Come On In My Kitchen Chapter 2, a Smallville + White Collar Crossover fanfic

A/N: The flashback of Chloe and Neal is set during Season 7 of Smallville, more particularly in the middle of the season finale – Arctic. When Neal talks about her being in the hospital that's when Brainiac attacked her and then I sort of created my own timeline after that. In this world there are weeks between Chloe getting attacked by Brainiac and arrested by DDS, not hours. Everything else in Smallville canon happened up to that point except Chloe and Jimmy hadn't officially gotten back together.

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Chloe's head tilted back, her cheek brushing against the crisp white hotel sheets as his lips slid from her jaw to her neck. "Neal…" she breathed out in a whisper. She wasn't sure if she was begging him or praising him and it didn't matter as she felt him smile against her skin.

The hands that had been tangled in his hair moved to cup his cheeks and she pulled his head up, looking into his eyes. His tongue darted out, wetting his bottom lip and Chloe instantly forgot what she'd wanted to say. He smiled even larger and pushed himself up to her, his naked chest sliding across hers, creating an almost unbearable friction and Chloe gasped at the pleasure, closing her eyes tight. She wondered how something so simple as skin on skin contact could feel so good, wondered if there was such a thing as feeling too good and then he stopped.

"Chloe," he whispered, his voice just as breathless as hers had been and she opened her eyes to see him right there, his face hovering inches from hers, his breath tickling against her already sensitive lips. His smile was gone now, replaced by something else, something serious, something that Chloe could feel deep down in her bones and she shivered at the weight of it.

Neal must have felt it too because he leaned forward, closing the last inch of space between the two of them and his lips touched hers, soft but insistent. Chloe's hands moved back to his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair, holding on tightly to the strands as if they was the only thing keeping her tethered to the earth, like if she let go, she'd float away.

Neal's hands gripped at her hips, feeling the same thing she was, using Chloe as an anchor, keeping him in that place, in that moment. "Chloe," he breathed into her mouth and this time his voice was desperate, practically begging her to tell him that she felt it too, that her world was spinning out of control like his was.

She tightened her grip on his hair and he pulled away, looking into her eyes. His breath caught in his throat, terrified she was going to tell him this was a mistake, that they should stop and never do it again. And then she smiled, big and bright, her eyes slightly wet with tears. "Neal," she said, a soft laugh in her voice, a tender look in her eyes and he let out his breath knowing in that moment that she felt it too. He smiled brightly at her and leaned down kissing her again.

Only this kiss was different, more frantic and insistent and Chloe surged up to meet him. Every stroke of his tongue against hers felt like a fire coursing through her veins and she could taste a hint of champagne and strawberries and it just made her want more. He pulled her closer to him and slid his knee between her legs and Chloe tore her lips from his unable to contain her moan as his fingers moved from her hips and across her stomach—

Chloe gasped, sitting up straight in bed, her breath coming too fast, making her dizzy. Her whole body was flushed by the memory of the dream and the ache that she felt between her legs was nothing compared to the ache that she felt in her chest.

She missed him. The realization of that was like a punch to the gut and Chloe had to suck in a breath to keep from passing out. When everything had gone down between them it had all happened so fast that Chloe didn't really have time to process it. Then when she finally did process it, she'd just been so angry at him she never realized that in all that anger, she missed him.

She missed what they had, she missed what they could have had and before she knew it tears were running down her face. Seeing him again brought back feelings that she'd been bottling up inside for years and she'd be so wholly unprepared for them that she was surprised it had taken this long to hit her. She was tempted to force herself to stop crying, to tell herself to get over it that he wasn't worth it but she couldn't because that was a lie, he was worth it and that made it hurt all the more so she laid back down and curled herself into a small ball and just let it all out.

An hour later Chloe stepped out of the shower feeling more refreshed than she had in a long time, feeling as if a weight had been taken off her shoulder, a weight she hadn't even known she was carrying. She'd cried for a while and then stood under the shower and let the hot spray wash over her, rinse it all away until the water turned cold and her arms and legs were covered with goose bumps.

She grabbed some clothes from her bag and took a deep breath, smelling coffee wafting through the apartment, more specifically her personal favorite brand of coffee. Chloe reached for the phone sitting on the bedside table and pulled up the message screen, typing up a quick, 'What's your position?' to Victor. He'd called before she'd gotten in the shower to let her know that he and AC were still on stake-out but they could have come back.

She got a response back very quickly saying, 'Same, is there a problem?'.

'Not sure, standby', she sent back and dressed quickly, sliding the phone in her pocket as she walked out of the bedroom. The apartment was the same one they always used in New York on JLA business and only her and the team had keys to it, much less knew where it was. Vic and AC were out and Oliver was at his New York penthouse, keeping up appearances and Bart was…Chloe shook her head to keep from thinking about it.

Dinah was on the outs with the team at the moment, another argument with Oliver about how he ran things, or more specifically about how he let Chloe run things. Last Chloe knew the canary had flown the coup to Switzerland of all places. Chloe had sent her a message but Dinah had been really mad and Chloe was sure that she wasn't ready yet to let bygones be bygones, even for Bart, which certainly didn't win her any points with any of them.

Chloe walked out into the living room and froze when she saw the bouquet of tulips sitting on the kitchen bar, her breath in her throat. "Neal," she whispered, her heart beating fast and she wasn't sure if it was because she was scared or excited at the prospect of him being there. She'd finally told Mozzie where she was staying after the twentieth time he called her, knowing it was the only way that he would leave her alone but she'd been sure that he wouldn't tell Neal. Maybe she'd been wrong.

"Hey." Oliver said, walking out of the kitchen holding two cups of coffee a smile on his face. He held one of the cups out to her and she took it absently, sipping it without really tasting it. Oliver frowned and noticed her staring at the tulips. "Yeah, I couldn't get shoes on such short notice."

Chloe tore her gaze away flowers and felt herself breath again. "They're from you?" She asked in relief and Oliver nodded.

"Yeah. Just a little, 'sorry I didn't listen to you and got shot' token." Oliver shrugged.

His words seemed to bring her back to the present and she turned to him alarmed, setting her coffee cup down. "You got shot!" She said, her eyes wide.

"Yeah I did. Yesterday. You were there remember. There was blood and a lot of yelling, mostly from you." Oliver said in amusement and she glared at him, pushing him down into a seat at the kitchen table, lifting his shirt up to inspect the wound.

"Did you change the bandages this morning?" She asked.

"It's uh…sort of in an awkward place." Oliver admitted and Chloe got up and walked to the bathroom, emerging a few minutes later with a handful of gauze and tape and rubbing alcohol. "So are you…ok?" Oliver asked, looking down at her as she peeled away the old dressing and started to clean the wound.

