The Memoirs

Dr. Billy snapped on a clean pair of latex gloves as he turned back to his patient.

Even if he hadn't known Toni, and known from her about the situation with Mr. Senatori, he'd have heard about it through Berluce. Berluce and Bear were spending a lot of time together, working on the Luthor nursery, drawing the sketches for his brother to paint, and what Bear hadn't heard from Lindy, he heard from Emily, who listened to Charlie slowly losing his mind.

It was odd, if he thought about it, how interconnected everyone was once you removed the linchpin. Then, everyone sort of fell like dominoes, and you could see the intertwined relationships. "Well, Toni, let's have a look, shall we? I've even warmed the stirrups up for you, so if you'll assume the position, as it were, we'll have a little look-see."

"You know, Billy, your bedside manner only ripens with age." Toni deadpanned, and rolled her eyes into her head as she glanced at Graham. "Sugar help me get my leg up, will you?"

Toni was, she assumed, incredibly pregnant. She was six months into the pregnancy, and her belly had long since begun to show. She'd gained about twenty five pounds, but swam daily to keep her girlish figure. The doctors had told her she would probably have loose skin and stretch marks for the rest of her life, but did they ever not realize she was giving birth to Lionel Luthor's baby. With a few well places nips and a laser or two she'd be back to her beauty and grace if she wanted it.

Too bad she didn't want it.

So she just heaved one leg up on the stirrup, wincing at the gravity change, and sighing as she lay back on the cot. "If you make one more comment about my dragon, by the way, I may have to stick this stirrup up your very attractive ass, doctor."

Billy had to laugh at that, and he helped guide Toni's other leg up into the second stirrup. "Sorry about that, Toni. I just can't help but wonder how much that had to hurt." He elevated his eyebrow teasingly. "Besides, I'm betting that I'm one of the few people who do get to see it, so if I don't compliment you on him, who's going to?"

"My fiancé?" Toni glared, even as her lips twitched. "Bastard. Besides, I was drunk on pain from my last breakup and good scotch. Didn't hurt much, though I do remember the tattoo artist being quite pleased when I told him where I wanted it." A little snort as she sighed. "I had to take my belly button ring out last week. Do you know how much that made me cry? That was my special gift to myself for finishing med school with honors."

"You'll be able to put it back in after the baby's born. And, I don't know if you and the Luthors have talked about this at any point, but you should be thinking about if you're going to breast feed the child or not, and if you aren't, I believe there are shelters and such that will accept donations of pumped breast milk for infants."

"No, I'm not going to. This baby is Lionel Luthor's and Dominic Luthor's. I'm just auntie Toni. They'll be feeding her formula, and if its alright with you, I'd rather not become the city cow." She made a face at him, and poked him in the shoulder as she arranged her hips on the cot. "Look already so I can put my clothes back on."

"Well, you're going to be lactating and producing milk no matter what you do," Billy said, calmly spreading a little KY jelly over the speculum, and he reached up with his un-jellied hand and turned on the overhead light. "It's something you should consider, what you're going to be doing with the milk your body is producing." He paused. "I'm going to slide this in, and you might feel a little cold when I do, all right?"

"Bullshit. They'll shoot me up with bromocriptine a few hours after the baby's born and I won't lactate until my next pregnancy. As for what I'm going to do until then, surely you know about nice, lactating, padded bras, doctor." Toni said sweetly, eyelashes batting at him innocently. In truth, the whole baby sucking from her breasts thing grossed her way out--not because of the baby herself, but because eeeww, Toni wasn't a cow! Eeewww!

"Actually, bromocriptine has some unpleasant side effects--nausea for one, vomiting and constipation for two more," he said. "Milk also remains in the breast, and because of that, you will start to lactate again, most likely, as soon as you've discontinued using the drug. But, if you're sure that's the way you want to go, I'll have you a prescription ready after the birth. A few days after you've begun it, I'll want to run some tests on you, to make sure you're not having any adverse reactions to it, and pump your breasts once, to get any excess milk out of the mammary glands." He slid the speculum in as he was talking, distracting her from the insertion, and then angled the light down to look.

Toni made a face, not at the metal sliding inside of her but at the thought of "pumping" her. "I am not a cow. I am not going to be pumped thank you very much. Could you just be a man and stick it in?" She looked down and glared. "I'm not a tender woman here. Anyway, like I said, ew. Ew! I am now a cow. Do you see me chewing cud? Do you see me making random 'moo' noises? Christ." Toni made another face.

"Toni, if the breast milk remains unpumped in the breast, it could cause infection of the mammary gland, which could make you very sick." He smirked. "It's already in." He rolled his chair back just enough to look, and picked up several cotton swabs. "Yeah... I see where you've been spotting. Let me clean the area, and we'll get a closer look." Billy slipped on a clear plastic face shield that had little penlights on the corner, and he kept talking as he worked. "You know, I'm very surprised at how well conditioned your cervix and uterus are. There's no fading marks and there's no light scarring like I've seen in most implanted patients. Your fertility clinic must have done quite a good job."

At that, Toni smiled a little. "You could say that. Lex did a good job. You know, Billy, you're enjoying all this pumping business too much, and I'll be damned if you're gonna touch my boobs until I pass out from pumping them." Another shudder, and she all but gagged. "Gross." But then when he said he could see where she'd been spotting she looked down. "Everything alright? Tears?"

Billy looked up, a pained expression on his face. "Toni... my dear... I have no interest in your feminine body parts other than keeping them healthy. My interests lie on the other end of the spectrum."

"I know." She grinned at him. "Which makes you my best gyno ever."

"Now, if you could just convince the husbands in the town of that? I'd be set for my practice. Both Jonathan Kent and Sheriff Goodall looked at me like I was going to fall in and ravish their wives during the deliveries." He finished cleaning out the discharge, and nodded as he dropped one swab into a bag for examination, just in case. "No, no tears, to answer your question. I just see here where several capillaries have burst under the skin and the blood has seeped out with the discharge. If I see much more of it, I'm going to have to put you to bed rest."

"Bullshit." Toni snarled suddenly down at him, and made to kick him in the head. "No way in hell are you putting me anywhere. Bullshit. I'll kill you first, Billy, make no mistake. Do you really want a bitch of a pregnant woman after your blood? I know where you live."

"And you know where my boyfriend lives, which actually frightens me more." He sat back, pushing the plexishield back up over his forehead, and sighing. "And yes, I'd do it in a heartbeat, especially if I thought it was going to save your life and the baby's. I might be your friend, but I'm your doctor too, and if you don't listen to one, you're gonna listen to the other. I'm telling you now, both as your doctor and as your friend, take it easy. Because if you don't, I'm going to put you on bed rest only, and I'll give your handsome young man the handcuffs and sedatives to do it."

"Billy, I am completely serious, I will kill you first. I can't be on bed rest, I can't. I will go insane. Lionel and Dominic need me here, with them. Alright? So don't." Toni pled, nodding, then shaking her head, then nodding again. "Please."

"And I am completely serious too. Take it easy for a while, and I won't have to. But if I see you in this hospital every day? You will be."

"Billy, Dominic's dying." Toni said softly, and oh, she was horrified to find herself close to tears. "The parents of this baby I'm carrying are falling apart. I have to be here for them, don't you understand that?"

