o-0-o-0-o Thanks to ica013, whatweareafraidof, GoChlollie, Raya, Hellzz-on-Earth, morning1 and BerryEbilBunny for reviewing. The new chapter is here. Hope you'll enjoy it. Leave me a review- they make me happy : ) o-0-o-0-o
"I've never really been good with babies, or let's be honest- had much interaction with them at all, but I'm kind of in love with this little thing of cuteness here," Lois said to Lana as she made funny faces at Rina.
"Well, I don't think it's that hard to be crazy about this little girl," Lana said, grinning at Lois and her funny faces.
"Oh, and there's a new member of our little club as of this morning," Lois said.
"And which club is that?" Lana asked.
"The club consisting of people Rina actually likes," Lois said, laughing a bit.
"So who is joining Chloe, you and I?" Lana asked.
"Clark."
"I told you that he would be," Lana said, amused.
"And I didn't disagree with you," Lois reminded her.
"Who do you think will be next?" Lana asked.
"If Rina actually has a preference for women in general, I'd say Dinah and Tess when they actually are in her vicinity for more than 5 seconds-"
"Tess?" Lana asked, unable to not laugh.
"Yeah, Tess. I can't picture her as being good with kids at all, but because I think that, I bet you she'll actually get along with the little princess."
Lana just laughed again. "That's probably not a bad theory. What about Oliver, you think he'll come around soon?"
"Well, you heard Chloe before, at least he promised her that he was going to try to do better with the baby. He's just jealous right now, honestly that's what it is," Lois said, rolling her eyes, thinking about Oliver and the baby. "I know part of him is cautious and paranoid because of who Rina's daddy is, but honestly, he's just so in love with Chloe that I think he's more paranoid because Rina is Davis' daughter, period, and not because of the potential danger that her DNA could pose.. Chloe loved Davis, and Ollie knows it now. He heard the words come from Chloe's own lips and he was so stuck on Chloe's words that Davis would have been perfect for her that he convinced himself that everything was going to turn out badly... Ollie's gonna come around, and I think it'll be sooner rather than later, even if it's only because this girl is now permanently a part of Chloe's life. Ollie's not gonna let Chloe slip away from him, and my bet is that before long, Ollie's gonna fall for baby Rina's charms too."
"Bart or Oliver- who is Rina letting in the club first?" Lana asked, thinking of the young speedster with the little crush on Chloe, the guy who she could see clearly really had a lot of respect for Chloe too.
"Bart," Lois said, laughing. "He's quite the charmer."
"That's my bet, too," Lana said, grinning. "But I don't think it'll be long before she let's Oliver in, either. With how much Chloe means to him, he's gonna make himself get over whatever paranoia and jealousy that he's got pretty quick, because I think I can say with a strong amount of certainty Oliver wants to make Chloe happy and he's gonna see how much Chloe loves Rina and it won't be long until he finds that he might just love this tiny thing, too."
"Ollie's stubborn as hell, but he's got a good heart- I think everything is gonna work out nicely," Lois said.
"And after we figure out what the hell is going on and find Lex, and make sure he can't be a threat to anyone anymore, everything is gonna be excellent."
"Excellent sounds awesome. I'm looking forward to that," Lois said, cringing a little bit. "Right now we've got to deal with a messy diaper."
"You look scared, Lois," Lana laughed.
"Diapers with baby crap are scary, Lang. Come on, you get to help me."
"I'll give you some credit for not entirely shoving the diaper changing duty on me," Lana said, very amused with how uncomfortable Lois looked.
"Oh don't be mistaken, I'm pretty sure that if this was any other kid, I'd shove this completely on you. You're lucky that I'm a sucker for her."
Lana just rolled her eyes and laughed.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"I really shouldn't be surprised that you can still remember the combination to this after over a year, but yet I am," Clark said, laughing a little as Chloe opened up the storage locker that Davis had rented out and paid for the year earlier.
"Holy crap," Chloe said quietly. "I didn't think there'd be this much-"
"Wow," Clark said, impressed as he looked into the locker. "That's got to be at least a couple hundred thousand dollars."
"Wow is right," Chloe said, throwing the money into her purse.
"Wow," Clark repeated.
"We both said that already," Chloe told her best friend, chuckling.
"The guys in your love life know how to go all-out for you, I'll say that," Clark said, nudging her playfully. "Jimmy buys you Watchtower, Davis does God knows what to leave you with a ton of money and Oliver buys you a satellite. It's good to know that they recognized the awesomeness that is you."
Chloe laughed and just shook her head.
"On a different note, how are you feeling?" Clark asked.
"About?" Chloe asked.
"Everything today."
"I'm feeling okay. I mean, I know we had to get a DNA sample from Rina so that we can answer some of the questions you all have and so we can actually confirm what I can already tell without a doubt- that she's Davis's daughter, but it would be nice if everyone just felt as sure about her as me, you know, about there being nothing threatening about her," Chloe said shrugging.