"You're the one who got shot." Chloe mumbled absently.

"Yeah but Victor said you sounded kind of weird when he talked to you this morning." Oliver said and Chloe closed her eyes in embarrassment then pulled out her phone and sent Victor a quick 'All clear' text.

"Victor should mind his own business." Chloe said, going back to clean the wound.

"He's worried about you and I am too." Oliver said, taking a deep breath to steal himself for what he was about to ask. "Who was that guy last night?" Chloe didn't say anything but Oliver winced as she pressed just a little bit too hard on the wound. "Chloe."

"Oliver." Chloe snapped but he didn't back down.

"You were scared." Oliver told her. "There were times when you were terrified of this guy and times when you seemed almost happy to see him but I'm more concerned about the terrified part." Chloe didn't say anything else and Oliver sighed, watching her eyes shift to the flowers one more time. "Is something wrong?" Chloe looked up at him confused and he nodded over her shoulder. "With the flowers? I know tulips are your favorite. These are French Tulips, I saw some like that at your apartment, drying in the window so I thought you liked them."

"I do." Chloe assured him, cleaning up the mess.

"Are you sure because when you saw them you looked like you'd seen a ghost?" Oliver said.

"Neal." Chloe said again, taking a deep breath and turning around to face Oliver and for the first time in a while, her past. "The last person that sent me French Tulips was Neal." Chloe said. "The one's hanging in the window, those are from him."

"Oh." Oliver said but didn't go any further, allowing Chloe to tell him what she wanted when she wanted, not pressing her.

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Four Years Ago…

Chloe walked up the steps to the Talon apartment and stopped when she saw a small bouquet of white tulips sitting in front of her door. She frowned and bent down to pick it up, carrying it inside. She set the vase on the bar and pulled the card out confused.

Nicole,

The flowers are a Thank You for the assist in Copenhagen. I realize it's been far too long since I've seen you last, and I'll passing through Metropolis on my way to Australia this Friday so I've got us both rooms at our hotel for the whole weekend, no excuses. Reservations already under your name,

Love Simon.

Chloe found herself smiling. "Neal," she whispered softly. She'd been so mad when he went off to Copenhagen with Alex without waiting for backup. Then she'd just been relieved when she finally got him back, safe, on American soil. Then she'd gotten mad again so of course he had to go do something like this, he always made it nearly impossible for Chloe to stay mad at him, which just generally made her mad at him all over again. She'd been anxious to see him since he got in, wanted to see for herself that he was really alright but both of their schedules had been hectic and even now she wasn't sure she could spare a whole weekend, no matter how badly she wanted to.

"Wow you're smiling, did Jimmy fall into a man hole?" Chloe looked up as Lois walked in behind her and rolled her eyes. "Wait, sorry that's my fantasy not yours. More flowers really? Could he be more unoriginal?" Lois groaned then studied the bouquet. "Wait a minute these are—these are not Jimmy Olsen tulips. They're not day-old half wilted-bought on a street corner for five dollars tulips." Lois pulled one of the flowers out of the vase and Chloe had to ball her hands into fists at her side so she didn't grab it back and say "mine" like a five year old. Lois put the flower up to her nose and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent and frowned again. "These are real tulips, French tulips."

"How do you even know that?" Chloe laughed.

"You get a lot of flowers when you date Oliver Queen. Got a bouquet with every apology and he had to apologize a lot but you know Ollie, he never did anything half way." Lois shrugged, slipping the flower back in the vase then stopping to look at it more closely. "And this is definitely not Jimmy Olsen. His are normally wrapped in newspaper." Lois lifted the small ceramic vase up to study it closer.

Chloe frowned, just noticing it for the first time. It was white with blue flowers and when Lois tilted it slightly Chloe caught sight of the familiar brown ring around the outer edge and the blue green ring around the inner edge and she grabbed the vase from Lois, pulling it closer to study the markings, recognizing it instantly as a piece from the Ming Dynasty. "Damn it Neal." She muttered under her breath, carefully pulling the 700 year old piece of ceramic, worth roughly five hundred thousand dollars, from her very clumsy cousin's hands and set it down gently back on the counter.

"No they aren't from Jimmy." Chloe shook her head.

"Oh, this keeps getting better." Lois pulled out a bar stool and sat down. "So who would send you flowers besides Jimmy?" Lois thought about it. "They're not from Oliver are they cause they're kind of his style?"

"Why would Oliver Queen be sending me flowers?" Chloe frowned.

"Oh please, you think I don't know about the little side jobs you do for him and his leather clad super friends?" Lois snorted.

Chloe opened her mouth then closed it again, nothing to say to that. "They're not from Oliver. He hasn't needed to apologize to me in a while and he when he does, it comes in the form of shoes rather than flowers."

"I knew it." Lois jumped up. "I knew there was no way you could afford those Manolo's on a reporter's salary. Are you sleeping with him?"

Chloe choked on the coffee and laughed. "Oliver Queen? God no."

"That's so not fair. I slept with him—a lot, like a lot and I never got shoes." Lois pouted.

"Well not to belittle your skill in the bedroom, but I do provide a slightly more important service than you did." Chloe said.

"Like what?" Lois asked her.

"Like making sure that he can get in and out of Lex's 33.1 labs without being shot or captured and experimented on." Chloe said and Lois grunted.

"Ok, you might have a point there." Lois said thinking that one over, but all thoughts of Oliver and Chloe and the types of services her cousin might or might not be providing for Oliver vanished when she saw the card lying on the counter. "Who is Nicole?" Lois frowned reading the note.

"That's me." Chloe grabbed for the card but Lois pulled it out of her reach.

"Copenhagen? Our hotel?" Lois asked. "Who the hell is Simon—" Lois gasped and looked over at her cousin. "This is him, this is the guy. Your blue eyed thief!"

"He's not my blue eyed thief." Chloe said taking the card back.

"Whatever." Lois smirked. "I can't believe you're still in touch with him."

"We don't chat on the phone every day or anything." Chloe said sliding the card in her back pocket, it was really more like every other day.

"Simon's not his real name is it? Cause I never pictured him as a Simon." Lois asked and Chloe shook her head.

"Simon and Nicole are characters from an old movie, How to Steal a Million." Chloe explained, knowing if she didn't Lois wouldn't let it up. "Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole. Audrey's character Nicole get's Peter's character Simon, whom she thinks is a thief, to steal a statue for her.

"Like you got him to steal that thing from Lex for you." Lois smiled. "Cute. So are you going to go?"

"Go where?"

"Your hotel." Lois said. "This weekend."

