The Memoirs

The EMTs came crashing in. Beeps off the machines they were carrying, scream of the wheels, and Dr. Braxton was right beside the stretcher as she looked down at the victim they'd covered with blankets and bandages. Oh, God. She winced and listened to the paramedic at her side reel things off at her, soaking it all in as they turned a left and crashed through the main emergency room doors to the special room designed for incoming trauma. "IV push, hang a bag of O neg, and let’s get him off the stretcher on three. One and two and--go!”  The orderlies and she herself moved him over. "55 year old male, came in with lacerations and severe trauma to the head and chest. Looks like..." Her fingers started to move over him. "We have a few broken ribs here… possible lung lacerations, get x-ray in here now. I want him intubated, people.  Through the trach tube.  Go!”

 

The heart monitors jumped and fluctuated as he was moved to the table, but Lionel didn't know what was happening to him. 

 

One of the nurses in the room started moving the temporary bandages, so that they could scope the extent of his injuries.  "Thoracic impact to the steering wheel, but the sternum is still intact," she reported, feeling the solid breastbone.  She consulted the quickly written report from the EMTs.  "They report the air bag deployed, but he impacted at high speed."  Her fingers moved the bandages from his head and face so that they could get a clear look at the injuries there too.  "I want a CT scan, there's a pretty hard bump here and there could be a skull fracture.  Concussion is definite, Doctor."  She pulled the eyelid open and flashed it with the flashlight.  "Pupils dilated and fixed; no response.  Possible neural trauma.  Broken nose, broken cheekbone."  The heart monitor jumped again, and then flatlined.  "Doctor, we've got a flatline."  The nurse turned to the wall and hit the code blue button.  "Code Blue in Trauma 2, Resuscitation Team to Trauma 2, stat."

 

Except... she almost couldn’t move. Because lying before her, broken and bloodied and dead... was Lionel Luthor.

 

Dominic Senatori. Case 4531. Gun shot wound to the inner shoulder and outer layer of heart... Lionel wanting to move him to Angel of Mercy. Stayed in the mansion in Smallville. Came to change Dominic’s bandages everyday. Listened to him go on and on about his lover, and how much he loved him.

 

And here lay that lover, dead, in her arms.

 

"I know this man." Harsh, clipped tone as she unhooked the defibulator paddles from their stand and barked, "200 joules," A nurse next to her put jelly on the shocking pads, then the paddles themselves. A moment..."Clear!" And she pumped his heart with the shock of electricity, hoping to get it started once more.

 

Nothing.

 

"300, now!" Moment. "Clear!"

 

Another shock.

 

Nothing.

 

Lionel's body jumped with each of the shocks to his system, but nothing happened.  The nurse looked over.  "400 joules, Doctor?  Or do you want to go in and try open-heart massage?"  A needle of epinephrine was already in her hand, ready to be passed over.  "Doctor?"

 

 A precious moment. Two. And she reached over, snagging the scalpel she needed from the emergency tray and slowly, with great precision, slit her patients chest down the middle. "Rib spreader." She took it from the nurse, working as fast as she could, and with a glance at Lionel’s intubated, bloodied face, cracked his ribs. Right down the center, with a sickening crunch, and she immediately went to work, gloved fingers dipping into his chest and working, as fast as she could. "Get me the heart defibs now, get ready to get OR on the line and tell them we're coming up, God, damn you Lionel, breathe." She threw her back behind it, fingers flexing and moving, the flurry of nurses and med students around her lost in the cacophony of her own blood. Thud, thud. Fingers moving. Thud, thud. Defibulator. Another two minutes and she would have to pronounce him dead. Please, oh please. Thud, thud.

 

The nurse moved quickly, pulling on a fresh pair of gloves as the doctor cracked open the patients thoracic cavity with the rib spreader and then took the miniature paddles in hand.  "Doctor, move your hands please."  She placed the paddles on either side of his heart.  "Clear."

 

The miniature paddles delivered their electrical charge to Lionel's heart, and his body finally responded.  A weak beat at first, it quickly strengthened.  "Normal sinus rhythm, Doctor."

 

"I knew he had it in him, old goat." A sigh, and she slowly removed her hands. "Alright. Call OR, tell them to get neurology in there. Dr Bates, if he's on duty. He's the best." Lionel wouldn’t have it any other way. She packed the open chest cavity with sterile gauze, and the orderlies nabbed the machines he was hooked to. "Lets go."

 

"Of course, Doctor."  She peeled her bloodied gloves off and dropped them in the biohazard receptacle, and sent out a page for Dr. Bates, both on the hospital PA and on his pager.

 

~ * ~ * ~

 

It took them an hour. Pack everyone in, seat belts and laughter over the new baby, despite the more subdued way they all were in. Home...unbuckling, taking out car seats, getting everyone inside...and Dominic made a bee-line for the room he'd made into a study for himself and Lionel. Thick, warm seats that were bouncy and comfortable; big pillows and a bright, cheerful carpet in front of a fire place. Some kind soul had lit it, and he was sitting there on one edge of the couch, long after the children had been put to bed, drinking his way through a bottle of scotch.

 

Shayla had noticed her brother disappearing almost as soon as they were in the door, but had taken her almost an hour to find Lindy.  "Lindy, you said you'd talk to him.  And now he's gone and disappeared.  Nobody knows where he's at."

 

Lindy patted her sister on the shoulder.  "Don't fret.  Go take a shower, and try and get some rest.  Leave Morgan to me.  I promise I'll look after him."  She watched as Shayla nodded and took off, and then Lindy herself sighed.  Where to find Morgan?  Squaring her shoulders, she started climbing the stairs, looking for her brother.  "Morgan?" she called out softly, hoping for an answer she could use as a homing beacon.

 

He almost didn’t hear her. Almost. And when he did, he didn’t want his drink bothered. She'd lecture him, and he wasn’t exactly in the mood for lectures. So he downed the rest of the fingers worth in the glass, hissed, and refilled.

 

When she didn't get an answer, she kept looking.  "Morgan, I'm not giving up, and if I have to get Ms. Bird to help me find you, I will!"

 

Fuck. Ms Bird. Fuck. He slowly got to his feet, socked feet silent on the wood, and opened a door down the hall from her. He met eyes with her...and walked slowly back into the room, falling back onto the chair with a little oomph of the seat, and propped his feet back up on the foot stool.

 

Threw his head back, and the scotch scalded his throat.

 

Lindy walked quietly into the room, and quietly surveyed the situation.  Without saying a word, she went over, picked up the scotch bottle, and put it on the desk behind her, and then straddled his legs.  "You wanna tell me about it, or is the answer in that bottle?"

