The Memoirs

Lionel needed his coffee.

He didn't like to say that he was addicted to anything, because addictions were nasty things to deal with in the first place, and it was better all around if nobody had to deal with them. Especially him. However, coffee was something that he simply could not live without.

Not even when the temperature that day was threatening to rise past 100 degrees. He had the newspaper tucked under his elbow, a cup of coffee in his hand, and the earpiece to his cell phone in his ear as he walked towards the office.

The first place he paused was at the top of the south staircase when he felt the foundations of the castle rumbling under his feet, then a rather loud explosion followed it. He was sure there was cursing and he just couldn't hear it, and he just sighed, looked down the staircase, and walked on, sipping his coffee.

The PT room was his next stop, and he seriously considered sticking his head in the door to check and see how things were proceeding, but the loud swearing and the thumps of equipment and bottles being thrown didn't beckon well for his day. He just shook his head again, walked past, and dialed the office as he sipped from his coffee cup.

"I. Am. Trying."

Oh, Dominic was not happy. First of all, he was tired. Second? it HURT! Third? He wanted toast. But all he was getting was bloody Gatorade and Eddie's happy attitude, and it was not boding well whatsoever on Dominic's frustrated self. That morning, after waking up, brushing his fuzzy teeth and taking a piss, he'd decided to be strong, and so here he was. Strong. He was no longer panicking, he was struggling to maintain the rocky new sense of self he'd built throughout the night, and Eddie was threatening to destroy it all be being so bloody chipper.

"Nah, you're not trying. We're just having fun right now." Eddie was grinning broadly, on his knees in front of Dominic with his patient's foot against his shoulder. "Now, push again."

Dominic glared. Darkly. Down at him. His foot, which was a floppy mess, was in warm up pants and tennis shoes, dangling there, held up only by Eddie's hands. "I. can't. And if you tell me one more bloody time that I should remove that word from my vocabulary, I'll remove you from my vocabulary."

"Well, if you'd remove it, then I wouldn't have to keep tellin' you that. Now, don't tell me you can't do it, just do it already, and we'll move on."

Dominic glared down at the young man between his legs, and looked at his foot. Alright, foot. We're going to move. YOU are going to move. You're going to damn well move now. Or I'll kick you.

Dominic rolled his eyes at himself, and with all the strength he could muster, went to his leg and struggled, like mad, to push it. The muscles in his thighs and calves tightened with the effort and he whimpered as the blood pounded through veins and muscles long left to cold, and struggled to push.

Eddie's hand danced lightly under Dominic's calf, feeling the muscles stressing themselves and feeling the right amount of tension. "All right! There we go, they're starting to flex! Okay... relax, and in thirty seconds, we're doing it again."

Dominic relaxed his leg, letting out a deep, long breath, and held onto the side of the chair he'd been unceremoniously plopped in. "Fuck, it hurts," he hissed.

"Sure does, but it's good that it hurts." Eddie picked up the bottle of cherry-flavored Gatorade and handed it carefully to his patient. "Here you go, have a drink, and get ready to go again."

Dominic shook his head to it, setting it on the table beside him, and got comfortable before glaring down at Eddie. "Tell me when."

Eddie took a drink out of his own bottle and grinned. "Okay. Go now."

Dominic struggled to find strength, working muscles which were so lax they were... Christ, "Limp.... bloody... spaghetti," he grit out, pushing as hard as he could and not getting far at all. He flexed his foot a bit, though he wasn't sure if it was just a muscle spasm, and sighed.

"HAHA!! DID YOU SEE THAT?" Eddie crowed. "Houston, we have progress!!"

Dominic rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help smiling a little. "It was a muscle spasm."

"No it wasn't. Do it again," Eddie said, bracing his foot. "I know what a spasm feels like."

"Oh, bloody--how do you expect me to do it again when I can't move my foot?" Dominic demanded, and tried as hard as he could to move his foot.

It did. A tiny, tiny, miniscule bit. But it did.

"HA!!!! Bite the dust on THAT, muscle spasm! Spasm my foot, you've got movement there, Dom!" He handed the bottle up again. "We'll come back to that in about half an hour, after we've worked on your hand some."

"Alright." He took the bottle this time and drank from it, to hide his pleasure, before setting it down with a sigh and a grimace. "Terrible stuff. Blue Ice, I tell you." He looked down at his hand as Eddie set his foot down on the ground again, and stretched his good arm out a bit tiredly.

"Sorry, I was up late doing a bit of research on electro-stimulation, and I didn't get a chance to run out to the store, but I will tonight, I promise. You'll have Blue Ice in the morning." He moved to sit in a chair beside Dominic, and pushed a little table over. "Here we are. Now, let's see that hand."

"I was joking," Dominic grinned a little down at him. "I think Lex has some. But anyway." He watched Eddie, and then when the man--boy?--sat and expected Dominic to move his arm, he glared. "We've been over this. I can't move it."

"Aht. There's that pesky word again. We're gonna erase it from your vocabulary yet."

"Eddie, I haven't moved it in nearly three months. I can't do it--I've tried, believe me, there's nothing more I'd like to grab my husband, or stop him from squashing me in bed. But I can't."

"You know, I'm going to start tacking on extra work time for every time you use the word can't."

"You wouldn't dare." Dominic lifted his chin indignantly.

"Watch me," Eddie smirked. "Now, let's see that hand up here."

Dominic, in a fit of cleverness, used his good hand to lift the bad, and set it on the table with a smirk. "There."

