The Memoirs

"Evil?" Lex offered, stopping as Clark lifted him down to the floor, and then smiled softly as he felt the warmth of the new gold light that spilled through him. "Hi, little guy."

"New light. He's just become aware," Clark beamed, in joy. "We shouldn't tell Chloe and Whitney. Isn't it amazing?" he asked of his lover, and then quieted when he realized they'd been talking about serious stuff. "Sorry. I just thought it was cool," he said, sheepishly.

Lex shook his head. "No. I like it. It's okay, Clark." He cradled the memory of that little light and link as it settled back into it's normal route. "I wonder if Mar felt that way to them."

"No...Chloe and Whitney can't feel the link like we can," Clark said, quietly. "You know, when I forged the link, I think I used your powers. Like you borrow mine, I subconsciously borrowed yours. I think everything, our ability to communicate through the link, the way we know what one another is feeling, is all because of your gifts."

Lex pondered that for a long few minutes. "I like that idea," he admitted, his fingers closing tightly through Clark's. "That what we have is special because it's us, just you and I, and we're the only ones who have the abilities, together, to make this happen."

"And on that note, lets go find Victoria before she decides to see how hard she can throw the balls on your pool table," Clark answered, as from below there was a resounding crash and a "Sorry!"

"I think she just figured that out," Lex said dryly, tugging on Clark's hand. "VICTORIA CATHERINE HARDWICK, FRONT AND CENTER!" Lex bellowed.

"I sorry!!!" she cried, skidding out of Lex's office and down the hall. "The ball just leapeded out of my hand right through the window!!"

Clark's snickered as he and Lex came down the main flight of steps, not holding hands as he didn't want the little girl confused, and in his arms were the clothes he'd found. "It leaped out of your hand, huh?" he asked, walking up and offering his hand. "Lets get you changed. I even found some Barbie socks and undies, okay? You can change in Lex's big bathroom down here."

"It really did!" she said, nodding her head. Then she looked up at Lex. "How did you know my middle name?"

"Because your... mother had the same middle name," Lex explained easily. She was a Victoria Catherine too."

"Oh, okay." She took Clark's hand trustingly. "I can get dressed all by myself now."

"I know, cause you're a big girl," Clark answered sagely, as he led her down the hall, and crouched beside her. "Jeans. Sweater. Jacket. Socks. Undies. T-shirt. Mittens. Put it all on, and then I'll help you with your skates and your hair, okay?"

She clamped her hands over her head and squealed. "YOU'RE NOT CUTTIN' MY HAIR!!"

"Noo! I'm not cutting your hair!" Clark cried back, eyes wide. "I'm just gonna put it in a pony tail!" Then... he stopped, a moment. "have you had your hair cut before?"

She shook her head. "No, and nobody will ever, cause my hair is fine!"

"It is fine, its quite beautiful," Clark assured her, eyebrow raised. "Now, go on in and change your clothes, Lex and I will wait for you out here," Clark answered.

"Promise you won't cut my hair? Cause Daddy says it's beautiful the way it is." She sniffled, and grabbed the clothes, holding them tight against her chest.

"I promise, cross my heart, baby," Clark answered, and kissed her cheek gently. "Go on, go and get dressed. Hurry, so we can come in and get hamburgers after we skate!!"

Victoria scooted off down the hallway, and slammed the bathroom door as she hid in the bathroom.

Lex just shook his head. "I'm going to survey the damage in my office."

Clark grinned, and turned himself, hitching up his jeans higher on his hips as he opened the hall closet. He pulled out a thick pullover and tugged it over his head, and behind the snow boots at the bottom, found his skates. He tugged them out, and found a rubber band in his jeans pocket, which he used to tie back his hair. He tugged up his socks and put on loose flip flops, before following Lex to the office with ice skates in hand. "Sure you don't want to come out with us?"

Lex just raised an eyebrow at the overly-bundled up Clark. "Yes, I'm sure. I didn't skate in my youth, and I see no reason to begin at this late date."

Clark arched an eyebrow right back, lips twitching and dimples winking. "You've obviously never been ice skating. It gets cold, no matter how hot it is outside. It should be fun. But hey, Lex...I could show you how..." Clark beamed at him, like a puppy. "Please?"

"No, Clark," Lex said firmly. "I have no wish to bruise either my pride or my posterior."

Yeah, well, Clark sicced the puppy eyes on him, with a dash of bitten lip and a pretty, coy blush. "Pleeease?"

Lex wavered. "Clark..."

He bit his lower lip and gave enormous, imploring eyes at him. "Please?"

"I do not own a pair of ice skates," Lex finally said triumphantly.

"Yes, you do. I saw them in the hall closet upstairs, along with the hockey gear you never used," Clark beamed.

"The hockey gear I used quite a bit when I was high; there were impromptu street hockey games for the night's tab. Brutal too, if I remember. Anise broke two of her ribs, and her brother Basil broke his forearm. And yes, before you ask, her parents are chefs, hence their being named after spices. The skates, on the other hand, have never been used."

"Lex, they have a blade on them," Clark prompted, still beaming. "Plleeeeeeeease? I promise I won't let go."

"The only blades I'm comfortable with are knife blades and fencing foils."

Clark blushed softly at the image of his lover handling certain foils, and grinned as he leaned forward and brushed his lips across his lovers mouth, once, twice, three times. "Then you can watch from the sidelines, but you're bringing out blankets and hot cocoa, kay?"

