Dean heard about Lionel Luthor on a news report on TV, sitting in a crummy motel in Nebraska. Within an hour, he had made his excuses and left, speeding down the highways as fast as he could.

He was lucky he had even been able to get news on Kansas; his dad was starting to suspect there was something going on there, so it had gotten harder for him to hide his searches. At this point, Dean wasn't afraid of his dad's response if he were ever to find out about his and Sam's summer escapades to the Kent farm or to the mansion. Dad would dismiss it as childish dishonesty, as something that had slipped past him but was too far gone to worry about now.

No, Dean's concern was that his dad would turn a closer eye to Kansas, specifically to Smallville, and start to notice what a breeding ground for monsters it really was. That wouldn't be a problem, except that he would probably figure out what was going on with Clark in an instant, probably try to hunt him.

Dean himself would have spent a lot more time in Smallville, but Lex seemed to have it in hand. And the monsters he couldn't detect and stop before they became a problem, Clark was able to fight directly. Dean would have been a third wheel, an extra cook in the kitchen that nobody needed.

But there was one monster in Smallville that Lex couldn't always defeat, that Clark couldn't fight, and that Dean couldn't hunt. A monster that Lex and Chloe had spent the last year trying to beat at his own game. At long last, though, Lionel Luthor had been convicted of a crime—the murder of both of his parents, of all things—and he was headed to prison for life.

There had been a lot of times over the past year that Dean could have run off to Smallville. Meteor mutants that had tried to kill Clark or Lex or Chloe or Clark's girlfriend—maybe?—Lana. At one point, Lex had almost been carted off to an insane asylum. But every time, either Lex or Clark had told him they had it covered. There was no need for him to make the drive.

This time, though, Dean knew he had to come. The day Lionel had been sentenced for life, Chloe and her father had been sent to a safe house to protect her in the wake of her damning testimony. The house had blown up. Dean new Lex had an awful lot of security personnel, but he had to say for himself that Lex was OK, as well as pay his respects to Chloe. She had been a pain in the ass, but in the end she'd died too young. And she had died a hero.

Lex's security tried to stop Dean when he came to the mansion; Dean had to wait for the guard to talk to Lex, and even then he was hesitant to let Dean in. Dean went straight to the study.

Lex stood by his couch in front of the fireplace. Staring at the fire. His eyes looked lost. Like a child.

For a moment, he thought it was because of Chloe, but Dean knew the look of guilt that haunted a person who had failed to prevent the death of an innocent. He had seen it all too many times in his father's eyes, in Bobby's, in the mirror. This wasn't it, not exactly. This was the grief of someone who had suffered a much more personal loss.

It took Dean a second to figure out why. For all the old bastard had deserved life in prison, he was still Lex's father.

"Hey, man," Dean said softly.

Lex looked up from the fireplace. He gave a slight smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thanks for coming," he said, and he looked at the fire again.

For a moment, Dean didn't know what to say. He didn't know whether to congratulate or sympathize with the victory. He cleared his throat. "I was sorry to hear about Chloe," he said.

"Yeah," Lex said. "She was a good kid."

Dean had thought they had worked together researching kryptonite mutations for at least a year, maybe two or three. He had expected a different emotional reaction. But he couldn't blame Lex for being overtaken by the familial loss. "You're doing the right thing."

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"I know."

"Probably saving lives."

"That makes it worse."

Dean frowned.

Lex paste a couple of steps away from Dean. "Do you remember me telling you about Julian? My little brother?"

The one Lex had killed accidentally as a child. How could Dean forget? "Yeah."

"I didn't kill him. Turns out, I repressed the memory of what really happened that night."

Dean blinked a couple of times. "What happened?"

"My mom killed him. Postpartum psychosis. She was convinced it was a mercy kill, thought she was saving him from my father."

Dean felt like he had just had the wind knocked out of him. "That's awful."

"Found out a few weeks ago." Lex shook his head, turning back toward Dean. "Been asking myself, if it was a mercy kill, why didn't she take me too?"

