The Last Job You'll Ever Have Chapter 23, a smallville fanfic

A/N: Sorry it took so long but I got stuck on this chapter for some reason, hope you enjoy.

"No." Chloe laughed. "I've only taught him a few words." She lifted the hand holding Rex's into the air and Oliver did the same, swinging the chimp between the two of them. "He won't be able to carry on a conversation for years." She breathed in the fresh air and sighed with contentment. A vacation was a very good idea, especially coming here, she loved this house, she always felt at home in this house, and to share that with Oliver was a new experience. Chloe and Oliver had taken Rex for a walk down to the pond and she'd just finished telling Oliver how she was teaching Rex sign language.

"Years?" Oliver asked annoyed. "But I mean he's a pretty quick study. It only took him a day to get down the trash can thing, and a week to potty train him. He's smarter than you're average chimp." Oliver had a touch of pride in his voice and Chloe smiled.

"Yeah but sign language isn't that easy, for one thing I have to learn it first, for another I then have to teach it to him." Chloe lifted her hand again but Oliver wasn't paying attention and Rex ended up swinging sideways. "But he is picking it up a lot quicker than the books said he would."

"That's because he's a genius." Oliver pointed out. Rex pulled his hands out of Chloe and Oliver's and turned to Chloe. He laid his left hand flat, palm facing up in front of him and then made a fist with his right hand and set it on top of his left. "See, like that right there." Oliver smiled. "Genius." He looked confused. "What does that mean?"

"Cup." Chloe said. "He wants some water." She pulled a small sports bottle out of her bag and held it out to Rex who grabbed for it. She pulled it away and looked down at him. "What do you say?" Rex placed his right hand on his chest and made a circle motion. "Good boy." Chloe handed him the bottle. "That was Please." Rex touched his fingertips to his lips and then lowered them. "And Thank You."

"He's polite too." Oliver smiled. "I'm telling you. We're going to have the smartest chimp out of all of our friends."

"Unless we started a new trend." Chloe laughed. "We're going to have the only chimp out of all of our friends."

"Well, that's just a technicality. If everyone else got a chimp, we'd have the smartest." Rex held his bottle free hand out to Oliver who grabbed it as they started walking again. But Chloe didn't follow, she was standing still, staring up at the house. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just , why are the lights on in the guest house?" She asked confused.

"I have a better question." Oliver said. "Why did Edward build a guest house behind a two hundred and fifty room mansion?"

Chloe smiled. "Vacation home?"

"It really is like staying in your own backyard." Oliver joked.

"Hey, I'll race you back up to the house." Chloe said. "Loser has to taste some of the black pudding Raymond keeps trying to get us to eat."

"The stuff made with blood?" Oliver made a face.

"What's the matter?" Chloe teased him. "Afraid of losing?"

Oliver snorted. "Right, I'll do you one better." He grabbed Rex and pulled him onto his back, piggy back style. "I'll add more weight and still beat you."

"You're on." Chloe said getting in position. "On your mark, get set, go." They both took off, tearing up the hill toward the house screaming and laughing.

Chloe watched as Oliver flipped through the sign language book and tried to teach Rex a new word. She took another sip of her tea and hoped that this cup, her fifth would wash the taste of black pudding out of her mouth, she still couldn't believe that Oliver had beaten her, especially with the added weight of Rex on his back. As much as she wanted this vacation, as much as she needed this vacation, she had to admit she was bored out of her skull. The first week was relaxing, the second week was nice, but she was ready to do something, get back to work, anything. Rex grabbed the book from Oliver and tossed it over his head and Chloe chuckled. Her phone rang and she practically dove on it. "Hello." She said. The familiar background noise of a news room let her know it was Lois.

"Hey cuz, how goes the vacation?" Lois asked.

"Pretty…boring." Chloe sighed.

"That bad huh?" Lois smiled. "Hey, can you take this down to editing?" She called out to someone.

Chloe heard someone in the background say, "Right away, Ms. Lane."

"Not that bad, I just…I've been going at full speed for ten years now, I don't think I know how to relax."

"Of course you do." Lois admonished her. "You just relax differently than other people. You can't just drop everything and lounge around the house for a few months, that's not you. You just need a project."

"A project?" Chloe asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, something to keep you occupied but isn't going to stress you out too much."

"Actually that's not a bad idea." Chloe said. "I've been meaning to check up on some of the British publications for a while…"

"No." Lois laughed. "Not a work project a fun project."

"Oh." Chloe looked around the house confused. "Well, we're trying to teach Rex sign language."

"No, the book is not for eating." Oliver said loudly and Lois laughed.

"It's slow going." Chloe informed her.

"Oh." Lois said suddenly. "I've got a great idea, the perfect thing for you."

"I'm all ears." Chloe sighed.

"The Garden Party." Lois told her.

Chloe thought about it for a minute. "I just got finished planning the world's worst wedding, and you want me to plan another party? A serious party? How is that not going to stress me out."

"Please." Lois laughed. "You told me Ms. Reynolds took care of most of the party stuff. You'd just have to finalize things, approve stuff. Besides, you've been saying you wanted to start the tradition again, after Edward died, and you're already there."

Lois was right, Chloe had been wanting to keep Edwards traditions alive, but the past few years since his death her schedule hadn't really been conducive to throwing a summer bash. The planning would keep her occupied, but at the same time Ms. Reynolds would probably take care of most of the minor details, which would leave Chloe free to relax and spend time with Oliver and Rex.

"You may be onto something here Lois."

Of course I am, this is me you're talking to here." Lois said. "Just think about it, I think it would be good for you."

"Maybe I'll go talk to Ms. Reynolds." Chloe thought out loud. "Talk it over with her, figure out how hard it would be to do it on such short notice."

"That's the spirit." Lois said. "Look, I gotta go, they screwed up my copy again, I'll call you later ok?"

"Ok." Chloe smiled. "And thanks."

"That's what I'm here for." Lois said before hanging up.

Chloe set the phone down on the side table as Rex walked her way and climbed into her lap and laid his head down. "Oh, I think it's time for someone's nap." Chloe said hugging him to her.

"That's why he's being so difficult." Oliver dropped the book on the coffee table and sat down next to them. "Who was that on the phone?"

"Lois." Chloe smiled. "She suggested that maybe I should have the Garden Party this year."

"That's actually a good idea." Oliver smiled and put his arm around her shoulder. "It'll give you something to do."

"Is it that obvious that I'm bored out of my mind?" Chloe leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I don't take it personally." Oliver smiled and stroked her hair. "It's just the type of person you are. I have a feeling I'm going to have to trick you into retirement."

"Like you're going to go quietly." Chloe scoffed.

"You're probably right." Oliver smiled. "But the party sounds like it could be fun. We could introduce Rex to the world, have some good food, and spend some time with our friends."

"Maybe I'll talk to Ms. Reynolds." Chloe said standing up and pulling Rex with her. "After I put this little guy down."

"I'll do it." Oliver grabbed Rex from Chloe, who was so tired he didn't even notice.

"Thanks." Chloe smiled up at him and kissed him softly.

"Maybe when you're done talking to her, you could meet me in the room for our own little afternoon nap." He waggled his eyebrows.

"Why Mr. Queen, are you trying to seduce me?" Chloe chuckled.

"Is it working?" He asked.

"It would go a lot better without a snoring chimp in your arms, but it's still pretty effective." Chloe said.

"So, can I expect to see you in say thirty minutes?" He asked.

"I'll be there." Chloe assured him. "With bells on."

"Oh." Oliver said backing up to head to the stairs. "We haven't played that game before."

Chloe laughed and tossed a pillow at him as he brought Rex to his room.

