A/N: OMG!! I just checked Justin Hartley's screen credits and it shows that Ollie will be in Conspiracy. And it doesn't say "Credit Only" like it does for Persuasion, so I can only assume (HOPE!!!!) that we will actually see him… maybe???? Wishful thinking?????????????

Part Five

Oliver walked into the Kent house, arms loaded with groceries. Whenever you put Clark and Bart in the same room, you had to have more food than an army could eat to keep them happy, and Ollie had come packing.

He smiled at the sight that greeted him. Clark and Chloe were flitting around the kitchen, placing things in the oven, taking things out, pulling out plates and flatware, looking truly at home in there. Chloe glanced over and gave him an award-winning smile that truly lit up the room. He couldn't help but smile back.

"Hey, guys," he greeted, making his way over to the center island to unload the goodies he had come bearing.

"Hey yourself," his wife answered, her eyes never leaving his, even as she swatted A.C.'s hand away from the mashed potatoes he was trying to steal. Chloe was looking a hundred times better than she had the last few days. The color had returned to her cheeks and her eyes were not as dull looking. She still looked like she hadn't had a proper nights sleep in forever, but it was definitely an improvement.

"Dude, she's got eyes in the back of her head," A.C. whined.

"She'd have to have them to put up with you guys," Dinah quipped, earning her a pout from the surfer.

Oliver smiled at his friends… no, his family. That's truly what they had become. Courtney and Carter had been right; this was what his team truly needed. The stronger their bonds, the stronger the team had become.

"What are you cooking?" he asked the duo.

"Nothing, Mrs. Kent did the cooking tonight, we're just warming it up… well, I did make mashed potatoes, but… that's not that hard," Chloe replied.

"Speak for yourself," Lois mumbled under her breath.

"Yes, well, we aren't all blessed with your culinary talents, Lois," Clark quipped with a smile.

"Shove it, Smallville."

Oliver just laughed. He meandered over to the stacked plates and asked if he could help.

"Of course, we can always use help. This lot over here's more or less useless," Chloe told him. He smiled and picked up the plates, carrying them over to the table. He carefully laid each plate in its place, arranging the flatware next to it before returning to the kitchen to help carry the food out to the table as well.

"Hey, I resent that remark," Victor told her while coming over to grab the potatoes she had just finished mixing.

"Okay, most of them are useless," she amended with a smile.

"Table's all set," Oliver announced while Clark and Chloe brought the rest of the food over along with pitchers of tea and water.

"Hey, guys! Dinner's ready," Clark called out to the rest of the group. One by one, they made their way over to the dining table, quickly taking their seats, Bart finding the one smack dab in the center of the table where he could reach every dish easily.

"Dig in."

~*~*~*

Chloe loved dinners with the entire League around. It really made it feel like she belonged somewhere, that she was a part of something bigger. The last few years she had begun to doubt if it was all worth it. The sacrifices she had made were starting to wear her thin, but that had all changed when they had met the JSA. They had learned an important lesson from Carter and they were trying their hardest to live up the his standards.

Marrying Oliver had also been a blessing. She hadn't really realized how much good it would do her to get out of Watchtower every once in a while until he had dragged her out. He had truly lived up to his role, saving the damsel the way he had. Or maybe it was just pay back for dragging his sorry ass out of the gutter after Doomsday, either way, she owed Oliver Queen so much, and this was how she was going to repay him, by dropping the bombshell from hell on him.

She glanced over to her side and watched him for a minute. He was laughing at something Lois had said, his face so happy and carefree for a moment. It didn't look like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, right now he just looked like a normal guy, enjoying a normal dinner with his normal friends. Too bad nothing in their lives was actually "normal".

"So, Clark, I read yesterday's front page of the Planet, pretty impressive. Nice by-line by the way," Oliver said with a nod of acknowledgement toward the dark-haired man across from him.

"Thanks, but really, I couldn't have done it without Lois. She really is the better half of this partnership."

"Wow, handsome and modest. Where were you when they were handing out the modesty, Ollie?" Dinah asked, the last barb aimed at Oliver causing the whole table to laugh.

"Yeah, funny. I, uh, must have been absent that day."

Chloe rolled her eyes. They were like little kids when they all got together, it was refreshing.