"No." Chloe turned around so that Lois didn't see the uncertainty in her face.

"Well, I think you should go." Lois said sniffing the flowers.

"Really?" Chloe turned around. "Why?"

"You had this goofy smile on your face when I walked in and you haven't had that goofy smile in a long time. And because he's different and exciting and so totally not Jimmy Olsen." Lois jumped up from her stool her eyes wide and excited as she remembered something. "And because the first time you saw him he literally took your breath away."

"How do you know that?" Chloe's eyes went wide.

"I was on the phone with you remember?" Lois smirked, thinking that there was no way that Chloe could argue with her reasoning.

"Right." Chloe nodded. "But it's not like that, Neal and I—"

"Neal?" Lois smiled, trying out the name. "I like that. Chloe and Neal."

"Neal and I are just friends." Chloe insisted. She could literally see the wheels turning in Lois' head and she had to stop her cousin before Lois planned their wedding. "Look, me and Jimmy are weird right now and Neal has this thing with Kate that I can't even begin to try and figure out. We're just friends."

"Fine, whatever. I still think you should go this weekend." Lois said. "You don't ever have any time to yourself and even if it's just as friends, I think it'll do you some good." Chloe knew Lois was right, she just wasn't sure she could justify taking time to herself with everything that was going on with Clark. "And you and Jimmy aren't weird, your over and he can't seem to grasp that concept and I think him chasing after you like this is just making it harder for you to grasp too."

"I know." Chloe banged her head on counter. "Your right. I know your right. But Jimmy is—"

"Safe." Lois said. "Jimmy Olsen is safe and you think you need a guy whose safe but you don't. You need a guy with blue eyes who steals things for you and takes your breath away."

"Yeah?" Chloe asked and took a deep breath. "Yeah." She nodded.

"Why is he going to Austrailia?" Lois frowned remembering what he'd said in the letter.

"He's not going to Australia." Chloe smiled. "It's a line from a movie. James Garner, Support Your Local Sheriff. He plays a con man who's on his way to Australia. It's just a little inside joke."

"Never seen it." Lois said.

"Ok." Chloe set her coffee cup down and grabbed her bag. "You and I are going to rent some movies tonight that do not involve sharks in any way shape or form."

"Where is the fun in that?" Lois asked following Chloe out of the room.

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"Did you go?" Oliver asked, bringing Chloe back to the present.

"Yeah." Chloe nodded. ""Lex was missing and Lana had run off and I'd just gotten out of the hospital and Jimmy was hounding me, trying to get back together and I needed to just get away. That was the last time I saw him." Her smile fell.

"What happened?" Oliver asked and Chloe closed her eyes shaking her head. Oliver nodded, she wasn't ready yet so he'd drop it. "So Friday night," Oliver changed the subject, "I'm going to need another tux, obviously, that blood is never going to come out and I owe you some 'I'm sorry' shoes."

"I don't need any shoes, the flowers were enough." Chloe assured him then stopped. "What do you mean you're going to need a new tux?"

"For the auction." Oliver said holding out his cup for her to refill.

"You are not going to go to the auction." Chloe snapped at him.

"You're not going alone, you can't." Oliver reminded her. "And Vic and AC can't go, they'd never pull it off."

"You can't pull it off." Chloe slammed the newly refilled cup in front of him. "You were shot last night. You can't even walk straight and if he catches on and puts two and two together, it's not just you and me that will be screwed it's Bart do you get that? I'll figure something else out." She said before storming out of the room.

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"Neal!" Diana snapped her fingers in front of Neal's face and he looked around the room. Jones, Diana, and Peter were all staring at him.

"Sorry, what?" He asked confused.

"Any of these cases appeal to you?" Peter asked.

Neal froze, he hadn't really heard any of the cases. "Oh, uh, no not really."

"No?" Peter looked at Jones then back at Neal. "The diamond heist didn't interest you? Or the international art theft? Or even the DaVinci forgery found at the Met?" Peter tossed him the stack of files.

"Someone managed to get a forgery into the Met?" Neal dug through the files intrigued but still not nearly as eagerly as Peter had expected. "There are no forger's in here." Neal frowned. "No diamond heist or International art theft either." Neal looked up at Peter. "These are all Mortgage fraud cases."

"I know." Peter smiled but noticed that Neal didn't seem to appreciate the joke. "Guys can we have the room?"

Diana grabbed the files off the table and followed Jones out of the room leaving Peter and Neal alone. "What's going on with you today?" Peter asked sitting across the table from Neal. "Your mind's been somewhere else since, well June's party." Peter smiled suddenly and leaned back. "Is this about the girl?"

"Huh? What girl?" Neal asked and Peter smiled even larger.

"The girl! The half naked one that was in your room. That girl." Peter said and Neal's face fell instantly. "Ah this is about the girl…but not in the way that I think." Peter studied Neal. "Neal, talk to me. Who was she?"

Neal looked up at Peter and sighed running his hand through his hair and Peter knew something was up. "It was her."

"Who her?" Peter asked.

"Peter, it was her." Neal said.

"Her?" Peter leaned back and thought. Neal watched as comprehension seemed to dawn on him. "Her her? Chloe?" Peter leaned forward and Neal nodded.

"What—I mean how—what was she doing at the party?"

"June invited her." Neal laughed bitterly.

"But where has she been?" Peter asked.

"I have no idea." Neal shook his head.

"Where did she come from?" Peter asked.

"I have no idea." Neal scoffed.

"Well where is she now?"

"I have no idea." Neal said.

"Neal—"

"I have no idea Peter." Neal pushed himself away from the table angrily. "I haven't seen her in five years and then she's just there, at the party, smiling and laughing and with this guy and then just as quickly as she shows up she's gone. Again. And I'm left with all these questions. Again. And this time…" Neal let out a deep breath. "This time I think she's really in trouble."

"That's what you said last time." Peter reminded him softly.

Neal frowned. "Yeah, well I'm still not sure I was wrong about that."

"Neal—" Peter sighed. "You searched for her for a year, I searched for her for almost four. If she'd really been taken by DDS I would have found her. Maybe it's time to reconsider that she just…left you."

"No." Neal said forcefully, startling Peter. "You don't understand there's no way that she would just disappear Peter, no way she'd walk out on me. Not after—"

"Not after what?" Peter said. "What happened? You never told me. What happened that made you so sure she didn't just leave?"

"I'd just gotten back from Copenhagen with Alex." Neal sat back down. "After Kate backed out, Chloe was going to take her place. It wasn't really her thing but she knew it was a three person job and she said she wasn't going to leave me hanging." Neal smiled at the memory of Chloe, hands on her hips and she chewed him out for even thinking of going in one man down. She wasn't over the moon about the whole "stealing the music box" thing but she knew it mattered to Neal and he was going to do it either way.

