Six Months Earlier
Oliver tipped the waitress who brought over the next round of shots. Ashley leaned into him – or was it Fiona? He wasn't sure and if he was being honest, he didn't care because their faces blurred together anyway. The brunette on his left passed the shots around. He tipped one back before replacing the empty shot glass on the tray and grabbing another one.
He glanced idly around the casino, already bored by the environment. He'd played every high stakes game in the place; he wasn't even sure how much money he'd lost, though he did remember losing the keys to his Ferrari.
When he saw her standing a few feet away watching him, he thought he was imagining her presence there. He shook his head and reached for another shot – clearly he needed it if he was seeing her face again.
"Oliver, I need to talk to you."
Oliver looked up to see Chloe had moved closer and if she was speaking, he wasn't imagining her being there in a Vegas casino when she should have been in Kansas. Her blonde hair was wavier than it had been the last time he saw her and he found himself looking for other telltale signs of change before he shut down that line of thought.
"If Clark sent you, you can tell him I'm doing just fine." He waved a hand at the tray of shots. "But have a drink if you like. You look like you could stand to loosen up a little."
She ignored the shots and the other people who were now watching them. "Clark didn't send me."
"Lois then." He grabbed his glass of scotch and drained it before shaking the ice to get the attention of a passing waitress.
"Lois is gone, Oliver. So is Clark."
Oliver looked at her again, frowning. "What do you mean gone?"
"I'll explain everything. But I'm here to ask you to come back."
He studied her for a moment, taking in the tense lines of her body and the way she gripped the strap of her bag. She was clearly bracing herself for an argument with him. "If you need access to accounts, call Emil or Vic. I'm exactly where I want to be."
"I'm surprised you haven't burned through your accounts."
Ah, there was the disapproval he'd been expecting. He held up his hand to flag down the floor manager, fully intending to have security escort her out, when a man suddenly stopped in front of Chloe and reached for her arm.
"There you are. I told you I wanted to buy you a drink." The man leaned over Chloe as he spoke, ignoring her attempts to pull back as he maintained his tight grip.
Oliver stood so quickly he bumped the table, spilling the tray of shots. Both the man and Chloe looked at him in surprise, and the man let go of her immediately as Oliver moved between them.
"Don't touch her again." He kept his tone low and even, but there was no disguising his anger.
The other man backed up. "Sorry, man."
Oliver kept his eyes on the man as he hurried away. When he turned to look at Chloe, she was rubbing her arm. "Did he hurt you?"
She shrugged, green eyes considering as she studied him. He hated the way she sometimes looked at him – like she saw things he didn't want anyone to see. It was the way she was looking at him now and it made him feel exposed. He still wanted to tell her to leave but this casino was in the seedier part of Vegas and he wasn't sure how safe it was for her to be walking around alone.
Chloe seemed to read the indecision on his face because she reached out her hand. "Oliver, please."
Please. He should tell her no. Instead he stared at her for another minute and then took her hand. By the time they got back to his suite at the MGM Grand, he was already second guessing his decision. He went straight for the bar but stopped short when she stepped in front of him.
"Ollie, please don't do this to yourself."
"Do what? Have a little fun?" Rather than sidestep her, he turned back to the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of beer.
"The drinking, the women, the cage fights…"
He took a swallow of beer but had to force it down. He didn't realize she knew about the cage fights. He thought about all of his activities over the last month – the fighting, the random women he'd slept with, the gambling. Suddenly he felt ashamed, which made him angry because the whole point was to stop feeling at all.
"It's obvious that you're punishing yourself," she continued softly. "We're all doing it in our own ways, I guess. The team scattered, you know. I haven't spoken to any of them since Jimmy's funeral. And Clark…"
The way her voice broke made him forget his anger. "You said Clark is gone. Gone where?"
Her gaze slid away from his. "He's embracing his Kryptonian training. He's made it clear he doesn't need my help."
There was obviously more to that story. "And Lois?"
