As much as logic told him to cast away what Clark was saying as yet another lie, Lex's own experiences and vague memories of events led credibility to the fantastic claim. Besides, all of Clark's excuses before this had been simple and vague. Why would he come up with some kind of elaborate story now?

Besides, there were those vague memories that had started to surface the other night. Jonathan Kent had never confirmed that he had been the one that had saved him out in the cornfield the day of the meteor shower but Lex felt certain that the vague images were accurate. That it had been the Kents, in the vehicle that day when he had briefly opened his eyes. Which would mean that the little boy, who reached out to him that day would've been Clark. Did that mean that the lump under the tarp that he had glimpsed had been the spaceship?

If those were true memories it meant that the Luthors and the Kents had crossed paths long before that day on the bridge? Did his father know something about the Kents that Jonathan was afraid he would reveal or did Jonathan just fear what Lionel might know? What else had happened back then that fueled the hate that Jonathan Kent had for the Luthors. Lex couldn't help but feel that it wasn't just what Lionel had done to those in the community but something personal that had happened between the two of them that fueled Jonathan Kent's hatred of all things Luthor.

"Lex?"

That one word from Clark broke through Lex's musings to remind Lex that he wasn't alone. More than anything else, Lex wanted to be alone right now. He wanted to sort through his thoughts and feelings without an audience.

Getting to his feet, Lex started for the porch steps. He might not have one of his cars available, but he did have his two feet. Perhaps walking would help clear his head, even though right now his head was protesting the sudden movement.

"Lex, where are you going?" Clark asked.

"I need some time to think, Clark," Lex replied, even as everything started spinning just as he reached the top of the steps.

Reaching out, Lex made a grab for the porch post to steady himself. He felt his fingers brush the wood even as darkness claimed him.

Lex wasn't sure what he had missed as the blackness started to turn to grey. He heard voices talking above him and struggled to understand what was being said.

"What happened?"

Lex felt rough fingers pressing gently against the side of his neck.

"Like I told Mom, Lex stood up suddenly, claiming he needed some time to think. The next thing I knew he was falling. Do you think it's something related to the concussion, Dad?"

The fingers withdrew from the side of Lex's neck.

"I'd say that's most likely."

"Should I call for an ambulance?"

"Yeah."

"No," Lex protested, not sure that the single word even got past his lips as he struggled to open his eyes. The hospital was the last place he wanted to be right now.

"Dad, he's coming around."

"How do you know?"

"I heard him say something," Clark replied.

Focusing on the voices, Lex tried to rise out of the greyness to consciousness.

"Did he hit his head again when he fell?"

"No, I caught him before he hit the ground."

There was a slight pause filled with only the quiet sound of nature before Lex heard Clark speak again. "I already attempted to tell him the truth. I think that's what upset him."

Lex heard the guilt in his friend's voice. It was the guilt that started dissolving the anger that he had felt toward his friend. He supposed if he was from another planet he probably wouldn't be eager to broadcast it to the world either. The media could be cruel. He had found that out for himself, and he wasn't from another planet nor did he have special powers. He was simply a public figure.

"You're forgiven," Lex said, as the grey gave way to the real world in flutters of color.

"Lex?"

Lex could see the confusion on his young friend's face as he said his name.

"I get why you lied to keep your secret and I forgive you," Lex elaborated as Clark's face came into focus. Shifting his eyes slightly, he soon saw Jonathan Kent's face as well, his own concern mirrored on his face.

Lex moved to sit up.

"Take it easy," Jonathan warned, though he didn't try to restrain the young man.

Lex nodded his head slightly in acknowledgment to the instruction even as he noted Clark's hand against his back giving him firm support.

"Maybe we should still get him back to the hospital," Martha interjected from where she stood at the top of the porch steps.

"No," Lex replied quickly. "I don't need to go back. I just moved too quickly. I'm fine now."

Jonathan glanced up at his wife. He shared his wife's concern but he wasn't sure it was worth the argument with Lex. "Fine," Jonathan agreed reluctantly, though the fact that Lex had just been released from the hospital meant he would prefer if the young man was checked out at the hospital again. "However, you're coming inside and laying down for a while before you go anywhere else," he added firmly, his tone the one he had used with Cecily and Clark when he didn't want an argument from them.

As he usually did when someone tried to order him around, Lex immediately felt the urge to do exactly the opposite of what was being asked of him. As, Jonathan Kent helped him to his feet though, Lex tried to push that urge aside as despite the authoritative tone, he saw the concern on the older man's face. It was clear that Jonathan Kent wasn't just trying to order him around because he could, but because he was trying to look out for him.

~And perhaps avoid a lawsuit as well, ~ Lex mused. Though having someone concerned about his well being, for any reason, didn't happen much in his life. Besides, in a few days the Kents would be family. Family looked after one another - or well at least that was what he had been told.

"Laying down sounds like a good idea," Lex admitted, letting himself be lead up the steps.

