Note:This is my first attempt at writing a one-shot Chlollie fanfic. As the characterisations are totally off (I stopped watching Smallville a number of years ago) I would appreciate constructive feedback – please be nice as this may be my first and last ever submission!
Disclaimer:This is an exercise in creative writing, and should be read as such. I don't own Smallville and have 'borrowed' the characters.
"Dude - you totally shot Chloe! So not cool!"
Oliver and Bart were pacing in the living area of the teams headquarters as Emil tended to their stricken Watchtower in the room they had set up as a make shift triage come glorified doctor's surgery for eventualities such as this. Not that any of the team had really considered the possibility that Chloe would ever have to utilise such facilities that Emil had insisted the team invest in. Emil was finding it increasingly difficult to explain to colleagues why he was continually stitching up the same group of people. He reasoned that he could deal with minor injuries at their headquarters and call upon his hospital privileges as and when required.
It had been an honest to goodness mistake; never in the deepest recesses of his damaged and tainted mind could he ever have envisaged himself shooting Chloe. Rooting himself to the spot, Oliver replayed the scene over and over again with Bart's words sounding continually in his head. Chloe being manhandled by a mugger - mugger holding a gun to Chloe's throat - Oliver judging the perfect shot - Oliver executing the shot - Chloe squealing as the arrow embedded itself in her shoulder - Chloe wildly clutching at her shoulder in a futile attempt to stem the flow of blood whilst tears leaked from her eyes.
"Oliver man, you gotta know this wasn't your fault - the crazy mugger just shifted Chloe round when you shot". Bart didn't need any special meta- human powers to see that Oliver was killing himself internally over the accident. "It coulda happened to anyone, hey had it been me I woulda totally punched 'Licious a new . . .are you even listening to me? I'm trying to do the whole 'comfort the hero in green & stop the self-doubt in his own abilities until the critical last minute' act". Bart was affronted that Oliver didn't seem to be paying him much attention, he was worried about Chloe too but was trying to distract Oliver enough to stop him thinking of what could have been. He'd seen enough action movies in which the hero made a rookie mistake, spent half of the film questioning his abilities and giving up on the world around them before having some major world altering disaster dictating their return to the real world. Bart didn't think the world at the present time, with the Kandorians and every petty and major criminal in the vicinity vying for supremacy, could afford the Green Arrow to go MIA until the last minute. There would be no last minute, the state of play as it currently stood was all or nothing.
"Dude, speak to me - let me in, tell me what's going through that blond mess you call a head"
"I shot her Bart - I . . . me . . . I shot Chloe, I mean how did this happen?" Oliver ran his hand through his hair repeatedly, the gravity of the situation as he viewed it resting heavily in his mind. "How did this happen?" Frustrated with his lack of answers, Oliver threw himself onto one of the sofas and promptly stood up again, resuming his pacing.
The door separating Emil's medical room and the living area opened and the doctor in question walked out. Oliver immediately pounced on him, demanding answers to six different questions he fired off in rapid succession. "Is Chloe alright? How badly is she hurt? Will there be any permanent damage? How much pain is she in? Does she need anything? Is there anything I can do?"
Emil gripped Oliver's shoulders and forced him to sit on the sofa he had recently vacated, "Oliver, Chloe's fine. The arrow doesn't appear to have done any major damage, I've stitched up and bandaged her shoulder and have cajoled her into taking a couple of pain killers. A bit of rest and physio on the shoulder and she'll be back to normal."
Emil hadn't realised just how much Oliver was in love with Chloe, he'd heard some of the guys talking about the UST they noticed between them but hadn't really thought any more about it. Yet at this moment, watching the torment and pain in Oliver's eyes, Emil realised just how deeply Oliver had fallen in love with their Watchtower. Some of the pent up tension appeared to leave Oliver's body as he deflated and sank into the cushions behind him, but Emil guessed Oliver would not truly relax until he had seen Chloe for himself and begged her forgiveness. Emil never believed for one minute that Chloe would hold this unfortunate incident against Oliver, she had already told him multiple times during the course of his exam and treatment that it was an accident and that she hoped Oliver would be alright.
"That's great doc, is there any reason why we can't see 'licious now?" Bart had also guessed Oliver's need to see Chloe before settling himself and was anxious to see her himself.
Emil looked towards the closed door leading to the treatment room, "actually,ahm you can't see Chloe just yet because . . ." Detecting the hesitant tone to the doctor's voice about seeing Chloe, Oliver bounced off the sofa and grabbed the lapels of Emil's lab coat. "What do you mean we can't see her, you said she was going to be fine- what's wrong with her? I knew I'd hurt her really badly, I need to see her." Oliver was in the process of pushing Emil out of his way when the doctor caught his arm yanking him back from the door, then maneuvering himself directly between Oliver and the door.
