Author's note: I just started watching smallville recently when it started up on the family channel so I've only really seen the first few episodes. This story takes place in the first season right after the episode Jitters which is the most recent one I've seen. Keep in mind I haven't seen any episodes after that one except for bits and pieces.

Jonathan's Kent POV:

I hugged my son close to me, thankful that everything had turned out alright.

"I was so scared," Martha said as she kissed Clark's cheek once again.

"Everything's okay Mom," Clark told her.

I looked away from my family and my eyes fell on Lex Luthor looking in our direction. He quickly looked away when I eyes met but I had already seen it. The pain and the longing in his eyes.

As I took in his father's fake hug for the cameras I understood it. I wondered just how lonely it had been for him growing up the son of Lionel Luthor. It also made me start to think that maybe I had been wrong about the reason Lex had taken such an interest in Clark and in our family.

As I watched, Lex pulled away from his father. The crowd was starting to disperse by now. A few reporters still hung around but I guess Lionel figured he had been the caring father for them long enough. He didn't even reach out to stop Lex as he walked away.

As he walked away, Lex's hand went to the back of his head and I noticed the discolored lump there before he walked into the shadows. I knew what I had to do. After all he had risked his life for my son and all of his classmates when his father would have simply let the kids die before trying to reason with Earl. I knew that without hesitation. Lex had shown me that there was a difference between him and his father. Lex did have the capability to care about people.

Perhaps the only reason he had gone in today was because Clark was inside and Martha and I were out here with him, but maybe that was enough of the reason. I still wasn't sure how different Lex was when it came to business and I didn't trust him in that sense but I was willing to admit that there was more to him than what I gave him credit for.

"Jonathan, we should get Clark home," I heard Martha say beside me.

"Okay," I agreed. "I'll just be a few moments," I told her pulling away from my family. I could see both of there questioning glances but I didn't have time to explain things to them right now.

I headed in the direction I had seen Lex go. As I got away from the lights it took a little bit for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. Once they did I spotted Lex leaning up against the chain link fence, his hand still on the back of his head.

"Maybe you should get checked out by a doctor," I called out to him to let him know he wasn't alone. I saw him jump a little bit at the sound of my voice.

"I'm fine," he said his hand dropping from his head but he didn't turn around. I could tell I wasn't going to get far with that line of conversation so I let it go.

"Lex, thank-you for what you did today," I told him.

"I was just doing my job," he replied quietly.

"No you weren't. Your father was just doing his job, putting on a front for the media so the public thinks he's concerned about the situation. You went beyond that. You put your life on the line in an attempt for a good outcome to a bad situation and it worked. Everyone came out alive even Earl."

"I had your son's help, Mr. Kent," Lex told me still not looking at me.

"Anyone going to be at your place tonight?" I asked him. "Your father maybe."

Lex gave a small laugh. "Are you kidding. Dad's probably on his way back to metropolis as we speak. No it will just be me and the servants," Lex told me. I could here the bitterness in his voice as he talked about his father. The loneliness in his voice.

"Then why don't you come and stay out at the farm tonight," I suggested a little surprised by the words myself.

Lex finally turned and looked at me. "Are you serious?" he asked me. His tone was even but he couldn't hide the desperation in his voice or the tears glistening in his eyes. I knew he was hurting more than he was letting on both physically and emotionally.

"Yes, yes I am," I told him and this time I really did mean the words. "After what you just went through you shouldn't be alone tonight," I told him. Lex didn't move from his place by the fence. "Come on," I told him nodding my head in the direction I had left Clark and Martha and holding an arm out to him.

After a few moments more of hesitation, he pushed himself away from the fence and headed toward me. I waited until he was beside me and then fell in step beside him, letting my hand rest briefly on his shoulder. I could feel him tense up at even that brief touch. I pulled my hand away, feeling that it was an unwanted gesture. It made me wonder again what his childhood had been like.

Lex's POV:

"Come on," Jonathan Kent told me holding his arm out in my direction.

I had to admit his offer sounded much more appealing than going home to my empty mansion. And the offer seemed genuine. Besides, despite what I told him, about being fine, my head hurt like hell from where that Earl guy had hit me with his gun. Not to mention the ache from numerous other parts of my body.

