Five Days Before Christmas...

One of the nice things about Jimmy being gone from the Planet was that Chloe could have the pictures from her cellphone printed out, without playing twenty questions with him. Oliver had e-mailed the ones he'd taken and Chloe had those printed as well. She sifted through the pictures, stopping at one of them both in the back of a carriage, smiling brightly at the driver from under a heavy blanket. The carriage ride had been Oliver's idea, too. The driver had sung carols to them, in a pleasant Irish brogue that made Chloe think of her grandfather. Thinking of Tom Sullivan had made Chloe cry, and Oliver had kissed every tear away from her cheeks, and encouraged her to tell the stories she'd always treasured about her grandparents. He'd laughed at them in all the right places and then told Chloe about his own family, in the United States longer than the United States had even existed; merchants in Boston who had helped organize the Boston Tea Party, men of vision who were there when the Declaration of Independence was written and ship captains who flatly refused to carry slaves long before the Civil War. He talked about old names, and old places and then told her about Ireland, where her grandparents had come from and promised that one day she'd see it, too. All thought and worry about Lois and her possible objections had been forgotten. Even the stark December sunlight streaming in the new windows of the Daily Planet basement windows was dim compared to how lit up from inside Chloe felt. And still there was the issue of Lois.

"I wondered where you'd gotten to." Clark's voice made Chloe jump, and he smiled at her gently. "You've been busy."

"Hi, Clark." Chloe slid the pictures into her jacket pocket. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." He leaned on the doorframe leisurely, and Chloe scowled at his knowing grin. "How's Oliver?"

"He's fin...hey." Chloe pushed Clark off the door frame and closed the photography lab door. "How did you know?"

"Well, I bumped into him last night. Literally." Clark's grin widened, thinking of how he'd nearly been standing on top of Oliver before he'd been detected. "We got to talking and he said he'd been with you earlier. Um, Chloe, you and Oliver? What about Jimmy?"

"Clark, I just…well…it's sticky. I really like him…Really." Chloe's eyes widened. "Jimmy kind of reconnected with his high school girlfriend at Thanksgiving…Lois broke up with Oliver, and he and I sort of connected the other night…" She sighed helplessly. "This is all a mess, isn't it?"

"It doesn't have to be." Clark reassured her. "Oliver said Lois broke it off nicely. I don't think she'll be upset. I'm happy for you, Chloe. I like Oliver. I think you're a better match for him than Lois..." Clark rolled his eyes at the thought of Chloe's cousin, which reminded him of the reason for his visit. "I came looking for you because she called me last night. Big Bat news. Apparently there ARE man sized bats in Gotham City." He held up a cd-rom. "I have the photographic evidence right here. "

"OOH." Chloe cackled, taking the disc from him. "Let's see...I'll bet it's a guy hang gliding at night for kicks."

"It's a kite." Clark corrected, mock serious. "A kids toy stuck in an old television antenna." They both giggled like children at that, even as Chloe felt mildly guilty for poking fun of her cousin.

"If you're right, lunch is on me." Chloe said, still giggling, and Clark nodded, his blue eyes twinkling with the kind of malicious humor that Chloe actually loved in him, because it was so not Clark, except when it came to Lois. Her cousin seemed to bring out the impish side of Clark, like no one else could. Just as Clark was able to tap tenderness in Lois that even Oliver had never seen from her. Chloe wondered idly what Lois and Clark would be like together. The thought had once burned her to her soul, but now seemed completely natural. She looked up at Clark thoughtfully, and he was nodding, amused at their joke.

"You're on. If she writes about the terrifying Man-Bat of Gotham City, you have to tell me all about you and Oliver." Clark half teased and Chloe shook her head, grinning wickedly.

"You know everything there is about Oliver and I right now, Clark. And Lois writing the man-bat thing? That's a sucker bet. Because you KNOW she's going to write that article." Chloe pushed past Clark and went out of the photo lab into the basement newsroom of the Daily Planet toward her desk. "Lois always misses the bigger story."