"OLIVER! She's just getting dressed; she didn't want my help getting cleaned up so I told her I'd wait out here with you guys. I guessed you'd want an update and I needed to grab my phone to order a script for more pain killers for her, not that I expect she'll take them". Oliver's body again appeared to deflate somewhat at his words, yet he kept himself directed towards the door, ready to pounce the moment Chloe walked through it.
Emil left Oliver to his door vigil and phoned through an order for pain killers to a local chemist. Returning to Oliver three minutes later, Emil took pity on him. The doctor, having bore witness to the emotional roller coaster their benefactor and leader was riding, glanced at his watch before looking to Oliver. "I guess Chloe is having some difficulties, I thought she would have been done by now - perhaps one of us should go in and see if she needs any help". Not giving Bart an opening to volunteer, Emil continued, "I need to collect the meds for Chloe, and Bart you could go collect some takeout for all of us, I'm thinking authentic Indian food. Nothing like the real deal when recovering from a traumatic night; Oliver perhaps you could help Chloe until I get back". Emil barely had time to step aside as Oliver went barreling towards the door into the treatment room, barely even acknowledging his departing team mates.
Oliver rushed inside the room startling Chloe who spun round to see what all the commotion was about. Unfortunately in the process of doing so she jarred her shoulder, groaning and contorted her face in pain. Oliver was instantly by her side, his eyes sweeping across her body cataloguing everything he saw before him, every freckle and scar, and most importantly the freshly applied bandage on her left shoulder.
Oliver's eyes focused on the bandage for what seemed like forever to both of them before he directed and willed her to hold his gaze. During this time Chloe wondered if Oliver had even realised she didn't have a top on, not that she had once felt uncomfortable under his scrutiny. It had taken Chloe what felt like an eternity to put her bra back on after cleaning the remaining blood from her body, during which time she questioned why she was doing so - Bart! That's right, she loved the kid to pieces but he was still a hormone driven teenager who practically dry humped her every time they were in the same room.
Still holding her gaze Oliver reached out, holding his palm above the bandage before reaching down for Chloe's hand. "I'm so sorry Chloe, I don't know what happened - can you ever forgive me? Anything you need, anything at all please tell me, if you need to hurt me do so. I wouldn't blame you, how could I let this happen? I'm meant to protect you and I end up hurting you I'm so sorry. Chlo please talk to me, scream or shout but please say something." Oliver felt his eyes stinging from forcing them open for so long without blinking yet couldn't break his focus away from Chloe, he was determined to make her believe that there was nothing he wouldn't do to atone for his actions.
Taking her hand from his, Chloe reached out and gently caressed the side of Oliver's face, attempting to smooth out the worry lines marring his face. "Why would I hurt you Oliver? You saved my life". Sensing that Oliver was about to interrupt her, Chloe rested her index finger against his lips. "Ollie that guy would have killed me for the $30 I had in my purse if you hadn't of rescued me when you did, we both know of times when people have been killed for less. He is to blame not you; he used me as his shield, nobody could have predicted what the man would do, he was desperate."
Slipping her finger from his mouth and stepping back Chloe studied Oliver's face noting the myriad of emotions flickering across it; anger, disbelief and sorrow all featured heavily, but the one emotion Chloe couldn't watch was guilt. Oliver had done nothing wrong it was her fault; Chloe had read and even written multiple stories about women young and old being mugged and left for dead after having been attacked when walking in the city alone at night. Chloe knew it was a risk going out alone to meet a potential informant, but it had been such a mild night that she couldn't resist the opportunity to spend some time with only her own thoughts as a travelling companion. Chloe's meeting with the new informant had gone well - she had gathered some useful information about a human trafficking ring and needed to plan a course of action. Chloe was so caught up in her planning that she didn't realise she was being followed until she was dragged into a side street by her hair and ordered to hand over her money and valuables at gun point. For once in her life Chloe resisted the urge to try and talk her way out of the situation by either faux-compliment or insult and just did what the mugger demanded. Unfortunately the zip of her handbag had caught on something in her haste to open it. The mugger was obviously wearing thin on patience and began waving his gun at her taking a pot shot to the left of where she was standing. Chloe, having managed to open her bag by brute force, was in the process of handing over her purse and mobile phone when the Green Arrow had shown up. The immense relief Chloe felt at that moment by his appearance was suddenly over-shadowed by fear when the mugger suddenly pulled her by the arm, pushing her in front of him directly into Oliver's line of fire. Chloe had been so captivated by Oliver's entrance that she didn't pay any real attention to what was happening around her. Oliver was standing before her and the mugger, the light glinting off the tip of the arrow directed at her attacker, in his perfectly crafted leather suit. Chloe remembered wondering if his biceps were always so prominent under his arm bands before berating herself to focus on what was happening. The moment Chloe finally refocused on the action was unfortunately the deciding moment of the confrontation. Chloe vaguely remembered the muggers hand on her arm tightening before he swung her towards Oliver, the same moment that Oliver released the arrow. Chloe, having found herself inadvertently in the arrow's path, found herself having a surreal out of body experience, during which she watched the arrow hurtle towards her before embedding itself in her left shoulder. After what seemed like a split second delayed reaction, Chloe felt herself falling backwards and landing on the damp ground; her right hand automatically clamping near the injured shoulder attempting to stop the blood flow.
