Cheers were roaring through the crowd as Oliver stared up at the sky at the flying, caped, incredible Clark.

Wow. Thank God. His mouth twitched into a smile when Clark caught his eyes for a brief moment. Once Clark's attention was turned elsewhere Oliver started making his way out of the crowd, pulling out his cell phone and pressing 1 on his speed dial.

She picked up almost instantly.

"Oliver! Oh good, you're all right."

He grinned. "Tell me you're watching this on TV," he said.

"Which part? My cousin interviewing the President on AirForce One as my best friend flies past the window? Or the caped wonder on the other news channel, racing into the sky to move a planet out of the way?"

"Both," he said, still grinning, making his way in the direction of Watchtower.

"When are you going to be home?" she asked, a pleading note in her tone.

"I've only been away from you a few hours. Miss me already?" he teased.

He could almost picture her glare through the phone. "We both know you were away for lot longer than that before the wedding, Ollie, and I miss my husband, so help me!" she whined childishly.

Oliver chuckled. "I miss you, too." He paused, glancing in the direction of Watchtower where he was heading. "But I hate to tell you I probably won't be home until tomorrow," he added, sounding more than sorry about the fact.

Chloe sighed, as if she'd been expecting as much.

"Cleaning up the mess?" she asked expectantly.

"Yeah," he nodded absently as he dodged a couple of kids running in the opposite direction, trying to get a better view of the man in the sky.

"Whaddayou think it is?" Oliver heard one of them ask his friend as they rushed off. He smiled after them.

"Well, hurry home, okay?" Chloe was saying in his ear. "I want to celebrate with you," she said mysteriously.

"Celebrate what?" he asked and she snorted.

"What, saving the planet isn't cause enough?" she asked.

Oliver chuckled. "For us? We'd end up celebrating an awful lot," he joked.

She laughed as well. "Fine. I want to celebrate saving the planet and something else."

Oliver paused briefly mid-stride. "What else?" he asked curiously.

"I'm not telling you until you get home," she teased.

"Oh, come on," Oliver said as he resumed his walk. "You can't just tease me like that. That's not fair."

She giggled, actually giggled, and Oliver knew something was up. "Well, I guess you'll just have to hurry home, won't you, Romeo?"

"Guess I will. You know, I think between the others, things should be pretty well under control, and seeing as I'm a married man, I have obligations to look after my family in this time of crisis."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone and for a brief moment Oliver wondered if he'd said something wrong, but when she responded, she sounded almost more cheerful than before.

"Well that's fine by me, Hero, but you know A.C.'s married, too. And Clark's–"

"Not married," Oliver finished, sounding highly amused about the fact.

Chloe sighed. "They'll just have to reschedule and try again."

"Uh huh. So what is it you have to tell me?"

"Oh no," she said, "you're not getting it out of me. You'll find out when you get home."

Even sighing, Oliver was still smiling. The weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders, and he couldn't wait to get home to the woman he loved. "Just promise me one thing," he said.

"Anything."

"Whatever it is you've got to tell me really is something to celebrate, right? You're not gonna bring me down from the world's best ever high, right?"

She laughed at his dramatics and replied easily, "I promise I will not depress you in your glorious good mood."

"Thank God. I will see you in a couple of hours," he said, about to hang up.

"A couple of hours?" she asked in surprise. "I thought you wouldn't be home until at least tomorrow."

"Yeah, well...that was before you had a secret. Clearly I have to come home as soon as possible to seduce it out of you."

She laughed again. "Who said you had to seduce it out of me?"

"I'll see you in a couple of hours, Chloe," he said, brooking no argument on the subject before hanging up on her.

Seven Years Later...

Chloe waited for Connor to settle properly into bed before leaning over to brush the hair back from his forehead and place a kiss there. When he closed his eyes, she turned out the lamp and crept toward the door, picking her way carefully around the toys on the floor.

When she opened the door, she was surprised to find her husband sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. She chuckled at him. "How long have you been out here?"

"Since page five," he joked tiredly, standing up to settle his hands on her hips and tug her to him. She willingly tipped her head back so he could plant a kiss firmly on her lips as she draped her arms around his neck.

"I thought you were going to be in Metropolis tonight?" she mumbled against his lips.

"Mmm, yeah well, I got tired of being away from you."

She smirked against his mouth. "Meaning..."

"Meaning I managed to close the deal early. And seeing as Lex Luthor was elected President, I felt the need to be home to protect my loved ones."

Chloe sighed, her smile fading slightly as he mated his forehead to hers. "I am so disappointed in the American people," she muttered grumpily. "Who elects a psycho like that?"

Oliver sighed as well, exhaustion showing in his features. "It'll turn out all right," he assured, rubbing his hands soothingly over her arms. "After all, President's not the same as King," he reminded with a small smirk.

She snorted. "True fact," she replied. She yawned involuntarily.

"Long day?" he asked sympathetically.

She nodded, her forehead still not leaving his as she closed her eyes.

Smiling gently, he reached down and scooped her up in his arms.

Too tired to protest Chloe gave another tired sigh, snuggling her face into his neck. "Mmmm you don't get to go away for full weeks anymore," she informed him sleepily.

He chuckled as he carried her off toward their bedroom downstairs. "I will gladly inform the rest of the world of that," he agreed as he reached the stairs.

"Good," she kissed his neck cheekily. "They can't have you."

She yawned again and Oliver smirked. "Just how many times did you read that comic book tonight?" he asked.

She groaned. "Three."

At that he almost laughed out loud, but he kept it down to a whisper, knowing the slightest sound would alert their son. "You've got to get better at saying no," he teased her.

"I happen to be excellent at saying 'no'," she argued. "I tell you 'no' all the time."

He smirked at her as he pushed open the door to the bedroom. "Uh huh," he said disbelievingly. "You're just a whole bucket of 'no.'"

She laughed, actually blushing mildly. Oliver couldn't help being amazed that even now she still got shy once in a while. He brushed his nose against hers.

"Either way," he teased, "you're still bad at saying no to him."

She pressed her lips together, trying not to smile. "You're the one who couldn't hold out on that bow-and-arrow set until his birthday. Oh no, you had to give it to him three weeks early. What do you plan on doing for his birthday, may I ask?" she challenged when he set her down.

He laughed. "Good point." He pressed another kiss to her lips. "I'm going to just run up and say good night to him," he told her, ducking out of her hold and making his way for the door.

"Oliver!" she half-whispered, half-shouted after him. "You'll just wake him up and you know it!"

His head popped back in their doorway, boyish grin in place. "Yep." And he vanished again.

Chloe couldn't help laughing as she plopped on the bed in exhaustion, shaking her head wearily. "I love that man."