"Blankets and hot chocolate. I think those things I can manage," Lex said with a little grin. "By that time, I figure you'll be ready for another... snack," he trailed off meaningfully, rubbing against his lover. "But, I'm going to enjoy watching you bruise your behind."

Clark purred, deep in his throat, but looked toward the door where Victoria was changing, and took a small step back so he wouldn't get too tempted, instead kissing Lex again and smiling at him. "I'll even give you my powers for a while, so I can fully enjoy the butt breakingness."

"You're going to have to, unless you want to break the ice when your Buns of Steel hit it," Lex snerked gently.

"Smart ass," Clark grinned, broadly, and turned back toward the door, opening it. "Ms. Birds probably got hot chocolate and blankets with the picnic basket in the kitchen… get it, and I'll retrieve Ms. Victoria," Clark said, and with that turned down the hall and quietly knocked on the door of the bathroom. "About ready, Ms. Vicky?"

"Yes, sir," Lex said, throwing off a little salute as he sauntered off to the kitchen.

"IT'S VICTORIA!" she yelled, then there was a muffled thump as she banged her head against the door while squirming into the unfamiliar clothes and pulling up the jeans.

"Oh, sorry, Victoria," Clark said, grinning as he arched a brow. "About ready?"

"Almost!" She squirmed one more time and got the jeans zipped up, then opened the door demurely and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I'm ready, Clark," she said primly.

Clark nearly bit through his lip at the little girl standing below him, and he crouched so they were eye to eye. "You look lovely, Ms. Hardwick. Did everything fit okay?"

She nodded. "Yep! Everything's good, and the undies even fit my fanny!" She wiggled the part of her anatomy in question. "Is Baldy comin' wif us or is he workin'?"

"He's coming, and hes gonna watch us. Okay?" Clark asked, lips twitching as he lifting the scrunchy he'd kept in hand. "I've got my hair tied back--your turn, madame. Turn around."

She nodded, and turned around. "Can you braid it? Like Daddy used to?"

Braid? Oh, God. Clark swallowed, eyes wide. "I can try, baby...not very good at it, but I'll give it a go, what do you think?" He picked up her brown hair...frowned...then stood and ushered her into the bathroom. He lifted her up to sitting on the tall chair beside the vanity, before looking for a comb in one of the drawers. He found it, one of his own he left down here some time ago, and gently brushed Victoria's hair out, his hands feeling enormous for such a tiny little creature.

He carefully, so carefully, began to braid her hair, tongue caught between his teeth as he did, and though he had to redo it about four times he got it, and he beamed proudly as he tied the end of it. "Heey. Lookit that."

"You can do it!" she chirped cheerfully, and wiggled until she was comfortable on the big chair. She watched in the mirror, and giggled as she saw his tongue poking out between his teeth, and covered her giggling mouth with her hand, and then squealed when he tied it off. "Yay!!! SEE?? I tolds you you could do it!!" She held her arms up to be taken off the chair. "Yous the best braider ever!"

Clark blushed like a Christmas tree, picking the little girl up and setting her back down as he grinned shyly down at her. "Well, thank you. Come on, Madame, lets go down to the lake--Lex is coming, and it'll give us a chance to get settled." He rose his head, and let out a whistle so high that no one heard it but..

Cleo's head thunked up from the shoe she'd been chewing on and let out a series of loud, echoing barks as she took off across the room, bumping across and over her brothers and tearing down the steps to the whistler, the Clark!

AND OH!

SOMEONE NEW! Cleo let out a series of high pitched barks as she launched herself at the Tiny Thing, barking on top of her lungs in glee as she licked all over her hands.

Victoria squealed as the puppy shaped missile hit her, and she went down on her butt in a cloud of giggles and slurps as she kissed the puppy back. "Puppy!!" she squealed.

Samson took off like a flash after Cleo, barking up a storm as he heard the New Person Bark. His fat little rump was bopping down the steps, and he bowled down the last few of them, oofing as he hit the floor and jumped onto the squirming mass, getting his own licks in.

Artie just sat down midway up the steps and looked plaintively up at Clark, like, why on earth did you bring another Thing in, Dad? He chuffed hot breath out once, heaved a puppy sigh, and plodded the rest of the way downstairs.

Clark grinned, broadly, and as Artie came bounding over he lifted the little... well... big guy up now, into his arms, and give his shaggy ears a kiss as the other two nut jobs tackled Victoria. "Sorry, baby--you know how I am about strays," he said to Artie, looking at those big brown eyes imploringly, eyes dancing. "Come on..." And then he said the magic word.

"Lets go outside!"

Cleo stopped mid-lick, looking up with wide eyes as if she couldn't quite believe he'd said it, and then exploded into barks, turning in circles and chasing her own tail in excitement before tearing across the hall to the door, sending carpets sliding as she used them to slide across to the door, and let out a string of thrilled barks.

Artie just chuffed out another puppy sigh, and let his head droop onto Clark's shoulder. Fine, another stray. But they were NOT keeping this one.

Samson followed in a frenzy, with Victoria's little hands clamped to his tail as he pulled her along behind him, much to her pleased squealing and laughing. He was just big enough to do it, and he toppled Victoria into a puppy pile under him and Cleo as they scratched and whined at the door so they could get OUT! Like, NOW, Clark!!!!

"Artie, they're insane," he said, but set the pup down and opened the front door, smiling as Cleo took off across the grounds like the pretty little thing she was, grinning to himself and rolling his eyes as he grabbed the skates, both us and the little girls, he'd set by the door. "Alright, Victoria, you get to have a pony ride--I don't want your socks getting all grass stained," he said, and leaned down to hoist her up onto his back and shoulders, walking out of the door to follow the puppies who were running laps around the yard. "Oy! This way!" he yelled, and started toward the lake, delighted when the three pups took off that way.