"I understand that," Billy said. "I also understand that you could lose this baby, you could have serious complications, I also understand that you and the baby could both die. It's a shitty situation all around, I won't deny that. But you, Toni Braxton, are my patient. Not Dominic Senatori-Luthor. And as much as my sympathy is with his family, my professional interest is in your welfare and in your well-being, and in the well-being of that child you carry, and I will do my utmost to protect you both," he finished solemnly.

"Oh, fuck you and your Hippocratic oath." Toni shot at him, even as she sniffled and rubbed her cheeks with her shoulders. "Fine. I'll take care of myself, okay? I will. I'm not going to let anything happen to the baby."

"You took the Oath too, Toni, remember?" Billy shot back. "I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug. Remember that? I'm trying to balance that with the whole idea of taking care of your patient." He glared.

Oh, goddamn him. She felt the tears welling again, and with all of her hormones in a jumble they came up to lock tight in her throat. She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes firmly, even as her voice shook. "Can we just finish, please? Prescribe me something and let me leave."

Billy looked down at his prescription pad, and scribbled something in very clear, legible handwriting. Eight hours of sleep a night, a glass of orange juice every morning, a hug from your fiancé, and a nap in the middle of the day. He handed the prescription to her without a word, removed his instruments and dropped them into the sterilizer, and handed her a wet cloth. "You can go into the dressing room and clean up before you change," he said, tapping the consultation paper into her chart. "And make an appointment with Terri for your next visit in two weeks." He put the chart in the door, and closed it behind him.

Toni sniffled, hard, and fought back the tears as the door closed and she was left along.

Except she couldn't.

She rolled over onto her side, closing her legs and bringing them up to his chest, and gave a sharp, hard sob as she covered her face with her hands and wept as hard as her little body could, crying so hard that the muscles in her chest pulled with each heavy, deep sob.

Billy, as soon as he closed the door to her exam room, went out into the waiting room and looked over the sea of faces until he saw the bearded and tired face of Toni's fiancé. He waved the man back, and guided him down the hall to Toni's exam room. "She's upset, and she needs rest, but she won't let me put her on bed rest. I don't think it's necessary yet, but she does need to take it easy." With that, Billy opened the door, and ushered Graham into the little cubicle.

Graham's heart was already in pieces, and hearing Toni's crying only made it worse. "Aye, darlin', wha'be th'trubble now?" he asked, picking his way amid the instruments as he went towards the table.

Toni shook her head hard, then sat up and reached out for her lover. She buried her face in his shoulder, hugging him as tightly as she could around the neck as she wept. Didn't say anything other than that, snarling at Billy though the sound was plugged with tears and mucus, but she flicked him off for good measure before sliding her fingers into Graham's hair and holding him close to her.

Billy hadn't seen it, as he had closed the door as soon as Graham went in to give them privacy. Graham just wrapped his arms tightly around her, hauling her in close. "Aye, lassie, tis all goin' t'be okay."

Toni clutched her lover tightly, gently, and trembled as she wept. She felt so... girly, and immediately tried to stop, rubbing her eyes on Grahams polo shirt and searching for tissues from the bedside. "I'm sorry. I'm… I'm sorry. I just... and... I just... he told me its the stress, and… and... I just want Dominic and Lionel to be well, Graham, and… and I just… I'm..." She blew her nose in a wad of tissues.

"It's al'righ', darlin'." He stroked her hair gently. "They'll be well, sweet lass. One way or t'other, I'm belivein' the end is in sight." He squeezed her tightly. "Dinna ask me, lass. I'll tell ye later."

She sniffled again, harder, and nodded up at him. "I love you so much, Graham. Thank you."

Graham wondered to himself just how much she was going to be thanking him when she heard what Rosalyn was doing and how Graham felt about it. "Dinna thank me yet, darlin'." He kissed her forehead softly, and nuzzled his beard against her soft cheek. "Ye know I love ye too."

She sniffled again, then giggled a little when he rubbed his beard against her cheek. She gently nuzzled back, still wet and weepy but better, and hugged him again, tightly. "I know you do. You'll be there for me, even when they're pumping me like a cow, right?"

He gave a little laugh. "Aye, I will, an' I might e'en help t'hold yer udders up."

Alright. At that, Toni laughed. Couldn't help it. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind." She giggled, and kissed him again as she hopped down from the table, balancing a hand on her belly and the other on the table, as she reached for her clothes. "We'll have to get my prescription filled before going home."

"Prescp'tion?" Graham asked, holding out his hand. "Gi'e it t'me, we'll drop it off on the way, an'll pick up this evenin' when I go for supper."

"Okay." She lifted the paper from the desk Billy had left it on and handed it over, as she quickly cleaned herself with the paper towels and wriggled back into her underwear and skirt. She slid the gown off, not even bothering to look at her belly as it depressed her deeply, and carefully put her bra on to support her aching breasts. Her blouse went over that, and she pushed her feet into cute little tennis shoes with arch support, fixing her hair in the mirror in the next moment.

Graham read the prescription. Twice. And then gave a bit of a grin. "Darlin', ha'e ye read th'thing?"

"Graham, I've had a hunk of metal up inside me for an hour, then had a small breakdown. I was a bit distracted." She answered back, but at his grin snatched it back.

Her bellow echoed over the ward.

"BILLY!"

- =- = -

"How could you be stupid enough to do such a thing!" Lionel raged. "You were so busy making me change my will, my financial arrangements, my lifestyle, that you didn't bother to change your own? Or did you simply not feel that you should have bloody told me that you wanted to die!"

His voice bellowed in the hospital room, bouncing off the blank walls and flowing over the unconscious man on the bed.

"I cannot believe you would have done such a thing! Especially now, with our daughter on the way, our child which you did not apparently care enough to stay alive to see!" he shouted again. "This is the worst, most insensitive thing that I have ever seen you do, and I hope to all that you hold holy that you are happy with what you have done!!" He'd waited until Clark had gone for more coffee, and had let his lover then know exactly how he felt.

He paused for several beeps of the monitor, several inhales and exhales of the respirator. "Do you know what your mother intends to do to you, Dominic? She intends to kill you. You don't even have to be responsible for your own death. You've told me often enough that you fear that, now you don't have to. Your death won't be on your holy account, will it? No, you're letting someone else do the dirty work for you because you are too much of a coward to do the thing yourself." He sneered angrily at the figure lying in bed. "That's right. Just lie there, trapped in your own little world, with no care of what you are putting anyone else through. Be selfish, Dominic."

He did. Hooked up to all of his tubes and machines keeping him alive, the respirator breathed for him. The inflating and deflating of the bag doing the work behind plastic was quiet but steady, breathing for him where he couldn't by himself. He lay there, his body not showing any outward emotion of the verbal beating Lionel was giving him, just breathing, heart pounding.

And somehow, the complacency and comatose acceptance infuriated and frustrated him even further. Lionel wanted to rip every machine from the wall, upturn the IV stands and the feeding tubes, but he didn't, because he knew the damage that he could do would be irreparable. Instead, he just dropped down into the chair beside the bed, and put his head down. "Dominic, you are being an utterly selfish bastard, and I want to hate you for it. But I cannot."