As he reached the top of the steps, his eyes fell on the chair Clark had been sitting in when he had started to leave. Giving the suddenness of the dizzy spell, there was no way Clark should have been able to break his fall, and yet he had heard Clark say he had caught him before he hit the ground.

Stopping, he looked back over his shoulder. Clark was coming up the steps. Lex definitely didn't feel like a person who had just fallen down those, even considering the bruises he had from the earlier ordeal.

"No, I caught him before he hit the ground."

There was no humanly possible way for Clark to have gotten from where he was sitting to being able to break his fall. For Lex, which seemed like it was proof enough. There were also all the unexplainable things that had happened this year that revolved around Clark. Perhaps the actual spaceship wasn't necessary as proof of Clark's story.

~This is all too much, ~ Lex thought as Jonathan led him into the house. ~Perhaps the head injury was worse than he thought. Perhaps this was all just in his imagination. Maybe he was even still tied up on that embankment and everything that had happened since wasn't real at all. That would definitely explain Jonathan Kent's acceptance of him.~

Though Jonathan Kent's hold on him had tightened, as if afraid he was going to go down again, it was Clark who spoke up.

"Lex, are you okay?"

"I'm not sure," Lex responded, looking back toward the house.

"It's been an eventful week," Jonathan said quietly beside him, as he nudged Lex a little to get him moving again.

As he stepped forward, Lex silently agreed with the older man. It had been an eventful week and it wasn't over yet.

"Perhaps I should have waited," Clark mused quietly as he stood behind me his father, who stood in the doorway of the living room.

Jonathan shook his head, his eyes still on the sleeping form of his soon-to-be son-in-law. In some ways perhaps Clark was right. The secret that had been revealed to Lex was quite a bombshell and the young man was still recovering from his injuries. However, waiting wouldn't have made the news any easier to take. "Putting it off wouldn't have made it any easier and who knows what would have happened if he left here upset," Jonathan told his son, thinking of Lex's tendency to drive too fast under normal circumstances. "Besides, it's better that everything is out in the open before the wedding, especially for Cecily and Lex. If this is going to cause issues between the two of them, the sooner they can deal with it the better."

"I guess," Clark said, though he didn't sound very convinced.

"It'll work out, son," Jonathan said, reaching out a hand to Clark's shoulder. It was a sentiment that he truly believed because he had been brought up to believe in the strength of family. As long as the lines of communication stayed open among them, he believed his family could get through anything.

"Do you mind bringing the machinery in from the field, Clark?" Jonathan asked, having left things where they were when Clark had come for him. "I'm going to call it quits in the fields today and I'd like to keep an eye on things here. Your mother could very well be right that Lex should be back at the hospital. I want to keep an eye on him."

"Yeah. I got it," Clark replied, turning and heading for the front door.

Jonathan stood in the doorway for another minute or so, before turning and heading toward the kitchen where he could hear Martha moving around. His wife looked up from the hard-boiled egg she was shelling.

"Anything I can do to help?" Jonathan asked before his wife had a chance to ask him anything.

"You can finish shelling the eggs so I can start mixing the filling for the Devil Eggs," Martha replied, holding out the egg she was halfway done with.

Jonathan nodded, as he took the egg from her. As Martha took a step over so she was in front of the cutting board with the onion she needed to mince to add to the mixture. The husband and wife worked in a comfortable silence. Each lost in their own thoughts. Outside, the sound of the tractor coming in from the field found its way to the farmhouse.

It was finally Jonathan who broke the silence.

"Lex recalled seeing us the day of the meteor shower," Jonathan commented, getting Martha's attention. "That night we found him. Right before the paramedics arrived, he mentioned it. He asked if it was me that night that helped him. I never did get a chance to confirm it but it got me thinking about things. I saw the way Lionel treated him that day, and I wanted to protect that boy from his own father but had no means to. Yet when I met Lex the day of the bridge accident, I wanted to hate him because of his last name. What does that make me?"

"Human," Martha replied easily.

Jonathan smiled. Leave it to his wife to not condemn him for his contradictory feelings.

"You know, I don't think it is too late," Martha told him. "There is good in Lex. We've seen it. Perhaps it is just his nature or perhaps it is his mother's influence, but he isn't exactly like his father but he could be pushed that way."

"And I've been a part of doing that," Jonathan challenged, his son's words coming back to him.

"I didn't say that but you could," Martha said. "He has sought your approval since the day he meant you. Lex respects you Jonathan. You could have as much influence on him as Cecily and Clark do."

Jonathan glanced over his shoulder at the doorway that lead to the living room. "I hear you, Martha," he said looking back at his wife. "I want this family to stay close and I will do whatever I need to do to make that happen."

"Good," Martha replied, leaning in and pressing her lips to her husbands.

Breaking the kiss, the two went back to their tasks.

Cecily called Lex as she headed to her car after the meeting. Though he told her he was out of the hospital and had spent the day with her family, Lex insisted that he meet her at the castle that he called home.

"Please tell me you are not driving after just being released from the hospital due to a head injury," Cecily had pleaded.

