Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own anything.

Set during: post-"Infamous" / pre-"Turbulence"

Summary: "I accept that he got the girl. And like I told you before, I'm—I'm moving on." Davis said the words to protect her from himself, but they couldn't have been further from the truth.

A/N: I half-expected someone would have written a pre-"Turbulence" one-shot for this particular scene between Chloe and Davis in s8 by now – *cough* KJ *cough* – but since no one has yet and it's been on my mind for months, I finally decided to write a fanfic for it. :) Anyways, I hope you all like it. Enjoy!

"Okay, stop," Chloe said, almost stuttering as she gently pushed Davis away from her, thereby breaking their first kiss. "Um, Davis, this connection – it was...it was never this."

She stepped away, trying her best not to look directly into his soft brown eyes, then turned around and walked towards her parked yellow scooter. As soon as she reached it, though, Chloe stopped. She couldn't bring herself to swing her leg over, put her motorcycle helmet on, and ride away. Something was pulling her back, egging her to turn around and go back to Davis' side and talk things out—but what? She was a bride-to-be. Jimmy's bride-to-be. Yet here she was—standing outside her apartment building in the alley with Davis, her broodingly handsome, charismatic paramedic friend from Metropolis General Hospital, who had just kissed her and she—even if it was just for a split second—kissed him back. Too nervous and stunned from his sweet yet sudden kiss, Chloe couldn't decide if it was fear, loyalty to Jimmy, or some undisclosed desire that urged her to not leave and go back to Davis. Her mixed thoughts were quickly disrupted, however, by the sound of his voice.

"I understand..." he stated in a calm tone that seemed a little forced and rough around the edges. His pause, which just barely gave Chloe a spark of hope that he did in fact understand, was short-lived, though, when he shook his head and added, "...but I am not ready to let you go."

Chloe finally turned around to face him again, an apprehensive look etched across her face and a chill ran down her spine while she stared into his eyes. She could tell he was just as scared as she was, but he didn't back down, refused to give up now. Despite that they had only known one another for a few short months, Davis had feelings for her...and she knew by the look in his eyes...the sound of his voice when he said he wasn't ready to let her go...she knew that there was nothing she could say to try and convince him otherwise.

"I will wait for as long as it takes," he vowed, shaking his head again as he looked down at the black asphalt beneath his tennis shoes and then back up at her.

From a sweet and caring stranger to a possessive stalker to a shy puppy dog, Davis' whole demeanor was all over the place. One minute he was the this sweet, charming guy she met outside the Daily Planet, and then in the next he was either trying to convince her she had feelings for him or admit to his own. He had subtly been like this for weeks, but the boiling point was here—in this moment. He loved her, and whether she wanted to hear his confession or not, Davis wasn't going to let her run away from his feelings for her this time.

"You know where to find me."

Six weeks later...

The halls of Metropolis General Hospital were as busy as ever when Chloe, who had been up all night transferring Jimmy from Star City after he had woken up from his 5-week comatose state, pushed the 'down' button for the elevator and the doors opened just as quickly to reveal Davis in his paramedic uniform. Even though her feet were firmly on the ground, the blonde could have almost sworn her heart skipped a beat—nearly fainted—when she saw his pale face. And by the look of surprise on his face, the ex-reporter could tell he felt the exact same way when he saw her. Several seconds of awkward silence past between the two friends, until Davis finally had to break it when he extended his right arm out to catch the elevator doors so they wouldn't close on Chloe.

"Are you going down?" he spoke as calmly as he could under the circumstances, not wanting to make a scene in the hospital with the woman who still held his heart.

"Yeah, yeah," she said and walked into the elevator.

"To the first floor?" Davis asked once she was inside all the way.

"Yes, I'm going home," she nodded while the door closed and the elevator started going down. "I insisted on staying, but Jimmy didn't want me to spend the night here when I could count sheep in my own bed."

He simply gave her a gentle nod and turned away again, not trusting himself to say the right thing, especially since they were alone together. Davis almost couldn't believe it was her—the real Chloe. She was back to her old self again, no longer possessed by that Brain InterActive Construct who claimed Chloe was gone the moment she entered that ice castle in the Arctic over a month ago. But here she was—the same Chloe Sullivan he had met out by the Daily Planet while they were aiding Bette Sans Souci. The same sweet, caring Chloe he had fallen in love with from the first moment he laid eyes on her through the smoky ash.

