Sorry it's been forever! Let me know how you feel about it! :p Oh, and some events have been switched around... as you may have noticed... Thanksgiving, the wedding and baby plans, etc. Just bear with me! :)

oOo

He woke up hazy and tired, his eyes bleary and heavy. Snatches of last night (or had it all been a dream?) filtered into his head: riding his motorcycle, the smell of leather on his body, Chloe sitting in bed clutching sheets to her chest. Wait, what? He shook his head to clear the cobwebs. What happened last night?

He sat down and picked up a pen. He felt like the weight of the world had settled on his shoulders.

The door beeped and Clark walked in. "Who'm I dealing with? Jekyl or Hyde? "

He sighed. "Just plain Oliver today, Clark."

"Well, you're not breaking any glasses so that's a good sign."

"No more drugs I swear. This whole time I wanted to be just like Clark Kent. I wanted to be able to bring Justice to the world without getting killed in the process. But then I realized that Clark Kent would never kill anyone and I just about did that. I know that I should be thankful for who I am and the abilities I have. I know that."

"Me too. Now, c'mon. You can't be alone on Thanksgiving. The bird's waiting."

Oliver smiled wryly. "Nah, I appreciate the offer but I don't think so Clark. Lois is going to be there and I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to be in the same zip code as me."

Come on, the voice egged on. Get some turkey... get to see Blondie.

"C'mon Oliver. Lois is going to want to see you, trust me."

He shook his head. "Whoa, trust you? What about all the lectures about guys with secret identities not being able to have relationships?"

"If you two are meant to be together, who'm I to stand in the way?"

Oliver studied him for a moment. He was serious. Clark wouldn't stand in the way if Oliver could be happy with Lois.

You never will be, the voice whispered warningly. You're the outsider, the loner, the one who can't handle more than a few weeks with anyone. He blinked, trying to mentally shake the voice. Except one. C'mon, Archer.

oOo

As she came in from the barn, she caught her breath. Oliver and Lois hugging in the entryway. He held flowers in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. She forced herself to let it out and went back out to the barn. She told herself that the door slamming was not on purpose and the anger she was feeling was not because Oliver was obviously with her cousin. And who was she to be mad? She had Jimmy, right? Right? God! She wanted to hit something. Preferably Oliver's smirking face. She paced the loft.

"Hey."

She looked up guiltily at Clark. "Hey."

He came up the stairs. "What're you doing up here?"

"Just needed to think a bit."

"Yeah. Seems that Thanksgiving's a bad time for a lot of people." His face tried to settle into a smile but didn't quite make it.

She watched his face and frowned. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Clark. I totally forgot Thanksgiving was your dad's holiday. This was my favourite holiday because your dad always made it so special. This must be a really tough day for you. I'm sorry I forgot."

He shook his head, moving towards her. "Don't worry about it, Chloe. I'm just glad you're here to celebrates with us. Now, c'mon." He put an arm around her. "Dinner's almost ready."

"I'll be in in a few minutes, okay?" She hugged him back.

He paused, cocking his head to the side and studying her. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'll be fine." She gave him a smile, feeling fake but Clark being Clark either bought it or let it slide.

"Alright, but if you don't hurry, I'm going to eat all the cranberry sauce and there'll be none left for you."

She smiled. "I'll be right there."

He left, grinning.

She turned to stare out across the Kent farmland. How was she going to get through this dinner?

"I figured I'd find you here."

She closed her eyes. "You shouldn't be here."

He came up behind her and was so close that she could feel his body's heat through the back of her shirt. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. I saw you take off." He gave a short laugh. "Actually heard was more like it…" With no response, he became serious again, hands lifting to hover above her shoulders. "Just let me-"

She turned – a bad idea, she thought in hindsight – and looked up at him. "Explain why a girl would be upset about seeing her cousin reunited with her boyfriend? You don't have to. You shouldn't be up here. Someone might see... I mean, last night was one thing..."

"What?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean, what? You coming over, breaking into my house, almost getting caught by Lois, taking me out on your motorcycle, the bluffs? Telling you Lana's pregnant?"

His eyes widened. "She's what? Does Lex know? Is that why they're getting married?"

She blinked at him. "You really don't remember?"

He shook his head. "I woke up this morning and things were a bit fuzzy."

"But you were..." she frowned. "Wait." He had seemed a bit off, a bit different. "Have you had any of these blanks in your memory before?"

"No, I don't think so. But..." he trailed off, remembering the voice. Don't tell her. Don't you dare... "I-"

Lois' voice floated up from the barn door. "Ollie? You in here?"

"J-just a minute, Lois." He turned to Chloe. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "It's fine. This is the way it's supposed to be." She blinked away her tears. "Go."

"I'll call-"

"Ollie!"

"No, you won't. You can't. Lois loves you. She really loves you. So go. I'll do research and let you know if I find anything."

"Chloe? We need to talk."

She looked up to find Jimmy staring down at her. She'd been so lost in her daydream that she hadn't even noticed him come up to her desk. "Uh, yeah, sure, Jimmy." She followed him into the copy room, dread filling her.

As soon as they were inside, he turned to face her, eyes glistening. "Are you planning on leaving me?"

"What?" Guilt flooded into her stomach. It was like he was reading her mind. "Why would you say that?"

He shrugged. "I dunno," he sulked. "Just a feeling. You've been so distant lately... and then those pictures..."

"The pictures?" She was genuinely confused. "What pictures?"

"You and Green Arrow, y'know, gettin' familiar."

"Jimmy, those were way out of context! He saved me!"

"That's not what it looked like!" he exploded.

"C'mon, Jimmy." Her mind whirled. Isn't this what I want? she mused. No, not like this. Not this painfully. "I don't know what to say to you anymore. First with Clark and now with the Green Arrow, both of which are ridiculous and not even feasible."

He clenched his fists. "That's the problem, Chloe. There's always someone else. And then when you talk to me, you make me feel guilty. Like, I'm the one waiting for something better to come along. I can't do this anymore, Chloe. It's just too much."

"Jimmy..." But she had nothing to say. Just let him go you idiot!

He rolled his eyes. "Y'know Chloe, at one time I actually thought that was it. That you were it. But now? I don't even know who you are anymore."

Then he was gone, leaving her shocked and shattered.