"Not quite what I had in mind, but that'll do." He picked up the limp hand gently and examined it. "Okay, same thing we did with the foot," he said, putting his palm flat. "Push against me."

Wasn't happening. Dominic couldn't move anything in it at all. It was terribly bony, and in a fist, and hurt when Eddie opened the fingers. He couldn't do anything with it--if it had been chopped off, it would have had more use. "This one, in all honesty, Eddie, I can't. As its my hand I've been trying on my own, moving it about, but it's not doing a damn thing."

"That's what we're here to work on," he said, just as bluntly honest. "But I need you to try. Push against me, and keep pushing until I say stop."

"Alright." Dominic shifted his shoulders, hoping to straighten himself up, and tried, as hard as he could, to push. It gave a little, maybe because his shoulder was leaning that way, but he frowned, straightened, and tried again. Nothing.

Eddie's skilful fingers felt along the entire length of Dominic's arm, from wrist to shoulder. "First things first; you're gonna have to eat more. If you can. Because your muscles can't work with energy to burn; that's the first thing. Once you get something in you, and get a little bit of weight back on you, we'll have a better time of it. Second... this is going to take some work, because the impulses are moving slow, but they're there. We just have to rebuild the connections."

"What does that mean?" he tipped his head, frowning at his arm, then back to Eddie. "Why is it going to take longer than my legs? I thought that arms came back first."

Eddie shook his head. "Arms come back first to people like painters, or welders, or mechanics, who use their arms and their hands in their line of work. You, I've bet you've noticed your fingers twitching, but not your arm. Am I right?"

He nodded. "Yes. The fingers twitch sometimes, though not because I ask them to. I don't really use my hands as much as I use my legs--I'm constantly running around the office, running around town, doing bloody god knows what else."

"See, the thing is, what recovers first, is what we use the most, because those are the motor pathways that neuroimpulses are used to traveling along," Eddie explained, massaging Dominic's hand as he went along, flattening the fingers out. "But you know what's recovered faster even than your feet and your legs?"

"What?"

"Your mind." He kept working the bent fingers out straight. "You're talking more clearly than you were this weekend, you're not as belligerent, you're able to move more and think enough to call me a bloody cocksmoking bastard, which may be true but is beside the point, and? You're not slurring. You use your brain, your speech, your thoughts, more than you do anything else, and that's what's recovering the fastest."

"Yes, well, you try and live in this house and you see if you don't catch up. Honestly. Elaine obviously hasn't made the right impressions of Lionel to you if you're surprised." Nevertheless, Dominic was wickedly pleased. "I have some trouble when someone's pushing the wheel chair. I get dizzy... nauseous. I have to close my eyes sometimes. Is that normal?"

"You have a problem with flying? Or going in a fast car?" Eddie countered. "Because if you do, then yeah, it's normal. It's probably just a case of motion sickness."

"I have intense phobias over flying. And elevators, actually."

Eddie just nodded. "You're fine, then. If it gets worse, let me know, and we'll have you taken back in for a CT scan, to make sure there's no blockages, but it sounds like it's just motion sickness kicking in. You're not dizzy any other times, are you?"

Dominic shook his head. "Not dizzy, or sick. Ow." he frowned down at Eddies fingers, working his own, very skinny, own. "That hurt. They've been clamped up so long."

"Good, then. You should be fine unless it gets worse." Eddie snickered. "No, it didn't hurt. I've been doing this for the last five minutes, you just haven't noticed. The Ow? All in your head."

"Oh, that makes me feel better," Dominic scowled. "Phantom pains in my noggin."

"No, it's not like that, Dominic. You're feeling the pain, because it's real pain, but because your muscles are moving so slow, you're not feeling it unless you look at it and know to feel it."

"Oh." A moment. "That doesn't sound so good," he answered, still watching Eddie move his fingers slowly but methodically. "They feel cramped. Like when you've been writing too long. Only worse."

"No, that's actually good, because it means as long as I can keep you distracted? I can do a lot more work with your hand."

"That was the dirtiest thing I've ever heard." Dominic said suddenly, to coax a laugh out of the man, as he yawned behind the other hand and shifted his weight from one hip to the other, sighing as he looked around the gym. Also known as hell house. There were machines everywhere, weights, double bars he figured he'd have to use to walk at some point--and dear God that was depressing--as well as god knows what other gizmos. "I have to use all this?"

"Not at the moment, but yes, you do." Eddie's eyes twinkled with the laugh that trickled out in giggles.

"All of it?" Another horrified stare at something that was more wires and cables than machine.

"Yes, sir, all of it."

"Oh, don't call me sir. Gag me." A glare at the young man. "You're just happy because you know I get to burn my body to the bone to do it."

Eddie couldn't stifle the laugh that time. "Are you insinuating that I'm going to be taking great pleasure out of cracking the whip over your head until you're back on your feet?"

"Yes! You slave driver!" Dominic cried indignantly, glowering at him as fiercely as he could even as his lips twitched. "Don't think I don't know your kind, your sister is exactly the same!"

Eddie was still laughing, and nearly fell out of his chair at that. "Yes, yes, we are, I mean, who do you think I learned it from?"

"I can just imagine," Dominic said drolly, eyebrow cocked up high even as he smiled. "Your sister is a harridan. How you managed to grow up unscathed is a miracle of God."

"Nah, Laney's not that bad. I love her. She was my big sister, and I can't tell you the guys she beat up for making fun of me the first year I went to school in a cast. That's part of why I decided to be a therapist, to help people like me."

"Why did people beat you up?"