Ms. Reynolds was more than open to the idea of having the Garden Party. She was practically beaming by the time Chloe had finished saying why she thought it was time to restart the tradition and promised she'd get on it right away. Chloe felt good about her decision as she walked up to her room, ready to meet Oliver for their afternoon rendezvous. Only when she got in the room, she didn't find the romantic seduction scene she was expecting; instead she found Oliver passed out on the bed, Rex sitting a few feet away in his play pin staring at the door. He jumped up when Chloe walked in and cried to be picked up. She put her finger to her lips to quiet him as Oliver stirred. "You've got to take a nap little man." Chloe said smiling down at him as he rubbed his eyes. "Oh, I see." She reached down on the floor next to the play pin and picked up his teddy bear. He reached out for it and as soon as he grabbed it, he laid himself down and closed his eyes. Chloe smiled fondly at him before kicking off her shoes and crawling in the bed next to Oliver.

The next few days were a flurry of excitement, the rush of planning the Garden Party at such a hurried pace had everyone in the house a little on edge, and Chloe couldn't be happier about it. Where normally things would have been done months in advance they had a week to get everything ready for Saturday. Chloe did feel a little bad, it seemed all the preparation and extra work was making most of the staff a little loopy. "Isn't this a little formal for a Garden Party?" Chloe asked surveying the place settings Ms. Reynolds had set up for her to approve. "We don't normally have the sit down dinner until afterwards."

Ms. Reynolds flipped a page in her clipboard. "And sign here." Chloe grabbed the pen and signed her name. "And here." Ms. Reynolds flipped another page and Chloe signed absentmindedly. "Yes, but the party is starting much later than normal so I figured we'd have the dinner outside, it's beautiful weather right now." Ms. Reynolds told Chloe, putting the clipboard down.

"Besides, we figured you want a sit down dinner what with the…" Bridget was cut off as Ginny stepped on her foot as she made her way around the table, straightening silverware.

"Oh dear." Ginny said. "I'm so sorry."

"It's ok." Bridget smiled slightly.

"With the what?" Chloe asked confused.

"With the menu dear." Ms. Reynolds jumped in. "You were always a bit more extravagant than Edward when it came to food."

"That's true." Chloe said looking between the three different tables again and trying to find one that she felt fit the occasion. "That one's still too formal." She said pointing to the black and white themed table. "It feels like a charity benefit." She looked between her other two options. She walked around them slowly and then smiled as she ran her fingers over one of the place settings. "This one." She looked up at Ms. Reynolds. "It's very…whimsical." She looked back down at the butterfly and vine patterned plates and green, blue, and yellow glasses and candle holders. The floral centerpiece looked like a bouquet of wildflowers, although they were probably extremely expensive. "Very Garden."

"Good choice dear." Ms. Reynolds smiled and nodded at the two maids who began to pack up the other two tables. Just as they'd pulled the last of the dishes off of the black and white themed table, Chloe noticed the table cloth start to inch slowly to the floor.

"Flowers." Chloe said suddenly.

"Yes, we've got the flowers on order, unless there's something you wanted to change about the arrangement." Ms. Reynolds asked.

"No." Chloe took two quick steps to the black and white table. "Flowers." She said but before she got there, the flowers were in Ms. Reynolds hands, just as the table cloth was pulled completely off the table, sending flatware and place holders crashing to the floor. Chloe walked around to the other side to see Rex sitting on the floor, he was covering himself with the table cloth and pulling it back, just enough so he could peek out from under it.

"Rex." Chloe said bending down to pick him up. "I'm so sorry." Chloe said as Ginny and Bridget started to pick up the mess.

"I heard a crash I figured…" Oliver walked in to the room, obviously out of breath and a little on edge. "He didn't break anything did he?"

"No." Chloe said trying to untangle him from the table cloth but he kept pulling it back over his head. "What is he doing?" She asked when she found herself in a tug of war with him.

"I taught him hide and go seek." Oliver smiled sheepishly. "He really likes the hiding part."

"I can see that." Chloe laughed as she got the last bit of cloth off of him and he started pouting.

"Mr. Queen." One of the guards came in. "There is a Mr. Roberts here to see you?"

Chloe looked at Oliver confused. "Just Eric, he's got some papers for me to sign, no rest for the wicked." Oliver smiled.

Rex pulled on Chloe's arm. "We can play in a little bit, but first I have to go talk to Raymond about the menu for the party. You want to come with me?" Rex responded by wrapping his arms around Chloe's neck and she walked off toward the kitchens.

"I'm really sorry." Oliver said stepping over the mess of forks and knives that littered the floor as he made his way to the front room. "Eric, good to see you again."

"Sorry to bother you on vacation." Eric handed him a file folder. "We really had to get this stuff out today."

"It's no problem, I was sorry you had to come all the way out here." Oliver said signing page after page in a rush. "You coming to the party Saturday?"

"Got my invitation this morning." Eric smiled taking the folder back. "Thanks."

"No sweat, have a nice day." Oliver smiled as he left.

Chloe was headed to the kitchen when she was intercepted by Simon. "Hey." She smiled.

"Hey." He said glancing over his shoulder. "I heard a crash."

"Oh, just the little guy." Chloe said rubbing Rex's head affectionately. "He's getting into everything, no damage though."

"Good." Simon smiled. "That's…" He seemed nervous.

"Is something wrong?" Chloe asked moving Rex from one hip to the other.

"No." Simon said to brightly. "No, no, nothing's wrong, everything…great." He looked over at Rex who was making faces. "I just…"

"You just…." Chloe prompted him.

"I have this thing with…you know…monkeys." He said suddenly.

"Monkeys?" Chloe asked confused.

"Yeah, I had a bad…zoo, field trip experience when I was a kid." Simon explained. "It involves a dare and a monkey cage and…I don't really like to talk about it." He shook his head.

"Well." Chloe smiled. "Rex isn't a monkey, he's a chimp. And he's a sweet chimp. Go on, he won't bite." Chloe said. "You didn't get bit did you?"

"No." Simon shook his head. "Nothing like that, it was just a little traumatic." Simon tentatively reached out a hand rubbed Rex's head who smiled in delight.

"There, not so bad huh?" Chloe smiled. "I've got to go talk to Raymond, but I'll see you later."

"Sure." Simon said smiling at Chloe and then glancing sheepishly at Rex as Chloe walked into the kitchen.

"Raymond, you in here?" She called out. It was unusually empty for this time of day, normally he'd be started on dinner already.

"In the pantry." Raymond screamed out to her.

Chloe opened the door to what any other normal person would have called another room but what Edward had referred to as the pantry. There were shelves stocked with anything imaginable but this is where the industrial freezer and fridge were located, not to mention three or four prep stations and dishwashing area. Raymond was leaning over the middle table flipping casually through a notepad when Chloe walked in. "Is dinner going to be late today?"

"Huh?" Raymond looked up startled. "What? Oh, a little." He smiled sheepishly. "I was just going over the menu for the party. It's so last minute I want to make sure I have everything right."

"That's what I came to see you about. I wanted to get a finalized menu from you." Chloe said as she set Rex on the counter top. He immediately climbed down and started to wander around the room.

"Well I can get the lobster no problem." Raymond said going down his list. "Now I can do a chilled cucumber honeydew soup, it's great."

"Perfect." Chloe smiled.

"I was thinking lamb for the main course." Raymond said. "Maybe grilled I'm still playing around with it and then desert you'll have to order." He smiled. "I don't do pastry."

"Sounds good, let Ms. R know you're going with a soup so she can be sure to get the bowls."

"Will do." Raymond smiled at her.