 

"Sometimes, if I look hard enough and the bottles almost gone, I see little devils doing the meringue at the bottom of the glass. Does that count?"

 

"No, it doesn't.  What it does is tell me you've had more than enough."  Lindy moved so that she sat on the arm of the chair.  "Well?"

 

 "I’ve not had nearly enough. In fact, I’m quite sure theirs more to be had, but I’m an adult and I wont fight you for it." He watched her move, tensing when she got too close and then slowly relaxing once more. "Well what? An explanation for my current behavior? I’m sure Graham has filled you in about what happened in the car."

 

"Actually, no, he didn't.  I'm here because Shayla is worried about you."  She crossed her arms over her chest.  "So, do you tell me, or do I go look for Graham?"

 

"Oh, that’s bloody fantastic of her, really." Darkly, and he turned a little away from her. "Its a long story. I don’t want to go into it."

 

"Yes, it is bloody fantastic of her, when we both know she wouldn't admit to having a heart if it killed her."  This was all said calmly.  "I guess this means I go and find Graham and see what he's got to say about all this."

 

"What exactly would you like me to say, Lin'? Really? Would you like to hear detail for detail the way I let him go to that man? Huh?" He threw it at her, and pulled his eyes away to glare into the corner of the room.

 

Lindy reached out and turned his gaze towards her.  "I want you to talk to me, Morgan.  Tell me why the man who made you happier than I've ever seen you isn't here with you now... tell me why my sweet little baby brother went and broke a man's nose tonight."

 

"Felt bloody fantastic, it did." A mutter, and dammit, he couldn’t deny his big sister when she sicced the big eyes on him. Dammit. Fuck. And he sighed. "Perhaps I can tell you a bit more calmly then I did Graham. But know, before I begin, that I’m a capable man and am well aware of what I’ve done and what I should do. Sort of."

 

"I know you are."  She didn't let his gaze go, but she did drop her hand from his face.  "Come on, make room in that overstuffed monstrosity for me."

 

He scooched over, offering her just enough room... And secretly didn’t give her enough, so he had an excuse to cuddle. "Its an Allen. I like it, but it needs more pillows."

 

Lindy slid down into the small space, and turned partially on her side, propping her elbow on the back of the chair and draping her other arm around Dominic's waist.  "Needs more room," she said, getting comfortable and cuddling beside her brother.

 

Oh. There he went. Snuggle in with his big sister, who'd all but raised him. But he didn’t bring attention to the drawn up socked feet, or the careless arm he put over hers. "You just have a big ass, beloved." A million teeth in an innocent face that was almost strange with the misery clouding his eyes.

 

"Yeah, yeah, that's what having a kid will do.  Broaden the hips and spread the seat."  She rested her cheek on his head.  "I've been worried about you for years, Morgan, and then when we saw you with Lionel this holiday, it was like you were back after a very long trip, and now you're gone again."  She hugged him.  "I want my brother back."

 

"So you guys noticed, huh." Only he said it almost teasingly, and lay his cheek against the front of her shoulder. "Lionel has a very... checkered past. Most of it you don’t need to know; only that Jonathan and Lionel once saw each other intimately. Jonathans father broke them up because he didn’t like it, making both men think that the other hated them. So they spent... twenty years hating one another. And then Clark and Lex started to see one another, and Jonathan had to talk to Lionel about it.... and they made up. Are you with me so far? Its like a damned soap opera.  I’m going to convince Lionel to write memoirs just to catalogue this. Because really. Its bloody amazing."

 

Lindy nodded.  "I'm with you so far."  And then she giggled.  "I'll buy a copy, but only if he promises to autograph it."

 

"I’m sure he will, if I haven’t ripped his hands off by then." And he sighed again, listening to her breath as he spoke. "I walked in on them embracing one another... hugging, but you know me. I went off the deep bloody end. Threw things at him, I did. But he explained, and I told him I was an idiot, and that was that. Well... apparently, tonight, Jonathan told Lionel he still loved him. And he kissed him. And that’s where the mushy part comes in, because I don’t quite remember what happened afterward. Lionel came looking for me to talk... so we went out on the terrace behind the cafe'. And he told me what had happened...  Only... it... I told him to pursue it. Just to see. Because I could never stand in the way of love that had spanned decades if it would make Lionel happy. So he gave me his engagement ring, and told me to choose. And I chose to give him that opportunity." A long pause. "Was I right to do it?"

 

Lindy's first reaction was outrage.  "How dare he do that to you?"  She hugged him tightly.  "That was the choice that my brother made," she said quietly.  "That sounds so like you, wanting someone else to be happy because you don't think you're worth it."  She thumped his forehead lightly.  "You get that man back, and you kick his ass up one side and down the other, and if you don't I will."

 

"That’s just it, Lin." A little nod, and he hugged her back. "There are things that have happened to me in the past. Things I'll never share with anyone but myself and God. And those things make me the way that I am. But know this... It wasn’t Lionel who did them. Put your mind at ease of that." A little nod, and he kissed her cheek. "He told me, while we were outside, that he loved me, and only me. That he felt nothing for Jonathan. But there would always be that... If. And I cant live with it hanging over my head. I know Lionel will be back. I know he will. I know him too well not to think so. I’m just afraid what he'll be like when he comes back."

 

"Morgan... what happened?"  She ran her fingers lightly through his hair.  "What happened?  It stole most of your life away," she continued in a quiet whisper.  "Just promise me you'll be happy with him.  Because he loves you; I could see it every time he looked at you.  He loved you so much."

 

"I’d be ruined in your eyes if I ever told you, Lindy." He looked up with sad eyes. "You would hold nothing but pity for me, and you know how much I love pity." And her words made his chest feel tight and his throat burn. "I know he loves me. I know I’m more then a fling. We want to have a family, Lin. A baby. We're going to find a way to bring a child into our lives, after we get married."

 

"That's not true, Morgan... I'd always love you."  But she let it go, clinging tightly to him and frightened by the depth of pain and sadness in his eyes.  "If you know that then why did you let him go?"

 

"Because I love him enough to let him go."

 

"I don't understand you, Morgan, but I love you.  If you know he loves you, and you know you love him... then why test him?  Why set him up to fail and hurt you?"  Lindy didn't get go of her grip on him.

 

"I’m not testing him." Sadly, and he shook his head, looking away. "This isn’t about testing. Lindy, this, what we have, is so deeply based on trust that neither of us would ever do anything like that to hurt one another. This...what’s happening right now is not a test. It's....I just want him to be happy. I love him so much, and I don’t care if I never see him another day of my life. As long as he's happy, I don’t care. And if Jonathan can make him happier then me, then he needs to do that. He needs to make a life with Jonathan, because as the man has already demonstrated, he gives shit diddly about his wife and son. But it doesn’t matter what I think. Not at all.  All that matters is that he's happy. Do you understand?"