Eddie gave a little grin as he repositioned himself in the floor. "Because I had a deformed leg. When I was a baby, my real parents didn't bother to take me to the doctor when I broke my leg, and it was deformed up until I was about four or five. The doctors had to re-break my leg twice to get it back into the proper shape, and make sure the ligaments re-grew into place. So I was always hobbling around in a cast and with a cane, and I couldn't play with the rest of the kids. Laney beat the crap out of anyone who made fun of her little brother."

Dominic frowned at that. Deeply. "That's the worst thing I've ever heard. That's the problem with people these days, love--those who can have children take advantage of the fact, and those who can't have them know what a precious gift they are. Its a shame, a bloody shame, and those who do that to young children should be ashamed of themselves for such an atrocity."

Eddie nodded. "You're preaching to the choir, Dom. I agree with you a hundred percent. My mom used to say that it was a pity that people had to have a license to do everything in the world but reproduce."

"Isn't it though." Dominic muttered, and shook his head. "I'm glad you found a family who cared for you the way you ought to have been. So many don't." He sideglanced up. "My stepson's boyfriend is adopted, as well, though he was orphaned."

"Is he? Laney never mentioned it, though I can't say as she mentioned... Clark? is it? Lex's boyfriend? All that much, other than to say that he existed, and not to be surprised if I saw him poking around because he lived here and was part of your family." A quicksilver grin that was more real than anything else he'd smiled that day, because it was an honest feeling that transcended the working relationship. "Sometimes, I think we adopted kids are the lucky ones. We got rid of parents who didn't want us, and were taken by parents who had so much love to give they were looking for someone to give it to. A lot of kids don't get to dump the shitty parents."

"Mmm. I believe I have to agree. And yes, Clark, Lex's boyfriend. He works for the Daily Planet." Dominic couldn't express how proud it made him to say that. "He's a good lad, he and Lex both." Though more lass then lad now.

"No kidding? Working there already? Isn't he kind of young? That's great for him, though, if he can stay there? He's gonna have a chance to really go somewhere, cause that paper's read all over the world--I had a patient one time, from Germany--crabby old biddy of a woman, had the heaviest accent you've ever heard--and she read it every day, in German."

Dominic nodded, wincing again at his hand as his thumb was stretched particularly, and sighed softly. "Clarks a young man, but full of ambition and talent. The editor in chief saw that talent, because Clark writes for the school newspaper, and got him on quickly as he could," A smile, at that. "Germany, mmm? Our maid is from Germany."

"OH! He's that kid??" Eddie rocked back on his heels and looked up. "Holy... I didn't realize. That article he wrote, about the gay lifestyle? That was one of the best pieces of journalism I've read, and it didn't cut corners either."

Dominic beamed like a new daddy. "Wasn't it? Amazing writer, he is. He'll go places with that talent."

"It really was. Wow. You're going to have to introduce me, you know. I'm going to have to get an autograph and everything because that boy is going to the top."

"Mmm. Are you about done with my hand now? It's nearing ten, and I want eggs. Some poached ones." A little sigh, at that. "And some toast. As you're here until, what, two? We can take a break."

I'm actually here until four on Mondays and Fridays, to make up for the lack of time on Sunday," he said with a grin. "And yes, you can take a break now, and we'll have lunch at one."

"Oh, that's magical. Four. Goodie." He reached over with his good hand and grasped his bad hand, pulling it back into his lap, and frowning down at the tingling digits before looking up. "Lionel should be through that door right there," He motioned to the door that led to the library. "Just tell him we're taking a break."

"Why don't you roll over there and tell him yourself. It's good practice for your fingers to work the joystick--it's why you're in that wheelchair instead of a stationary one. I know, it makes you dizzy but that's why you go slow."

The thought terrified him. He hadn't used it, didn't want to, because he was absolutely terrified of falling, hurting himself again, getting in a terrible situation, god knew what else. He was aware his lips had thinned, and some of the blood had drained out of his face, as he looked down at the little stick.

"Dominic?" Eddie crouched beside the wheelchair. "You're belted and strapped in. You're not going to fall out, and this thing weighs way too much for your beanpole butt to tip it over. Now, granted, you might run it into the wall, but I think you're going to scuff up the wall with the bumpers more than you scuff up yourself."

"I don't have an excellent track record with accidents," he said, very quietly, still looking at the little stick.

"Don't think of it like that. Think of it... as your independence. You can zip down the hallway, call for something to drink, go across the library to get your own book, hell, even go to the bathroom on your own if the door's wide enough."

Dominic's throat was closed to the size of a needle. He didn't say anything for a moment, biting on his lip as he thought, and after a few minutes, finally, he made sure both feet were on their little stands, and put his good hand up on the hand rest, to look at the stick. "Just move it?"

"That's right. Just move it a little bit forward, and it'll roll. I'll walk with you, until you get the hang of it."

"If I crash into something, I'm taking you with me," he answered back, and swallowed a she shifted his shoulders again a little, and pushed the stick.

The chair moved.

Dominic grasped the arm and the chair stopped, even as he fought to calm down. Fuck. Alright. He tried again, moving it forward, and he moved forward, again. Kind of like a race car game, only much slower, and he could actually die. So he did it, very, very slowly, gnawing on his lip in concentration.

"That's right," Eddie said, taking each step with Dominic. "Just like that, little spurts forward, keep it steady... you're doing good, Dominic." He only danced out of the way once, when the wheels went a little sideways, but otherwise, Dominic did fine.