"And we have the pictures to prove it." Clark said, following Chloe to her desk. Seeing Chloe equally as distracted and happy this morning as Oliver had been last night was a good thing. The thought of Lois' man bat being a vigilante like Oliver had already crossed Clark's mind, and Oliver had agreed that it was worth looking into. Because of this new relationship between Oliver and Chloe, Clark had already decided to be the one to go to Gotham City, and Clark thought of how quickly Oliver's face had returned to it's usual calm expression when he realized that he wasn't going to have to leave Metropolis and Chloe. Clark hadn't spared Oliver the question about telling Chloe about the Green Arrow, either, and Oliver had agreed to tell her everything, assuring Clark that Chloe would know before Christmas.

Chloe loaded up the pictures on the computer and laughed. "Wow." She pointed to a shapeless blob to the right of the frame. "Whatever it was, it was moving pretty fast." Without thinking, she took the pictures she and Oliver had taken the night before out of her pocket and dropped them on the desk.

"Well, the kite theory is out." Clark leaned forward, sparing only a fast look at the computer monitor. He glanced at the top picture on Chloe's little pile of photos and then tapped it. "That's Publican House."

"Yes, Oliver took me there for dinner last night." Chloe said, scanning Lois' pictures. "Wait, Clark, look..." She zoomed in on the picture. "That could be something." She bit her lip and squinted at the screen. "This looks like a person, but this…unless a Goth club was having a grand opening, this just screams important."

"Yeah." Clark picked up Chloe's pictures and sifted through them. "So could this." He held up the picture Chloe had been looking at earlier. "You know, you guys actually look good together."

"Hey, it was my date, and I'm focused." Chloe snapped, pulling on Clark's shirt. "Pay attention."

Clark looked at the monitor. "What is that?" He traced the silhouetted shape in the night sky. "It's a Bat. On a search light." Clark turned back to Chloe. "Maybe I should go to Gotham City, and check this out. I'll stay out of Lois' radar."

"That shouldn't be hard." Chloe snorted, and then smiled. "Probably not a bad idea, though, Clark. If it is something bigger than Lois can handle, she's going to need help."

Clark laughed. "Or are you trying to get rid of me? I think I'm being replaced." He managed to appear upset, but Chloe hugged him briefly and shook her head.

"Oh stop. Replace you? Where would I find another big dumb alien to do that?" Chloe giggled, "It all started innocently enough, I guess, but now, Clark, I don't know how to even begin to describe how I feel about Oliver..."

Clark turned the pictures around, showing off a particularly sweet picture of Chloe and Oliver with a snowman in the park. "I hope you are framing this one for Lois." He grinned mischievously, sifting through the pictures again eagerly.

"Okay, that's enough." Chloe tried to snatch the pictures away from Clark haughtily. "Remind me to mock you when someone decides you're worth spending time with doing stuff other than Googling for you."

"Remind me to remind you, Chlo'." Clark told her and then reached out for her, his large hand on her shoulder. "I'm really happy for you, Chloe. Just be careful, okay? It's all happening fast, and you both are pretty fresh from ending things with other people."

"I know." Chloe patted Clark's arm. "I will be careful, I promise."

"Mr. Queen, there's a phone call for you." Oliver's Metropolis secretary, Celeste, poked her head in the door and nodded toward his phone. "It's from the house in Montana."

"Thanks, Celeste." Oliver answered. "Hello? Hal? Did you find it?" He asked into the phone and then smiled as the answer came back immediately. Coal, Oliver had threatened Chloe with the other night when she dragged him to see Santa, and coal, albeit sparkly and polished, would be exactly what she'd get.

"I found it, but you really sure you want to part with it just like that? You're being reckless again, Ollie." Oliver's friend, Hal looked into the antique Tiffanys box and let the light play on the perfect diamonds in the white gold arrow pin. "The boxes you wanted from Howard Hill were shipped out overnight yesterday, so they should be there when you get home from work."

