Warnings for this Chapter: Extreme Violence
Summary: AU. Chloe seeks out a new life in Star City, far from the painful reminders of her life in Smallville. Set around seasons 6 & 7
Author Note: All comments and reviews are appreciated. They are my addiction, so please feed it! I need to know if I am doing things right.
A big thank you to Chloesilvers for being my beta on this project. Banner by selene2 - isn't it fab?
Oliver hadn't left Chloe's place until late the previous night. They had both fallen asleep on the couch and were only woken due to a phone call from Bart. Merlyn had been seen hanging around, despite making no move.
Bart kept watch overnight, and Oliver had returned early in the morning as Green Arrow. The plan was for him to follow Chloe to work with AC tagging along after 'randomly' meeting her in the street.
Oliver positioned himself on the fire escape of the adjacent building. It was the same one he'd used when he first rescued Chloe from Merlyn. He had the ideal view into her hallway and would be able to watch her leave.
He was going to have to find a way to secure it later, it would leave her vulnerable. Oliver jumped onto the fire escape of her building to inspect the window. It could be easily opened from the outside.
Oliver saw movement through the window and looked up. Chloe was leaving her apartment, putting on her jacket as she closed the door.
She looked beautiful today, and he knew that it was unintentional on her part. Her hair was swept up into a clip, a few golden tendrils falling into her face. If that wasn't distracting enough, she was wearing a skirt. He'd never seen her in one before, and he almost choked when he saw the shoes that she had picked to match.
There were terms to describe heels like those, and Oliver's mind was starting to wander there. He knew his thoughts were completely inappropriate, but with legs and an ass like that, they deserved to be appreciated.
A shadow moved to his left and Oliver instinctively knew what it was. He wouldn't have time to secure this window after all. He didn't even have time to fire a shot of his own. He wasn't about to watch Chloe die as he stood there helplessly.
Oliver heard the release of the arrow and just had the time to block the window with his body.
Chloe was on time for a change. It felt nice leaving the apartment at a normal pace, instead of running around like a mad woman. She hoped to enjoy the sunshine and maybe even a cup of coffee as she walked to work.
After closing her door she looked towards the hallway window, hoping to see a quick glimpse of the beautiful day.
Instead of sunshine, she saw Green Arrow slam into the glass with a grimace gracing his features. After the initial shock she notices the blood at his mouth.
Chloe ran to the window, ignoring his gestures for her to move away. She opened it and began to drag him through.
"Get out of here!" He yelled at her.
"Not without you." She gritted her teeth and pulled him into the hallway.
Chloe tried to support him as they stumbled to her door, but her hand was slick on his back. She didn't have to look at her hand to see it was blood; she could smell the sweet, coppery scent that seemed to settle on her tongue. She felt her stomach churn.
Oliver turned to face the window, crossbow in hand. He fired a shot as Chloe fumbled with her keys to open the door. An arrow passed by her face, just grazing her cheek.
The door finally opened, and Chloe avoided looking at the arrow lodged in Oliver's back as she grabbed at his vest. She practically fell into her apartment, dragging him with her.
Oliver fell to the floor as Chloe kicked the door closed.
"We need to get you to the hospital." She knelt beside him and pulled him against her, cradling his head. She pulled off his glasses to look at his face.
Oliver's breathing was becoming more laboured as the blood continued to flow from the wound. There was a horrible bubbly wheeze every time his chest moved.
"Too late." He pulled out his earpiece and handed it to her. "AC...he'll get you...to safety."
His breathing was shallow, his body fighting for every breath. He was dying before her eyes, and it was all because of her.
Chloe could feel the tears streaking down her cheeks. Oliver Queen was not supposed to die like this.
"I'm sorry." She pushed the hood back from his head so it no longer obstructed the full view of his face.
"S'okay." He weakly replied.
"What the hell were you thinking? I'm not worth giving your life for! Don't you get that?"
"Worth it." He took her hand and gripped it tightly.
It wasn't. It really wasn't. The world needed Green Arrow, and she needed Oliver Queen to be alive and well. It could ruin everything she'd worked so hard to build in Star City, but she could fix this.
"Ollie, look at me." He was losing consciousness. She watched as his eyes struggled to focus on hers. "I'm going to help you, but you've got to promise me something. No doctors, no hospitals."
Oliver's eyes were fluttering shut. "Promise me, Oliver!"
"Yeah." Came the soft reply.
Chloe could tell he barely understood her, she just hoped he would remember. She gently kissed his forehead before rolling him slightly and pulling the arrow from his back.
Oliver only gave the smallest flinch from the pain before finally passing out.
"This will all be over soon." She placed her hand over the wound on his back and tried to concentrate.
