A/N: Here's the next chapter! It takes place around the episode "Disciple".

Chapter Eight: Healing

Oliver walked over to Lois' hospital room, and saw Clark there. Immediately, he felt guilty for being there. He was more than fine with Clark dating her, but thought that it would be awkward if he stormed in there asking questions about her attack. Ex-girlfriend, new boyfriend, ex-boyfriend- the three of them never really chatted together, and Oliver didn't really want to cause any problems.

He walked away from the room, and saw Chloe. "Hey, you okay? You don't look so great, which for you is not exactly easy." She said

"I didn't realize Lois already had a visitor." He explained

"Come on, Ollie. It's been years since you and Lois steamed up any elevator glass." Chloe reminded him.

"I know. I know. You have a suspect?" Realizing that it was an awkward topic, both parties immediately changed the subject to Lois' attacker.

Oliver took a look at the x-ray. It was a very distinct shot- only members of the brotherhood were able to make it. He studied the picture on Chloe's cell phone, and his suspicions were confirmed- the arrow was one and the same. Without a parting word to Chloe, he walked out of the hospital and went back to the Clock Tower.

Oliver pulled up every security camera and Queen Industries picture of him over the past two days. He knew before that he was being followed, but didn't pay it much concern until now. He was used to the paparazzi stalking him, but this was different.

He was sure that a Brotherhood member was attempting to kill him, and that it was probably Vordigan. He was the only one that was good enough to make that shot from the distance, the only one that truly had a bone to pick after all this time.

Oliver printed out every picture, and carefully posted them up on a wall. He studied them: he looked for a distinct shadow, a figure, something that he could work with. There was nothing, meaning that they were either following him around when he is the Green Arrow, or Oliver was just going insane.

"You are not going crazy" he said out loud, if only to convince himself.

***

Clark had just sped off to help Oliver deal with the Dark Archer, and Chloe was determined to stay busy. Staying busy prevented boredom. Boredom led to thinking, which led to feeling. Feeling usually led to Chloe being a mess.

Usually, Chloe would try and figure out the plan that would prevent the sun from turning red, but that would involve Oliver's input, and he was busy. Chloe glanced at the laminated letter on her desk. She should tell the team what was going on.

Without a second thought, Chloe called AC. The phone rang and rang, but the fish-lover wouldn't pick up. He never set up his voicemail.

Chloe scrolled down the list and called Bart. On the third ring, he picked up "Yeah?"

"Bart, I need you to get over here. Clark went into Lois' memories, and it's just as we expected- she went to the future. It's a mess. Can you get here? We need to make a plan." She said quickly

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" Bart called out to someone. There was a whoosh and someone was pushed to the floor "Chloe, I'm kind of busy at the moment. Is everyone else there?" he asked

"No, AC's not picking up."

"Well, if you can rally up the rest of the team, call me back and I'll get over there in a half hour, okay? I've got to go." He said, hanging up.

Chloe called Dinah. "Hello?" she whispered

"Dinah, I need you to get over here. Long story short, Kandorians are going to take over the world, and we need to stop it."

"Chloe, I'm chasing down a scoop for the Gazette. I'm sorry- I can't right now." Dinah whispered

"The world is going to end Dinah- in a less than a year from now. We're all going to die." Chloe explained

"Found it" she heard Dinah say to herself. "Chloe, I know it's disastrous, but can't someone fill me in later? I've got to go." Dinah hung up on Chloe.

Chloe called Victor. His voicemail picked up, and Chloe left a message "Hey Victor, its Chloe. Clark went in Lois' head and saw that we're all going to die very tragic deaths in the next year. Call me back!"

She pressed the "end" button, and waited. Chloe tapped her feet impatiently on the floor, trying to ignore the thoughts that were flooding her mind.

One after the other, they swarmed her. "Oliver's still in love with Lois" "The League doesn't care anymore" "You weren't fast enough in the future" "You die tragically" "You don't matter" "Oliver dies" "Even the impenetrable Clark Kent is killed" "You kill Tess Mercer" "Murderer". Chloe had enough- she put on her exercise clothes and a pair of sneakers, and disappeared behind the bookcase.

Chloe turned on the treadmill that she had recently purchased. She put it on the fastest speed, and started to run.