"If I fall and kill myself, then its your fault. I'm having Lionel sue," Dominic muttered under his breath, as he drove carefully, biting his lip...almost bumping the edge of a coffee table, before going around it with a little maneuvering, and finally getting to the door of the study. He lifted an arm, turned the knob and pushed it open, with a shove of his palm. "Lionel! Breakfast, pronto!"

"You're doing fine," Eddie encouraged, and then stepped back as Dominic shoved the door open, all on his own.

"Wonderful," Lionel said, without looking up from his laptop as he motioned Dominic in. "Then the figures will be in my inbox by the end of the hour? Yes, I thought so." He ended the call with a little snap. "Eduard, how has--" Then he looked up and saw Dominic sitting in there alone. "You drove?"

"I drove. I feel like I'm in one of those wheel chair commercials." A little grin from him, then looked back down at the stick, bit his lip, and used it to maneuver himself in. "This is kind of fun, once the mind numbing terror is gone."

Lionel smiled proudly. "Well, you have survived driving trips with Lex and myself; I think that you can survive driving a motorized wheelchair for a few weeks."

"That's what I thought. Don't be surprised if I break more antiques, though," A little wince, as he drove in, then kind of coasted to a stop. "No break. So, colliding is a given." But he grinned at his lover anyway.

Lionel returned the grin. "Breakfast, you say? And I don't care about the antiques; you can break as many of them as you feel the need for, and I will replace them later." He turned off his telephone earpiece and laid it on the desk. "I have heard more muffled explosions from Lex's lab, and while I'm not yet insane enough to go down there and ask, I am beginning to worry. Perhaps we should invite them to breakfast?"

That was Dominic's oxymoron of the month. Don't care about antiques, they can be replaced. His lips twitched but he didn't say anything, as he looked toward the door, and then at Eddie, hovering by it. "You can come in, it's alright, Lionel won't bite. Much." he turned his attention back to his lover. "More explosions? Nah. They should be alright. They'll turn up eventually."

Eddie held up his hands. "Me? I'm going to McDonald's and pick up a couple of Egg McMuffins and a soda."

Mother of pearl. What was it with people dangling things in front of him that he couldn't have? He scowled at him, and looked back to Lionel gracefully. "Eggs and biscuits."

"Why don't we all go to McDonald's for breakfast then?" Lionel offered, with a grimace of distaste. "We will get you one of their breakfast platters, with the eggs and the biscuits and the laughingly dubbed sausage."

Dominic shook his head. "I don't want to leave the house. It's alright. Ms. Bird will have cooked up something good."

"Hey, I can bring it back for you, if you don't mind waiting while I run through the drive-through," Eddie offered.

Dominic looked up with interest at that, then looked back to his lover, eyebrow raised. "Do you mind?"

Lionel shrugged. "I have had my grapefruit and coffee this morning, I can wait another half hour for him to bring back take out from McDonald's."

Meaning if Dominic wanted it, he could have it. Score. "Alright, then. Anything is fine, Eddie." He beamed up at him like a kid being offered a Popsicle.

"Right, two McMuffins and a Big Breakfast platter, and maybe some hotcakes? and a couple of hash browns and maybe a hot apple pie?" Eddie suggested.

Dominic nodded. "Mmmhmm." Jesus. That sounded--

Delicious.

His eyes widened at the doorway.

Because Clark was standing there, looking slightly shocked, eyes as wide as his, and he was missing his eyebrows. "Clark?"

Clark just… cleared his throat, nodded, and tried to smooth down his hair a bit, which was still attached thank God. His clothes were singed, black soot marks covered his hands and face, and he cleared his throat as he walked over to the bar, poured a stiff scotch, and tossed it back like it were water. Did it once more. Then took the bottle, and the glass, and walked out as silently as he'd come in.

Lionel watched in comical silence, eyes wide and mouth open, as Clark came in, chugged back fifty year old scotch like it were nothing but tap water, and left. "Clark?" He finally called out, as Clark was walking out.

Eddie just goggled at the tall, well-built but scruffy teenager that walked in, slugged back the booze, and walked back out again.

Clark stopped at the doorway, looked over his shoulder, but couldn't quite bring himself to speak.

Lionel's jaw snapped shut. "Would you like some assistance in whatever you are doing?"

Clark shook his head. "Nope." His voice was oddly squeaky. "I'm good. You good?"

"Just... just fine." Lionel flailed about for something to say. "Ah. Well. You know that my liquor cabinet is yours to raid at necessity."

"Do you have tequila?"

"Yes, I do. One moment." Lionel moved in a bit of a daze across the office, and went through the cabinet until he came up with a bottle and a gold label. "If you will stop by the kitchen, I am sure that Ms. Bird can provide you with salt and limes," he finished, offering the bottle.

"Mmm. thank you." He took the bottle with slightly tremoring hands, turned on his heel, and left.

"You're welcome," Lionel called after Clark, blinked, and turned to stare at Dominic. "Do you... have any idea what that was about?"

Dominic choked on a snort from his chair. "I swear, nothing normal ever happens to us. Eddie," Dominic leaned over into the pocket of the wheelchair, took out his wallet, and pulled out his wallet. He took out a twenty, and handed it over. "Thank you again." He sideglanced Lionel. "No, I don't, love," his eyebrow cocked high, Not in front of Eddie.

"Right. Breakfast. Okay. I'm going to get breakfast. And, I'll be back and ignore the mad scientists in the basement." Eddie pocketed the money and disappeared.

