Vertigo

Yeah! Arrow's been picked up by the CW.

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He understood why his mother didn't want Thea to know about their father but he still thought she was wrong.

Someone had once told Oliver that you are never truly grown until your parents are gone. He could agree with that with his own little caveat. The truth about your parents can certainly aid in the maturing process too.

Oliver though back to the moment he had been forced to accept that his father wasn't invincible, wasn't the perfect pillar of society he had always thought him to be.

There was a part of him that knew his father wasn't without faults. Certainly he was old enough to understand that, but the truth was so much more. So much worse.

It was an earth shattering moment.

He would have preferred that Thea never experience that but if the cost of her innocence was prison than that was too high a price.

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He sat behind her in court and hoped that the judge would go easy on her. He would give anything to change places with her.

He tried his best to focus on the proceedings but the pomp and circumstance was losing his interest. It was his firm belief that the wheels of justice sometimes moved too slow. Turning around and scanning the room he noticed her sitting in the back corner.

She was leaning over her laptop and she looked like every other member of the press except when her eyes met his he saw sympathy and kindness. She offered him a sad smile and he felt some of the load lift. He had no reason to feel better but he had found himself relaxing in her presence.

In the weeks since he had shown her the list they had worked closely to uncover everything they could about all the names. Discussing who could easily be eliminated and who would require more work.

They had crossed off three more names together and with every victory he felt closer to her. Like a team. Like she was his partner.

The kiss haunted him.

Since his last foray into dating had gone so horrible wrong he had steered clear of the fairer sex. Focusing all his energy on training and his mission. He kept telling himself that was the reason he was dreaming about her. The reason he was fantasizing about her.

The time spent together wasn't helping. There was definitely an attraction and he knew she could feel it too. The way her eyes lingered on him. The way he caught her watching him. The way her hand stayed for just a moment too long.

But the few times he had tried to test her she had moved back. She would only let him get so close before she would pull away. Make some excuse to leave. It was frustrating. Worse still was why he cared at all.

As Oliver Queen he could go out to any club in the city and find dozens of women all willing to help him burn off this sexual energy that wouldn't stop building.

For some reason the idea of some random encounter wasn't appealing.

"Russian mobster?" Chloe smiled. As Oliver and Diggle walked back into the basement of the nightclub. She couldn't help but think that they really needed a name for it since "Batcave" was already taken.

"And apparently Oliver can resurrect the dead." John and Chloe seemed to have reached some sort of mutual agreement that they needed to work together to keep Oliver on the straight and narrow.

For a moment her face paled before she shook herself out of it. "Ooh Color me intrigued." Chloe and Diggle smiled as Oliver offered them a long suffering sigh.

The last few weeks she and Diggle had fallen into a pattern of banter that always seemed to make her smile. It wasn't quite the level of verbal judo she had once enjoyed but it was at least a nice challenge. He kept her on her toes and he was surprisingly funny.

"Can we talk about Vertigo?" Oliver walked over the laptop that Chloe had pulled up her findings on the drug Oliver had confiscated from the dealer.

"I've never seen anything like it. The chemical composition is cutting edge. Seriously, this guy is genius level crazy." She punched up a few files and turned the laptop screen towards the boys.

She smiled at that thought. Her boys. She cared about them. They could never replace her original extended family but at least she didn't feel a so alone anymore.

She had a mission.

She had a team.

"Laurel got the judge to agree to a deal for Thea but this guy needs to be stopped before the drug sweeps across the city."

Chloe smiled when Diggle raised an eyebrow at her.

"You two want to share what is going on between you."

Chloe smiled a little and Diggle just raised his hands. "It's nothing."

"Yeah Oliver, Sullivan and I just agree on a few things. Isn't this what you wanted?" John smiled innocently.

"Don't turn this back on me." Diggle turned away from Oliver back to Chloe. The smile growing.

"Relax Oliver, It's just that you have a certain tone of voice you use when you are talking about justice."

Oliver wanted to argue but he remained silent. If being the butt of their jokes helped them to work better as a team he could live with it.

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"Coming in hot." Diggle spoke into the com as Chloe met him at the door. Oliver was slung over his shoulder twitching and Diggle was starting to buckle under the weight.

"Table is set up downstairs and the herbs are mixed. I have an adrenalin shot too but I really don't want to give him unless we have no choice."

Diggle managed to get Oliver down and on the table that seemed to double as an operation table more times than he cared to think about.

He was strapped down before Chloe could get the herb concoction down his throat.

Chloe watched as his whole body went tight before he slipped into unconsciousness. She felt Diggle's hand grip her shoulder and she could only assume her face showed her fear. She hated to see him hurt.

She was coming to realize that no matter how much she didn't want to, she cared about him. Worse still was the fact that she wanted him. Wanted him to be hers. To be his.

It was a realization that made her heart soar and break all at the same time.

Loss and hope. Her life was a becoming a roller coaster ride of highs and lows.

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Chloe sat and watched as the news reported on the fall of "the count" and Thea Queen's lenient sentence. There was talk of over zealous cops and rich people who didn't have to live by the rules of the rest of the population but Chloe tuned it out.

She heard the familiar thump of his feet landed on the balcony and she slid over on the couch making room for it. There was a part of her mind that pointed out how comfortable they had gotten but she ignored it.

"How did Thea's first day with Lauren go?" She watched as he reached for the glass of scotch she had left on the coffee table for him.

"Good." He took a long sip and she watched his eyes get that faraway stare they always did when there was talk of Lauren. "I think this is going to be good for her."

Chloe just nodded and sipped from her own glass. It had been a long day and she had already been falling asleep before he arrived. As the silence stretched she found herself drifting again. Sleep pulling her down.

She wasn't surprised to wake up on her couch to the morning sun streaming through her windows. She was however surprised to realize she was snuggled tightly against Oliver's chest while he smiled peacefully in his own slumber.

She was torn between closing her eyes for a little bit longer and pretending like this was normal and pulling away to avoid the awkward moment that would surely occur when he awoke and realized what had happened.

The decision was made for her when Oliver's arm tightened around her a moment before his eyes opened. The slight smile from sleep still touching his lips.

He pulled her closer and kissed her lips before she had a chance to move away and Chloe stiffened under the endearment. As he pulled back he saw the shock in her eyes.

The last side effect of the vertigo had been vivid dreams. Dreams so real that it had taken him a few moments to realize where he was when he had woken up. The last few nights had all been dreams about the island.

He had woken up shaky and ready to fight. That was why he had reminded himself he needed to leave last night but the couch had been so warm and the sound of Chloe's tiny sighs had soothed him.

He hadn't dreamt about the island though. There had been a beach house with warm breezes and he had been lazing in a large four poster bed with soft white sheets and her.

Chloe.

She had smiled and giggled and they had explored every each of each other.

She had been his.

Heart and soul forever.

He wasn't sure how he knew but she had been his wife, the names on the list were a thing of the past. He was happy. Content. His soul was at ease. It was so clear.

When he woke up and she was snuggled against him it was like he was still there. She was his and he was hers and a warm wave washed over him.

It was natural for him to kiss her.

It was only her shocked look that had pulled him out of the dream fully.

Dream Chloe had looked at him with adoration, with kindness, with…. Love.

"I'm gonna go put on some coffee." She pulled away from him slowly. She hated the way with every inch her loneliness grew.

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AN

You guys are so awesome. I love that you are liking this silly little story. I'll try and keep them coming.