The treadmill hummed rhythmically with every step she made. "You weren't fast enough" she kept running, even though she was already exhausted. "Oliver's still in love with Lois" she became more determined to stay on the treadmill. "You die tragically." She started sweating, and her legs felt as if they were going to give out. "The League doesn't care anymore" she bit her lip, and kept pushing. "You don't matter" she started sweating, her throat feeling dry. "Oliver dies" she kept going as she failed to blink a tear away. "You kill Tess Mercer. Murderer." She kept running.

***

Clark sped over to Oliver's location in the maze, and put himself in the direction of Vordigan's arrows in order to save Oliver's life. Oliver shot an arrow in Vordigan's direction, but Clark couldn't get there in time. Clark saw Vordigan fall to the ground.

"You know, he always said that eventually my dark side would rise up and that I would take his life." Oliver told Clark.

Oliver walked over to the body, and prodded it. "You were wrong" he told Vordigan.

He showed Clark the arrow. "I shot him in the shoulder, exactly where he taught me" he said

4 hours later, the police took Vordigan away with the attempted murder charges. Oliver hid in the maze as everything happened, and went back to the Clock tower when it was over. Mia was safe, but Clark insisted that she go to the hospital just in case.

Oliver changed out of his Green Arrow uniform, and stared at his equipment as he put it away. He really did change- he proved it to himself once and for all. Oliver wasn't as bad as Vordigan. He was a hero after all. Oliver headed to the Watchtower to thank the one person that believed in him the entire time- Chloe.

***

Oliver opened the door to the Watchtower, and called out "Chloe, you there?" He heard no reply. It was odd- Chloe had spent almost every waking moment at the Watchtower these days.

He shrugged it off quickly enough. If Chloe was getting out of the Watchtower to relax and have some fun, that was great. He would have to call her instead, to tell her the good news.

Oliver reached for his phone and dialed Chloe's number. He heard it ringing in the distance. He hung up when he followed the noise to her empty desk.

Panicking now, Oliver looked around the Watchtower. It didn't seem to be in a sense of disarray- it was neat and organized as usual. The computers were on, and Oliver looked at one monitor. Chloe's tracking device indicated that she was in the Tower right now.

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief- she wasn't kidnapped. She was probably just sleeping or something. He turned to leave, when he heard a rhythmic beating noise.

Thinking that there was a bomb in the Watchtower somewhere, Oliver followed the noise. It seemed to be coming from behind a bookcase. How is that possible? He asked himself. Oliver saw that one of the books was slightly out of place, so he took it out. On the shelf, there was a flat silver button. Oliver pressed it, and the door opened.

***

Oliver walked into the room, and saw Chloe on the treadmill. He was impressed with how fast she was running. "Sorry for interrupting" he called out. She didn't reply. He walked over to the treadmill.

Something wasn't right here. This felt just like the day that Chloe hacked into a piece of alien machinery and her eyes turned white. He walked in front of the treadmill. Chloe's eyes were closed, and she was sweating profusely. "Chloe?"

He walked to her side, where she was running. She still didn't acknowledge his presence. She kept going. He tapped her arm, and in shock, she stopped running.

The treadmill was going so fast, that Oliver had to sprint over to the back of the treadmill in order to catch Chloe when she fell off of it. It turned off instantaneously, and Oliver looked her over.

Chloe's muscles were tense, and she was drenched with sweat. Her short hair was wet, and she was breathing heavily. He handed her a nearby water bottle, which she accepted. As she drank from the bottle, he untied her shoes and slipped them off of her feet.

His eyes widened when he saw the blood on her socks. He gently took off her socks and saw her feet.

Chloe's feet had blisters and her heels were cut. "Why did you do this to yourself?" he asked quietly

"I just wanted to be faster." She said, getting up. She grabbed her shoes, socks, and water bottle, and walked out of the room. Oliver followed her.

"Why?"

"Don't worry about me Oliver, I'll be fine." She told him, giving him a smile.

"That's not going to work, Chloe. What happened?" Oliver asked her

"Nothing." She answered, sitting down again at her desk. She started typing on the keyboard.

"Chloe…"

"You caught me in a moment of weakness. I don't want to talk about it. It never happened." She said with a tone of finality.

"No, Chloe. That was something. You were feeling something, and I'm not going to ignore it." Oliver told her

Chloe brushed him off and started typing again. Oliver walked next to her, and grabbed her hands. He kneeled down, and held them in his. "What happened to you, Chloe?"

