The Memoirs

Clark hated his super hearing sometimes.

He could only stand there, gaping, like an idiot. He was aware the blood had run out of his face, and that he was about to go into full scale panic mode. He was also completely aware of the trembles in his elbows and knees. Dominic. Dominic's surgeries had been botched on purpose, and that's why he couldn't move.

Oh, dearest God in heaven.

The cup of coffee he was holding went crashing, sending scalding liquid over his hand and jeans, but all he did was grab Lex's arm, motion to his father, and start toward the elevators.

Alexis gave a sharp yelp as the coffee splashed onto her legs, but she didn't hesitate, just hurried behind Clark as Jor-El fell quickly into step behind her. "Clark? Clark? Where are we going, what's wrong? Clark?"

Jor-El put his hand on Alexis' shoulder. "Do not question him, gala. He will tell us when it is safe."

Clark dragged him, and when he was sure his aushna' was going to follow him, walked all the way toward the elevators, called them, and then stepped into the nearest one. He was trembling, hard, with fear and rage, as he thought of Dominic who was trying so hard to recover, and the positively evil, wicked man who was stopping that from happening.

Alexis followed quickly, glad that she was long-legged because otherwise she would not have been able to keep up with Clark's strides. Jor-El was pacing her, making sure that she stayed caught up, and they piled together into the elevator behind Clark, waiting for the doors to close.

Clark waited until the doors to close before he grit out, "Jaheel's working for Hardwick. He botched Dominic's surgeries on purpose, and put him on the wrong medication, so Lionel will stay away from LuthorCorp."

"Hardwick? Sir Harry Hardwick?" Alexis shook her head. "That's impossible, Clark. Dad and I wiped him out a year and a half ago; whatever he's got left, it's nothing that could finance something like this." She did a double-take. "You heard it?"

"I heard it. Super human hearing, remember?" Clark looked toward him. "I heard him say it. He said it, Lex. He's doing it. Jaheel's high-tailing it to Cuba at the end of the week. He said something's wrong with Dominic's muscles and tendons, he didn't fix them like he should have."

"Okay. I believe you, Clark." Alexis put her hand on his shoulder. "As soon as we get downstairs, we'll talk to Dad, and as soon as the papers are signed to admit Shayla, Dad'll chopper Dominic over to Metropolis, and Angels of Mercy, where his private physician's on call, and we'll see how much damage has happened already."

Clark was vibrating with rage, so hard that he could feel his teeth chattering. "Son of a bitch. That goddamned fucking SON OF A BITCH!"

Jor-El put his hand on Clark's arm as well. "Be calm, my son."

"That man… because Dominic is… because he's Lionel's. because..." He clenched his teeth hard as his father spoke, and closed his eyes as he inhaled stiffly through his nose. "They said the wounds would get gangrene and have to be taken off. And they laughed."

"But we are not going to let that happen," Jor-El calmed. "We are not. We are going to stop this and make it right, and Dominic will not suffer any longer. But you must be calm, Kal-El, because if you are not, your anger will blind you to what must be done."

He heard the wisdom in his fathers words, and inhaled again, and once more, as the elevator stopped on Shayla's floor. They walked out, Clark with his hand around Lex's arm so his lover would stay close, and just as they were getting off, he saw Lionel and Dominic coming down the hall.

And then the rage tripled, as he looked down into the gaunt, sick mans face, and he had to clench his teeth to stop the fury.

Jor-El tightened his grip on Clark's shoulder. "Calmness, Kal-El. You do not want to bring undue attention to this conversation, lest it be noticed and more permanent measures taken."

Clark nodded again, taking his fathers words to heart, and ground his teeth tightly. "Hello, Lionel, Dominic. Please sign the paperwork, and lets go home--there's a lot of things I need to discuss with you."

Something in Clark's voice and eyes made Dominic look up, and frown. "Is everything alright?"

"Peachy."

Jor-El smiled over Clark's shoulder. "It's a matter of some urgency, Dominic, but can wait until things are settled here with your sister."

Alexis had sidled over to her father. "You need to be here for this, Dad... it's kind of important. Go ahead and call now for the helicopter; you're going to need it."