Lionel just nodded, hitching a hip up on the side of the desk and waiting for Eddie to leave. Once he heard the rev of a car engine, he pinned his lover with a glare. "Now... would you like to try that answer again?"

Dominic cringed under Lionel's look. "He'll have to tell you. I won't ruin his confidence in me, love."

"Mmm. And I suppose it would be in very bad taste for me to march down there and demand to know why there are explosions?"

"Indecently bad taste." Dominic said cheerfully, as he reached over, picked up one of the toffee's Lionel always had in a tin, and opened it with a flick of his thumb, popping it in his mouth.

"Yes, well, it can be in all the bad taste that it wishes, I am going to go down there and do just that, because I am beginning to get quite worried, seeing as how I have not seen my son since Friday evening."

Dominic wondered, briefly, how Lionel would react to knowing he didn't really have a son right now, but cleared his throat and looked up meekly. "Its between you and your child, my dear," he said from around the toffee.

Lionel's eyebrow elevated further at that.

Dominic smiled innocently back at him.

"Dominic," Lionel said warningly.

Dominic pretended to zip his lips closed with thumb and forefinger.

"Very well; would you like to go with me? At least to the top of the stairs, because I don't believe they've been ramped yet."

"That's fine. Though I don't suggest you go down there," Dominic warned. "Honestly, love. Do you want more of a headache?"

"I already have a headache, Dominic, and I am worried on top of that. I have not seen Lex, I have heard explosions, Clark looks as though he's passed through a war zone, and he is drinking like there is no tomorrow. I believe I'm allowed to be worried."

Dominic sighed, and after tossing the toffee paper in the garbage, took hold of his little joystick, and motioned his chin. "Lead the way."

Lionel sighed, and moved to open the door, holding it open so that Dominic could motor out of the room. "You know, I'm beginning to think my life was much easier when I lived in Metropolis and knew not what my son did," he said over his shoulder.

"Of course it was, but think of all the fun we were missing out on," Dominic chirped, moving along with his lover, going slow so he wouldn't get sick but firmly moving along so he wouldn't be left behind. It was an odd feeling, moving around like this, and it kind of tired him out. He stopped, then, and closed his eyes. "Lionel, I'm feeling a bit of nausea. Could you push?"

"Of course I can." Lionel took several steps backwards, and wrapped his hands firmly around the pushing handles. "When Eduard returns, I will speak to him about talking to one of your physicians and see if there's anything that can be prescribed for the temporary nausea. If you had use of both your hands, I would suggest pressure point therapy."

"I asked him. He said that it was temporary indeed, and would probably go away within a few weeks after I get more of my mobility back." He nodded, firmly. "Its not always… just when I've been moving around a lot."

Lionel nodded as he pushed. "I understand. I'll be careful moving you along then." He pushed Dominic steadily through the hallways. "I am glad that you and Lex seem to have reached a pleasant accord, finally."

"Mmm. You could say that." He looked at the laboratory door as they finally got to it, and winced as he peered down into it. "Oh, this is not going to be pretty."

Lionel raised his brow again. "Why do you say that, little cricket?"

Dominic just rubbed his eyes with thumb and forefinger, pressing them so some of the pressure let up off of them, and just... sighed. Sighed. "I can't go down, love. You may want to leave me here...in fact, I know I want to stay here."

"Nonsense. I'll have Clark carry you down." Lionel paused at the stop of the stairs. "Clark!" he called out. "Can you help Dominic and I come down?"

"No... I... no," He winced as another muffled boom sounded downstairs, and the china rattled in the curio's and the frames on the walls shuddered. "I think I'll... just stay here, yes."

Lionel kissed his lover gently. "I'll be back." He went down the steps, bracing himself against yet another explosion, and pounded on the metal door, then used the handscan panel on the side to buzz for entry. "Alexander Joseph Luthor, open this door right now."

Alexis' eyes were two huge saucers in her head. "Clark!!!!"

"Ahh... Lionel..." Clark squeaked, opened the huge door, slipped out of the lab, and shut it firmly behind him, pressing his back to it and facing Lionel. He reeked of liquor and god knew what else, eyes wide, shirt ripped, feet bare. "hi!"

Lionel crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Clark. "Do not 'hi' me, young man. I want in that laboratory, and I want in there right now."

"Noooo," squeak, "No, no, no. No. Erm. No. Why don't we... upstairs? Coffee? Tea? Lobotomy?"

"I am not interested in coffee, tea, or a lobotomy. I would, however, like to know why I have not seen my son in days, why there are explosions going off in the lab behind you, why you stink of liquor, and why you seem to have no eyebrows left!"

"The eyebrows will only take a few days to re-grow. The liquor tasted good with the stuff Lex had me swallowing. And you haven't seen Lex in days because he's, technically, no longer your son." Clark winced. Hard.

Lionel's entire face darkened at that, storm clouds gathering over his furrowed brows as he bristled. "And what, precisely, do you mean by the fact that Lex is no loner my son?" he bellowed. At the top of his not-inconsiderable lungs.

"I--its--well--," Clark stuttered silent, wincing under the bellows Lionel was giving that had he been human, would have made him partially deaf. "Its… long... very long... story... full of embarrassment... and... well.."

"Move aside, Clark. And let me in that laboratory. Now." His voice was deadly quiet.

"I--well--I--" Clark just winced, and moved out of the way.

Lionel shoved the door to lab open. "ALEXANDER, SHOW YOURSELF!" he bellowed, top of his lungs again.

"Get out!" Alexis yelled, from behind one of the partitions in the back of the room. "I'll blow you up too, get out get out!"

