Chapter 9
Earlier that morning - The Talon, Smallville, 2010
Chloe glanced out the window only to blanch when she saw a familiar figure heading towards the building.
"Lois, did you have something to do with this?"
"What?"
The innocent look on her cousin's face certainly wasn't fooling anyone. "Why am I seeing Oliver Queen walking up towards the Talon?"
"Maybe he wanted to drop something off?"
Now Lois was just being deliberately obtuse, Chloe thought to herself. "You called him." It wasn't a question.
"Okay, so I might have accidentally told Oliver that you needed his help with something," Lois reluctantly conceded.
No need to tell Chloe that Oliver had in fact called her looking for Chloe and that she only confirmed that they were together. She didn't know why she'd never pictured it before now. Two hot blonds, both ambitious, caring and they just happened to be her best friends. They couldn't be more perfect for each other. And if Chloe didn't want her to play matchmaker, she should have thought up a better lie and stayed away from her. Throwing this future in her face was like an open invitation for a little intervention.
"You know, I think the plan I had was to avoid Oliver finding out that he has a son and another kid on the way. What this'll probably do is scare him so much that younger me will have to spend the next three months scouring the globe to find out where he's gone into hiding!"
"Maybe he's not as opposed to the idea as you might think," Lois said folding her arms over her chest. She liked to think she knew Oliver pretty well. They'd dated, and stayed close friends. She knew underneath all that false bravado and playboy persona, he was a one-woman, house in the country, babies and dogs, the whole family deal kind of guy.
"Or maybe you're just grasping at straws now! I know this Oliver, Lois! We didn't even get together until months from now and that was only as a no-strings, friends-with-benefits deal."
"But Chloe!" Lois protested, trying to glance over the disturbing image of her cousin she'd never considered before. She couldn't be serious. Chloe wasn't the a casual fling type. Obviously she was still hurting a lot more than she let on and more guarded than she first thought. "Think about it. Maybe this is the shove he needs." Lois was beginning to get the impression that it was Chloe that had been putting on the brakes to their the happily ever after from the beginning.
"By throwing the seven-year-old son he doesn't know he has in his face? Lois, I know subtlety isn't your forte but this is kind of overdoing it."
There was a knock at the door and before Chloe could call out a warning, her son had swung the door open.
His mother's warning didn't even blip in his brain when his father came into sight. Connor yelled excitedly, "Daaaaaaaaaaaaddd!"
Oliver was caught off guard when a young boy threw himself forward enveloping him in a tight tackle hug. He was going to ask Lois just who this kid was when Connor grinned up at him and he found himself gaping at the boy's face. A mop of messy blond hair, a chiseled dimpled chin, bright moss green eyes, so much like Chloe's. He didn't get a chance to ponder much more, before the boy babbled on and he found himself captivated by the animated face and awed voice.
"I knew you'd figure out how to get us back! Are we going home now?"
Connor was so excited to see his Dad that he didn't notice his surprise or that he appeared any different to how he normally did. Chloe watched frozen at the scene before her, her past and present were colliding and she had no idea what she should do. It felt like the world threatening to shatter apart at any moment. Or at least her heart was. He seemed as stunned as she felt right now but everything could hinge on the reaction that came next. Her future was in that next moment.
"Well hey there," Oliver said warmly, "And who might you be?"
The boy furrowed his brow. "Dad, it's me. What are you talking about?"
Dad? Did the boy just call him 'Dad'? The longish exclamation from before had been a little hard to decipher.
"Connor!"
The boy jumped as Chloe finally found her voice.
Slowly, Oliver lifted his eyes from Connor's face to see the barely restrained grin that Lois was sporting, while Chloe was chewing on her bottom lip again.
"Something you forgot to mention, Professor?" he asked mildly, quirking an eyebrow in her direction as his lips twitched slightly in suppressed amusement. There was really only one way to read the situation, after all.
Chloe just looked at him for a second. "I have to admit, you seem to be taking this a lot better than I thought you would."
Meanwhile, Connor was looking back and forth at the two of them. The grip he had on his father's arm slackened a little. Had he done something wrong? "Mom? What's wrong?"
Lois must have sensed the growing tension between Chloe and Oliver because she immediately cleared her throat. "Connor, can I get your help over here for a sec?" she asked him, waving him in the direction of the apartment door.