Clark stood in front of the door, listening to the screaming fest Lionel had just had at his husband, but didn't dare go in. He just waited for Lionel to be through, setting the coffee on the table by the door and sitting in the chair beside it. The family had gone, finally, thank Christ, and he was alone for a little while. So he just listened and waited, rubbing the bridge of his nose quietly.

As Lionel sat by the bedside, he heard Clark moving outside the door, and he sighed. "Come back in, Clark. The storm is over," he called softly, just shaking his head.

Wooboy. Clark rose, quickly, and opened the hospital room door to look inside. "Sorry… I didn't want to bother you. Are you okay?"

Lionel nodded. "Yes. I'm all right. I didn't mean to frighten you."

"You didn't. ...Well, maybe just a little." He closed the door behind him, and handed him the coffee. "You don't mean any of that, Lionel."

Lionel took the coffee, letting it warm his fingers. He seriously doubted that after this, he'd ever drink another cup of the stuff. "The sad part of it is, no, I don't. I don't mean a word of it. But it felt exceedingly good to say."

"Which is actually what counts." Clark said softly, as he sat down in the chair beside Lionel. He sat there, quiet for a long moment, holding his own coffee, and shifted a little. His depth of misery knew no bounds. "Lionel? Will Lex be okay?"

"Lex?" He paused for a moment, letting the warmth rise up from the coffee to wreathe his face in the cold room. "You're in a better position than I am to answer that, Clark. You know how he is feeling; I don't. You can see inside of him; I can't. He is controlling so much at this point, I couldn't hope to penetrate."

"Yeah. He's a control freak." Clark answered, as he took a sip of his coffee. In truth, he didn't want to see what his lover was doing, didn't want to know, just wanted to know he was okay. He'd check, in a little while, when he was in better control of himself. "I'm so tired, Lionel."

"I understand the feeling entirely," Lionel said sympathetically. "You should be sleeping, Clark. I'm sorry... Dominic and I had something to give to you, to celebrate the passing of your classes. It's at home, in our bedroom. We saw that you'd been using Lex's laptop from last year, and so we went in together, and bought you one of your own, with all the peripherals and everything that you need. I'm sorry that we've not had a chance to properly present it to you."

"I'm not sleepy, Lionel." Clark said softly, but looked up at Lionel gently, his heart beating in sickly time with his throat tightening as he looked at him. "You… you bought me a laptop?"

"We did," Lionel confirmed quietly. "It was Dominic's idea, when he saw you working on one of Lex's. Thought you needed a machine of your own. There's paid internet services on it and everything, so you'll have your own, real address to work with, and not a free service with tons of problems."

Clarks throat locked up entirely, and he had to wait several minutes until he could swallow against it. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I've always… I just couldn't. Not yet. I was saving... but... thank you, Lionel. You don't know what it means to me."

Lionel gave a tired, sad kind of smile at that. "I do know what it's like, to have your own things, instead of the cast-offs of another. Save your money for your education, Clark, because that is the most important thing."

Clark smiled at him a little, but he didn't want to talk anymore. So he just set his coffee down and set his arms across his chest, holding them loosely as he watched Dominic sleep quietly, brooding silently as the rain picked up outside and pounded the windows like drums.

Lionel didn't say anything else either, just turning and smiling a little at Clark in return as he gazed over the figure in bed, and out the window to watch the sheeting rain.

- = - = -

Rosalyn was sitting on the porch of her oldest son's home, looking through the boxes of papers and files that had traveled with her, first from her home in Ireland to Vancouver, then from Vancouver here to Smallville. They'd been packed into the outdoor shed, with the rest of Rosalyn's things, and she had brought Enrique with her to help her find the boxes and move them out.

Now, though, she had found the box she was looking for, the oldest set of papers she owned. All of them were in a box bearing the seal of their family's lawyers, Jessup and Bandil.

Many of them were yellowing with age and mistreatment, because they had never been properly stored, but the one she sought was barely twenty years old, and it lay near the top of the box.

She choked back tears as she read over it, briefly considered packing it back away in the box and hiding it, but she couldn't do that.

Herein this legal document lies the living will of Morgan Dominic Senatori, drafted this 22nd day of June, 1983. As per the wishes of the aforementioned, this living will, so named for its purpose of execution during living incapacitation, shall supercede all other legal documentation of wills and last testaments to be implemented after death.

Article the First: the aforementioned Morgan Dominic Senatori states in the attached order that if, during his incapacitation, his heart ceases to beat or his respiration ceases, that he is not to be resuscitated. Please see the attached Do Not Resuscitate order with proper signatures.

Article the Second: the aforementioned Morgan Dominic Senatori states that, if he is put on any machines for artificial support of his life, that if he has not recovered from incapacity after a time of four weeks, then he is to be removed from the machine to allow nature to take its course.

There were further articles, but Rosalyn didn't--couldn't--read any further than she already had. "Enrique?" she asked softly. "Can you put the box into the car for me? And help me find a place where we can copy this?"

- = - = -

The beeps were long, quiet, and oddly comforting in the darkness of the room. Clark and Lex took turns staying with Lionel here in the hospital, and as his lover was somewhere off fighting for Dominic's life, Clark stayed with Lionel for the third night in a row. They slept in shifts on the spare bed in the room, which was actually nice once you got used to it. Right at the moment Lionel was sleeping, deeply, as deeply as he could anyway, and Clark sat reading a Dean Koontz novel beside Dominic's bed. The nurses came in at odd hours to check on him, give him shots, keep his meds up to date, but Clark wasn't really bothered with any of them.

That is, until the loud ring of the telephone by the bed echoed loud enough to raise the dead.

Clark jumped and winced, lifting the receiver quickly. "Hello?"

"Clark. It's me." Lex sighed, looking down at the paper in his hands. "I've got some news; I'm not sure Dad will be thrilled with what I learned. Is he there, or did he go home to sleep?" He rubbed his temples. "Which I hope to be doing by this time tomorrow--sleeping, that is?"

"He's asleep. Hold on. Where are you at, baby?" Clark rose and picked the receiver up, dragging it and the phone cord around the bed, to gently shake Lionel's shoulder. "Lionel? Lionel, wake up. Its Lex."

"I'm awake, Clark," Lex answered, rolling over onto his back before sitting up on the side of the bed.

Lex sighed. "I'm in Metropolis, for the moment, though I may be in the air to Dublin in an hour if they can't find a courier."

Lionel held his hand out for the phone, and then patted the bed beside him. "Sit down, Clark."

Clark plunked on the bed beside Lionel, closely, looking at him in fear and trepidation as he shifted to give Lionel more of the phone cord from the floor, and held the telephone itself in his lap.

Lionel took the receiver, and put it to his ear. "Lex?"

"Dad." Lex dragged the back of his hand over his eyes. "I found the name of the law firm that handled Dominic's affairs. Jessup and Bandil. The Bandil side of the firm died out a generation ago, and the Jessups are on retainer to LuthorCorp, as fate would have it. I have in my hand a copy of the living will and the do not resuscitate order, and the original is on it's way to the office, if they can find a courier willing to fly it over immediately. If not, I'll go and pick it up myself."

"Do it yourself," Lionel said immediately. "I don't trust it to anyone but family."

"Dad, wait, there's more. In the original file, from '83, there's an indication that someone in his family has a copy of it, but it doesn't say who."

