"Wow."
Chloe's single word of wonder contained all the feelings he struggled to keep inside.
Eyes riveted on the fuzzy image on screen, Oliver strained his ears to catch every faint pulse that came out of the speaker. The baby—their baby— was merely more than a grey curl in a vast black sack. But it had a heart… And that heart was beating.
"I can record it, if you like," the technician said.
Oliver glowered at the man whose voice covered the delicate echo.
"Can we have photos, too, please?"
This time, it was Chloe who spoke, and he couldn't resent her for covering the noise. She was giving him this miracle. His Angel. Oliver bent over to kiss her on the lips.
"You're amazing. I love you."
Her smile answered for her, a mix of love and bewilderment that weakened him in the knee, and gave him the strength to lift mountains. If he were a painter, he would use her as the Madonna for his next Master Piece. She reminded him of Da Vinci's sanguine sketches, round and soft and beautiful. She looked fragile though, too pale for his taste. The brush of purple under her eyes dimmed their sparkle. His protective streak screeched to steal her away and lock her somewhere the world that wanted to hurt her couldn't touch her.
The technician intruded once more and Oliver seriously considered gagging the man.
"Your next exam should be in a month or so. At ten weeks, we do what we call a "grown-crumb". We'll also confirm how many they are, your due date—"
"What do you mean how many?"
Chloe returned his bone-crushing handhold. The man shrugged. "Just what I said. The dating ultrasound is when you can see if you'll have only one."
The idea of twins made him break into a cold sweat. Oliver forced air into his frozen lungs, thankful his years of in the limelight or lying through his teeth in a boardroom allowed him to keep his composure.
"Thank you."
"No problem, Mister Queen. I'll transfer the files to Doctor Hamilton's office. You two have a nice day."
Oliver bowed his head in return. He racked his hand through his hair, unsure what to do now the screen was empty. The room had returned to its sterile white. His ears still tried to pick up the regular beat, but it was gone.
Chloe straightened up her hospital gown. She moved to stand.
"Oh no you don't." He scooped her up, holding her long enough to steal a kiss before he tried to deposit her in the wheelchair. She resisted, arms hooked around his neck.
"I can walk."
"Yes, I know." She would too, out of sheer stubbornness if anything. "But do you prefer to walk and spend another night here, or follow the rules and come home with me in an hour or so?"
As if he would leave without her. He'd spent the past two nights by her side holding her hand, sometimes dozing off, most of the time awake and watching her breathe. Oliver smiled down at the blonde woman in his arms. "Wheelchair, Sidekick."
"Ollie…"
"Hospital rules." She pouted, apparently quite comfortable in his embrace. He liked it too. "The sooner you comply, the sooner we'll be home, you know."
Then he would hold her for a long, long time.
Emil promised to rain the Seven Plagues on Oliver if Chloe did more than move from the bed to the couch with occasional trips to the bathroom for the next 24h. She was forbidden to stay on her feet for more than ten minutes at a time after that, forbidden to exercise, or use her laptop to do more than play Solitary if it caused her stress. His claim he would know if they didn't respect the doctor's orders fell into unhappy but resigned ears.
By the time they exited Hamilton's office, Oliver was ready to call it a day. His shoulder ailed him. He smiled and bore it as he pushed Chloe's wheelchair toward the underground parking access.
The rain and the nondescript car Barbara had waiting allowed them to leave Star City Memorial Hospital unnoticed. Oliver pitied the small group of people huddled under the meagre overhead of the building, either sleep-deprived interns or reporters waiting for him to make an appearance. He shrugged and turned the car away from the hospital in direction of the center of the city.
The weather and the holidays had also chased people off the streets. The lack of traffic almost made the occasional car a blurry liability. The drove in silence. He felt too drained to even turn the radio on.
"Are you all right?"
Surprised, he slanted a glance toward Chloe. She was curled on the passenger seat, her eyes closed to half-mast.
"I think that's my line. But yeah. I'm fine."
She stayed silent for a few moments before she whispered again.
"You got hurt because of me."
"I took a sharp turn and ribbed my shoulder against the wall, that's all." The light fabric of his shirt rubbing on said shoulder was putting his teeth on edge. The throb behind his left eye bordered excruciating as he tried to catch her expression from the corner of his eye. He looked forward sleeping in their bed holding her. Oliver returned his attention to the wet pavement in front of the hood. "I've had worse being the Green Arrow."
"I'm sorry…"
Her forlorn tone reopened a box he'd hoped he had closed for good. Everything surged to the surface, the sheer terror she might not wake up, might never smile at him again, the excruciating knowledge he was to spend the rest of his life loving her, and never hear it back from her ever again. "What do you want me to say, Chloe? Going out at night like this was stupid. More than stupid, it was reckless. And childish. You didn't stop for a minute to think about the risks, you just went after whatever picked your fancy. I could have gotten you whatever you wanted, if only you had told me. Or you could have called the front desk for a delivery. But no. You just went out."
