Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belongs to their respective owners. The lyrics are from "At the Beginning" by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis.

Where it all Began

We were strangers, starting out on a journey
Never dreaming of what we'd have to go through
Now here we are and I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you

It had been almost two years since Chloe had walked through the doors of this barn and she had to admit...it felt slightly surreal. Since her last visit to Smallville, her name had (officially) changed, she had travelled the world, and sometimes even had a minor role in saving it. But it felt good to be back, breathing the Smallville air, reminding her of where she came from, of the journey to the girl she was today.

Chloe began to look around, bringing up memories of the many events that transpired in this very barn, because in a weird way, her life had begun here. From the many hours spent with Clark dealing with the meteor freak of the week to meeting the team to her disastrous first wedding, a lot had happened here. But that girl had grown up, made decisions to move forward with her life, and she couldn't be happier.

As she sat down on the bottom step, she gazed at her left hand, or more specifically the ring on her finger. Who knew everything would lead to her current circumstances? That Chloe Sullivan, who had her eyes set on staying put at the local newspaper would end up being a freelance reporter with the Star City Register by day, and the hero-recruiting Watchtower by night. But that wasn't the only perk to her the choices she had made. Looking up, she could only smile as she saw her husband enter the barn, holding their son in his arms. They were her family, a feeling she hadn't felt in a while, but thanks to her son being born, she had even gotten in touch with her estranged father. Life... was good.

Initially, it was a preposterous notion that the wife of a superhero, especially one that revealed his secret, would ever have a normal life, and if you used the traditional definition of normal, that would be true. But they lived their life through their own ways, and despite the close calls and the tough nights they went through, the love they had for each other would never fade in its slightest.

"Hey."

"Hey," Oliver said as he grinned back at her. "He missed his mom."

Chloe took her son from Oliver and cradled him to sleep as Oliver sat next to her. "I just needed a break from all of the craziness." When their son seemed peaceful enough, she peered up at Oliver. "Any word from Clark yet?"

"Not yet, but Tess says he should be back in time."

Sweeping her finger down her son's face, Chloe stated, "I should be in there helping Lois, shouldn't I? This is wedding attempt number three."

They had missed the second attempt thanks to a league emergency, which unfortunately caused the wedding to be cancelled, so Lois insisted on everyone taking the week off this time. Unfortunately, Lex had other plans, which meant Tess, Clark, and Bart had been MIA for three hours and with each second that ticked by, the more frustrated Lois got.

"Martha has her pretty calm right now... but I was surprised to not find you there." Oliver wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer. "What's on your mind?"

Chloe sighed as she bowed her head. "I don't know. I guess because it's been so long since I've been here that I wanted to take a minute for me. I was drawn here and since I've just been thinking about all the things that happened here."

"Did I happen to make an appearance in any of those memories?"

"Of course," she replied. "This is where it all began for us... well... you know what I mean."

"That even though you were unavailable, you thought I was, and I quote... wow."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Clark told you, huh?"

"When you... when you were gone, he told me that. Initially I didn't think anything of it, but... eventually it was one of the many things I held onto, hoping you'd come back."

"I'm sorry Oliver, I never... never wanted to do that."

"I know." He shook his head as he moved a loose curl behind her ear. "That's all over now, and honestly, I could never be mad at the person who gave me the chance to have a family."

"We didn't waste any time on that, did we?" It was true, as Chloe saw herself going from girlfriend, to wife to mother pretty quickly.

"Did you ever wish that you did things differently?"

"Never," Chloe replied immediately. "Sure, we may not have done things the traditional way, but the fact I get to have this family with you... I couldn't ask for much more."

He leaned over to kiss her forehead and said, "Ditto," as they continued to sit there on the steps, staring at the sleeping face of their son.

Oliver almost couldn't believe his luck, the fact he sat with her, happier than he has been at any point in his life.

It was hard to believe that it all started with a casual introduction in a time they were both seeing other people. It was further difficult to believe that she had strolled into his penthouse weeks later claiming that she had it all figured out, but that was pure Chloe. She got him, she understood the life that he lived, and she would always stand by him, no matter how many stupid decisions he made. He was truly a lucky man.

They both heard a gust coming from the entrance, so they looked up and saw Bart at the base of the steps. "Chloe, Boss... your presence is needed."

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Mission accomplished?"

"You know it!" Bart replied with a cocky grin, which faded in seconds. "Seriously... now, I don't want to test Lo-zilla's patience right now."

"I've got him," Oliver said, as he gently took his son from Chloe. "You go help Lois get ready."

Chloe grinned as she got up. "See you inside. Bart do you think you could—"

Oliver just watched as they both zoomed away. "I guess we better get moving too. They can't get married without the best men, can they?"

~0~

The third time proved to be the charm as once the wedding started, it went off without a hitch. Clark and Lois happily left the church as man and wife, with most of the guests behind them, ready for the reception to commence.

However, Chloe and Oliver had locked eyes as they stood at the altar and stood there entranced while everyone was leaving. The only person that noticed was Mia, who was responsible for taking care of the baby Queen during the ceremony.

At the doorway, Mia looked back at them to see they were still oblivious to their surroundings, so with a shake of a head, she released the door and said, "Come on kiddo, let's get some cake."

The sound of the door closing caused them both to stare towards the exit. Chloe let out a chuckle before she began to look around the church she helped decorate.

Noticing her wandering eyes, Oliver said, "Someday... that'll be us... when we can actually have the time to sit down and figure it out."

Chloe shook her head as she exhaled. "I don't know, before I wanted the big day, but I'm good now. In the end, all I need is both of my boys."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Boys?"

Chloe just chuckled as she attempted to walk down the aisle out of the church, but Oliver grabbed her arm and kissed her before she had a chance to protest, not that she would.

Oliver kissed her like she was the only girl in the world, an impressive feat considering the perceivable differences between them before they met. But that didn't matter because he loved her, and she loved him.

So she kissed him back, because she knew that despite the tabloids and rumours, Oliver Queen was her caring, noble hero, a man that she was proud to call her husband. He had been the man to steal her heart when she wasn't looking, and he gave her a greater life than she could have ever imagined.

When air was necessary, they backed away slowly, their foreheads resting on each other. Flashing his signature smile, Oliver asked, "Do you know any boys who kiss you like that?"

Chloe grinned as she pushed him away. "You and your ego." She reached out to grab his hand. "Let's go Arrow, we've got a son waiting for us at the reception, not to mention the actual reception."

At the door, Oliver released her hand to hold the door open for her. "After you Mrs. Queen."

"You're never going to get sick of saying that, are you?"

"With you?" Oliver asked as he released the door to wrap his arm around her, "Never."

In the end I wanna be standing at the beginning
With you

~End~

Sera's Scribbles: Timeline's probably a little off, but hopefully it wasn't too noticeable. As for the kid, I kept him nameless on purpose; hopefully it didn't take anything away from the story.