Fuck. Shit. FUCK! Clark swallowed a hard breath and rubbed his hands over his face, peering at the clock on the bedside table. It was nearing seven in the morning now, and time felt like it was sifting through like sad, counting of seconds and hours left of Dominic's life. And so he spoke up, no longer caring to be discreet that he could hear every word. "He has to find out who. Ask the lawyer, the Jessups people. They always keep back logs of who they copy important documents to."

Lex heard. "I tried that, Clark. I've got the contents of the entire folder here, but this was twenty years ago--literally. It was finalized on June 22, 1983, and I'm betting they ditched the most of the logs and records that weren't completely vital more than ten years ago. The only note in the file is immediate family, but with Dominic, that only narrows it down to about a hundred and ten people."

"He wouldn't have trusted his will with anyone but his most immediate family. Megan, or Graham, Lindy or his mom. One of them have it."

"Lindy doesn't have it," Lionel said. "She was the one who told me about it, and she told me to find it before her mother did." Which made a very ugly thought occur to him. "I bet that means Rosalyn has it."

"If she does, it'd have to be at Graham's. Because he moved everything from Canada to his house--Shayla told me so. I figure she's right about that. It's got to be there."

"Rosalyn? Why on earth would she have it? Would Dominic trust his will with his mom? She's crazy." Clark said softly, frowning deeply. "I'll call Graham about it as soon as you guys hang up."

Lionel didn't answer right away. His eyes were fixed on the door to Dominic's hospital room. "Lex? Drop whatever you're doing and get here as quickly as you can." He pulled the receiver out of Clark's hand and hung it up. "Good morning, Rosalyn."

Rosalyn Senatori stood at the door of her son's hospital room, clutching a manila folder tightly to her chest. She wasn't alone, either; a tall man in a black suit had come with her, carrying a briefcase and looking generally unpleasant.

The man held out his hand. "My name's Victor Jessup; my grandfather was part of Jessup and Bandil of Dublin, and I've been running the Metropolis branch of Jessup Associates for the last few years."

Lionel didn't deign to shake it. "Mr. Jessup. What is your business here this morning?"

The panic Clark had been fighting against came up to swallow him whole. It left him completely rooted to the spot, terror spiking in his heart and making his face completely and totally emotionless. He rose, calmly, and turned to Lionel, gently putting a hand on the older mans shoulder. "I'm going to go get Lex. We'll be back in ten minutes."

He didn't wait for an answer, just calmly walking out of the room.

Jessup made a light distasteful face as Clark walked by him, then blinked and looked at Lionel just as calmly and professionally. "Unpleasant business I'm afraid, Mr. Luthor. Mr. Senatori's mother, Rosalyn," He looked at the distasteful little woman beside him, "Has contacted me about a living will Mr. Senatori had signed, as well as a DNR."

Lionel nodded. "Thank you, Clark." He turned his attention back entirely to the lawyer and Rosalyn. "Yes, I've heard rumors about such a document, but I've yet to find proof of it, and I have had the lawyers that Dominic and I share scouring every file and every document we have filed with them in the past fifteen years to find this and we've found nothing."

Rosalyn just clenched her folder tighter against her chest, and refused to meet Lionel's eyes.

"Ms. Senatori has found it, Mr. Luthor." Jessup answered bluntly, and took the manila folder from the woman's clenched hands, handing it to Lionel carefully. "In it, sir, you will find all of the proper documentation stating that Mr. Senatori does not wish to be attached to any life-giving machines for longer than four weeks. As it has been seven, according to Mrs. Senatori, the DNR should have long gone into effect."

"I'm sorry, Lionel," Rosalyn squeaked.

Lionel ignored the squeaked apology, and opened the folder. And laughed derisively, despite the horrible lump that was growing in his throat. "This document is twenty years old! Surely there's more recent paperwork that supercedes it!"

"No." Jessup shook his head. "We got in contact with his lawyer, a Mr. Benjamin Pierce, and he was able to give us his most recent will. It seems Mr. Senatori changes it every six months, listing his assets as he chooses. The last time he did so was in January, and he made no mention of discontinuing the DNR or the living will."

"This is utterly preposterous!" Lionel sneered. "You can't seriously be suggesting that I put my husband's life on the line for a piece of documentation that's twenty years out of date!"

Rosalyn was twisting her hands as she fidgeted beside the lawyer. "Lionel, please."

"SHUT UP!" he bellowed, and then immediately got himself under control. "I will speak with you later, madam," he said icily.

"Sir, please. I know this is a hard time for all of you, but I cannot, and you cannot, break the law. The contract is solid, and we cannot break it for any stipulation. He signed it, and we have to follow his bidding." Jessup said, without a trace of emotion. "His doctor has a copy of it. He will be speaking to you this morning about following through with what Mr. Senatori wants."

"You push this, Mr. Jessup, and I will tangle this--and your firm--up in legal battles into the next century over this, I promise you. You will not win, and until the matter is settled by a judge, the living will cannot be executed."

"I'm sorry, sir." Jessup shook his head. "That might be the case, but we have a strict moral code, sir, and we do as our clients have written out and stated for us to do. Its out of my hands." He shook his head again. "I wish you the best of luck, and hope he wakes up before they remove him from life support." He didn't bother offering his hand, just taking out a card from his suit jacket and setting it on the table top. "If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call. Good day to you, sir."

"You're also bound to follow the law," Lionel reminded them. "And if your morality comes into this room and removes my husband from these machines before this has been clarified and taken care of, I will have your practice, Mr. Jessup, I will have your money, and I will have your life for it. Do you understand me?" Lionel tossed the manila folder down on the bed beside his lover, and crossed his arms angrily over his chest.

"We are protected under article three hundred and six, stating quite frankly that any and all contracts bound under medical law must be reinforced no matter what the families wishes may be--the patients wishes must always be followed through first, and when they are exhausted, then we allow the family to come in and make a decision. If Mr. Senatori had only signed a supercedent will, things would be different. But I'm sorry, sir. The DNR states what it states, and there's not a damn thing I can do about it."

Lionel just stared at the paper for a moment, and then his head shot up. "My son has been in Metropolis all night and this morning, sorting through Dominic's legal papers. We were on the phone, as you heard, when you came in. I believe he found an amendment canceling the will, dated a few months prior."

Rosalyn squeaked again. "You did not! You didn't even know about this until yesterday! He couldn't have found it!"

Jessup's eyebrow arched. "And that would be?" Then he turned and looked at Rosalyn, and then back to Lionel. "Is that true, sir?"

"Actually, it is, which is why I had my son going through Dominic's legal papers as my representative. We were informed by Dominic's sister, Belinda Senatori, that these documents might have existed, and we began searching for them at once. Lex had the document in his hand as he called me, to tell me he had found the cancellation amendment, signed by Dominic and witnessed by Lex himself," Lionel lied smoothly. "It was a bit of a surprise to find out about the existence of the document, much less the existence of the cancellation."

Jessup's eyebrow rose, and he turned to the small table and chairs by the window. He motioned for Lionel to sit, and Rosalyn as well, opening his briefcase and removing the paperwork from inside. The DNR, the living will, and the normal will, as well as a stack of other papers, sat before him. He opened Mr. Senatori's will and looked through it for a moment, before he caught a name. "A Mr. Alexander J. Luthor?"

