SMALL FAVORS by ingrid

~*~

He'd only slept with her twice, maybe three times. It was during his last trip to Chicago and Lex didn't even remember her name, until he received the call from his lawyer at eight o'clock one winter's morning.

"Jeanette Reeves. R-E- "

Annoyed, Lex cut him off. "I know how to spell Reeves, Tom. What is this about?"

"It's about her claim that you're the father of her newborn child," the lawyer rejoined calmly.

Oh, great. Here they went again.

"Give me her phone number," Lex said through clenched teeth. Paternity suits were nothing new. All of them had been false so far, but he had gotten slightly careless in the past year and since his lawyer had a standing order not to call him unless the claim had been verified

Damn it to hell.

Still, he had some powers of persuasion left. All he'd have to do was call Miss Reeves and explain to her slowly and carefully why she would be so much better off with a lump sum and no contact, rather than expose herself to a lifestyle he wouldn't condemn a dog to, let alone an innocent woman and baby.

"Sorry, Mr. Luthor. No can do."

"Why? Is she in hiding? If that's the case "

"She's dead."

Silence, as Lex held the phone to his ear and stared off into space, shocked. "Dead?"

"Died shortly after childbirth. Cardiac arrest, caused by a genetic heart defect. But not before she named you as the father on the birth certificate."

"Jesus " Lex breathed. He fell back against his chair, eyes closed. "Jesus Christ."

"As per your standing instructions, the DNA tests were performed shortly after the claim was made known to us. We have them and they're a match. You're a father, Mr. Luthor."

Lex didn't open his eyes. He just listened as the blood pounded through his ears. "Boy or girl?"

"Girl. She's eight weeks now, in the custody of a friend of mine who works for Social Services. She's healthy and quite cute actually."

"You've seen her." There was something wrong about his lawyer seeing his daughter before he did, but Lex wasn't going to examine that too closely. He had other problems that were more pressing at the moment.

Much more pressing. "Did the woman give her a name?"

"It says Olivia Luthor on the birth certificate but that can be changed."

Olivia. Lex didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "All right," he said. "Bring her to the mansion. Take the helicopter and be here with her as soon as possible."

"Are you sure? Once you see her it's going to be hard to do anything besides keep her."

"I'm not quite that sentimental, Tom," Lex snapped. "I'll do whatever needs to be done, regardless. Just bring her here."

"Sure thing. I'll have our secretaries arrange it. Um, you don't have anything resembling a crib on the premises, do you?"

He was alternating between breathing hard and hardly breathing. "Why the hell would I own anything like that?"

"Just asking. I'll bring a portable one, but you're going to have to outfit a room fast if you plan on keeping her."

"I didn't say I was planning on keeping anything," Lex said impatiently. "I just want to see her."

"Right," the lawyer drawled, turning a one-syllable word into two. He laughed, making Lex want to fire him on the spot but he ignored the urge. "We'll be there within the next couple of hours."

"Just do it." Lex snapped the phone shut, got up and let the pacing begin.

It was a hell of a way to start the day.

~*~

Two hours later, Lex was still pacing through his study, his hands trembling.

A father. He was a father and he stopped only to stare at the incomprehensibly tiny, squirming, red-faced bundle held in the social worker's arms as his lawyer prattled on about payoffs and trust funds and all sorts of things Lex couldn't even begin to absorb.

Because he was frightened. No, terrified was more like it. As a matter of fact, Lex Luthor had never been more terrified of any living creature in his entire life as he was of this dribbling little baby.

It was surreal.

He pointed at the bundle, finger shaking. "That's she's "

His lawyer stopped babbling, then nodded to the social worker, who offered the baby to Lex. "Do you want to hold her?"

Lex shook his head quickly, hands held out in front of him, as in self-defense. "No, no, no " he rambled, nearly tripping in his haste to back away. "That's quite all right."

His lawyer turned to the social worker. "Sheila, there are bedrooms upstairs. Think you can manage the crib and put the baby down for a little while?"

"Sure," she replied, with a vaguely pitying glance at Lex, who cringed beneath her scrutiny. "I'll keep an eye on her."

