Chloe felt like she was juggling with one ball too many. The last few weeks hard been an insane rush from one thing to another. She was splitting her time between Smallville, Metropolis, and Star City.
Thank God for Oliver and his jet. He let her take it whenever it wasn't otherwise needed to fly from Smallville or Metropolis to Star City and see Jimmy. He was in really bad shape. They had him on serious narcotics, but he still complained of pain. Doomsday's attack had broken something inside of him beyond flesh and bone. He was different. She only rarely saw flashes of the boy she loved. Mostly, when he wasn't doped up, he was surly. However, he did actually seem to find comfort in her presence. So she tried to be there as much as her search for Doomsday, work at Isis, and the side projects for Oliver would allow.
Then J'onn was shot. That took priority over lonely husband. Though she would try to return before he awoke if she could. She did what she could to track down what might have gotten J'onn shot.
She couldn't help it though, when she said, "You know, I got to say, being at the mercy of modern technology really sucks." Then when she saw Clark's look, she had to soften it. "I know, I know. I'm happy to be Brainiac-free. But my evil upgrade was really...convenient."
She couldn't believe Clark though when he said, "I'm just glad everything's back to normal."
Normal? Things hadn't been normal since sixth grade. It said something when a Martian shooting was "normal." Instead she said, "So it would seem."
Since she finally had a few minutes with Clark, she took the opportunity to press him about Lana and Lois. She owed it to Lois, still in Star City, to try and protect her. That felt good. She just hoped that whatever Clark and Lana figured out didn't hurt her cousin.
When Lana suddenly packed up her things from The Talon and moved to the Kent Farm, Chloe really wished she had a friend to talk to about it. She was worried for how this would hurt Lois. She was also concerned for how Clark and Lana would handle it if things went south again.
She really needed a friend that could be objective. Everyone she knew was either involved, or couldn't be impartial.
God, she missed Davis. She hadn't spoken to him since he had kissed her. After deleting his messages, she felt weird about calling him. She had hoped to "run into him" at the hospital by visiting J'onn, but the former Martian had been released before she got back back from Star City. That took away her excuse to be at Met Gen.
Should she just break down and call?
She was surprised when Oliver Queen finally gave her the opportunity to try her "just stopped by" plan after nearly getting blown up by Toyman. She wasn't sure why he had called her, but she owed him. She headed out for Met Gen immediately.
Unfortunately, when she got to the hospital, she didn't see Davis anywhere. She broke down and asked the duty nurse if he was on shift.
"Oh, Davis is on a leave of absence."
What? He left town without telling her? Panic clawed in her belly. Was this because of her? What if she never saw him again?
She tried to make her voice sound normal when she asked, "Oh, really? Do you know when he will be back?"
The nurse looked genuinely contrite when she replied, "I'm sorry, but I can't share that information."
She couldn't help it though, when she burst out, "But he is coming back, right?"
The nurse looked at her oddly, and Chloe saw her eyes flick to her brand-new wedding ring. The nurse's eyes grew disapproving.
Chloe knew that if she had any hope of a real answer, she had to try a different tactic. "Because I sent him a thank you card for the lovely wedding gift, but I have an old address for him. I don't want him to think we weren't thankful for the..."
Crap, crap, crap, what would Davis have given for a gift? He hadn't given them one of course.
"...sterling silver nut bowl." She finished lamely.
The nurse must have bought it though, because she smiled indulgently. "Can't have too many of those."
"Yeah," Chloe smiled back sheepishly.
Convinced, the nurse decided to be helpful and began typing on the computer. "Well, he didn't leave a forwarding address, so I presume he will be back." Glancing up at Chloe, she said, "Though I can't give out address information. I suggest you just call him directly and explain the mix up. I can give you his extension here."
"That would be great."
Chloe was relieved that she wasn't caught, but the nurse's reaction did put it into perspective. She couldn't go hunting around for him. Maybe she should just bite the bullet and try the direct approach. He had called, she was the one that didn't reply.
Hitching her bag on her shoulder, she gave herself a mental pep talk. She had every right to call a friend. Yes, he had kissed her and said some things that still gave her shivers in the night, but she was married now. Bad idea or not, she was married, and they would be just friends.
Or nothing.
God, please don't come to that...
She made her way down to Oliver's room.