"Lois disappeared during the Doomsday chaos. I've been looking for her but I haven't found any leads."
She was alone. She hadn't come out and said it but she was also scared. And she had to be desperate if she was coming to him because he was no one's idea of reliable at the moment.
"I can't come back." He didn't sound as decisive as he would have liked, and Chloe picked up on it now just as she had at the casino.
"Oliver, I know you've made mistakes. So have I. We can't take them back, but they don't have to define us."
There was something in her face – something like hope and if he was her last hope, they were both in a hell of a lot of trouble. He realized then he should never have left the casino with her.
She kept her eyes on him as she said, "I can't do this on my own, and neither can you. But together? We're stronger. I'm not asking you to be Green Arrow if that's not what you want. I'm just asking you to come back to Metropolis with me and take it one day at a time."
He set his beer on the counter and rubbed his hands over his face. He didn't like the idea that she'd been alone since the funeral and on top of that, she was searching for Lois on her own. Looking at her standing across from him, her small hand gripping the strap of her bag again, he could see that it cost her something to admit she needed anyone.
"I can't promise you anything, Chloe," he finally said.
She swallowed hard, her relief evident. "I'm not asking for promises. I'm just asking you to come home with me and let me help you."
Ollie shifted on the uncomfortable cot as he thought about the night that Chloe had found him in Vegas. As much as he didn't want to come back to Metropolis at the time, he would forever be grateful to her for coming after him. For not writing him off the way he'd written himself off. He'd kept up the drinking for a couple of weeks after returning with her, even as he began helping her run down leads on Lois, each of which led to a dead end.
He'd surprised her at Watchtower one night. He'd told her he was going for a drink and she didn't try to stop him. But the disappointment on her face stayed with him, and he left the bar sober for once. When he returned it was to find her curled into the corner of the sofa beneath rose window, silent, tears streaming down her face. She'd held herself together so well that he didn't realize she was falling apart as much as he was.
That was when they'd finally talked – they sat together for the rest of the night and at dawn, when the sun began to stream through the stained glass, he'd felt some peace for the first time in months. He'd had a few setbacks along the way to recovery, but Chloe was always there with a steady hand to help him back up.
Aside from her continued estrangement from Clark, things were back to normal. Lois had returned, the team was together, Ollie was at the helm of Queen Industries, which was doing well, and he and Chloe had formed a strong bond of friendship and partnership. He relied on her, and she'd eventually begun to rely on him.
Oliver's arrival had upset the balance he'd found with Chloe. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the fact the other man was trying to warn them about a possible future – he did. But there had to be more to it because he'd devoted his entire life to finding Chloe in another universe. In world after world, he found he was too late and still he didn't stop looking for her. He'd been at it for months and after talking to him, Ollie got the impression that he would have continued his search indefinitely.
Ollie dozed fitfully until dawn. When the weak, winter sunlight broke through the shadows, he got up and peeked in on Chloe to find her still sleeping. The room was more of a storage closet than a bedroom, but she'd managed to fit a full size bed into it, along with a night stand and a portable rack where she hung her clothes.
He'd tried to talk her into getting an apartment in the city since she only made twice weekly trips to the Talon apartment to do laundry and get clean clothes, but she'd been resistant to the idea. Frankly, her attachment to the tower was beginning to worry him because she so rarely ventured outside, preferring to rely on delivery services for most of her meals unless Lois or Ollie managed to talk her into joining them somewhere. It wasn't any healthier than his downward spiral had been, but she scoffed when he made the comparison.
After a quick shower, he dressed in jeans and a long sleeved Henley. When he left the bathroom, he saw the door of Chloe's room was open and Oliver was there beside her bed, watching her sleep. Ollie stopped outside the door, a chill sliding down his spine. Before he could say anything, Oliver noticed his presence and joined him outside, shutting the door behind him.
Ollie tried not to sound suspicious as he asked, "What were you doing in there?"