"Horsie!!!" She wrapped her arms around Clark's neck tightly, and wiggled her little toes inside her socks. "You give better horsie rides than Baldy."

"That's because Baldy rides horses, Victoria. He isn't one," Lex said, coming up behind them on a golf cart, honking his little horn as he did. A thermal-insulated cooler was sitting on the back of the cart, along with large blankets and a box of cookies. "Would you like a ride to the lake, Clark?"

Clark looked across and nearly fell over laughing. He laughed so hard tears pricked his eyes and trickled down the corners of his faces, and then, as soon as he'd set Victoria down, he fell over in the grass, cracking. Up.

Cleo heard her Daddy laughing and squealed, turning and dashing up to him and jumping all over him as he did the fun laughing thing, and she barked happily, beaming at the New Person.

Lex pulled the cart to a halt so he didn't run over puppies, children, or aushna', and folded his arms over the steering wheel, glaring.

Victoria joined the puppies, jumping on Clark and tickling him, laughing and squirming on top of him cause she had NO idea why he was laughing but it had to be fun!

Artie was not a dumb dog by any stretch. He padded over to the cart, and jumped up in the passenger seat, wagging his tail.

"Smart dog," Lex said, scratching behind his ears.

Ooooo! Daddy on the ground! Samson gave a mock growl, waggled his butt, and pounced, biting and licking and squealing as he played, chewing on Clark's hair.

Clark was still giggling, his belly aching, when he finally lifted his head, eyes and face full of mirth. "You absolutely spoiled brat. You have a go cart? Lex. A go cart. The lake's like, right across the hill!" But he grinned, still chuckling and wiping his eyes, and picked up Victoria again who was giggling too, and smiled at her as he climbed into the cart with the skates and puppies abound. "Brat."

"If you seriously think I'm going to cart a cooler full of hot chocolate, coffee, spiced toddies, and homemade cookies all over hell and half of Georgia, not to mention adding a few blankets on top of that, you've got to be out of your tree, Clark. I don't carry. I don't fetch." He waited until they were belted in, puppies held safely in laps as he put the little cart in gear and floored it.

Which was only ten miles an hour, and achingly slow, but nonetheless, it was better than walking.

"I knew I should have let Hans soup this fucking thing up when he was working on Dom's Jag."

Victoria perked up. "Dere's cookies?"

"There's cookies?" Clark echoed, totally ignoring Lex's bitching as he peered imploringly into the basket in the back, hmming softly as he held Samson and Cleo, with the much more demure Artie in Victoria's lap. "And Lex, you won't be souping anything up. Brat."

"Yes, there are cookies. There are four kinds of cookies, actually, one of them neither of you are touching. There are chocolate macadamia, which you are welcome to, there is vanilla sugar, which again, you are welcome to, your basic chocolate chip--always a favorite, and finally, there are butterscotch cookies that I will break the fingers of the first person who touches one who isn't me."

Victoria leaned over to whisper to Clark, but ended up talking in her normal voice. "Baldy don't know how to share, does he?"

"Baldy is a spoiled rich brat," Clark stage whispered back. "He lives in a castle, you gotta remember. But if we give him lots of love and kisses, he'll probably share," He nodded, sagely, eyebrow up high as they turned the curve toward the path down to the lake, and he smiled at the completely iced over thing it was. "Nice."

"No, actually, he won't share," Lex said. "Not the butterscotch cookies, and definitely not the spiced rum."

Victoria's nose wrinkled. "Icky rum. I likes pink champagne best, and sometimes Daddy let me have scotch but it don't taste good either."

Clark was a tough guy, and he'd been through, and heard, a lot.

But he was struck dumb and speechless at that, silent as his eyes widened into saucers and he looked down at her.

Lex swallowed hard. "Pink champagne, huh? Did you know that was your mother's favorite drink too?"

Victoria nodded. "That's why Daddy let me have it. He said I should start to get used to it. But I liked it, so it wasn't too bad. There's one he makes me with orange juice and something that's really good too."

"Currant vodka," Lex said absently. "And Earl Grey with a few drops of whiskey."

Victoria nodded. "The tea was icky. But the orangey stuff is good."

Clark's jaw ground audibly, his teeth gnashing together as they reached the lake, and he set the puppies on the grass, taking the small seat belt off, taking the puppy as well, and then forced a smile down at the child. "Well, let's go skate! What do you say?"

"I say yay!!!" She was ready to bolt off the cart seat, but Lex stopped her.

"Tell you what, sweetheart. I'm going to borrow Clark for a second to help me unload everything and spread it out. Then, we'll come back and carry you over to the lake, so you put your skates on, all right?"

"Okay!" she chirped, and shoved her feet into the little pink boots as she started lacing them up.

Lex dragged Clark over, and handed him the box of goodies as he picked up the pile of blankets. "Clark, calm down," Lex said softly, walking away from the cart. "Even I can hear your teeth grinding, and I don't want to explain to Victoria why."

Clark was almost shaking, and with a tug at the barriers between himself and Lex, he tugged his powers out of check and handed them over to his lover. Slowly, as he did, all of the subdued power inside of him trembled and eased, and he swallowed as he set his forehead on Lex's shoulder for a moment, silently.

Then he took one of the blankets, the thickest and biggest one, and spread it out on the bank of the lake, without a word, before going back for the little girl, smiling at her. "Yeah, they fit!"