 

"Yes, it does matter.  It matters a lot."  She rocked her brother against her.  "I can't believe you, Morgan.  You'll give up the man you love because you think someone else can make him happier.  I just want to ask you one more thing... did he look happy when you let him go?"

 

His chin trembled, and he looked away until he could calm it. The look his lover gave him would haunt him until the day he died. "No."

 

"Then why do you think he's going to be happy without you?"  She kept her arms around him.  "When he comes back, don't you ever let him go again."

 

"When he comes back." He repeated softly, laying his head back against her. "I love him so much. He's done so much for me... do you know he gave me a bath? After I got shot, and I was recuperating. He helped me pee... and he gave me a bath. A good one, not the icky nurse kind. You know? And he made me waffles one morning. They were bloody disgusting, but he tried so hard and I ate them all. And the way he holds me... or when we're talking, and he touches my hand. I catalogue and save every little thing, so that when times like these come and go, I can watch them... a... and I don’t miss him as badly."

 

"No, I didn't know that."  She sat quietly and listened to her brother talking about this man whom he loved so desperately, pushing his bangs back and gently playing with his hair.  "He didn't strike me as the gentle loving care kind of man, not the kind who would get his hands dirty."  She paused.  "You want to tell me more about him?  I'd love to hear about him, especially if he's going to be part of the family."

 

"He's so neat its sad, but when it comes to his sock drawer he... he just throws it all in there and digs for them when he needs them." He tilted his face up to her hand, and smiled a little as he spoke. "He shows he trusts and cares for me in every way possible... Even when I call him a poofy marshmallow, or make references to the fact that he's a romantic. He teases me and cares for me and makes love to me. Its different, then anything else, ever. And I was so sad for so long, and suddenly...over the course of one weekend, we found one another in a way we'd never had one another before. Literally, and figuratively. And since then...we've been seeing one another.  Did you see the way he cuddles Shane?" His eyes were bright. "And he puts up with the lot of you, when he's never known a loud, boisterous family such as ours. He puts up with the innuendo's, and the pink hair, and the babies crawling. And its... All...okay."

 

She laughed.  "A poofy marshmallow?  I'm not sure I'd be bold enough to call him that to his face.  But it sounds like you've been more than seeing each other, little brother."  She stroked his face with her fingers.  "Shane's just devoted to him.  I don't think Graham's been able to get him to stop crying since Lionel left." 

 

From two hallways down, Shane was wailing. Just screaming his head off. WHERE WAS HIS BEST FRIEND? His best friend, with the hair and fuzzy softness and the smelly dad breath and the rumbly chest and HIS LOVELY FRENCH FRIES?! 

 

Graham was holding Shane against his shoulder, rubbing his back.  "It's okay, Shaney.  Just one night.  I know, a lot has happened today, but it'll all be all right."

 

"Mama doesn’t like it." He glanced up at her, mortified. "She walked in, on..." And his cheeks burned.

 

 "On you and Lionel making out?" She fought the grin.  "We heard."

 

He gasped, and his eyes were rimmed with white, with the green in the middle. "Oh, my god. How much did she tell you?!”

 

Lindy's voice dropped to mimic their mother's.  "Well, I never.  Just standing up there with a pup tent in his pants, just like his mother wasn't standing there!  And that man!  Naked in his shower just like he belonged!" 

 

He nearly fell off the couch...instead, buried his head in his hands, and his face burned. "Oh. My. God. Lin, oh, God. She said pup tent? Really?"

 

Lindy nodded.  "Yes, she did. We all nearly died because we really didn't want to know that."

 

"Remind me to apologize to her. I think she wants to think the lot of us are sweet 14 year old virgins." And he smiled just a little at her. "I love you, Lin."

 

"I love you too, Morgan."  She rubbed her face against his.  "I think it's too late for the virgin part, the most of us have children."

 

"Tell me what to do." Pleading, dark eyes met hers. "Give me advice. You’re so good at it."

 

"If he doesn't come back by tomorrow, you go and find that man of yours.  You haul him home from whatever hole he crawled into, you both sober up, and then you tell him exactly what you told me.  How much you love him, the life you see together, then you put that ring back on his finger and threaten to maim him the next time it comes off."

 

Oh. And that made him feel so good. That the person he respected most in this world would think he was worthy of love. "Yeah? I mean, yeah. Could I actually haul him? I’m quite good at it."

 

"You could.  You've got that Senatori ear-dragging gene in you, brother.  Put it to good use!  Grab that ear and drag him home!"

 

He reached up and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her hard. "Thank you. So much. I’m sorry I was being a bastard."

 

Lindy returned the hard hug, cuddling close to him in the chair.  "It's okay.  We're all that way when we hurt.  You just gotta know... I know you're a sucker for the eyes."

 

"That’s why you sic them on me every single time, hmm? Now I know your secret. And I plan on telling Lionel exactly where I got it."

 

"He's a sucker too, hmm?"  Lindy grinned.  "Knowing it's my secret weapon doesn't make it any less successful.  There's nothing that makes a man want to rip his throat out more than teary eyes from a woman.  Be it sister, daughter, or friend."

 

"Good Jesus." He glared, but only teasingly. "So that’s the weapon of choice, mmmm? Teary eyes, misery in the eye?" A light smile. "I'll remember that for next time."

 

"I'll change it next time.  You won't even know what hit you."  She kissed his cheek, and then snuggled in.

 

And little did he know, that only a few miles away, his lover was fighting for his life.

 

Toni had settled on the floor outside of the OR.  Where else would she be? They hadn’t let her in, and in there, in THERE, was her patient. A man she felt she knew almost as well as a friend, through all Mr. Senatori had told her. And in her heart, she felt she owed it to the both of them to get them through this.

 

Inside the OR, Lionel had been hooked up to several machines, all of which were breathing for him, making his heart beat, and circulating his blood as they worked to save his life.  "Good Lord; what happened to this man.  The rib's all but punctured the lung.  If he moves just so, it'll collapse on him."

 

"Car accident, Doctor."

 

"Holy God.  Bates... how's the head look?  Nurse, wipe."

 

"Yes, doctor."  The nurse picked up one of the sterile towels and wiped the sweat from the doctor's face.

 

"The CT scan is negative; that's the good news."  He held the scan up to the light.  "The bad news is, the impact of his brain against the cranium has caused swelling.  I won't know what nerves or functions are affected until he wakes up."

 

"Which won't be until we get done with this surgery."  He held out a bloody glove.  "Clamp."  He twisted his wrist, and clamped off a bleeding vein.  "At least the breastbone wasn't shattered; Nurse, ask that doctor why he was already opened up when he got up here?"