"I was just checking on her," Oliver answered. "It's cold in here, and I had an extra blanket I wasn't using."
"You were checking on her." Ollie ran his hand over his jaw as he eyed the other man warily.
"I guess…" Oliver hesitated. "It's hard to believe I finally found her. I woke up this morning thinking maybe it wasn't real. Like I said – I was just checking on her."
"Yeah well, in this universe a woman waking up to a strange man standing over her bed is cause for alarm," Ollie said. "I was just going out to pick up breakfast. Why don't you join me?" His tone made it clear that it wasn't a suggestion.
Downstairs Ollie found his black wool coat and pulled it on, and then waited as Oliver put on his cheap coat, a hat and sunglasses. They rode the elevator down in silence.
"Is it really a good idea to be seen together?" Oliver asked. He shoved his hands in pockets as they began to walk down the sidewalk. "I can assure you I didn't go to all of this trouble, and come all this way, just to hurt Chloe. You don't need to worry about leaving her alone with me."
"Since you brought it up, why did you go to all of this trouble and come all this way? I get that you wanted to warn Chloe but that won't bring her back in your world," Ollie pointed out. "So why spend months looking for her?"
Oliver said nothing as they walked, and Ollie thought maybe he had no intention of answering him. They had reached the main street now, and Ollie stopped at Chloe's favorite café to pick up her coffee, a couple of breakfast bagels with eggs, orange juice and muffins. When he emerged from the café he looked around, finally spotting Oliver coming out of another café that had recently opened across the street.
As they walked back to the Watchtower, Oliver asked, "How do you think you would feel if the Kandorians killed a member of your team?"
Ollie looked over at him. "I'd be angry."
"You'd be angry," Oliver repeated. There was a hard edge to his words. "Let me set the scene for you, then. Zod and Alia distracted Clark – sent him off on a rescue mission in Wichita. Then they waited for Chloe to drive down that little country road. The investigators said the car must have flipped over a few times before it went through the guard rail and down the embankment because of the way it had caved in and trapped her. Broken arm, both legs broken, half her ribs broken, too many cuts and contusions to even count – that's how I found her. Broken and bleeding out in a ditch. Every time she tried to breathe there was this rattling sound; I can still hear it sometimes. I've never felt that helpless. I couldn't do anything for her, so I held her hand and hoped she knew she wasn't alone as she was dying. It wasn't quick, if that's what you're thinking. She wasn't conscious, but she was still a fighter."
Ollie's steps slowed as he listened to Oliver. He'd heard the story last night, but not like this. Suddenly he pictured that scene with his Chloe and felt his stomach lurch. They had reached the Watchtower and neither of them said anything as they walked inside.
At the elevator Oliver turned to him, removing his hat and sunglasses. His dark eyes reflected the same anger Ollie had heard in his voice, as well as something else harder to read.
"Zod thought Clark's human ties made him weak. It was a repetitive subject for him and I knew it. I feel like I should have known how dangerous he was. I should have been able to do something to prevent it even if Clark didn't. When Lois told me about her trip to another universe and how that Chloe died, I decided to fund the research necessary to see how feasible interdimensional travel really was. I promised Chloe that if I found another world with another Chloe who needed help, I'd save her. So you don't need to worry that I'm going to hurt Chloe in this world because she's the last person I'd ever hurt in any world."
There was still something Oliver was leaving out. Ollie stared at the other man, searching for clues to those missing puzzle pieces as he considered what he'd said. "And then what?"
Oliver frowned. "I don't understand."
"You've found Chloe. You've warned all of us about the risks, and you've learned that she was a step ahead of you with the kryptonite weapon designs. So now what?"
"I'm not leaving," Oliver replied evenly. "Not while Zod and Alia are breathing the same air she is."
"Okay, so what's your plan? Are you going to take them out here like you did in your world?" At the surprise on Oliver's face, Ollie shrugged. "Chloe didn't tell me, if that's what you're thinking. I guessed. You and I aren't the same, but we've traveled some of the same dirt roads."