Lionel looked oddly at his son, but took out his cell phone without questioning, and called the helicopter pilot.

"An hour. Have them meet you at the house in an hour," Alexis whispered.

Dominic frowned, at the lot of them, but wheeled himself into the ER room. He saw Chloe and Whitney, the former who was crying and the latter who was miserable, and then his baby sister, her back anyway. "Shayla? Shayla, darling, what's happened?"

"I'm fine. Go away, I just want to go home."

"No, no, and no." Dominic answered, and glared at Whitney a moment. "go on, get out, let me have a word, hmm?"

Whitney just nodded. "Good luck," he whispered softly, and tugged Chloe up to her feet. "Come on. Let's get you to a bathroom, and you can wash your face, okay?" He kissed her on the temple as he guided her out of the room.

Dominic waited, until they'd left and his lover, Clark and Lex were in the hall, before maneuvering himself around the bed as much as he was able, and glaring across the space at the girl. "Where on god's green earth, Shayla Marie, did you think to do this?"

Shayla rolled over onto her back, and away from her brother. "Go away."

"I think not." He peered across at her. "Don't make me roll about the other way, my pink skittle, because I don't think I can manage it." He waited a beat. "Want to talk to me?"

"No, I don't."

"You know, this was a shitty time for you to get ill. I thought, right as I'm now able to move about a bit, you'd join me in a movie fest on Saturday. I had it all planned, popcorn included, to celebrate the fact that you're now my ward."

"So you got rid of Mama. Good riddance." Shay pulled the sheet up over her hip. "Sorry about the movies. Blame Chloe; her and that brick wall she's marrying are the ones that hauled me here."

"Well, as I know Chloe, a bit anyway, I don't think she cries like that at a drop of a hat, poor dear. It's quite alright, though, I suppose I could find something to do here at the hospital. I'll tell you, the food sucks."

She barely shrugged. "Another reason to not eat it."

"I wonder what your dentist is going to say when she sees your mouth."

"Probably that I need braces."

"And that your teeth are going to fall out from the acid you've been puking up."

"It's not my fault I have a sensitive stomach." She wasn't even looking at him, just staring at the wall as she tugged up the sheet again.

"Mmm. No body can handle all the junk you put into it, and then puked up. Did you know, bulimia is worse than self-mutilation? So Elaine's told me." Dominic answered, easily.

"I'm not bulimic. I've just been over-eating lately and my stomach's making me regret it. You're all over-reacting, and I just want to go home."

"Don't lie to me," Dominic said, very, very softly. "I thought you respected me, and yourself, more then that."

"I'm not lying."

"Yes. You are."

"No, I'm not. I haven't felt good since Gran and Gideon and Gramps came over. Ask Gideon, I pigged out at dinner, and got sick as a dog later, and it's just kept going on like that." She was omitting details, but that didn't matter.

"It just kept going on like that. For a month, baby?" Dominic murmured, very quietly, as he reached for her hand with his good one. "I love you, very much. You know that?"

"I know." She didn't tug away, and let his hand touch hers.

"And you know that I want you to rely on me, despite the fact that I can't walk."

"I know that too."

"Then will you tell me why you're here, beloved?" Dominic said, softly, bringing her hand to his lips to gently kiss.

"Because that linebacker Chloe's engaged to threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and dragged me here. Now I've got a needle stuck in my arm, and you signing the papers for them to stick me in the pyscho ward."

Dominic winced, quietly. "No, my dear. I want you to be taken care of, nothing more, nothing less. You understand that, don't you?"

"Yeah, well, to these people? That means sticking me in the loony bin until the can find out what's wrong with my wiring. I'm not stupid and I'm not deaf. I heard the doctors talking."

"Shayla, they're going to put you under observation to see what's causing this, love. You're not crazy. You're not stupid, or deaf, either. I want you to be safe though, you understand?"

"Right, safe, locked away with the rest of the people who've lost their minds."

"No, for those who are stressed, my darling," Dominic murmured, and squeezed her hand again.

"Yeah. Right."

"Shayla, love, they had to look at me before I left. Am I insane?"

"Yeah, but they didn't put you in the ward. They just had someone come and check you out."

"They wanted to."

"But they didn't."

