Misconceptions
Chloe stood in line to check-out, glancing once again at her basket full of long rectangular boxes, each one proclaiming "Earliest Results" or "Most Accurate", plus signs, pink lines, digital read outs, she had them all. She sat her shopping basket on the counter for the clerk to scan the items and blushed when the young man raised one curious eyebrow at her purchases. Buying one test would have been one thing, but a hundred bucks worth, really? She could even understand buying two or three, just to be sure, but this many?
She impatiently tapped her foot as the clerk slowly rang each box up. She was going to kill Lois when she got home. She had offered to help her cousin out, by going to the local pharmacy and buying what she was too afraid to buy, something about the possibility of running into Clark in a town as small as Smallville.
"Buy as many as you can get your hands on," Lois hissed at her cousin, shoving a hundred dollar bill into the shocked blonde's hand.
"Lois, are you sure you need that many? I mean, if two or three say positive, I don't think you're going to find one that will say negative," Chloe told her sympathetically.
"I don't care, buy them all if you have to," Lois told her, tears brimming in her eyes.
The younger woman just sighed before exiting the Talon's apartment and heading for the corner pharmacy.
Chloe was seriously starting to think this clerk had it out for her, I mean seriously, it can't take sixty seconds a box to ring up her basket, could it? Did he have to look so closely at each box? Pervert.
Once every little box was safely sitting in a plastic bag, he totaled her purchase. She handed him the crisp hundred that Lois had given her. As he was reaching for it, a loud blast startled her. She jumped and spun to find a black masked figure standing in the doorway, with another figure on each side of him. He held a smoking handgun up in the air, quickly gaining everyone's attention.
Of course, that's just my luck, thought Chloe. It always happened to her.
"Alright, everyone, you know the drill, I want your money, your valuables, jewelry, what ever ya got, now, and maybe no one will get hurt," the middle man spoke, his voice low and husky, probably in an effort to disguise it.
Chloe slipped her hand in her purse and punched the speed dial number, knowing it would be Oliver's and hoping he could at least get a hold of Bart or Clark, someone who could get to Smallville quickly.
"Lady! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Mr. Husky barked at her, grabbing her arm roughly and ripping her purse out of her hands. "You wouldn't be trying to play hero, now would you?"
The masked man dumped her purse out and picked up her phone.
"Naughty girl," he told her before dropping her phone to the ground and stomping on it, obliterating it into tiny pieces. Chloe cringed, remembering how much that phone had cost.
The shorter of the two accomplices grabbed her wallet and opened it up, fishing out her credit cards and cash then laughed out loud, holding one card up for his buddy to see.
"Look what we have here," he told Mr. Husky, holding up the Platinum card she forgot she still had.
"Oh, boy," Mr. Husky said, eyeing the card. "Oliver J. Queen, huh?" he asked while looking around in her wallet, pulling out a small picture of her and Oliver that Clark had taken at the Smallville fair months ago. "Boys, we just hit pay dirt!" he called out enthusiastically.
"Even better, boss," Shorty said, pulling out one of the tests she had bought.
Mr. Husky just laughed.
"How much do you think Mr. Queen is willing to pay for his girl and kid, boys?" Husky asked.
Chloe's eyes widened when she realized what they had planned. They were going to use her for ransom! And they thought she was pregnant… Oliver was going to flip…
Chloe opened her mouth to set them straight but closed it as soon as she realized how lame any excuse was going to be. Those aren't mine, they're for a friend. That had to be the lamest excuse, though this time it was actually true. They wouldn't believe her, and if they thought she was pregnant, maybe they wouldn't be as rough on her; after all, they wouldn't get as much if they caused her to lose the baby. Deciding silence was the best option, she kept her mouth shut.
"Hey! I'm hurt, I didn't get an invitation to this little soiree," came a familiar synthesized voice. Chloe glanced up in relief when she recognized the green leather-clad individual who stood in the doorway of the pharmacy, arrows trained on the three robbers. Suddenly, a cold metal cylinder was pressed against her temple.
"Now, now, Mr. Arrow, we don't want anyone to get hurt," Husky spoke up.
"Why don't you put down the gun and pick on someone your own size," Green Arrow taunted.
"I don't think so. Why don't you put down your little arrows and move… unless you want to explain to Mr. Queen why his girl and baby don't make it out of here alive."
Chloe saw Oliver freeze, his arrow tilting slightly in shock. She couldn't see his eyes to be sure, but by the slight movement of his head, she was pretty sure he was glancing towards the bag full of pregnancy tests on the counter. She closed her eyes, thinking, just shoot me now. She was going to have a lot of explaining to do when this was over.