I pushed away from the fence and headed toward him. Spending the night at the Kent's was much more appealing than the Luthor mansion even if he was just offering out of sympathy. At least coming from Jonathan Kent it was genuine sympathy and not the fake sympathy that Dad had just put on for the cameras.

As I stepped up beside him I felt his hand come to rest on my shoulder and involuntarily I tensed up. Jonathan Kent quickly pulled his hand away as I tensed up. I couldn't help but wonder if it was simply just because he hadn't meant to do it at all.

"I appreciate the offer of a place to stay tonight, Mr. Kent," I told him uncomfortable with the silence between us.

Before he had a chance to say anything though I heard another voice call out to me.

"Lex," Lana called out as she broke away from her aunt and headed toward us. "I've been looking for you. Are you okay?"she asked her hand coming to rest on my arm.

"I'm fine," I told her placing my other hand on top of hers. "And your boyfriend."

"He went to the hospital with his parents. The paramedics think he has a mild concussion but think he'll be okay."

"That's good to hear," I told her.

"Thanks for what you did in there today. That was very brave of you to trade yourself for all of us. You saved us all."

"You're welcome," I told her simply.

"Lex, what you said to Earl in there about your father . . ."

I knew what she was getting at as the words came back to me.

"My father doesn't care about you. He doesn't care about anybody in this room because if we all die his PR firm will spin it. His insurance company will pay out and you will go down as the bad guy."

"It was the truth," I told her.

I could see the sympathy in her eyes. I knew she understood what that meant without her saying anything.

"I'm glad you're not like him Lex," she told me.

I felt a small smile come to my face. She would never know just how much those simple words meant to me.

"Lana, come on. I want to get you home," Nel's called out.

"Coming," Lana told her. "Thanks again Lex," she told me as she pulled her hand away.

As Lana went to join her aunt, Mr. Kent and I headed toward Clark and Mrs. Kent. After a few steps though they started to get blurry. I stopped walking blinking my eyes, hoping my vision would clear. It didn't. Instead I started to feel light headed and I could feel my knees giving out. As I started falling I felt a strong pair of arms grab me and lowered me to the ground.

"Lex!" I heard Clark call out. I could hear the panic in his voice. Of everyone here, I knew that Clark genuinely cared about me. That was a good feeling.

"Lex, can you hear me?" I heard Mr. Kent asking from nearby. I fought against the darkness that wanted to creep in and fought to open my eyes. As I forced them open I found myself looking up into the worried face of Mr. Kent. It dawned on me that he must have been the one that broke my fall. What I wouldn't give to see that look on my own father's face.

"Lex," I heard him say again.

I tried to answer him but the words wouldn't come. I could just barely keep my eyes opened.

"We need to get him to a hospital," I heard Mr. Kent say as I felt myself being picked up off the ground. In the past, having somebody touch me felt wrong. Fake somehow. This time though, the arms around me brought comfort. Was this how it felt when a parent, a father, genuinely cared about a child. When the child was more than just a PR tool.

"Lex, stay with us."

This time it was Clark's voice I heard.

"I'm trying," I whispered no longer sure of where I was.

"Nel, if you can go any faster, do it," I heard Clark say before the blackness completely overtook me.

Clark's POV:

I reached the wall and turned around, slowly making my way back toward the other wall. I felt helpless. I thought I had saved him. I thought that everything was going to be okay once we got out of that plant. Now I wasn't so sure.

It had been almost an hour since we had gotten to the emergency room and we had heard nothing. This was definitely a time when no news was not good news. I saw the other wall in front of me and turned around again.

This was worse than when we were up on the collapsing bridge. The meteor rocks embedded in Earl had made me weak. It had been a struggle to pull both him and Lex up, something which in all rights if I was normal I probably wouldn't have been able to do anyway. I had gotten Earl up on the scaffolding and as he climbed up toward the elevator I had felt so weak that I didn't think I would be able to pull Lex up but when I had looked down and saw him looking up at me, struggling to hold on, I knew I had to try. If Lex had fallen .. well I didn't even want to think about that but now it seemed all for nothing.

"Wearing a hole in the rug isn't going to help anything," I heard a soft voice say.

I looked over to see Lana standing there.