"Then you understand."
"I understand we're going to have a problem if your plan is to go all renegade assassin on the Kandorians," Ollie said. "We don't need a war with these people if there's a way to avoid it."
"And the alternative?" Oliver asked, his voice rising. "Do you really think they can be reasoned with if they're searching for the same power Clark has? Because it seems to me that the only person taking this threat seriously is Chloe, and I'm not taking any chances with her life."
His unspoken implication that Ollie didn't care enough to take the threat seriously pissed him off.
"First of all, you don't know Chloe, or me, or Clark," Ollie replied. He could feel his jaw twitching and tried to get his temper back under control. "Chloe may look like the woman you knew, and you and I may look alike, but we're not the same people. Chloe has saved my life more than once, and I care what happens to her. I don't know where you got the idea that you're the only one capable of helping her, but she has a team of people behind her."
"Yeah well, for a woman with a whole team behind her, she seems pretty damn lonely trapped in her tower," Oliver said. He signaled the end of the conversation by turning and walking into the elevator.
His last words stuck with Ollie as he went to the kitchen and got plates for their breakfast. He didn't like that Oliver had picked up on that so quickly because the truth was, he didn't know how far Chloe trusted the team to have her back. The fact that she'd been playing on her own chess board these last few months told him that she still wasn't willing to place her faith in him or the others, or at least not the same way she had before.
He suspected nothing would fix that except time and patience because one thing he knew about Chloe was that she couldn't be pushed to do things before she was ready. He'd learned to read her pretty well in the months since he'd returned. He knew when he could toe over the lines she'd drawn and when he needed to back off. Ollie had been content to play the long game where she was concerned but he was reconsidering that now. Between Oliver showing up and newly raised concerns about Zod and Alia, he needed Chloe to let him in if he was going to help her.
Ollie plated Chloe's muffin and set a fruit cup beside it. He could hear Oliver talking to Chloe as he grabbed her coffee and joined them in the main room. He stopped when he saw Oliver offering Chloe a piece of the berry scone he was holding.
Chloe popped it into her mouth. "Wow, these are really good. I didn't know the café down the street sold scones." She reached out for the rest of the scone.
"There's a new café a few blocks down," Oliver told her as he handed over small containers of cream and jam. "It was Chloe's favorite, so I took a chance. You should try it with the cream and jam."
Chloe turned toward the kitchen and paused when she saw Ollie standing there. "Hey. I don't suppose that coffee is for me?"
He smiled and offered her the cup he was holding before passing her the plate. "Almond mocha, double shot, extra whip."
"Careful – a girl could get used to this," she replied. "We need to check out this new café because I think I'm in love with these scones."
Ollie knew it was irrational to be so irritated by baked goods. Just because Oliver made an educated guess about something he thought Chloe might like didn't mean he knew her better than Ollie did. And no matter what the other man thought, Chloe had people here who could support her.
He ate his breakfast in silence as he observed the way Oliver interacted with Chloe. He relaxed around her, but he was also watchful of everything she did, like he was committing her routines and habits to memory. Or maybe he was comparing them to the Chloe he had known. For the first time, Ollie wondered how close Oliver and Chloe were in his world. Had Chloe helped rein Oliver in and set him back on the good path? If so, it might explain why he felt he owed her something even after death.
"It looks like Lois is going to miss our meeting," Chloe said. "But we're having one of our twice weekly lunches tomorrow so I can fill her in."
Ollie nodded. Lois knew everything now, and it made life easier for Chloe since she spent most of her time at Watchtower. "Carter will be over some time this morning to look over the intel you've gathered from monitoring the Kandorians."
That was the excuse he and Carter had settled on the night before, but Chloe's raised brows hinted that she was onto him and didn't appreciate the babysitting detail. However, she didn't argue with him about it.