"Luthor, don't do this to yourself."

"My father killed his parents. My mother killed her son. Who am I going to kill? Clark?"

"Stop."

Lex lowered his head.

"How much have you had to drink, man?"

Lex smirked at his decanter. "Haven't started yet."

That was so much worse. "In that case, I think you're overdue for a drink."

Lex nodded. "I've got beer and cheap whiskey, plus my usual. Pick your poison."

Dean had never exactly become acclimated to Lexes aged scotch. "Cheap whiskey sounds great."

Lex poured himself a glass from the crystal decanter, and he reached down to pull a bottle from the cabinet before pouring Dean a glass from that.

Dean held it in his hand, hesitating. "Not sure what to drink to."

"To Chloe."

Dean nodded. "To Chloe." He downed it in one.

As the burn faded from his throat, Dean looked over at Lex to see him rubbing at his neck.

"You OK, man?"

Lex's face was turning red. He was gasping for breath.

"Whoa, whoa." Dean rushed forward, grabbing Lex's arm before he could stumble. "Luthor. What's going on?"

"Call an ambulance," Lex choked out, and he fell.

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

Lex woke up in a hospital bed, connected to an IV and a breathing tube. Waking up in a hospital had happened to him so many times in his life, he was starting to get used to it.

The excruciating pain in his throat was his only clue as to what had happened. He could remember standing in his study, planning to drink the night away. He could remember Dean coming in and talking to him, although he didn't remember much of what they said. He remembered lying to Dean about Chloe, which he hated doing, especially since it meant Dean would continue to believe she was dead. And then…

No. He couldn't remember what happened.

He wasn't sure how long he spent lying awake before Dean came in. "Luthor. You're OK," he said.

"Apparently." Lex lifted his head from the pillow. Based on the look on Dean's face, he had survived another near brush with death. Most of the others had been because of Clark in one way or another, so he no longer felt like he was immortal for no reason, but it was still unsettling to know that, once again, he was alive when he should be dead.

Lex half expected Dean to hug him, but he gave him a light punch in the arm instead. "Don't scare me like that," he said.

"What happened?"

"Scotch was poisoned. Any idea who could have done that?"

Lex let his head fall back. "I'm sure my father is involved somehow. I'm not sure how, though."

"I guess there are still some people on the outside who are loyal to him."

"Or he had someone set up the trap before he was taken away."

"Well, I don't like thinking about how many other traps he might have set up at the mansion. I don't want you to stay there."

Lex chuckled. "I'll be fine, Dean. "

"Will you? Because if I wasn't there last night—"

"I've survived my father this many years."

"No. No, I don't like those odds."

"What, do you want me to stay at the Kents?"

"It couldn't hurt to ask."

"They've got a 10 month old."

"Well, could you get Clark to stay with you for a little while? Or to check things out at the mansion and keep an eye on you for a few weeks?"

Lex let his breath out. "No, actually. He's away."

"He didn't run off to Metropolis again, did he?"

"No, nothing like that. He had an encounter with his biological father in those Native American caves, he's off… pursuing his destiny or something."

Dean blinked a few times. "You think he's OK?"

"I think he'll be back, but it might be a little while."

Dean nodded. "Well, I don't want you staying at the mansion by yourself. "

"I've got entire security teams—"

"And they're useless against Monsters, Meteor mutants, and your father."

"What am I supposed to do about LuthorCorp?"

"Do you have any place you can stay that your father doesn't know exists?"

Lex let his breath out. "No, I don't."

Dean took his cell phone out of his pocket. "I'm gonna send you to a safe house."

"You don't have to do that."

"Not taking no for an answer." He started dialing. "I can still take you, Luthor."

"What are you gonna do, Dean? We already know how the liquor got poisoned. What's the difference between going back there now and in a week or two?"

"I'm gonna find Clark," Dean said, then he adjusted his phone. "Hey, Bobby? Yeah, listen, I need a favor."

Lex settled back in to the bed. He would humor Dean for a day or two, if nothing else. He was too tired to argue.