 

"Because his heart stopped, Doctor," replied the same nurse who'd been working with Dr. Braxton.  "Open heart massage and direct defibrillation was the only way to restore normal sinus rhythm."

 

Dammit. The reason she'd gone into small town medicine was because she wanted a doctor/patient relationship. She wanted HER hands in him, wanted to be using her skills to save his life. Instead, here she was, waiting for anything, having tried to get in contact with the emergency numbers at his home here in Metropolis twice.

 

Except.

 

She climbed quickly to her feet, and snagged the nurse at the desk by the arm. "Yellow pages?"

 

Ten minutes later she was sitting in a small office she'd decided she could use. Black phone, and she quickly dialed information in Smallville.

 

"Smallville Information, can I help you?"

 

"Hello, this is Dr. Toni Braxton, from Smallville General. I need a phone number, to a patients family of mine. He's in critical condition, and I need to get in touch with his relatives and closest of kin."

 

"What's the name, Doctor?"  The operator poised her fingers over the keyboard, ready to type.

 

"Lex Luthor."

 

The quiet click of keys in the background.  "I'm sorry, but that information is unlisted."  More keys clicking.  "I'll have to get my supervisor to override the privacy code before I can provide the number for you, hold please." 

 

"Thank you." She pressed the phone to her ear, the yellow pages on her knees, and she shoved a few kinky curls out of her eyes as she waited.

 

The operator clicked the line on hold, and pulled out a small handheld data device.  She turned the pad on, and the device lit up with the LuthorCorp logo, and then a query screen.  She logged into the device, and tapped in the specifics of the call, and sent the notification to Lionel Luthor's office.  He had required notification anytime anyone tried to get in touch with his son.  Moments later, a verification code came back, and she keyed the code into her screen, and the number was revealed.  Clicking the line back on, she read it off.  "I'm sorry to keep you holding.  The number is 555-0164.  Is there anything else you require?"

 

"No, but thank you, ma'am." She scratched the number down, and hung up, lifting the receiver up again and dialing the area code, before the number. "C'mon. C'mon. Please pick up."

 

Lex was bleary-eyed as he heard the phone ring, and he leaned over Clark to grab the receiver.  He dropped back onto the pillow with the cordless handset, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath before he answered the phone. 

 

And heard snoring coming from the other side of the bed.  He cracked an eye open, and he saw... Chloe.  And Whitney, who was the source of the soft snoring.  Both... both were naked.  Sleeping.  In bed.  With him and Clark.

 

Lex answered the phone.  "Hello?"

 

"Hello, could I speak with Mr. Luthor, please?"

 

"Which one, there's two of us here."  Lex straightened briefly, pulling the blanket up and exposing Clark's hip and Chloe's breast.

 

She was lying pressed up against Lex, a single palm underneath that naked breast; Whitney cuddled in against the other, and they slept softly, curled under the blankets that way. When she felt movement she snuggled again, softly, dreaming on with her hair all over the pillow.

 

And Clark was just passed out asleep, face smushed into Lex's chest as he snored.

 

"Lex, please." As I’ve got the other one here.

 

"This is Lex Luthor; who's calling please?" 

 

"Hello, Lex. My name is Dr. Braxton...I’m calling on behalf of your father, from Metropolis General." A little swallow.

 

"My... my father?  Metropolis General?"  That woke Lex entirely, and he rolled over Clark, hitting the cold floor with bare feet and hissing as he hunted for his robe.  "What's this about, Doctor?"

 

Snore from Clark in response to being rolled over.

 

"Your father was in an accident, Mr. Luthor." Another swallow, heavier. "He's alive, and in surgery right now."

 

"Accident?  What... what kind of accident?  How badly was he hurt... surgery?  What about Dominic?"  Lex dropped the robe, and headed for the bathroom instead, forgetting for the moment about the two strange people in his bed.  "How?"

 

"It was a car accident. I don’t know the specifics; only that he was choppered in, and he was alone." She shifted in the plush seat she was in, setting the book down and climbing to her feet.

 

"A car accident?  Alone?  I'll be there in an hour.  Thank you for calling."  Lex hung up and was instantly back on the phone, dialing Dominic's cell phone.  As he waited for an answer, Lex went to the bed and popped Clark on the bare ass.  "Clark... wake up.  Come on.  I need you right now."

 

He jolted awake, gasping from his dreams and looking around wildly. Unfortunately...his powers weren’t in control at these times, and...he sort of dented Lex's side table. A little. ...oops. "Wha??? Huh!?" Another gasp, trying to focus.

 

Dominic blinked suddenly, looking up from his sisters cuddle to the phone on the table beside his scotch glass and his car keys. He reached over, picking it up...Lex? A strange glance at Lindy, and he answered. "Hello?"

 

"Dominic, where the hell are you?"  He tossed his robe to Clark as Lex started pulling clothes out for the both of them.

 

"...downstairs. Where the hell are you?" And strangely enough, this was the first time they'd spoken since their argument weeks before.

 

"W'as happnin?" He grunted, sitting up and shucked the robe, starting to root for clothes.

 

The commotion woke her. Chloe blinked a bit from her dreams and scratched under her breast...watching the boys rushing to get dressed, and she got up on an elbow, bed head everywhere. "Lex?"

 

"I'm upstairs.  Fuck.  I'll be down in ten minutes; be dressed and ready to chopper to Metropolis by the time I get there.  Call the chopper and tell it to land on the lawn outside the gate."  He hung up and tossed the phone on the bed.  "Clark, my father's been in an accident.  He's at the hospital and he's in surgery.  Chloe... pardon my gruffness but I'm a little pressed for time so I'll ask this simply... what the hell are you doing naked in my bed?"

 

Dial tone. And in his heart, Dominic knew what had happened. "Lindy. Lindy." He turned his eyes in horror on her, pure, unadulterated horror alive in his heart. "Lionel is hurt. Lionel. Lindy, I have to go." He got up, already grabbing his coat and pulling it on--stepping into his shoes still untied and starting for the door. All the blood had drained, right out of his face.

 

"Uh, God." And Clark quickly got up, tugging his t-shirt on over his head and searching for a pair of underwear....before....Chloe?!

 

"I..." Chloe felt her heart break. "We....don’t you....Go. We'll talk about it later."

 

"Morgan... go to him.  Love him.  Don't let him go."  She caught him by the collar and straightened it for him, tucking his shirt back in and rebuttoning.  "Tie your shoes, and what else did Lex tell you to do?"  She was trying to remain calm for her brother's sake.  "Once you're on your way, I'll go and tell the others what's happened."