"You wouldn't have let Emil touch her if it was something that was really going to hurt her," Clark said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.
"That's right, so it was good that she wasn't screaming."
"I know it was nothing big, but really, I'm surprised with how little she cried. It's pretty amazing what you can do for her, how you can so completely calm her down. It's pretty sweet, actually. You're really good for her."
"Honestly, I think she's really good for me too, actually. I've never really been a baby person, but with her, well- I just don't want her to go anywhere. I really want her with me. I mean, I don't really know how to raise a kid and that's still scaring me, but it just feels like she's supposed to be with me," Chloe told him.
"You like taking care of people. You've got this need to save people just as much as any of us on the team."
"Speaking of protecting and saving- I know I checked in with my dad before, but at this point I'm kind of worried about him. I mean, what's to say that Lex hasn't decided to turn his attention onto him now? I want to go check up on him. You up for adding another stop on our little trip today?" Chloe asked Clark.
"Sure, that's fine with me," Clark said.
"Thanks," Chloe said, feeling relieved.
"No prob."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
"Come on! Do I really have to go?" Oliver asked, sounding like a child.
His secretary couldn't help but laugh. "You are the boss, and they want the top guy there if the deal is going to go down. Think of it like this Mr. Queen, you get out of town for a couple days maximum to close this deal and then you probably never have to actually see these people face to face again."
"Bigger picture. Good point. What would I do without you, Marie?" Oliver said, giving her a smile as he started to head back into his office.
"Mr. Queen, I've been debating on if I should tell you this or not, but I think you should know, and I'll apologize in advance if it makes you angry-"
"What is it, Marie?"
"Do you remember awhile back when the cameras caught you and you ended up on TV with the mystery blonde?" the secretary asked.
"Yes."
"I'm not going to name names because I don't want people getting angry with me, but I think you deserve to know, just in case something might come out of it. There's been talk here and there since then, but there's been a lot more of it recently. Some people are thinking that you might be settling back into your old ways," the older woman said carefully, not wanting to offend.
"My old ways?"
"Their words, not mine were precisely 'his drunken, whoring playboy ways.' And there were some comments about how maybe if that was the case, you weren't fit to be in charge."
"Really?" Oliver said, trying not to get angry.
"Frankly I don't think it's anyone's business what you do in your personal life. You run the company wonderfully, and really that's what's important," Marie said, trying to calm him down, seeing that he was at the very least irritated, if not angry.
"That's nice to hear, thank you. But I assure you those days are long gone. That's not me anymore. Trust me, Marie, I'm a one-woman man now. The 'mystery blonde,' she's been the only one for quite a bit now. She's the only one I want."
Marie just smiled.
"What?" Oliver asked her.
"You really love this girl, huh?"
"Yeah," Oliver said, softening.
"Well, I'm happy to hear that, and I'll pass along the message if I hear anymore comments like that."
"Thank you," Oliver said, entering his office and closing the door.
Oliver put what Marie said out of his head and picked up his phone to call Chloe and let her know that he would have to fly out for a day or two later on, hoping she wouldn't be annoyed with him. He already knew that she would think he was making this stupid business trip up as an excuse to get out of going shopping with her later. Chloe was all about getting things done today, and she wanted to go shopping for Rina. She ran down her to-do list for the day with him last night.
He knew that Chloe asked him if he'd go with her as a way to tell him 'hey, see I'm not trying to push you away' without actually coming out and having to repeat it again. He had told her that he would go with her and he knew now, though, that she'd think he never intended to go with her at all. And that wasn't true, he had every intention of going. If it was going to keep Chloe happy, he was going to do it. But he really did have to leave town today.
Oliver wondered if Chloe had already got Jonn to make a visit to Rocco and his wife, the people who Chloe had paid so that Selena could have a room with them. Chloe knew that she wasn't going to be able to deal with questions from them about where Selena vanished to all of the sudden, so she wanted Jonn to, as bad as it sounds, play with their heads a bit. And as for the baby things that had already been bought, Chloe couldn't bear to actually use that stuff. It had to all be new. Those things Selena already had were going to get donated.
He wondered where Chloe was exactly now. He knew that she had had a lot of things planned for today. When she said was going to get things done, she meant it. He wondered if she'd already seen Emil and let him do his thing with the baby. A whole bunch of questions could soon be answered with just a little bit from the baby.
They would confirm what everyone was already pretty much sure of- that the baby was Davis'. It would tell them if their suspicions that Selena was not actually Rina's biological mother were correct, and it could give them answers as to what exactly Rina was or wasn't.
The kid was cute, but it was still so odd to him how Chloe could be so attached to someone she just met. Anyway, that didn't really matter at the moment, what mattered was making sure Chloe wasn't going to be pissed off at him for having to leave.
