortly."

Martha sat back down in the chair she had been sitting in before she went to check on the casserole.

"Lex, if you don't mind me asking how is your father taking this?" Martha asked. She couldn't imagine Lionel Luthor being all that happy about the situation if he even knew about it. Given the Luthor's latest differences of opinion Martha had her doubts as to whether Lionel would know about the engagement or if he even knew they were back together.

Martha knew that Lex's fight to keep the plant in Smallville open had put father and son on even shakier terms than they already were. Lex had won the battle though, partly due to Lionel's injuries suffered during the storm which had given him a change of heart about the plant. Instead of closing the Smallville plant he had turned ownership of it over to Lex putting an end to the employee buyout Lex had been staging. Lex was running his own business now - LexCorp- along with helping his father keep LuthorCorp going during Lionel's recovery.

"He hated the idea at first but he's come to terms with it. I guess he figures there are worse scenarios he could come up with," Lex told her easily answering her question. He had been expecting it actually. "In fact, my father has insisted on planning the wedding for us."

"You're okay with that?" Martha asked directing the question at her stepdaughter

"If it makes him happy, yes," Cecily told her honestly. The idea had upset her at first. She had never wanted a huge fancy wedding and she knew that is what Lionel was going for. She had come to terms with the idea though. All she really wanted was to be with Lex and if planning the wedding helped Lionel deal with the situation then she was going to let him throw whatever kind of wedding he wanted to. "Actually since he's been released from the hospital he's been getting on us to set a date," Cecily said glancing over at Lex. "I think it's been giving him something else to focus on other than his injury."

Being in Metropolis, Cecily had gone to see Lionel Luthor frequently both in the hospital and at his home in the city. She knew how shaky Lex's relationship was with his father and didn't want to add to that. She thought by spending time with the elder Luthor he might warm up to her a little. As much as he tried to deny it, she knew Lex cared about what his father thought about him.

"And have you set a date yet?" Martha asked.

"Not yet," Cecily told her. "I wanted to see how Dad is going to take this first."

"Not well," Clark said, the words slipping out before he could stop them.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Clark," Lex said looking over at his friend.

"Sorry," Clark said sheepishly with a shrug.

"I know Dad isn't going to be thrilled but I was hoping maybe he won't take it too hard," Cecily said. "If it seems like he just needs time to get use to it then we're willing to wait but if not . . . " Cecily looked over at Lex and took his hand in hers. "Even if Dad won't be at the wedding I'm getting married and if he's set against it I'd rather do it sooner than later."

They heard the front door open.

"Well, looks like we're about to find out how he is going to take it," Clark commented softly which earned him a look from Martha.

Jonathan showed up in the doorway of the livingroom. After being married to him for twenty years Martha could tell exactly what he was thinking. She also knew that he was about to say something that he would end up regretting.

Martha stood up quickly and walked over to her husband. She gave Jonathan a quick hug and kiss.

"Dinner is done," she told him before he could say anything. "Why don't you go get cleaned up so we can eat."

"Okay," Jonathan said heading toward the stairs. As he left though he glanced back toward the living room at Lex and his daughter sitting together on the couch.

"I'll be right back," Martha said to the three left in the living room. "Why don't the three of you go into the diningroom and we'll join you shortly."

Clark and Cecily nodded as their mother hurried up the steps after their father.

"You know Lex, maybe if you hadn't made such a bad first impression on my father he wouldn't hate you so much," Clark told his friend lightly as the three of them headed toward the dinning room.

"Yeah, well first impressions never have been his strong suit," Cecily said slipping her hand into Lex's. "Did I ever tell you about the first time I met Lex?" Cecily asked looking around Lex at her brother.

"No," Clark said interested. "I hope it didn't involve any cars."

"No, no cars," Cecily said. "It was the start of our Sophomore year at Metropolis University . . ." Cecily said beginning the story as the three of them sat down around the diningroom table to wait for Mr. And Mrs. Kent.