Lex's hands slid up to the back of Clark's head, pressing Clark's head tightly against his shoulder and kissing his cheek softly. "I love you," he said softly, and then let him go, watching him go over to the little girl as he carried the other blankets to the big one, and put it in the corner before sitting down and opening the cooler.

Victoria nodded, swinging her feet back and forth and grinning. "They fits! I'm ready to skate! Daddy made Mrs. Dixon teach me how. And he's goin' to send me to a school to teach me dancin' and stuff too!"

"Who's Mrs. Dixon?" Clark asked with all the cheeriness he could muster, as he lifted the child, oomphing at her weight without his powers and walking down to the edge of the lake, his own skates hanging off his arm. He set her down on the bench beside the bank and plopped down himself, pushing his sandals off and quickly pushing his feet into his skates. He tied them on tightly, making sure the laces were snug and then tucked onto the top, before he pulled his jeans over them and stood up, digging the heels of the skates into the spongy grass. "You comin'?"

"She's the lady that Daddy hired to stay with me. She stayed with my Mommy too, when she was a little girl like me. She told me all kinds of stories about Mommy and the kinds of things she liked. She even read me the same bedtime stories! Wasn't that neat?" She got up from the bench and stepped carefully onto the ice, testing her weight on it before pushing off and gliding across the lake like a shot.

Lex scratched behind Samson's ears, then when the puppy rolled over, he scratched the fat tummy. He was listening, with Clark's super-hearing, to everything that was being said, and it didn't settle well with him at all, because the little girl was being programmed to be someone else, instead of letting her personality shine through.

His father had tried to do that to him, and he felt very, very strongly about making sure it was never, ever done to this little girl again.

Clark tested the ice himself, and once he was sure it was sturdy, took off after her. He'd been skating for a good portion of his life--he and his father had done it when they'd gone ice fishing when Clark had been a little boy. He smiled as she spoke, nodding as she did and reached her, taking her hand to skate along with her. "That's very neat. You know...Ellie's got a lot of bed time stories, some I bet you've never heard of. Would you like to read them tonight?"

Victoria nodded. "Yeah! I loves to read, but Daddy only let me have certain books. He said the others would have to wait til I was older or somethin'."

"Your daddy means well, but I know just what you'll like," Clark assured her, skating really fast across the ice with her, grinning down at her as he turned backward to hold her hands. "You're a good skater, Ms. Victoria! Watch your feet there, make sure you don't trip--there's a little bit of extra chips of ice on the surface today baby."

"I can do tricks," she said with a grin. "Cause I'm graceful and all." She did a quick little pirouette spin, then followed it with a figure-8 and another little spin to end up right back up in front of Clark, and she did a little curtsey.

Victoria was a skater, Lex murmured through their link. Never competitively, but Sir Harry encouraged it to keep her out of his hair; the more time she spent on the ice, the less he had to entertain her. She told me about it, when we were together before the Screw-Over.

Lex, I'm officially freaked out. "Yeah! Good job!" Clark praised the little girl, beaming at her and clapping. "Very nice! That was fantastic, honey!" he said, and didn't dare crouch or he'd fall, but he squeezed her hands gently. "I'm not that good... show me how you did the spin with two twirls?"

I know, Lex replied, and his voice was steely in Clark's head. He didn't just clone Victoria's body. He's trying to clone her personality in this little girl, and I won't let it happen. If I have to, I'll arrange for the old bastard to have an accident before I let him make her into something she's not, he finished vehemently.

He's not taking her back. I'd rather die. "It won't make me sick, will it?" he asked Victoria, frowning and pretending to make a queasy face just to make her laugh.

Victoria giggled. "No, it won't, silly. You just gotta practice it. This foot goes out like this, like the arrow on a compass thingie, and the other keeps in the ice to keep you anchored, and you shift your weight to twirl, like you're hula-hooping."

I agree, Lex answered. I'll talk to Dad on Monday, and see what we can do about taking her permanently.

Thank you, Lex.

Clark grinned down at her, and though he knew it was going to cost him later, he moved his foot, anchored the other, tried for a twirl... lost his balance and went down like a sack of potatoes.

His butt sang in agony, his elbow and the back of his head and a muscle in his back, and he yelped as he sprawled under her, eyes wide, hair full of ice, and grinned. "Ow!"

You're welcome. And you're ungraceful.

Victoria skated over to him, and got on her knees beside him. "You akay, Clark?"

I'm six foot four, Lex. That's kind of a given.

Clark's lips twitched up at the little girl. "Course I am, especially if you'll nurse me back to health with cookies and movies later." He lifted his head, oomphed, and rubbed his backside as he gracelessly got back to his feet, swaying a minute before staying up, and grinning.

Lex just snorted his laughter as a reply.

Victoria thought. "Akay! I can do that. Cookies and movies and milk and nursing!"

"Yeah! And possibly some Beach Boys. Lionel loves the Beach Boys," Clark said, cheered immensely by her happy disposition. "And hey, did you show Lex your art? it was gorgeous art," he said, nodding sagely as he followed her across the ice, looking over his shoulder at the scritch of nails and cracking up as his puppies, all three of them, attempted to reach him and kept sliding and slipping. "Samson! You're gonna kill yourself!"

This? Was so not cool. Samson finally plopped down on his belly, and whined, pushing himself forward with his back feet as he tried to get to Clark. Had he mentioned the whole not cool?

Beside him, Cleo wasn't fairing any better. At all.

