Chapter 30 — Don't Stop Me Now

"Have you spoken to Oliver," Dr. Specter asks. She was sitting in the armchair she always sat in when with a patient. Her current patient was sitting in the armchair across from her. Zoey had certainly changed in the months she had been away from Metropolis.

Zoey shifts. She runs a hand over her skirt. "No. He is still avoiding me. But I have seen numerous paparazzi photos of Oliver stumbling out of clubs or bars with random women. I like to stay out of editorial decisions."

"But you've been using your ownership of The Daily Planet to keep those photos and the stories from being published."

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Partly to protect Oliver. Mostly to protect myself. The past eight months have been hard enough. I don't need the world knowing that my husband left me. My life is no one's business. My personal tragedies are not entertainment for the masses."

"I've read that the Arts and Culture section of the Daily Planet has gotten rid of gossip columnists."

"We did. I did the same thing at the Star City Observer. I told my editors that we need to focus on arts and culture. Not the personal lives of celebrities. Other people can cover that."

"How did that go down?"

"At first, no one was happy. But since we're getting exclusive interviews with top celebrities everyone has changed their tune."

"Are you ready to go back to work? Back to school?"

Zoey lightly smiles. "As ready as I'll ever be."

News of Zoey's return had quickly spread throughout the Daily Planet. With his latest run-in with Oliver in mind, Clark makes his way up to Zoey's office. Lois was out of town, sent on an assignment to cover a UN conference in Japan. He raises a fist to knock on the door, but it opens. "Clark," Zoey brightly greets. "I was just going to go looking for you. I have a story." Zoey wraps a hand around his bicep and leads him away from the office. "Apparently, Tess Mercer is in the hospital. Due to a nervous breakdown."

Clark frowns. "Tess isn't the type to have a nervous breakdown."

"Exactly. Which is why we're going to pay a visit to her in the hospital."

Clark sighs. He wanted to talk to her about Oliver and how he had gotten worse since Jimmy's death. Oliver had been on a downward spiral for months. "Zoey, have you talked with Oliver lately?"

Zoey freezes. She knew questions about Oliver would pop up. She was hoping that it would take longer before someone asked. At the same time, she was thankful that it had been Clark who asked. "If you know where my husband is or what he is doing, I'd love to know. He hasn't spoken to me since the end of February."

Clark stares at her. That was the first time he had heard of Zoey and Oliver having problems. Whenever he asked about her, Oliver would just say that she was doing fine and focused on her recovery. "He's in a bad place. He could really use you there."

"I have tried, Clark, but he just ignores me. There's nothing I can do."

"You could've come back to Metropolis earlier."

"You know what, I'll go and see what's going on with Tess by myself," Zoey coldly says. "I'm sure there's a cat up a tree or something that you can go save." She turns and walks away. The last thing she wanted or desired was having to defend the choices she had made over the past eight months.

Zoey frowns as she listens to Dr. Alexis Grey on the phone. Alexis had been one of Zoey's doctors while she was in the hospital. It had been during those three weeks where Zoey had struck up a friendship with the young doctor.

Zoey glances at the young, dirty blonde doctor as she examines the read-outs from the various machines connected to her. "Is it true that one of the residents in your year gave three nurses crabs," she asks.

Alexis raises an eyebrow. "How did you hear that?"

"Sometimes the nurse on the night shift will leave the door open. And they gossip a little too loud. Which is fine. There's no TV and I've already finished three of the Outlander novels. So…I'm a little bored."

Alexis glances in the hallway before turning back to Zoey. "It's Dr. Jackson."

"No! The hot guy with the piercing blue eyes?"

"Yep."

"He came in with Dr. Reese the other day to do a consult on my scars. He did seem a little fidgety. But I figured it was more because I asked Dr. Reese about getting a boob lift."

"He has crabs. He spent a couple of days trying to use the shampoo to get rid of it. But it didn't work. He had to shave all the hair off all over his body."

"Maybe he won't sleep around anymore."

"All the nurses have been giving him the stink eye. Dr. Reese warned him about sleeping with the nurses, but he didn't listen. So, now he's having to change some bedpans."

Zoey laughs. "It's a real-life episode of Grey's Anatomy."

"Wait, Tess was infected with something," Zoey asks, leaning back in her chair. Her office was on the top floor of the Daily Planet building. "Any idea what it was?"

"None. We sent samples to the CDC for testing. But we're having to quarantine the entire hospital. Thirty more people have come down with the exact same symptoms."

"Fuck."

"Yep. Anyway, I look forward to having drinks Friday. I could really use a girls night out."

"Me too."

Zoey hangs up her phone and walks out of her office. She needed to find a reporter who may have contacts at the CDC. This was a story that she knew could put the Planet on the path towards winning a Pulitzer. No one at the Daily Planet had won one in over twenty years and Zoey was determined to change that.

Zoey steps off the elevator and into the basement bullpen of the Daily Planet. She spots someone hunched over their desk and beelines towards them. "I have a lead on a major story," she says. The reporter jumps up from their desk. Their skin was grey; eyes bloodshot. Black ooze came from their mouth. Zoey quickly moves back. She grabs an umbrella and smacks the reporter across in the face, knocking them down and rendering them unconscious.