But did she remember anything? Did she remember when 'she' told him it was his destiny to kill the other Kryptonian? To destroy the planet? Or was that evil presence truly gone, no longer controlling her body? And how could he ask her without Chloe getting suspicious? After all, she used to be a reporter. She could easily figure out what he was up to.

"He knows how much I hate hospitals anyway," she added in a quiet voice.

"I didn't know that," he said, turning his head back towards her.

"You never asked."

The elevator doors swung opened and the pair stepped out so a flock of medical students in white coats could enter. Chloe and Davis stood off to the side for a few moments, awkward silence still filling the space between them. Neither knew what to say after weeks of silence and avoiding one another. Davis finally decided, though, that it was time to break the ice and find some common ground with the beautiful blonde before he lost their friendship on top of everything else, as the thought of losing her from his life all together was too much for him to bear.

"Chloe, I know you have a long drive back to Smallville, but if you have the time, I—I'd really like to talk about what's happened."

"I don't think that's such a good idea, Davis."

"Please, just hear me out, Chloe. I know I don't deserve the time of day from you after the way I ambushed you the week before your wedding, but I don't want to lose you as a friend."

Hearing the sincerity in his voice, seeing the look of hurt in his eyes after waiting this long to talk to her, the ex-reporter couldn't deny him the chance to apologize no matter how uncomfortable she still was around him.

"Okay," she replied softly. "When?"

Shocked that she said yes to his request, he couldn't find the words to say something right away. They could go anywhere to talk since his shift at the hospital had just ended, but...

"Well, I—I actually have to take my rig back to the firehouse since my shift is over, but why don't you tag along? We can talk there. It'll be quiet and no one will bother us."

"All right," she reluctantly agreed, gripping onto the shoulder straps of her black leather purse.

Just as Davis had predicted it, the firehouse was quiet—the perfect place for them to sit and talk without anyone to disturb them. He bought her a 20oz Coke from the vending machine, which she quietly thanked him for, and then they sat down together at one of the round, white tables in the vacant lunchroom.

"Look, Davis," Chloe started, brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear out of nervousness, "before you go into the whole 'I'm sorry for laying one on you' part of this conversation, I just want you to know I'm not mad at you for telling me how you feel."

"You're not?" his right eyebrow raised in surprise.

"No, of course not," she admitted in a soft tone. "How can I be mad at you for being honest with me?"

"So that's not the reason why you've been avoiding me for the past month and a half?"

"Well, not the whole reason," she threw him a half-smile to lighten up the mood a bit.

He let out a light chuckle in reply, happy to see her beautiful smile and the way it lit up a room after going without it for so many weeks. But more than that, Davis was relieved to know that evil thing was no longer inside of Chloe. If the kiss was what's been keeping her away from him all this time, he knew that the Brain InterActive Construct's hold over her was really gone. She was herself again, with seemingly no memory of their time together up at the North Pole.

"So I was right. You have been avoiding me," he repeated once his laughter and smile faded away, leading them back into their serious conversation.

"I'd like to say it was just a matter of circumstance after everything Jimmy's been through since the Cloverfield wedding disaster from hell," she said while gripping onto her plastic Coke bottle, "but then I'd be lying to you...at least on some level." She looked up at him and then added, "I should have handled your feelings for me in a better way than I chose to. I'm sorry."

Hearing her say those last words left a bittersweet taste in Davis' thoughts. He was happy to hear she regretted blowing him off for the past six weeks, but he also completely understood why she did it. She was struggling between her loyalty to Jimmy and her growing infatuation towards him—all of this which was once in the midst of her wedding preparations. It was only natural—or at least common in this type of situation, he guessed—that she try to push him away when she about to be wed to another. But back then Davis couldn't deny the way he felt about her anymore. By not telling her, he was lying to her—just like he was now about the beast that lived inside him—and that was something he couldn't do. It was killing him that he couldn't share his secret with her, tearing him up inside in the worst possible way, even though he knew it was the only way she would be safe from Doomsday. But as long as she didn't know who or what he really was, the beast wouldn't feel threatened, wouldn't claw its way out on its survival instincts and go after her. As long as she didn't get too close, Chloe was safe. And that was the only thing that truly mattered to Davis anymore.

Keeping her safe.

"Chloe, I don't...blame you for the way you reacted. And I know you probably won't believe me when I say this, but I had no intention of pouring my heart out that day I went to see you at the Talon. I never meant to put you in that position."

"I know," she nodded understandingly.

"But that's not why I asked you to come here."

Surprised to hear him say this, she studied him more closely. "Then why did you?"

