"Mmmm"

Chloe reached for his hand like she had every few minutes for the past two days. Her thumb bumped into the cushioned restraints around his wrist and her eyes filled with tears. She leaned forward to brush a kiss on his knuckles.

"Feels nice…"

"Ollie?"

"Hi…"

Tears ran down before she could stop them. He grunted when he tried to cup her cheek came. "What the…"

She straightened up with a watery, apologetic smile. Oliver was glaring at the bands around his arms at the same time coughs racked his chest. He winced when the tension in his abdomen pulled on his wound.

Chloe filled the glass with fresh water and helped him drink to ease the ache in his throat.

"Thanks. Any chance you can release me? I'm not really into the bondage stuff."

"Emil said to wait until your blood screen came clean…"

He tested the restraint again then dropped back on his pillow, turning his head to kiss the fingers that lingered on his face. Chloe fought tears again.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been shot? And drugged to my eyeballs?" Another stray tear escaped at his tone. The dark brown eyes riveted on her face softened. "Sorry… I'd just really like to hold you right now."

Chloe bit the corner of her mouth. She knew better than anyone what Ollie sounded like under the influence and it was nothing like that. Coming to a decision, she worked on the tight strap to free his hand from its restraint.

"Chloe?"

Chloe snapped awake in her seat. Immediately, her gaze drifted toward the bed when Oliver slept, his face too pale on the thin pillow.

"Emil… Sorry, I… I fell asleep."

A dream. It had all been a dream. Or a nightmare. She wanted to close her eyes against the constant squeeze blocking her pipe. The simple act of breathing made her nauseous. "You've been here for almost two days, Chloe. Oliver would want you to take care of yourself."

She let the doctor take her wrist to monitor her heartbeat. Her neck hurt from the uncomfortable position she'd slept in. "I want to be here when he wakes up," she mumbled stubbornly.

"I know. That's why I had a pull-up installed for you. Did you use it? And when was the last time you ate something which doesn't come out of a vending machine?"

"Mmmm…"

Chloe pulled her arm none too gently from the doctor to grip Oliver's hand. "Ollie?"

"Vote thyme izit?"

Chloe rubbed her face against his opened palm, unable to stop the tears that overflew from her eyes. "Sad… Kick? Vote…wrong?"

"Nothing… Everything's all right. Everything's all right now."

"'Kay…"

The hand cupping her jaw slackened and a soft snore escaped Oliver as he fell back asleep.

Emil moved around her chair to check the monitor then nodded to himself. "I'm going to draw some blood to be sure, but I think he's out of the woods."

She offered a pitiful smile. "Thank you."

"I'm sending someone with a tray for you. Eat. And use the bed!"

Chloe nodded absently, her eyes once again on Oliver, mesmerized by the gentle rise and fall of his chest. Her fingers reached for his once more. She vaguely heard Emil Hamilton muttered "match in hell" before the room was silent again save for Oliver's breathing and the low pings of the monitoring machines.

The last 48h were a blur. Once in Star City, Emil had added endorphins to the perfusion while he operated which probably saved his life despite the risks. The bullet had missed his spleen by an inch. Oliver had flatlined on the table due to the loss of blood and the Rage cocktail wreaking havoc inside him. After that, Emil hadn't wanted to risk another infusion so they had to wait to see if his body could purge the drug by itself.

Chloe rubbed her chest, but the ache inside her refused to let up. The man lying on the bed looked like a shell of himself, wan and empty.

"If this is how you feel when I get hurt, I promise I'll be more careful…"

"I should make you repeat that and hand the recording to Oliver. I'm sure he'll know what to do with it."

Chloe acknowledged the familiar voice with a bob of her head. "Hi Tess…"

"Hi yourself. Doctor Hamilton said this is for you." Her friend put a tray on the small table. The whiff of warm food twisted her empty stomach into painful knots. Chloe picked her the fork with one hand, the other still clutched around Oliver's.

Tess watched her but chose not to comment. "How's Prince Charming?"

Chloe made a face at the washed-down taste of the mashed carrots. She forced herself to swallow. "Better. He woke up for a minute then fell back asleep."

"That's good, right? His body is recuperating on its own time."

"Yes."

She wanted to believe that, desperately.

The second bite was just as unpalatable. Chloe pushed the tray away. "It's disgusting. I can't…"

"You have to eat, kiddo."

"I know but not that. It makes the cramps worse." Chloe closed her eyes. What was it about Tess that coerced the truth of her, even when she didn't want to? If it'd been Hal, she would have blamed the ring. Tess only had to cock her head to the side and look at her the way she was now, and she poured her heart out.

Chloe sighed. Tess started laughing. "God help Oliver if your kid got the same pout than you do… The poor man will wear himself rag to please you both. What do you want to eat? I'll text Hal."

"I don't know… Something salty, but not too salty? And yogurt."

The redhead considered. "Salty but not salty… How about a gyro? I have a yen for Greek food."

The pull in Chloe's stomach lessened some at the idea. "Yes, I'd like a gyro. With rice, please."

"Excellent. Give me a minute."

Tess focused on her phone, typing quickly then pursing her lips while she waited for an answer. An incoming text chimed in and she grinned. "Two gyros coming right up."

"You have Hal wrapped around your finger," Chloe teased.

"Of course. Just like Oliver is— Oh my God! Chloe!"

The blonde started. Frantic, she spun toward Oliver while Tess gesticulated toward them. His breathing seemed unchanged as he slept on, unphased by the outburst.