"I couldn't stop him, baby!" Clark cried, scuttling in from behind Lionel. "He gave me the Death Glare! I couldn't resist, I'm so sorry!"

"Clark!!! Shove him back out! Carry him out! Do something!" Lex's voice hit the high end of the register with that. "Dad, get the fuck out!"

Lionel pinned Clark with a glare. "Don't even try it." He turned his attention back towards the lab, and scanned until he found where Lex was hiding and started towards him. "I am going to find out, Alexander."

Clark just... slumped against the lab table, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Lex, we're not finding a solution, and we can't hide here forever. It's been two days, and I'm living off of whiskey. Just... tell him. Get it over with. He's got a coupla PhDs, he might be able to help us."

"No!" Alexis was almost hyperventilating as Lionel got closer to her hiding place. "Claaaaaaark!"

"Lionel... look... he's alive, he's safe. Get out, please?" Clark asked, meekly, moving to stand in front of Lex as Lionel stalked all the closer.

"Move. Out of the way. Now." Lionel silently commanded the hairs on the back of his neck to go down, because he hadn't had this ball of trepidation in his stomach since he'd found Julian silent in his crib. "Alexander, show yourself this instant, do you hear me? I do not want to drag you out by your ear, but if you force me, I will do so."

Clark winced, hard, and finally turned and looked at Lex. No choice. They'd hit it long enough, and he bit his lip tightly as he stepped aside. "Lex, its okay, baby. I promise. Come on, you're beautiful."

Alexis swallowed her heart back down into her chest and barely peeked up over the side of the storage containers she was hiding behind. "Fine." She crept out as fast as she could, and darted to hide behind Clark. "There. See? I'm out. I'm fine. Go away now."

Lionel caught more than a flash of red hair, and things that jiggled where there shouldn't have been a jiggle. His hand clamped on Lex's upper arm, hauling him out from behind Clark, and then let go like he'd been burnt by Lex's arm.

Rippling red hair cascaded down past Lex's waist, there was voluptuous cleavage where none had existed before, Lex's features were subtly changed, and he couldn't help staring at the lack of bulge between his son's legs before dragging his eyes back up to Lex's.

"Clark? If there is any of that tequila left, I would very much like to have a drink of it before I hear the explanation as to why my son is a woman."

At the silence, Dominic called down, "Told you you'd get a headache!"

"Don't we all," Clark muttered, but then looked at his lover, sighed, and reached over for the glass and tequila, pouring an ample shot and handing it over. "Her name... well, we're going with Alexis. Alexander, Alexis, all the same. Uh... she's... well, a she. And..." His skin burned crimson, and he took a swallow from the bottle.

"Kiss my ass!" Lionel bellowed back at his lover, and took the bottle from Clark, disdaining the shot entirely as he drank straight from the bottle, barely pausing to breathe as he swallowed.

Alexis all but crawled into Clark's skin as she hid behind him, barely peeping out over his shoulder.

"Dare I ask how this happened?"

Alexis bit her lip tightly. "How much do you want to know about my sex life, Dad?"

Lionel was more than startled to hear the husky, feminine tones coming out of his son's mouth, and he looked up, surprised.

Clark looked up at Lionel's surprised face and rolled his eyes. "She's a she, Lionel. Did you think she'd sound like a he? of course not." He looked over his shoulder, gathered his courage around him, and plowed right in. "We were having sex, like... this. We've done it before... it's really fun," his face was burnt red and he struggled to keep speaking, the words overlapping one another they were coming out so fast, "And she sort of got stuck. We don't know how."

Lionel reached out and prodded one of his son's breasts, and didn't stop to think of the oddness of that statement.

"HEY!" Alexis yelled, slapping his hands away. "No bad touching, Dad."

"How... stuck?" Lionel took another long drink from the bottle. "Ah. Stuck. Of course. My gay stepson is having sex with my transsexual son who is now, in all likelihood, my daughter, and they don't know how it happened. Because my life is just that simple."

"Son in law, actually," Clark correctly meekly, biting his lip and hiding behind his fringe. "And he's not transsexual. He's just kinky." He lifted his chin. "Don't label him. Besides, we're going to figure out what happened, and we'll fix it."

"Yes, of course, I'm sorry. Son in law." Lionel took another drink from the bottle. "Don't label him. Clark, at the risk of sounding rude? I couldn't hope to find an accurate label other than transsexual hermaphroditic gay drag queen, because I sincerely hope that was silicon and not actual flesh." Another drink, and didn't that calm him down? "If you don't know what happened, how can you understand it and fix it?"

Clark lifted his chin further. "It's silicon, but to us its actual flesh. So stop prodding her, she's not a cow." A sniff. "And besides, it was my idea, so maybe I'm the hermaphroditic gay drag queen, mm?" Another sniff. "My dad's working on it."

A loud, loud snort. "I sincerely doubt Jonathan is going to come up with any useful information, Clark."

Alexis was sniffling behind Clark, and burst into tears over his shoulder. "I told you he'd hate me and wouldn't want me!"

"Jor-El, Lionel," Clark reminded, before he turned and winced, gaping. He didn't know what to do about all this crying yet, but he pulled Alexis into his arms awkwardly, and hugged her tight. "Don't cry, baby, I know. Come on, its alright. He's just shocked."

She just sobbed. "I told you he'd think I was even more of a freak! This is why I didn't want him down heeeeeeeeeeeere!" The last word turned into a kind of keeened-out sob.