"But Chloe wasn't in Copenhagen with you and Alex." Peter frowned.

"No something happened, she never really explained to me what it was but she was in the hospital for a while. She wanted us to wait until she was better but we couldn't, we were on a strict timeline so we went without her." Neal coughed. "She's the one who got me out of the country when it all went south. She got Alex to France, got her the medical help she needed and all with one phone call, from her hospital bed."

"She sounds pretty incredible." Peter offered, mesmerized by the goofy look on Neal's face. As if he realized that Peter was looking at him Neal immediately whipped his features and got back to the story.

"So I get back and Kate had vanished. This wasn't the first time she'd gotten mad and left but it felt different. It felt final somehow. And Chloe had broken up with her boyfriend and I guess…I don't know, I just needed to see her." Peter smiled and leaned back in his seat as Neal told his story.

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Four Years Ago

"Neal!" Chloe called out from the doorway to her hotel room. "The desk clerk said you were in my room? Why are you in my room?" When he didn't answer Chloe frowned. "Are you in my room?"

"I'm in the bathroom." Neal called out and Chloe dropped her bag next to the bed which she noticed was strangely devoid of its comforter and all the pillows. She made a mental note to call housekeeping and then walked to the bathroom.

"Neal." Chloe smirked leaning against the door frame, watching as he made what looked like a fort in the large tub with all the bedding from her bed and what looked like the stuff from his as well.

"Good you came, I thought for a second you might not." He smirked at her over his shoulder.

"For a second I almost didn't." Chloe said. "What are you doing in my bathroom?'

"The acoustics are better in here." Neal said. "And I found the sweet spot," he smiled at her and sat on the edge of the tub, pulling off his shoes and patting the pallet of blankets and pillows.

"The sweet spot?" Chloe frowned looking around the bathroom in confusion until her eyes landed on the record player sitting on the vanity, a stack of vinyls beside it. Chloe walked over and flipped through the records, her eyes lighting up as she noticed it was all her favorites. Clapton, Hendrix, Zeppelin, even some Chuck Berry, and B.B. King.

In the beginning, Chloe and Neal's relationship had been strictly professional. One of them only contacting the other when they needed something that the other person was more qualified to deliver and always by phone, it was just too risky to be seen together.

But one day Neal had just shown up at Isis. Chloe had gotten back from getting a cup of coffee and he was sitting at her desk, on her computer. She yelled at him for twenty minutes about showing up unannounced and then another twenty minutes about client confidentiality when she realized he'd been going through the Isis files. He was surprisingly quiet for a while before asking her if it was true, the things he'd seen in the files, the things those people could do and Chloe had hesitated only a second before nodding.

They ended up ordering Chinese food as Chloe spent the evening telling Neal all about Smallville and the meteor rocks and her wall of weird and he told her about meeting Mozzie and working for Adler and Kate. Then the conversation moved onto art and antiquities and then music. They both agreed that vinyl was the only way to go and Chloe assumed, based on his love for fine art that he would be a classical music fan but he surprised her by admitting to a secret love of classic rock.

Chloe admitted that one could not grow up with Lois Lane listening to anything else and while her cousin preferred the more Heavy Metal hair bands, Chloe developed a deep love of Blues Rock that Neal surprisingly shared. The Who, Cream, The Stones, Led Zeppelin.

"It's that guitar." Chloe had said wistfully. "You can feel a good guitar in the bottom of your spine."

"Yes!" Neal agreed excitedly.

"I mean, what is quite possibly the most iconic musical moment of all time?" Chloe asked, her eyes sparkling with passion. "That moment when Hendrix stood up on the stage and poured out the Star Spangled Banner in a way that no one had ever done before? Or Clapton just exploding out of the gate with Layla? Guitars, they just…you know?" Chloe asked and Neal nodded. "The first time I heard Zeppelin's Travelin' Riverside Blues…I swear it was almost a religious experience." Chloe admitted and Neal laughed.

From there they got onto the topic of how much those artists were influenced by the originals blues men, BB King and Muddy Waters, "Robert Johnson." Neal said and Chloe's eyes went wide in genuine surprise. "He's all over Zeppelin, you can hear him in practically everything they did." Chloe had never met anyone else in her life who had heard of Robert Johnson much less his music.

"You know Robert Johnson?" Chloe asked him in disbelief and he smiled, almost blushing under her gaze. "I love Robert Johnson." Chloe said in astonishment.

"Have you ever heard him on vinyl?" Neal asked stealing the last pot sticker.

"I wish." Chloe glared as he shoved the pot sticker in his mouth. "Originals are practically non existent and the reissues from the sixties were pressed in limited quantities. I've been looking for one for years, it's nearly impossible to find." Chloe narrowed her eyes at him. "Tell me you have a copy."

Neal snorted. "If you couldn't find one, what makes you think I could?"

"It would be amazing wouldn't it?" Chloe asked wistfully. "To hear it as it was meant to be heard?"

And from then it was almost a mission for the two of them. Chloe would literally stop whatever she was doing at any given time if she passed an antique shop or record store and drag whoever she was with inside and looked through cartons and stacks of old dusty records for hours on end searching for that record and never finding it. So imagine her surprise when the record in the bottom of the stack was Robert Johnson's King of the Delta Blues Singers, mint condition, still wrapped in plastic.

"You found one?" Chloe asked picking up the case and flipping it over in her hands.

"Took me three years." Neal smiled then turned away. "But I found it about a month ago at this second hand shop in the Village. The guy didn't know what he had."

Chloe frowned, something in his voice not quite right. Not a con but not the truth. "You've had it for a month and you haven't listened yet?"

"I was waiting for you." Neal shook his head and that was the truth. She traced her fingers over the lettering on the front and smiled in spite of herself. "Open it." Neal whispered and Chloe looked up at him. He lifted up the champagne bottle in his hand and then slid into the large tub, plopping himself down into the cushions and getting comfortable.

Chloe tore off the plastic and slid the disc out staring at it for a second, smooth and unscratched and perfect and she dropped it onto the turntable, moving the needle over the outer edge and letting it fall. She heard the quiet scratching of the needle on vinyl and then the opening strands of Cross Road Blues echoed through the room. Chloe closed her eyes and kicked off her shoes as Neal popped the cork on the champagne and she padded barefoot over to the tub, settling in next to him. He passed her a glass and she took it laughing as the music bounced around the room, reverberating deep in her bones. "So what's this all about?" She asked him. "The champagne and the music."