"Rex." Chloe looked around the room. "Where did he go." She walked around to the other side of the table and saw him halfway hidden behind a curtain on one of the prep stations. "Rex." She said exasperated. "Come on, come out from behind there." She looked up at Raymond who looked a little freaked. "Sorry, apparently Oliver taught him hide and go seek earlier and he's been trying to hide ever since. Come on." Chloe started to walk towards Rex but he suddenly turned around and crawled out from under the table. "That's a good boy. Let's go play upstairs." He took Chloe's hand and they left the kitchen.

The day before the garden party something seemed strange. "I don't remember it being this hectic." Chloe said to Lois who even seemed more buys that usual. It seemed every time she called her lately she was at the Daily Planet.

"Well, it was sort of last minute." Lois reminded her.

"True." Chloe sighed. "I just feel like I'm in the middle of a tornado and no one will let me help."

"They're just doing their jobs right?" Lois asked. "Look, I'm really sorry Chlo, but I'm swamped here, I'll call you back ok?"

"Sure." Chloe sighed and hung up the phone. She looked out the doorway of the sun room; everyone was running around like chickens with their heads chopped off. It was an organized chaos at least. Ms. Reynolds had seen to that, but Chloe was getting a little annoyed that no one was letting her do anything.

"Bridget." Chloe called, stopping the girl in her tracks and causing her to drop the armload of fabric she was carrying.

"Yes Miss Sullivan?" Bridget said glancing around nervously as she bent to pick up the fabric. She'd been doing that a lot lately, every time Chloe talked to her she seemed like she was hiding something.

"Are you ok?" Chloe asked helping her.

"Just fine mum." Bridget laughed, but it seemed forced.

"I'm not working you guys to hard am I?" Chloe tried to look the girl in her eyes but she was being cagey.

"Oh, no, of course not mum." Bridget gathered all the fabric and stood up. "Did you need something?"

"I just…wondered if there was anything I could do to help." Chloe shrugged.

"Oh, there's no need for that. We've got everything under control." She smiled. "Don't worry." Bridget started to walk off.

"Bridget." Chloe called and tilted her head. "Are you sure everything's ok?"

She turned around and looked at Chloe; she seemed like a deer frozen in headlights. "Everything's fine." She nodded before scurrying away.

"There's something rotten in the state of Denmark." Chloe said to herself, vowing that she would get to the bottom of this. There was a possibility that something had gone terribly wrong with the party and after the disaster that should have been her wedding, the staff was just trying to spare her. She paced for a few minutes before deciding to go to the source. If something was happening in her house, Simon would know about it.

Chloe made her way through the hallways until she got to the security room. "Miss Sullivan." Charles, one of the guards slipped out of the door and closed it behind him before Chloe could walk in. "Is there something I can help you with?" Chloe looked at him critically. "I saw you coming on the monitor's ma'am." He blushed.

She opened her mouth to say something then shook her head; she didn't want to tip her hand too early. "I just thought I come by, check up, make sure everything was running smoothly for the party." She tried to smile cheerfully.

"Everything's great." He smiled at her.

"Do you mind if I have a look see?" Chloe asked reaching for the door knob.

"Actually ma'am." He blocked her hand. "We're running a diagnostic just now. All the monitors are down."

"I thought you said you saw me coming on the monitors." Chloe asked him, raising her eyebrow.

"Well, yes, and then they went down." Charles said. "Should be back up in an hour or two."

Chloe could feel something, nagging at the back of her mind but she decided to play along for now. "Ok." She said stepping back. "Well then I'll just come back later." She turned around and walked down the hall and could have sworn that she heard him say, "all clear".

"There's something going on." Chloe was pacing back and forth at the foot of her bed. Oliver was sitting at the desk doing some work on his computer.

"What do you mean?" He asked, not really paying attention.

"The staff is dodging me." Chloe told him. "They aren't answering any questions, but they're doing it well. And every time I see Bridget she looks like she's about to jump out of her skin."

"Huh." Oliver said and turned around. "What now?" He almost had to laugh at the sight. Chloe was walking back and forth, from one end of the room to the other with one arm crossed over her chest and the other one held on her chin. Right behind her was Rex, imitating her stance and following in her footsteps.

Chloe stopped and glared at Oliver and Rex slammed into the back of her legs. Chloe sighed and picked him up. "Haven't you been listening to me?"

"Sure, the staff is dodgy and Bridget is jumping around not answering questions." Oliver said, but realized as soon as the words were out of his mouth that they made no sense, obviously he hadn't been paying as close attention as he thought.

"They're hiding something from me." Chloe said. "Something big."

"What? Where is this coming from?" Oliver chuckled at her.

"They won't let me help with anything." She said exasperated. "If I walk into a room, they stop talking, and I think that security is following me around the house."

"Ok." Oliver stood up. "You are insane."

"Oliver." Chloe screeched and stood up.

"You have been cooped up in this house for three weeks now. You need to get out. You need to relax. I have an idea." He grabbed her shoulders and rubbed them lightly. "Why don't you call Abby, and Lily, and Rose and go to the spa, have a massage, relax before the party."

Chloe groaned. "What about Rex?"

"I'll take care of Rex." Oliver assured her. "You go have some fun."

"You'll be ok?" Chloe asked as she pulled out her phone.

"I'll be great." Oliver took Rex from her. "We'll be great."

"Fine." Chloe said. "I'll do this, but I'll have my cell phone so call me if you need anything, or if something goes wrong or…"

"We'll be fine." Oliver assured her.

Chloe sat back in the chair and had to admit to herself, every now and then, she liked to be pampered. She was sitting in the "Relaxation Room" of the spa having just had a full body massage, a facial, manicure and pedicure, and something called and herbal skin treatment. "I'm so glad you called."

"I know." Chloe sighed. "I just really needed to hide away for a while, forget about…well you know."

"That's totally like my best story ever." Lily smiled. "Do you have any idea how many people called me wanting to know what really went down at the Queen Sullivan wedding. I don't think I'd ever been that popular."

"I'm glad I could help." Chloe laughed as Rose slapped Lily on her arm. She looked out at the amazing view of the Thames and smiled, she actually felt relaxed for the first time in weeks.

"I didn't mean it like that." Lily said rubbing her arm. "Did you get stronger when you got pregnant?" Lily asked Rose.

"Can we just stay here forever?" Chloe asked.

"Well, probably but it would involve a lot of paper work." Abby smiled.

Chloe groaned and closed her eyes. "Fine, ten more minutes and then I have to get back." She yawned. "I left Oliver alone at the house with Rex."

"I still can't believe he let you kept that Chimp." Abby rolled her eyes.

"Yeah well I'm afraid if I leave him alone with Oliver for much longer, he might change his mind." Chloe joked. The girls reluctantly took their leave of the spa a few minutes later and decided to go somewhere for lunch. As they were standing in the deserted street trying to figure out where to go, something caught Chloe's eye, something familiar. She turned her head and looked closely at the edge of the River but there was no one there.

"Chloe…how does Italian sound?" Rose asked.

"Great, but something fast ok?" She smiled and followed them down the street.

By the time she got back to the house she was the epitome of relaxation. "Honey, I'm home." She called as she walked in the door, then immediately slid halfway across the entryway and fell on her back. "What the hell?" She looked around confused and noticed that the floor was soaking wet.

"Chloe?" Oliver called from the steps. "Are you ok?"

"I slipped." Chloe said cautiously pulling herself up. "There's water all over the place." She carefully walked to a dry patch of the floor.

"But you're ok?"

"Fine." She assured him. "I need to get this cleaned up before someone really gets hurt."

"I'll do that, you go change." Oliver told her. As soon as he said it she could feel that her entire back side was soaked straight through. Chloe nodded and walked dumbly up the stairs as Oliver called out to one of the guards at the door to get someone with a mop. So much for total relaxation.