"How's Whitney?" I asked her. She had gone to check on him after we had arrived at the hospital.

"Mild concussion. His parents are taking him home to rest. Doctor's say he'll be fine in a few days."

"That's good," I told her.

"I take it there is no word on Lex yet," Lana said softly.

"No, not yet," I replied.

"I'm sure he'll be fine Clark," Lana said placing a hand on my arm. I liked the feel of her arm on mine. If only she weren't going with Whitney.

Just then I heard someone enter the room. I looked toward the doorway to see a doctor come in.

"Has his father been notified?" the doctor was asking as Lana and I joined the group that had formed around him. The group consisted of my parents, Nel, and Chloe's father Gabe who was also the plant manager for the Smallville plant.

"I called him and he asked me to keep him updated on Lex's condition but he isn't able to make it back to Smallville."

I saw the doctor nod and the look of disdain on my father's face. I knew this just gave him one more reason not to like Lionel Luthor.

"How is Lex, Doctor?" Nel asked.

"Well we've treated him for shock and he does have a concussion, and a strained shoulder along with multiple other bruises. I wanted to keep him here overnight but he's insisting that he isn't staying. Maybe one of you could convince him to stay," the doctor replied looking around at each of us.

I doubted any of us could be effective. Lex was stubborn. If he didn't want to stay at the hospital very little would convince him otherwise. I'd be willing to give it a shot though. I was just about to speak up when my Dad did.

"How important is it that he stay here?" my Dad asked. I wondered what he was getting at.

"Well, I mostly want to keep him here for observation. It's important that his condition be monitored for the next twenty-four hours in case of complications. If he had family near-by I wouldn't worry about letting him go but in this case I'd rather have him here."

"He was going to spend the night out at our place tonight anyway," my Dad said. "How about you tell us what we need to do for him and we'll take him home with us. I don't think any of us are going to be able to convince him to stay here if he's set against it."

"That would work," the doctor said.

"Can I go see him?" I asked before he could say anything else to my parents.

"Yeah sure, go ahead. It's probably a good idea anyway as the nurse probably has her hands full trying to keep him from leaving."

"I'm going to go with Clark, okay Nel," Lana said as I headed out of the waiting room. I didn't hear Nel's answer but Lana was soon beside me as I headed back into the exam area of the emergency room.

I heard Lex long before I saw him.

"I'm not staying here," I heard him say defiantly.

"Mr. Luthor, please relax, until the doctor comes back," I heard a nurse say in a pleading tone.

"Still giving people a hard time, huh," I said as I pulled back the curtain surrounding his bed. He was sitting on the edge, still looking pale.

"Hey Clark, Lana," he said looking up and seeing us.

"Lex, you should listen to the nurse and relax until the doctor comes back," I told him worried about my friend.

"I'm not staying here."

"You won't have to," I told him. "My Dad's talking to the doctor right now. You're coming out to our place for the night.

My reassurance must have been enough for him, as he swung his legs back up on the gurney and laid back. Seeing that her patient wasn't going to flee anytime soon the nurse disappeared to see to other things.

"You gave us quite a scare Lex," Lana said softly as she sat on the edge of the gurney next to Lex.

"Sorry about that," Lex told her. "I have to admit though this is the most attention I've gotten in quite a long time. It's kind of flattering."

"Well, don't make a habit of getting hit in the head with a gun. It's not a healthy way to get attention, and people will start to catch on," I told him trying to keep the mood light.

"I won't," he said with a small smile. "I'm not sure the headache is worth it."

A silence fell between the three of us. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence though. Somehow it felt right.

"Clark," Lex said after a few minutes. I looked over at him waiting for him to continue. "Thanks for coming back for me. I don't think I would have made it out of that plant if you hadn't."

"Call it payback for you coming in and saving my classmates and myself," I told him trying to play it off without making a big deal over it.

"Except that was the second time you saved my life."

"And you helped me out in the field that night. We're even Lex. We were both just looking out for each other. That's what friends do," I told him.

Lex held his hand out to me and I took it.

"You know, I'm starting to feel pretty lucky," Lana said. I looked over at her and saw a smile on her face.

"You almost got killed today," Lex told her.

"But I didn't. No one did. Besides, I've got three terrific guys looking out for me. I can't get much luckier than that."