 

"Talk about what?"  Lex was in the middle of dressing, and he turned at the sad note in Chloe's voice.  "Chloe?  Never mind.  The chopper will be here in fifteen minutes, and it can seat the four of us.  You and Clark and Dominic and I.  Leave a note for your boyfriend telling him what's happened, and get dressed.  If you need clean clothes, let me know."  He slammed his fist down on the house intercom.  "Enrique, send Ms. Bird up here right away."

 

"He said to get to the chopper, its waiting for us, we have to go to Metropolis, something happened, Lindy, I should have gone after him, Lindy, I..." He hugged her hard and raced out of the room.

 

She jumped and quickly moved out from under Whitney, who was sleeping through all of this, and pressed a tender kiss to his ear. She squirmed out from the sheets and stood, buck naked...and this time, instead of being proud as she had been earlier, she took a sheet with her and covered herself up as soon as she'd stood. "I...I think...I need some clean clothes. If you have any, though, if not its okay."

 

She...oh. Not the time. Clark pulled his jeans up commando and zipped, buttoned, and dragged his fingers through his hair...and stopped. "Where the fuck are we?"

 

"We're in one of the guest rooms, Clark.  More specifically, we're in Bruce's room.  This is his room, and that was his bag," he said, pointing to the bag on the floor.  "Chloe, come with me."  Lex looked down and realized that he was dressed in Bruce Wayne's clothes.  "Come on."  He opened the door to the secret hallway without waiting to see if either of them would follow, and he emerged into his own bedroom.  Stripping without a thought, he started getting dressed in his own clothes, and then burrowed to the back of his closet and opened the half-room from before.  He went through several boxes until he came up with what he was looking for, and brought it out, with the appropriate undergarments.  "Chloe, here.  This should fit you."

 

She had the sheet wrapped tight around her...and she peered into his face, hoping to see any type of recognition that his hands had been on her breasts and his erection rubbing against her, only a few hours before.

 

Nothing.

 

Her chin trembled a minute before she smiled, teeth glinting, and took the underwear. "Thank you. I... My other clothes are okay."

 

"....Bruce Wayne?" And damned if Clark wasn’t completely surprised, but this wasn’t the time. He found his wallet in their bedside table, stuffing it in his pocket and nabbing his jacket from the back of his favorite chair.

 

Lex caught her eye before she turned.  "Chloe... if I have done anything inappropriate... I want to apologize.  You're not exactly catching me at my best, but I'd like to think that we're friends, and if I've overstepped my bounds at any point, I'm sorry."  And then he looked up at his lover.  "Yes, Bruce Wayne.  We've been friends since Excelsior."

 

"No, I...you don’t remember?" She dropped the sheet after squirming into the panties, and tugged the bra straps on, letting the sheet drop as she did so as she searched for the snaps. "It wasn’t bad. At all. But....you don’t remember?" She snapped it in place, arranging her breasts in the bra so they weren’t all squished, and tugged the pants from the pile of clothes she'd brought with the sheet.

 

A thumbs up, and he casually looked anywhere but Chloe as she got dressed.

 

"I... should I remember?"  Lex paused in his getting dressed, listening to the ticking of his Napoleon watch in the silence.  "Chloe... I get the feeling that something did happen."  But dear God, now was not the time to debate it with her.  "As soon as Ms. Bird finds us, she'll take care of Whitney when he wakes up and he'll know you're with us." 

 

She shrugged as she tugged her shirt on, pulling it over her belly...and her jacket over that. She stepped into her heeled mules, and ran her fingers through her hair. Makeup in her pocket, wallet in her back pocket. She was ready to go.

 

Lex spared a glance to Clark, and then jerked his head.  "Let's go."  He took the stairs two at a time, and almost ran Ms. Bird over, who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with his leather bomber in hand.  "Whitney Fordman is asleep in Bruce's room; when he wakes up, don't let him leave.  Tell him that Chloe's with us in Metropolis, she's fine, and we'll call later."  He shrugged into his jacket, and then put on his sunglasses, even though it wasn't even dawn.  "DOMINIC!" he bellowed.

 

Dominic was already waiting by the door. "What happened? Lex, what happened? Is he alright?" And their was desperation in his face, utter, complete.

 

Clark followed silently...not able to stop looking at Chloe, shifting his eyes back and forth, and then...well, he laced his fingers through Lex's, to gather strength and give it, as well.

 

Lex tightened his fingers around Clark's, squeezing hard.  The other one, though he wasn't aware of it, sought out Chloe's.  "I don't know, Dominic.  All I know is the doctor from Metropolis called and said he'd been in an accident.  They choppered him to Metropolis General, and he's in surgery.  So apparently, it was bad enough to call in the Medivac instead of ambulance.  That's all she told me, and that's why we're going to find out." 

 

And Dominic's expression was dead. Purely. Not a single scrap of life sat there in those eyes... Just unheralded misery, because he had done this. He had. His lover was wounded, perhaps mortally so, and he was the reason for it.

 

Chloe ducked Lex's searching fingers, still kind of really mad, and clasped her palms under her arm pits. "Well, lets get going then, huh? The chopper it is."

 

Lex looked at her oddly as he pulled his hand back, not sure why he'd reached for her and even less sure why she'd dodged it.  "Don't you quit on me, Dominic... don't you be the prissy little bitch I always thought you were!  Suck it up and get moving.  My father's a stubborn old bastard, and he's not going to die yet!"

 

"Fuck you, Lex." Darkly, and Dominic stepped out the door, where there in the middle of the front yard, the chopper was going. Alright, so now he realized WHY the hell he hadn’t talked to Lex in three weeks. Little bastard.

 

Clark frowned after the older man and shook his head at his lover, tugging him along as he followed as well. "Come on, Lex."

 

A deep breath.  He'd gotten Dominic moving, but how in the hell was he supposed to get himself moving.  One foot in front of the other was the general principle, but for some reason, it wasn't working.  Then Clark's hand, thank God for Clark, and Clark was propelling him along.  "My dad, Clark... what's going to happen to him?"  Suddenly, he sounded all of the child he still was, on occasion.

 

"I don’t really know, baby." Softly and honestly, running his mouth along the back of his lovers hand clasped in his. Then he leaned in and whispered quietly, "Don’t break down yet." And that part was as gentle as he could make it.

 

Softly, gently, he led Lex, and Chloe, to the helicopter Dominic had already boarded. Got them both in and buckled...spared a glance for Dominic, whose forehead was pressed against the window, and sat next to him, looking across the way to Lex and Chloe. "Alright, we all in?"

 

A little nod, and she made sure her seatbelt was in place.

 

"Yet."  Right.  "Yet."  Deep breaths.  "All right!  John, let's go, and step on it!!"  Lex stared at his lover as they lifted off.  "Goddammit.  Dammit to hell and back." 