"Jonathan we need to talk," Martha said as she followed her husband into the bathroom.

"There is nothing to talk about," Jonathan told her as he turned the sink faucets on to start cleaning up from the fields. "I don't want that guy as a son in law. He's a Luthor. I don't know what his reasons are but he's interested in Cecily for something other than love. He's probably using her as a way to irritate his father."

"Jonathan your jumping to conclusions. You don't know anything about them."

"He's a Luthor Martha. That's all I need to know," Jonathan told her as he washed the dirt off of his face.

"Jonathan give him a chance. He saved your life," she told him thinking about the incident with the reporter Nixon. Jonathan and Clark knew nothing about it, but shooting Nixon had bothered Lex. He had come to talk to her a few times after the incident. She knew Lex wasn't as cold hearted as Jonathan put him off to be.

"He's probably the one who got Nixon interested in us in the first place. Lex admitted to investigating us. Nixon was probably doing the investigating for him."

"Does it really matter now," Martha argued. "He said he closed the book."

"Sure he did," Jonathan said not believing it for one second.

"I wish we never had never met Lionel Luthor that day of the meteor storm."

"Jonathan how can you wish that. Lex probably would have died that day if it wasn't for you."

"That might not have been such a bad thing," Jonathan said without thinking. As soon as he said the words though he regretted them. There were so many lives loss that day and the fact that Jonathan had been able to save at least one person gave him a small amount of comfort. "I didn't mean that," Jonathan said with a sigh as he grabbed a towel to dry off his face.

"I know," Martha told him resting her hand on his arm. "Look I know you're not happy about how things turned out. That you regret the decision you made but you made it. You thought it was the best at the time. You couldn't have known how things would turn out."

"I should've though. I knew what Lionel Luthor had done to other in communities but I wanted to protect Clark. Lionel's help was the only way we could have possibly pulled off the adoption and not have people see through it. The thing is Martha that given the choice again I would probably make the same decision again even knowing how things turned out."

"Is it fair to hold Lex responsible for that, Jonathan."

"I don't," Jonathan said looking at Martha.

"Yes you do," Martha said. "Since the day Clark pulled him out of the river you've been taking your anger toward Lionel Luthor out on his son. That isn't fair to Lex."

"Ever since you met me all you've seen is the Luthor name," Lex had told him.

"You've never given me a reason to see anything else," Jonathan had replied.

Even when he had said those words he knew they weren't completely true. Lex had made him a business offer to help him with his financial problems with the farm but he hadn't been about to make another business deal with the Luthor's. Lex had gone into the plant to talk to Earl Jenkins when Earl had taken Clark and his classmates hostage. He had risked his life while his father was content to wait and let the situation play itself out. When chemicals had been dumped on his farm in an attempt to set Lex up, Lex had still managed to get him the money for his loses despite the fact that technically LuthorCorp was not responsible. In return, he had thrown the money back in Lex's face.

"You're only helping turn him into exactly what you think he is by repeatedly slamming the door in his face," Clark had told him.

In her own way, Martha was telling him exactly the same thing now. Maybe they both had a point.

"Look Jonathan I'm not trying to say that you should trust Lex one hundred percent. You have your reasons to have your doubts. All I'm saying is just give him a chance. Stop judging him without knowing him."

Jonathan looked down at his wife. He knew she was right.

"Don't do to them what my father did to us," Martha told him. "I've seen it in her eyes Jonathan. She looks at Lex the same way I look at you. You can go down there and voice your opinion. Tell Cecily that you refuse to let her marry Lex but in the end she's going to still do what she wants. I did. The only thing you're going to do is to push your daughter away. You need to ask yourself if that is what you want to do."

She waited to see if Jonathan was going to say anything. When he didn't she spoke again.

"I'm going back downstairs to wait for you," she told him and turned and walked out of the bathroom and back downstairs. As she reached the bottom of the steps she could hear laughter coming from the dinning room. She just hope her husband made a decision that he wouldn't regret this time.