"Shayla. Stop waxing sentimental, right now," Dominic commanded, frowning at her. "You're not a princess, nor will you begin to act like one. You will get better, and talk to the doctors, so you can come home with me. Are we clear?"

"Fine."

He frowned. Deeply. And would have spoken up if the door hadn't opened at that moment, and he looked up into the faces of lover and step son. "Mmm. Paperwork?"

"All ready for your signature," Lionel said softly, holding up the clipboard. "They'll be keeping her here for two to three days for observation, make sure she gets enough minerals and vitamins--she's dangerously low on several of them, and they're going to run some further tests to see if there's been any damage to her body."

"Alright." Dominic took the paperwork, scanning over it as he was very skilled at doing, and though his mind took a little longer to process what he was reading, he was able to get through it fast enough, signing and filling in all of his baby sisters information, muttering questions once in a while on whether or not she was allergic to anything, if she was still a virgin--fat chance but he had to ask anyway--and when her last period was. After he finished filling it out, and singing his name on all of them, he handed it back to his lover to paperclip a copy of the newly formed guardianship papers and looked up at his sister. "I'm going home now, love, for a bit… I'll be back tonight to see you, okay?"

"Ahh… actually, Dominic, no you won't," Clark butted in, as he looked at him over Lex's shoulder. "Dominic's going to Angel of Mercy for another surgery, Shay. He'll be back to see you in a few days."

Dominic suddenly felt, and imagined he looked, fairly alarmed. "What?"

Alexis elbowed Clark sharply in the ribs. "Not the place," she hissed, wincing as she reached back to rub her elbow, which felt like it had just bounced off a brick wall.

Shayla swallowed hard, then leaned over the side of the bed and retched into the bedpan left there for just that occasion. Her stomach was nearly empty now, and it cramped as she threw up, but it did relieve some of the other knots in it.

Lionel's head nearly thumped on the doorframe as it lifted up at that pronouncement from his stepson to be. "Clark? Would you like to explain that?"

Jor-El looked around at all of them. "Perhaps this would be better discussed elsewhere? Possibly where there is no chance of anything being overheard?"

Clark didn't apologize to Lex. He knew he was right. He nodded, looking at Lionel sharply and hopefully giving some of his anger and fear to the man through his eyes, as he got behind Dominic's wheelchair. "I'll send Whitney and Chloe back in. Come on, Dom. Mind if I push?"

"No." He was feeling rather panicked now, and his fingers began to clench in the blankets on his lap, as a cold sweat broke out over his body. More hospitals. Oh, God.

"No speeding," Alexis hissed again. She wanted to tell Dominic to calm down, but the truth of it was, this was not a situation to be calm about. Jor-El stepped out of the room to give the others maneuvering space, and Alexis gave another wince as Lionel's hand bit tightly in his arm before remembering and loosening.

"What does Clark know, Alexis?" Lionel hissed under his breath. "Why in God's name did he mention surgery to Dominic?"

Alexis peeled Lionel's hand off her bicep. "Because he's going to need it. Now come on, Dad, let's go, because you really need to hear what Clark has to say. Just... not in this room, all right? Trust me?"

Clark was already pushing Dominic down the hall, father in tow, talking cheerfully to him because in that moment, Jaheel walked by. Clark raised a hand in greeting, his insides screaming to reach out and murder the bastard right where he stood, but somehow, someway, he refrained. Instead, he walked right into the nearest elevator, holding it open for Lionel and Lex. "You guys coming?"

Jor-El's hand rested soothingly on the small of Clark's back, and through the tenuous link they shared, he shared with his son all the calmness and serenity he possessed.

"Of course we're coming," Lionel called out, and then glared at his son--daughter--again. "You had better have good explanations, or else you're going to have to answer to me for upsetting Dominic." He turned on his heel and strode over to the elevator, Alexis following a few paces behind.

Clark was very quiet. Very quiet. All through the elevator ride, down one floor to the lobby, and out to the enormous SUV that Lionel had brought. They easily, very easily, got Dominic settled in the car, folded the wheel chair into the trunk, and piled in, together. Clark said in the back row, with Dominic and his lover, as Dominic didn't get as car sick in the back seat, and waited until all four cars thumped shut. "Drive a little, Lionel. I don't want anyone who might be watching to be suspicious."