"Zoey!" Zoey turns and sees Clark rushing towards her. He looks at the unconscious reporter, then at her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Zoey answers. "Apparently, whatever Tess has, well, it's spread."

"It's an airborne virus," Clark answers.

"Explains how so many people caught it so quickly at the hospital. They've had to go into quarantine."

"Do you think they've quarantined the city?"

"It would make sense. But they would need to have a way to test who has the zombie virus before they turn into one."

"I don't think anyone is actually a zombie, Zoey."

Zoey shrugs. "You got another name," she argues, walking over to the unconscious reporter. "He was asleep when I came down here. Then when he woke up he was a zombie."

"Same thing happened to Tess. She was asleep. When she woke up, she became one of them."

There's a crash in the hallway and they quickly make their way out of the bullpen. They find a body on the ground and Oliver standing over it, with a shotgun. Zoey tenses. It was the first time in months she had seen him. Oliver stares at her. "I didn't realize you were back in town, Zo," he tells her. He had bags under his eyes and three days' worth of growth on his face.

"I got in last night," Zoey angrily answers. "I tried calling you, but you didn't pick up. And the next thing I know is that somehow we're in Shaun of the fucking dead."

Clark clears his throat. "It looks like this thing incubates when people are sleeping."

Zoey glances at her watch. It was almost three in the morning. She hadn't realized until then how fast the day had actually passed. "There's only a few hours until people start getting up to go to work," she tells Clark. "If everyone is a zombie then rush hour is going to really suck."

"Someone's got to go for help," Clark replies. He pushes both Zoey and Oliver towards the elevator. "Get in. You'll both be safe."

Zoey sighs, but doesn't try to fight him. She knew that she wouldn't win anyway. Through at that moment, she wanted to be nowhere near Oliver. "Clark," Zoey calls out. "Good luck." He nods and the elevator doors close.

"It's been over an hour, Zo," Oliver says, breaking the tense silence that had been in the elevator with them since Clark had left. He had been sitting on the floor for the majority of the time; the shotgun lying next to him. Zoey, however, had remained standing; staring at the gold doors and ignoring him. "I know your feet are killing you, so just sit down."

"I'm fine," Zoey replies. He was right. Her feet were killing her. She wanted nothing more than to sit down and kick off the four-inch heels she wore. But she refused to do so. She refused to let him see how much he was affecting her at that moment. "Why are you here?"

"I was looking for Tess," Oliver answers.

"You're a few blocks west of the building where she works."

"She's been sniffing around here since you left."

"I know. And she's asked numerous times about a merger."

"Tess should know that you want nothing to do with LuthorCorp."

"She keeps asking and I keep telling her the same answer. No."

"Everyone knows who you would merge with if given the chance."

Zoey finally looks at him. She hadn't missed what he actually meant. She knew about the rumors that had started swirling. That their marriage was over and she was leaving Oliver for Bruce. Never mind the fact that she hadn't seen Bruce in over two years and they mostly kept in touch through email. She turns away from him and punches the button to open the elevator doors open. She refused to let him insult her.

Oliver scrambles up. He grabs her arm as she starts to step out of the elevator and yanks her back in. She struggles in his grasp; trying to get away. Her back hits the elevator wall. She was trapped between the wall and his chest. She could smell the alcohol on his breath. She could feel the heat radiating from him.

Oliver leans down and kisses her. It wasn't something he had ever planned on doing. But the moment he had touched her, everything had changed. He felt as if something inside of him had suddenly ignited. For Zoey, she was more confused than ever. Months of him not talking to her, of ignoring her, and after spending an hour together, he was kissing her. She knows that she should push him away; that she should tell of how much he has hurt her these past few months. Except, for the random part of her mind that reminds her of the sudden appearance of zombies. The part of her that says if she's going die in a real-life horror film, she should enjoy a small moment of happiness.

Oliver's lips trail down her neck. "Fuck, Zo," he mutters when her hands make quick work of his jeans. He lifts her up and her legs wrap around his waist. The black lace thong she was wearing is ripped off. He slams into her.

Zoey lets out a moan. She wasn't going to deny that she had missed this. She had missed the feel of him pressed against her; inside of her. She presses her lips against his when she orgasms. She clenches down on him and he quickly follows with his own. "Ollie," she softly moans.

A silence settles over them. Neither one of them knew what this encounter meant. She unwraps her legs around from around his waist and he sets her down. Each of them set about straightening their appearance. Zoey sighs, picking up her ripped panties. She shoves them into the pocket of her skirt.

A thought suddenly occurs to her. Zoey turns to Oliver. "Why exactly were you looking for Tess?"

"To confront her about tracking me."

Zoey frowns. She knew Tess and Oliver had dated in the past. And that their relationship ended when Tess caught Oliver cheating on her. She shakes her head. If Tess was tracking Oliver, then she didn't want to be a part of it.

"Why did you come back?"

Zoey looks at him. "You." She punches the button for the floor that her office sat on and the elevator moves up. The elevator doors open and she grabs her heels before stepping off. Oliver stands there for a moment, then follows after her.

Don't stop me now
I'm having such a good time
I'm having a ball
Don't stop me now
If you wanna have a good time
Just give me a call

Don't stop me now
'Cause I'm having a good time
Don't stop me now
Yes I'm having a good time
I don't want to stop at all, yeah!