Lex lagged back as Dean got out of the car and approached the front door. He hadn't argued at the hospital, and he had submitted to the drive over, but now that they had pulled up at the safe house, the reality of the situation was sinking in. "Dean, we don't have to do this."

"What? Not fancy enough for you?" Dean grabbed Lex's bag from the backseat.

"It's not that." True, it was a pretty run down place, a house in the middle of a junkyard, but Lex had had worse accommodations. Twenty four hours ago he'd almost died; his living place was the least of his concerns. "What's going to happen to Luther Corp?"

"What's going to happen to them if their CEO gets himself killed?"

"I'm not going to get myself killed."

"And we're gonna make sure of that."

"Dean—"

"Lex, could you just..." Dean turned back to face him. "Could you just do this for me? For peace of mind. Just until I can find Clark."

Lex frowned. He wasn't sure how much luck Dean was going to have with that. But Lex's company could survive without him for a few days; they already knew he had been in the hospital, and it was believable that he was taking a few more days to recover from his illness, although none of his employees knew the details of what had happened.

Dean knocked on the front door, and a man in a worn down baseball cap who hadn't shaved for a few days came to answer it. "Come on in," he said to Dean, and then looked up at Lex. "You must be Lex Luthor."

"Robert Singer?"

"In the flesh." He stepped aside to allow Lex in.

Lex took a few moments to take in his surroundings while Dean and Singer chatted. The house looked even smaller on the inside than it had on the outside, cluttered with car parts and books. Lex looked a little closer at the bookshelves—most of it was lore. A few of the volumes were ones he owned and had studied; others, he'd never seen.

Lex had never really been forced to be anyone's houseguest, other than the Kents. And he wasn't sure about this Singer fellow. The way he spoke and carried himself reminded Lex a lot of Uncle Jon and the other men in Smallville. Uncle Jon had been kind to Lex, but most of the people in Smallville had judged him by his last name rather than getting to know him. Even if Singer wasn't going to judge Lex, Lex didn't want to impose on the stranger. It didn't feel right to take favors from someone with so much less than him, especially someone he didn't know.

Lex knew better than to try to argue with Dean, though. He nodded compliantly as Dean said his good byes, waiting a moment after Dean closed the door to make sure he was out of earshot.

As soon as he was sure Dean was gone, Lex turned to Singer. "Look, Mr. Singer, I really appreciate you doing this, but I'm going to call a driver to take me... somewhere else."

The man smirked. "Dean said you'd try to squirm your way out of this. Have a seat, Luthor."

Lex didn't mind when Dean called him Luthor. He'd been calling him that since they were kids. It felt different coming from someone else. "It's Lex."

"Okay, Lex. I'm Bobby." Bobby started heading toward the kitchen; Lex followed, and Bobby turned back to block his path. "Dean also said your doctor ordered you to rest. Why don't you go hang out in front of the TV, I'm gonna get some dinner going."

"I can get a helicopter to pick me up. I'll be out of your hair in a couple of hours."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Signal's not great up here. Let me see your phone?"

"Ah. I can check." Lex took it out of his pocket.

Bobby grabbed it and slipped it into his own. "Now go lie down."

Lex stood up a little straighter. Part of him thought he should have seen that coming. Part of him wanted to demand to know who Bobby thought he was. "Look, I've got a corporation to run. My father just went to prison, which means his employees answer to me now."

"Yeah, and?"

"Thousands of families rely on LuthorCorp to put food on the table."

"And a week ago they relied on your father, who was a piece of work. I'm sure they've figured out how to run things themselves. Besides, it's Friday."

Lex was going to have to have words with Dean about what he told people about Lex's father. "Nevertheless, they're counting on me."

"Then do them all a favor. Stay alive."

"Mr.—Bobby, I really can't infringe on your hospitality. And I've survived my father this long."

"Do you have a death wish? Is this a rich kid thing, thinking you're invincible?"

Lex could feel his jaw tightening. He hated the rich kid comments. He had been right; Bobby was no different from the people in Smallville who judged him on first sight.

But Lex didn't have many options. He didn't have a car, or his phone, and he was out in the middle of nowhere.

So Lex straightened up, and he sat down on the couch. Bobby left the room, muttering something under his breath that Lex couldn't hear. The remote was right in front of him, but he didn't turn on the TV. He just thought about how to get out of this.

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

Dean knocked on the front door of the Kent home for the first time in far too long. Aunt Martha came to the door.

"Dean!" She pulled him into a tight hug, which he had forgotten how much he enjoyed, coming from a mom. "Come on in. It's been too long. You need to come visit us more."

Dean couldn't quite return her smile, but he followed her into the house. Toys and clothes and, inexplicably, dishes were strewn across the living room. A moment later, a tiny little girl in pink footie pajamas came toddling into the room.

"Mama?" She grabbed onto Aunt Martha's leg, hiding behind her.

"Sorry, she's a little shy." Aunt Martha picked up the baby and swung her into her arms, kissing her cheeks. Ellie shrieked with laughter.

Dean awkwardly shifted his weight. He never knew what to say about babies. "She's walking really well for her age, isn't she?"

"Ellie is…" Aunt Martha frowned. "Special."

Dean blinked. "Like, Clark special?"

"Like we don't know yet." Uncle Jon came into the room, and he took Ellie from Aunt Martha.

"I didn't mean to pry, Uncle Jon. You know this is what I do."

"There's nothing dangerous about my daughter, any more than there's anything dangerous about Clark."

Dean decided to hold off on telling him that he once had believed Clark might be dangerous. Instead, he focused on why he had come. "I'm not here about Ellie. Actually, I wanted to ask about Clark."

"What do you know?"

"Not much. I'd like to find him, if possible."

Aunt Martha and Uncle Jon exchanged a sad look. "I don't think you're going to be able to find him," Aunt Martha said. "He went into..." She looked over at Uncle Jon.

"Something to do with the caves?" Dean asked.

Aunt Martha nodded, but Uncle Jon just looked uncomfortable. "There was an opening in the walls. He heard a voice, his biological father, and—"

"We don't know much," Uncle Jon said, shifting Ellie in his arms as she squirmed. "But we don't think it's best if more people get involved. It tends to be dangerous. For Clark and for the people who know his secrets."

Dean understood why Uncle Jon took this tact, but having incomplete information every time he went to Smallville made it so frustrating to try to be Clark's friend and help people in town. "Look, I'm not trying to pry, I'm not. But… well, did you hear what happened to Lex?"

Aunt Martha said, "I heard he was in the hospital yesterday, but that he was already out."

"I have him hiding out in a safe house with an old friend of my dad's. His father tried to poison him. Well, did poison him."

She gasped. "Oh no! Is he OK?"

"He's fine, he was lucky I was there. He's a little shaken, That's all. But I would feel a lot better if… someone could take a look over the mansion, someone who can get in and out without the cameras seeing, and maybe see through walls? And, I don't know, stick around in town to keep an ear out for Lex."

"Dean..." Uncle Jon frowned.

"I'm asking for your help. For Lex. This could be life and death for him. That's what Clark would want, right? To help Lex?'

Aunt Martha looked down, and Uncle Jon sighed heavily. Whatever his parents' feelings were, ultimately, Clark had made the choice that he wanted to play hero. There was nothing Uncle Jon could do about that. And Lex and Clark were like brothers; Clark would do anything to protect him.

"Have a seat, Dean," Uncle Jon said finally. "I don't know if you're going to be able to find Clark, and I don't know if he'll come home until he's ready, but we'll help you however we can."