"Jimmy broke up with you and you said you were ok and I think you thought you were. And then he decided that he wanted you back and started going after you again and in the middle of all of that I just don't think that you got to properly…mourn the relationship."

"You don't think I'm over Jimmy?" Chloe turned to him.

"I think you're over Jimmy." Neal nodded. "But I don't think you're over the breakup."

"Is that even possible?" Chloe frowned.

"You and Jimmy were over, you knew that and he knew that but he broke up with you before you could break up with him. You didn't want him anymore but no one likes to get dumped. The thing is you may not miss Jimmy but you missed the relationship and you thought because you didn't miss Jimmy it would be stupid to mourn the relationship."

Chloe frowned because he made a lot of sense. If she took Jimmy out of the equation personally there was still another person that was a very large part of her life, another person that she shared her days and hopes for the future and her home with and then suddenly he was gone and she was alone. She didn't miss Jimmy but she didn't want to be alone and that's what she had been for the past six months, alone. She didn't realize she was crying until Neal was pulling her against him, telling her she was going to be ok. She cried for a while but when she was done she didn't pull away and Neal didn't seem in any hurry for her to move so she stayed where she was. It felt nice, comfortable and she liked it.

"How long have you really had this?" Chloe asked listening to the music and turned her head to Neal who looked at her with practiced innocence. Chloe didn't buy it though and she narrowed her eyes. "Neal, do you really expect me to believe that you just happened to find this after three years, right now?"

"I've always had it." Neal admitted. "Since before I met you." Chloe stared at him in confusion. "I could never bring myself to break the seal."

"But you broke it now?" Chloe asked him. "Why?"

"Cause I wanted to see you smile." Neal shrugged and Chloe smiled at that and leaned her head back on Neal's shoulder.

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"We're out of champagne." Chloe said two hours later stumbling a little on her way back toward the bathtub after starting the record over again. She turned the empty bottle upside down and Neal grabbed it from her and set it on the edge of the bathtub then caught her as she fell back into the cushions.

"That means it's time for phase two." Neal said pulling himself out of the tub and straightening his suit.

"There's a phase two?" Chloe smiled at him. "Does phase two involve more champagne?"

"Definitely." Neal said. "All phases of this plan involve champagne."

"How many phases are there?" Chloe asked.

"At the moment just two, but if I come up with a phase three, champagne will be involved." Neal promised as someone knocked at the door.

"Is that the champagne?" Chloe asked craning her neck to look into the room as Neal called out for them to enter.

"Nope." Neal said. "But this will get us to the champagne," he leaned his head out of the bathroom into the bedroom. "We're in here."

"Get us to the champagne?" Chloe asked. "You mean the champagne isn't coming to us?"

"No." Neal held out a hand to Chloe who looked at it but didn't take it.

"As you requested sir." A porter walked into the room carrying two large garment bags.

"Thank you, hang them up over there." Neal said, his hand still held out to Chloe. The porter glanced quickly at Chloe sitting in the bathtub, cradling an empty bottle of champagne in her lap but he wisely didn't say anything, simply moved to the closet that Neal indicated and hung the garment bags, unzipping them both and pulling out the clothes and hanging them in the closet.

"I'm starting to think that phase two is going to involve me putting on a fancy dress and getting out of the bathtub."

"It does indeed." Neal said. "Wow, that's some amazing investigating you're doing here."

"I don't want to get out of the bathtub." Chloe pouted and Neal smiled. "Phase one is working for me, I have champagne, I have Robert Johnson, and being in the bathtub does not require me to wear what appears to be nothing more than a very expensive nightgown and…" Chloe looked around Neal to the porter who was pulling a pair of shoes out the bag now. "What looks like four inch heels."

"You're out of champagne." Neal reminded her.

"At the moment but I'm sure…" Chloe looks past Neal again to the porter who moved onto the second bag and was pulling out a very nice handmade suit. "I'm sorry what is your name?"

"Nathan." The porter smiled.

"Nathan." Chloe smiled. "I'm sure that Nathan will be more than willing to go get me another bottle."

"Of course ma'am." Nathan nodded and Chloe looked up at Neal triumphantly.

"We're wallowing." Neal said. "And that's fine, wallowing was phase one, but phase one is over and it's time for phase two."

"And what is phase two exactly?"

"Moving on." Neal said holding out his hand.

Chloe looked around at the comfy warm nest she'd made in the bathtub and then over at the blue silk dress hanging up. It was pretty and if she knew Neal like she thought she knew Neal it would fit her like a glove. Something he said caught up with her and she frowned at him. "Why are you wallowing?"

"What?" Neal asked confused.

"You said, 'we're' wallowing, why are you wallowing?" Chloe said then realization dawned. "Kate?"

"I haven't seen her since I got back from Copenhagen." Neal said quietly.

"But that's what you do." Chloe reminded him. "Kate gets mad and leaves for a few months and then she comes back to you, she always comes back."

"I don't think…" Neal stopped to order his thoughts. "I don't think I want her to come back this time. I'm tired of chasing her."

The record hissed and the needle slid over the vinyl to the next song.

And I feel so lonesome

You hear me when I moan

As Johnson crooned on about being lonesome Chloe realized that for the first time in a long time she wasn't lonely. She looked up at Neal and smiled, sliding her hand into his and allowing him to pull her out of the tub. She was done wallowing and it was time to move on. "You're promising me champagne?" She asked and he nodded. "Fine but I'm not wearing the shoes."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Neal climbed out of the car and tossed the keys to the valet before running around to the other side and opening the passenger side door. He offered Chloe his arm and she took it gratefully allowing him to help her out onto the street. "I can't believe you talked me into wearing the shoes." She said.

"I can't either actually." Neal said with a laugh. "You must have had more champagne than I thought."

"So where are we and why am I wearing these shoes?" Chloe looked around the streets of downtown Metropolis, vaguely recognizing the building. Neal smiled and moved to the side revealing the very large sign in front of the doors that read:

We welcome you to the wedding reception of

Michael and Bethany Sorenson

Ballroom C

"A wedding?" Chloe asked. "This is how you get me over my breakup by bringing me to a wedding?"

"Just the reception." Neal grabbed her hand and pulled her up the steps as fast as her shoes would allow her and pushed the door open. She smiled as he pulled her down the hall and into Ballroom C. "You need to see a happy couple, you need to be reminded that sometimes love does conquer all."

Chloe rolled her eyes but allowed him to pull her into the room. The music hit them first and then the laughter, it seemed like everyone was smiling and laughing and it was contagious spreading to Chloe and Neal almost immediately. "Plus there's free champagne." Neal said, snagging two glasses from a passing waiter and handing one to Chloe.