"Thanks, Hal. Yes, I'm sure I want to give it to someone. Don't know if that qualifies as parting with it, in this case." Oliver picked up a pen and fiddled with it pausing to scrawl some names on the white paper he had handy. "Hey, what do you want for Christmas?"

"Christmas?" Hal asked, shocked. "You're getting soft in Kansas, Oliver. Get back to Star City and leave Metropolis alone. This is a joke, right?"

"I mean it, Hal. If I could give you something that you'd accept, and not sell or crash, what would it be." Oliver asked, and Hal laughed. "Money is no object, because I won't be buying it for you anyway." His friend nearly choked with laughter on the other end of the line, and Oliver sat back, looking at the Metropolis skyline as the sky grew dark with clouds again. More snow. Perfect.

"My own jet, one I can fly without needing to kiss Carol's butt first...not that her butt wouldn't be worth kissing…" Hal's Christmas wish was predictable, Oliver thought, as his friend stopped laughing. "This one worth it, Ollie? I mean, you were pretty serious with her cousin until 24 hours ago."

"She's worth it." Oliver nodded, decisively. "Send the pin, Hal. I'll call you when I get it."

"Consider it on it's way, Ollie." Hal Jordan hung up, and Oliver did too.

"Hello, tree." Chloe said to the Christmas tree later that day as she got off the elevator and walked into Oliver's apartment. "You did finish putting the lights on. Good for you." She smiled at Oliver proudly. "What's all this?" Chloe looked at the boxes. "Fragile? Did you win a very important award? Got a tacky lamp in there?"

"I had them shipped from home." Oliver opened one box, and then looked up at her. "That was cute…and no, no leg lamp. That was way too important and special to get broken. And, Miss Christmas, it happens that I think 'A Christmas Story' is a great movie."

"Ah, see, I knew it." Chloe pulled off her coat and hung it up. "I have a feeling I'm being misled about you and your holiday disability." She put her hands on her hips and looked around. "Where did all these come from?"

Oliver moved aside the packing in the box he was searching through and shook his head. "These have been packed away since my parents died. But this tree needed ornaments, so, here they are."

Chloe walked over and looked in the box. "What do billionaires hang on their Christmas trees?" She reached in and pulled out a round piece of gold painted cardboard, stuck all over with elbow macaroni, a picture of Oliver at about seven years old in the center. "Oh, Oliver…" She looked at the face of the smiling boy and then up at the somber young man beside her and her heart broke for him.

"These are the ornaments from our family tree…" He said, almost shyly. "Stuff I'd make…one year we popped popcorn and strung it into garland." Oliver looked down at the box. "Maybe I should have bought new ones for this tree after all, Chloe…"

"Hey." Chloe gently set the macaroni ornament down and took Oliver's hand in hers. "We can still do that. It's not snowing so hard yet. "

Oliver turned away from the box and looked up at Chloe. "Chloe, are you sure you want to continue this little project?" He dropped her hand and closed the box. "I think I'm a lost cause…"

"No." Chloe grabbed his arm and looked up at him. "No one is a lost cause, Oliver. Come on. This was a huge step on the path of de-Grinchifying you. I'm proud, Oliver, really." She smiled. "And, I know the perfect place to buy ornaments for your tree."

"Yeah?" Oliver asked, sliding an arm around her waist loosely, just enough to keep her close. "Where?"

"I'll show you…" Chloe reached up and gave Oliver a quick little peck of a kiss. "Get ready to experience a little of Middle Class America…"

The huge superstore was full of people, and Oliver grinned as Chloe pushed the huge shopping cart down the brightly lit aisle toward the Christmas section. Most of the time, if he had to get anything at a place like this, someone else made the trip. Canned music played over head, the Christmas music smooth and Rat-Packish. He'd had to stifle a huge laugh when he'd seen the bright red bullseye on the front of the store, and the result was very much like a sneeze that got him a sympathetic "Bless you" and another sweet little peck. Chloe had no idea how perfecty funny the store logo had been for him, and Oliver made a mental note to share that piece of information about his 'hobby' with her soon. Part of the problem with Lois had been that he didn't feel comfortable telling her anything about being the Green Arrow.