"Much better," Shorty said while Husky pressed the gun harder into her head. Before she could even guess what would happen next, a blur and a whoosh of air passed by her and she found herself standing alone. She glanced to her left and found the three assailants tied and unconscious. Clark, she thought, turning once more to face Oliver. Before she could say anything, the other shoppers and clerk's rushed in to thank the Green Arrow for saving the day.
The police were making their way into the store before Ollie snapped back to himself. He ran past her and out the back employee entrance. Chloe just sighed and took her bag full of tests. She quickly answered all of the cops' questions before finally making her way out onto the dark street and turning towards the Talon.
She made it a full two blocks before a dark figure jumped out of an alley and snagged her around the waist, pulling her into the darkness. She opened her mouth to scream but a leather clad hand clamped down before she could.
"Shh… it's just me," a synthesized whisper sounded in her ear. Chloe turned to face Oliver and Clark, who was standing behind him.
"Are you okay, Chloe?" her dark-haired friend asked, worry lacing every word.
"Yeah, I just had a minor heart attack!" she hissed at him, glaring at Oliver for sneaking up on her. Green Arrow ripped off his glasses and pushed his hood back.
"Chloe, are you okay, did he hurt you? What happened in there? Do you need me to call Emil?" Oliver stumbled over his words, worry and confusion etched in the planes of his face. His hand drifted down to her stomach.
Chloe pushed his hand away, opening her mouth to tell him it was all a big misunderstanding, but her words froze when her gaze caught Clark's. She couldn't very well explain that the tests were Lois's with Clark standing right there so she settled for answering his questions first.
"Yes, I'm fine. No, he didn't hurt me, and no, I don't need Emil. I just need to get back to the Talon. Lois is waiting for me," she told him, trying to walk past him. She hoped he would just let her go, but tonight was just not her night.
"No! You're not going to the Talon. I don't care if Lois is waiting, call her and tell her you're coming home with me. I think we need to talk," he told her angrily.
"Ollie, I can't… it's… it's really important that I get back there," she hissed at him.
He grabbed one of the tests out of her bag.
"Is this why it's so important? Don't you think if anyone should be with you tonight, it's me?" he demanded.
Chloe just sighed; this really wasn't going like she had hoped.
"Look, Oliver, please, can we just talk tomorrow? I'll call you first thing, I promise," she asked, praying he would think she needed time and let it go, but she should have known how stubborn Oliver Queen could be.
"Not a chance, I'm not letting you run off. We are going to face this together," he told her, one hand cupping her face lovingly while the other once again found its way to her stomach. She looked up at Clark and noticed he looked slightly uncomfortable. She knew he would be no help.
"Oh, for Pete's sake! Oliver, I'm not pregnant, okay, now please, let me go," she told him, trying once again to move past him. He stopped her yet again.
"Then what the hell are these for?" he asked, showing her the pregnancy test.
"They're for a friend," she told him, knowing where this was going.
"A friend, huh? Chloe, the only people you hang out with are the guys and… oh… oh…" he trailed off as he finally seemed to understand. He turned an amused gaze to Clark just as their words seemed to dawn on the alien. Oliver laughed as all the color seemed to drain from Clark's face.
"You know what; I think I'm going to finish my patrol. I'll swing by tomorrow morning and pick you up for breakfast and we can… talk. How's that sound?" he asked, turning his attention back to Chloe. She just sighed; glad to finally be on the same page but dreading Lois's reaction to all of this.
"Sounds good, Ollie, thanks," she told the Emerald Archer, rising up to peck him on the lips. "By the way, I'm proud of you. For saying we'd handle it together, not running off scared. You've grown up," she told him with a smile.
"Not that there's anything to handle, right?" he asked hesitantly.
"Right, but just knowing how you would react is a plus," she told him with a smirk.
"Alright, see you tomorrow. Later Boyscout," he said, slapping his quiet friend on the back before replacing his glasses and hood. He took out his grapple line and shot it into the sky before zipping away.
"Alright, Chloe, let's go back to the Talon," Clark told her, taking a hold of her arm and pulling her out of the alley.
"Oh, no you don't. You are not coming with me," she told him, trying to free her arm.
"Yes, I am," he told her, his voice firm and leaving no room for argument as he dragged her down the street towards Lois's apartment. Chloe sighed again.
I should have let the guy kidnap me, she thought as Clark dragged her up the stairs of the Talon, bag of tests firmly in hand.
A/N: Just a little one-shot that wouldn't leave me alone… I had a lot of fun writing this and imagining Oliver's thoughts and reactions… just a little goofy fun! I'm thinking about doing a companion piece for Clois… let me know what you think… interest and I probably will. :)