She walked in her room and smiled when she saw Rex standing up in his crib staring at her. "Hey little man." She said and he made the sign for cup. "Just let me change and I'll be right with you." She came down the steps a little while later carrying Rex as three maids swiftly and effectively mopped up the floor. "Where did the water come from though?" Chloe asked Oliver who was "supervising". "Did you figure it out?"

"Oh, I can do you one better, how about in one fell swoop I solve the mystery of the wet floor and the mystery of the strange employees."

"I'd be very impressed if you did that." Chloe smiled as he tossed his arm over her shoulder.

"Well it's very simple really." Oliver smiled at her. "Elementary my dear Watson as the great late Sherlock Holmes would say."

"Would Sherlock Holmes tell me the answer any time soon?" Chloe joked with him.

"Right." Oliver said. "You see what happened was, the ice sculpture was delivered a day to early, they didn't want to tell you because they didn't want you to freak out. They've been moving it around, all day, hiding it from you until the sculptor could get his freezer truck here to pick it up. It sat in the entry hall a little too long while you were gone and…melted ice sculpture equals puddle of water." He took a bow. "Thank you, thank you very much."

"So that's why they wouldn't let me in the Security room earlier?" Chloe asked. "So I didn't see them moving around a giant ice sculpture on the monitors."

"And why Bridget's been so jumpy, she hates lying to you." Oliver said.

"Good work Sherlock." Chloe smiled at him.

"Can you relax now?" Oliver asked.

"I can't promise you anything, but I'll try my hardest." Chloe laughed as Rex made the sign for cup again. "Alright, I'm going." Chloe told him as they walked into the kitchen, but she couldn't help feeling that something still wasn't right.

The day of the Garden Party Chloe's eyes flew open at four o'clock, she was wide awake and freaking out. She had this feeling in the pit of her stomach, just like the one she'd had before her first ever Garden Party at Edwards. Partly because she realized this technically was her first Garden party. This was the first one that she'd planned, that she'd thrown, this was yet another coming out party for Chloe Sullivan. Sure she'd proven herself capable of taking over Edwards duty as far as the company was concerned, but after the debacle of her wedding, this party would show everyone whether or not she could cut it as far as social events were concerned. Edward was great at stuff like this. The one thing Chloe ever planned herself ended with murderous robots scaring away all the guests. She leaned over the side of the bed and grabbed her phone, she dialed Lois' number and waited impatiently for her to answer. "Hello." She said groggily and Chloe looked at the phone confused.

"Are you sleeping?" Chloe asked.

"Of course I'm sleeping are you retarded?" Lois replied.

"It's only nine p.m. there." Chloe told her.

"Who is this?" Lois asked confused.

"Chloe."

"Oh." Lois suddenly seemed more awake. "Sorry, it was a long day, I guess I dozed off. What's up, it's…holy crap it's 4 a.m.?"

"Yeah." Chloe said getting out of bed and pacing. "Look, I'm thinking this wasn't such a great idea."

"Getting up at four in the morning is never a great idea." Lois sighed.

"No, I mean the party." Chloe said. "What if I screw it all up? This was Edward's party, this is what he was known for, I can't do this."

"Oh yes you can, we didn't come all this way for you to back out at the last minute." Lois said. "You need to take a deep breath and put on your big girl panties, you can't control everything, and whatever happens is going to happen. You are a grown woman Chloe, you can do this, you know you can do this, and I know you can do this, so just go out there and prove to everyone else that you can do this. Now if you don't mind, I'm freaking exhausted." Lois hung up the phone and Chloe glared at it for a while, not really sure what to say to something like that.

"Well." She said after she took a deep breath. "I actually feel better now." She put the phone on the side table and walked into the bathroom to take a nice bath. By the time she was out, she was feeling even more relaxed and when she looked at the clock she realized an hour had gone by. Oliver was sitting up in the bed rubbing his eyes as Rex sat next to him playing with one of his toys. "Sorry." Chloe wrapped the towel tighter around her. "Did he wake you up?"

"Only a little." Oliver smiled. "You seem to be in an extremely good mood for this early in the morning." Oliver gave her a kiss.

"I am." Chloe said. "I don't know how to explain it really, but I think today's going to be a really good day."

Oliver froze. "Uh oh." He said. "Do I need to go get the salt? You want to maybe knock on some wood? Spin around a few times?"

"No." Chloe shook her head. "I think I'm going to go make some breakfast." She looked at her watch. "There is no way Raymond's up this early even with the party, so I'll have the kitchen all to myself." She grabbed some sweats and a t-shirt. "Want me to bring you something up?"

"Sure." Oliver smiled. "Whatever you're having."

Rex screeched at Chloe and she smiled. "And a fruit cup for the gentleman." She said as she walked out of the door.

Cooking breakfast made her feel even better if that was possible, while she'd been in London, she hadn't cooked once, she hadn't even made a sandwich for three weeks and she'd forgotten how much it relaxed her. According to Ms. Reynolds, who she'd run into on her way back up stairs with the breakfast tray, everything was running on time and on schedule and there was absolutely nothing to worry about, so Chloe didn't, worry that is. She ate breakfast with Oliver and Rex, they played for a little while, they tried to go outside and watch the workers set up the tables and hang the lights but Rex was getting into everything so very apologetically they went back up to their bedroom and closed themselves off from the rest of the world.

Chloe didn't even realize how long they'd been up there until Bridget knocked on the door and handed Chloe a garment bag. "You're dress mum. The guests will be arriving shortly, will you be needing any help getting ready?"

"Oh." Chloe said surprised. "No thanks. We'll be right down."

"I should probably hit the showers." Oliver said. "You got him?" He gestured to Rex who was occupying himself with one of Chloe's old shoes.

"Yeah, we're good." Chloe said hanging up the bag on the rack in her closet. "Rex, come in here where I can see you."

He obeyed and sat down, immediately searching the lower drawers for something to play with when he found Chloe's stash of pantyhose. It was like Christmas morning. She put on her makeup and did her hair as he got himself more and more tangled in the hosiery. Oliver got out of the shower and dressed quick enough to get Rex untangled so Chloe could get dressed herself. She opened the garment bag and frowned for a second, this wasn't the dress she'd sent to the dry cleaners, this wasn't the dress she'd picked out for the party. This was her favorite blue dress, it was still sort of summery but a little formal for a backyard garden party. Then Chloe remembered what Ms. Reynolds said when they were picking out the place settings, this party would be a little more formal that Edward had. She shrugged and pulled it on. It took her a while to find the right shoes and then she walked over to her jewelry cabinet and opened her necklace area. She was looking for the necklace that Oliver had given her, the apple, she was a little tired when she put it away the night before so she had to search for it when something caught her eye. She reached in and picked it up smiling. It was the flower necklace, the one Edward had given her to wear all those years ago to her first garden party, and as much as she loved her apple necklace, somehow this seemed a bit more appropriate. "Let me." Oliver said coming up behind her and fastening the necklace. "We're ready to go, I even managed to get Rex to sit still long enough to let me brush his hair."

Chloe turned around and smiled, Rex did actually look a little better. "You're so handsome." Chloe smiled and picked him up.

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Oliver asked offended. He held his hands out and did a little twirl for her. She felt her heart skip a beat and was amazed that after all this time he still managed to take her breath away. Even dressed casually in jeans and loose collared shirt, he was still by far the most handsome man she'd ever met. "You are handsome too." She said quietly as she leaned up to kiss him. When she pulled away she frowned a little. "So I don't get a compliment?"

"Let's see." Oliver said pretending to study her intently. Chloe set Rex on the bed and stood still as he walked around her, mumbling things under his breath. "Well…I don't know." He said finally. "I think something's missing." He nodded to Rex who grabbed a small green box out from under the pillow on the bed and handed it to Chloe. "We've been working on that all week." Oliver said excited. Chloe laughed as she took the box from Rex and opened it up. Sitting inside was a small platinum charm of a bouquet of tulips. "For your first Garden Party."

