Pieces

Perilous

A/N: I don't own Smallville or any characters and places in the DC universe. Nor do I own the episodes that these chapters are based on and contained from.

I also don't claim to be a writer. My inspiration is simply to get a creative outlet going.

I only own Tyla Nevin and what pertains to her character story.

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The wind howled against the windowpane, rapping loudly enough for the billionaire to wake up. He squeezed his eyes shut and glanced over at his watch. Three in the morning; not even coffee shop owners were up to start the day. Especially on a weekend. Lex stretched out, only to feel an empty space next to him. He shuffled against the king-sized mattress and turned around. He frowned, looking into the darkness to see if light under the cracks of the doors to either the master bathroom or the closet would give away her position. Instead, it was just more shadows and obscurity. Could his blonde beauty have moved back to her own bedroom? Highly unlikely but still, he felt the need to check. He groggily got up and put on some sweats. A part of him didn't care about the indecency but Murphy's law dictated that it would be that moment when Clark or someone would barge in unannounced. He padded over to Tyla's old room and slowly opened the door. "Tyla?" He croaked out, only to find the room empty. He sighed, silently worried in his search for her.

Half-asleep, he noticed as he closed the door that the lights down the stairs to the lower floor have been on. He walked over, inclining his head to the right to see that not only the lights down the vast hall were on but he could find a small glimmer from the dining room. The lights were on everywhere, as if it was a lit-up trail. He blinked; his eyes adjusted to the bright illumination as he walked down the steps. Eventually, the lighted path led him to the kitchen where he found Tyla, still clad in her red and pink pajamas in front of the sink. In her hand was an empty glass, her eyes lowered at the turned-on faucet. She didn't realize that Lex was watching her stare at the water falling down the drain. Once again, if he was not worried, he would have been amused at her nightly adventure. "Honey," he said as softly as he could. His voice still had raspy undertones. "Is there a reason why the lights are on everywhere?" He cautiously walked to her side and took the glass to fill it up with cold water. He took a small sip and waited for her to acknowledge him.

"I-I just wanted my presence known," she whispered. She wasn't a sleep-walker. Or a sleep-talker. Hell, she was more likely to have insomnia since her brush with death. Instead, she found herself more in a sleepy daze regardless of the day....or night.

Lex chuckled, tiredly. "Oh, it's known," he assured her. He reached out next to him and flicked the lights off. From the corner of his eye, he saw Tyla flinch. She wasn't afraid of the dark; it was a symptom of recent events. "Hey..." he comforted. "Nothing is going to happen. It's over. Come back to bed."

"Does it get easier?" Tyla asked, still frozen on the spot. 

Lex noted that she looked rather cold. "Does what get easier?" He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him as she took the glass of water from his hand.

"Having a normal life." 

Another tired chuckled escaped the man's lips. "Ty, you're in a relationship with me. Nothing will ever be easy or normal." Realizing that these words were more dismissing than comforting for the young woman, he added. "But...yes, you will come out of this. Don't worry." He coaxed her back towards their bedroom as she cupped the glass of water between her hands. As they passed the rooms, Lex turned off the lights behind him. Shannon's assault proved too much for her. He knew that. He had increased security for her sake so that she was able to come and go from work in peace. He wanted to do anything he could to help her. Since she was going to therapy for this, he was even inclined to go if some of her nervousness was caused by him. As much as she assured him that it was the trauma of the kidnapping, she was still listless.

They had just settled into the bed when Tyla spoke again. "Did Helen deal with this?"

Lex couldn't help but cringe at the mention of his ex-wife. He didn't want to talk about this. "Helen is a different story," he said, tensely.

Tyla thought for a moment as she drank from her glass. "But did she deal with Smallville like....?" She couldn't really form the words. She couldn't completely articulate her thought, but he knew what she was trying to say.

"She didn't care that much to be in my life," he recalled. "Not like you do, so it merits being in the limelight a little more. Not that it is bad. It was just that her best interests were for herself and not for...."us."" She relaxed a bit as Lex continued to speak. "I won't let anyone come and take you, Ty. You're safe with me." Tyla stopped herself for a fraction of a section and then curled against Lex. Without hesitation, he leaned back and wrapped his arms around her. "I'll even keep watch, okay?" He pulled her close to him as she rested against his chest. He could already feel her falling asleep as he ran his fingers through her dirty blonde locks, lulling himself back to sleep.