Oliver pushed the door of the bathroom slowly so not to startle her. Chloe was seated on her haunches near the toilet seat, her face pale as a sheet.
"Hey…"
Her smile when she lifted wet eyes to his face was faint. "I'm all right… Just… Can you take off your jacket? The smell…"
Smell? Oliver shrugged the garment off and threw it behind him as far from the door as possible. He hesitated, then stripped to his undershirt, just in case. The clothes smelled fine to him, but who cared?
He walked to the shelves to pick up a glean washcloth and wet it for her.
Chloe pressed the fabric against her forehead and neck grateful. "Thanks."
"Welcome."
He touched his fingers tenderly to her cheek as he watched her take a careful breath. "Can you stand?"
Chloe swallowed. "Not yet…"
The admission shook him to the core. Chloe was always so adamant she was strong and capable, seeing her so pale and shaken twisted something inside him. Oliver moved to slip one arm under her legs, the other in her back. "Hold on."
"Ollie… I… We need Emil to run a blood test."
The liquid in his veins turned to ice. Oliver did his best not to stumble when he straightened up with her in his arms. "Okay. I'm taking you to MetGen now."
"But your meetings…"
"Will be postponed. You're more important."
Chloe sighed, her cheek pressed to his heart as he sat her on the bed against her pillows. When she was settled, he moved to grab a pullover and a pair of jeans to replace his tailored pants. "Oliver, calm down, I'm fine."
"Don't tell me you're fine, you're asking for a doctor! When was the last time you requested to see Emil voluntarily?"
Her soft smile blunted the edge of his anxiety. Just. He too felt ill. "I need him to check my hCG levels, that's all…"
Oliver stopped pulling on his jeans, one leg in, one out. "What does hCG to do with you throwing your heart up?"
Chloe stood to touch a hand to his cheek. She smiled again and he smiled back without thinking about it for a second before his face fell. "Why do women ask for blood tests when they're late, Hero?"
"Late?"
She was trying to tell him something or remind him he knew. He should know. Excelsior's education included sex and female biology. But for the life of him he couldn't fathom what was hiding behind her soft smile. The more time he took to catch up, the more uncertain that knowing little curl at the corner of her lips became, trapped between wonder and shyness.
Oliver searched her eyes, feeling like an idiot. His brain kept trying to add two and two and ended up shorthanded at three each time.
Chloe sighed again. "I think I might be—"
Suddenly the wires touched and he understood what she was trying to say.
Oliver kissed her. It was soft, a little hesitant, but effective in stopping her saying the word he knew she was going for. Pregnant.
The word—the idea— terrorized him. He was scared she wasn't and all the hope he felt piling up inside him would scatter like wistful ashes. Scared she was, and she didn't want it. It was only days ago that she insisted that they weren't ready. She was too young. They had too much going on in their lives. They had a major fight last night and he had a lot to make up for.
Oliver released her slowly. Her eyes are a little blurry, from tears or their kiss, he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure how he managed to stand and finish dressing either.
"Ollie?"
Her expression was more than uncertain now, and she too, looked a little scared, a wan reflection of the turmoil inside him. "Marry me."
Her eyes widened and her mouth formed a delicious little O he kissed again, quickly, because he wanted her to speak up this time. "Marry me. Not because you might be with child, but because you love me as much as I love you. I'll do my best to make you happy, Chloe. And if I fall, I know you'll be there to pick me up, just like I'll be there for you, always."
Her eyes were the greenest he had ever seen them, an endless sea in a bright summer day. Oliver waited for her answer, breathless. His heart raced so fast he could have been running all the way to Star City and back. "What do you say, Watchtower… Will you be my sidekick for the rest of our lives?"
Chloe chuckled. Her smile could have lit up a small country. What really mattered was the micro-nod she gave. "Yes."
Oliver lifted her up in his arms for a mad spin before he put her back down just as quickly. She looked a little green and Oliver put her down immediately. "Sorry. Sorry. Didn't meant to make you dizzy. Are you okay? What do you need? Do you want— No. Emil. Doctor. You said— Right. Okay, we're going. Where are my keys? You need shoes. Are you sure—".
