Lex asked Dean to be out of the house during the early part of the day so he could help Madison clear her things out of the mansion. On the one hand, it would have been nice to have an extra set of hands. But Lex knew exactly how awkward this meeting would be, and he didn't want to subject another person to that. Besides, if Madison wanted to talk about anything, Lex wanted to be there.

She came out of the room they had usually shared—it wasn't actually the same bedroom Lex slept in when he was on his own—with a cardboard box in one arm and a rolling suitcase trailing behind her.

Just looking at her pierced his heart to the core. He had loved Helen, so much more than any other woman he had ever been with.

"Is that the last of it?" Lex asked. No trace of emotion could be heard in his voice.

"Yeah," Madison said. "I think so."

He had to tell himself, over and over again, that this wasn't her, that he couldn't think of her that way. "I'm so sorry about everything you went through."

"You didn't know, Lex."

"I know, but you did. And..." He lowered his head. Every time he had done as little as hold her hand or kiss her...she had never once consented to it. He couldn't help but feel like he'd assaulted her. For now, he kept his distance.

"I wasn't awake for everything, you know."

"You shouldn't have had to go through any of it."

Her eyes met his. "Lex, you're a good man."

For just a second, he dared to hope. Maybe she could forgive him. Maybe he could get to know her again, as herself, and—

"You'll make a woman very lucky someday."

The unspoken sentiment hung in the air: But it won't be me.

He knew it wouldn't be. He'd been foolish to think it even for a moment—he represented so many painful memories for her. But still, his chest ached. "Thanks, Madison."

She nodded, let go of her suitcase, and reached forward to pull him into her arms. Feeling the softness of her arms around him, her gentle curves pressed against him... when he closed his eyes, he could almost forget she wasn't his wife.

She let go, and her eyes sparkled as she smiled at him.

He cleared his throat, blinking. "Take care of yourself, Madison. And if you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to call."

"Thanks, Lex," she said, and he opened the door for her to greet his driver, which would take her to wherever she wanted to go. He hadn't asked where she was headed. It wasn't his business; she wasn't a part of his life anymore.

He stood in the entry for a long moment, watching the car pull away.

He told his staff to take the rest of the day off. He retreated to his room and allowed himself an hour to feel sorry for himself.

The doorbell snapped him out of it after thirty minutes. He wished he'd kept one staff member in, to keep away visitors.

Lex went to the door. He sighed and opened the door, bracing himself.

Clark stepped inside. He looked awful, like he hadn't slept since they'd last met. "Hey," he said.

"Clark. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just..." He shifted his weight. "I'm so sorry."

Lex couldn't speak. Finally, finally, Clark was ready to talk, and at the worst time. He'd never forgive Lex for knowing his secret. "I..."

"I shouldn't have hit you, and I shouldn't have held a grudge. If you hadn't investigated all this time, we wouldn't have known what to do today."

Lex winced. Best to rip off the bandaid fast. "Clark, I found out your secret."

"I know."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Lex raised his eyebrows. "Dean talked to you."

"He dropped by, yeah." Clark looked down, shifting his weight. "I miss our friendship."

With anyone else, Lex might have asked, Our friendship, or the perks that come with an alliance with a billionaire? But this was Clark. He couldn't necessarily trust him yet: not his word, anyway. But he still trusted his character. Clark wouldn't make friends with Lex for money or favors.

"I'm willing to give it another try if you are," Lex said.

Clark gave him a slight smile. "I'd like that."

Lex stepped back. "Stay for breakfast? I can have my cook... Ah, never mind, I gave him the day off. So unless you want scrambled eggs..."

"Uh, do you have stuff for pancakes? My mom gave me some tips on making pretty good ones."

"I think so."

Clark shrugged. "Let's get to work."

Lex grinned and led him to the kitchen.

----------------------------------------

The pancakes were burned and the eggs were runny, but it was still one of the best mornings Clark had had for awhile. There was so much to catch up on, and now that Lex knew his secret, Clark could talk to him about anything. They ended up exchanging stories for hours.

By the time the dishes were washed and put away, Clark was late to meet Sam to take his powers back. It was still strange to touch kryptonite and feel nothing; the electricity was still agonizingly painful; but when it was over, the lingering discomfort in his jaw from Dean's punch faded away, along with the fatigue of having skipped two nights worth of sleep.