Jor-El examined the gearshift and the steering column with great intensity as Lionel put the car in gear, and then sat back up straight, quickly figuring out the intricacies of the safety belt after watching Lionel click his into place and then following suit.

Lionel backed quickly out of the parking space, and used the mirrors in the large vehicle to straighten himself in the aisle and head to the exit. "Clark, would you like to explain to me just what in the hell is going on?"

"First, I want to tell Dominic that I don't want him to panic." He looked across at his father in law, who was several shades paler then he'd been. "Everything's going to be okay, okay?"

Dominic nodded, wordless, and swallowed.

Once he was certain, Clark nodded to himself. "Lex, my father and I were getting a cup of coffee, when I overheard Jaheel talking to Harry Hardwick about Dominic. Jaheel's getting paid from Hardwick to botch all of Dominic's recovery--he's got him on several drugs he shouldn't be using at all, he didn't fix his knee or his shoulder, and he's hoping for it to go gangrenous in the next month or so, thereby making you a double amputee. Hardwick wants Lionel to lose his business and his lover in one whack. So to speak."

Jor-El's firm hands gripped the steering wheel, reflexes reacting for Lionel's when the other man's hands dropped off the wheel, and turned to look at Clark in the mirror for a few short seconds before turning around and taking the wheel back.

"Lex?" That's all he asked.

Alexis nodded. "It's true, Dad. Clark heard it; Jor-El and I were both there when he did. He's telling the truth, and that's why I told you to have the helicopter meet us as the house. We're going to gather up all of Dom's medicines, everything we've got at the house, and we're going to take him to Metropolis."

Lionel's mind was reeling as he drove. "How can Sir Harry be doing this? Our takeover of Hardwick Industries left him nearly penniless and prospectless." He couldn't stop staring in the mirror. "You say he botched the surgery? And gangrene?" He couldn't assimilate all of what he was hearing and drive at the same time. "Clark, tell me everything that you heard."

"Jaheel was talking to someone. I heard him say Dominic's name, so I clued in. He was on the terrace, on the phone, talking to Hardwick, I heard them both clear as day. Hardwick hired Jaheel after he found out he was working on Dominic's case--he gave Jaheel three million dollars. He's running off to Cuba by Friday. He's got Dominic on every wrong medication there is, including medicine to stop him from being able to get better, or to move. He didn't connect things when he was doing Dom's surgery... there's stuff that's not right inside. He didn't talk about it, but that's what I got." Clark said, quietly looking at Lionel's reflection in the mirror. "He was laughing. I don't think you understand what it took for me not to kill him. Which is why, though, Dom needs to go to Angel of Mercy and have X-Rays and another surgery for his arm and his leg."

Dominic didn't bother speaking. He was shaking. So hard that his teeth clattered together, and his fingers were a fist in the blanket they'd draped over his legs. He was shaking with pain, with rage, with horror, and he closed his eyes tightly as he listened.

Alexis wrapped her arms around Dominic's shoulders, letting her head rest on one as she held him. "We're going to get you fixed, Dom. I promise."

Lionel nodded. "Yes, Clark, I do understand, and believe me, I am fighting that same urge at the moment." His hands were white-knuckled on the steering wheel. "I can't believe the man is doing this; he's got barely ten million left to his name, and he's frittering it away on this? Why?"

"Because he wants you to suffer. Because Victoria died," Clark answered, as he looked across at Dominic's chalk white face and winced, before speaking again to Lionel. "You need to get the police involved, as soon as you can, and make a statement."

Lionel just shook his head at that. "No, Clark. There's going to be no police involvement in this. This is between Sir Harry and myself, and this time, I will utterly ruin the man and reduce him to nothing but ashes for doing this."

"Yes. You do. For Lex's sake," Clark said softly, looking across at his lover. "Because if Harry can't succeed with Dominic, Lex will be next, Lionel."

"No," Lionel said. "Clark, Henry Hardwick and I have played this game for years, we have a different set of rules, and the instant that he took this outside of the boardroom, then he knew what I would do to him. He will not have the chance to touch my son, I give you my word on that. I'll take care of it with my own hands before it goes that far." The steering wheel was almost bending under Lionel's mad grip.