A faint glow began to emanate from her hand. She could feel the warmth spreading out from her hand to Oliver's body. As the light brightened her vision began to blur.
Chloe could feel the heat and strength being pulled from her body. She fought to hold on, but she could feel herself slipping into the darkness.
It wouldn't be much longer now, she could tell. Chloe could feel Oliver's breathing relax and regulate, the distressing wheeze gone completely.
Chloe's eyes closed as his opened. Her body finally succumbing to the drain on her system and she collapsed on top of him.
As Oliver became fully aware of his surroundings he realised that the pain in his chest was gone; instead it was replaced by a cold weight. His eyes focused, discovering that it was in fact Chloe laying on him and she wasn't moving.
"Chloe?"
She didn't respond. Oliver sat up and held her in his arms. She was cold to the touch and her skin was deathly pale.
"Chloe! Wake up!" He shook her shoulders but she still didn't respond.
Oliver felt the now familiar sensation of fear rise. She was barely breathing.
He vaguely remembered something she had said about no hospitals or doctors. She had done something to him and knew that this would happen. She'd tried to warn him.
Oliver had to put his trust in her, but it took every ounce of willpower not to ignore her request and dial 911. He had to have faith in her.
Holding her tightly he tried to will back to consciousness. "What did you do, Chloe?"
Oliver brushed the stray hairs from her face. She was covered in blood and he was thankful it all appeared to be his. It was tacky and drying in patches, the smell of it was thick in the air.
He couldn't leave her looking like this. "Come on, Sidekick. Let's get you comfortable." Oliver got to his feet before gently lifting Chloe up into his arms.
He took her to the bedroom and laid her down on the deep purple comforter. He hoped that the wait for her to come round wouldn't be long.
Oliver waited. And waited.
Time passed slowly and there was little he could do to occupy himself. He had cleaned the blood from her hands and found her something clean to wear. He was surprised he didn't take advantage of looking at a half naked Chloe, but her life hanging in the balance seemed to cure him of his lecherous tendencies.
Oliver had let AC know about the attack and asked him to patrol the area. Bart had arrived shortly after the call. The young man was distressed to see 'his 'licious' so unwell'. He'd never known anything like this to happen to her before. He offered to run to Smallville to find out for sure, but Oliver put an end to the idea. Chloe had to know what was happening and would have to explain when she came around.
Bart took him at his word and grabbed Oliver some ordinary clothes before joining AC in his patrol. He had said he couldn't watch her lying there like that.
Twelve hours later, Oliver was beginning to agree with him.
The sun had long since set and his nerves were beginning to fray. How the hell was he going to explain this to Lois and Clark if she didn't wake? What if she died?
Oliver was mentally preparing himself for the dreaded phone call when Chloe suddenly sat up, dragging in a deep breath.
"Thank god!" Oliver sagged forward with relief, rubbing his hands over his face.
"Oliver? You're still here?" Her voice was scratchy, but he could see the colour returning to her cheeks.
"I wasn't going to leave you alone half dead." Oliver passed her a glass of water, which she gratefully accepted. "Chloe, I want to know what happened."
She sighed. She knew questions would be waiting for her when she came around.
She avoided his eyes. "I need to eat first, and then we'll talk."
"Fine. I'll order in and then you can explain. You owe me that much."
He left her alone in her room. Chloe looked down at herself. Her hands were clean and she was wearing her Met U sweater, but her skirt was still stained with Oliver's blood.
He was right; she owed him one hell of an explanation. She just hoped he could handle the truth.
By the time Chloe had showered and changed, the pizza had been delivered.
Oliver ate in silence, but watched her every move. It seemed that he was waiting for her to start the conversation, but she couldn't find a way to say the words out loud. Oliver could see her struggling, and she was clearly nervous. It was a side to her he'd never seen before. Chloe had always been so self assured and confident.
"I have no idea how to even begin explaining this."
"You found a way to heal me. That would be a good start."
Chloe took a long sip of her water, her eyes never leaving the glass, just watching the condensation drip down the side.
"Did Clark ever tell you that a few months ago Lex was holding me captive in a 33.1 lab?"
It was the first he had heard of it. If Clark had, the lab would have been destroyed by his team within hours. "No, he never mentioned it."
"Lex thought that I was hiding a meteor ability. He had scientists run tests to confirm my infection and discover what I could do. They never did find out, and for weeks I felt like I was a ticking time bomb. I had no idea what was wrong with me."
She took another sip of her drink, her throat was much drier all of a sudden, plus it gave her an excuse not to look into his eyes. She didn't want to see any pity there.
"A few weeks ago Lois died in my arms. All I remember is crying as I held her, and after that it's all blank. I woke up in a morgue a few hours later and found out that Lois was alive. I had healed her."
"That's why you asked me not to call a doctor?"