 

And it was weird, but Clark was going to be the voice of reason. "Mr. Senatori?" Gently, to the man sitting next to him.

 

"Yes, Clark."

 

"Why weren’t you with Mr. Luthor tonight, when he got into his accident?" Clear, to the point.

 

"Because he and I got into an argument."

 

Lex's glare shot towards Dominic.  "What kind of an argument, Dominic?"

 

So worn out. So beaten down. "An argument, Lex." Soft sigh.

 

Chloe was quiet, arms crossed across her chest as she looked out the window as well.

 

"If you're the one that drove my father out in this and caused this accident then by all that's holy, I want to know what the hell went on between the two of you to cause it!"  Lex's voice raised as he shouted at the man across from him.

 

"I have to tell you nothing of my private life with your father." But softer, looking out at the twinkling stars just beginning to fade for the daylight, and his exhausted eyes watched it all. "It was my fault."

 

"It's not just your private life anymore, Dominic.  If it's the reason for my father's accident, then that makes it my problem, too."

 

"We got into an argument." Soft, noncommittal, watching with interest as the blood reds began to seep out over the night, start claiming the stars for dawn. And with that light, he knew, he and his lovers star would be gone in a sea of red.

 

And Clark sort of... Glanced up, at Chloe, as the two men spoke...and blinked a little at her. Blushed... Looked down. She'd been naked in bed with him and Lex. And Whitney. All four of them. And...he couldn’t remember the night before at all.

 

She looked up in question at him... Then shrugged and listened to Dominic and Lex again.

 

"Fine.  I'll ask Dad when he... wakes... up."  Lex's voice choked, and he forced it back down.  Then he turned back to Chloe.  "What happened?"

 

He won’t wake up. Because I've killed him. Cant you see that? But Dominic said nothing.

 

She shrugged again. "Its not for now. Later on, when your dads okay, but now..." She shook her head, and smiled a little sad smile at him.

 

"Chloe... Nobody is telling me anything right now, and that's really wearing on my nerves.  Please... I am asking you, as a friend... what... happened?"

 

"You're a scholar. Ever hear of Pandora's box?" She nodded a little. "Don’t go into what you don’t want to hear. And this is something you don’t want to hear right now. Its like a can of worms. I don’t know how exactly you don’t remember, and I’m not sure you're just pulling my leg."

 

And that got her a glare.  "Of course I've heard of Pandora's Box, Chloe.  My father has certainly lectured me on it enough.  And apparently there is something I should remember and don't, and I had quite enough of that when I was under the influence of homemade substances!"  A deep breath.  "To put it mildly, I have not the inclination right now to pull anyone's anything."

 

So she said it casually, leg crossed and her hands in her lap, like she was discussing world politics. "We had sex. The four of us. In numerous positions and numerous ways. It was actually really nice, and you and I had a long talk about how nice it was that we were friends now, and could be good friends if we so wanted."

 

"Of course. Because really, what hasn’t happened to Clark Kent." Clark said softly, under his breath.

 

A sharp bark of laughter from Lex.  "I think I'd remember if I'd done that, Chloe.  I'm not saying that I wouldn't have considered it, but if I'd done it?  I think I would remember."

 

"Would you like me to go into specifics? As I saw it all?"

 

Lex recognized the challenge in her voice and latched onto it.  Later he'd tell her just how grateful he was for the excuse not to break down in front of Clark and Dominic.  "As many specifics as you can remember... please."

 

"Well, lets see. Whitney and I walked in, you both started making out with him. Why? I don’t know. You all must have been high or something. Anyway. We walked upstairs, more kissing, groping of me, which hey. Nice." Thumbs up. "You both sixty ni--"

 

"Young lady." Dominic was staring at her, hand held up. "That’s quite enough."

 

A hot blush. "Sorry."

 

"No, no, Dominic.  Please, let her go on.  This is... quite an amusing tale.  Please, Chloe... continue."  He sat back in the chair with all the nonchalance he didn't feel.  Inside, he was tripwired and ready to explode. 

 

And she could see it. She wasn’t dumb. She'd been in bed with this guy just an hour ago, for Christ’s sake. "No...that’s pretty much all I should say. Oh, but hey, you both are great. I mean, seriously. Wow." She blushed a little and looked away. "I...I think your dad's gonna be okay, Lex."

 

That won her a dark scowl.  "Of course he will be.  He's a mean bast--"  And he couldn't hold off any longer.  His voice broke and his body sagged back against the seat, fingers clenched tightly on his seat belt.  Tears welled up inside him and he refused to shed them, fighting them back down for everything he was worth.

 

Dark green eyes above a slim, soft goatee raised, and locked on the younger man sitting across from him. There were first times for everything in life, and Dominic supposed that the tears welling in those soft blue chasms could be dignified with 'a first'. "Lex?"

 

"Lex… baby." Clark reached his arms across, offered his comfort.

 

"Dominic."  Lex jerked furiously at his seat belt, forcing the metal to screech and twist as he tore himself free of it and went to Dominic.  He dropped his head on the other man's shoulders, hot tears soaking his shirt.  "It's Dad... my Dad, Dominic... he's got to be all right."

 

And it shocked him. More then he care to let on. But suddenly there the young man was, face against his shoulder, shaking, trembling...and Dominic immediately wrapped his arms around the young man, stony face going soft with misery as he held him tight. "Lex... Lex, hey, love, shhh. Its alright, come on now. You know your dear old dad. He is indeed a mean old goat, and wouldn’t let this type of thing get him down. Right? Right." Right. He nodded and gently rubbed his back, not daring to meet the other two peoples eyes.

 

"The doctor wouldn't tell me.  It's like with Mother... they wouldn't tell me what was going on."  Lex didn't move from the warm hollow his face was pressed into.  "Nobody told me what was happening with my mother until too late; nobody told me she was so sick until it was too late, and now, nobody's telling me what's going on with my father.  What's happening, why won't anyone tell me anything?"

 

Terror lit in his throat but Dominic kept a calm face, soothing the boy and curling in on him a bit as his siblings had always done to him. Protecting him like he might Shayla; 14 years his junior, and he felt like a big brother to him. Kept him safe and covered as he wept, and his voice dropped softly as Chloe...and even Clark tried to give him privacy. "You mustn’t think that way, Lex. The doctor might've not been able to say anything over the telephone...a million explanations. We'll see when we get there… but keep your chin up. He'll be alright." He had to be.

 

Clark's fingers were silently rubbing over his lover’s back… because all the words he couldn’t say he was giving his love through his heart and mind. Caressing his back softly as he thought of peace and tranquility and hope.