As soon as she and the baby were gone, Lex fairly ran to the bar and poured out a huge glass of Scotch. He drained it in a single gulp. Then poured another.

"There's always adoption," the lawyer hedged, after a long, uncomfortable silence.

"Adoption?" Lex sucked down the choking glassful. "Yes, that's a wonderful idea."

"But I think you should take another look at her before you make up your mind either way," the lawyer said carefully. "Just one little look. It won't hurt."

Lex stared at him, then nodded in agreement. He ascended the staircase slowly, very much like a man walking his last mile and stopped just outside of the makeshift nursery, hesitating to go inside, lost in thought.

No, he couldn't do it. He couldn't keep her. It wouldn't be fair or smart or right for either one of them.

He had an empire to create and run. She deserved a happy life. She was just a baby, for God's sake and whatever anyone might think or say about him, he wasn't going to condemn an infant to a miserable life as a Luthor, in this house, with his father lurking and plotting and

The social worker smiled as he edged his way inside. "Don't be afraid," she said kindly, motioning for him to hold out his arms. "They're a lot tougher than they look. Just keep her head supported and she'll be fine."

Ever so gingerly, he took the baby in his arms and the social worker slipped from the room.

Lex examined his daughter closely. Her eyes were very blue, and might stay that color now that she was almost two months old, or so he'd read somewhere. He slowly lowered himself into a nearby chair, his arms locked hard into a quivering "V".

He was shaking everywhere. The baby stared at him, eyes wide with curiosity.

He couldn't stop staring into those eyes. So familiar, so like his mother's and if he looked at them from another angle, they were very much like his own.

She sneezed and it was a tiny kittenish squeak.

He had to smile and tugged up a bit of the blanket to wipe off her nose and mouth. "God bless you."

She yawned, then squirmed until comfort was found in the slowly relaxing embrace. Lex watched as she fell asleep, looking every bit as if she were exactly where she was meant to be -- nestled safely in her father's arms.

He promptly forgot everything he'd ever wanted to do.

There was nothing else to do.

He could only hold her. And stare. And think.

And stare at her some more.

An hour later, he summoned the lawyer upstairs. "I'm keeping her," he said matter-of-factly, gently placing the baby back in the crib. "Draw up the necessary paperwork and get a hold of my estate planners for a meeting on Monday. I want this to be fast, complete and inviolable."

"Yes, sir," the lawyer said. "And Mr. Luthor?"

"Yes?"

"Congratulations."

Lex glanced at the man. He thought for a moment before responding. "Thanks. And, Tom?"

"Yeah?"

"I want to add a middle name."

"Sure. What is it?"

"Hope," Lex said, staring at the crib and the tiny life fast asleep inside of it. "Her middle name is Hope."

The lawyer smiled. "You got it." He chuckled. "She's a pretty little girl. You're a lucky man, Mr. Luthor. Lucky in every way now."

Lex grinned, just a little, before opening his phone and dialing his decorating team in Metropolis.

He had a nursery to build. For his brand-new daughter.

~*~

The first nanny Lex hired was a very young, very slender girl from Belgium, highly recommended by one of the LuthorCorp board members and it only took about an hour to realize why she'd been so recommended when Lex found her in his bed stark naked and sucking on a large, red lollipop.

When he asked where his daughter was, she shrugged and tried again to entice him to join her in the sack and forget about the baby that was less than a dozen feet away in the adjoining room.

She was thrown, quite literally, out the front door.

The next one, hired from the best agency in Metropolis, trooped in an hour later and at mid-afternoon, Lex peered into the nursery to find her smacking his daughter's cheeks, hard, in an effort to make her drink her bottle at a more efficient pace.

Lex then felt would could only be described as an interesting rush of rage and snatched his daughter into his arms before having the security guards take care of the newly hired, now ex-nanny, since he didn't trust himself to do it.

Because he was going to hurt the woman badly.

Instead, he held Livvie and rocked her while whispering horrendous threats to the childcare agency over his cell phone. If they didn't send over a sane nanny via the LuthorCorp helicopter within the next forty-five minutes

Two hours passed and still no one arrived. Lex began to panic, especially when Livvie started crying for no apparent reason, with little gulping sobs that tore his heart in half.