He would have run home, but he wasn't in a hurry. He took it at a slow, leisurely walk. He wanted the time to think.

Forgiving was so much easier than accepting forgiveness.

It was easy enough to let go of his anger with Lex after everything that had happened, especially after having gone to spend some time talking to him about his secret. It was so clear that Lex would never betray him, that his only reaction to the secret was awe and amazement and support. Letting his parents forgive him meant he had to forgive himself. He had to let go of the things he had done with the spaceship, the things he had done in Metropolis, the things he couldn't fix.

Of course, being around Lex meant accepting his forgiveness, too. Clark had crossed a line by hitting him and isolating him for so long, as Dean had so blatantly pointed out. But Lex didn't show the damage, if there had been any. Meanwhile, every time Clark looked at Ellie, all he saw was the absence of her twin brother.

But how long could he keep this up? It was one thing to distance himself from her while she was an infant. What about when she was a toddler? A little kid? He had taken one brother away from her. Could he take her other brother?

Clark took a deep breath and stepped into the house.

His parents were just putting away dishes from lunch. His mom looked up at him when he stepped into the house. "Hey, we missed you at lunchtime."

There was something in the tone of her voice that betrayed something more. Maybe she had been worried he was going to run away again. Maybe he should've called her. "I'm sorry," he said.

"No, no, it's OK."

Once again, he couldn't quite believe her. They had never let him wander around without ever checking in about where he was going to be. She was trying to appease him. Maybe she was afraid he would run if she cracked down.

Well, if he couldn't count on his parents to crack down on him, he'd have to just improve on his own. He could be more careful about letting them know where he was going. Follow their old rules for him without being asked. "I'll do better," he said. "I was at the mansion, hanging out with Lex."

She looked up at him and surprise. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. How is he doing?"

"He's good." He breathed in to tell them about Lex finding out his secret, but he decided against it. He would tell them within the next day or two, but right now, they were still recovering from his being gone without telling them.

"That's good to hear. I was so sorry to hear about his wife."

As far as Clark knew, the official story was that Lex's wife had left him. "Yeah, it's sad." Clark took a step closer to his mom. "Are you OK?"

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You lost your son, and then I ran away, and then… You were attacked by demons."

Her face fell. "Clark…"

"Look at me, son."

Clark turned to his father, expecting to see anger and disgust, but all he saw was love and concern.

"We have you back, and we have Ellie. We have this house, we have each other, we have the farm. We'll miss our baby boy for the rest of our lives, but we thank God for what we have."

Clark nodded, blinking back tears.

"As to the demons, well, we've been through a lot of crazy situation in the last few years, haven't we?" He shook his head. "We already had to come to terms with aliens. Demons… For me, that's easier."

Clark hoped he would feel the same about all of the other monsters, although he suspected it wouldn't be any more shocking than the variety of meteor mutants they had encountered. He was breathing in to say more when a small cry came from upstairs.

"My turn," his mom said, and she headed toward the staircase with a small sigh.

Clark jogged over to stop her. "No, I think it's mine."

She looked up at him with surprise, but then she smiled and patted his shoulder.

Clark took the stairs two at a time as the cries grew louder. Soon, he was once again standing in front of the crib, looking down at his little sister. Her face was red from screaming.

"Hey, Ellie," he whispered, and he lifted her into his arms, holding her close but as gently as he could. "Hey, hey, it's OK."

For a moment, her shrieks continued, but they stilled as she settled into his arms. He rocked her and rubbed her back.

"There you go," he whispered, and he adjusted her so he could carry her in one arm and look down at her.

Her wide blue eyes stared up at his, little fingers opening and closing.

"I'm going to be here for you, Ellie," he said. "I'm going to do everything I can to be a good brother for you."

He gave her his finger, and her tiny fingers wrapped around it. Tightly. Very tightly. Were all babies this strong?

"Wow," he whispered, and with some effort, he took his finger away. Maybe his own strength was taking a little while to kick in.

He walked over to the rocking chair, sat down with his little sister, and held her until she fell asleep.