Chloe looked at the glass skeptically, staring at the small strawberry floating in the bottom of the bubbly liquid and then back up at Neal. She felt herself smiling softly at him before titling her glass at him in a toast and then downing the champagne in one gulp, chewing the strawberry quickly before smiling largely at him. "So I'm guessing we weren't invited to this wedding." Chloe slipped her free hand in Neal's.

"Not technically." Neal shook his head.

"So then how do we know Michael and Bethany Sorenson?" Chloe asked him, stealing herself for the evening ahead.

"It's a funny story actually." Neal said to her.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Oh we met Michael and Bethany when we were climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro." Chloe told the woman at the buffet line as she looked through the assorted canapés available. "It was a very intense eight days and when we finally reached the summit…something like that bonds someone for life you know." Chloe smiled and walked away, her plate piled high.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Michael saved my life." Neal told the woman next to him at their table. "True story. I was in a horrible car accident, hit by a garbage truck and my car flipped a few times. I was pinned underneath it and it was leaking gas and Michael just lifted the car off of me. One of those adrenaline things you know." The women looked over at Michael up at the head table and offered him somewhat dreamy smiles. He smiled back unsure and grabbed Bethany's hand.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"I met Bethany in collage." Chloe said to the bridesmaid next to her, checking her hair in the bathroom mirror.

"College?" The woman frowned.

"Oh yeah, we went through rush together." Chloe spun around. "Beta Kappa Omega forever!" Chloe said in her best valley girl voice before walking out of the bathroom.

"But Bethany didn't go to college." The woman said to the empty room.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Well, Bethany was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar." Neal said with a completely straight face and Chloe couldn't take it, she spun around so that the couple in front of them couldn't see her laughing.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Jail." Chloe said soberly to a man who had introduced himself as Bethany's father. The man spit his champagne out in surprise.

"You met them in Jail?" He asked, his mouth opening and closing comically like a fish.

"It was a whole huge misunderstanding. I mean we can laugh about it now but it was pretty scary." Neal shook his head.

"Jail?" He asked again baffled as he walked away and this time neither Chloe or Neal could hold in their laughter.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Neal grabbed another two glasses of champagne and watched as Chloe laughed with an older couple at the edge of the dance floor. The blue silk dress she was wearing fit her perfectly, sliding along her skin with every breath she took. She turned to him and her smile widened even more if that was possible. It was wild and uninhibited and completely open and it took his breath away. Neal knew that with the right smile he could get anyone to do practically anything, but after so many years of lying and conning and being anyone other than Neal Caffery, he didn't think he'd ever be able to smile at anyone the way she smiled at him.

He walked over to her, handing her the champagne glass and she slipped her arm in his like she did it all the time, like it was habit, like it just fit there and Neal was starting to think that maybe it did. "So we were in the ashram and the Maharishi turns to Michael and said, 'Don't go for what you know you can get, go for what you want'." The couple nodded sagely and Chloe smiled. "And when we got back to the states, he proposed to Bethany."

"That's amazing." The woman said, putting a hand to her heart before her husband dragged her off to the dance floor.

"You're amazing." Neal whispered in her ear and Chloe turned to him, beaming. "What's with the strawberries?" Neal asked. "It doesn't enhance the flavor of the champagne at all."

"Ah, but the champagne does enhance the flavor of the strawberry. " She downed the glass in one sip, catching the strawberry between her teeth with a smile.

"Really?" Neal asked, his throat suddenly dry. "I'll be the judge of that." He smiled and leaned down before he could consider what he was doing and bit into the strawberry hanging out of Chloe's mouth, his lips barely brushing against hers and she opened her mouth in surprise allowing Neal to take the whole strawberry into his mouth. He didn't move, didn't pull away, he just stared straight into Chloe's eyes and chewed before swallowing and Chloe felt her breath hitch in her throat.

"You're right, that was delicious." Neal whispered.

"Yeah." Chloe said.

"You've got a little juice on your lips there." Neal said reaching out to wipe it off just as Chloe's tongue darted out and she caught the edge of his thumb, causing the both of them to suck in their breath at the contact. Neal watched as Chloe's pupils dilated and he brushed his thumb across her bottom lip and her eyes closed at the contact.

Neal wasn't sure what he was doing but Chloe wasn't stopping him so he splayed his hand across her cheek, cupping her jaw and leaned in further.

"Chloe?"

Chloe's eyes flew open and she turned away from Neal to find herself face to face with none other than Jimmy Olsen, with his camera slung around his neck and a confused look on his face. "Jimmy." Chloe swallowed. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm the photographer." He said pointed dumbly to the camera. "What are you doing here?"

"I…" Chloe had been pulling crazy stories out of thin air all night but now when she really needed one, her mind was completely blank.

"She's here with me." Neal said, putting himself in the conversation. "Neal Caffery." Neal held out his hand and Jimmy just looked at it skeptically so Neal dropped it back to his side.

"I'm sorry." Chloe shook her head. "Neal Caffery this is Jimmy Olsen. Jimmy is my ex-boyfriend. Neal is my…" Chloe looked up at Neal confused as to what exactly he was to her.

"How about we start with "date" and go from there?" He asked calmly, sliding his hand onto the small of her back, instantly relaxing her muscles with that one simple touch.

"Date?" Jimmy asked, looking from Chloe to Neal and then back again. "You're dating?"

"I'm—we're—" Chloe stuttered and Neal saved her.

"Honey, I see Roger over there and he's going to give me hell at the office tomorrow if I don't go say hello."

"Right, of course." Chloe nodded.

"Come find me when you're done here." Neal smiled. "You owe me a dance."

"Right." Chloe smiled at him, unable to stop herself.

Neal looked at Jimmy out of the corner of his eye, staring at Chloe in confusion and a bit of annoyance and he couldn't help it. He grabbed Chloe's face lightly, his eyes sparkling as he leaned down and gave her a soft kiss. It was supposed to be just for show, just to wipe that stupid look off of Jimmy's face, maybe help Chloe relax but the second his lips touched hers it turned into so much more. Neal wasn't ready for the shot of electricity that shook his entire body and his hands slid from her face to the back of her neck, pulling her closer.

He felt her hand slide up his chest and fist in his shirt and she made a soft sound in the back of her throat and he forced himself to pull away before he did something stupid. They stared at each other for a second and it was just the two of them, everyone else in Ballroom C disappeared and it was just Chloe and Neal and it was like all the pieces that he'd been trying to force together for so long suddenly just fell into place.

He smiled then and it felt too big and too wide and too…open and it almost hurt, but that didn't matter because Chloe smiled back, because she'd felt it too.