"Shhhhh," he said, nervously pacing the floor of his office while patting her back and jiggling her up and down, which made her cry even harder. "It's okay, sweetie. Daddy's here."

No response except for louder, more breathless, screams.

He was about to call 911 when the study door opened and a familiar face peeked past the jamb. "Hey, Lex. Are you busy? I just wanted to get a look at the baby and "

Lex nearly passed out with relief. At least he had company in his misery. "Look, sweetheart. Look who it is." He quickly bundled Livvie into the crook of his arm and pointed her toward Clark's surprised face. "It's our buddy, Clark.

Miraculously, the crying suddenly stopped and Livvie stared at Clark through wet, runny eyes, reaching out with a gluey hand toward Clark's nose.

"Wow." Clark breathed. "Lex she's " He broke into a huge smile. "She's fantastic."

A rush of pride like none Lex had ever felt before filled his chest. It was fierce and pure and extraordinarily powerful. "Thanks." He beamed down at his daughter, wiping her tears away with the corner of his sleeve. "She's really something, huh?"

"Amazing. And she looks so much like you."

"Yeah, but she won't be bald forever, I hope." Lex kissed the powder-scented forehead. She was so amazing, yes. She was everything good and pure and pretty in the world. She was his best baby, his princess, his favorite girl, his hope and life and

Lex blinked at the unexpected wave of emotion. God, what was happening to him? He had no idea, but whatever it was

It was wonderful.

Clark made a face. "That's not what I meant. She has your eyes and the shape of your face -- she's really beautiful."

"Why Clark, you flatterer, you," Lex purred and Livvie made a pleased noise as well. He touched his nose to the baby's. "I think we should keep Clark around, don't you agree, honey?"

Clark flushed deeply. "Oh, shut up. So, what's her name?"

"Olivia Hope Luthor. Livvie for short."

"Livvie Luthor." Clark chuckled. "Boy, that's a big surprise. Think they'll run out of 'L' names by the time you're a grandfather?"

"Hush." Lex tucked his daughter back into her carrier and snapped the restraints shut. Looked around for a toy and found a stuffed purple bear on top of his computer monitor. He handed it to her before tumbling back into his leather chair with a sigh of relief. "Glad you showed up. I was just about to panic."

"Just about to? You looked like you'd passed panic and was headed straight toward total hysterics."

Lex frowned. "I had everything under complete control."

"Uh, huh," Clark said, not looking at all convinced as the study door opened and Lex's security manager ushered in a stout middle-aged woman with a pleasant, if strained, smile.

She clutched her purse tightly to her middle and smiled even harder. "Mr. Luthor, I'm from the nanny service."

Lex quickly looked her up and down. "Yes, Miss

"Mrs. Atkins."

"Mrs. Atkins, thank you for coming on such short notice. As for your assignment, all I want is for my daughter to be safe and content. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Oh, yes, sir. Why for the past twenty years, I used to "

"You're hired," Lex interjected immediately. "Take the baby upstairs and see if she needs changing. Martin will show you to the nursery and get you anything you need from the kitchen." Lex's eyes narrowed. "Please keep in mind that this is my daughter whom I love very much. If you remember that, I'm sure everything else will follow in its proper order. If you ever forget that, which I'm sure you won't, that's when we'll have a problem. Am I making myself clear?"

The woman nodded and with another nervous smile, picked up Livvie's chair and carried her away, with Clark watching intently. "That was a little harsh, Lex," he said mildly, when they were gone.

"You think?" Lex rubbed his temples, wincing. "She's the third one today, since I had to fire the first two for being dangerously incompetent. I think it's best to lay down the ground rules up front, don't you?"

"I guess, but I wouldn't know," Clark replied sympathetically. He paused. "This is really hard on you, isn't it?"

Lex shook his head. "No, not really. If I had the time to do it myself, it wouldn't be hard at all. It's only hard when I have to entrust her to other people. That's the part I'm not enjoying."

"No kidding." Another huge grin. "Who knew you were such a mama bird at heart?"