"Here we are." Chloe said, as they rounded the corner and all the Christmas trees came into view. "Everything you could possibly want for your tree."

"Unbelievable." Oliver looked around. "I've lived a pretty sheltered life. This is incredible."

"So..." Chloe pushed the cart up one aisle. "What do you want your tree to look like?"

"Wow." Oliver blinked. "I have no idea." He grinned, surprised. "I really don't know."

"We'll start with this." Chloe said, pulling an ornament from the hanging racks. "Look."

A plastic resin pair of snow people on ice skates, sprinkled with clear glitter hung from Chloe's finger on a piece of clear fishing line, and Oliver laughed out loud. "There we are."

"That's too funny." He asked and she nodded, placing it carefully in the cart. "They look a whole lot more graceful than we did."

"I guess fallen skaters on their butts just isn't Christmasy enough. I'm buying this, to remind you of the first night of your Christmas spirit lessons." Chloe teased and Oliver grinned at her. "Okay." She took a deep breath in and smiled up at him. "So what about the tree?"

"Our tree." Oliver corrected gently. "So, you pick out some decorations and then I will. Maybe we'll even throw some of the ones I have back at the apartment on too. Make it really a combined effort."

"Work together, huh?" Chloe nodded again, her smile breaking into a grin, as she put three boxes of candy canes in the cart. "Democratic tree decoration. New concept. Think it will work?"

"You bet." Oliver agreed. "Okay, Miss Christmas, lead on."

They finished the tree late, and dinner had been take out from a restaurant Chloe had heard of but had never been to, let alone dreamed they'd pack up a dinner to go. They were watching tv now, a DVD of "A Christmas Story" that Oliver had bought at the store tonight, along with "It's a Wonderful Life", "Holiday Inn", "Elf", and "Love, Actually.", the last one at Chloe's urging. The snow had gotten heavier and Chloe wondered how she was going to get back to her dorm tonight. The completely decorated tree caught her eye and Chloe got up and went over to it, examining the ornaments that Oliver had fished out of the boxes from home. There were others, he said, precious heirlooms of antique mercury glass, fragile pieces of art that had been handed down through the generations, but he'd wanted the simpler ones instead. There were shiny mirrored glass icicles that his mother had found on a ski trip in Vermont, delicate feathered birds in fragile nests that had been his grandmothers, and a plastic Disney Robin Hood ornament that Chloe knew had to be older than Oliver was. The little red fox wore a green hat with a jaunty red feather, carried a bow and was winking saucily at everyone who happened in his direction. Chloe smiled and moved on, spotting the white porcelain angel she'd picked out at the store tonight and then gently touched the sparkling opalescent glass snowflakes they'd found at a small store near the trendy restaurant. Oliver had bought every single snowflake the shop had and now the delicate glass ornaments, each one different from the other, sparkled with the lights as they moved.

"Hey." Oliver rose from the couch too and wrapped his arms around Chloe from behind her, resting his chin on her head. "You okay?"

"Yes." Chloe smiled softly, reaching out to make one of the snowflakes move. "I'm perfect. Oh, Oliver. This is all like some dream…"

"I know." His voice was tender. "I'm wondering when reality is going to come crashing down on us."

"Does it have to?" She turned to look up at him. "What if we agree to just let the next few days be perfect and see what happens from there?"

Oliver shrugged a little. "Sounds like a plan to me. Chloe, listen, tomorrow I have this benefit thing to go to, so..."

"I understand." Chloe turned back to the tree and then moved out of his embrace, picking up her coat. "Wow, is that the time? I'd better go. I have to go to the Metropolis Museum of Art in the morning to write an article for the Planet about their exhibit of religious sculpture…."