"It's perfect." Chloe said pulling him in for another kiss as there was a knock on the door.

"Guests are arriving mum." A voice said through the door.

"Coming." Chloe took a deep breath to keep from crying as she attached the new charm to her bracelet. "You ready?" She asked Oliver who nodded and grabbed Rex's hand.

When Chloe walked into the backyard she literally had to stop to keep from falling over. The tables were artfully arranged, the decorations were stylish yet whimsical, it was perfect. "Beautiful." Chloe whispered.

"I don't know, a little too posh for my taste." Chloe turned her head slowly, not believing her ears and then she smiled. "Champagne?" Lois asked holding out a glass to Chloe.

"Lois." Chloe squealed. She ignored the glass and lunged at her cousin, hugging her so tight that Lois gasped.

"Hey watch the drinks." Lois laughed. "This is one of my nicer dresses."

Chloe pulled back laughing and only then did she notice everything else, or should she say, everyone else. Bart and AC were leaning against the bar, smiles on their faces. Clark was standing a little ways back from Lois with Kara and Victor at his side. Bruce was standing near the door with someone else that looked familiar. "Ms. Kent?" Chloe asked confused, trying her hardest not to cry in front of all these people.

"Can we get this show on the road please?" A gruff voice asked from her other side and Chloe turned quickly, unable to stop the tears from falling this time.

"General?" She said quietly before she grabbed the man into a hug. "What are you doing here?" Chloe pulled back. "What's going on?"

"Well." Lois set the two glasses of champagne down. "We have a little confession to make. This isn't exactly just a garden party."

"What?" Chloe looked around to Oliver who looked just as confused as she did. "What are you talking about?"

One Week Ago…

Lois sat down at the large table and grabbed one of the cookies from the platter in the middle. "Whose bright idea was it for us to meet here?" She looked around the room, it was nice, it was cozy, but it was dangerous. "I mean do the words secret, covert, undercover mean anything to you guys? Anything at all, do you need a dictionary? I can wait." She looked around the table and Bart zoomed to the seat next to her and threw his arm around her shoulder.

"Come on, the danger of it all is part of the fun." Bart tried to convince her. "Admit it, you think it's a little sexy." He waggled his eyebrows and she groaned as she slipped out from under his arm.

"Back off short stack." She glared at him.

"Hey!" Bart threw his hands up. "Chloe's going to be a married woman pretty soon, I figure it's time to set my sights on her decidedly more unattached, yet no less beautiful cousin."

"Decidedly unattached?" AC snorted. "You've met her boyfriend? Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive…"

"Able to stop pervy midgets with a single glare." Lois added.

"You're not married yet." Bart smiled, unfazed by the prospect of incurring Clark's wrath.

"Can we get down to business please?" Bruce asked from the other end of the table.

"Right so first things first…" Lois started the meeting.

"We should have a name." Bart interrupted her. "Something cool to go along with our mission statement."

"We have a mission statement?" Victor asked.

"You know, whatever." Bart shrugged.

"Actually that's not a bad idea." AC leaned back in his seat. "We could be the Coalition for Harmonious Matrimony."

"Wow." Victor said chuckling. "That was pretty lame."

"You can do better?" AC challenged him.

"In my sleep." Victor scoffed. They all looked at him anxiously waiting to bask in his genius. "Well, I'm not sleeping now." He defended himself.

"I got one." Bart said. "How about Wedding Warriors."

"Yeah." Victor sat up straighter. "What he said." He pointed to Bart.

"Wedding Warriors?" AC laughed. "And that's not lame?"

"Not as lame as the Coalition for Lamey Lameness that you came up with." Bart scoffed.

"Ok." Bruce slammed his hands on the table. "I hear the word lame one more time, and you three are going to understand the true meaning of the word."

Victor and AC both sat back in their seats and Bart looked confused. Victor rolled his eyes and leaned closer to him. "It means disabled, paralyzed."

"Right, sure thing boss." Bart smiled at Bruce.

"Ok, so let's get started." Lois smiled.

"Aren't we going to wait for Clark? And Kara?" AC asked.

"I can give them the cliff notes later." Lois brushed him off. "They probably won't be much help anyway, they're both pretty busy."

"But what if we need them for something important." AC protested.

"You mean what if you need Kara for something important." Bart scoffed. "Like drooling over her."

"Or staring at her." Victor smiled.

"Or daydreaming about her." Bart added.

Lois turned to AC who was blushing profusely. "You have a thing for Kara?"

"It's not a thing." AC said straightening his shoulders. "Don't cheapen it."

"How is this the greatest superhero team in the world?" Bruce asked no one in particular. "It's a wonder they ever get anything accomplished." He coughed. "Could we get to the point of this meeting at some time today?"

"Right." Lois shook her head. "But we're talking after the meeting." She said pointedly to AC. "So the meeting. Everyone at this table knows that Oliver and Chloe, while two of the most powerful and respected business minds and superheroes in the world, are completely and utterly hopeless when it comes to normal stuff."

"Like getting married." Victor added.

"Exactly." Lois smiled. "If we left it up to them, it would never happen." She smiled. "I love both of them and sure, they could plan and execute a covert infiltration and extraction mission that would make the General weep with jealousy, but a Wedding?"

"So what is the plan exactly?" Bruce asked.

"Well I'm glad you asked." Lois smiled and started at the beginning. Bruce was having serious doubts in the plan, basically from the moment of conception, it was now painfully obvious to him that either Chloe or Oliver or both had to be responsible for any plan the JLA cooked up because Lex would have had all these guys in 33.1 ten years ago with the stuff they were coming up with.

"So let me get this straight?" He rubbed his temples. "We are going to plan a secret wedding, get all their family and friends here, get the entire staff in on it, and somehow get Oliver and Chloe to it, without them finding out anything?" Bruce looked around the table. They were all nodding. He got up and walked to the window. "And we're going to be doing all of this from literally right under their noses?" He moved the curtain aside and stared onto the back yard of Edward's house. He could see Chloe and Oliver about a half a mile away, Rex swinging in between them as they walked along the edge of the pond.

Bruce moved away from the window. "What the hell." He sighed. "I'm in." He looked around at everyone. "But there are going to have to be some changes."

"We're open to suggestions." Lois said to him.

"Hey." Bart said. "We need a name."

"We have a name." Lois pointed out. "Wedding Warriors or whatever the hell it was."

"No, that's our name." Bart said. "We need a name for the Mission. Like Operation Undercover Nuptials."

"Will that shut you up so we can move on?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah." Bart nodded.

"Fine." Bruce sighed. "First things first. That was the dumbest plan in the history of planning things."

"You have a better idea?" Lois raised her eyebrows.

"Two words." Bruce smiled. "Garden Party."

Lois slowly smiled. Edwards Annual Garden Party. Chloe hadn't done it in years, not since the last one, when Edward was still alive, but Lois knew that she wanted to keep the tradition alive, that she knew Edward would want her to keep the tradition alive. It really was the perfect plan. "So where do we start?"

Operation Undercover Nuptials

Phase One:

Entice Watchtower

(Convince Chloe to have Garden Party)

"Ok, so I'll call Chloe, try and convince her to throw the party." Lois said. "It'll be a piece of cake." She pulled out her cell phone and Bruce grabbed her arm.

"It's the middle of the day in America." He reminded her. "You're supposed to be at work."

"Got it covered." Lois said turning and grabbing a small radio. "Sounds of the Daily Planet." She smiled pushing play and the room was filled with a cacophony of noise, phones ringing, people shouting, printers whirring, typing and more. Bruce looked at the radio dubiously. "Don't worry." Lois told him as she dialed Chloe's number.