"Yes, sir, that's my son, and Dominic's stepson," Lionel answered impatiently.

"He's listed in Mr. Senatori's estate, sir. All cancellation requests are null and void by any parties who will be bequeathed any of Mr. Senatori's estate." Jessup said, though not unkindly this time, if not a little sadly. "I'm sorry, sir."

Lionel swore vehemently under his breath. He'd named Lex because he'd known that his son would back him up, and he'd lost the gamble. "I will be contesting this decision, no matter what the outcome of it is," Lionel growled angrily. "I'll have your practice and your license for this."

He turned and looked at Rosalyn, who was all but hiding by the door. "Get out. Get out of my sight, before I do something that I will not regret in the least."

Jessup had to agree. The woman was a toad. But he was neither here nor there with the decision, as it was one to be battled out amongst family. "Dr. Bryce will be seeing you shortly. It is very likely they will go through with the DNR before noon, Mr. Luthor." Jessup said, quietly. "I'm deeply sorry."

"They will not; Dominic's grandmother still lives in Ireland, and it will take her nearly a day to arrive," he said finally. "It will not be done until after she has arrived and had a chance to say her goodbyes." He refused to look at Rosalyn again.

"Would that be a Ms. Crystabel Finn, sir?"

"Yes, sir, that would be," Lionel snapped angrily.

"She is one of two contacts in the living will. She and her husband cosigned it. They have already been notified as of an hour ago."

"Then if your magnanimous generosity and bitch of a client will allow it, I would like to hold off anything happening until her arrival," he ground out furiously.

"That is for Ms. Senatori to decide." He turned to look at the hateful woman beside him and arched a brow.

Rosalyn squeaked, but she nodded. "He can wait!"

"Mr. Senatori's doctor will inform you with ample time, Mr. Luthor." Jessup said, and put the copy of the paperwork Dominic had in front of Lionel "This is your copy, Mr. Luthor."

Lionel snarled as he snatched the folder out of the man's hand, and said nothing as he glared at the lawyer, and at Rosalyn. "I think both of you should leave now, as you've killed my husband," he said conversationally. "Pardon me if I don't find it in my heart to invite you to the wake."

Jessup didn't say a word, just snapped his briefcase and rose. "As I said before, if you have any questions, please notify me." And then with a turn on his heel he was gone.

Rosalyn hesitated. "Lionel, I--"

"Rosalyn Senatori, I have lived for fifty nine years," he said quietly. "Never once, in those near-six decades, have I raised my hand or struck a woman. Unless you would like to be the first, leave. Now. And do not return. I do not want to see you in this room ever again. Your welcome is worn out; after this has been done and you have killed your son, you are no longer welcome in my home. You are to move whatever things still remain in the mansion out, and I care not where you move to. The rest of your family is welcome to stay, but you are not."

"Fine, Dad, let me." Lex was leaning against the hallway wall, cracking his knuckles. Clark's hearing had heard everything, and he had heard it through their link. "I've hit women before; I don't have a problem with it."

"Come to think of it, neither do I." Clark answered. He was sheet pale, and had stopped to wretch twice on the way to get his lover, but here they were, a little windblown, but a lot pissed off. Clark was panicking in some dark, quiet spot he'd locked away, and his eyes were calm as they looked at the woman. "Is it because he's gay, Rosalyn?"

Confronted by three angry men, Rosalyn shrunk against Dominic's bedside. "No, it isn't! It's what he wanted! It is!!"

Lionel shook his head. "Did you even stop to think about his daughter, Rosalyn? Your granddaughter? The child that's growing inside of Toni, half of him and half of me? Aurora Luthor? Did you think about her? Or just about your own stubborn wants?"

Clark, somewhere deep inside, was darkly, painfully guilty. Because he was so torn about this--he didn't know what to do. No, it wasn't fair that Dominic was going to die and leave his daughter behind. And no, it wasn't fair if they were taking away Dominic's chance to finally die in peace. Clark just didn't know what to do, so he took everything he knew about Dominic and tried to make it some semblance of sense in his head.

And every time he did, it came to one conclusion--Dominic didn't want to die.

"Its not about who wants what, Lionel," Clark said, firmly, still glaring at the older woman. "Its about what Dominic wants. And I'll be damned if he wants to die and leave this new life he's finally achieved for himself behind."

"You don't have to convince me of that, Clark." He pointed to Rosalyn. "But, with all due thanks to this harpy, we will not have a chance to contest that point, with anyone."

"You're going to take him away," Clark whispered to her, the anger finally leaving his eyes to leave a bone crushing horror in its wake. "You're going to let him die, and you don't even care. He's your son, he came from your body, you gave birth to him, he's your blood and bones and skin, he is an extension of you, and you're going to let him go. Obviously you have no fucking idea what it is to lose a child, Rosalyn, but I hope this day haunts you for the rest of your life. Fuck you and all of your morals and ideals and what's best for everyone. Fuck you for not understanding, and may God have mercy on your soul when you stand before Him in judgment and have to explain to Him why you went out of your way to take your son's life away."

Lionel held his arm out to Clark, and tugged him close, hugging him. "No, she doesn't. But she's going to," he whispered softly. "And I can't find it in my heart not to wish it on her. I just wish it was not Dominic." He kissed Clark's forehead softly, and then looked at Lex, who hadn't moved from the door. He ignored Rosalyn entirely. "Call Crystabel, and tell her you are on the way to her now. Bring her back here, and get her a room set up in the mansion."

Lex nodded, and gave his knuckles one final crack. "Rosalyn... I really can't add anything onto what Clark just said. Except for this--you have made yourself alone in this world, because nobody who cared about your son will ever speak to you again. I won't. My father won't. Clark, Toni, your own children won't speak to you, when they see how easily you discarded one of them. And when it is time for you to cry, and weep, and beg to have your son back, you will have no one to blame, Mrs. Senatori, except for yourself."

Clark grasped Lionel hard because he felt dizzy with horror, with fear, with anxiety so severe it was choking him. He hugged Lionel close, struggling to keep breathing as he buried his face in Lionel's shoulder, hugging him softly as he trembled. "Lionel, this can't... she can't... we... he can't go, we can't let him go. There has to be something, you can't let him go, I know he'll wake up, I know he will, please, we've got to try, we've got to, there's... I... there's..."

"Nothing else we can do, Clark," Lionel said softly, his voice full of bitterness and regret. "Thanks to his mother, and to a very important gamble on my part, there is actually nothing we can do. We can fight it in court, but even Judge Ross, who is Dominic's friend, will have no recourse but to honor the documents he signed," Lionel explained. "We'd have a week, perhaps two. I gambled on the clause that a living will can be cancelled if there is a witness to the person expressing their desire to have it cancelled. I said Lex had called to say he found a cancellation amendment that he himself had witnessed a year ago and had forgotten about. But, Dominic put Lex in his will, to receive a third of his LuthorCorp stock and keep it out of his mother's hands," he continued, as though Rosalyn wasn't even there. "Since Lex is in the will, his word becomes useless to the court as a witness, and to have yet another person turn up, with another letter, and another signature, would be suspicious and incredible."