After he was dressed for the office, Ollie stopped at Chloe's workstation. "I have a late meeting, so I'll call when I'm leaving the office. I told Clark I'd call him when we're all here and ready to start."
She nodded. "Ollie, are you okay? You seem… not yourself."
He rolled his shoulders, stretching his neck as he said, "We need better cots."
"Or you could just go home and sleep in the comfort to which you're accustomed," Chloe said, shaking her head. She glanced over her shoulder where Oliver was setting up a board for target practice. "If I thought I was in any danger from him, I would tell you. I also wouldn't let him stay here."
Ollie ducked his head to meet her eyes. "I guess I don't understand how you seem so sure about him. We don't know him Chloe."
She stared back at him for a moment. Finally she said, "You told me that you trusted my judgment, right? I have… reasons for believing what he's told me. And I know that you'd feel better if you knew what my reasons were, but I don't want to get into it right now."
It went back to whatever they'd talked about while Chloe had Watchtower in lockdown mode. That and the photo album he recalled seeing in her bag that he guessed came from Oliver. She'd shown him one photo, and he suddenly wondered about the other photos in that album. Chloe wasn't naïve so he believed her when she said she had valid reasons for the faith she was placing in a virtual stranger.
"Okay," he said. "But we need to talk later, Chloe. Really talk."
She nodded and reached up to straighten his tie. "I know. Have fun at the office. I saw your schedule and your eleven o'clock meeting with accounting will probably put you to sleep."
He laughed. "You have no idea. I'll send Bart over with Thai food around noon." He squeezed her shoulder and then grabbed his briefcase and laptop bag from her desk on his way out.
Chloe tried to concentrate on the reports she was compiling for Carter, but she found herself distracted by Oliver's target practice. Unlike Ollie, who usually used the Watchtower target as a method of winding down at the end of the day, Oliver was treating it like an actual training session. He moved around the room, lining up difficult shots and then hitting the target dead center every time.
She gave up on the reports when he moved up the stairs to make a downward shot. If it had been anyone else she probably would have been concerned about being hit, but it was clear that he knew his way around a bow every bit as well as Ollie did. As she watched him, she realized that this wasn't just target practice. He was learning the angles of the room and determining the best areas for defense and offense.
Oliver lowered the bow when he noticed her watching him. "Am I bothering you? I can stop."
She shook her head. "No, it's okay. I was just wondering if Ollie has also figured out all the tactical ins and outs of the tower."
"I'm sure he has. He probably did it when he was here alone." Oliver walked down the stairs to join her at her workstation. Nodding at her coffee cup, he asked, "Refill? I could use a cup myself."
"Thanks," she said, handing him her mug.
He returned minutes later and handed one of the mugs to her. "Cream, no sugar."
Chloe took a sip of her coffee. Her eyes strayed to her bag on the workstation – it was open and she could see the family photo on top of the album. She reached for it and held it up for a closer look. It was still disconcerting to see a stranger with her face, and she wondered how Ollie felt being confronted with Oliver in the flesh.
"That was one of her favorite photos," Oliver suddenly said. "Family was really important to her."
"They look happy. How are they now? It couldn't have been easy for them to lose her that way."
"They were devastated," Oliver said softly. "Martha handled most of the funeral arrangements – she and Jonathan were a big support to Moira, Gabe and Allie. I probably should have done more, but I couldn't seem to pull myself together, you know? It was like a nightmare, only I never woke up."
"I'm sure that they understood you needed time," Chloe said.
He reached out and traced Chloe's face in the photo. "People always say that time heals all wounds but it's not always true. Sometimes you hit rock bottom just to find another layer of pain sucking you further down into the pit, and there's no amount of psychology or sympathy that can help you. I thought I understood the worst of it when my parents died, but I survived that. Sometimes I don't think I'll survive losing Chloe and our baby because she was every good thing I had in my life."
