Author: LadybelletristTitle: The Reason for the Season
Pairing: Chloe/OliverWarnings/Spoilers: NoneDisclaimer: I don't own Smallville.
Feedback is like manna to my finicky muse! Please read and review!
A/N: Merry Christmas! Here's is hoping that you have a happy and healthy holiday!
"Wake up, sleepyhead," Oliver whispered in her ear.
As Chloe began to emerge from a sleep-induced fog, she detected the welcome scent of her favorite tea, mint. She opened her eyes blearily, only to close them immediately. The glare of the sunlight coming through the window was too much for her weary eyes. Too many late nights at the computer terminal were beginning to take its toll on Chloe. Turning her back to the window, Chloe cautiously attempted to open her eyes again, focusing on Oliver's handsome face. Ollie was sitting on the bed wearing a rueful smile and holding a mug in his hand.
"Morning, beautiful," he murmured.
Chloe frowned at Oliver in response to his cheerfulness, causing him to chuckle in amusement at her. He arched an eyebrow and offered her the mug.
"I bring a peace offering," he stated.
"Ollie," Chloe whined, "I need more sleep."
"Sorry, baby, but we have a tree shopping date with Lois and Clark today," he informed.
"We do?" Chloe queried in a disbelieving tone. "Did we lose a bet?" Chloe took the mug and breathed deeply of the aromatic tea. She took a cautious sip and sighed with happiness, Ollie had made it just right. He was a keeper!
Oliver watched Chloe as she drank her tea. He noticed lately that she had not been her usual snarky self, she was a bit melancholy. He knew that the holidays were a difficult time for many people, despite the outward glitz and goodwill that Christmas was famous for. Often, the holidays were a time that folks could be depressed and feel unable to express those emotions. His little petite blonde needed some cheering up and he was the man for the job. But first, he needed to get her up and out of the house.
Oliver sat down the edge of the bed and smiled at Chloe. He loved to just watch her and the play of emotions that ran across her expressive face.
Chloe became aware of the silence as Ollie just stared at her, and stopped drinking.
"What?" she inquired with a lift of an eyebrow.
"Nothing, Ollie responded. "Better get a move on, Chloe. Do you want Lois to be on the phone or better yet, showing up unannounced?"
"Oh God, no!" Chloe exclaimed with a grimace and a roll of her eyes. Chloe loved her cousin but Lois was a force of nature all to herself. She shuddered to think of the havoc that would ensue if Lois showed up unannounced. She sighed, took one last sip of her tea for fortification, and swung her legs to the side of the bed.
"Chloe, you don't have to look as if you are going to your execution. It IS just tree shopping," Oliver joked with an amused expression. He stood up and took her cup, giving her a light peck on the lips. "The bathroom and your shower await you," Oliver informed a pouting Chloe.
"Ollie…" Chloe whined.
"Now, baby. I'm going to call Lois and tell her that we are on our way," Ollie informed her in an amused tone. He gave Chloe another kiss, harder this time, enfolding her in his arms. Chloe responded immediately by encircling his neck with her arms and deepening the kiss. She felt her initial bad mood lifting a bit and snuggled closer to Ollie, enjoying the feel of his tall, muscular form against her much smaller frame. She didn't think she would ever quite get used to the fact that Oliver Queen loved her. After a lifetime of feeling second best, she finally had found a man who "got" her. They complimented each other.
"Chloe, don't start." Oliver chided. "Lois, remember? I, for one, do not relish being a recipient of her wrath. She has a killer right hook!" he remarked humorously as he broke off the kiss.
Chloe gave him her best pout, hoping that she could tempt him into playing some "indoor games".
"No, pouting, Professor," Oliver laughed.
"But, Ollie…." Chloe said in a sultry tone, hoping to distract him. "Why don't we tell Lois that we can do the tree shopping another day," she wheedled. "Perhaps tomorrow?" Chloe continued hopefully, looking up at him.
Oliver sighed, he knew something was wrong, but was also aware that Chloe kept things close. He pondered the situation for another minute or so, and came to a decision.
"Ok, baby," Oliver agreed.
"Thanks, Ollie", Chloe said with a grateful smile. "I'll call Lois and postpone until tomorrow," she continued, as she moved to retrieve her phone from the nightstand.
Oliver forestalled Chloe by grasping her wrist before she reached her cell. As Chloe turned to face him with a puzzled gaze, he smiled reassuringly and tilted his head towards the bathroom.
"You take your shower, and I will face the wrath of Lois," he offered. "How about I fix some breakfast? Or would you rather go out?"
Chloe frowned slightly and shook her head, "Let me see how I feel after the shower, ok?" With that, she went into the bathroom and closed the door with a distracted air. Almost immediately, Oliver heard the shower start. He stood in the middle of the floor with a puzzled look on his face. He knew something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Time to do a little detective work while Chloe was otherwise occupied.
As Oliver moved into his home office, he took out his cell and punched speed dial for Lois.
"Hey Oliver, what time should we meet?" Lois inquired.
"Lois, I'm canceling the tree shopping for today."
"Why…what is going on, Ollie?" Lois questioned. "I thought you wanted to do this, make things festive. Something is up….spill it, Queen!"
"I did…I do…and I thought Chloe did too, but something is wrong, Lois." Oliver paused to gather his thoughts. "At first, I thought it was just that she was working a bit too much, but now, I think that there is something more going on," he continued.
"Like what?" Lois inquired. "Chloe seemed a little distracted when we had lunch the other day, but I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary," she informed him.
"I don't know, Lois, but I am getting to the bottom of this," Oliver promised in a determined tone. "Chloe is in the bathroom right now, but she should be out very soon. We won't be joining you today, Lois, perhaps tomorrow, ok?"