Rosalyn was very, very quiet, just sitting on the bed beside her son, stroking his leg, straightening his blankets, fussing over the little details as she was yelled at and ignored in turn, flinching at the pointed comments.

"But you can't... he can't die, Lionel, our family, our family is with him, and he can't die, he can't die. He'll suffocate and die, Lionel, he'll die and he's our family." Clark begged, grasping Lionel's shirt tightly before he realized he was doing. He choked and let Lionel go, looking at the bed, the woman, and then just turned, leaving the room. He exploded out of the door, slammed it closed so hard a hairline fracture in the plaster slid all the way up to the ceiling, and walked down the hall in a shuddering daze.

The murderous rage pounding through Clark's blood was so fierce that he couldn't see the end of it. The wind howled, thundering and lightening, rain pouring down violently as he stepped out into the street. He knew it was all because of him but he didn't give a fuck, because the injustice he was feeling, the fury, was enough to have killed Rosalyn. He could imagine the feeling of her neck snapping in his hands all too well, and because his own response terrified him, he walked outside and let himself get drenched. He was so mad, so angry, so hateful towards the world. How could this be happening? Why was everything so fucking unfair?! He clenched his hands as tightly as he could and even in his impenetrable skin, raised half moons of blood on his palms from his own fingernails. He snarled at the sky and it roared its response as the rain tumbled in a fury.

Lex held up his hand, meeting his father's chest and holding him in the room. "I'll go," he said softly. "I'll take him with me to pick up Crystabel, see if I can get him to at least calm down a bit." He flicked his eyes out to the weather, to the fierce and furious storm that had just started up. "Go home, Dad. Take a shower. Get some clean clothes on, sleep a few hours if you can--no, listen. I know. There's arrangements to make, and I'll help you make them from the plane. But you need to sleep, and I'll call you when I've gotten to Ireland. Then you can wake up and start the arrangements, because we'll be refueling, and packing up Crystabel. All right? Let the rest of Dominic's family come in while you're gone, and they will call you if anything changes." Lex paused a moment, then hugged his father. "I've got to go after Clark, now, but Dad... we're going to get you through this, if you'll let us."

Lionel nodded, understanding the sense that Lex was making, but not wanting to believe it. "All right, Lex. I'll call Lindy and Graham, and they'll notify the rest of the family." He shot a murderous glare at Rosalyn. "Send hospital security back when you go, because I want her out of her and banned from the room before I leave. Please..."

Lex just nodded. "Of course." His own heart was breaking, and he couldn't let it. He turned on his heel and left the room, sending security back as he went down the stairs, foregoing the elevators in favor of speed, and moving quickly through the waiting rooms and foyers until he saw his lover, standing out in the middle of the street.

"Clark?"

Clark stalked the back entrance, and thank God it was deserted for the moment, the sudden pick up of rain and storm causing people to run indoors. He just stalked across the puddles of water, shoes drenching and hair sticking to his forehead as he snarled. He wasn't walking anywhere in particular, just walking, the cold rain doing nothing to cool his temper, which was at its heights of glory now, so much so that he was a danger to anyone around him. "Stay. The fuck. Away."

"I can't," Lex said quietly. "Rosalyn's being thrown out of the room, and Dad's calling the rest of the family. Clark... please. I need you. I need you to come with me to the airport, because we're going to pick up Crystabel." Lex's hands were clenched in tight fists. "Please. I can't... do it alone."

"I want to kill her. I want to kill her, Lex." He turned sharp, flint green eyes at Lex. "I want to put my hands around her neck and squeeze until she suffocates. I want to kill her, for what she's doing to my family. I want to kill her."

"I know you do, Clark. So does Dad. So do I. So will her family, when they find out. But you can't. No matter how much you want to, you can't. Mostly because I need you to come with me." Lex took a step closer to his lover. "I am hanging on by a thread as it is. Dad's the same way, so are you, and if you lose it, then Clark, I am going to, and I can't right now. Please. Just come with me. Help me. I need you, aushna'."

At Lex's quiet words Clark felt some of the intense fury wash down into the recesses of his heart where it would stay until he could deal with it. He took another step forward... another… and nodded, through the rivulets of water sliding down his face. "I'll help you. I need you, aushna'." He had recognized the simple words Lex had spoken as truth and he took another step forward. "I will help you."

"I need you," Lex repeated again. "Because I don't know what I'm going to do."

"We're going to go get Gran. We're coming back. And we're going to find a way to stop this." Clark answered, calmly, and though he didn't dare touch Lex while in such a temper, he pointed toward the SUV sitting in the parking lot. "Let's go."

Lex nodded, and looked down at the keys in his pocket. He found the ones to the SUV, looked at his hand again, looked at Clark, and then closed his hands around the keys. "I'll drive. But you'll have to call the helicopter and the airport for me, so the chopper can pick us up at the house and take us to the airport, and the jet'll be ready. We'll call Crystabel from the air."

"I will in a few minutes, Lex." Clark answered firmly, and turned to the SUV, stepping through puddles and across muddy grass to get to the car. He didn't look back for Lex, trusting him to follow, as he tried to reign in his anger as much as he could. He stepped across the parking lot and waited for Lex to disengage the locks and alarm with the remote.

As soon as Lex was in range, he raised the remote, unlocking the car and turning off the alarm, and he jogged the last few yards, sliding into the driver's seat. He shivered for long moments behind the wheel, hands shaking as he slid the key into the ignition and cranked the monster vehicle up, then turned the heat on full blast, rubbing his hands up and down his arms. "I'll turn it off in a minute," Lex said softly, scrubbing his arms quickly and roughly.

Clark didn't say a word. He slid into the seat beside his lover and put his seat belt on. Cold didn't effect him, and neither did heat, unless he wanted it to. Now, he could care less. He closed his eyes and set his head back on the chair back, hands still in tight fists on his thighs.

Lex's shivering got worse, before it got better, but after a few moments of full blast heat, the shivers went away, and Lex was able to put his hands on the wheel without shaking. "You want me to stop and let you get some coffee before we go?" he asked. "Or change or anything?"

"Clothes." Clark said... then looked at his lover. He finally locked away the anger in the few minutes it took Lex to stop shivering, and he leaned over to kiss his lover softly, deeply. "I'm sorry. I'm better. I love you so much. Lets go get Gran."

Lex returned the kiss deeply, and a little desperately. "I love you, Clark." He clutched Clark's presence in his mind as tightly as he could, envisioning himself curling around it in a little ball as he let out a tremulous sigh, and handed over his cell phone. "The pilot's on speed dial--he's fourth, I believe, and he'll connect you to the airport."

"Alright." He took the phone from Lex, confidant he wouldn't crush it, and looked outside at the pouring rain. "When we stop at the house? I need to talk to my dad for a minute. Alright?" He lifted the phone to his ear after hitting the fourth number, and waited for them to pick up.

"Of course." Lex was shivering again, not all from the rain that had plastered his shirt to his chest. "You'll have a chance to talk to your dad, and I'm going to change into something dryer and warmer." The only reason his hands weren't shaking again were because they were clenched so tightly on the steering wheel.

"LuthorCorp Air Services," came the crisp voice in the other end of the phone.

"Hello, Clark Kent. We need the LuthorCorp jet fueled and waiting for Lex Luthor and myself--we'll be at the airport in twenty minutes. Destination Dublin, and if you can get us close to Cork we'll be much obliged. Its an emergency."