He looked at his mother and when she nodded, Connor gave his parents one last questioning look before letting Oliver go completely and heading over to Lois, who held the door open.
"I'll go buy us some muffins, get this little man a hot chocolate. We'll give you guys a minute. Come on, kiddo."
Oliver watched as Chloe sat down heavily on the couch. "Is that my son?"
Chloe thought about deflecting, but in the end she just reluctantly nodded. "I guess just by us being here, the future was going to change anyway. I should have known I was fighting a losing battle."
Chloe shifted forward and folded the edges of her kimono over her knees. At least in the apartment, there were a few things that still fit her properly. Even with layers, she felt entirely too exposed and under-dressed to be having this conversation with him. Lois had already showered and called into her editor to say she was chasing down a lead and would be in later in the day. She had only just crawled out of bed while overhearing Lois on the phone. Which is when she promptly discovered that Oliver was on his way up.
Her hair was a mess, she hadn't showered or had breakfast. She was doing a fabulous job of making an impression let alone trying to explain possibly staggering news.
Oliver was an early riser, it's where Connor probably got it from. He looked fresh faced and was full of energy even before she was searching blindly to shut off the alarm. Chloe was not a morning person and it showed. She could burn the midnight oil until 2 or 3 in the morning and still be alert and upbeat, but call her out at 6 a.m. before her first coffee and she was grouchy and out of sorts.
"I guess I didn't make it easy for you. I got the feeling you were trying to kick me out last night. Now I know why. I'm not sure if I should be grateful or concerned. Why would you think finding out I had a son in the future would freak me out? Have I ever given you the impression I never wanted kids?" Oliver leaned forward, interlacing his fingers, studying her face intently. He was even more curious as to how this future Chloe's mind worked than his own.
Chloe glanced away and sucked in a calming breath. "No, you never gave me that impression but right now, in this time period, we're friends. We don't really talk about that kind of thing - it's more of a professional relationship."
"Right, we keep the personal stuff right out of it. That's why you felt the need to stage a serious intervention, playing puppet master in a twisted mind game on me to get me back on the path of the hero and responsible citizen, right? 'Cause all we have is a purely professional relationship."
Chloe bristled at his sarcasm. "Ollie, I didn't say that's all we have. And honestly, I was kidding myself thinking I could ever keep myself on an even keel around you. You're always pushing the boundaries I set. Never blatantly, just in your usual subtle manner. Just by being there, always answering my calls, dropping in unannounced, determined to get me out of work that I'd buried myself in. I should have known you were never going to stay in the box I put you in."
Oliver quirked a smile. "Obviously, I never play by the rules. You should know that better than anyone by now." His gaze drifted down to her hands. "I thought that ring was impressive and a little familiar. Did I redesign it?"
Chloe let out a sigh and adjusted the platinum band around her finger. "The diamond ring was your mother's. You added the emeralds and had it reset. When you estimated how much it was in the tower and didn't seem to recognize it, I thought you might have been lying just to get me not to make a fuss. You prevent muggings on a daily basis and here I am walking around with someone's yearly paycheck on my finger?"
"Family heirloom, you can't argue with that."
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you're not freaking out at all?"
Oliver gave her his most charming, heart-melting smile. Her knees were going weak just seeing it again. Good thing she was sitting down.
"What's to freak out about? This gorgeous, smart woman who knows all my faults and flaws, yet stands by me anyway, marries me and gives me a cute kid with another one on the way. We're still together, nine years from now. I'd say if everyone could be so lucky, I'd be out of a second job."
Chloe felt her eyes tearing up. She'd been panicking for nothing this whole time. Then again, she should have known Oliver wouldn't be the one to freak out about all this. Even Tess had noticed before her. Years ago, she'd been reinforcing her emotional armour, feeling more vulnerable with each passing day at how far he was sneaking past her defenses. She'd been so desperate to stay detached, no strings that she hadn't noticed that he was already there. Strings well in place and if she had been to walk away all together, she would have been the one doing the devastating damage. Not the other way around. He would never have left her alone, not of his own choice.
"With you, he has a purpose...you have everything, and you can't even see it."
"As if you'd have trouble finding someone to have you, if I hadn't come along," she finally said, trying to inject a bit of levity into the conversation.
"Why did you hold yourself apart from everyone, even when some of us are trying so hard to prove that we won't fail you?" he asked softly, coming to sit beside her.