"I wanted to tell you that I've decided to move on."

"You have?" Chloe asked, almost thinking her ears were playing tricks on her.

"Yes," he confirmed with a nod, keeping a nonchalant front on the surface despite that it was breaking his heart to say the words on the inside. "You're a married woman now. You chose Jimmy, and I respect your relationship with him. I would never want to do anything to come between you two or be the reason why you broke up. In fact..." he paused to stand up and walk around the table to stand beside her, "...if you're still uneasy about being around me after everything that's happened, just say the word and I'll stay out of your life for good."

"You would do that for me?"

"It isn't what I want, but I would do anything for you, Chloe. Anything to make you happy." Davis leaned down and kissed the top of her head, then said, "Take care of yourself, okay?" He was about turn around and leave the room when he suddenly felt her hand around his wrist, preventing him from leaving.

"No, don't go!" she cried out, surprising the paramedic to say the least. Realizing her emotions were a little over the top when she said that, the blonde let go of his wrist and quickly settled down. "Or something that sounds a little less dramatic than a Mariah Carey song."

He smiled at her softly, not sorry in the least that she wanted him to stay even though he knew he should be.

"Davis..." she spoke his name in just above a whisper as she got up from her chair. "I don't want to cut you out of my life. I mean, we're friends, and we shouldn't let one little mishap tear our friendship apart, right?"

"Only if you're sure that's what you want. Because if it's not—"

"I am," Chloe assured him, taking his left hand and squeezing it gently with her right.

He grabbed her left hand with his right, the two friends stood in the middle of the firehouse's lunchroom holding hands and staring deep into each other's eyes. This went on for several moments, until Davis impulsively drew her closer to him, then let go of her hands so they could wrap their arms around one another. Chloe accepted his warm embrace with open arms and laid her head on his shirt-covered chest, letting out a sigh of relief and a small smile of thanks that she was able to resolve things out with him.

"I've missed you."

Never thinking it would hurt this much, Davis' heart sank into the pit of his stomach when he heard her say those three words. His eyes were almost brimming with tears as he continued to hold her in his arms.

He truly was a monster.

Here he was embracing Jimmy Olsen's wife, lying through his teeth about wanting to be just friends with her, when it was actually taking every ounce of his inner strength not to press his lips against hers and kiss Chloe with all of the passion he could muster after missing her warmth and kindness all these weeks they were apart. He had committed countless crimes upon learning what could control his dark side, done unspeakable things to keep the beast at bay, but none of them even came close to his undying love for Chloe. Loving her went against everything the church had taught him while he was growing up. He knew it was a sin to be in love with a married woman. But no matter how wrong it seemed in the eyes of the church, no matter how wrong God thought it was, Davis honestly didn't care anymore. Not when it came to her. And that's what made him a monster.

"I've missed you too..." he whispered back softly.

...more than you know.

The bittersweet moment between them was abruptly cut short, though, when they heard a loud siren and flashing red lights go off from the ceiling. They pulled away from each other just as a tall man with dirty blond hair, also dressed in a LifeMed paramedic uniform, came running in with an orange bag full of medical supplies slung over his right shoulder.

"Dude, you can play kissy-face with your girlfriend some other time. We gotta go."

"Kyle, she's not my—"

"Whatever. We've got a 32-year-old woman with a GSW to the chest lying in the middle of the street on Ivy, vitals are dropping fast. Captain says he wants you back on the clock and in the rig before he can suck down a doughnut, okay? Let's go!"

Before Davis could give him a reply, Kyle was out the door and gone as the flashing red lights and sirens were still going off. The pair looked to each other again for a moment, until he finally spoke up, knowing he had to leave. "I, uh...I better go. Duty calls."

"A hero's job is never done, is it?" she grinned.

"Not in this line of work," he replied, throwing his dark blue paramedic jacket on.

"Will I see you at the hospital tomorrow?"

While zipping up the jacket he said, "Work the 8 to 4 shift."

"Okay," Chloe nodded, happy to hear that she would see him.

"Get your ass out here, Bloome!" Kyle yelled out from the ambulance and honked on the horn twice. "We haven't got all day!"

"I'll talk to you later," Davis promised just before he rushed out of the room.

She twirled around to watch him leave, her arm reaching halfway out as she softly whispered, "Bye..."

A/N: You have no idea how many times I watched Chlavis' kiss scene from "Abyss" and their hug scene from "Turbulence" while I was writing this one-shot. Lol! You gotta love the chemistry between these two!

Please review!