Chapter four . . . lots of Ollie! Which makes me happy, to be honest. I do love me some Ollie. Anyway, this chapter is a little more serious, I'd say. I disclaim, and once again, much thanks for lovely comments. Timeline clarification: So Lollie dated for about 6 weeks before Lois decided to get a timer. Then they dated for about another month before she went through with it.

Lois nervously stood outside of Oliver's penthouse. The night before, they'd gone out to dinner and been nearly silent-she had been too wrapped up in her own thoughts, and he had obviously been a little upset with the fact that she was going through with the whole timer thing the next day.

She wished he could just understand that it was something she had needed to do. And it really was something that she needed him to accept about her-that she made her own decisions, and sometimes he would like them, and other times he wouldn't.

Yet-even though it hadn't worked out the way she might have wanted, everything in her world was going splendidly. She had a great job, great friends, and a best friend in her cousin and roommate Chloe.

In retrospect, it should have seemed silly, like a waste of time to get a timer. But since her talk with Chloe, she was actually really happy with her decision. She needed to do everything possible in order to find happiness and stability . . . and she had no regrets.

She wondered if Oliver could accept her decision. They'd been dating for about three months now. He'd met her best friends, they'd slept together, they'd been out on crazy dates, and stayed in for romantic, sweet evenings. She really liked him. Maybe, just maybe, he was her One.

But if he couldn't get over his timer-phobia, well, that could be a deal breaker.

Because she was eventually going to do everything within her power-which included using her journalistic determination and feminine wiles-to convince him to get one.

Because Lois Lane needed a damn guarantee.

Lois didn't like being alone, she just wanted a person who would be there. Someone she could love and trust. But she wasn't quite ready for the possibility of letting Ollie go now, she was in a fairly volatile emotional state, and she needed him. Just to be there, really. And she did like him. He wasn't just some guy.

Maybe it was selfish, but she didn't want to be alone. And she sincerely doubted he wanted to be alone either. So she was doing both of them a favor. Of course.

Because rationalizing her selfish desires made her feel better, she smiled and rang Ollie's doorbell.

Lois. She'd shown up, that was surprising.

Oliver braced himself for a break-up and opened the door.

"Hi."

"Hey."

"Can I, um, come in?" She watched as he visibly hesitated, then stepped back and motioned her in.

She started to pace around the room a bit. He just stood there, after shutting the door, waiting.

"I got a timer, earlier today." She finally stopped and stood next to him. She held up her wrist.

It was blank.

"Oh."

"Yup. Look I know I've been crazy lately. But I needed to get this timer for myself. Just to . . . well, know."

"I get it. Which is why I completely understand."

Lois turned her head to the side, obviously confused, "Wait, what? What do you understand?"

"You're breaking things off, right?"

"No, not at all. Look, I like you."

"I like you too," he didn't quite understand where this was going.

"And I want to see where things go with us. I know it's kind of selfish of me to play with your emotions like this."

Yes, yes it was. But he wasn't foolish enough to actually say that out loud.

"I want us to see where this goes."

Oh. He wasn't so sure he wanted that anymore.

"Look, Lois. I've been thinking about this. I don't think I can be with someone who is always waiting for the guy who comes after me."

Lois blanched. "Really? Because you're quite the infamous playboy. It's not like you're known for monogamy or long term relationships anyway." It came out with a bit of bite-partially because she was upset, and partially because she was a little bit annoyed with herself. Oliver was a great guy, and she was already falling for him-she'd quickly begun to believe her own rationalizations, apparently.

Oliver let out a semi-humorless laugh. "Thanks for that, Lois."

"I didn't mean-"

Oliver interrupted her, sighing. "Look, Lois. I think-I think you opened something up inside of me. I've spent most of my life not feeling as if I deserved to be close to people. You're the first person I've ever really, truly wanted. Not just sex, but affection, and possibly, eventually love. And as much as I'm thankful for that, I don't think I can do this anymore. The push and pull is eventually going to break us apart."

It hurt him to say it, but it was the truth.

"Oliver. One more chance, please." She looked at him expectantly, like he couldn't say no. He hated that Lois Lane look. The one that made everyone do what she wanted.

"We want different things," he protested, weakly.

"No we don't. I have my timer, but it's not going to make a difference. I want to see if there's anything between us, really. And you want the same thing, don't you?"

Oliver was torn. "Okay." It couldn't hurt, right?

Lois sighed with relief and propelled herself into Oliver's arms. "This was one of those moments, Ollie."

"What kind of moment?"

"One of those moments you could end up regretting for the rest of your life. The 'what-if I'd done something different' moment. The choice, Ollie."

She seemed to believe he'd made the right decision. But he was beginning to doubt that.

Oliver was deep in overly contemplative thought. He was in one of those cute little corner coffee shops. Upon realizing that he'd referred to the coffee shop as cute he'd nearly gotten up and left immediately.

Man, he was really off of his game. He supposed it was because of last night.

He and Lois had spent some time together the night before, just hanging out.

It had been slightly awkward. They'd fallen asleep together, and it had been okay. She'd headed home to her apartment with Chloe, and he'd headed out for some coffee.

To be honest, he was hiding from Lois. He cared for her, deeply. But this whole timer thing had really come between them.

Maybe he just needed to man up. Maybe he needed to just get a timer, get over it.

He was so . . . torn. And he didn't quite understand why.