"I trust you, Lionel," Clark nodded, and let it drop. "We've got to get Dominic taken care of. I'll bet you that's why he's having such a hard time with the physical therapy, why he's not getting any better. God," His voice broke and he rubbed his face and eyes furiously. "God."

Lionel just nodded, and looked back again to where Lex was sitting in the back seat, with his arms around Dominic's shoulders. A shudder for how unnatural that looked, Lex being outwardly affectionate with anyone but Clark, but he suppressed it in his anger and his rage. "I am sure you're right." He looked over his shoulder at Clark for a brief moment as he stopped at a stop sign. "Thank you, Clark."

"Believe me, you're very welcome," he answered.

Dominic was shaking against Lex's body, hard, his fingers grasping his blanket tightly as he closed his eyes. Such an injustice, such a rape against him, and he just kept his eyes clenched shut as he whispered a litany of, "I don't want any more surgery, I don't want any more, no, no."

"I know you don't," Alexis said gently, holding him tightly and trying to soothe the shakes. "Just one more though, Dominic, and everything will be fixed. Back to normal, just like it's supposed to be. I'd do it for you in the lab, but I don't have the skill or the tools or the schooling to do it; please, say you'll have it, just one more, for me and for your new baby."

Clark looked at them, and would have spoken if he didn't see the helicopter landing right behind the mansion. He nodded to himself on how quickly they'd gotten there, and looked up at Lionel in the front seat as they turned down the road to the mansion. "You should probably back a small suitcase, Lionel. I'll help you get one for Dom, too, kay? Toothpaste, razors, all the goodies."

Lionel nodded. "Yes, thank you. Lex, can you and Jor-El help Dominic to the helicopter and make sure that he is situated while Clark and I pack everything?"

Alexis nodded. "Of course we can," she said, giving Dominic a kiss on the cheek. "We're going with him."

Jor-El tilted Lex's chin up. "No, you must remain here, you and Kal-El both, to return you to your proper self."

Clark nodded, firmly. "We've got to stay, Lex, and hold down the fort. I've got my super speed… takes me all of ten minutes to get to Metropolis, so I'll check in on you guys," he turned his phrase to Lionel, "okay? I'll come by tonight, and see how everything's going. They'll probably have him in surgery by tomorrow morning."

Dominic swallowed, very hard, at the lump. "Don't forget my laptop, Lionel, okay? And my other blanket. And my socks."

"I won't forget," Lionel said, turning the SUV off the driveway and onto the grass, driving over the flat terrain towards the green where the helicopter waited for them. "I'll even pack that orange sweater of mine that you like so much in case you should get cold in the room tonight." He nodded at Clark. "I'll be expecting you, Clark."

Clark nodded, firmly, and as the car stopped, he hopped out. He left Lex and his father to Dominic, and as soon as Lionel turned the car off, started up toward the mansion with him. His fingers were tight fists and aching from the tension in his body, but he walked quickly up the steps. "Do you want the black duffle or the bigger one?"

"The bigger one." Lionel's long legs let him keep pace with the young man. "Clark, for the next day or two, I will need you to watch Lex closely for me. I don't think that Harry is stupid enough to attempt to harm my son, but until I can set certain arrangements in motion, I would like to make sure he is protected."

"I'll take care of him, don't worry," Clark said, with such steel that he surprised even himself. "No one will touch him as long as I'm here, least of all that bastard. I'll take care of him," Clark murmured, as he pulled the duffle out from under the bed and set it on Lionel's bed. "You get the clothes, I'll get the toothbrushes and stuff." He pulled a small bag out of the duffle just for those personal things. "Three pairs of pajamas, his robe, his slippers. Get about five pair of underwear, you think? Oh, he's going to hate the catheter."

Lionel gripped Clark's shoulder gently. "I trust you, Clark. With my son, who is everything to me. Thank you, for looking out for my family." He swallowed hard. "I'll gather the medications and the records; the records are in my safe, and the medications are locked in the bathroom."

"He said they were muscle relaxants and nerve blockers," Clark suddenly blurted, and his eyes felt too bright, his throat too tight. "He said that they were keeping Dominic from getting well, but no one would ever know it."