Chloe shook her head. "You proved that a long time ago, Oliver. Just right now, she can't see it. Everyone she ever trusted to look out for her, the people that I love, my Mom, my Dad, Jimmy, Clark, they all left. I felt the only way I could survive the hurt was to not let myself feel that deeply again about anyone."
"I guess at some point you do again, at least I hope so," he said with a gentle smile, he squeezed her hands that were so tightly clenched together that her knuckles were white.
Chloe impulsively threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. She felt his surprise but he didn't pull away. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her carefully and hugged her back. She could feel him smiling against her hair.
"Guess I'm not a total screw up. I'm glad to know I can get it right some of the time."
"You're not a screw up, Ollie," she said pulling back and wiping her tears. "Far from it."
"Okay, break it up. Breakfast's here. And fork over some money, Queen. This girl lives on a meager budget, I can't afford to be feeding you and your brood."
Oliver laughed and fished out his wallet. He put a fifty in Lois' hands and she gave him a satisfied smile before pushing the note into her back pocket. "Speaking of purchases, I picked you up something this morning." He stood up and picked up the plastic bag from by the door, presenting it to Chloe. "It's not boutique or anything but Walmart's open all hours and I figured you'd need these ASAP."
Chloe opened the plastic bag and saw a pair of black stretchy maternity pants and a long button-down maternity shirt. She blushed and stood up to hug him again. "Thanks Ollie," she said shyly.
Connor frowned at her, he looked up at Lois and asked, "Why is Mom acting funny with Dad?"
"Connor," Chloe said leaning down to touch his cheek affectionately. "Remember what I told you last night? That we got sent back in time? This is your Dad, but nine years ago, from before you were born."
"Yeah and how old are you again?" Oliver queried from where he stood with a teasing glint in his eyes.
Chloe stretched over and clamped her hands over both Lois and Connor's mouths before either of them could answer. "Nobody's going to answer that." She narrowed her eyes, warning them both. "I think we've let enough secrets out of the bag for now. How 'bout a little mystery, huh?"
Oliver chuckled. "But then how will I know I'm actually on the right track?"
Chloe gave her two hostages one last cautionary glare before retracting her hands. "I think that part will be pretty self explanatory when the time comes, Oliver. No more fishing, wise-guy. And thank you again for this, it was very thoughtful of you. Is it safe for me to use the bathroom? There isn't going to be any conspiring or world ending secrets spilled by the time I get back?"
"He's just a kid, how much damage could he possibly do?" Lois argued brightly, while ruffling Connor's hair with warm affection.
Chloe rolled her eyes and turned, shuffling off to the bathroom before her rational brain found good reason why she couldn't leave the three of them alone and she ended up never bathing at all during her stay in this time period.
...
Oliver watched her leave and took a seat in the chair at the small dining table. Lois set a cup of coffee down in-front of him and he absently fingered the base of the mug lightly, while his mind took him back a few hours.
Outside the boardroom, he'd never been the type to make long term plans. After losing his parents, the things he looked forward to were simplistic and not all that fulfilling. It was all about immediate gratification. He'd been the poster boy for that. School was a means to an end, co-ed events and term breaks couldn't come fast enough. The college years, with his island experience, while it helped change his focus, it didn't change his outlook.
Instead of partying himself to the grave, one could say he chose the faster route, joining up with a league of elite assassins before finding his way. Suiting up, fighting crime and corruption, there was always a chance he could be overwhelmed or cornered in a fight. There was the chance he'd find himself on the wrong end of a gun or fate's forbid, out of arrows. He didn't have an invulnerably complex. It's why the drug RL65 had been so seductive. He knew the risks. Loose brickwork and a grapple line could collapse. Miscalculate a jump and he could fall from fifteen stories up. Be a little too slow in his blocks and take a knife to the arm or stomach. The former had happened before. There were so many variables in his chosen line of work. Any one trip as Green Arrow could be his last.
Seeing Chloe, happily married, with a kid on the way, it forced him to think about something he'd never really allowed his mind to speculate on before. Where did he see himself nine years from now. He was fully committed to the League and his choice to don the Green Arrow persona again. As long as there was injustice. Sure he had the odd thought of having a kid someday. But never tomorrow or even a date in the future.
It was just a thought.