Chloe nodded. "So there's your answer. I'm a meteor freak, and even my own cousin hates me for it." She felt her throat clench as she forced the tears back.
Everything made sense to Oliver now. Chloe had been isolated in her own home by someone she loved, and Clark was too swept up in his own life to notice.
"You're not a freak, Chloe."
She finally looked up into his face. "How can you say that? Look what I did to you. How is that normal?"
"Would you call Bart a freak? AC maybe?"
"Of course not!"
"So how are you any different to them?" Oliver moved his chair closer before taking her hand "You saved my life."
"I'd call us about even now."
"Have you talked to Clark about this? If anyone would understand it would be him. It might be worth confiding in him, he could help with Lois."
"He already knows."
Boy Scout had a real nerve, in his opinion. The one person Chloe should have been able to rely on hadn't been there to support her. He took in her appearance.
She looked tired and defeated, and he knew it wasn't just from healing him earlier. He couldn't believe that the vibrant, witty Chloe Sullivan he met months ago had been reduced to this. It made him wonder just how many kicks she'd taken.
"I think that moving to Star City was the best decision you could have made for yourself."
"You do?" She looked genuinely surprised. "You don't think I'm just running from my problems?"
"I think you've been taken advantage of in too many one-sided relationships. You needed to start living for yourself, and I finally get why you couldn't do that in Kansas. It took guts coming out here."
"So...this doesn't bother you? About me being a...you know."
"No, it doesn't."
"Even though I could turn crazy any day now and try to kill you?"
He saw the genuine concern in her eyes. Did she really think she would? Oliver smiled at her. "I've always thought you were crazy – meteor infection or not."
"I'm serious."
"So am I." Oliver said honestly. "I just need you to promise me one thing."
She raised her eyebrows at him. "Am I going to like this?"
Oliver ignored her question. "Promise me that you'll stop grouping all of your friends into the same basket. Not all heroes are like Clark, and as sure as hell, not all your friends are like Lois and Lana."
"Over the past few days I've started to see that for myself." She gripped his hand tight and looked up into his handsome face. "You guys have been there for me lately – not because you wanted something, but because you wanted to as friends. You don't need me to make you that promise anymore."
Oliver felt a pang of guilt as he looked into her honest eyes. Honesty. It was something their friendship was lacking thanks to Merlyn. He was tempted to lay the truth out right then, tell her about the whole dumb deal. He just didn't know how she would take the news. Would he just be another person that had let her down?
"So does that mean no more treating us vigilantes like we carry the plague?"
She let out a small laugh, looking vaguely embarrassed. "Considering the Green Arrow gave his life for me today, I'd say that's a fair assumption."
"I won't take advantage of it. I promise that you'll see more of Oliver Queen than Green Arrow."
"I don't mind, Ollie. If you can accept all of me then the least I can do is offer the same in return."
He smiled back at her. "You've got yourself a deal."
Chloe leant forward and wound her arms around his neck, hugging Oliver tightly. His arms automatically wrapped around her tiny waist, holding her close.
She pulled back slightly so she could look at him."I know I'm saying it a lot lately, but thank you. You've helped me to feel like myself again."
Oliver kept his arms securely around her, not wanting to let her go. It always felt nice holding her so close, and if he wasn't careful she'd be able to feel just how good it was for him.
"You're special Chloe, and not just because of your abilities." He lightly pinched her hip as she rolled her eyes. "I mean it."
"I would say you're pretty special too, but I wouldn't want to inflate your ego any further."
Oliver moved a hand to her face, and brushed back her hair. It was so soft, he was happy to let his hand rest there while he rubbed small circles on her neck with his thumb. Her eyes fluttered shut for a second at the soothing caress.
"If anyone could keep me grounded, it would be you."
His eyes were locked on hers, he couldn't look away. He wasn't consciously aware he was pulling her closer, but he was. It was only when her face was mere inches from his own he finally realised he was going to kiss her – and boy did he want to.
The idea of kissing Chloe should have set the alarm bells ringing. Friends shouldn't kiss each other, especially when one of them was so vulnerable right now.
Any thought of stopping this died when he saw her briefly tug on her lower lip with her teeth. He couldn't pull away now, and was relieved when she didn't seem to be either.
Chloe's eyelids closed and he could feel her warm breath on his lips. It was all the invitation he needed.
He pulled her body firmly against his own, his free hand still threaded in her hair. His lips lightly brushed hers when he heard the ringing. Chloe visibly jumped at the sound of his mobile phone going off.
Oliver inwardly groaned as Chloe pulled out of his arms and walked towards her coffee machine. He reluctantly pulled the phone from his pocket and answered it.
He should have known that the caller interrupting a kiss between him and Chloe would be Bart.