"Hello." Chloe answered.

"Hey cuz, how goes the vacation?" Lois asked.

"Pretty…boring." Chloe sighed.

"That bad huh?" Lois smiled. "Hey, can you take this down to editing?" She said to Bruce who rolled his eyes at her. She glared and he sighed.

"Right away Ms. Lane." He called out and Lois smiled.

"Not that bad, I just…I've been going at full speed for ten years now, I don't think I know how to relax." Chloe told Lois

"A project?" Chloe asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, something to keep you occupied but isn't going to stress you out too much."

"Actually that's not a bad idea." Chloe said. "I've been meaning to check up on some of the British publications for a while…"

"No." Lois laughed. "Not a work project a fun project."

"Oh." Chloe said. "Well, we're trying to teach Rex sign language."

"No, the book is not for eating." Lois heard Oliver scream.

"It's slow going." Chloe informed her. Bruce was tapping a pen on a notepad where he had written GARDEN PARTY with no fewer than five exclamation points and six underlines. She waved him away.

"Oh." Lois said suddenly. "I've got a great idea, the perfect thing for you."

"I'm all ears." Chloe sighed.

"The Garden Party." Lois told her.

"I just got finished planning the world's worst wedding, and you want me to plan another party? A serious party? How is that not going to stress me out." Chloe asked.

"You may be onto something here Lois." Chloe said.

Of course I am, this is me you're talking to here." Lois said. "Just think about it, I think it would be good for you." Lois gave everyone a thumbs up.

"Maybe I'll go talk to Ms. Reynolds." Chloe thought out loud. "Talk it over with her, figure out how hard it would be to do it on such short notice."

"That's the spirit." Lois said shoving Bart away again as he and AC fought over who got to listen in on the phone conversation. "Look, I gotta go, they screwed up my copy again, I'll call you later ok?" Lois glared at the boys.

"Ok." Chloe sighed. "And thanks."

"That's what I'm here for." Lois said before hanging up. "She's in." Lois looked at the assembled group.

"She said she'd think about it." Bruce contradicted her.

"Yeah, that's what she said but she was already planning it in her head. Trust me, I know Chloe." Lois told him.

Bruce had to trust her, there wasn't much else he could do at this point, and there was no turning back now.

Operation Undercover Nuptials

Phase Two:

Persuade Allies

(Get staff on board)

"Told you." Lois said smiling as they stood in Ms. Reynolds office. She was a little surprised to see Lois and Bruce waiting for her when she got in, and even more surprised that they were asking about the garden party.

"She just talked to me about it not an hour ago….what are you two doing here?" Ms. Reynolds asked confused. "Ms. Sullivan didn't tell me you were here."

"Miss Sullivan doesn't know." Bruce smiled.

"See, we've got a plan." Lois smiled. "We, that is to say, I convinced Chloe to have the Garden Party, not that it took much convincing."

"Why exactly did you do that?" Ms. Reynolds asked.

"Because she needs to get married." Lois informed the older woman. "And if we leave it up to her, it'll take years."

"That is quite possibly true." Ms. Reynolds said cautiously. "I still don't…"

"We were thinking." Lois turned to Bruce for support. "That we'd turn the Garden Party into a sort of…surprise wedding."

Ms. Reynolds looked between Bruce and Chloe, the sever expression on her face making Lois rethink the whole plan. "That's actually a good idea." She said finally and Lois let out a sigh of relief. "What exactly would this entail?"

"Not much." Lois assured her sitting down. "I mean you'll plan the party as if it was just another party you know. All we have to do is let everyone know that it's really a Wedding, everyone but Chloe and Oliver of course. We'll have to get someone to officiate, but that'll be easy. Oh, and there's got to be a wedding cake."

"Chocolate." Ms. Reynolds said absentmindedly.

"Exactly." Lois said. "Oh and they can't know we're here."

"Of course not." Ms. Reynolds pulled out her planner. "I'll have to start on the party right away. I'll have a staff meeting tomorrow morning, if you wish to attend…"

"Perfect." Lois said. "We'll be there." She stood up and looked at Bruce. "You got anything to add?"

Lois looked around at the assembled group, maids, maintenance, kitchen staff, security, everyone was there. "Any questions?" She asked a girl raised her hand slowly. "Yes…"

"Bridget." The girl blushed. "I just…I'm sorry, are you asking us to lie to Miss Chloe?"

"No, of course not." Lois scoffed. "I would never…maybe more just avoid telling…" She looked at Bruce for support and he just shook his head in amusement. "Yeah, basically lie through your teeth. Lie with every fiber of your being." Lois leaned on the table. "If she finds out about any of this, and I find out it came from one of you…" She glared at every person in turn and one girl actually whimpered. Lois rolled her eyes. "Geez, it's not like I'm going to kill you. But I could decimate your character for eternity in print." She added. "Yes Bridget." Lois noticed the girl had raised her hand again.

"Sorry, but what if say, a person couldn't lie?" She asked.

"Everyone can lie." Lois smiled.

"I really can't." Bridget shook her head. "I'm terrible at it."

"Just try it." Lois stood up straight. "Tell me a lie."

"Ok." Bridget coughed. "Um, I…really like your blouse." She said, her voice shaky. "It's absolutely lovely." Her smile was too big and her eyes were too shifty.

"Wow." Lois swallowed. "You really can't lie." She tilted her head. "What's wrong with my blouse?" She turned to Bruce. "Is it the color?" She asked confused.

"Just let it go." Bruce told her.

"Well, help me out here." Lois glared at him.

"Bridget." Bruce spoke up for the first time. "You like Miss Chloe? Want her to be happy?"

"Of course." Bridget nodded.

"Well just try your hardest ok." Bruce said. "We don't want to spoil the surprise." Bruce smiled his biggest smile at her.

"No." Bridget blushed a little.

"Maybe you just try to avoid her." He offered. "Don't speak a lot when she's around."

"Yes." She blushed again. "Of course."

"Thank you." Bruce said grabbing Lois' arm. "We'll let you get to work, we really appreciate your help." When they got out of the room Bruce laughed. "Was that so hard?"

"Yeah well I could have done that if I had your dimples." Lois pouted. "I'm going to go change my shirt."

Operation Undercover Nuptials

Phase Three:

Don't Get Caught

(Pretty much speaks for its self)

"Ok." Bart said to Ms. Reynolds. "I got the priest to agree to do a surprise wedding but you have to get Chloe to sign the marriage application." He handed Ms. Reynolds some papers. "I'll get Oliver's signature."

"I think I can handle that." She smiled.

"Bart, incoming." Victor said into his earpiece.

"Crap, she's coming." Bart looked around for somewhere to hide as he heard Chloe's voice, talking on the phone to someone coming closer and closer. Normally he would have just super speeded out of there but with Bridget and Ginny he couldn't exactly do that.

"Here." Bridget grabbed his arm and shoved him behind the drapes and pulled them a little closed. Bart resisted the urge to sneeze, he wondered how often they were taken down and dusted as Chloe contemplated the different place settings and signed the application. He cringed as Bridget almost spilled the beans and then decided to take a little peek.

"Flowers." Chloe said suddenly.

"Yes, we've got the flowers on order, unless there's something you wanted to change about the arrangement." Ms. Reynolds asked.

"No." Chloe took two quick steps to the black and white table. "Flowers." She said and Bart saw Rex pulling on the table cloth and then noticed the vase, dangerously close to falling to the ground. Without thinking he speed out from behind the curtain grabbed the vase, put it in Ms. Reynolds hands, picked up the application off the clipboard and was out of the house before anyone noticed.