"Whoa, whoa…hang on there, Speedy." Oliver caught her by the hand and looked down into her face. "You think I'm brushing you off, don't you? Chloe…I want you to go with me. Well, I don't want to go at all, but I have to." He qualified the statement with a grumble, and then raised his hand to her cheek, pushing the hair away from her eyes and behind her ear. "You have a choice though. You can come with me to this thing, or I can meet you after. Please say meet you after, because I'll leave ten minutes into the concert, I promise."

"You don't get out of that so easily." Chloe replied, snuggling her cheek into Oliver's hand. She looked up at him. "Is it formal?"

Oliver nodded dejectedly. "Yeah." He rolled his eyes impatiently. "Some concert to benefit something… I mean it, Chloe, if you want to do what you have to do and meet me here, that's just fine."

"Oooh, you really don't want to go, do you?" Chloe laughed, dropping her coat on the chair and put her arms around his waist. "Okay, spill it. What is this benefit concert? And don't think you can really hide it from me. I work at the biggest paper in Metropolis…"

"Don't threaten me with the power of the press, Miss Christmas." Oliver retorted with a grin. "It's a concert of Christmas music with some Italian tenor. I already paid for the tickets, so I'm all square with the charity, so…I can think of a thousand things I rather be doing…" He leaned in and kissed her lightly, just enough to tease.

"Uh-huh." Chloe's eyes sparkled. "Like what? Name two."

"Just two?" Oliver laughed, pulling her closer. "Letting me get away easy."

"I'm still not hearing the two things you'd rather be doing." Chloe's grin widened, and Oliver nodded, seeming to think this over very carefully.

"I really, really want to keep up with my Christmas spirit lessons. I think I'm making serious progress." He kissed her softly and Chloe nodded, struggling to appear unmoved. "I have a crush on my tutor and everything."

"Yeah, yeah, enough with the sweet stuff, second thing, let's hear it…" She said, her tone serious and businesslike and Oliver grinned. "Trying to get your way and not go to the concert…"

"No…me? Spending the evening with you, doing whatever you want for your "Save Oliver from His Christmas Misery" project. I hear it's a worthy cause and I love the work..." Oliver told her, kissing her again, this time with more urgency, but then broke away with a smile, watching her blink and smile at him in response, her eyes shining. "The boring concert really doesn't compare."

"What time is this 'boring' concert?" Chloe asked brightly, tipping her head to the side, like a little bird, and Oliver shook his head. The one thing the Sullivan - Lane cousins seemed to have in common was their ever present talent of never being at a loss for words.

"Oh, it's going to be like that, huh? You're relentless, aren't you?" Oliver squeezed her and nodded. "Eight. At the Metropolis Concert Hall."

"I'll meet you there at 7:30." Chloe agreed, and then a sly and impish expression crept across her face. "Leaving early can still be an option, but since it's Christmas music, you have to go. Consider it extra credit." Her expression was pure mischief and Oliver could not stop himself from kissing her again, and then laughed at her ability to outmaneuver him.

"Extra credit? Okay, fine, we'll go. You're killing me, you know that, right? The idea of sitting in a theater for hours…" He looked down at her, studying her face. "Are you always this pushy?"

"Yes, but in a good way." Chloe's reply was quick, but Oliver silenced her with a kiss, feeling her almost melt in his arms. There was still the trek back to Met U to make, but Chloe blocked everything else out of her mind. The movie wasn't quite over yet, at the scene where the boy and his family are at the Chinese restaurant having their duck Christmas dinner, and as she heard the movie waiters begin to sing, Chloe giggled a little, burying her face in Oliver's shoulder. This carol was one of her father's particular favorites and he made a point of singing it constantly, from Thanksgiving on. But Chloe realized something, too, catching a glimpse of the opalescent glass snowflakes on the Christmas tree beside them. She was falling foolishly and impetuously in love with Oliver Queen, and Chloe was no expert, but she was pretty sure he was falling for her too. And it made her want to sing, because it was magic after all.

"Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la, la la la la la…

'Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la la la la la…"