Lex was sitting on the couch in the Kents' living room with a photo album he'd found in a drawer in one of the end tables. The album was filled with family photos. Most involved Clark with one or both of their parents, but towards the front, there were a ton of him too.

It was very strange for Lex to look at pictures of himself as a toddler with Jonathan and Martha Kent. He knew they were his parents, but it was so much more real to actually look at himself with them.

Lex soon heard footsteps. He looked up and saw Jonathan in the doorway. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be going through your things."

"No, don't apologize. You're welcome to anything in this house," Jonathan said. Then he pointed at the photo album still in Lex's lap. "And that is just as much your history as it is ours."

"It's so weird to see this. I look happy," Lex said as he looked down at picture that was taken around Christmas time. He was in Jonathan's arms in front of a Christmas tree and he was wearing a Santa hat. He was smiling from ear to ear. He couldn't remember ever being as happy as he looked now. Hell, he wasn't sure he ever felt truly happy. There may have been a few periods when he was… content, but not truly happy.

"You were," Jonathan said before coming over and sitting down next to Lex. "I mean, no one's happy all the time, but for the most part, you were always a happy kid."

"Not for long. You know, I always wondered what it would be like to have a different life. Now I find out I was supposed to," Lex said.

Jonathan cringed as his son admitted he wasn't happy. He'd known enough about Lex's relationship with Lionel Luthor to know that he didn't have the best life, but he'd hoped that there was some happiness in his life. "You were never happy?"

Lex shrugged. "I don't think so. Things were better when my moth… Lillian was alive, but it still wasn't the best."

"You don't have to stop yourself like that. You believed she was your mother. She was to you. It's okay," Jonathan said.

"No, it's not. She's worse than he is," Lex said. He'd spent a good amount of time thinking about the woman he believed to be his mother. He always believed she was a good woman who was always honest with him. She was neither. She was just as culpable as Lionel was in taking him from his family. She knew about it and did nothing. She'd helped to ruin his life, yet she had the nerve to tell him time after time that she loved him. "You know, I wonder how many times I must have screamed for you and she didn't do anything. Him, I'd expect to do nothing. He was a cold SOB. He wouldn't have cared. Lillian said she loved me. She acted like she did. It must have been a really convoluted version."

Lex's words broke Jonathan's heart. He thought of his little boy screaming for him and Martha, and he was sure Lex was right that it happened. No toddler could be ripped away from his family and just go on like it was normal. Lex was right. Lillian Luthor was worse. What kind of woman could just stand there while a child suffered like that. Lionel, he expected it from. The man had no conscience."

Lex stared off into space for a minute. "If they'd just left me alone, things could've been so much better."

"Lex, there's no point in thinking about that," Jonathan said. He'd played his share of 'what if' games. All they did was tear you apart.

"I can't help it. The more I sit with it, the more I wonder what could've been. I've only been here a day and I know life would've been better," Lex said. Hell, he even knew that before today. He'd observed the Kent family before, always wishing he'd had that kind of family. It was almost comical to think about it now.

"Well, there's no doubt that it would've been different," Jonathan said.

"Tell me something, Mr… Jonathan. Do you believe in fate?" Lex asked.

"That's a concept I've had a hard time with over the years. It's hard to believe in fate when your child is stolen from you," Jonathan said. It was very hard to believe that something like that was actually meant to happen.

"Yeah, I can see your point there. I was just thinking about coming back to Smallville. I was thinking about speeding down the road and nearly killing a teenaged kid. What are the odds that that kid would be my own brother? It was that one incident that changed everything. It makes me wonder if it was supposed to happen," Lex said.

Jonathan slowly nodded. "Maybe you're right."

"Maybe. At the same time, I wonder why I was meant to meet a father who hates me," Lex said.

Jonathan sucked in a breath. He knew this was coming. It was only a matter of time before the way he treated Lex was brought up by the younger man. "I don't hate you, Lex."

"Because you found out I was your son," Lex said.

"No. I never hated you," Jonathan said. What he'd said to Clark the day before was true. He had never hated Lex. "But I wasn't fair to you either."

Lex turned to face his father. "I never understood what I did to you. I mean, I know we didn't meet under the best circumstances, but I was always respectful to you. You could never see the difference between me and Lionel, and I don't understand why because I never did anything to you."

"You're right, you didn't," Jonathan said. There was nothing he could say to make the way he treated Lex alright. He told himself that it was to protect Clark, and that Luthors couldn't be trusted, but finding out the truth made him see how unfair he was. Lex hadn't done a think to make it seem like he was anything like Lionel Luthor.

"You told me once that I hadn't given you a reason to see that I was anything else but a Luthor. What I don't understand is why I had to. Why did I need to prove myself to you? Why couldn't you just give me a chance?" Lex asked. There was a bit of anger in his voice, but it was mostly pain.

"Because the last time I gave a Luthor a chance, he betrayed me," Jonathan said. In order to get Lex to possibly forgive him, he was going to have to be honest with him. Well, as honest as he could.

"My… Lionel betrayed you?" Lex asked surprised. He always thought that Jonathan didn't trust Lionel because of reputation. He supposed he really shouldn't be surprised that it was personal. He remembered Lionel saying that they'd met before.

Jonathan nodded and sighed. "The first time I met him was the day of the meteor shower. He was frantic for someone to help him. You were in trouble. I carried you to my truck and we took you both to the hospital."

"Your own son," Lex commented.

"Yeah, that notion isn't lost on me," Jonathan said. That thought had crossed his mind over the last day. He'd had his son in his arms. If he'd just recognized him, he could've brought him home.

Lex could sense what he was thinking. "You couldn't have known. It had been seven years, and I had changed a lot."

Jonathan cleared his throat. "Anyway, after we got you to the hospital, Lionel gave me his card. He said to call him if we ever needed anything."

Lex closed his eyes and sighed. He could just imagine the rest of the story. Lionel didn't do anything for nothing, not even when he owed someone. "You called in the favor."

Jonathan nodded. "And the people I cared about paid for it. I was the one that convinced the Ross family to deal with him."

"That's why you wouldn't take my offer for a loan," Lex said. He could understand that now. Yes, Jonathan had judged him unfairly, but under the circumstances, he understood it, at least that part.

"I'm sorry, Lex. I just couldn't take the chance of trusting you. Taking chances don't seem to end well for me. I took a chance in a park twenty years ago by diverting my attention and my son disappeared. Seven years later, I decided to trust someone only to be betrayed," Jonathan said.

"It's not your fault, you know? The things he did to you, to us, aren't your fault," Lex said.

"Maybe, maybe not. What I did to you was though. I'm so sorry, son. Can you forgive me?" Jonathan asked. He prayed Lex could forgive him. He prayed he hadn't destroyed his relationship with his son before it even started.

Lex felt his heart skip a beat when Jonathan called him 'son'. Lionel called him that all the time, but it never really mattered much to him. In fact, he couldn't stand it. It felt different hearing Jonathan do it. "Yes. I…I think we should just start over.

Jonathan smiled. "I think that's a good idea," he said before extending his hand.

Lex immediately took the offered hand.

Jonathan let go after a second. "Well, I think I smell dinner. How about we go see if it's ready?"

Lex nodded and stood up. He felt Jonathan's arm drape over his shoulders and he smiled as they walked to the kitchen.