He dialled her phone number and hoped for the best.
The phone rang a few times before Chloe picked up.
"Hey Ollie," she said, answering.
"What's up, Professor?"
"I'm just being my paranoid self. Me and Clark are heading to my dad's place. I just want to check on him and make sure everything is okay. I know I checked in with him before, but I'm a little worried that Lex might set his attention on my parents. I know that everything is good with my mom, but my dad isn't as hard to locate as my mother is."
"Don't worry, Chlo. Your dad's fine. The offer is still open- if you want him closer to you if it'll make you feel better, all you need to do is convince him to come and I'll get him wherever you want him to be," Oliver said, wanting to make sure she didn't stress anymore than she already had been.
"Honestly, I might take you up on that depending on whether I actually feel like he's safe or not after I see him... And by the way, thanks for finally handing that footage over. I appreciate it," she told him.
"I figured, #1 it wasn't mine to keep and #2 if I just threw it out you might not believe that I actually got rid of it, so it's yours to do whatever with... Okay, now don't be mad at me-"
"What is it?" Chloe asked, closing her eyes for a second.
"I can't come with you today. I've got to head out of town. There's this big deal that's going to go down, but I need to be there if it's going to go through. I'm gonna be gone until at least tomorrow."
"Oh," Chloe said, trying not to sound disappointed.
"You're mad. I can hear it in your voice."
"I'm not mad," she said, lying.
"Yeah you are," he sighed. "Listen, I swear to you that I'm not just making this meeting up. I actually really do have to go."
There was silence for about ten seconds. "It's fine Oliver, honestly it'll probably be better without you. You'd probably want to pull your hair out after five minutes in the baby store."
"I'd suck it up for you, Sidekick, I swear. I'd suck it up and smile, but I can't really avoid taking this meeting."
"Don't worry about it. It's okay, really," Chloe said, laughing a little at she pictured Oliver in the baby store.
"When I get back, I'll do whatever you want. I promise," he told her.
"I'm gonna hold you to that."
"So you don't hate my guts?"
"No," she said, grinning. She knew that he wanted to hear a little more than that, but she wasn't going to say what he wanted to hear first.
"So that's it, you don't hate me? There's nothing else?" he asked her, laughing.
"I think 'I don't hate you' sums up my feelings pretty well. Is there anything else you need to say to me before I hang up" she said stubbornly, still grinning.
"Stubborn woman. You're not gonna let me hear it first, are you?"
"Nope."
"Fine. I love you," he told her. "And on a very serious note again, don't go anywhere alone."
"Lex is after me, I get it, Ollie. Don't worry. Trust me, I don't think I'd be able to sneak off anywhere alone even if I tried."
"Good," Oliver said, sounding pleased.
"Okay, now go get yourself ready, Queen. The sooner you deal with this meeting crap the sooner you get back to me."
"When you put it like that, I'm pretty eager to get to that meeting."
"Alright Billionaire Boy, go do your thing. I'll talk to you later."
"Once again, Sullivan- I love you."
"I love you, too," she told him, hanging up.
"Aww, so sweet," Clark teased.
"Shut up," Chloe said, smacking his arm.
"As long as you've got the right address, we should be here. This should be your dad's place."
"This place definitely looks like something my dad would pick. Small, cozy, not ugly but not screaming 'look at me'," Chloe said walking up a few steps.
She noticed that the door was open. "Daddy?" she called out. "Surprise."
When she didn't get an answer, she made a move to walk in the house, but Clark pulled her back.
"I'll go first. Your dad doesn't seem like the type of guy to leave his door open if he's not home."
Chloe started to panic. She followed Clark inside and her heart fell when she saw that things had been thrown all over the place.
She pulled out her phone and called her father, but she got no answer.
"Clark, he's not answering me. Something's wrong. Something happened. Someone was here," Chloe said, starting to hyperventilate. "They have my dad. Oh my God!"
"Chloe, I need you to breathe," Clark said, trying to keep her calm.
Chloe's phone rang and she answered it without checking the caller ID. "Dad?" Chloe said, picking up the phone.
"Hey babe," Lois said. Chloe knew immediately that something wasn't right.
"What is it, Lo?"
"Your dad is here and Pete's with him. We're all back at Emil's place now instead of the Talon. Your dad and Pete- they're hurt and it's fairly serious, but they'll be okay. Rina's absolutely fine, umm- but our apartment isn't. Just get Clark to get you back to Emil's as soon as possible. Don't panic, everyone is okay, but just get back here soon."
"We're on our way," Chloe said, taking a deep breath, hanging up.
"I don't know what the hell happened, but we need to get to Emil's place right away," Chloe said, trying really hard to keep herself calm.
Clark grabbed Chloe and sped off.