He made his way around to the front where Eric was pacing back and forth. Eric pointed at his watch and Bart sighed. "I know, I got held up." He handed Eric the paper. "Just make sure he signs that, without looking too closely at it."

"Can do." Eric said. "So it's real? He's finally getting married?"

"Not if we don't get that signed." Bart told him.

"Right, on it." Eric smiled and walked to the door. Bart was pacing for the whole two minutes that Eric was inside and felt a sigh of relief when he saw Eric walk out. "Got it." Eric handed Bart the paper.

"Thanks." Bart said. "He didn't look at it?"

"No." Eric shook his head.

"Great." Bart turned to go and then stopped and turned back around. "Just out of curiosity. Does he usually sign things without looking at them?"

"Only if they come from a reliable source." Eric laughed.

"Damn, that rules me out then." Bart smiled.

Victor sat in the security room where he'd been for the past few days, watching Chloe's movements and keeping everyone out of her sight. He watched Oliver sign the papers from Eric. "Awesome." He sighed. Then he turned his attention to Lois and Raymond in the kitchen, going over the menu. They were lounging around, drinking beer and having a good time, not knowing that Chloe was fast approaching. "Lois." Victor said in his communicator. "I've got incoming, ETA like five seconds."

"Crap." Lois jumped up. "Chloe's coming." She told Raymond. They dumped the beers and started to gather the papers. "Stall her." She told Victor.

"Stall her?" Victor asked confused. He saw Simon by the door and tapped into his earpiece. "Simon. We've got a situation in the kitchen. I need you to stall Chloe."

"How?" Simon asked confused as he made his way to intercept her.

"I don't know, just do it." Victor said trying to figure out a way out of this mess.

"Ok." Simon said and Victor watched him practically step in front of Chloe to stop her progress.

"Hey." Chloe smiled. Victor had sound courtesy of Simon so he eavesdropped on the conversation.

Simon was floundering for something to say. "Stall her." Victor repeated in his ear. "Rex, say something about Rex." Victor advised him and sure enough that got Chloe talking. "Tell her…" Victor sighed. "Tell her you're afraid of Monkeys." He smiled as he saw a small, almost undetectable glare from Simon before he went on to tell Chloe how he had a bad experience at the zoo as a child. Chloe laughed and they talked a little bit more but Lois was still stuck in the kitchen. "Hurry." Victor told him.

"Not helping." Lois screamed.

"How do I get out of here?" Lois asked. They'd cleaned up all the evidence but she was still stuck in the room.

"Through there." Raymond whispered.

"Oh, you mean the door Chloe's about to come through?" Lois snapped at him. "Back door? Pantry?"

"No back door." Raymond shook his head. "And you're in the pantry."

"This is your pantry?" Lois looked around. "Crazy rich people." She muttered.

"Raymond, you in there?" Chloe asked.

"Quick." Raymond practically shoved her under a large stainless steel table and closed the curtain. "In the pantry." He called out to Chloe.

Lois pulled her knees up against her chest as she heard Chloe walk in the pantry. She and Raymond started talking about the menu for the party and Lois tried to get comfortable. "This is ridiculous, I feel like I'm in an episode of Scooby Doo." She mumbled to herself. She froze when she saw the curtain move but relaxed a bit when Rex's smiling face peaked in. "No, Rex, go away." She whispered, making shooing motions with her hands. "Really hurry, go, now." Lois said desperately as he smiled at her.

Lois heard Chloe's voice get closer. "Sorry, apparently Oliver taught him hide and go seek earlier and he's been trying to hide ever since. Come on." She called after him.

"Ok, you want to play is that it?" Lois asked. "I'll count." She put her hands over her eyes. "One, two, three…" She kept counting, unsure if it was doing any good and her stomach tensed with the knowledge that she could be discovered any minute.

"She's gone." Raymond told her pulling the curtain aside.

Lois got out and stretched, her back popping as she sighed. "This is getting hazardous."

"She's getting suspicious." Victor said a couple days later, watching Chloe on the monitors, talking to Bridget, pacing back and forth.

"You think?" Charles, a guard asked.

"Oh yeah, she's coming this way." Victor pointed to the monitor. "Stop her."

"What? No one's here- she won't see anything." Charles pointed out.

"Except for me." Victor told him.

"Can't you just, you know, sneak out?"

"Of a room with one door and no windows?" Victor shook his head. "And I'm not hiding under a desk, stop her." Victor pushed Charles to the door and he slipped out, closing it behind him.

Victor sighed as Chloe and Charles chatted and he pulled out his phone. "Hello." Oliver answered on the second ring. "Stop Rex." He told the chimp. Victor looked at the monitor and saw Rex trying to type on Oliver's computer.

"Hey, how's your trip going?" Victor asked.

"Not too bad." Oliver shrugged. "Chloe's getting a little high strung."

"Wow, what a surprise." Victor said sarcastically.

"I know." Oliver said. "The party was supposed to just keep her occupied though, not stress her out."

"Maybe she's just got a little cabin fever." Victor offered. "She might need to get out of the house, go relax. Has she seen Abby or anyone since you guys got there?"

"No actually." Oliver said. "You might be on to something. Maybe I'll tell her to give them a call, go to the spa, relax a little."

"Sounds like a plan." Victor said. "Look I gotta go, hang in there." He said his goodbyes as Charles walked in the door looking frazzled.

"I don't understand why both of us had to follow her." AC said standing outside the doors to the Spa, leaning against the railing in front of the Thames.

"So we could create a distraction, you know, in case some dumb ass tries to spill the beans." Bart pointed out.

"Can't Abby do that?" AC asked. "Or Lily, or even Rose?"

"Look, Bruce told us to follow her, so we follow her." Bart said from his position on the room top of the Spa. His phone rang and he picked it up.

"Hello…great." Bart said, AC could hear his end of the conversation. "So it can be delivered by tomorrow. No the other woman already gave me the guidelines. Excellent, see you then."

"Who was that?" AC asked. "What are you having delivered tomorrow?"

"Just mind your own business, it's my ultra awesome, super secret wedding present that you said you didn't want to have anything to do with."

"We talked about this Bart." AC groaned.

"Could you guys all just chill for a day and trust me, I'm not going to screw anything up." Bart said exasperated.

"Crap." AC said. "She's coming out, she's going to spot me."

"Just blend in." Bart said.

"Blend into what?" AC asked. "There's no one else on the street, it's practically deserted, I'm sticking out like a sore thumb, oh no, I think she saw me." He panicked.

"Hold on." Bart said and before AC could wonder what exactly Bart could do for him, he felt a familiar breeze, a small shove, and then nothing.

Victor watched Bart and AC trudge up the driveway and ran out of the security room as fast as he could, this he had to see in person. He got to the landing of the stairs just as they walked in the front door.

"I said I was sorry." Bart smiled. "I had to do something you were going to blow our cover."

"So you pushed me into the Thames?" AC asked, he was soaking wet and dripping all over the place.

"Would you keep your voice down?" Bart looked around worried.

"It's cool." Victor said. "Chloe's still out and Oliver had a few errands to run. No one's here."

"I'm going to shower and change." AC started toward the guest house. "You." He pointed at Bart. "Stay away from me."

Bart rolled his eyes and looked up at Victor. "It's not like the guy can't swim."

"Incoming." Simon said in Victor's ear. "Chloe's at the front door."

"Crap." Bart and Victor both took off in opposite directions, not paying attention to the puddle of water AC left behind.

Lois was fuming, pacing back and forth. She couldn't find the words right now. "Have you lost your mind?" Lois finally asked. "Forget the fact that she could have broken her neck, you didn't think she would find a puddle of water all over the floor suspicious?"

