COTW 53

[serafina20]

"All right, there you go," Anne said as she hooked the oxygen tubes over Clark's ears. She twisted the knob on the tank, then glanced at the monitor set up on the dresser. "You should be breathing better soon, Clark."

"Thanks," he said, hating how weak and breathless he sounded. Not just because he was embarrassed, but because Lex was sitting in the corner, *looking* at him. Focused and intense, sitting in the shadows, hands clenched on the arms of his chair.

"Okay, Clark, now I need you to take off your shirt, okay honey? I'm going to put these stick pads on your chest so we can monitor your heart."

He sighed and pushed himself into a sitting position. His arms felt like jelly lead. He didn't know how that was possible, but it was. His fingers were numb and clumsy on the buttons. Had he been feeling well, he was sure he'd be popping the buttons off with his lack of finesse, but because he was working at kitten-strength, they stayed on.

Anne gave him an encouraging smile and pushed the two sides of his shirt open. "Thank you, Clark. You can lay back now."

He did, stupidly tired from just that effort. His eyes fell shut as Anne fiddled with the pads, placing them on his chest. He didn't know how long his eyes were closed, but when he opened them again, Anne was gone.

"Lex?" he rasped.

Lex rose from his chair. "Are you all right?"

"I'm thirsty. And cold."

Lex grabbed a bottle of water from the dresser. As Clark drank, Lex climbed into bed next to him. He stroked Clark's hair. Planted soft kisses on his cheek and jaw and neck. "You frightened me," he whispered.

Clark set the bottle aside. Pulled Lex against him. "I'm sorry."

He snorted. Buried his face briefly in Clark's neck before he rolled onto his back. "Jesus, listen to me. Talk about being selfish. You're sick, and I'm acting angry."

"You're acting scared. There's a difference." He ran finger down Lex's nose. "I'm scared, too." He shivered and pulled Lex closer.

"You're going to be fine," Lex said. "Really. Tomorrow, Chloe, Pete, and I are going to steal back the key to your ship. We'll use it to make you and your mother better."

He made a face, which made the oxygen tubes dislodge. After he readjusted them, he said, "That sounds dangerous. I really don't want you guys to put yourselves in danger. Not for me."

"I'm not going to let you die. I'm not going to let them find out about you because of some stupid piece of metal. I'm not..." He stopped talking. Instead, he kissed Clark fiercely. His hands knotted into Clark's hair and he climbed on top of him. He kissed Clark until Clark's head spun. He kissed him until the monitor on the dresser was beeping too fast. He kissed Clark until Dr. Sutton came into the room.

"Lex!"

Lex groaned deep in his throat. Slowly, reluctantly, he pulled away. Smoothed down Clark's curls. "You okay?" he asked.

It took a few breaths for Clark to be able to answer. He felt weirdly like he and Lex had changed places. Usually he didn't get out of breath, not like this. "Yeah," he said when he felt he could talk. "I'm okay."

Lex was pouting. The scary, dark, queen of the world pout he got when he didn't want to admit he was scared. The glower of doom as he pushed his body into the corner of the bed, pressing his back against the wall. Glaring at Dr. Sutton, he yanked the blankets to his waist, then crossed his arms over his chest.

Dr. Sutton took Clark's temperature. "You've come down a few degrees," she said. "That's good. Do you feel any better?"

Clark shrugged. "I'm cold. Can I have another blanket?"

"No, Clark. You're fever is still too high, the last thing we want to do is bundle you up too much. I know you feel cold, but you're not." She pushed Clark's hair from his forehead. "Any aches or pains? Stomach hurt? Head?"

"No. My chest sort of does, but it's better now."

"This thing seems to attack the lung the hardest. I think it's working slower on you than your mother because of you're... unique make-up, but it's still there. I hope rest and oxygen are enough, because I don't know what to give you." She sighed. "Lex. Roll up your sleeve," she said as she reached into her medical bag and pulled out a needle and vial.

"Why?" Lex asked.

"I need a sample of your blood." She took out an alcohol wipe and rubber tube. "Come here."

His lower lip protruded, but he obeyed.

Dr. Sutton wrapped the tube around his arm. "I looked at your blood earlier, Clark. Despite the complete alien make-up, I did see some familiar markers. It took me, oh, about ten seconds to place." Carefully, she slid the needle into Lex's vein.

Blood welled out quickly, filling the tube. Lex watched dispassionately, obvious used to this process, but Clark still found it fascinating. And a little sickening. His stomach twisted as he watched the red liquid fill the vial. Just when Clark was pretty sure he was going to pass out, Dr. Sutton pulled the needle out of Lex's arm. Blood beaded from the wound. She set the vial aside then taped a piece of cotton over it.

"All right. So I have a few questions for the two of you."

Lex glared.

Undisturbed, Dr. Sutton pulled a file from her bag. She opened it and made a note with a pen from her pocket. "So. How long have you two been sexually active?"

Wow. So that's what feeling both hot and cold was like.

Clark slunk down in bed until most of his face was covered with the blanket.

"Lex?"

"You can't right it down," he said. "And, really, I shouldn't be telling you."

"I know you've been sleeping with him since he was underage, Lex, I'm not stupid. If I haven't reported it before, I won't do so now. And it's my license at stake."