Clark grinned, and rolled his eyes. "You skate, baby. I'm gonna sit with Lex for a while, okay?"

"akay!" Victoria took off across the ice, picking up each puppy and scooting their butts across the ice like huge hockey pucks.

Lex had a warm blanket and a steaming cup of hot chocolate laced with some of Dominic's special whiskey from home. He even had out a plate of cookies, heaped up high with one, single butterscotch cookie on top. "And that's only because you busted your ass out there," Lex said, holding the plate out as Clark came over.

Clark watched the little girl play as he flopped onto the grass, backing up onto the blanket panting as the heat of the day penetrated his cold bones, and he glanced across at his lover, hair sticking up, eyes glaring. "Aren't you sweet." he got up on one elbow, sipping at the cup Lex gave him and taking the cookie, crunching into it as he lowered his voice. "There's something stinky going on."

"Don't look at me," Lex said. "I had a shower this morning. Although that was before the bedroom fun."

Clark gave him a plain, this is no time for funnies face, and bit into the cookie again, crunching and chewing as the little girl played on the ice.

Lex picked up his own cup of whiskey-laced coffee. "I told you, Clark. Harry's trying to turn her into a carbon copy of Victoria. Down to what she does and doesn't like, is and isn't allowed to read, and her pastimes."

"I won't let him," Clark said hoarsely, a little panicked at the thought and he couldn't explain why. "I won't let him, goddammit."

"Don't worry, Clark. Neither will I. My father and Sir Harry might have been alike at one time, but Dad is at least willing to listen. Sir Harry isn't." He watched Victoria skating on the lake, and sipped from his coffee cup. "We'll have to tell her the truth," he said after a long moment of silence. "At least, some version of it."

At the words Clark knew they were true. He exhaled quietly and lay back on the blanket, keeping the icy skates off of the blanket as he turned, and pressed his face into his lovers leg. "Lex, thank you for understanding, thank you for letting me take her in."

Lex slid his fingers through his aushna's hair. "You are like your mother, Clark. You have a soft spot for strays. Including me. Three puppies, all your friends, your aushna', and now Victoria. We're all strays, Clark. There's nobody else that loves us for ourselves and accepts us the way that you do. I know what it's like not to have that, and I know what a difference it can make in your life. I used Victoria when I should have tried to help her, but she was using me, too," he said, softly. "This is how I can fix that."

"I don't--" take strays in died on his lips. He did, now that he thought about it--he really did, in fact, and he'd never thought about it in that way before. "I love you all," he said, instead, and kissed his lovers outer thigh as the puppies squealed on the ice. "You treated her like she treated you. She isn't that woman yet, though--and won't be. Ever, if I've got something to say about it."

"And we love you," Lex said, letting his fingers keep stroking through Clark's hair. "Because you love us unconditionally." He watched the puppies sliding around as Victoria pushed them. "No, she won't be. We won't let her be." he sighed. "I wonder if it's too late in her life to start calling her Catherine instead of Victoria, because I can't tell you how strange that is, Clark."

He looked up. "Why does she go by Victoria, anyway?"

"Because that's what her father wanted. Queen Victoria, one of the most powerful women in her time, Queen of most of the free world? He wanted his daughter to be strong. Kind of like my father and Alexander, only my mother interceded and shortened it to Lex."

"What's with you rich people and kingdom names?" Clark teased, kissing his lovers thigh again before sitting up and looking out at the little girl. "I really like her, Lex. I really, really do. Even if we can't keep her forever, and just for a while--I'd like a chance to help her, you know?" he looked across at Lex. "We can take her everywhere with us--I think Dominic's going to love her."

"We'll be able to keep her, Clark. My father's already set that provision into the paperwork, that we can adopt her pending court approval of the fostering period and evaluation to make sure that Victoria's been well cared for, not abused, and anything like that."

At that, Clark's eyes lit up. "Yeah? and she'll be ours? Ours to take care of and all?"

Lex nodded. "Yes. She'll be ours," he answered with a smile. "Though if she breaks my window again..."

His lips twitched. "You mean it, Lex? Really? I mean, you wouldn't be freaked out about having a little girl that would be our daughter?"

"I should hope not, since I hope that you and I are going to have daughters at some point, or were you planning on giving me only sons?" he asked with his own quirking lips.

Clark... Clark just beamed. A smile broke out over his face that could have lit the world and he threw his arms around his lover, hugging him as tightly as he could and laughing into his shoulder as he did. "Well, no, but still, I didn't know… Lex, I didn't know you were ready for it!"

I'm not, Lex thought softly to himself, but hugged his lover in return. "Clark... I don't know that I'll ever be ready for it, but I'm going to be having a little sister soon, I'm godfather to your little sisters, and eventually I'm also going to be uncle to John. I'm going to have to get over this... aversion to children. I can't keep letting what happened to Mar color how I feel about children in general, you know that. I have to start somewhere."

Clark's throat bobbed painfully at that, and some of the joy slipped out of him as he straightened, and nodded. "I understand. There are a lot of kids in our life now...it's really hard, I know, Lex." He frowned at the mention of his sisters--he'd been having a hard time with that, but that was a whole other sack of worms. "We can't let fear control our lives. We have my dad now--when the time's right, we'll go to Ireland, and we'll have our kids, and he'll be there with us." He kissed Lex's neck, and then his lips.

"I know, Clark." Lex returned the kiss softly, taking comfort more than desire from it as he wrapped his arms around Clark's waist and held him tightly. "I can't help it. I don't want to resent it. I'm trying not to. And the way I look at it... Clark, you had to be the one to find her for a reason. You were meant to find her, and we were meant to help her. And she's meant to help us."

