He tried to lift himself from the leather sofa, but was greeted by an all too familiar touch. Her hand rested lithely on his bare chest, reigniting the fever he had been suffering from for the last 24 hours. Unfortunately for him, the heart monitor gave away the effect her touch still had on him. She mistook the sudden spike in his heart rate and pushed gently against him coaxing him back into the small sofa.
"Oliver, you should rest." Despite the effort he knew she was putting forth to hide it, the fear was seeping through her careful words. Suddenly the guilt slammed into him harder than the needle Davis had recently plunged into his heart. Once more he was the reason her eyes were clouded with worry and sorrow and he couldn't resist the urge to reach for her hand.
She shook off his attempt at reassurance and turned to her cousin who was awkwardly thanking Davis and saying her goodbyes. "Hey, Chlo. You think you could watch Romeo over here… I've got some work to catch up on back at the Planet. Thanks you're the best." Her request ran together with her goodbyes not giving Chole or Oliver a chance to object. Before Lois spoke the last word she was already frantically pushing the button in the elevator, watching the doors close on a dumbfounded Davis and Chole.
"What was all that about?" Davis reached his hand to his creased forehead suddenly realizing headaches would be a common occurrence among this crowd.
Chloe waved off her cousin's behavior simply promising, "I'll tell you later, but I should probably be checking on Oliver. I wouldn't want Lois to think I'm slacking, she can be very ruthless."
"You don't say."
Suddenly the light-hearted mood vanished and Chloe looked at Davis with a very sincere expression. "Davis, I don't know how to thank you. I've hardly known you two weeks and you've already come to my rescue more times than I can count."
"You seem like the kind of person who deserves to be rescued, Chloe. I'll be in touch."
Disappearing into the same elevator Lois had just used for her own escape Chloe watched Davis wave her goodbye until the doors slide into place. Focusing her attention back to the office she was surprised to see the sofa empty with the blanket carefully folded and placed neatly at the end. "Oliver?"
Instead of a response, she was greeted by Oliver emerging from the bathroom drying off the last drops of water from his face. "Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you or anything. I just felt pretty gross."
"I guess having a fever for a couple hours can have that effect." She could see the strength returning to his frame with each passing second but couldn't help but wonder, "Oliver, are you sure you're all right? You don't have to be a hero… at least not at this very moment."
"Good as new." He flashed her his trademark billionaire grin as he finished buttoning his shirt. "I can stay, if you want me to. I would understand if you think Lois would get upset with you for letting me go."
"I'll just tell her you disappeared out a window while I wasn't looking. Plus, I don't think she'll be looking to drop by until she gets the all clear."
His face fell at her last words, "That bad, huh?"
"She almost had to watch you die, Oliver. That kind of thing can really tug on a girls heart strings. She'd never admit it, but Lois can be just as fragile as the rest of us."
"I know. I know…" His thought trailed off into a sigh. "I never wanted her to go through this… to see this part of my life."
"That's Lois for you. Even when you do everything to keep her out, she pushes her way in." Chloe could see the struggle behind his eyes. He was torturing himself, much the same way she imagined Clark had tortured himself over Lana every time she was forced to face something ugly because of the destiny that clung to him. "Don't worry about her, Oliver. She's strong… she'll be over here in a couple days bossing me and Clark around just like old times."
"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Chloe. I guess I owe you one."
"You're welome."
"Now you want to turn around while I escape through the window." He gave her a wink and she smiled as she turned and listened as the drapes began to blow in the breeze. When she turned back, seconds later, the window was open spilling fresh air into the damp office and Oliver was no where to be seen.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Lane?" Lois typed furiously on her computer keys, talking to herself in the dimly lit bullpen of the Daily Planet. "Of course you felt all those feelings come rushing to the surface. He almost died. It's totally natural to question your choices when faced with that kind of finality."
She gave up on the story she told herself would take her mind off recent events and leaned back into her chair. "Get a grip, Lois. You're talking to your computer. Next step, insane asylum."
"That's quite a leap," Oliver emerged from the shadow he had been silently occupying for the last couple minutes, "I always thought it was therapy and then asylum."
"Back to your old self already. Good to know." Lois hid her surprise under her anger and turned from Oliver and stood up to walk back to the file cabinet. She didn't know what she would look for once she got there, but knew that looking back at him was a bad idea in her fragile state of mind.
"Lois," he had always had such a distinct way of calling her name. She used to love to hear him say it, but know it felt like a knife in the heart. "Lois, I wanted to thank you."
She continued digging aimlessly through the cabinet focusing her attention on the names scrawled on the files, anything to keep her focus from his eyes. "Don't mention it. It's not like I could let a hero die in good conscious. It was practically my civic duty to be there." She liked how that sounded, detached and uninvolved. In reality, she knew her heart would disagree with her statement. She had been by his side for completely selfish reasons and if she wasn't able to lie to herself, at least she could lie to him.
Fishing a stack of files out of the cabinet she turned with the intent of bee lining straight for her desk. Unfortunately he had silently moved to stand nearly right behind her and when she turned, head down and files in hand, she ran right into him sending her files tumbling to the ground.
"Oh great! Seriously, this day couldn't get any worse." She bent down to retrieve the now jumbled papers ignoring the jolt of electricity his touch had sent working it's way through her body.
Oliver bent, "Let me help you." He could see the obvious effort Lois was putting into keeping her eyes on the files and away from him.
Lois evaded his glances and stood, half the papers in hand and dropped the mess onto her already messy desk. Oliver followed her lead and placed his neatly stacked pile on top of hers.