"Clark, man, you have to tell Mrs. K that this pot pie is the bomb!" A.C. spoke up from the end of the table.

"I'm sure she'll appreciate the compliment."

"Yeah, Clark, that's something I miss, your mom's cooking," Bart agreed.

"You know, it's probably a good thing you have your mom's cooking to fall back on, we all know what a whiz Lois is in the kitchen," Oliver teased.

"Ha ha, you really think you're something, Mr. Queen, don't you?" Lois snipped at him.

"No, Lois, I know I'm something."

"Yep, missed that day for sure," Chloe spoke up.

Oliver turned towards her, a smile gracing his lips.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be on my side?"

"Not when you're being egotistical. You're on your own there, bud."

Everyone at the table broke into a chorus of laughter.

"Dude, you met your match there," A.C. told him, slapping him on the back.

"Why, thank you, A.C. I'll take that as a compliment," Chloe said, giving the other man a smile.

Oliver just shook his head. What a family indeed.

~*~*~*~

Part Six

The entire group crashed in the living room after dinner, mingling and talking about everything and nothing. They were just enjoying a night off from the danger and stress that accompanied their normal lives.

Oliver went out to his car and returned with two bottles in tow.

"Hey, guys," he called out, getting everyone's attention, "brought a surprise," he announced, holding up the bottles. "Oxford's Reserve, thirty year bourbon, courtesy of the Queen Family Collection."

"Sweet! That stuff has to cost a fortune," Bart said with awe.

"None for you, mister, you're not legal yet," Chloe said, earning her a glare from the younger man.

"Almost legal," he muttered.

"Oxford messed up and forgot about a few barrels of bourbon, leaving them very little that hadn't evaporated. They only got a handful of bottles from it and my parents, for whatever reason, bought all of them."

"Awesome, pass it around," A.C. smirked, eyeing the bourbon.

Oliver poured each person two fingers full of the amber liquid and passed around the glasses.

He noticed Chloe hesitate for a minute before taking the glass from him. Once everyone held a glass of bourbon, he raised his own.

"To friends," he said, meeting each person's eyes.

"To friends," they all replied.

Oliver started to raise his glass to his lips but before he could take a sip, Lois voice rang out.

"No, you don't, missy! Not in your condition, are you crazy???"

Oliver turned with a confused expression on his face to find Lois glaring at a blushing and panic-stricken Chloe.

"Lois, what are you talking about? Condition, what?" he asked, completely confused.

He watched Lois go pale and turn scared eyes to him.

"Oh, shit… you don't know yet?" she asked before turning back to a glaring Chloe. "Oops. Oh, me and my big mouth. Sorry, cuz," she said sheepishly. "Oh well, since I just ruined the big surprise, let me be the first to say congratulations." With that she turned to face him. "Ollie, you're going to be a dad!" she squealed, throwing her arms around him in a hug.

Oliver just stood there, frozen. He looked at Chloe, hoping to find confusion in her eyes as well, but instead he found guilt and sadness. Unshed tears were pooling in her eyes and he knew. Lois wasn't imagining things, Chloe was really pregnant.

"Ollie, aren't you excited?" Lois asked, pulling back from him.

"I… uh… I…" he stuttered, unsure what to say.

"Lois, honestly, can't you keep your mouth shut?" Clark asked, a little more bite behind his words than he meant. "Come on, let's get out of here," he told her, dragging her out by the arm.

"But this is your house," she argued as he dragged her out the front door.

Oliver turned to the rest of the League, eyeing each one of them, looking for guilt in their eyes.

"So much for 'scandal free'," he muttered, his chest aching and his jaw clenched. "Okay, which one? Which one of you?!"

He turned back to Chloe, his breathing rapid and uneven.

"Who's the father, Chloe," he asked, his voice like ice. He turned an accusing gaze towards A.C.

"Dude, don't look at me."

Oliver opened his mouth to say something.

"You," he heard a quiet whisper, her voice heavy with tears.

He whipped around to stare at her.

"Okay, boys, that's our cue to leave," Dinah spoke up, herding the rest of the guys out of the room towards the front door.

"The baby's yours, Oliver."

A/N: Hehe, I had to, sorry, but it's just the way I envisioned it.. I mean, even Lois has said "you know me, I can't keep a secret". And in Smallville, when does anything go as planned??