Clark smiled as he hugged his lover tightly in his arms, kissing him again and setting his head on his shoulder. "She's special. I can understand the irony in me finding her, believe me."

Lex watched as she finally got Samson pushed over to the side of the lake, and he scrambled up on the bank, barking at her and the other two puppies out on the ice as she went back and started shoving on Artie, pushing him across the ice. "She is special," Lex admitted.

"And really, really cute," Clark whispered into his lovers neck, still smiling up at him, though there was a distinct, lust filled look in his eyes. "Um… I'm going to go skate a while with her… then we'll go in, and eat and put her down for the night... and... go to bed?" he asked, softly, his eyes falling to half mast as he licked his lower lip.

Lex nodded, and flicked his thumb along Clark's jaw bone. "I think... that is possibly the best idea you've had all day," Lex murmured softly. Ms. Bird is off but the kitchen staff that works on her off days has our order for hamburgers, fries, soft drinks, and chocolate brownies for dessert, and it'll be ready whenever we get inside." He picked up another cookie and slowly fed it to his lover. "All in the interest of getting to bed very... very quickly."

Clark took a bite of the cookie, letting his tongue trail over his lovers fingertips, though the sugary snack wasn't exactly what he wanted from Lex. No, not at all. Instead, his lips twitched as he chewed, eyebrow raised. "Dad said they're going to get big, and you're going to be feeling the same ache I am, but to get it out, not to take it in." He kept chewing, a hot blush working up over his cheeks. "I think it's really hot."

"Just what I needed to hear," Lex said dryly, licking his fingers clean of cookie crumbs as he shifted, so that Clark's head lay in his lap as he looked down. "Just be forewarned; if I have to, I'm dragging your ass out of your classes to take care of this."

Clark grinned from ear to ear as he lay against his lovers crotch, turning so he was on his back, the back of his head pressed into warm squishy Lex. "Right. Because that's so horrible, being pulled out of class by my boyfriend for sex."

"Depends on how many times a day I have to do it," Lex teased back, sliding his fingers into the collar of Clark's sweater and stroking his lover's skin.

Clark couldn't help but smile back, as he kissed his lovers wrist, then his arm, and looked across the lake at the tiny child. "Let me go get her nice and tired. Kay?"

Lex nodded. "As tired as possible. In fact, I'd like her so tired she falls asleep in her hamburger and doesn't wake up until breakfast."

"I can manage that," Clark grinned, broadly, and he gave Lex a parting kiss and rolled up to his feet, making marks on the grass but not caring as he got back out on the ice, his cold muscles warming again. "I'm back, Victoria! Why don't you go and get a warm drink baby? I'll get these puppies back out onto the grass!"

She shook her head. "You c'n help! Just push their butts, and skate really hard behind them. They slide easy across the ice, and lookit! I got one myself!" She pointed to where Samson was yapping like a moron on the lake bank.

Clark grinned, broadly. "I'm not so little as you, Ms. Victoria," he skated up to her, then around her, leaned down for Artie… and promptly fell flat on his substantial ass.

Again.

He oomphed, falling ass over tit and thumping on the ice, winded, eyes wide as he stared upward and a cold puppy tongue licked his face. "oomph!"

Victoria giggled. "Buts I can skate better!" she sang out, skating a literal circle around Clark.

Clark glared up at her and lifted Artie, struggling to get back up to his feet, which he did, after about three tries, Artie under his arm. "Yes you can, meany!" He cried, but he grinned at the end of it. "Go get Cleo, I'll bring Artie over."

Victoria giggled as she skated off, and got behind Cleo, putting her hands on Cleo's butt and scooting her across the ice. Once she got her moving, she gave a little push, and Cleo skidded across the ice, feet pointing out every which way as she slid to a halt at Clark's feet. "Dere!"

Clark cracked up, laughing out loud as Cleo stopped in front of him, looking dazed. "Puppy bowling!" he said, even as he moved around Cleo and started toward the bank, with Artie in arm. He set the nipped little guy on the hot summer grass, then called out, "Wanna have a race, Victoria?"

"I'll win!" she said, gliding over to where Clark was.

"First, go get some hot cocoa," Clark pointed at Lex, just a few feet away. "And then we'll race."

"Don't need no hot chocolate," she said with a wrinkle of her nose. "Daddy says that you can't be weak or you won't win anything, so I don't get it until after I win."

"Victoria...your daddy is--" a fucking bastard, "nice man, but? I know Superman, remember? And Superman would not care if you were weak, cause you're only a little girl. And he would say its okay for little girls to drink hot chocolate when they're playing, cause you and me are playing, right? We're not winning anything. "

She shook her head. "You said we was gonna race! that's serious!"

"Just for fun, Victoria," Clark said, softly. "Just cause its fun to race, not cause I wanna win. You understand? Its just playing." It was obvious this little girl hadn't played in her entire life.

"I don't unnerstand," she said with a little sniffle. "You don't do things cause they're fun. You do them to win."

"Well… lets try it this way, then," Clark answered, and held out his hand. "You and I are gonna race across the lake--but its okay if you don't win, and its okay if I don't win. We're just doing it cause its fun, right?" He squeezed her hand. "Victoria, playing is fun--we play because we want to have fun. See? Look at the puppies." He pointed at Samson and Artie, who were wrestling. "They're not wrestling to win--they're wrestling cause its fun. See? Look, how Samson's laughing."