Unable to avoid it any longer, Lois looked at Oliver pushing back the urge to feel his arms around her. "You should probably go. I don't want to get in trouble for having a civilian in here after hours."
"I'm friends with the boss." He carefully dogged her attempt at forcing him out.
Lois mumbled something unintelligible under her breath. "Figures, if it's not black-leather clad blondes it's fiery red headed editors. You've really got the whole billionaire bachelor thing down, Ollie."
That was the first time he had heard her call him Ollie since they had been dating. It sent a mosaic of memories rushing through his mind. "I've never really been into red-heads."
"Seriously, I've got a lot of work to do. Not to mention the fact that now I have to organize all that before the morning. You said your thank you so… that's it."
She crossed her arms over her chest partly to prove her point and partly to keep her arms from reaching out to him. Despite her dismissive attitude, Oliver made no move to leave. Instead he pulled her chair from her desk and sat himself down, never taking his eyes from hers. Lois again jumped to the wrong conclusion potentially betraying her true feelings. "Ollie, are you feeling alright? Should I call Davis?"
She had already started to fumble through her purse for her phone before he could reassure her. "Lois, I'm fine, please don't call Davis. I'm not a fan of the whole 'huge needle through the chest' experience. Once is good for me."
He instantly regretted joking about his previous predicament when he saw the fury ignite behind her eyes. "Then what the hell are you doing in my chair? Seriously, Oliver, was it not enough for you to hear that watching you nearly die almost killed me. What… do you want to stick around to see how much these last few hours tore me up inside?"
He hadn't expected her to unleash such a flurry of emotion, he had mostly expected her to simply punch him or push him down the stairs. Honesty was the last thing he expected and it was far more painful than tumbling down dozens of stairs or a punch in the face. He rested his face in his hands, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm so sorry." His voice cracked at the last word and he took in a ragged breath grasping for composure. Slowly he lifted his head, directing the full force of his eyes on her. "I know that will probably never be enough, but you have to know that I am sorry."
She could see how he was beating himself up, and despite the pain she felt herself she cared too much for the man before her to let him go on living under such crushing guilt. "I know you are. I didn't mean to be so harsh; I just got scared but no biggie." She was doing her best to sound flippant, but it came out more like a forced speech. She could tell he wasn't buying it, so she put everything she had left into her next few words. "Ollie, we aren't together anymore so it's not your job to worry about me. If it's hard for me, let me handle it. You have too many people depending on you and I will not take you away from that. I will not be the girl that denied the world their hero."
"Lois."
"No, Ollie. Please, I want you to know their can never be any reason for you to apologize to me."
Her speech had nearly drained the remaining energy she was using to keep herself upright. Once she finished she reached for the edge of her desk, sitting on an empty corner and realized how much closer she was to him. He was still starring at her, his expression blank but something burning just beneath the surface.
"Why do you have to be such a martyr, Lois?" He sounded angry. At least, she thought, he wasn't depressed and moody but where had this sudden change come from.
"What?" She thought she sounded a little angry also, but was still bewildered by the sudden change in atmosphere.
"You're so willing to sacrifice your own happiness, but did you even think about mine?"
"I'm… confused." Yes, that was right. It was the only thing she could think to say.
"You might be willing to live without me if it means the world becomes a better place, but I can't live in a world where you aren't with me. All the good I might do would mean nothing if it costs me a future with you." His speech seemed to give him new life, and he stood closing the remaining few steps between them. He placed one hand on her knee, gently caressing her leg just below her skirt. When she didn't shy away, he reached his other hand to her face, cupping her cheek in his palm. "Why is it so easy for you to walk away? Please, tell me what I can do to make it harder for you."
Lois was having a difficult time reigning in her thoughts which were quickly wandering down paths she was sure would only lead to disaster. She had to say something, anything to make him leave before all her resolve melted away and she winded up following her miserable heart. "Oliver…"
"Ollie," his voice was breathless and she was positive hers would match.
"Ollie, we can't do this again… I can't…" He was ignoring her feeble arguments and instead brought her face closer to his until only inches separated their lips. She could feel his warm breath wrap around her and felt instantly whole. All the emptiness she had been learning to live with melted away as his lips finally pressed to hers.
In that moment she was sure there was no justification for missing this, no matter what the cost might be later. For that minute, the world didn't claim hold over Oliver's life and she felt like she could be the most important thing in the universe to this one man. Giving in she wrapped her hands around his neck, reaching into his hair, pulling him closer until she could no longer tell where he ended and she began. She was lost in this kiss, drowning in all the love she had kept carefully buried and thought that at this moment she could die happy.
He never wanted to let go. He was prepared to hold onto her and kiss her like this for the rest of eternity. Who needs heaven, when he had this? This perfect moment, just like so many others they had shared. All those nights he had dreamt of what it would be like to kiss her again came up drastically short. She was better than his dreams, but a part of him always knew he could never re-create what they had. He felt her legs curl around his torso and her hands work their way around his back. He gripped her tiny frame and felt just how breakable Lois really was, which only had him holding on tighter. She was what he wanted to protect, not the world and all the undeserving people in it, just her. For her, his life was worth risking.
A small part of his attention pulled away from Lois, noticing someone else in the room. Even so, Oliver found himself deepening the kiss until the unnamed person loudly cleared their throat. Sensing that Lois had finally registered another presence inhabiting the room he managed to pull himself away from her, his hand still resting securely around her waist.
"Clark, perfect timing." He felt the sarcasm drip from his words.