Lionel blinked, tequila bottle frozen halfway to his mouth. His face was locked in a comically horrified mask at the sight of his son--daughter?--bursting into tears.

Clark turned, so her back faced Lionel, and gave his father in law his own horrified face over Alexis's shoulder. He was gay for a reason here, people, he wasn't good with girls, but he hugged his aushna' tight anyway as she sobbed in his shoulder.

Lionel was still just staring in abject horror as Lex cried. The tequila bottle still hadn't moved, and neither had his expression as he tried to comprehend the fact that Alexander J. Luthor was currently going by the name Alexis, was wearing a pair of fake tits, and was sobbing his/her/its eyes out on Clark's shoulder.

"Shhh, it's alright, Lexie, come on, baby," he rubbed her back gently, fingers getting tangled in the sheet of glossy red hair, gently cradling her close and kissing her cheekbones. "Come on, its alright, seriously. Come on, baby." he kissed her forehead, then her lips, as he lifted her face up. "Come on, baby."

"It is not all right, my father ha-ha-hates me!" she bawled.

That seemed to galvanize Lionel into action, and he pushed up from the floor--where he hadn't even realized he'd fallen to yet--and put the tequila bottle down as he reached out and pulled Lex--Alexis?--into his arms and hugged her. "There now. I don't hate you, Lex. You've just... thrown me for a bit of a shock, that's all." His hand rubbed her back gently as he rocked them just the slightest bit, the same thing that had worked to calm Lillian when she had been upset.

It worked. Alexis' sniffles slowly trailed off, and she hugged her father tightly around the waist.

Clark... Clark just grinned, Rolled his eyes to the ceiling, then grinned at them again and gently untangled some of his lovers hair from her shirt collar, one of Clark's own t-shirts, over the slacks she'd cinched up with a belt--her sturdy hips as a man turned into very skinny ones as a woman, and nothing fit right. He just sighed, and took the tequila bottle, setting it on the lab table, which he hopped up on top of.

Lionel gave a brief sigh of thanks that she'd stopped crying and just kept patting her gently on the back. "There now. That's better. It's all right, Lex. It's all right to be scared." He kept his arms around him--her, he corrected, and turned his look to Clark. "And what were the explosions?"

Clark shifted. "Well. Erm. Some… things we were trying out to see… if maybe it was just a chemical imbalance. Hence my eyebrowlessness."

"Mmm. So instead of a blood panel, you decide to start blowing things up?"

Alexis sniffled from his shoulder. "We didn't just decide, Dad. We didn't know what else to do."

Clark nodded. "I'm not the science nerd. Just Igor."

Alexis sniffled again. "I'll be your son again soon."

Lionel just rested his cheek on top of Lex's head, marveling at the softness of hair he knew wasn't there. "It's all right, Lex. Take your time, and we will handle this together."

Clark grinned, very privately. Somehow, a tension he'd carried with him for a long time in regards to the way Rory was going to grow up seemed to smooth out, and he bit his lip, eyes dancing as he watched them. Lionel was so gentle, in a way that he wasn't always with Lex. In truth, it was adorable.

Lionel kept stroking Lex's back gently. "Come on. Calm down, breathe deeply, and tell me what is going on. You can tell me everything, I don't mind hearing it, because I intend to forget it as soon as possible." His thumb wiped away a little teardrop from her cheek, and he left his cheek on her head.

Clark looked up at the door, where he could vaguely here Dominic snickering, and grinned to himself as he looked at the two of them, so gentle together, and he couldn't help it. "You know, its good practice for Rory, Lionel," Clark piped up, innocence on his face.

"Shut up, Clark," Lionel said with a good natured glare. "I have one son--child--to worry about right now, I don't need to worry about the other one."

Alexis shoved at Lionel's ribs. "Don't tell Clark to shut up like that. He's my boyfriend."

Clark bit his lip. Tightly. "All this hetero-ness is making me vaguely ill. Lionel," Change subject. "Any idea what we could do to, you know, get him back to being a him?"

"Considering I don't yet know how she got to be a she in the first place? No, I don't." Eyebrow elevated. "Neither of you have seen fit to give me the details."

"Lionel, do you really want all the details of our sordid love life?"

"No, I most certainly do not. However, I think that in this situation, it is unavoidable that I hear something I dearly do not want to."

Clark chewed on his lower lip for a moment, watching Lionel, then sighed. Just... "We… were… you know. Having sex. I... in my head... through the link, I can make people think a certain way. I don't abuse it!" He cried, before Lionel could take that the wrong way. "Only when I have permission."

"I didn't think otherwise," Lionel reassured. "I don't think you abuse your abilities." He kept stroking Alexis' back comfortingly. "And I take it that during sex, you decided to make Lex into a woman."

"We decided," Clark corrected, blushing right up to the roots of his hair.

"It was my idea, Dad, don't go yelling at Clark," Alexis said, muffled against his shoulder. "I was the one dressing up in a skirt and a corset."

"More information than I ever needed," Lionel pointed out. "For whatever reason, the two of you made the joint decision to make Lex into a woman?"

"Yes. Not really, though! Just in our heads," Clark nodded, frantically. "He was still him, but we just perceived him differently. Everything was okay for... the... things... we did, but after that, when… well, when we tried to make him... not... Alexis anymore..." A wince.

"That's when we couldn't." Alexis tightened her grip on her father. "Now we've tried everything I could think of and we don't know what to do, and I'm starting to get really scared, cause I want my dick back and my back hurts from carrying around these huge breasts and--"

"ALEXIS JOSEPHINE LUTHOR!" Lionel bellowed, not realizing his brain made the gender correction as he yelled. "That's quite more information than I needed to know!!"