 

"He has to be, Dominic.  He's my father... I love him.  I can't lose him, too.  Outside of Clark, he's the only family I have."  Lex's arms slipped around Dominic's waist, hands clenched behind.  "He has to be all right.  He has to be."  Lex felt the calming thoughts coming from his lover, tried to latch onto them but his own mind and his own emotions were in such a turmoil that it was nearly impossible.  "I love him, Dominic."

 

I'm your family too. "I understand." And he didn’t push this boy away, as much as he'd wanted to keep a grudge. He just... couldn’t. So he wrapped his arms around him too, and hugged him tightly. "I know. I know it, and that’s why you have to have faith, Lex. You have to have faith that he's going to be alright." Even though I’m the reason he could be dead right now. "We'll see in a little while, when we get there."

 

Lex nodded, not really realizing what Dominic was saying but willing to agree with it.  "He'll be all right.  He's strong.  We'll get there and he'll be bitching out the doctors for keeping him there."

 

"And asking why the hell they have him attached to IVs." He mimicked his lovers voice softly, tone deepening. "How dare they poke me. Excuse me, but do they not realize I have sensitive skin?" And his voice broke hard on the last word, turning his face away to the cabin window and looking out of it.

 

Choked laughter from Lex, then another strangled noise.  "You don't believe it, do you?  You don't think he's going to be all right."

 

"Yes I damn well do." And he threw his eyes down at the lad in his arms. "Yes. I do. Because very frankly, I cant live without him, and he knows better than to go and croak. I’d kick his ass so hard his halo would be doing 360's on the horns."

 

"He wouldn't have a halo," Lex pointed out, voice muffled against Dominic's shoulder as he rubbed his face against his damp shirt.  "My father's never been the halo and harp type."

 

"Surprise." A murmur, and he set his cheek on Lex's bare head a moment, frowning at the dark sky just breaking with dawn with a heavy heart. "He wants to be a devil, and just cant quite pull it off."

 

"Promise me, Dominic.  Promise me that Dad's going to be okay."

 

"He's going to be fine." Softly, and he dipped into vats of strength he'd long ago closed, nodding his head a bit. "He's too stubborn to be anything but."

 

"Good.  Then he has to be.  Because you don't break your word."  Lex nodded into Dominic's shoulder, and then retreated back across to his seat.  "Dammit, how long until we get there!" 

 

Dominic was a little shocked by the sudden way Lex let go, and took with him what strength he'd given. Now...just alone. Empty. Nothing. But he didn’t show it, as he was so very good at, swallowing at the lump lodged in his throat and looking back out the window.

 

Lex leaned over, and looked.  The hospital was coming into view on their aft side, and he buckled his twisted belt as they went down.  "Dominic, as soon as we land, I... I need your help.  I need you to help me find out where they've got Dad."

 

"Of course." And for the first time in a long time, he resented his work, resented his position, resented being an assistant, resented being the person everyone looked to for answers. He just wanted to grieve, just wanted to find his lover and apologize to him, wanted to stop this chasm of ache in his chest.

 

Sudden dip of the helicopter and the nausea rolled across his belly. No food, over caffeinated coffee, no sleep, and he desperately wished for his medicine as he gasped and gritted his teeth, fingers white on the handles.

 

"Dear God, the press.  Once this gets out... what are we going to do about the press?  They'll be breaking down the hospital doors to get to my father.  You'll... you'll have to stay with him, Dominic.  You'll have to stay with him while I figure out how to spin this damned thing... and I don't even know what happened."  He cradled his head in his hands as they dropped, and he leaned against Chloe for a moment, not realizing he was doing it.  "I have no idea how I'm going to spin this."

 

Dominic was silent.

 

She swallowed a little and smiled at him, all teeth and gums and big eyes, that was her inspirational, "you can do it" smile. "Its...its going to be alright. I mean, hey! Im the press, so I could help. Like...maybe...you know, you could tell the truth? And all? Or something." A solid nod.

 

And Clark was sitting there, silent, feeling quiet and heavy and not in the mood to talk whatsoever.

 

"The truth?  That's a foreign concept to the Luthor PR camp, Chloe."  He didn't have it in him to return the smile, but he gave her knee a grateful squeeze.  "I'll deal with it when I come up against it, unless you want a hands-on job dealing with the Metropolis press."  A half smirk.  "I can hire you on the spot."

 

"Ten dollars an hour, and I don’t work holidays." A serious nod, as the helicopter gave a dull thud against the concrete. And for the first time in a long time...she looked uncertain, and a little frightened. "Lead the way."

 

And Dominic was positively ashen. But he took three solid breaths and fumbled with his seat belt.

 

Clarks heart broke at the sight, and despite his deep worry for his lover and Mr. Luthor, he felt pity for Dominic. And he leaned over, unsnapping it with a single push of the silver buckle.

 

"Ah. Th... thank you."

 

"No problem."

 

"You're hired."  Lex got off the helicopter first, thanking God that the press hadn't gotten wind of this yet... there was nobody camped outside.  Time to marshal the troops.  "Chloe, you wait here in the ER.  Anyone comes in looking for my father, you do your thing.  If it gets out of hand, send Clark to get me.  Clark, stay with Chloe.  Help her out, and if it gets too much, send for me.  Dominic... I need you."

 

"Hey. If nothing else, I’m good at tossing people off the scent." She beamed it at him and popped out of the helicopter first, grasping Lex's shoulder as she did and ducking her head.

 

"Anything you need, baby. I’m there." Clark nodded at his love, heart going out to him, and reached out to take his hand...squeezing it tightly.

 

"Yes." Dominic disembarked as well, following right after the two men and short girl with a hooded expression. "What do you need of me?"

 

Lex grabbed Clark's hand tightly.  "Take off, get out of here before anyone realizes we're here!" he shouted into the cockpit.  Then he looked at Chloe.  "I have faith in you."  Then finally, back to Dominic.  "I need you to stay with me.  When we find my father, I know he's going to want to talk to you."

 

"I don’t think he wants to talk to me anymore, Lex." Softly, almost unheard, but he followed nonetheless, a short smile at Chloe and Clark as they disappeared and they walked in through the ER emergency entrance.

 

"I doubt that."  Lex's tone was clipped as he walked in.  "You didn't hear what he said after I decked you; he basically told me that it was you or nothing; I still want to know what you argued about, especially if you think it's driven him to this, but that's secondary right now until we find him."  He stopped at the nearest nurses station.  "I'm Lex Luthor, I'm looking for my father, Lionel Luthor."

 

Dark eyes rose under all her curly hair at the voice and the name… scanned... and locked onto Dominic’s. A thousand things passed between them...denial, terror, fury, fear, anger, love. All being held right now, for the man who'd just been wheeled out of surgery a few short hours ago. "Dominic."