"Your family won't let me," Lex had informed her with a chuckle.

That comment had brought a smile to her face. It also relieved some of her tension. If she couldn't be there for him, at least she knew her family was looking out for him.

All of her family.

Climbing behind the wheel, Cecily felt truly grateful for that. Though she wished Lex had not been injured, her father coming around was the silver lining in all of this. Having her father give her away on Saturday was a dream come true. The Metropolis event was going to be impersonal and showy but suddenly none of that mattered. Her father would be walking her down the aisle and giving her away. That and saying her vows to Lex were the only things that truly mattered about the day.

Pulling out of the parking garage, Cecily headed out of the city and toward Smallville, feeling much more at ease than she did when she had made this drive to break the news to her family whom she was dating. So much had changed since then, and while it hadn't been all good, she was pleased with how things were turning out.

The tension in the truck was thick. Though Jonathan had accepted the fact that Lex would be joining the family, it didn't mean that everything that had happened between them simply disappeared. Despite wanting to speak with Lex now that Clark had revealed his secret to the young man, Jonathan hadn't figured out how to start that particular conversation. Every thought that came to mind sound confrontation to him. The last thing he wanted to do was start yet another argument with Lex.

Volunteering to drive Lex back to his castle now that Cecily was on her way home had been an attempt to give him that opportunity. Half way to the mansion now and nothing had come to mind.

"It was you the day of the meteor storm that got me to the hospital?"

The question brought back the topic that had gone unanswered Sunday night because of the arrival of the paramedics.

"Your father did ask me to help you," Jonathan offered, having a feeling it was cold comfort.

"But he couldn't bring himself to touch me that day," Lex replied. "I was suddenly some freak to him. He already thought I was weak - the asthma and my fear of heights." Lex reached up and run his hand over his bald head. "Losing my hair only gave him more of a reason to be disappointed. After Julian's death my mother's health was never good again. She loved me but I think she blamed herself for my baby brother's death. Dad knew then that I was the only heir he was going to get. Your reaction that day by the river that showed me the kind of love a father should have for a child. Any hope for any type of parental love died with my mother. I will always be just a PR tool for my father."

Jonathan still didn't know what to say. He could sense that Lex didn't want his sympathy. Offering his love was premature. The two of them had a huge gap to overcome in their relationship.

"You know, Cecily didn't particularly care for me when we first met," Lex continued, when Jonathan didn't say anything else. "She told me exactly what she thought of me, not caring about my social status or money. If we hadn't been paired together for a class assignment, she probably never would have given me the time of day. However, working with her, I felt like I could just be myself. That I could let my guard down because she wasn't after my money. That was the person she fell in love with. Genuine love, something I hadn't known since my mother passed. I'm no angel—my father's influence saw to that, but I also don't want to be my father. Cecily gave me the strength I needed to try to break away from my father's teachings when I came here to Smallville. Clark's friendship helped to remind me of that. You probably don't want to hear this, but I feel like your family is my lighthouse, beckoning me out of the storm of the world my father wants me to be a part of."

"Martha wasn't quite as poetic about it, but she said much the same thing," Jonathan commented, his wife's words coming back to him. "Still, given that your father is already aware of how secretive we were about how Clark came into our lives, and the things he has done to this town and others, I fear what would happen if he learned the truth about him. I think the only reason he didn't ask more questions was because he had his eyes set on getting a hold of the Ross' cream corn factory—something that I helped him obtain. If he ever thought he got the lesser value out of that deal—"

"He wouldn't be happy and would want to find a way to gain what he thought he was owed," Lex finished.

"And Lex, you did hire people to look into my family and the accident on the bridge."

"I wanted answers. I know I should have died that day. Perhaps I should have died the day of the meteor shower. When Clark first told me today, I was angry. I felt betrayed. The more I thought about it though, the more I got it. A secret like your son's would ruin your lives if known by the wrong people. People like me. I promise you though, Mr. Kent, I will keep Clark's secret - with my life if I have to. I don't have many true friends in my life, but the ones I do have, I am loyal too. Despite all that has happened, Clark is probably my best friend. He has saved my life, probably more times than I was aware of. That is something money can't buy - just like Cecily's love."

Jonathan glanced over at the younger man briefly. For once, he didn't see the Luthor name. He saw genuine affection and the same fierce determination he himself felt when it came to protecting Clark.

"I believe you," Jonathan said, focusing once again on the road.

"Perhaps there is a chance we can bridge the gap between us, given time," Lex replied.

Jonathan nodded. Part of him didn't want to admit it. Another part knew that to keep his family close, he had to accept Lex's role in his family. The man wasn't his father. He had shown that by fighting for the plant that was the biggest employer in this town. Though it created problems for their community, it also supported a lot of families. Smallville would probably not have survived losing it as an employer. Lex had seen and fought to save the plant despite his father's intentions to shut the plant down.

Perhaps that was the only proof needed that Lex had accepted Smallville as his home and cared about more than just the bottom line.