Tess grabbed her hand. "Oh it's gorgeous. And so you… Oliver has good taste I give him that. But I can't believe you didn't tell me and I didn't notice before! When? How? Tell me everything."

Chloe extracted her hand from the tight grip to brush hair off Oliver's forehead.

"He asked on Christmas… We woke up early to watch the sunrise and he said… He said he wanted to a lifetime of sunrises with me."

Her vision blurred. Chloe lifted her gaze toward her friend. "I need him to wake up, Tess… I can't, it's too hard…"

"Oh Honey…" Tess looped one arm around her, rubbing her free hand up and down her arm. Her baby blue eyes smiled at her. "Oliver is going to be okay… You're tired and scared so it looks like the end of the world right now, but I promise everything is going to be fine. He's better already. Didn't Doctor Hamilton say so?"

Chloe sniffled. Her eyes burned with unshed tears. Tess squeezed her shoulder once more before she released her.

"All right. You have to get out of here and get some fresh air."

The petite blonde opened her mouth to protest. Tess more or less propelled her toward the door. "Five minutes in the sun. It'll do you good."

"But—"

"I'm staying right here with your beau. Go."

"I—"

"Go. Don't make me use my loud voice."

Chloe took one step toward the door. She stumbled as anxiety banded around her heart and squeezed. The greyish walls closed on her, suffocating. Her heart started to gallop. She had to get out. She had to escape before the pain swallowed her whole. Run and don't look back

Tess touched her hair and the world shifted back into place some. The shame made it hard to breathe. "It's okay… Just an uneven brick in your yellow road, Dorothy. Hal will be here with our lunch when you come back."

Chloe sniveled and nodded, before she made her way through the door on shaky legs.

The California sun welcomed her timidly. The air was cool, with a tang of stale coffee and cold tobacco. Chloe inhaled against her first instinct to hold her breath. Her lungs protested both the effort and the smells. She released it slowly and sucked in air again, willing the panic to recede. Chloe counted to three and exhaled. The next set of respirations went easier.

Slowly, the angry bees in her ears quietened so she began hearing the noises of the streets nearby. Thankfully, she was in a somewhat private area, far from the prying eyes of the reporters waiting for an update on Oliver's condition.

The memory of Barbara taking charge was fuzzy. She had vague recollection of telling the older woman she'd called for a med-vac to cover Hal' secret, but she wasn't sure. Chloe shuddered. She used to operate so well under pressure. When had she become an emotional wreck?

Her left hand automatically went to her stomach.

"Here you are."

Chloe's head shot up. "Doctor Adams. What are you doing here?"

"I need answers."

"I told you. I'm busy."

The queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach grew tenfold. The petite blonde turned to leave. The other woman grasped her arm. She jerked free. "Don't touch me!"

"How do they work? Why are they not affecting meta-humans except the Blur? What's so different about him? You're from Kansas. You must know! Tell me and I'll leave you alone."

Chloe froze. Understanding trickled down her spine like ice. Then heat erupted from inside out. "You! It was you since the beginning!" She took a step forward. "Your lackey almost killed Oliver, you crazy bitch!"

"Gordon is a pathetic idiot, just like he was when we first met. He's so unhappy with his life and pity of a marriage he lapped every lie like cream. He even believed I had his love child and never told him by fear of being rejected! Me! Do I look stupid enough to be engrossed at twenty?"

Chloe growled, her hands curled into fists. Adams snickered. "I wanted to test my theories, Werner wanted money and Gordon had his piped dream. Everything was working just fine until your precious poster boy put his foot in his mouth."

Her fist flew. All the pain, all the heartache, balled into one single punch.

"Fine?! You call it fine?! People got hurt! People died! You selfish, lying snake!"

Chloe rushed the other without thinking, ready to strike again. She wobbled when one solid arm pulled her backward.

"Wow, easy, I'll take it from here, calm down."

"She… She…" Chloe stammered while the detective Jones helped the seething female from the ground.

"Carla Adams, you're under arrest for extortion, accessory to produce and traffic of drugs, attempt murder and fraud. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to…"

Chloe backed away until her knees hit the steps and all but slumped on the concrete. She started shaking. For once, her eyes were completely dry. She felt cold.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

She pointed toward the cuffed woman lead away by two police officers. Hal helped her to her feet as he nodded at the detective above her shoulder.

"Detective… Do you require a statement?"

"I don't want to testify," Chloe added quickly.

"We don't need you too. Former councilman Byers signed a complete confession yesterday and the DA is more than happy with it."

Her legs felt a little firmer at that. "All right. Thank you for the save, I guess…"

Jones chuckled. "I am not sure who needed to be rescued. You have quite a right hook. Have a good day, Miss Gale. Mr. Jordan…"

He walked away toward the corner of the building, where she guessed a swarm of photographers and reporters would soon make an appearance. She whined, "My hand hurts…"

"You punched the witch? What happened to drenching her in water?"

"Shut up."

Hal laughed. "Come on. We'll ask Emil to look at it while we eat."

Chloe straightened up to her full height. "Did Oliver wake up again?"

"No yet but he will probably soon. Then he'll lecture you for stepping outside by yourself—"

"Tess told me to!"

"And you'll lecture him for scaring you to death. Seriously, your kid's going to be a handful…"

"Is that you volunteering for baby sitting?"

"Sure, why not, I love kids."

Chloe smirked when she saw Tess crook an eyebrow at Hal's declaration when they entered the room. Then she forgot all about it when Oliver stirred in his bed.

"Chloe…?"