Lionel pulled Clark into a hug. "You've saved him though," he said gruffly. "By letting us know now, while there is still time to correct it, you've saved his life, his limbs, and probably his sanity."

Clark nodded against Lionel's neck as he hugged him just as hard, eyes clenched until he was sure he was under control. He let go of him, with one last tight squeeze, and swallowed at the lump in his throat as he straightened. "Make him pay, make him hurt. We're stronger then this. Goddamn him."

"Don't worry, Clark. He will pay for this. You can count on it." Lionel released Clark as well, and picked the suitcase up, going back to folding the clothes that fit into it.

Clark nodded, fiercely, and went into the bathroom. Quickly, his mind racing, he pulled together toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, shaving cream and razors, as well as several bars of soap, numerous small hand towels, shampoo, conditioner, and a bottle of lotion. He zipped it up and went back in the bedroom, setting it in the bag, and as Lionel was occupied in the closet, went to join him and held out his arms to be piled up with.

Lionel smiled as Clark came up behind him, and dumped the first load of clothes into his arms--several of Dominic's favorite t-shirts, a couple of pairs of those horrible workout pants that his lover favored, and the ugly orange sweater.

"Grab his robe, too, in case its cold?" Clark asked, before turning, getting his first load on the bed, and utilizing all of his superhuman reflexes, got all the clothes folded and in the bag.

"Good idea," Lionel murmured, working almost on autopilot as he pulled out the robe and handed it to Clark, and then turned to his side of the closet, pulling out slacks, turtlenecks, white button-downs and ties.

"You can get more clothes from the penthouse if you need them, right?" Clark asked, as he piled the clothes Lionel was handing him in the bag.

Lionel nodded. "Yes, and there's some in Dominic's apartment as well, and that's likely where I'll be showering and sleeping, since it's closer to the hospital than the penthouse is." A sigh and a shake of his head. "This is unbelievable."

"It makes sense," Clark murmured to him, as he took a pile of undershirts, folded them quickly, and stuck them in the second compartment, where he'd put the personal effects. "It makes sense why Dominic's been having mood swings, why he can't move his leg and arm at all, and why the good arm is so weak. Dominic's never been a weak man, Lionel, he's really strong."

"Yes, he is, he's a very strong man, but what I find unbelievable, Clark, is that Sir Harry would stoop so low as to permanently destroy someone that I cared about, simply for revenge."

"People do crazy things when they think they're in the right, Lionel," Clark murmured, as he took a pile of boxer shorts and socks, sticking them in the bag, and then with a glance around the room, nicked up Dominic's laptop and phone, tucking both amidst the underwear, as well as Lionel's laptop. "Anything else?"

Lionel looked slowly around the room. "No--Yes. I have to get Dominic's medicine out of the lockbox and the papers out of the safe; you can open it for me, if you'd like, it's behind the Waterhouse and the combination is Julian's birthdate." Lionel ambled into the bathroom, bending down on creaking knees to reach under the sink and bring out the large, metallic box that held the medications his lover was on. His own anti-depressant he slipped into his pocket, then quickly counted the bottles to make sure everything was there.

Clark sped through his memories for a moment, searching, and then heard his lover's voice, clear as a bell, telling him the date, and moved the painting open. He slid the numbers through the dial, and the safe swung open with a creak. He retrieved all of the paperwork inside of it that looked like it pertained to Dominic, and set those on top of Lionel's briefcase.

Lionel came back into the bedroom, picked up the papers and tucked them into the box with the medication. "Would you set out about thirty thousand while you're in there, Clark? They're banded in stacks of a thousand."

"Yep." Clark pulled the money out, not bothering to be surprised anymore, and counted it out until he had thirty of them. He set them in the bag as well, which was getting full, and nodded. "Anything else I can bring tonight. Hurry, Dominic's waiting."

"Yes, he is." Lionel shook himself out of the autopilot he'd seemed to fall into. "No, that's everything, you're right. We'll see you tonight, Clark; take care of my son."

"Alright, Lionel. I'll come out with you," he said, as he took up the duffle bag and led Lionel outside.

 

-fin-

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