He wanted to blame it on Chloe. His run-in with her as the Green Arrow had really just hammered home how different the two cousins were from one another.

Lois was just too . . . Lois. He wanted her, but something felt off. Just, wrong. She didn't know who he was. The problem was, he had no desire to reveal his alter ego to her. But he'd considered using Chloe as his . . . 'publicist.' There was something wrong with that. He shouldn't have been so quick to trust Chloe, and so reluctant to trust Lois. Then again, Lois couldn't keep a secret if her life relied upon it.

Chloe, on the other hand, was utterly trustworthy.

Chloe was the kind of woman he ought to be with. Upon thinking that he'd quickly shoved the thought from his head.

That was a bad, evil thought.

The kind of thought that could get him into trouble.

In the first place, he had a secret identity to protect, and hanging around with reporters was potentially devastating. It still shocked him that Lois and Chloe hadn't managed to figure out Clark's secret identity. Though, there were moments when he rather thought that Chloe knew. But Lois had absolutely no idea. Plus, he was dating Lois. And Chloe was dating Jimmy, which really was too bad. Chloe was just so much more . . . calming than Lois.

She gave off this energy that made it seem like everything was going to be okay.

He shook his head.

"Trying to shake away some deep and dark thoughts?" Chloe asked with a smirk. She appeared as if his imagination had conjured her.

And for a moment, he felt mentally incompetent. As if he had, indeed, lost it.

But then he realized that she'd come from behind him when he wasn't paying attention. He smiled in response, "Chloe, it's so nice to see you again."

"Is it?" Chloe lifted a brow. Ah, Lois.

"Maybe you should tell me."

"Lois seems happy." She'd argued with Clark when she'd gotten back to the apartment. He'd stopped by to discuss some info regarding Lex's latest evil-mastermind plan. Lois had, of course, decided to bicker with him about his mother, of all things. Apparently Lois had been receiving cooking lessons from Martha-which rather explained why they hadn't all gotten food poisoning weeks before when they'd had their little double dinner date. Apparently Lois had decided that Clark was neglecting his mother. Which may or may not have been true . . . but the argument ended with Clark suggesting that Lois shouldn't have gotten her timer implant, she should have gotten a personality transplant. Lois had responded-in typical Lois fashion-that at least she had a personality, unlike Clark.

Chloe was beginning to feel a bit of a sexual undertone to their arguments.

It was disturbing on so many levels.

There was a bit of jealousy-and the requisite guilt that came from the fact that she did, indeed, have a boyfriend-and a bit of resentment. She was also annoyed that Lois had apparently gone from making out with Oliver to semi-flirting with Clark. It may have been subconscious, but the random physical jabs and need to constantly complain about Clark . . . was driving Chloe insane.

If she weren't already there. Hello my name is Chloe Sullivan, welcome to Insane-Land, where nothing really makes sense and the amusement parks are surprisingly expensive.

Chloe mentally smacked herself.

But back to the present.

"That's good, that she's happy. I mean, I'm sure she was upset that she didn't get what she wanted from the timer."

Chloe hesitated. She really wanted to be honest with Oliver. "Actually, she was kinda confused. Like she didn't know how to feel. It's a really complicated situation." The truth was, Lois seemed to really like the idea of Oliver. And she desperately didn't want to be alone-she probably had some residual psychological scarring because of everything that had happened with her mother and the General. She really wanted acceptance, and someone's undivided love.

"Yeah. Yeah it is. So what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Why don't you want a timer?"

Chloe sat silently. Thinking, wondering whether she wanted to share her secrets with him. She lifted her eyes from her coffee and met his. Something in them made her decision for her.

"Well, they kind of take the fun out of life. I once heard this great quote about how life is really about the detours. And I think that's true."

"Is that all?" He wasn't in favor of the timer, but that seemed like a rather flimsy reason for someone like Chloe to give.

"I used to be in love with Clark." Wow. She was rather surprised she'd said it. She was more surprised that she'd said 'used to' instead of saying that she was still in love with him. Hmm. She'd been trying to get over him for years, she supposed it was about time she finally accomplished that goal.

It was a rather strange time for it though. Oh well.

"That sounds . . . " He seemed like he was struggling to find a word that wouldn't be insulting to any of the parties involved. "Complicated."

"It is. I-I can't believe I'm telling you this-I think I've always been rather afraid to see who would be my 'soulmate.'" She sighed. "I think I always wanted it to be Clark. But then I met Jimmy. And, there's a part of me that wouldn't mind if it were him, but there's another part that, well . . . "

"Doesn't want to be with someone just because you don't mind?" He suggested.

"Exactly!" She snapped her fingers. "I want it to be special. I really don't think that's too much to ask for. Except, I think I do. So I suppose I'm just a coward."

She waited for him to agree.

He surprised her. "Actually, I think that makes sense. It's not cowardice, you're just trying to protect yourself."

How was it that this guy-her cousin's boyfriend-understood her better than her best friend or her boyfriend ever did? Maybe that said something about her.

"Maybe. Maybe I need to stop being so afraid." She still wasn't completely sold on the idea of the timer, but maybe she needed to do it to up her self-worth. Chloe Sullivan did not let fear keep her down anymore than a locked door kept Lois Lane from breaking into the office of an alleged dirty politician.

"Possibly," Oliver checked his watch, "Well, I have a meeting, but it really was nice talking to you, seeing you again and all."

And it was.

Maybe too nice.

For both of them.