The closest he'd ever come to actually thinking about committing to someone was with Lois. He'd thought about it from all angles, they'd been good together, she knew his secret, even admired and respected him for it. The only thing they hadn't tried was making it work now that there were no secrets between them. But slowly, painfully, he'd realized that she's moved on. And funnily enough, this revelation came after he'd come face to face with his old mentor.
He realized he'd finally let her go too.
He wasn't jealous of the fact that she seemed to love Clark enough to not pursue his secret. He loved that she was happy, that she found someone who made her feel special. And despite the fact that he didn't approve of Clark's keeping her in the dark, he understood. After all he'd made that choice himself before. Vordigan had showed him something else too. He already did have someone in his life. She'd integrated herself so well, they worked seamlessly together, that it was as though his subconscious assumed she always would be there for him.
Chloe was everything that the younger version of himself would stay away from. She was responsible, steady, smart and beautiful. Girls like that saw his type coming from a mile off and had better sense and moral standing than to get involved with guys like him. He couldn't pinpoint the exact moment it happened, but somewhere along the way he had noticed her. Not that he hadn't before. From the moment she'd stepped off the elevator and laid out all their secrets, he'd been impressed. But she was more than an admirable, talented, justice seeking, like-minded individual.
Lately he'd woken up. He saw her as more than just Chloe. She was a woman. Very desirable, worthy of commitment, worthy of adoration, a woman he wanted to have. A woman he'd like to keep till his eyes grew dim and he's charm lacked luster to woo as he once did. The kind of woman who laughed no matter how bad his jokes were, someone to look at him, the way his mother had looked at his dad. He'd always thought Chloe was beautiful, her radiant smile and her smart, sexy sense of style. But he never thought of her as the woman for him. Boy, did fate have a way of opening his eyes.
He wanted to show her that he wasn't what the world painted him to be. He suspected that she knew that. That maybe she even saw him the way he did her. Even if she'd never admit it. After all, the sparks couldn't all be one sided, right? He prided himself on being able to read people. Chloe felt what was brewing between them, he was sure of it. But was it something she would act on?
She'd been hurt a lot by relationships and life in general. He knew she guarded her emotions, her heart, better than she did Watchtower's systems. Breaking through would be an on-going challenge. At times if felt like he was navigating a minefield. Wondering if something he said or did would have her shutting him out. He knew she'd started to notice how frequently he showed up. Sometimes under the guise of work, other times just to check up on whether she'd had lunch or if she was set for coffee.
If she felt uncomfortable by it, she hadn't said anything but she did let on that she thought it was strange with that little raised eyebrow and quirk of a smile upon greeting him each time.
After leaving behind Chloe's future self at Watchtower, he'd finished up his patrol - or rather, wandered around the streets and rooftops of Metropolis a while longer, before heading back home. He knew he wasn't going to be getting any sleep that night anyways, what with the possible glimpse into the future he'd found out about. Even the one attempted mugging he managed to stop hadn't been enough to prevent his mind from speculating about possible theories and what-if scenarios.
As the doors to the elevator closed behind him, he'd shed the uniform and kicked off his boots, padding around the apartment barefoot, in briefs and a muscle-tee. He stretched out the kinks in his muscles and was about to head upstairs when his eye caught sight of an old photo.
It was one that he didn't have on display in the living area of the apartment. Probably because he wasn't smiling in it. He was scowling. He remembered the day vaguely. His dad had taken the picture, while his mom had straightened his tie, smiling at him proudly. He squinted at the picture, noticing that his mother's ring was a marquise diamond. What a coincidence, he thought to himself ruefully. The one Chloe had looked kind of similar...
As his brain automatically pulled up the image of that glittering rock on Chloe's slender pale finger, an unexpected, yet not unwelcome thought popped into his mind and he yanked the photo off the shelf for a closer look.
It couldn't be, could it?
Emeralds, he reminded himself. Chloe's ring had emeralds too. Deep forest green emeralds.
She said she wasn't married to Bruce, but then he imagined his long time friend was a more traditional solitaire kind of guy anyway.
It couldn't possibly be that much of a coincidence, could it?
Unable to shake the need to test his theory, he went to his safe and pulled out the small black box. He snapped open the lid and looked at the rings inside.
There encased in black velvet, were his parents' rings. And with the memory still fresh in his mind, there was no mistaking that the two diamonds were identical. Short of getting them appraised there was no 100% guarantee but he always trusted his instincts. Right now they were screaming that Chloe was being deliberately coy.