Lex grimaced and rubbed his ear. "What did you call me?"

"A mama bird. You know, feeding the chicks, clucking around your brood "

"You're talking a dangerous game here, my friend." Gruff tone, but Lex knew he was smiling.

"I'm glad to see you're all right with this," Clark said, ignoring the threat. "When you called and told me you had a baby and the mother had died " A pause. "Let's just say, it made me a little nervous."

"You were picturing all sorts of dark drama?" Lex wearily folded, then unfolded, a bit of paper between his fingers. "Truthfully, Clark, I was too. But last night, I spent a good hour just watching her sleep in her crib and I " He searched for the right words. "I realized that I now have something I didn't have before. Both a sanctuary and a reason for being. Not just to live, but a reason to live well. Not only to learn how to rule, but how to serve -- and protect." A short burst of laughter at Clark's grave face. "I'm sorry, Clark. I didn't mean to sound so sanctimonious."

"No, I like what you're saying." Clark leaned forward, with his elbows on Lex's desk. "This is perfect for you in a weird way. I mean, it wouldn't be for a lot of guys your age, but you have the means to be a great single father and enjoy the best parts of it. She's going to bring you a lot of happiness and I think you'll do the same for her."

Lex held up his hand. "I've only had her one day, Clark. There's a lifetime left to go."

"She's lucky to have you," Clark insisted firmly. "And you're lucky to have her. It's a perfect match."

Lex couldn't remember a time he'd ever liked Clark more. He practically had to force the crazy grin from his face. "So, are you going to help me out?" he teased. "You can be Uncle Clarkie."

"Sure. But I'm not changing diapers. No way."

"Then you don't get kisses." Lex rose and stretched with a yawn, cricking his neck to the side, realigning tight muscles with a satisfying pop.

"She'll give me kisses," Clark said confidently.

"Who's talking about her?"

"Lex!" Clark tried to look shocked and failed. "Nut," he scoffed, still not sparing Lex the flirty underlash glance in the process.

This single father might get laid some day yet, Lex thought, giddy with happiness and lack of sleep. "Come on, let's go play with baby."

"You should let her sleep," Clark chided.

"Nah. My baby wants me to play with her," Lex said, tugging on Clark's sweater before loping up the side stairs, two at a time. "Us Luthors are a playful sort."

"Riiight," Clark said, as he followed Lex down the hall into the opulently appointed nursery. "Playful is definitely the word I'd use to describe you."

~*~

"So, I hear I have a granddaughter."

Nighttime, and the skin on the back of Lex's neck crawled at the sound of a gravelly, familiar voice filling the hallway. He protectively put his back toward the stairs, where just a single flight up his daughter lay sleeping, put down for the evening.

He schooled his features to utter impassivity. "Yes, Father. That's correct."

"Well, where is she, Lex? Come now, I only have a few minutes," Lionel said impatiently. "Bring her to me so I can look at your latest folly."

Every nerve in Lex's body bristled, but he maintained the bland façade. "I'm sorry, Father, but she's sleeping."

"Babies are always sleeping, Lex. Have the nurse bring her down."

Lex's voice sharpened. "I said my daughter was sleeping and that's how she'll stay."

Lionel cocked his head to one side. "Are you saying I can't see my own granddaughter?"

A tiny hint of threat in Lionel's tone, and Lex's hands started to itch. He could do it -- if this bastard went near his baby, if he tried to pull anything with her, Lex could see himself doing the unthinkable and no jury would convict him.

He'd make sure of it.

"Yes," he said hoarsely, his voice just above a whisper. "That's exactly what I'm saying. I don't want you near my child."

"Oh, Lex," Lionel laughed. "Spare us the dramatics. Remind me, what are you harping on this time?"

"Do you really want to know?"

Lionel sighed hugely. "By all means. Let's have it."

"Certainly, Father," Lex obliged coldly. "For all of my adult life, I always thought there was something just a bit off in the way you raised me in the way you treated me. But what did I know? You were all I had after Mother got sick, after I had my accident. So I've accepted you on face value since then, mostly because I had no choice, " Lex said. His jaw tightened. "But no more."