She seemed to shrink upon herself as she burrowed further into her seat. Oliver rubbed his forehead, fighting to regain control of his temper. He didn't want to pick up a fight or make her more miserable.
"I know you didn't put yourself in harm way on purpose. I know that. It's just—" He'd been this close to lose her, to lose everything… The lit Q on the top of his building added to the street lamps eerie lights, making her look even paler than before. Oliver forced his jaw to work. "You're hurting. We'll be home soon."
A petite hand pried his fingers away from the steering wheel. Oliver flipped his wrist so their palms pressed together. Anger winked out as fast as it had risen. "Just… Just promise me that next time you'll take your cell phone with you. Or call me."
If I hadn't made it home in time…
He found himself unable to finish the thought in his head, let alone voice it.
"So I can use you as my errand boy?"
Her smile was small, but it was there. Oliver gave her hand a light squeeze before he pressed the command to lift the parking door. "That's the best offer I've had in the past two days."
Oliver activated the elevator then turned toward Chloe. "Here's one in return : shower, food and movies. What say you?"
Her lashes fluttered in response. If the fight she was losing against exhaustion was any indication, she would hardly make it past the opening credits. "What movie?"
Oliver stifled a yawn. He probably wasn't going to last, either.
"I don't know. How about you choose while I wash up? Go for something funny, that requires the brainpower of a squid."
The doors opened and he lost Chloe's attention for good.
Someone —Hal, or more probably Barbara, since the display was tasteful— had transformed the living room into a Christmas fest. Every single side table in the room now hosted a bowl of girded pine cones or sparkly ornaments. Garlands were draped over the lampshades, the shelves and even the bar. The only thing bare was a small evergreen tree, merely three feet tall, set up in a corner facing the sofas. Unease churned in the pit of his stomach when he spotted a fatigued card box at its feet.
"Oliver…" Chloe whispered in awe.
He stared as she left his side to touch a childish nutcracker. Its coat was the flashiest orange he'd ever seen. Chloe ran her finger along the epaulette and tall black hat. He joined her in three steps when he noticed the shake in her slim shoulders. Sure enough, the eyes she turned on him vibrated with tears. "It's mine… We each had one, Lois, Lucy, and I. My dad… My dad bought them for us when we moved to Smallville. How did you—"
"I didn't do anything."
And now he wished he had. She looked so happy…
A wind-like gush hit him from behind. Oliver jumped in front of Chloe, ready to strike.
"Oh hey… I, huh… Sorry to invade…"
Oliver dropped his fists. "Clark. How did you get in…" The brunette ruffled his hair with a minute shrug. Oliver shook his head. "Never mind. Forget I asked."
He tried to quench the reflex to pull Chloe back to him when she went to hug the intruder. Male best friends were the bane of his existence, Oliver decided. Hal and Clark seemed incapable to keep their hands to themselves, always touching or hogging her, and Lex enjoyed pointing it out to him. They should all go to Hell, and stay there.
Chloe squirmed in Clark's embrace. The jealous beast inside Oliver's chest preened.
"Clark. I'm fine… Just a little worse for wear… A good night sleep, a good meal, and I'll be as good as new."
Clark looked dubious. Oliver didn't blame him. She looked ready to drop. The brunette kept his large paws on her shoulders. The blond billionaire did his best not to growl.
"If you're sure…"
"Should we thank you for the new décor?" Oliver interjected.
The farmer seemed to finally catch up with the show and released Chloe with an amused smile. "Lois insisted I brought Chloe her nutcracker after you called. And since you hadn't put up a tree yet, well…"
Oliver saw his sidekick's megawatt smile watered down as she slowly got to grip with what her fly ban meant. There would be no Christmas in Smallville, no snow fights with Lois or cooking under Mrs. Kent's watchful eyes. "Thanks, Clark," she said sadly. "Tell Lois and your mom I'll call them, all right?"
The two men exchanged a look over the petite blonde's head. Clark nodded.
"Of course I will, Chlo. I have to go back but I'll drop by soon. If that's okay?"
The question was directed as Oliver. "You're always welcome, Clark. Just give us a head's up next time?"
Kent had the good grace to look sheepish. "Will do. Take care of yourself, Chloe. You too, Oliver."
The Blur zoomed away with a gush of wind before any one of them could say goodbye. Oliver cradled her head against his palm when she slipped her hands around his waist for a full hug in return. "You know, I think I found something I like in all that Christmas display."
Chloe tipped her face back. He grinned, pointing to the archway above their heads.