"Chloe?" Jimmy asked, bursting their bubble and Neal had the urge to actually growl at him, he'd never growled at anyone but it felt like the right thing to do. Before he could experience his first growl Chloe reached up and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"I'll be right over." She said with a smile and Neal nodded dumbly walking away. He somehow made it across the room finding a guy who looked like he might be a Roger and striking up a conversation with him. If you asked him five minutes later Neal wouldn't be able to tell you what it had been about though because his attention was focused firmly on Chloe and Jimmy, standing far too close for his liking.

Jimmy was talking a mile a minute, gesturing wildly but Chloe was just shaking her head at him firmly. Her eye caught Neal's and she smiled at him, blushing a bit and that made Jimmy talk even faster if that was possible. Chloe looked around nervously as his voice rose and she reached out, putting her hand on his chest which shut him up immediately. Then she started talking, her voice calm and low and with every word Jimmy's face seemed to fall. She smiled sadly at him, leaned forward and kissed his cheek then walked over to Neal, her shoulders relaxing as she let out a deep breath and then she smiled that wild open smile at him and he couldn't help but smile back.

"Excuse me gentlemen but I believe I owe him a dance." Chloe said when she reached Neal, sliding her arm in his and pulling him off to the dance floor.

His hands settled softly on her hips and she threaded her fingers behind his neck. "So how'd it go?-" Neal nodded over her shoulder where Jimmy was standing and staring at her.

"I thought it went pretty well actually." Chloe smiled. "I told him what you told me about how he wasn't missing me, he was just missing the relationship and he insisted that no, he was in fact missing me specifically." Chloe took a deep breath. "So then I told him that it didn't matter because I wasn't missing him and asked him to please stop chasing me because I didn't want to be caught."

"By him?" Neal asked softly.

"What?" Chloe frowned.

"Just for my clarification, you said you didn't want to be caught but you just didn't want to be caught by him right?" Neal looked down at her. "You haven't closed yourself off completely to being caught by someone else have you?"

"No." Chloe shook her head. "I'm very open to being caught by someone else."

"That's good to know." Neal smiled down at her.

"Just for my clarification, when you said you were tired of chasing, you just meant Kate right?" Chloe asked. "You're not opposed to chasing in general are you?"

"No, I always enjoy a good chase." Neal assured her. "So it's over then? You and Jimmy?"

"Yeah it really is." Chloe nodded. "I just wish—" She stopped and shook her head.

"Wish what?" Neal asked.

"There was a time when I thought he was the one you know. I gave him a watch, a pocket watch that was my grandfathers and I just wish I hadn't done that now." Chloe said. "I could ask for it back but I don't want to be that girl." Neal nodded and something occurred to Chloe, she smiled suddenly and looked up at him. "Hey Simon."

"Yeah." Neal asked.

"Steal it for me." Chloe said and he laughed.

"You don't even have to ask Nicole." Neal pulled her closer and spun her around the dance floor, reveling in her laughter until the both of them were breathless.

"Neal?" Chloe asked panting. He looked down at her and smiled. "Catch me," she whispered.

"Always," he assured her and her smile somehow got even bigger before she lifted up onto her tip toes and crushed her lips against his and he caught her. His hands snaked around her waist to hold her in place as she devoured his lips, slipping her tongue into his mouth and his knees threatened to give out but then she caught him and he couldn't help but laugh at that, realizing that from the moment they met she'd been catching him.

It killed him to do it but he pulled away from her, brushing the hair from her eyes. "You want to get out of here?"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

They crashed into Chloe's hotel room, tripping over each other, and yet they didn't allow a single inch of space between their bodies. They tumbled through the room, slamming into the dresser, the table, and two chairs on their quest to find the bed. But it wasn't until Neal stubbed his toe on the corner of the wall, causing him to bite down on Chloe's lip that she pulled away.

"I'm sorry." Neal grabbed her face, his voice breathless as he pulled at her lip, examining it. "It's ok, I didn't break the skin." He smiled and leaned forward to resume their kissing but Chloe pulled back, much to his dismay.

"Maybe we should slow down." Chloe said trying to catch her breath, pushing him away with a gentle hand on his chest. "We've got all weekend."

"Right." Neal took a deep breath and stepped away from her. "You're right." He couldn't help the disappointed look that crossed his face and Chloe laughed.

"I didn't say stop." She told him, giving him a soft peck on his cheek. "I said slow down." She turned and walked away, disappearing into the bathroom and Neal wasn't sure whether he should follow or not so he just stayed where he was. He heard the distinctive click of the record player turning on and then the sound of the needle sliding across the vinyl before she appeared in the doorframe. "A little mood music." She said as the opening strands of Screamin' Jay Hawkin's I Put A Spell On You echoed through the bathroom and spilled into the bedroom.

Chloe reached down and pulled off one of her shoes and then the others, dropping them to the ground.

I put a spell on you

She smiled and walked over to Neal, flexing her toes against the carpet as she walked.

Cause your mine

"I am you know." He whispered as Jay crooned on, reaching out and grabbing her, pulling her flush against him. "Yours."

I ain't lyin'

"I have no idea when it happened but…" Chloe shut him up with a soft lazy kiss and his hands gripped her hips tightly, balling the silk fabric up in his fist. She pushed him lightly and he fell to the bed Chloe following him, climbing up into his lap and he tilted his head back further allowing her to deepen the kiss.

She pulled back suddenly, smiling and sang along with the song.

I put a spell on you

She climbed off his lap and held out her hand, telling him to stay where he was.

Because you're mine

The deep sensual saxophone spilled out into the room and Chloe slipped one strap off of her shoulder, freeing her right arm and then did the same to her left arm and then suddenly the dress was pooling around her feet on the ground. She stepped out of it and climbed back on Neal's lap, pushing him down until he was lying flat on his back. Chloe hovered over him, her hair falling softly around her face and Neal had to bite his lip to keep from singing along with the song as Jay started up again.

I love you

I love you, anyhow

And I don't care

If you don't want me

I'm yours right now

Chloe smiled, almost like she knew what he was doing, like she was thinking about it too and he grabbed her waist, flipping them over so he was on top now and pulling her into a bruising kiss, only pulling away long enough to pull his shirt off over his head and this time he did sing along.

I put a spell on you

Cause your mine

Chloe laughed and pulled him back down. The record moved onto the next song but Neal didn't pay any attention as Chloe slipped out of her bra.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Chloe's head tilted back, her cheek brushing against the crisp white hotel sheets as his lips slid from her jaw to her neck. "Neal…" she breathed out in a whisper. She was not sure if she was begging him or praising him and it didn't matter as she felt him smile against her skin.

