Warnings for this Chapter: 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?

There wasn't an opportunity for Oliver to pursue another kiss from Chloe; not even time for a conversation. Bart had arrived at Chloe's doorstep two seconds after ending his call. Oliver knew that the young man had been as distressed as he was, seeing Chloe so close to death.

When Oliver had opened the door, Bart had sped in before giving her a bone crushing hug. She had had to ask him to let go so she could breathe.

Oliver wanted to patrol to find Merlyn that night. He knew he had injured the guy, but it wouldn't stop him in his task – only slow him down. The challenge meant too much to him. Bart had offered to watch over Chloe that night and he had been glad. Any feelings of jealousy were quickly buried at the thought of firing another arrow into the Dark Archer, effectively keeping Chloe safe for good.

As he was about to set off from Chloe's apartment as the Green Arrow that night, she had been setting up a bed for Bart on the couch. It was another indication of the depth of Bart's concern. He hadn't heard a single complaint or joke about not being able to share her bed.

"I'll check in tomorrow morning. If you need me, just call." He said, flipping up his hood.

"Just be careful." She told him with a soft smile.

Oliver put on his glasses before activating the voice distorter. He smiled back at her while backing out of the door. "Always!"

Merlyn watched carefully from the shadows. He saw Green Arrow leave the building through the same window he came through earlier that day. He knew he had injured the hero this morning, the blood trailing him had confirmed it. Now the man was sailing up his zip line like he was barely scratched. Pain killers could only get him so far.

Green Arrow hadn't left the woman's apartment all day. Either she had one hell of a first aid kit, or he had help. Just because he hadn't seen it, didn't mean the help didn't exist.

Merlyn's mind was made up. If the Green Arrow had a healer on his team he would find out. Then...all bets were off.

When Chloe let Oliver into her apartment the following morning, he was glad to see her looking back to normal. The sparkle had returned to her eyes, and her cheeks held more colour.

She headed to the couch and began folding the blankets there.

"Bart left already?" He asked.

"Yeah. He saw you enter the building, figured it would be alright to go on his breakfast run. Cereal doesn't do much for him apparently."

"Yeah, I've heard the same complaints before."

Oliver perched on the arm of the couch, folding another blanket to help out.

"So...I've thought a lot about yesterday." Chloe started, her eyes intently fixed on the sheet in her hands. "I've been going through everything that happened and I've come to a decision."

"That sounds ominous."

Chloe looked up, resolute in her decisions, hoping her confidence would hold some weight with him. "I'm considering going to the police. It's what I should have done in the first place, but with my weird life it was the last thing I thought of actually doing."

"NO! You can't!"

She knew he wouldn't be thrilled at the suggestion, but the vehemence of his disapproval surprised her.

"Oliver, you almost died yesterday. This city can't survive without you, and I refuse to have that on my conscience."

He forcibly threw the blanket onto the couch. "At best they will put you into hiding; Away from your friends and from your job. Do you really want that?"

"Some things are more important than a single person. I don't want anyone to die because of me."

"No one will. Yesterday was a fluke; I wasn't paying enough attention. It won't happen again."

"When do you ever not concentrate on the job?" She asked.

He knew the answer. His concentration started slipping the moment he began protecting her from afar. "The guys and I will find King and bring him to justice." Oliver looked at her earnestly. "Look, if you're feeling this unsettled we can do something about it."

"Like what?"

"King clearly knows your daily routine. How about you stay at the mansion with us for a couple of days? It'll throw him off, and you can take advantage of all the personal security you can handle."

She smirked at the suggestion. "Ooh, I should let my editor know! I could write a lifestyle piece on the infamous Oliver Queen. He's been bugging me for days, and this could be the thing to shut him up." The sarcasm was thick in her voice.

"If that's what it takes to make it happen, let's do it."

Chloe stopped her folding and just frowned at him. He must have known she was joking, but she realised he appeared seriously concerned and that the offer was genuine. There had to be something more going on here – she had never seen Oliver this anxious.

She put her blanket on the pile and leant forward to look him straight in the eye. "What's going on Oliver? What are you not telling me?"

"Nothing. I'm just concerned about your safety. You've tried to reveal King to the world, and he will continue to see you as a thread until I get to him."

"He could be a risk to your dual identities if I stay with you guys."

"I've mentioned this to the guys this morning, and they want you to stay too."

"You haven't asked Bart."

"You really think he's object?" Oliver asked with a small laugh.

Chloe laughed too. "Probably not. I literally had to prise him from my side last night. I guess I freaked him out pretty bad yesterday."

"That's an understatement."

Chloe paused for a second. If she stayed with them for a couple of days then maybe the guys would relax a bit; be a little more focused. She didn't want Oliver being so careless with his own safety again. The main worry with his plan was that 'almost' kiss. If he pretended like nothing happened then everything would be fine.

"Okay, I'll stay with you. I'll tell my editor I'm working from home."

"Great. If we pack now, I can drive you straight there." Oliver got up and put his hands on her shoulders, gently guiding her to the bedroom.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm a big girl, Ollie. I can pack by myself."

"Two pairs of hands will make shorter work of it."

"Fine. But no going through my drawers!"

"You know, I think that's the first time I have been told that while standing in a woman's bedroom." He told her with a smirk.

The slap connected with his arm. "Okay, I deserved that."

Chloe looked at him before sighing in defeat. "My bag's under the bed. Go ahead and make yourself useful."

Oliver smiled – he was forgiven.

It had taken ten minutes to pack a bag and put her things into Oliver's car. Once they left the congestion of the inner city, Oliver let out a sigh of relief. Pressing his foot harder on the accelerator, they sped down the road, heading for the mansion.

Merlyn had been observing Miss Sullivan closely for the past six days. Her association with Oliver Queen was old news, and it was no surprise that he was at her door so soon after an attempt on her life.

It was obvious the billionaire would involve himself in her life during her hour of need, wanting to appear as the knight in shining armour.

He watched as the car sped as it approached, just as he had predicted.

There were always casualties of war, and the young Mr Queen was about to find out. Merlyn carefully lined his shot before releasing the first arrow.

"So how do you feel about spending a quiet, boring evening with Victor and his latest toy?"

Chloe looked over at Oliver in the driver's seat with amusement. "Really?"

"All he could talk about this week was having some alone time with you and his gadgets. Should I be concerned?"

Chloe laughed loudly. "No, nothing to be concerned about. Although, I do like the idea of a quiet evening. Just crawling under a blanket until this whole Merlyn thing goes away sounds like a pretty good idea."

Oliver took his eyes from the road for a second to look back at her. "It'll be over soon, I promise."

He didn't have time to see her smile at his promise. Two loud bangs were heard before he lost control of the car. They had been travelling too fast when the arrows shot out the tires; there was little he could do. The car flipped and rolled several times before landing on its roof at the side of the road.

Oliver opened his eyes, disorientated. His vision was hazy and he could tell unconsciousness was threatening. He could feel the sticky sensation of blood trickling down the side of his face and the sting of a cut. He couldn't even remember hitting his head.

"Chloe?" He turned his head to the side and saw that she was still next to him. He was so thankful she had worn her seatbelt.

"Chloe?"

Weakly reaching his hand out to her he tried to brush the hair from her face to look at her. She was out cold. The blood running from her hairline confirmed that she had hit her head hard.

"Sidekick, wake up." Oliver mumbled, forcing his eyes to stay open.

"Stay with me."

She still didn't respond, but he couldn't move enough to wake her. He tried to grab her hand, hoping the touch would be enough to keep her safe.

His arm fell away as his world turned to black.