Clark made a face. "Feminize my lover a bit more, why don't you?" he muttered under his breath, even as he sighed and looked at Lex. "I miss your dick too, baby."

Alexis just bawled again. "It's not my fault, Clark!! I don't wanna be this way!!!! I wanna be back to MEEEE!!"

Lionel gave Clark a VERY dirty look as he went back to soothing her. "Alexis, hush this right now. You're scared and you're tired, you're exhausted, and you're not thinking straight. You need to lie down, and sleep a little. Have something to eat, and clear your mind. You'll think of a solution when you're rested."

Clark flinched under the glare and just hopped down from the table. "Come on, Dominic's waiting for us. Lex, its okay, I'm serious. Okay? lets go upstairs, we'll take a nap. Don't worry, kay?" He stroked the back of his lovers hair, hating that it wasn't bald but gently squeezing her shoulder anyway.

She sniffled. "You don't want to, you don't like me like this either!" She kept her face buried in Lionel's shoulder. "You're just being nice to get Lex back! You don't care about me!"

This was starting to make Lionel's head ache. Very badly. "Alexis, stop. Clark cares a great deal about you or he would not have tried to protect you when I came in," he said sternly. "Now, no more of this foolish crying. Clark is just missing you as you are supposed to be."

Clark winced at the high pitched cry into Lionel's shoulder and shifted from foot to foot. "I love you, Lex. I didn't… its not that. I don't like you upset, and I don't like it when you're hurting. You know? I just want you to be okay, baby, that's all. Don't be angry." He shifted again, biting his lip.

Alexis sniffled over her shoulder, and looked at Clark. "I know, I'm sorry, this is weird for you too." She let go of Lionel to cling to Clark instead, hugging him and setting a damp cheek on his chest as she hugged.

Clark hugged her, looking horror stricken again. "Plus the whole gay part. I'm terrible with girls, ask Chloe and Shayla. And if she were still alive, Lana. I mean, yeah. There's a reason I like men." But he didn't say anymore, as he hugged Alexis tightly. "But you're my aushna', and I love you no matter what you look like. Kay?" he lifted her chin gently with thumb and forefinger.

God save me from a woman who cries and a man who crumples at her tears, Lionel thought to himself. "Eddie should be back soon with breakfast for himself, Dominic and I, and I think that once he's involved with breakfast and Dominic, the two of you should go upstairs, and have Ms. Bird bring you a tray, eat, and go to sleep."

Alexis just nodded up at Clark. "I love you too, Clark. You're my aushna', and you're the best ever." She squeezed his waist again, and snuggled close. "Breakfast. Coffee?"

Clark nodded, frantically, and swallowed tightly as he shifted from foot to foot. "Sure. Whatever you like." He was willing to be flexible, as long as it meant no more tears. He HATED tears. "Whatever you like, sweetie. Kay?"

"Okay." Alexis snuggled when Clark shifted, and sighed happily.

Lionel just cleared his throat. "Yes. Well. I'll put the call in for Ms. Bird to start preparing your tray, all right? You just call the good woman when you're ready for it to be brought up."

"Okay." Clark looked up with eyes that plainly begged, don't leave me! but he turned anyway, gently herding his lover toward the door, flipping off all but the main lights in the lab as he went. "Grab the tequila bottle, Lionel?"

"I already have it," Lionel said, lifting it high for the young man to see.

Alexis yawned against Clark's chest. "I am kind of tired, Clark."

"That's good, baby. Sleepy is good, you need your rest." And Clark needed said lobotomy. He walked up the steps with his lover under his arm, passing Dominic, who had decided taking a nap in the hall was the best idea yet and was snoozing, cuddled down in the blanket covering his legs and lower body, and walked past him toward the stairs.

Lionel stopped in front of Dominic. Glared at his sleeping form, leaned over, and after making sure Dominic was belted tightly into the chair and couldn't fall out, bellowed. "WAKE UP!!!!!!!"

Alexis jumped when her father yelled, and just burrowed tighter against Clark. "I want all this done with!" she whined. "Clark... what if I'm stuck like this forever and ever?"

Dominic gasped so hard he almost fell out of his chair, and had it not been for the belt, would have. His heart, racing inside of his chest, matched the suddenly pale face as he looked around, startled, unaware of where he was and his mind having difficulty tracking what had just happened. He looked up, the green of his eyes startling in his white face, and gulped down a breath as he realized it was just his lover.

"The next time my son has a sex change? I'd like to be informed about something that important," Lionel said cheerfully.

"Don't… scare me... like that...Lionel," Dominic gasped out, trembling as he gripped the sides of the wheelchair. "Don't… scare me like that. God."

In the back of his heart, Lionel felt remorse. But just barely. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to shock you. Not like... oh, say finding out your son has turned into a daughter."

"I told you you wouldn't like it," he said, rubbing the shrill pound of his heart on his chest, even as he glared up at Lionel for the scare and swallowed another breath.

"Mm, that's true, I don't, and yet, it's something I needed to know." He lifted the tequila bottle and drank deep.

"Not really. He'll be fine." Ohhh, the mood had not done good for Dominic's temper, nor his wakeup call, and he grabbed the joystick, turned the chair, and wheeled off.

Lionel watched Dominic wheel off, turned on his heel, and headed up the stairs, going to make sure that Clark and Lex--despite the form he was in--got to bed all right and without further incidence of tears.

 

 

-fin-

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