She tried to pull her hands away, but it was no use- he was stronger than her. She tried to avoid eye contact with him. "It's 1 in the morning" she realized. "What are you doing here, anyway?" she asked

"I came in here to tell you that everything ended up okay. The Dark Archer's in jail, Mia's fine, Clark's okay. Obviously, you're not though, so we should probably focus on that." He explained

"I'm fine. What, I can't work out once in a while?" she asked him

"Chloe, I walk in here and find you running with your eyes closed and your feet bleeding. There are limits."

"Gee, thanks Boss." She said, rolling her eyes

"What's going on here, Chloe? You just want to be faster- why do you want to be faster. Faster than what?"

"Faster in the future- that's how I die. I'm running, and there's a Kandorian that's flying ahead of me. If I just ran a little farther, she wouldn't have seen me. She wouldn't have killed me- I can't afford to have limits." She explained

"That's not all, is it? There's something else." Oliver said. She looked away from him.

"Damn it, Chloe. Talk to me!" He exclaimed

"I can't." she told him helplessly, fully expecting him to leave now. Instead, Oliver pulled her into a nearby couch, and they sat. He took her hands in his once more.

"It's okay to feel." He said softly. "You can talk to me."

There was a long silence, but Oliver didn't leave.

"I'm angry." Chloe said, finally breaking the silence. "I'm angry at everyone." She told him.

"Who are you angry with?" he asked

"Everyone. I'm angry at Clark for abandoning me. We've been friends since the eighth grade, and he doesn't even talk to me anymore." She said bitterly

"I think we're all a little mad at Clark right now." He said

"It's different. I can't even hurt him. He doesn't stick around long enough for me to yell at him, and punching is useless." She explained

"You know his weakness- you don't want to kill him, do you?" Oliver inquired

She shook her head "I can't stand to see him in pain. I've seen it hundreds of times- the invincible Clark Kent writhing in pain, completely powerless. I can't even picture it."

"Are you mad at him for anything else?"

"It's just that we've always figured things out together. I've always had a vote, and now he's not even asking me for my input. I've virtually become a search engine. It feels like Brainiac all over again."

"What happened when Brainiac took over, anyway?" Oliver usually stayed out of Clark's alien problems, but he was listening now.

"I was starting to lose my memory. I felt lost. Whenever I forgot about something, there was a flash of Kryptonian symbols and then it was blank. I forgot about Jimmy and Lana. And in time, I forgot about Clark."

"Did you forget about just Clark's abilities, or did you forget that he was even in your life?"

"I didn't even recognize him after awhile. Davis though- Davis I remembered" she said bitterly.

"What happened?"

"Davis took me to the Talon, and knocked me out when I became hysterical. Clark took me to the Fortress, and had his father restore my memories. Except for the ones containing his secret." She told him

"Clark made you forget about his abilities? He had no right to force you to forget." He said angrily.

"It's ancient history, Oliver. My memory was fully restored later. It's okay."

"Who else are you angry with?" he asked, seeing this as indication to move on.

"I'm mad at Lois." She said nervously. She was afraid that Oliver would defend her, but he just looked at her.

"I yelled at her the other day, and I just…snapped."

"Well, what was the trigger?"

"Clark and Lois were looking for you during the Roulette mission. She got into your computer and saw the video feed of your suicide attempt, and saw Clark there. Since she was mad at Clark for not telling her, she went to the Talon to vent to me."

"What did she say?"

"She was personally offended that you didn't tell her. I told her that she couldn't expect her to just walk up to her and say, 'Oh, by the way Lois, I tried to kill myself the other day. Nice seeing you!' She insisted that she should have known and I called her selfish."

"She has been kind of self-absorbed lately- her and Clark both." Oliver agreed

"She told me that she had always been there for me, regardless of her busy schedule, and I snapped." She explained

"Well, what did you tell her?"

"Don't worry- I didn't tell her any secrets. I told her that while she was concentrating on The Blur, I was grieving because Jimmy died. She didn't even know that Jimmy was dead until then and I felt like ripping her apart."

"If she didn't know that Jimmy died until recently, then you have a good reason to be mad at her. Has she been better? Less selfish, I mean?"

"No. She acts as if it never happened, and it makes me guiltier. I've been avoiding her- camping out right here."

"You don't have to do that- you can stay at the Clock Tower. There's plenty of room there."

"Its okay- it's almost like a punishment, you know? A punishment that I have to see through."

"You don't have to punish yourself."