This seemed to be a response Lionel hadn't expected. His expression changed, became more serious. "Lex "

Lex ignored him. "It took me about a second of looking at my daughter's face to realize I would die before I treated her the way you've treated me. The callousness, the self-absorbed cruelty the disregard. All the things you've done in the name of teaching me, all these so-called lessons in duplicity and revenge -- that was no way to raise a child and I'll be damned if I'll emulate you in the most important task of my life. And I'll be damned if I'll subject my child to even one second of you. You had your chance and you blew it, Dad."

Lionel waved an impatient hand at him. "It'll be different when you realize she's your heir. You'll need my advice then, Lex."

"Livvie's not my heir," Lex said calmly. "She's my daughter. She'll choose her own life and I'm going to be there for every minute of it, both the good and the bad. If she wants to run my kingdom, if she wants to live in a hut and study rocks, if she wants to dress like a princess and dance until dawn for the rest of her life -- that's what she's going to do. And I'm going to love her unconditionally, until the day I die."

Lionel's infamous composure faltered, but only momentarily. "You're a fool."

Lex laughed heartily. He'd never felt so free. "No, I'm a father. Which is something you'll never be. It takes more than biology, Father, and I'm sorry your own spawn has to be the one to tell you this. It took one cell of you to make me, and frankly, if I could, I'd give it back. Except then, I wouldn't have my little girl. So, I thank you for that and that's all the thanks you're going to get from me. Ever."

At this, Lionel seemed struck dumb. His mouth moved, but for the first time ever, no words came out.

Lex had effectively silenced him.

But he wasn't done, not yet. "You're going to be very smart, Dad. You're not going to try and pull off any scheme that involves my daughter, ever. Because the consequences of such an action will be unthinkable. "

This got a response. "What? Are you going to kill me, Lex?" Lionel sneered, his lips curled with disdain. "Hmmm?"

"And he calls me a fool," Lex murmured to no one in particular. "Are there no worse things than death, Father?" he asked softly darkly. "Surely you've taught me as much."

Lionel reeled back a step, eyes wide, as if he'd been slapped. Another stumble, before he regained his composure and strode down the hall and out the front door, without a backward glance.

Lex stood at the bottom of the staircase, his eyes closed, steadying his breathing one heartbeat at a time.

I'll slay dragons for you, my daughter, this being the first, and none that harm shall ever pass the gate that leads to your door. This, I promise.

Tired but content, Lex made his way to the decanter and poured himself the very first victory toast he'd ever truly known.

~*~

"Lex, it's not that cold."

Clark stood in the study, impatiently tapping his foot as Lex added yet another layer to his daughter's already bulky outfit. It was snowing lightly outside and that morning was to be Livvie's first look at the winter wonderland Smallville occasionally turned itself into.

If Lex could ever finish dressing her.

"Maybe not for you," Lex said, wrapping a second scarf over Livvie's snowsuit hood. "But you're not a two-month old, are you?"

"I can't even see her in there," Clark insisted, peering into the carrier. "Are you sure that's not just a pile of baby clothes?"

Lex held up a tiny bare hand and waved it at Clark. "See?" And we've got to cover these little paws up, yes, we do," he cooed at the bundle. He dug through a stylish black shoulder bag and pulled out the world's smallest pair of mittens -- lilac-colored mittens that were made to resemble a small animal, complete with button eyes and knit ears.

Clark squinted. "Okay. Exactly what are those supposed to be?"

Lex examined them critically. "Kittens, I think."

"Kitten mittens?"

"Yep, kitten mittens. For Daddy's little kitten." Lex slipped them over Livvie's fingers as Clark rolled his eyes. "Picked them out myself," he proclaimed proudly.

"Oh, boy." Clark shook his head, tsk'ing sadly. "Lex I think you've lost it."

Lex slung the improvised Armani baby bag over his shoulder, ready to take on the world. "Actually, Clark, I'd say I've won it." He picked up the carrier and beamed at its precious contents, before tugging Clark along with him to the great outdoors. "Won the biggest and best lottery of them all."

~*~

To be continued in a series ...