The subtle smile when he'd asked about her husband's background...Wait, did that mean he just called his future self a cross-dresser? Oliver groaned - Chloe was never going to let him live that one down.
Snapping the box shut, he placed it back into the safe as he contemplated his next plan of attack. He was going to get the truth from the source - and he'd ply and charm it out of her if he had to.
...
Connor finished eating his Cheerios, that Lois had filled a bowl with, dropped the spoon in and pushed the dish away. He tilted his head slightly and got out of his chair to stand in front of Oliver. His dad hadn't touched his coffee, and he had this half-smile on his face. Mom called it his daydreaming face. He tugged on his dad's jacket, trying to get his attention.
Oliver snapped out of his reverie, smile still in place. He fixed his gaze on the boy currently giving him an impatient look and leaned forward, running his hands over his knees. "So what is it we usually do after breakfast?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.
"Mom said I shouldn't tell you stuff you don't know," Connor reasoned quietly.
Oliver nodded and straightened. "Fair enough. Am I very different? From your Dad?"
Connor frowned deeply and Oliver wondered if he'd phrased the question badly. He hadn't wanted the kid to think that he didn't think of himself as his dad. Even if he was, in a future he had no clue about.
"You look different." Connor said narrowing his eyes as he studied his Dad's face.
"Good different or bad different?" Oliver said with a small smirk, his tone teasing.
"I don't know. You don't have so many..." Connor frowned and traced the side of Oliver's face lightly before pulling open the collar of Oliver's shirt a bit.
Chloe, who'd just arrived back from her shower, was toweling her hair dry when she quickly raced over and stilled her son's hand. "Connor, what did I say about things that we can't change?" She gave him a pointed look and Connor's bottom lip wavered a bit before he abruptly turned and fled the room.
Oliver stared after him for a second and then glanced up at Chloe. "Is he okay?"
Letting her arms fall, twisting the damp towel in her hands. Chloe pursed her lips in thought. She was at odds with telling him what Connor had been looking for. Oliver covered the scar well, never going anywhere without a muscle shirt or fully clothed. He even did yoga in an exercise top when before he would have just worn pants. While he'd accepted that mark like he did all the trials in his life, with a smirk and moving on, it worried her every time she looked at it.
She couldn't tell him without risking a big change in the future. She could warn him though, tell him to be careful. "He worries about you. I do too. You're his hero, he has stars in his eyes sometimes when he looks at you but he knows you can get hurt. He doesn't want you to get hurt. Ollie, promise me that you won't take risks, that you won't underestimate anyone you're up against, even if it seems like they're down for the count. You always tell me to never take your eyes off a target. Remember that, okay?"
Oliver frowned and took her hand, squeezing it. "Sounds like good advice. You sure it was me that said that?"
Chloe smiled and lead him back to the couch so that they could both sit down. She was trying hard not to think about how warm and comforting his hand felt covering hers, how it had stirred a bunch of butterflies in her stomach. "I've always trusted your judgment Oliver. You never say anything without having a good reason. Even when you're joking, you're half serious."
Oliver let her hand go and scratched the back of his neck, chuckling nervously. She was turning the tables on him in the unnerving department. He wasn't prepared for her to be so candid about how well she knew him. His Chloe kept her feelings about everyone tightly locked up in her head. You never quite knew where you stood with her, at least not after she'd lost Jimmy. How close was too close to stand, any kind of touching was pretty much unwelcome unless it was the first aid variety and personal conversations or discussing feelings were a no go zone.
"So, when did I manage to get lucky enough to deserve all this?" he said gesturing in her general direction. He didn't mean to keep bringing it up, he just found it too perfect to be real.
Chloe smiled. "Can't tell you that. Although I can say that you're remarkably subtle and persistent." She squeezed his hand and got up. "Lois and I are going to take Connor shopping in Grandville. He needs clothes - he can't hang out in his pjs all day."
"Why not just go down Main Street?"
Chloe looked at him in disbelief. "Do you know how many questions I'll get? Everyone knows me in Smallville. I wouldn't get two feet without whispers spreading like wildfire. And imagine what it would do to Chloe when she gets back. With all that she's had to deal with already, she hardly needs the extra gossip."
To be continued.