"And my freedom."

"Lex."

Lex sighed. His fingers twined into Clark's hair. "Since the November before last, I guess."

"And do you remember when Dr. Pierce first noticed your blood was changing?"

He gave her a look. "I have no idea. I made it a point never to pay attention to anything that man said. Damien might know." He frowned. "I thought you had all those records."

"Why would I have your records with me right now?" she asked. "I came down to look at Lucas, who, by the way, is severely depressed. He needs to see a psychiatrist right away. Now, Clark is my patient. If I thought for a moment that this case would have absolutely anything to do with you and your unique blood situation, I would have brought your file. However, since you and, I imagine, my taciturn nephew, decided to withhold information, I need to do this now. And that means asking you these questions now and you to answer them to the best of your ability. Got it?"

Clark looked at Lex. He looked embarrassed and upset, ears red, jaw tense.

He sighed. "I think Dr. Pierce might have noticed something in December or something," Clark said. "Before we started, um... doing it."

Dr. Sutton's lips quirked. She tried to suppress the smile, but couldn't quite. "Doing it?" she said, eyes dancing as she looked at Clark.

"Yeah. Having. You know."

"Anal sex?"

Ouch. Way, way, way, way too hot. Like a thousand little pricks of fire pressing into his skin. "Yeah," Clark whispered, eyes falling shut.

"Lex?"

"Sounds about right. Although it didn't get to the levels... it did later until after Clark and I started having anal sex." Even he wasn't able to say it without a blush.

"And you never used protection?"

"We didn't need to," Lex said icily. "Clark was a virgin. I was clean."

She cleared her throat and glanced up at them. "Did you know he was an alien when you first had sex."

Clark's stomach turned. He rolled onto his stomach and stuck his head under his pillow. The oxygen tube was yanked from his nose, but he didn't care. Suffocation looked good.

"Yes," Lex said, voice muffled. His hand clenched on Clark's arm, squeezing. "It didn't matter to me."

"Well. You were lucky."

"He wouldn't have been sent to earth if he wasn't compatible with humans. It was simple logic."

"Of course," she replied dryly. "I'm sure that was your exact thought process." Her hand came to rest on Clark's back, and she rubbed in firm circles. "Clark? Baby boy? I'm not saying you did anything wrong. You're young and hormonal and you followed your heart. I was just expressing concern for what could have happened. But, as Lex pointed out, it didn't. I'm just being a doctor."

Clark chewed on his lower lip. He wanted her to leave. He just wanted everyone to leave him alone.

"Clark. You need to put the oxygen tube back in your nose. Your body needs the oxygen."

"Maybe it doesn't. I'm an alien. Maybe I don't actually need to breathe."

She sighed. "Yes, I suppose that's true. However, I don't think it's a good idea to test that while you're sick. Maybe we can do it some other time, okay? Right now, you need to come out from underneath the pillow and put the oxygen tube in right."

He stayed.

/Clark. Please./

"Fine!" He yanked the pillow off his head and rolled onto his back. "Happy?" he asked. He adjusted the tubes, crossed his arms over his chest, and closed his eyes. "I'm tired."

/Clark.../

/No. I want her to leave. Now./

"Dr. Sutton, was there anything else you needed right now?" Lex asked, voice surprisingly gentle.

"I suppose not. Just make sure he drinks water and gets rest? No more necking?"

Lex snorted. "I'll do my best. Thanks."

"Thank you for the sample." Her hand ghosted over Clark's hair. "I'll be downstairs, Clark, if you need me."

He didn't say anything, just waited until she left. Once the door closed, he choked out, "I'm sorry."

Lex slid alongside him. "For what?" he asked, resting his head on Clark's shoulder. He stroked Clark's neck.

He opened his eyes. Tears rolled out from the corners. Wet his ears. "For almost getting you sick. For maybe being dangerous to you. For... for, you know."

"But you aren't dangerous to me. You didn't get me sick. You made me better. Like I said before, you wouldn't have been sent here if you were incompatible with humans. You say you think you're the last. Surely your parents would want you to have a life, as normal as possible. To find happiness. To find a mate and have children with."

Clark snorted. "Oh, yeah. Bang-up job I did on that. Falling in love with a man." He shook his head. "What if they didn't send me here? What if it was an accident? Or what if this was the only place I could go? The only place with sentient life or whatever."

"If there are two sentient species in the universe, I highly doubt there wouldn't be more," Lex said. He wiped the tears away. "I don't think it was an accident. Otherwise, why did you land so near the caves that you're connected to." He traced Clark's ear with his fingertip. "I know you're scared. I'm scared, too. But getting worked up over things we have no control over, things that didn't even happen, isn't going to help." He kissed Clark's cheek. "You need to concentrate on getting better, okay? Dr. Sutton is just worried about me. Not even worried. Interested. For almost a year she's been trying to figure out why I'm suddenly getting better. Why my allergies are going away. Why my blood is changing. Now, all the sudden, she's got an answer. A key. There's not much she can do for you right now. But she can investigate me."

He nodded. Tears flowed faster from his eyes. "Lex?" he whispered. "I'm scared."

Lex put his arms around Clark and pulled him against his body. "I know, angel. I know."