Neal must have felt it too because he leaned forward, closing the last inch of space between the two of them and his lips touched hers, soft but insistent. Chloe's hands moved back to his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair, holding on tightly to the strands as if it was the only thing keeping her tethered to the earth, like if she let go, she'd float away.

Only this kiss was different, more frantic and insistent and Chloe surged up to meet him, every stroke of his tongue against hers felt like a fire coursing through her veins and she could taste champagne and strawberries and it just made her want more. His fingers tightened on her hips, pulling her closer to him and sliding his knee between her legs and Chloe tore her lips from his unable to contain her moan as his fingers slid from her hips and across her stomach, his fingertips sliding under the edge of her panties, pulling them down to mid thigh.

Her hands found his belt and unbuckling it and then popped the button on his pants, dipping her hand into his boxers and shoving both pants and underwear down in one smooth motion and there was a slightly awkward shuffle as they both divested themselves completely of the rest of their clothes and then it was nothing but skin on skin. They were sweat soaked and slick, as they slid against each other and that would have been enough for Chloe, should have been enough for her but then Neal reached down and slipped two fingers inside of her and that was so much better.

She arched up into him with shameless abandon as he slid his fingers in and out a few times and then his fingers were gone and Chloe looked up at him, a sort of half glare, half pout on her face and Neal kissed her softly and slid completely inside of her and the pout was gone.

Neal started off slowly, forcing himself to hold back, Chloe's words echoing in his head, that they had the whole weekend and he probably could have kept up that pace if she hadn't looked up at him through her eyelashes. "Neal, I need…" she was begging him now and his grip tightened on her waist.

"What?" He asked breathlessly.

"Faster." Chloe pleaded and that was all he needed to let go completely. Chloe met him thrust for thrust, urging him to go faster and deeper and he did whatever she asked, he always did whatever she asked and then she wasn't asking for anything anymore, couldn't ask for anything, her breath coming so fast that she barely managed a weak, "Neal," and he couldn't hold back any longer, thrusting into her one last time and it was just enough to push the both of them over the edge and Neal didn't worry about the fall because he knew Chloe would catch him.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

They'd lain intertwined for a while, letting their breathing even out, and Neal was content to lay there like that forever, but Chloe shivered and Neal realized that all of the bedding was still in the bathtub. He kissed her temple softly but she barely stirred so he ran to the bathroom, grabbed one of the blankets and draped it over her, only to find that she was fast asleep.

He looked over at the bedside clock and smiled, grabbing his clothes and quickly pulling them on before giving Chloe one last kiss and heading out the door.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"That was the last time I saw her." Neal said.

"Why did you leave?" Peter frowned at him.

"I had an errand to run. I was gone maybe two hours. When I got back to the room her stuff was gone and so was she. I went to her apartment and it had been ransacked. I ran into Jimmy, her ex, and he told me that she'd been arrested by the DDS but I couldn't find any trace of her, I called in all my favors and then well, you know the rest."

Peter nodded. "And then five years go by and she suddenly shows up at Junes."

"And disappears." Neal sighed.

"And you think she's in trouble?" Peter asked and Neal nodded. "Why? What happened last night to make you think that she was in trouble? You skipped dinner and I'm assuming that whole scene of her answering your door in her underwear was an attempt to keep me from seeing something. What aren't you telling me?"

Neal hesitated for only a second. He didn't know what kind of trouble Chloe was in but he knew that he and Peter could help and he also knew from personal experience that keeping things from Peter never ended well. "The guy she was with last night was Oliver Queen."

"The head of Queen Industries?" Peter said, instantly recognizing the name.

Neal nodded. "They got into a fight on the balcony. She said something about him going off script, that they had a strict timeline and then he left." Peter nodded, not saying anything, letting Neal fill in the silence for him. "About thirty minutes later a guy came in, whispered something furiously in her ear and then he left and she followed him."

"And you followed the both of them." Peter said and Neal nodded.

"They were in the alley behind Junes and Oliver had been shot." Peter sat up straighter at his. "It wasn't too serious, a through and through, no major arteries or organs had been hit but he was still losing a lot of blood. I offered to call an ambulance and they freaked out, said they couldn't go to the hospital so I called Moz and brought them up to my room. Moz cleaned Oliver up and then you showed up and I had to run out to meet you on the stairs and when I got back she was gone."

"You hid this from me." Peter said slowly. "A man was shot and you didn't tell me."

"I know." Neal said. "I know how bad this looks but…it was Chloe."

Peter looked up at Neal ready to give him a lecture about police procedure and proper protocol but he didn't. He just shook his head. "You always did lose all common sense when it came to her."

"Yeah well, it's not like it did any good." Neal said. "She's gone again and we're right back where we were four years ago."

"No we're not." Peter smiled slowly. "There's something different this time."

"Yeah, what's that?" Neal leaned against the table.

"This time I saw her face." Peter said.

"That makes a difference?" Neal asked him.

"It makes all the difference in the world. Now she's real to me, she exists," Peter said. "Hell for a while there I was sure you'd made her up. We'll run her again, maybe this time something will come up."

"She's not in the system." Neal reminded him.

"She wasn't in the system when I ran her four years ago." Peter walked over to the computer.

"And if I know Chloe she's just gotten better at hiding since then." Neal said then something clicked in his head, something Moz said to him. "She got married." Neal sat up straighter. "She got married and her husband died."

"If she got married, there's a marriage certificate somewhere." Peter got up and opened the door then stopped. "She's young for a widow." He said and Neal was once again hit with a pang of regret about not being there for her.

"Too young." Neal agreed with him.

"Diana!" Peter called, motioning for her to come up to his office. She set down her work and climbed up the steps to Peter's office.

"Yeah boss?" She looked at Peter then Neal.

"I need you to do me a favor, off the record, no case file." Peter said and Diana nodded. "I need you to pull all the marriage certificates from Smallville, Kansas for the past five years and looking for a Chloe Sullivan and if you can't find that I want you to take pull all the death certificates and cross reference those names with the grooms."

"Yeah ok." Diana looked over at Neal one last time before walking away.

"Grab your coat." Peter said and Neal stood up, slipping his coat on.

"Where are we going?" Neal asked confused, following Peter out of the building.

"To talk to Oliver Queen." Peter smiled and Neal smiled back.

"Hey, Peter." Neal called when they got to the car. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet." Peter said moving to get in the car but Neal didn't so he stopped.

"I know you could get into a lot of trouble for doing this for me. So thanks." Neal said sincerely.

"I made you a promise four years ago that if this girl did in fact exist I would find her. I'm just following through on that promise." Peter reminded him then climbed in the car.