Martha waited up in Lex's room for Jonathan to return with Lex. She wasn't sure how long to expect to wait, but it was less than twenty minutes before she heard the front door open.

She peeked out into the hallway to see Jonathan leading Lex up the stairs, hand on his back. "Are you okay, Lex?"

Lex nodded and wiped his eyes. Jonathan kissed Martha on the forehead, then she smiled at him, and he left Lex with her.

"Come here." Martha stepped into Lex's room and pulled back the covers on his bed for the third time that night.

He climbed under the covers, but unlike the last two times, he held his body stiffly. He almost seemed to be holding his breath.

She sat on the side of his bed. "Did Jonathan talk to you?"

A quick nod.

"So you know Clark is okay?"

Lex nodded, sniffed, and blinked several times. His eyes were still shiny.

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Martha recognized that face. He was holding back his tears. Maybe he was too embarrassed to cry in front of her, but she didn't want him to cry himself to sleep over something she might be able to fix. "Lex, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." His voice cracked.

"Hey, we have a house rule about honesty, remember?"

"It's stupid."

She put her hand on the covers over him. "It's enough to make you cry."

"I'm not—" Another voice crack, and he frantically rubbed at his eyes.

"It's okay to cry, you know. There's no shame," she said softly.

That opened the floodgates. He turned over onto his stomach and buried his face in his pillow, and his shoulders shook with sobs.

"Oh, sweetheart . . ." Her hand moved up to his head. She stroked the skin the way she would Clark's hair. She worried for a second that it would embarrass him, but he didn't try to move away. "It's okay, let it out."

He said something in response, but it was muffled by his sobs and pillows.

"What's that?"

Lex turned his head to the side. "My dad used to double my punishments if I cried about them."

Martha's jaw dropped in horror. "I—we'll never do that. You'll never be punished for crying." Tantrums were another issue—Clark had had his share—but that didn't seem to be what this was about. A thought struck her. "Jonathan didn't punish you, did he?"

"Not really."

She sighed in relief. "Do you want to tell me what's bothering you?"

"Do I have to?"

"Not if you don't want to."

Lex buried his face again.

Martha continued to stroke his head. "I love you, sweetie. Jonathan and Clark and I, we all love you so much."

He cried harder. Her eyes stung, and she pushed back the covers just enough to pull him into her arms.