 

And his night had just gotten a thousand times worse. "Toni. You helped him, didn’t you?"

 

"Yes, I..." A moment and she walked around the station, the clipboard from a patient still in her hand. "Mr. Luthor, its a pleasure." She offered her hand. "I’m Dr Braxton, I helped your father when he was brought in. Why don’t we go upstairs?"

 

Lex shook her hand.  "Before I go anywhere... I'd like to know how my father is at the moment."  He shot a look at Dominic.  "You two know each other?"

 

"Yes." And he offered nothing more. "Was it bad?"

 

She switched her eyes from Dominic and back to Lex, swallowing a moment. "Lets get you both upstairs. I'd like to speak with you in private. Your father is in ICU at the moment, and he's alive, first of all."

 

A deep breath escaped Lex, and he tightened his hand on Dominic's shoulder.  "All right then, lead the way."

 

And she did. Through the absolutely insane ER, to the elevators where they waited for a few minutes as patients came and went on the wildly used machines. Up, to the 11th floor, and it was silent as they reached it. Nurses in quiet tones and doctors walking back and forth. It was also dim, darker then the rest of the hospital... as if promoting deep rest and healing. She led the pair down the hall, to room 549, and cracked it open. Beside the door, the chart read, simply, "Luthor, Lionel".

 

Lex walked into the room first, and almost balked before he'd gotten more than a step in.

 

Almost no part of Lionel was unbandaged or uncovered by a tube or machine.  There was one taped down in his mouth that helped him breathe, there was one around his throat that covered the healing tracheal incision, multiple lacerations on his face that was now denuded of his beard.  This didn't look like his father.  The hairless face was the largest shock, because it showed the gauntness of Lionel's frame where nothing else had.  Even his hands were taped up with IV needles, and the beep of a heart monitor and the soft whoosh-thump of the breathing machine were the only sounds in the room.

 

His lover was dying.

 

First thought. Second thought. His fault. Tubes and white skin and he wasn’t even breathing on his own, his baby, his baby wasn’t breathing on his own and his entire face crumbled. All the courage and strength Dominic had been gathering for the past two hours fell into a heap, and the tears he'd held in check by a thread tumbled down his cheeks. He didn’t remember moving... just suddenly, he was sitting at his lovers side, in a thick blue chair, running his fingers over him as if willing him to wake up… willing him to still be alive. Beeps and whooshes and dried blood and his face, his face, his beard was gone and his lips were so blue, and he could barely control himself.

 

Her heart went out violently to her old patient, and her eyes met Lex's. "If you're anything like your father, I know you want me to cut through the bull. He was in a car accident. His heart stopped a few times, there, but we got everything started and going again. A ruptured spleen, failed left kidney, and a bruised lung. His left wrist is fractured, and there’s some swelling in his cranium that we're confident should go down in a few days. Other then that, he's pulled through like the stubborn champ he is. Surgery went very well, with minimal blood loss and complications."

 

"He... died?  On the table?"  Lex was fighting to take everything in, but the sight of his father so weak and ailing, and then Dominic by his side, and it was just overwhelming.  "Swelling?  What... what kind of complications will that bring?"  He moved to his father's other side, touching one of the stitched wounds lightly.  "He'll be all right, won't he?"

 

"He's going to be just fine. The only thing we're worried about is the swelling pressing up against certain nerves in his brain. We're treating it with medication, but he might experience some sight or hearing loss for a few days, or an altered mental sta--"

 

"Doctor Braxton?" A middle aged looking man with white hair stood at the door. "I’m sorry, is this my patient’s family?"

 

She grit her teeth. "Yes. They just came in; I brought them up here to see Mr. Luthor."

 

"Well thank you very much. I believe you're needed in the ER once more."

 

"Yes, doctor." She offered a wan look at the two men, and she was gone.

 

Dominic kept rubbing Lionel’s fingers in his own… stroking, soothing, as if trying to will the pallor from his cheeks, and the mottled skin back to being porcelain and strong. He pressed Lionel’s hand to his cheek, tightening his fingers around the thick ones in his own as his chest hitched.

 

Gay couple. The doctor should have known. He nearly rolled his eyes, face taking on a mask of superiority.

 

Lex bristled almost instantly as the man walked into the room.  "I'm sorry, Doctor... I don't think I caught your name.  I'm Lex Luthor; you're treating my father, Lionel Luthor?"

 

"Ah, yes. Mr. Luthor, nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Tim Lowen's." He offered  his hand. "Yes, I’m treating him. Just got out of surgery a bit ago, as well."

 

Quietly, whispering, eyes closing and wet as he pressed tender kisses against the IV’d hand. "I love you. I love you. I’m so sorry I hurt you. Its my fault...this is all my fault. I love you so much, baby, I love you, come back to me, please just come back."

 

Lex disdained to shake the doctor's hand.  "What can you tell me about my father's condition?"  He left his hand on his father's shoulder, not moving.  "Dr. Braxton was filling us in, until you interrupted her."

 

"He'll be alright in a few days. Ruptured spleen and a bit of sepsis we're treating with antibiotics. Bruised lung, which will have to heal on its own, torn left kidney which he no longer has. However, the swelling is our biggest priority. It seems that when he impacted during the accident, the air bag deployed too early. It hit him as he was still going in a spin, and deflated, so he hit the steering wheel with his forehead. The cuts and abrasions are from the gummy windshield glass that, at that speed, turned into flying missiles."

 

Dominic was torn apart inside. Bleeding to death in his chest and belly as he listened, and he curled in around himself and the hand he clung of his lover, leaning in close to him as he listened. How scared he must have been, how terrified and alone. Oh, God.

 

"I see."  Lex turned his attention back to his father for a long moment, running his fingers through Lionel's hair.  "When can we expect him to wake up?  And what kind of complications are we looking at?  Dr. Braxton was in the middle of explaining that."  An acidic glare.  "I'd like to see her again, as soon as it can be arranged."

 

 A raised brow, but he continued on. "The next few hours, he should be making the initial efforts to breathe on his own and wake. If not, then he'll slip into a coma and not come out of it for a period, and we don’t want that. Complications include some hearing loss, slurred speech, fuzzy vision."

 

"And how long do you expect these to last?"  He raised his own brow in return; he'd not let himself be intimidated by the doctor.

 

"A few days. A week, at most."

 

"And is there anything else that we should know?"

 

"Nothing." A pause, and he nodded. "I'll be back in to check on you both in a little bit."

 

"How soon before he can be moved, Doctor?"  Lex looked at Dominic.  "We'd like to have him moved to our home, or to another facility closer to Dr. Braxton; she's dealt with our family before I'd rather have her as the primary physician, consulting with my father's personal physician as well."

 

 

-fin-

 

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