Whilst the time between being shot and being rushed to the Watchtower were blurry, Chloe remembered the warming and comforting presence of Oliver, despite his fussing and self-recrimination. Now, looking at him, Chloe knew she needed him to understand it wasn't his fault; it was an unfortunate accident, one she hoped that they could all laugh about after an appropriate amount of time had passed (preferably once she was able to type unimpeded again!)
"$30 Ollie, $30 and I would have been the feature in one of the human interest pieces filling the columns of the Daily Planet about how today's society has degenerated into a kill or be killed one. He would have killed me had it not been for you, I paid more for my handbag than he was attempting to steal from me. Ollie - you're my hero, what you do night after night makes a real difference, this is one more instance in which I owe you my life. I am forever indebted to you, that guy was willing to shoot me and YOU; yet you stood before him as vulnerable as me and held your ground. Anybody else wouldn't have batted an eyelid if they walked past and heard what was happening tonight; but you have made it your life's mission to stop the evil of the world, need it be on a small or even an inter-galactic scale. I honestly don't have the words to express my gratitude to you; my stupidity and his desperation caused this to happen, I nearly got both of us killed."
Chloe knew her words were having no effect on Oliver, so deciding that she was just too sore and drained (emotionally and physically) after what had happened, made the executive decision to distract Oliver from brooding; plus the pain killers Emil had insisted she take were beginning to kick in and the world was starting to become hazy. "Hey, help me put on this pathetic paper-mache gown that Emil left. I think I can put it on both arms, it'll just too much effort to pull it up and reach round to tie it." Chloe shifted slightly, sitting back up on the bed with the intent of pulling the gown up over her injured shoulder, when Oliver reached out gathering the flimsy material in his hands. Gently and almost reverently he tugged the material over her arms and shoulders before reaching around her, practically hugging her, to tie it together at the back. When he was done Oliver's arms remained around her, both content with the position they found themselves in; inhaling the unique scents of each other and enjoying the heat radiating between them. Oliver moved his hand and began stroking the back, bringing her closer to his body and hugging tightly to the uninjured side of her body. "I thought I lost you Sidekick, I really thought that this was where our crazy ride ended; I never should have taken such a stupid risk with you in the firing line. When I saw him pointing a gun at you, anger and fear not gut instinct took over; I don't even remember notching an arrow or targeting him, all I remember is the terror in your eyes and being unable to reach out and touch you. Chloe, I can't lose you, as corny and cliché as it sounds – you are my world, without you I can't exist. I'm not talking about existing as Oliver Queen CEO of Queen Industries, or as the Green Arrow leather clad vigilante and member of the Justice League. I mean living as Ollie, best friend, sounding board and confidant to Chloe, the woman he realised tonight he is in love with. Before you jump in Chloe, hear me out – I know all the arguments against us becoming an 'us', but I have counter-arguments to every point in-fact I have created a detailed dossier reasoning why we will work and why it's a bad idea – but in the end we win. I can't even imagine how I am ever going to make tonight up to you, but I need to try. Chloe can you say something please, I know I've laid a lot on you and it's all confusing but I need some kind of confirmation you have understood at least some of what I said. Chloe . . . ?"
Chloe, having found herself feeling incredibly safe and warm, mixed with the dwindling adrenaline in her system combined with the effects of the pain killers Emil had forced her to take, had fallen asleep in Oliver's embrace. She had heard the beginning of Oliver's speech, but his gentle tone coupled with the comforting smell of the leather of his suit had been too much. Oliver withdrew from the hug he had captured her in, being careful not to tug at her injured shoulder and allowed himself the luxury of studying her face. Finding himself fascinated with the serene calm had enveloped her face as she tried to re-situate herself in Oliver's embrace; he stroked her forehead before kissing his lips faintly to it. "Time for bed blondie."
Oliver, displaying great dexterity, gathered Chloe up in his arms laying her head gently on his chest and proceeded to carry her out to one of the bedrooms the team had set up for late night working sessions and out of town visitors. Shifting her weight slightly, Oliver reached out and pulled down the duvet before laying Chloe down in the bed.
"Sweet dreams Sidekick."