"Breathe, Ollie…"
She had the most beautiful laugh in the world. She was beautiful, period. His bride and the potential mother of his children. Cheesy, Queen.
"I love you. Let's go see Emil."
Chloe stood her ground when he tried to guide her out of the door. Oliver obliged and turned to pick her up again, kissing her for all he was worth, until his own head spun from the lack of oxygen and she pushed at his chest for respite.
"Oliver, aren't you forgetting something?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, your shoes. Sorry."
"Pants, Oliver. And a shirt, maybe?"
"You know, for a guy who got gutted last night, you look really chirpy."
Carter leaned back in his hospital bed with a grin. Oliver was sure that if he could have linked both hands behind his head and whistle, he would have. The grin was on the side of dopey, so he smirked in turn. "They gave you the really good stuff, didn't they?"
"Yeap. Feels great."
The man twisted his head. "Where's Chloe?"
Apparently, someone's obsession ran too deep to be stop by a little thing like a heavy dose of morphine.
"She's meeting with Emil. She'll come back as soon as they're done."
Carter lifted an eyebrow. Considering his lopsided beam, the effect was rather comic. "And her seeing a doctor makes you happy because…"
"Because I didn't have to beg for her to do so?" His phone biped. Oliver looked at the caller's display and sighed. "Sorry, I have to take this. Mark, give me a minute, I have to step outside."
Oliver left Carter to his own device while he stepped out of the room and found the small private garden where people gathered to smoke. He cringed thinking about the smell that was going to stick to his clothes, and placed himself as far from the ashtrays as he could.
"Okay. I'm listening."
The conversation was short. His board was not happy with the tabloids' publicity. They were not happy with him not showing up during the risk review meeting this morning. They were not happy with the Evergreen's disaster in the making. They wanted him to go to Belize to salvage the project there…
"Okay, I've got the gig. Set up a meeting with Graham, Walter, Ray and I to talk about Evergreen tomorrow morning. In the afternoon if Walter can't make it. Book it for two solid hours. Attached all the pertinent documents to the invit. Ray will have to review them beforehand. Did you talk to Barbara?" Oliver checked his watch while he listened to Mark confirmed he'd talked to Oliver PR's advisor. It was close to eleven now. His stomach grumbled. With everything that happened, they'd forgotten breakfast, and he was famished.
A blonde head moved up the corridor in direction of the room he'd just left. Oliver returned his attention to his phone. "Good. Tell her to call me at…"
He abandoned the garden to walk back inside follow as quickly as he could. The hell with the hospital's no-phone rules. She was carrying his child—maybe. He wanted to know. "Three." She knocked on Carter's door then pushed the door open. "No, four. I'll call you back. Chloe!"
The door moved back into position. Oliver gulped on dry. "Hey…"
"Oh, hi."
She rose on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Oliver groaned. "You're killing me, here, Sidekick. What did Emil say?"
Chloe shook her head. "Blood tests take a couple of hours, Ollie. We won't know until late tonight at best."
"We could buy one of those tests at a drugstore."
"They're not reliable with my biochemistry."
He must have been pouting because she beamed up with that mischievous glint in her eyes he knew meant she was laughing up her sleeve. "But," she emphasized the word, "Emil said it could explain why my joints have been stiffed, the nausea, and why my powers have been acting up. You smell like cold cigarettes."
"Yeah. Sorry. I had to take a call. So…"
"So, I'll refrain to drink coffee today, and I won't order seafood pasta when you take me to lunch at my favorite Italian restaurant. After you've get rid of that smell…"
Chloe kissed him again, full on the lips this time but stepped a solid foot back just as quickly, her nose scrunched. "Is it okay if I leave you for an hour or two? I have some placating to do with QI"
Some placating, and an very personal errand.
"Of course. I can take a cab back to the penthouse if you—"
"Nah, that's fine. I'll change and come back to pick you up."
"Okay."
He wanted to kiss her again, but settled for a wink and sauntered away while Chloe entered Carter's room.