"Ollie, don't let her sidestep your questions," Lois cautioned. "Also, you'd better call me when you find out what the problem is, Queen! Don't make me come over there!" With that pronouncement, Lois hung up the phone abruptly, leaving Oliver to ponder what was going on with his petite blonde.
Meanwhile, Chloe is in the bathroom perusing her own reflection, slightly aghast at how tired she looked.
"OMG, I look terrible!" Chloe complained. She leaned forward, peering into the mirror, hoping against hope that those dark circles would disappear. She sighed and decided to make the best of it. First, she had to shower and get dressed. She unbuttoned her pajama top and hung it on the hook directly behind her. She then pushed down the pants and bent slightly to step out of the pajama bottoms, when a wave of dizziness overtook her.
"Whoa…what the..," Chloe exclaimed in a shocked tone. She grabbed the edge of the sink and held on, hoping that the dizziness and slightly nauseous feeling would pass soon. She took some deep, calming breaths and made her way to the tub's edge and sat down. She hoped that she wasn't coming down with something. She hadn't been feeling quite herself lately, chalking it up to overwork and stress. As she sat there, she began to go over her current symptoms….
Swollen, tender breasts…check
Fatigued and tired…..check
Frequent urination…check
Food cravings…check
Chloe shook her head in denial. She couldn't be…could she?
"Chloe Sullivan….calm down," she admonished herself. "You could be experiencing those symptoms for more than that reason." Chloe refused to say the words that were pushing themselves to the forefront of her mind. It couldn't be. She wasn't ready. What would Oliver say? Chloe bit her lip and tried to think of a plan of action, but coherent thoughts eluded her. She sat on the tub's edge, frozen, unable to move. All her insecurities came rushing to the forefront, causing Chloe to doubt her ability to be a good mother. As Chloe rocked back and forth, trying to break the spell of her disturbing thoughts, there was a knock at the door. Chloe started, realizing that she had been in the bathroom for some time.
"Chloe, you ok?" Oliver's concerned tone got through to Chloe. She realized that unlike some many times before in her life, she had someone who truly loved her and was there to support her. She had Oliver, and that made all the difference in the world.
"I'll be out in a little bit, Ollie," she said. She knew that she had to find out if what she suspected was true, and that Ollie had to be a part of that. Since the dizziness had receded, Chloe felt more energetic. As she took her shower, she thought about how to talk to Ollie about the current turn of events. She couldn't say that she felt totally confident about the future, but she was experiencing a burgeoning happiness and resolved to hold that sense of peace and contentment close. She had always feared that she would end up like her mother, Moira, but now realized that her mother's story did not have to be her future. Chloe was so intent with her own thoughts, that until she felt the drafty air, she didn't realize that Ollie had entered the bathroom and was joining her in the shower.
"Hey there, Mr. Queen," Chloe said flirtatiously, reaching out to touch his muscled chest.
"Hey back, Mrs. Queen," Oliver responded with a concerned look in his eye. "What's up?" He lifted her chin and gazed into her eyes. "What is causing the shadows I saw in your eyes earlier?"
Chloe gazed into Oliver's eyes and smiled tremulously.
"Well, I have something to tell you…," Chloe began.
Oliver tilted his head, listening intently. Chloe linked her hands around his neck and drew him down to her height, and whispered in his ear. Oliver started, a huge grin breaking across his face. As Chloe's watched Oliver's apparent joy, her famous smile came out of hiding, illuminating her face. Oliver wrapped a bath towel around Chloe, sweeping her up into his arms and stepped out of the bathtub. He kissed her passionately, happier than he ever thought he could be.
"Oliver Queen…put me down…you are crazy!" Chloe laughed.
"That is right, crazy in love with my wife…" Oliver responded. He walked into their bedroom, cradling Chloe and gently laid her in the middle of the bed. He sat down beside her, undid the towel, and kissed her tenderly on the stomach, as Chloe ran her hands through his hair.
"I can't believe…how far along…" Oliver questioned. He raised his head to meet Chloe's eye, gazing at her soberly.
"It hasn't been confirmed yet, Ollie." Chloe noticed that Oliver's enjoyment of their possible news had dampened somewhat. "What is wrong, Ollie?"
"Chloe, I never thought I would ever be a …well, I'm not sure I would be any good at it," he confessed.
"Oliver Queen, you will be GREAT at it, just like you are everything else." Chloe admonished with a raised eyebrow.
"Chloe, what do I really know about having a family? I've basically been an orphan for most of my life," he confessed in a hushed tone.
"Ollie…you protect and defend those you love," Chloe stated quietly. "You have a sense of humor and the ridiculous that helps me to calm down when I am experiencing my lil freak outs." Chloe stroked Oliver's arm with her hand, attempting to soothe his fears. "I trust you with my life, Ollie." "Don't doubt yourself," She continued in a confident tone.
At her words, Oliver caressed her cheek and kissed her tenderly, overwhelmed by the love and trust shining through her eyes. Oliver felt his anxiety lessen and his thoughts immediately turned to Chloe's welfare.
"I am going to call Emil and have him examine you immediately," Oliver pronounced. "I want to make sure that everything is okay.
Chloe smiled and forestalled Oliver's attempts to make his call.
"First, I think that my husband and I should celebrate the fact that we are incredibly happy with even more happiness in our future," Chloe declared, interspersing her words with kisses of increasing intensity.
"But what about Emil...?"
"Later, Ollie…"
"But….Chloe."
"Shut up, Mr. Queen and let your wife seduce you," Chloe murmured.
"Merry Christmas, Mr. Queen."
"Merry Christmas, Mrs. Queen," Oliver whispered.
As Chloe and Oliver succumbed to their mutual passion, their last thought was this: the reason for the season is love.
The End