A/N: This is a tag for 'Patriot' 10.9. Follow-up to 'Things of Past, Present, and Future'. Contains semi-spoilers. Sorry if they come off a bit OOC... I couldn't grasp Mera's characterization for some reason. She was just so... idk. lol I figured the Surfer dude attitude was tamed now that he was a married man, and seems to be much more mature than the last time we saw him, which is why I wrote him this way. Let me just say 'Hubba Hubba, AC is HOT!' LOL Enjoy:)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. zilch. zip. nada. They all belong to their respective owners.

One Step Closer

As Chloe watched the dolphins dance with each other through the looking glass a smile crept onto her face. They were so care-free and so at ease, with no worries for the outer world and the current chaos it was in. To be honest she was kind of jealous at the fact that they had this sense of peace in their lives when her life had pretty much ripped apart at the seams. She wasn't one to be bitter about life and all its unfair and fairness, if anything she had come to accept the fact that you never really get as much as you give. It was a universal truth she had learned long ago and there was nothing anyone could do but make the best of what they have. So no, she wasn't bitter, just completely and utterly tired. Tired of how every time something good happened to her a higher power thought it would be awesome to test her. That's why she left, that's why she concocted a plan, because there were too many loose ends and as long as they were left that way things would never fall into place. So part of her plan was to make sure all the pieces would fit by the time the bigger picture needed to be put together.

"Chloe?"

She turned around at the sound of her name and greeted the people who now stood in front of her with a genuine smile. The tall tanned man grinned at her while the leggy red-head just stared, unsure of how to go about her. She stepped forward as the handsome man detached himself from the beautiful red-head and walked towards Chloe to give her a friendly hug.

"It's good to see you again, Chloe," he spoke into her hair.

She stepped back and smiled up at him, "It's good to see you too, AC."

AC smiled and turned to extend his arm out, signaling the red-head to come stand next to him. Once she reached him he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and said, "Chloe, this is my wife, Mera." The petite blonde smiled and extended her hand in greeting. "Mera, this is Chloe, she's Watchtower."

The woman glanced up at AC before she extended her hand and shook Chloe's, "Nice to finally meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Chloe said while pulling away her hand from the red-head's. "So… you're married? Congratulations," she continued.

He smiled down at her then turned and stared into the red-head's eyes lovingly, "Thank you."

She felt a slight heaviness in her chest, the way AC was currently looking at his wife reminded her of the looks Oliver would give her. AC turned to look at her and she noticed the slight blush on his tanned face.

"Sorry," he apologized and smiled sheepishly. She knew he didn't really mean it but was trying to be courteous and considerate.

"No need to be," she said with a small chuckle. He just grinned while Mera looked a little confused. Arthur asked, "What are you doing in Florida?" he then grew serious, "Wait, why aren't you in Metropolis? Better yet, why was it that when I synced my communicator back into Watchtower a red-head named Tess seemed to be in charge? Chloe, what's going on?"

Her smile fell and she swallowed hard. She cleared her throat and said, "It's complicated… things are complicated right now." AC furrowed his eyebrows and realized it must be something serious and huge if Chloe wasn't back home with Clark and Oliver. His face soften, she left to protect them.

Arthur turned to Mera, "Can you give us some time alone?" She opened her mouth but he cut her off, "Please." The red-head stared at him and nodded. Mera turned and walked out the door of the underwater lab.

He turned to look at her and studied her for a while. A smile tugged the side of his mouth. "You found me." She tilted her head in confusion and he chuckled. He side-stepped her and motioned with his head to follow him. They walked down the glass corridor and entered another room equipped with high tech computers. AC went to stand in front of the main monitor, punched in several codes and started pulling up the information he had on his latest mission and copied them onto a flash drive.