"I'm mad at myself. I'm mad that I married him because he was normal. I just wanted a normal relationship with someone that actually cared about me back. I'm mad that I die in the future because I'm not strong enough. I'm mad that I become a killer." She told him angrily.

"It's okay" Oliver said, rubbing her back with one hand.

"Don't be nice to me, Oliver. I don't deserve it." She said, sitting farther away from him.

"There's nothing wrong with what you're feeling", he said gently.

"I'm angry with you too. And you being nice to me right now- I can't take it." She was starting to cry

"Why are you angry with me?" he asked

"You left me too, without even a word. Completely off the grid for a week. I couldn't find you, and Lois disappeared. And when you tried to kill yourself, I…" she trailed off

"Chloe, I'm so sorry." He told her

"I was so helpless watching the video-feed. The thought of losing you- I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep. And I hate you for it." she said, sobbing.

"Chloe, I"

"-Why did you try to kill yourself? Every day, I try to wrap my head around it, but I just can't understand."

Oliver pulled her in for a hug. "I can't lose you Ollie. I don't think I can make it. Not you." She said, her voice muffled in his sweater

"Chloe, I swear to you- I'm never going to attempt suicide again." She nodded silently, and they sat there in each other's arms.

***

"I trust you." She said suddenly. "I must be an idiot for trusting anyone again, and I don't trust Clark anymore, but I trust you."

"I trust you too, Chloe. You saved me, when nobody else would."

She looked at the clock "It's 5 in the morning. Aren't you tired?" she asked

"Not really. I have to get up at 6 anyway. At this point, sleeping is useless."

"I'm sorry I kept you up all night." She said guiltily

"It's a two-way street. I kept you up all night too."

"Want some coffee?" she asked, getting up

"You know, I'm surprised that you lasted this long without it", he said, following her into the kitchen. She started a pot and got out two mugs. She poured coffee into the mugs, and reached for the sugar, while Oliver searched the fridge for milk. He poured a little milk in both mugs and put it away as Chloe added some sugar and stirred.

"Can you promise me something?" Oliver asked her, after taking a sip.

"Sure"

"Can you promise me that instead of running until your feet bleed, you'll talk to me instead?"

"I won't be able to talk to you the time. You'll get bored of me", she joked

"Now, that's impossible."

"Well, what if you don't pick up when I call?" she asked, thinking of her conversations with the League members.

"Then you can leave a message and the instant that I'm available, I'll return the call. I basically depend on my phone for survival. 20 minute guarantee- unless I'm being held hostage, of course. But you'd still be able to find me."

"Yeah, about that…I'm sorry. I kind of lost it. I know that it invaded everyone's privacy, but I was concerned."

"No apologies needed. The guys told me about the tracking devices. I understand."

"I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to make sure that you guys were safe."

"Actually, I think that it's a good idea. Dinah told me about how it saved her life, and I think that for me, you chose the wrong item."

"What?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I carry the belt with me, but on business trips, not everywhere. He reached in his sweater, and pulled out his necklace. He took it off, and showed it to her.

"I had Emil put a very discreet tracking device on the clasp. I would put it on the ring, but it means too much to me." He explained

She looked at the inside of the golden ring. "The Queen crest- this isn't…?"

"Yeah it is. It's my father's wedding ring."

"But they died years ago, how did you get this?" she asked him

"Remember when I told you about the island that I was stranded on?" she nodded

"Before I left, I found the crash-site. The plane was destroyed, but the Queen Industries label was on it. I found my parents' wedding rings and a letter that my mom wrote to me just before she died."

"And you kept them all this time?"

"I framed the letter. It's with the ring, in a safe at Queen Manor. I keep my dad's with me, to remember."

"Ollie, that's amazing."

"I've never told anyone that before", he said, looking down at his shoes.

"I've told you a lot of things that I've never told anyone." She reminded him

"Well, at least we're honest with each other." He said

Chloe unclasped the necklace, and placed it around Oliver's neck. "Let's be honest all the time, then", she said, clasping the necklace and stepping back.

"I think that's a deal. I'm tired of hiding from people all the time"

"Me too" she agreed.

Chloe glanced at the clock- 6:15. "I can't believe you're still here." She said softly

"I'll always be right here, Chloe." He glanced at the clock. "Right now though, in the metaphorical sense. I do have to get going, but only because I have a 7:30 meeting."

She laughed "Go."

***