The pilot checked his maps. "Yeah, there's an airport in Cork where we can land you, an' looks like there's a train station right near it that'll take you anywhere else you wanna go. When are we picking you back up, and do you need a helicopter sent to Smallville?"

"No. We'll be in Metropolis in under a half hour, and want to leave immediately. Have everything ready, please."

The pilot blinked. "You're goin' all the way over there, and you ain't stayin'?"

"No."

"Kay... you pickin' anybody up? Need to know for the flight plan."

"Two people, an elderly couple. We'll need comfortable blankets and tea on board." Clark answered mechanically, looking out the window at the driving rain.

"Right. Two more passengers, tea, blankets." He muttered something about not being a fucking catering service, then cleared his throat. "We'll be ready to leave when you are."

"Excuse me? Sir, with all do respect, do you ever not want to fuck with me or the Luthor family right about now, because we'll have your balls in a sling and your name on every fucking black list in the free world, so bad in fact that the only place you'll ever be able to work at is Slushy Heaven and that's even debatable. Get. The tea. And blankets. And have the plane ready to go in forty five minutes, or you will be sorry."

The pilot actually had the audacity to snort. "Yeah, it'll be ready, don't worry, kid. We fly shit like this all the time for the big boys." The pilot hung up then, and laughed softly to himself.

Lex looked up at the angry snarl and the sudden hard pelting of rain on the windshield. "Somebody giving you problems?"

"He laughed at me." Clark snarled, and hung up, setting the phone down before he crushed it and started counting backward from a hundred again. "Christ almighty, please help me, please let me meet the man and wrench his fucking spine out, please, oh please."

Lex nodded. "It's okay by me if you do it; I won't tell." He still shivered, just a little, and the mansion was just coming into view. "I'll even help." The corners of his mouth tried to raise in a smile, and they just couldn't quite make it. "I'll fire him."

"But that won't be as fun." Clark answered back, climbing out of the SUV and going around for Lex. He helped his lover down into the sheeting rain and walked into the house, ignoring Enrique, ignoring Ms. Bird as she called out to them, and walked Lex, tucked into his embrace, up the stairs. They were soaking wet, leaving water wherever they went, but he didn't really give a fuck. he quietly left Lex in their bedroom. "I'll be back."

He turned, walking down the hall and into the large library. He knocked on it, lightly, before walking in. "Father?"

Lex just nodded as he let Clark lead him through the house and into the bedroom, and then once Clark was gone, he sat down on the edge of the bed, fighting back tears as he peeled off wet clothes and started pulling out warm, dry ones.

Jor-El was perched on one of the sofas in the library, a stack of books by his elbow, along with a tall glass of orange juice, and the tome in his hands looked to be over a thousand pages thick. "I am here, Kal-El," he called out, without removing his nose from the book.

"Father, Lex and I have to go overseas for about a day. We'll be back tomorrow... will you be alright?" Clark whispered, as he sank down at his fathers feet and looked up at him quietly.

Jor-El put the book down at that after carefully marking his place. "What has happened, Kal-El?"

"Andes, father." Clark whispered, and set his exhausted head on his fathers knee. "On earth, there are rituals father, that our people sometimes agree to. When they are very sick, and there is no way for them to recover, this ritual they've done at a prior date indicates that they be put to death. Andes... he did this ritual, father, and his mother has proof. They're going to take him off of the machines keeping him alive."

Jor-El looked puzzled at this. "You mean people of this culture choose to voluntarily sever their lifecords, that hold them to this world, merely because they are ill and have no faith that they will recover? And Andes has chosen to do this, rather than remain with his family?"

"No, father. He chose it many years ago, and signed a document stating this was what he wanted. Twenty years ago, father. I have no doubt in my mind that he does not wish this to happen, with his daughter almost ready to be born, and his husband so nurturing of him. But there's no way to stop it, father." The tears welled, hot and tight, and Clark choked them back.

Jor-El moved and took his son into his arms. "I do not understand why this would be done in the first place, Kal. But if it cannot be stopped, it can be gotten around. Can Lionel not have this order delayed or entangled by those... are they called lawyards?"

"He's going to try." Clark whispered, and let his father hug him close, but just for a moment, as he climbed up onto the couch beside Jor-El. "Dominic's mother thinks that its for the best, that Dominic won't wake up. She knows nothing." Clark whispered, vehemently. "Lionel is trying though, and Lex and I are going to go get the person who signed the document all those years ago, Dominic's grandmother."

"Our people value honesty, Kal-El, but over that, we value life. To encourage you to practice dishonesty is not my way, but if you could speak to this grandmother, you say, and see if you can gently remind her, with only a little persuasion, that she has heard Andes say he wishes to have this revoked, perhaps that would carry weight with the proper authority figures."

"It might, father. Its one of the reasons we're bringing her here as fast as possible." Clark whispered, and looked at his father quietly. "I've come to you many times in the past few weeks, father, but now I need you more than ever--please give me your guidance. Please tell me that letting him die humanely and painlessly is not better than living."

"A life of any kind, with the hope of being healed, is better than death of any sort," Jor-El said firmly. "That is why you were sent away from Krypton. Rather than let you die with us, as would have been painless, as you say, we sent you to a life we knew not. That is our way; a life of any kind is better than death."

"I believe the same, father." Clark murmured softly, and scrubbed his face. "My aushna' is waiting for me. He is so upset, you couldn't possibly know. I'll keep in contact with you, father...you remember what a phone is, yes?"

Jor-El laughed softly. "Yes, I remember what a telephone is, and I remember how to use it. I will be expecting to hear from you." He sobered for a moment. "Be strong for your aushna', but do not forget to be weak in front of him as well, because in your weakness, he may find the strength to help you," Jor-El cautioned.

"I know. Thank you, father." Clark hugged him, tightly, squeezing him close, and letting himself be held for several long moments. "I love you, father. I will see you soon."

"I love you, my son. Take care on your journey, and I will see you come home safely." He tightened his arms and then let his son go. "Take care of yourself and of your aushna'."

"I will. I will call you soon on our progress." He stood quickly, and after grasping one of the books from the shelf, rose a hand and left quickly. Back down the hall, shedding his sopping wet clothes on the way, and he opened the bedroom door and quietly closed it behind him, dropping his soaking wet clothes in the hamper just inside the bathroom. "Lex?"

Lex peeked out of the shower stall. "I'm here, Clark. I started getting dressed, and I couldn't get warm. So I got in the shower instead, I hope you don't mind. We should still be able to get there in time."

"That's alright, baby. Don't worry, take your time." Clark crossed to the shower quietly, and leaned in to gently press his mouth to that lovely, lovely face, kissing him softly. "Scoot over."

Lex scooted obediently, making room for Clark in the steamy, but spacious shower. "Come on in. You can turn the water down if you want; I've just had it running hot for the last ten minutes or so."

"No, its alright, I'm freezing." Clark pulled his socks off, then his boxers, and slid in nakedly next to Lex. It was strange sometimes, seeing himself naked, when Lex's stream lined, hairless beauty was leaning against his. It made the thatch of dark hair at his cock and the hairs on his belly, chest, and legs seem almost caveman, but he didn't care. He snuggled in against Lex, quietly, and closed his eyes softly. "I'm sorry, for telling you to get away, earlier. I was so angry, Lex."