Chloe understood grief. She'd lost her mother in a different way, and she'd lost Jimmy. She'd also seen what Jonathan's death did to Martha and Clark. But Oliver's pain was still fresh despite the fact that a year had passed since his wife's death.
His wife and their baby, she reminded herself. She suddenly felt guilty for bringing it up again. "I'm sorry. I'm asking too many questions." She was curious, but she didn't want to upset him.
Oliver smiled as he looked over at her. "Gabe used to say that the reason Chloe became a reporter was because it gave her a reason to ask questions and if it's your job to ask questions…"
"People can't call you nosy," Chloe finished, laughing. "My dad used to say the same thing about me."
"Yeah, well, Allie argued she was mostly just nosy," he said, shaking his head. "But she'd give anything to have her sister back, nosiness and all."
"After Jonathan's funeral, I helped Martha sort through family photos. She said you don't realize the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory that you'd give anything to live just once more."
"I knew her value the moment I met her," Oliver said quietly. "But I understand the sentiment because I'd give anything to have one more perfect day with her. Martha delivered the eulogy at Chloe's funeral. She asked me for my best memory of Chloe and I couldn't give her one specific memory because they were all the best. Every day I had with her was the best day of my life."
Chloe swallowed hard past the lump in her throat. "I'm sorry if I upset you by bringing it up." She shouldn't be surprised that like Ollie, it was his ability to care that made him most vulnerable. She didn't doubt how much he'd loved her because it was written all over his face every time he talked about her. When he reached for her hand, she didn't pull away.
"It's hard to talk about her with most people," he admitted. "I don't mind talking about her with you though. It helps me keep her alive."
"You should talk to her family," she suggested. "I'm sure that keeping that connection alive is just as important to them."
"I wish you could meet them," he said. "With your mom's condition, and Gabe being gone – I'm sorry you don't have a sister like Allie. You deserve more, Chloe. And I think her family would like you."
Chloe looked at the photo again. She had Lois, who had always been like a sister to her, but she'd never had the life she saw in the picture. It stirred a longing she thought she'd let go of a long time ago. "Tell me about a happy memory with her family."
Carter stood silently outside the double doors, listening to Oliver talk to Chloe. They seemed to be discussing the other Chloe's childhood growing up in Smallville. He made it sound damn idyllic – happy parents, happy sister, and there was even a dog mixed into the tale of picket fences and apple pies. Carter didn't know Chloe very well, but he'd read Sylvester's research on the woman and what Oliver was describing was a far cry from the life Chloe had known. It made him wonder what Oliver's angle was.
He pushed open the doors, stopping Oliver mid-sentence.
Chloe looked startled as she stood up. "I didn't even hear the elevator." She shook her head and hurried over to her workstation. "I should be finished with this soon if you want to have a seat."
Carter nodded. "Take your time." He studied the man in front of him. He was definitely Oliver Queen, down to the last detail. He held out his hand. "Carter Hall."
Oliver shook his hand. "Oliver. I'm familiar with the other team members, but you're new."
He watched as Oliver turned back to a few photos scattered across the desk. He gathered them up and began sliding them back into sleeves in an open photo album.
Carter reached for a family shot – Chloe stood smiling with her parents and a woman who must be the sister he'd heard Oliver talking about. When Oliver held out his hand, Carter passed it to him without comment, taking note of the fact that Oliver dropped the album into Chloe's bag on the workstation.
Oliver had taken the time to bring the dead woman's family photos with him. It made tactical sense in case Chloe didn't believe he was who he said he was. But where one or two would have done the job, he'd brought an album, and it looked like he'd given them to her since he didn't place them in his own bag just a few feet away.
Filing this away for later, he joined Chloe at her workstation and got down to business.
Up Next: Team meeting and Lois and Clark meet Oliver, Clark and Chloe have a discussion, and Oliver joins the team on patrols as we get more people's thoughts on Ollie's doppelganger. I'll probably finish Under the Mistletoe next and then edit the next part of this. Thanks for reading!
