One Second Chance

Pairings: Oliver/Tess & Clark/Lois

Summary: Oliver always thought that one second chance could change everything between he and Tess. He will soon find out how right he was but can he figure out a way to save the woman he loves before her time runs out?

Author's Note: I hope that you enjoy this story. It is a little brainchild of mine. My usual Tess/Ollie stories are one-shots. At first that's all this was going to be but then it just kept evolving. I have drawn some inspiration from the Christmas movie Three Days starring Kirsten Davis and Reed Diamond. It's one of my all-time favorites but it's an older TV movie. I am not sure how many of you have seen it. If you have... you'll have some idea where I am going with this and if you haven't... just read to find out!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

The smells of the hospital were something that she had become familiar with over the last several years of her life. It was not just the smells of disinfectant that were trying to mask the smell of sickness that could never be erased from the air but all of the noises, too. The hustle and bustle of the nurses and the doctors passing files between them and talking always got on her nerves.

But it was when they were talking in hushed whispers only a few feet away and glancing back at you to check on your wellbeing that was the hardest on her nerves. That always meant bad news.

"Hey…" The sound of his voice off to her left caused her to look up. Clark was standing before her with his sleeves pushed passed his elbows, his tie loose, and holding two Styrofoam cups. He offered her one when as he came closer to her and leaned against the wall.

"Hey," Lois took the cup. "Thanks."

"No problem." He said slowly before glancing through the glass window to see the two figures inside.

He furrowed his brow and a pained expression crossed his blue eyes.

Lois stared down into the murky brown liquid she held in her hand now and sighed just a little. The silence hung between the engaged couple. It was filled with apprehension, tension, fear, and the little bit of hope that refused to dissolve.

Clark moved his eyes back to Lois after a few very long moments. She kept staring into her cup of coffee without having taken a sip once. Her hair was messed, her clothes were wrinkled, and both were haunted by not only the suddenness of the situation but the weight of having to be the ones that told Oliver about it.

They had to be the bearers of bad news but as soon as he heard he had tried to fight through not just Lois but also Clark to get to her. Only when he knew he would simply get in the doctors' way did he calm down. Remembering the situation sent a chill down Clark's spine. He had never seen his best friend like that before. By the quiet and disturbed expression on his fiancé's face he knew that she was lost in those same thoughts about Oliver, about everything.

He shook his head to be rid of the memories that were too fresh to process and glanced away from Lois toward the people at the end of the hall. He saw the doctor talking to a nurse quietly and they both kept glancing back at the two young reporters.

"Has the doctor said anything?"

Lois looked up at him. "What?"

Clark nodded toward the doctor. "Has he said anything yet?"

Lois followed his eyes, "Nope."

She wished that she had the energy to get pissed off about the fact that they had not been told anything yet. Lois just did not have it in her. Besides, Oliver had already given them an ear full when they had decided that he could not go in to see her. Lois figured that she did not really need to add to anything he said to make sure the point was clear, doctors were idiots with god complexes who should be very afraid of the power that Oliver Queen wielded.

Clark interrupted her thoughts again. "I just wish… I mean, maybe if I had gone with her or something that it wouldn't have happened. I could have protected her from it. I just think I could've—"

Lois snapped her head up to him and stood immediately. "Hey, you listen to me. There is nothing you could have done for her. This was just a freak accident. And we will find the son of a bitch that did this to her."

She touched her hand to his face to make sure he looked her in the eye. "Do you understand me? We will find the person that ran her down."

Clark smiled sadly. "Do you think that the person did it on purpose?"

Lois shook her head. "I don't know. It is certainly a possibility. She's got a lot of enemies. We all do. It's something we need to look into. Either way, on purpose or on accident it was not something they are getting away with."

Clark was about to speak again but noticed that the doctor started to make his way to them. "Lois…"

She turned her head and looked over her shoulder. Lois saw the man in the white lab coat walking closer and closer. She turned away from Clark but leaned back against his chest as he put his hands on her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze.

"Are the two of you here for Tess Mercer?"

"Yes, Doctor. We are. How is she?" Clark asked with a dignified grace and authority that Lois could not manage at this moment.

"She's in critical condition. There has been significant damage done internally. "He started slowly. Lois took a deep breath in as she prepared for whatever came next.

"Now, we have done the best we can to stop the bleeding and for the moment that is stable. However, she sustained head injuries we won't be able to diagnose or even begin to understand until she wakes up."

Clark nodded his head. "When will that be?"

The doctor adjusted the file he held in his hands. The sympathetic look on his face gave Clark a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Well… Tess is in a coma. We aren't able to speculate how long it will last."

"Typically… how long does this last?" Lois asked with an edge to her voice. "I want an answer."

"It could be a few days… few weeks or a few months… or as long as a few years or she may never come out of it."

Lois stepped closer. "You go to school for years. You make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. You walk around this city like you are a gift from heaven. I ask you to answer one simple question and you tell me that this coma could last as little to a few days or as long as the rest of her natural life? Well duh, doctor those are the only options! So why don't you take your pencil pushing ass somewhere very far away from me and think of something a little bit more educated to tell me when you come back or you will be in a hospital bed very soon."

"Miss, I understand that this is a very difficult time for you but it won't help to threaten me." The doctor replied.

Lois raised an eyebrow at him and lowered her voice. "It seems you have misunderstood me. That was not a threat. It was a promise."

Clark saw that the doctor, apparently under the impression Lois was just another upset friend like the ones he probably encountered daily, opened his mouth to speak again but he interrupted. "Doctor, I think you should leave."

The doctor glanced between the two and then nodded his head. "I will be back soon to check on the patient."

He turned and walked away.

"If you're as smart as you think you are then you'll come back with an actual answer!" Lois yelled after him.

Clark put his hands on her shoulders. "Lois, you have to calm down. We're not going to help Oliver or Tess very much acting like that."

Lois let out a breath and began to sit down on the chair outside the patient room. Clark sat down next to her.

After a moment Lois spoke. "Fine but if he comes back with the same lame-ass generic answer then you have to promise me that I can deck that Doogie Howser wannabe."

Clark managed to laugh despite the circumstances. He put his arm around Lois' shoulders as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I promise."

The silence settled on them again as their thoughts travelled to the couple on the other side of the wall the chairs were set up against. Not only were they worried about what would happen to the woman that had become an integral member of their little superhero team but had managed to become a very important friend… they were worried about the man that loved her once upon a time.

And they really worried that he would never get the chance to say he still did.

End of Chapter 1.

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