"I know; it's all right." Lex brought Clark's arms tightly around his waist and squeezed his hands desperately. "I know you were just trying not to hurt me; I knew how angry you were, it didn't upset me."

"I hope she burns in hell." Clark whispered, very softly, his eyes darkening as he pressed his mouth to Lex's damp shoulder, and warmed his lover with his embrace. "I can't think about it. Don't think about it, either. Not right now. Finish the mission, baby."

"I hope she does too, Clark." Lex shivered again, and pressed tightly against Clark. "I can't get warm." He felt Clark's warmth leaching into him, but it was a hard cold, deep inside, a chill that he couldn't shake. "Finish the mission," he said softly. "Bring Crystabel here to watch her grandson die." He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against Clark's shoulder. "I'll do it."

"No. My father said... if there's a way, a way for her to firmly disagree with it, since she signed it... she might be able to stop it. For a while. If we can get her here, Lex."

"Not unless there's a signed document from her," Lex said quietly. "And while I have the document in the bedroom, in my clothes--it was faxed from the Metropolis office--I sincerely doubt that she will sign it."

"Why?" Clarks voice was rasped, choked, buried in Lex's neck.

"Because it would be a lie. And unless he's told her in the last few years that he's changed his mind--which I don't believe he has, because he's never mentioned it and I tend to think he's forgotten it--then she'd have no reason to believe that there is a reason to deny his wishes."

"Lex, Dominic is going to die, isn't he?" Clark whispered, his voice squeezing out a sharp sound that sounded half sob and half scream, burying it in Lex's neck.

Lex couldn't bring himself to speak, just nodding affirmatively.

Clark gave the sound again, only this time he began to cry again in heavy sounds. He cried for himself, but he also cried for Lionel and Lex, who loved Dominic so much, and he sobbed for Lionel most of all. Lionel, who had suffered so very much, Lionel who didn't deserve this, and he just cried all the harder, grasping his lover and sobbing deeply into the back of his shoulder.

Lex turned around in the shower and wrapped his arms around Clark, hugging him tightly and keeping Clark's cries muffled in his shoulder. "I know; I know, Clark, I feel the same way, I know." He held his weeping lover tightly, close as he could to his own body. "None of us deserve this."

"Lionel, Lionel," Clark whispered among the tears swimming down his face, his huge hands cupping Lex's face several times, eyes dark and hot and so full of pain. "Lex, Lionel, he's… he... he's.."

Lex nodded. "Yes, he will."

Lex's lack of emotion made Clark choke his back, squeezing Lex's shoulders and hugging him tightly to his chest, kissing his neck and throat and just embracing him as close as he could. "I love you, Lex, I love you so much baby, I love you."

"I love you too, Clark. And yes, I feel it. I feel it everywhere, in everything, but I can't. Not yet. Dad... Dad's depending on me. But I will, and you will know when I do."

"Please don't get sick from holding it in." Clark whispered, cupping his cheeks gently and kissing his face softly. "I love you so much, Lex. Let's go, let's just… let's go.:"

"I won't, Clark, believe me." He shivered, even in the hot water from the shower. "I promise. When we get back, and I don't have anything else to do for Dad, then I will. And I will need you." He stroked his fingers over Clark's, returning the kiss.

"I'll be here for you. I'll be strong, I promise." Clark said again, and choked down the rest of the sobs as he kissed Lex's face as softly as he could, and held him gently in his arms.

"I know you will be." Lex just closed his eyes and let his head rest against Clark's shoulder. "I know you'll be there when I need you." He tightened his grip on Clark's hand, then turned off the shower. "Come on. Let's get dressed and let's go. Dad should be home soon, and I think he'll want to be alone."

"I love you." Clark nodded, gently, and kissed Lex's forehead, his lips, and let him go. He turned and grasped the towels he'd thrown over the head of the shower, handing Lex his and coughing softly as he got out and rubbed himself quickly down. "Do we need to take anything with us? Aside from passports?"

"No, just the passports, and I'm taking the laptop and the cell phone in case Dad tries to get in touch with me while we're in the air." He took his towel and started drying off.

"Okay. The cell phone still works overseas, right?" Clark asked softly, as he walked into the bedroom and quickly got some clothes for himself. He knew Lex liked to dress himself, so Clark only tugged on a pair of his most comfortable jeans and a light blue sweater for himself, sitting on the edge of the bed to tug on his boots as well.

"Yeah, it does. We've got global satellite coverage. There's also telephones on the plane in case service gets interrupted." He followed Clark out into the bedroom, and sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling up a pair of socks and then underwear. "Would you look in the closet and hand me out the dark puple jacket? And remind me to pick up my leather jacket from by the kitchen door before we leave."

"Okay." He stood up quickly and got the jacket, handing it to his lover as Clark pulled his jean jacket over the snug sweater he was wearing, tucking his wallet into his pack pocket, as well as his passport into the jacket pocket.

Lex got dressed quickly, shrugging into a purple turtleneck and black slacks, then the purple sportcoat over it, and out of habit, he picked up car keys off the dresser, though he knew he wouldn't need them. His watch followed, and then the gold ring that Clark had given him the last time they'd been on the plane together. He pressed his lips to the cool metal and wrapped his arms around himself, cold in the middle of July, and he swept the folder of papers off the dresser as well. Legal documents, passports, everything he shoved into the front pocket of the laptop carrier, and he clipped the cell phone onto his belt, and looked at Clark across the room. "We're ready?"

"Ready. Ms. Bird will care for the puppies. Lets go, okay?" Clark offered his hand to Lex and linked them, as they stepped out of the bedroom. Clark closed it firmly behind them and started down the hall, quickly, lover in arm. "I'll run us to Metropolis baby, okay? Its faster."

"That's fine," Lex said, adjusting the strap of the laptop to fit tighter across his chest. He caught a flash of his father's figure disappearing into the bedroom down the hall, but didn't say anything to intrude as he tightened his grip on Clark. "Don't forget my jacket."

"I saw him too. Don't let him see us." Clark said almost silently, voice barely above a whisper as he prodded Lex down the reserve hall and to the steps that led to the kitchen, so they wouldn't bother Lionel. He was quiet, steps falling silent on the wooden staircase.

"He won't see us," Lex said softly, slipping into the shadows with his lover. "He's too involved in his own grief, and I can't blame him at all." He went down the stairs as quickly as he could, and at the bottom of them, paused to pick up his jacket and shrug it over his shoulders, over the computer strap as well so that it was covered and kept close to his body. He looked longingly at the locked liquor cabinet, but denied himself a drink.

So did Clark. Instead, he quickly lifted his lover up on the front stoop of the house, and after a quick x-ray scan told him no one was around, he leapt off the stair and ran, as fast and as hard as he could.

Lex held tightly to his lover, arms like steel bands around Clark's neck with the laptop cradled safely between them. He shuddered and shivered as the wind whistled around them, not really feeling it but knowing it to be there as scenery passed by at a nauseating blur.

He was still shocked to find that Clark could navigate at these speeds, but in the part of him that wasn't mourning, he felt pride that Clark could master his abilities so quickly and so easily.

 

-fin-

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