"Sorry." Victor said. "But it's cool, you fixed it. Quick thinking, telling Bridget that ice sculpture story."

"Yeah, genius." Lois scoffed. "Except now I have to find an ice sculpture by tomorrow."

Bart cringed. "Sorry."

"You talk to them." Lois passed it off to Bruce. "I'm just…" She threw up her hands and walked away.

"Look." Bruce told them. "We've only got one more day, not even a whole day. My plane is picking up all their friends from America, Ms. Kent, and the General, tomorrow Ms. Reynolds is going to take care of setting everything up so the only thing we have to do is keep from getting caught." He looked at Bart. "You think you can handle that?"

Everyone else turned to Bart. "Oh, I see." He glared. "You just wait until my present gets here. You'll never doubt my awesomeness again. Mark my words."

"Present?" Lois said turning to glare at him. "What present?"

"Lois." Bruce said calmly. "Just let it go."

Lois had to be dreaming, there was no possible way that her phone was actually ringing right now. She opened one eye slightly to see it light up on the bedside table. "Hello." She mumbled.

"Are you sleeping?" The caller asked.

"Of course I'm sleeping are you retarded?" Lois replied.

"It's only nine p.m. there."

"Who is this?" Lois asked confused.

"Chloe."

"Oh." Lois shot up in bed, her eyes springing open. "Sorry, it was a long day, I guess I dozed off. What's up, it's…" She checked the clock. "Holy crap it's 4 a.m.?"

"Yeah." Chloe said. "Look, I'm thinking this wasn't such a great idea."

"Getting up at four in the morning is never a great idea." Lois sighed.

"No, I mean the party." Chloe said. "What if I screw it all up? This was Edward's party, this is what he was known for, I can't do this."

Lois grabbed the pillow, placed it over in her mouth and screamed into it. There was only so much a person could be expected to handle. "Oh yes you can, we didn't come all this way for you to back out at the last minute." Lois said. "You need to take a deep breath and put on your big girl panties, you can't control everything, and whatever happens is going to happen. You are a grown woman Chloe, you can do this, you know you can do this, and I know you can do this, so just go out there and prove to everyone else that you can do this. Now if you don't mind, I'm freaking exhausted." Lois hung up the phone and went back to sleep.

Back at the Party

Operation Undercover Nuptials

Phase Three:

Commence Nuptials

(Start the Wedding and cross fingers that nothing terrible happens to stop it)

Chloe was looking at Lois in awe. "So you mean, this is my wedding?"

"Right here, right now." Lois nodded. "Think you're ready?"

Chloe looked over at Oliver. "I am if you are."

"Sweetie." Oliver smiled at her. "I was born ready."

"Ok." Chloe turned to Lois. "Let's do this." Lois smiled and passed her a bouquet of tulips and then turned to the crowd.

"You heard her people, places." Lois clapped her hands. "Let's go, let's go, let's go."

The whole ceremony was a wonderful blur. Chloe walking down the isle with the General, him passing her off to Oliver, crossing her fingers when the priest got to the "speak now or forever hold you're peace part". She cried when she said her vows and slipped the ring on his finger, he cried when he said his. Then suddenly that was it, no stress, no crisis, they were married and they were being pelted with rose petals as they walked back down the isle as Mr. and Mrs. Queen.

The first dance was of course great, to the song that Lois said was, "The perfect song to describe the way we all felt at every step of their relationship." Before she nodded to the bad and "At Last" began to play. The cake was divine, chocolate on chocolate and Chloe assured Oliver if he wasted a single bite smearing it on her face she'd be a widow an hour after she was married.

Dinner was delicious, the whole night was amazing. The sun started to set slowly as the last of the guests trickled out and Chloe and her friends where the only ones left. "I think we deserve a toast." Lois said raising her glass. "To pulling off a secret wedding right under the nose of the best investigator I know."

"Here, here." Chloe smiled and Lois froze, the glass halfway to her lips.

"No, no, no, no, no, no." Lois said. "I know that face." She pointed at Chloe. "We did pull it off didn't we?"

"Well." Chloe sighed.

"Damn it, it was Bridget wasn't it, that little…I knew we couldn't trust her, what kind of person can't lie?" Lois cried.

"It wasn't Bridget, and you did pull it off, kind of." Chloe told her. "I had no idea you were throwing me a wedding." She assured her cousin. "But I did know something was up."

"Which one of our many screw ups tipped you off?" Bruce asked.

"Actually, it was Lois that first got me suspicious." Chloe said and Lois' jaw dropped as Bart looked at her smugly. "I noticed that every time I talked to her, I was hearing the same exact background noise at the Daily Planet."

"Ok." Lois said throwing up her hands. "Now you're just making stuff up." She said. "You can't stand it that we pulled one over on you. There's no way…"

"A phone rings three times, "Daily Planet, Chelsea speaking." Then "Hey Mark, I'm going on a coffee run, what can I get you?" Mark answers, "Large black, no sugar" a fax comes in and then a voice screams, "Steve I'm going to need that write up from the Governors press conference in thirty minutes" and then…"

"We get the picture." Lois cut her off annoyed.

"There were other things, little things, and then when I fell in the water." Chloe smiled.

"No way." Lois said. "You totally bought my ice sculpture story."

"For a while I did." Chloe smiled. "You almost had me. Even though I knew I didn't order an ice sculpture, it was possible Ms. Reynolds did. But when I was putting the wet clothes in the laundry I notice that the water was really dirty and ice sculptures are generally pretty clean, plus it smelled kind of fishy."

"But…" Lois tried to protest.

"Ok, just let it go." Bart said standing up. "Chloe and Oliver are finally married, it was a good day and a good surprise, let's all just leave it at that."

"Here, here." Victor said.

"But it's not over yet." Bart smiled. "I've got one more surprise for the happy couple, if you'll just follow me." Chloe looked at Oliver and shrugged before following Bart out into the lawn. Everyone else wasn't too far behind. "I just want to point out that I offered to share this present with everyone else because it was so awesome but they all declined so you know, I did by myself."

"Should we be scared?" Chloe asked.

"Doesn't anyone trust me?" Bart groaned.

"We should be very scared." Oliver smiled as Bart stopped at the opening to the clearing. "Ta Da."

Chloe and Oliver cautiously took a few more steps forward and stopped dead in their tracks. "Oh God." Chloe gasped. "Is that…did you…"

"Holy Mary Mother of God." Lois said.

"So I'm not the only one who sees it then?" Clark asked.

"Do you like it?" Bart asked, his smile falling a little, his voice scared and hopeful.

"You got me a pony!" Chloe squealed and jumped and hugged Bart within an inch of his life. "A pony Oliver, can you believe…I can't…a real live pony."

"Now, I just rented it for the day." Bart said.

"The day, the hour, I don't care it's a pony." She ran over to it and pet it gently. "This is the like best day of my life." Chloe said.

"I hope that has more to do with the wedding than the pony." Oliver called out.

"Semantics." Chloe waved him off and he sighed.

"Married three hours and I'm already old news." He smiled. "Great gift Bart."

"No a real pony." Chloe said in the phone, probably talking to Abby. "I gotta go." Chloe hung up the phone and Oliver walked over to the pony.

"So pony trumps wedding?" He asked petting it softly.

"No." Chloe assured him, slipping her arms around his waist. "There is nothing I'm happier about than becoming your wife."

"So you want to ditch the horse and start the honeymoon Mrs. Queen?" Oliver asked.

"That's a very intriguing proposition, Mr. Queen." Chloe smiled. "But really." She pointed out. "Pony."

"Life with you will always be exciting won't it?" Oliver asked.

"Hey." Chloe smiled up at him. "If you can promise me a steady supply of pony's and chocolate cake, I can pretty much guarantee it won't be boring."