"But they're dogses. It's okay if they play, cause they don't know any better. It's what daddy says about the people who ain't like him and Mr. Luthor. They play around at stuff cause they don't know any better, but people like me and him, we do know better, and we can't play around at things. We always have to be serious." She peered up at him as she took his hand.

"Well, what he said is a lie," Clark answered, plainly. "Lookit baldy. Mr. Luthor is his dad, isn't he? And Lex likes to have fun, doesn't he? Didn't he go to the store and buy you things? He had fun doing that. And look, he's over there reading his book. He's having fun reading, isn't he? And he likes to play pool, and he likes to play games on his computer, and he just loves to do races," Clark answered back, in all seriousness.

"My Daddy is not a liar!" Victoria said, bursting into tears.

"No, baby, your daddy isn't a liar, but he didn't know the whole truth," Clark amended, wincing as the child cried and looked back at Lex for some sort of support. "He just... didn't have all his facts straight."

Tell her that Sir Harry didn't realize that he was a person just like everyone else, Lex suggested from his blanket.

Victoria stomped her feet. "MY DADDY IS THE SMARTEST MAN IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!" she howled.

"Well... your dad didn't realize that he was a person just like everyone else," Clark said, glancing at Lex and then down at her as she sobbed. "And... he didn’t' know that... its okay to play. Right?"

She glared up. "My daddy is special just like me." But she sniffled. "it's okay to play?"

"It's definitely okay to play. Why do you think we bought you so many toys?" Clark asked, eyebrow raised down at her.

"Cause you want to be rid of me and out of your hair so you give me tons of stuff to entertain me," she said with another sniffle. "That's what Mrs. Dixon said Daddy was doing."

"I don't want you out of my hair, baby," Clark answered, quietly, gently squeezing her hand. "If I did, I would have told you. I just want you to be happy--Lex and I bought you toys so you can have fun. Barbies and stuff and all those things.

"R-R-really?" she sniffled. "They're for me? To have fun with?"

"They're for you, to have fun with, baby. And me, too--Lex *did* get you the trampoline, right?" Clark smiled down at her, his heart aching silently. "And the tea set. I'm sure you have enough new baby dolls to have a tea party, right?"

Victoria nodded. "I gots the trampoline. And the tea set. With little purple flowers on it. And Lex says that if I'm good, he'll show me the real stuff that his father has with the purple flowers on it, in the big room downstairs. Cause it matches mine and maybe Mr. Luthor would have a tea party with me."

The mental image of Lionel having a tea party had Clark cracking up, and he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "I'll bet you he will! Alright, Ms. Victoria--shall we race?"

She grinned, and dragged her arm across her eyes real quick. "Yeah!! To the other side of the lake and back?"

Oh, she was getting sleepy. His lips twitched. "Yes, ma'am. Reeaaddyy… settt... go!" Clark yelled, and took off. Of course, he went ten times too slow, so she'd win, but he pretended to be struggling as he skated.

"Yay!!" Victoria took off like a shot, little legs pumping and head down as she kept her eye on the goal. Her elbows were tucked in to give her speed, and she bypassed Clark like a bullet as she slid across the ice.

Clark grinned as she sped past, picking up his own pace and taking off after her, lips twitching even as he yelled in indignation. "Hey! Not fair, not fair! The old guy here can't keep up!"

"Not my fault!" she yelled out over her shoulder as she got to the other side of the lake and did a little victory pirouette before turning around and heading back the other way.

Clark laughed as she passed him, pretending to try and catch her as he made it to the end of the lake, and then turned, picking up speed to try and catch up with the girl. "Me first, me first!" he cried, laughing as he let her win, and as soon as she made it to the opposite bank, he pretended to groan and throw himself backward, landing on the grass and blanket. "You suck!"

"Yay!!!" Victoria did a little butt-wriggling dance. "I won!" She flopped right down on the middle of Clark's chest and beamed up brightly at him. "Hi!"

"Hi!" Clark groaned, as she thumped on him, and grinned as he lifted her into the air above his head, laughing as she squirmed. "You won, you won! And now, you have to be tickled!" he yelled, rolling her over onto her back and tickling her mercilessly, fingers tickling under her arms, over her belly, under her chin.

Until something sliced across his thigh.

He gasped, looking down at her skate, which had scraped across his thigh, right between knee and hip, and looked at the blood welling in surprised wonder. "Ow."

Lex reacted quickly. He lifted Victoria off Clark, and looked. "That's deep, Clark." One hand reached for the basket, pulling out the first aid kit that had been tucked into the side pocket of the cooler. "But I came prepared. Victoria, take those skates off, and then step back, and let me look." He was opening the kit as he spoke. "this is going to sting," he said, taking the alcohol bottle and wetting a paper towel with it then used it to wipe away the blood.

"I sorry." Victoria crawled off to the side and carefully untied the skates, and watched in fascination as the blood welled up. "Never seen that before," she said.

Lex kept his hand pressed down on the wide cut as he examined it. "I don't think it cut anything vital," he said, doing a quick sweep with Clark's x-ray vision. And when you take your powers back, it'll disappear entirely, he murmured through their link.

I know. Don't panic, Clark murmured back, grinning sideways at Victoria as Lex covered his leg with paper towels. "This is kinda neat. You don't like blood, baby?" he asked the little girl, even as he looked down, fascinated rather than disgusted, at the deep ruby red of his blood, which was darker than any humans.

And then Lex had to go and put alcohol on it.

"OW! OW! Fu--CK! OW!"