He turned and handed it to Chloe. She looked at the drive in his hand then up at him before taking it. "I'm saving you the trouble of hacking my system later on," he explained with a grin. She shook her head and let out a small laugh. "I know that it was you who found me and put me back on the grid so that stand-in Watchtower could locate me faster. I also know it was you who sent me that legit lead I 'stumbled' upon a few weeks back," he stared at her, studying her reactions to what he was saying, "whatever is going on must be big if you're on your own and not back in Metropolis. Chloe, whatever this is, the team-"

"I have a plan," she cut him off, "I have a plan and I'm not on my own, I have help. You're right…" she nodded, "this is big and before you go thinking that I know everything that happened or is about to happen, I don't. I know enough and that's all I'm going by but everything else I have no idea how it will go down. Yes, I put you back on the grid, because I knew sooner or later Oliver or Clark would need you." She looked up at him with a small sad smile. "The team needs to come together now more than ever, you will all need each other in order to survive whatever it is that is coming. You're all a team, a family, and when the darkest hour comes you all need to realize that you can go to each other."

"You're part of that family, Chloe." She shook her head and said, "No, not currently I'm not. Right now, I'm just an Outsider looking in."

"Chloe-,"

"Look AC, I know what you're trying to do and say… and I appreciate it, but as of now, I'm not a part of the team. All I came here for was to ask you to trust Oliver and Clark. They've never let you down, so just trust them and also follow your instincts; you're much smarter than you give yourself credit for."

Arthur had a tormented expression on his face. He wanted to keep pushing the issue but at the same time he knew he had to trust her, she's always had his back and not once steered him wrong. He swallowed hard and nodded. "I do trust them, I also trust you," she opened her mouth to retaliate but he raised his hand, "before you go saying anything else… I trust you too. You've always protected my secret, just like you have the rest of the League's. I don't care what you say, you're one of us… and you'll always be Watchtower. This plan of yours…" he trailed off.

"It's bulletproof. Once I've gone through all the steps then I will go back, probably not in the way people expect me to but I will go back… I'm happy for you." This time it was his turn to tilt his head in confusion and she chuckled. 'You and Mera, I'm happy for you. It's good to see that the some of us can lead as much a normal life as we can. It gives me hope." AC gave her a small sad smile; he had gotten the spark notes version of her and Oliver from Lois.

"I'm sure things will fall into place once you go back." She gave him a tight smile and thought, 'I hope so.' She didn't feel like getting into that topic right now. And as much as she wanted to ask him how he knew, it was easier to think that maybe Oliver told him but knowing that he was hurting it was likely that it was something he also didn't talk about. Clark really never ventured into her relationship with Ollie so that left Lois.

"I should be going, there's other things I need to do before…" she trailed off. He stepped closer and gave her a warm hug. "If you need us, you know where to find us," he said.

"Take care of yourself."

"You too," she took a step back from him, smiled and side-stepped him making her way towards the exit. Once she reached it, Chloe turned and said, "Don't-." "I won't say a word," he reassured her. "Thanks… I guess I'll be seeing you, soon," she grinned at him and turned to walk out the door.

"I hope so," he spoke to an empty room. AC felt two arms snake around his torso and he turned in them, he looked down at Mera and kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes and smiled at the gesture. He wrapped his arms around her and she pulled back a bit to look up at him.

"You trust her."

He stared into her eyes and recalled a question she had asked Clark when he had showed up.

"Remember how you asked Clark who would protect us?" she nodded and he continued, "Chloe has protected us and our secrets for so long, so yes I trust her. Just like I trust Clark will protect us when the time comes, but that time isn't here yet. So if anyone is trying to protect us now, I believe it's her."

"Okay… okay." She pulled him closer and he tightened his arms around her. He knew that if anyone could tie all the loose ends the team had, it was her. After all she had been the one that had brought them back together once, if anyone could do it again, it was Chloe. So he was going to play his part and he was going to follow what Clark and Oliver were doing. After all, they were a team, a family –with issues- but a family nonetheless, and if their darkest hour was coming then he needed to be there, for all of their sakes.

They were all one step closer.