"I told you it was going to hurt," Lex said serenely as he kept pressure on it.

She shook her head. "Never seen blood before," she said. "Didn't know it was so dark."

"It didn't hurt until you put that crap on it!" Clark cried, glaring at the bottle before down at the paper towel... and then looked at the little girl. "Come here, baby. It's okay, you don't have to be scared. Uh... blood that... goes in the veins is dark, and the blood in the arteries is very light. I guess I got a vein, huh?"

"Everybody's got both," she said. "And there's an artery there in your leg, called the..." she scrunched her head up. "Daddy made me learn it cause it's where they used to give me shots. Femoral!"

Fuck. "Oh. Well, why don't you gather the puppies up? We'll have to go back to the house." Clark answered, smiling at her even as he looked down at his leg. As soon as she turns around, heal me?

"Okay!!" Victoria peeled the socks off too, so she wouldn't get the pretty Barbie socks dirty, and called out to the puppies, clapping her hands and running towards them as she started to herd them up the hill towards the golf cart.

Lex's hand tightened on Clark's shoulder, and he let his lover's abilities flow back into him, one by one, saving the vision for last as he watched the cut seal itself as though it'd never been there, and then let the vision slide back into Clark as well, and picked up one of the purple towels tossed into the cooler for cleaning up. "Here, tear this," he said quickly. "We'll bandage it, and she'll never know you're not still bleeding under there," he muttered.

Clark sighed as the cut healed, the bruises in his rump smoothed over, and shifted at the warm spread of power flew back through his veins--welcome now, instead of hated as they'd once been. He pulled the towel apart easily, ripping it quietly and making sure it was ripped at the ends as well as he wound it around his leg. "There. We're good little actors," Clark answered, lips twitching, and gently kissed Lex's cheek.

"Yeah, we are." He kissed Clark back, and smiled softly. "I don't like it when you get hurt. I just found that out." He frowned. "No more passing your abilities off to me."

At that, Clark looked up in a panic. "No. Don't say that. Lex."

"At least not when you can get hurt," Lex amended.

"Okay. Not hurt. But... I'm gonna be selfish and tell you it feels good to pass it off sometimes, to feel pain. It's so refreshing, you have no idea." Clark quickly toed off his skates, tucking the laces into them, and wriggled his toes in his socked feet. He climbed to his feet, slowly, straightening his leg and nodding as he bent down for their things. "Good as new," he muttered in his lovers ear, as he lifted the basket and the little girls skates and socks. "There. Get the blanket, babe?"

"Pain is one thing. Slicing into your femoral artery and losing blood? Not that fun, Clark." Lex glared as he picked up the blanket, shaking the grass out of it. "Don't forget to limp."

"Oh, yeah." Clark did a slightly exaggerated limp, eyebrow raised. "Like that?" he asked, grinning sideways as he walked up the slope, snagging Cleo by the collar before she could run back down to the ice, and lifted her up under his arm.

"Something like that, yeah." Lex carried the blanket back to the golf cart, and folded it up so he could put it back on the little rack. Victoria was already sitting on the back, with Samson in her lap, and Artie was sitting in the passenger seat like he belonged there. "Everybody ready to head back to the house for burgers and bactine?"

Victoria nodded, and yawned as she did. "I's hungry, Baldy."

"I's hungry too, Baldy," Clark answered, plopping in the seat beside Lex with Cleo squirming in his lap, and smiled over his shoulder at the little girl. He beamed as she yawned, and waggled his brows at his lover as he settled back in his seat and looked up at the mansion.

"You call me baldy again and you're not going to get dessert," Lex growled, bringing Clark's hand over to his crotch to feel his balls swelling.

Clark nearly wasn't able to hide the groan, but he swallowed it down at the last minute, glancing over at Victoria half asleep in the back seat, and ever so carefully massaged his handful. "You wouldn't be that mean," Clark said, lips twitching as his stomach gave a hungry little growl.

"You want to bet?" Lex asked. "I got real used to my hand when I first came to Smallville, Clark. I don't think I've forgotten how."

"But you looove me," Clark teased, eyes dancing as he looked across at him. "You wouldn't be that mean," he affirmed, cheerfully, as he scritched Cleo behind the neck.

"Yes, I do love you. And yes, I would be that mean."

Victoria yawned again from the back seat. "Can I have Clark's dessert too, Baldy?"

Lex choked at that, considering what they'd been talking about as he drove back towards the house. "You wouldn't want this dessert, Victoria. Trust me."

Clark's eyes widened. Huge. In his head. "You can have brownies though! How does that sound?" he asked, looking over his shoulder imploringly.

"Brownies is good," Victoria said with a big yawn. "Brownies with ice cream is even better though."

"Brownies with ice cream and a big glass of milk," Clark amended, and grinned as they made it down the little drive to the house. "And then we'll get you in the bath, and then in big, soft, fluffy bed, where I'll read you a story and you can sleep with Superbear, okay?"

"I'm not tired!" Victoria whined, even though her eyes were drooping. "I don't wanna go to bed yet! You said we could watch movies!"

"Okay, okay, movies." Hah. She'd be lucky if she made it through dinner. "Then sleep, okay?"

"Okay. AFTER the movies," she said, yawning again.

"After the movies," Clark agreed, as Lex stopped the go-cart, and he climbed out, setting Cleo and letting Artie both down. He picked up the basket and the blanket and a sleepy Victoria because he didn't want her to cut her bare feet on the gravel, and carefully walked toward the door, balancing the things in his arms.

 

-fin-

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