Thank you again to everyone on FF and LJ who left a review or message telling me how much you're enjoying this story and to those who added an Alert or Fav on the last Chapter.

Thanks to Hellzz-on-Earth for the beta, any mistakes are mine though.


Chapter 4: Lady in Red

I've never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight, I've never seen you shine so bright, you were amazing, And when you turned to me and smiled, it took my breath away, I'll never will forget the way you look tonight, The lady in red – performed by Chris De Burgh

Star City, 12th September 2008

He called it the Wall of Greed and it stared John Deleon. A blow up of John's picture in the centre of the wall had been used for target practice earlier in the day.

Turns out John Deleon had been fudging the books at Queen Industries for over seven years, pocketing hundreds of millions of dollars. He had however managed to loose the entire amount of his ill-gotten money and had been looking for a quick buck.

Enter Lex who thought he was being oh so cunning by forming an alliance with the CFO, paying a nine-figure sum for John's shares and to have Oliver removed as CEO. Step in Nicholas Crane to tarnish Oliver's reputation achieving that goal.

Nicholas pretending to be Oliver had also authorized the sale of various real-estate holdings including his parent's house, and accessed other assets worth hundreds of millions, the asset information all gathered off his personal computer that had been hacked.

The stuff with Nicholas had been going on for months prior to the incident at the Infinity Club and Oliver cursed himself repeatedly for letting Nick go that night in the warehouse. The guy had a lot to answer for, especially the paternity claim.

The upside was that Lex had gotten stung badly when John had skipped the country, the value of the shares he bought not even worth the piece of paper they were written on. Oliver estimated the cost of doing business with the rouge CFO meant he was now a good two years behind funding any 33.1 projects.

The downside was that whilst Queen Industries was limping along, thousands of employees were laid off with factories closed around the globe, the ripple effects to the other business partners and communities uncalculated at this point.

So yeah, he was still pissed as hell and felt responsible for the mess because it hadn't picked up on it sooner, especially because it had hurt so many people. Seven years!

Personally his wealth was a mere fraction of what it had been, and there were plenty of people who wanted a chunk of what was left.

"Hard day?" She asked noticing his slumped shoulders.

"Yep." He watched as she came and sat on the edge of his desk. "What are you doing home? I thought you had a date."

"Coffee," she emphasized "was a bust, he got called in to cover a shift."

"Sorry." He knew how excited she had been at being asked out by a tall, dark and brooding EMT.

"It happens." It had been flattering to be asked out, but she understood blowing off coffee dates to save the world. After the cancellation she had checked her alerts to make sure she wouldn't be disturbing anyone's sexy times. It was one of the hazards of living in a share house and the thought of walking in on or being walked in on any 'adult fun' was in the TMI category as far as she was concerned and she'd had enough of both while living with Lois.

"How about you, scare away the company?" she asked lightly.

"Very funny," he said flatly.

"You would think all your recent dart practice would have sweetened your disposition somewhat," she said looking at him mischievously then at the picture with the arrows sticking out. "Is after all supposed to be good for getting rid of excess tension."

"You..you…they" he said pointing to the arrows "are not darts, but I get your point." He made an effort to relax his facial muscles and forced a little smile.

"Better," she said returning the smile. Everyone had been floored when they had realized the extent of John's treachery and she had been concerned how Oliver would cope.

Outwardly he been such a rock to everyone around him; reassuring the boys that nothing changed, offering his support to Emerson and Sam, talking to the people in Washington to secure a bailout package not to mention increasing his patrols because the citizens of Star City needed to be reminded that some one was watching over them. Not that that seemed to earn Green Arrow any brownie points.

While she was getting better at reading his expressions, she couldn't quiet read it now. "You okay?"

If he were honest he would call himself on his own bullshit. He had thrown himself into keeping busy or keeping himself distracted with various women. All that stuff they had talked about… 'what's done is done, it's in the past, affecting the future' blah blah didn't apply in this case. He felt so many things, anger, hatred, self-loathing, used, despair, all of them fighting for dominance and threatening to overwhelm at any time.

Under his 'old normal life', mediation and yoga would have cleared his mind and allowed him inner peace. Not so at the moment and running off to the Ashram would only add an extra layer of guilt to his already full roster of emotions.

So he was determined not let on that he was doing anything other than okay, especially not in front of Chloe. Her article in the Register exposing Nicholas Crane and John Deleon and the piece she had researched for Hour on the growing trend of Identity fraud, had all indirectly defended him to the public and showed her belief in him as a good man. How he wished he had her strength. Any dignity he had left, she had played a big part in.

"I'm fine…really."

He was lying…she knew. But while their friendship had grown, he obviously didn't feel that he could share with her what ever was bothering him. Ever trying not to burden his friends with his concerns.

"You know I'm here for you right...anything you need."

The team was already looking for John and Nicholas and when they found them they would bring them in to face prosecution. Other than justice being served he honestly didn't know what else he needed to get through this.

He knew that being around her and the team's positive energy helped him believe that there were still people worth fighting for. They also gave him hope that he, Oliver Queen wasn't a complete disaster.

"I'll be fine…looking to the future and all that…" he said without much conviction as he settled his hands over her shoulders, drawing comfort from the physical contact with her. Maybe if he said it enough…it would be true.

She slid off the desk pulling him closer to her, her ear resting over his heart. It was all she could think of to do when things were so obviously not okay in his world.

Oliver was a little surprised at her move. While they were comfortable in each other's personal space, he couldn't remember the last time they had had a hug fest. If he'd known that she would feel so good in his arms he would've done it sooner. His body just totally relaxed against her, his self- disparaging thoughts dispersing through their touch as if somehow she was drawing them away. They stayed like that for quite awhile until Oliver realized it was time to head out on patrol.

"You can let go now, unless you want to kiss me better I'm good," he joked before wanting to slap himself for suggesting the last part. For a brief moment he panicked as she pulled his head towards hers and puckered her lips.

Placing a butterfly kiss on his dimple she laughed while letting him go "You'll have to find someone else if you want to get luckier than that!"

He was relieved that she at least was thinking straight, 'cause he wasn't prepared to cross any invisible lines that could cost him one of the best friends he ever had.

-xxXxx-

Star City, 22nd September 2008

The rain was coming down hard and at such an angle as to hit the window pains, filling the Penthouse with dull musical tones.

It was no secret that Oliver's parade had been rained on frequently the last couple of months; however the clouds had been chased away by a certain blonde when they had threatened to completely engulf him. He closed his office door to block out the sound of bickering.

"Stop that," Bart said.

"You stop that," Victor replied.

"You cheated."

"I did not."

"Hey guys." Ah the sweet voice of reason.

"Licious! – He's cheating."

"Really', she smirked, "you know that you both cheat right," she said patting them both on the shoulder, leaving them to stare at each other. "Maybe you should play something else like Guess Who, harder to cheat."

She gently knocked on his office door and pushed it open.

Ever since he had held her almost two weeks ago here in this office, he had craved her presence, voice, and touch, anything she was willing to give really. The best part of his day was when she came home. He tried hard not to think about what that might mean.

She walked over to the desk to sit on it as had become habit. In a crazy messed up situation her friendship and loyalty had been a sliver lining. No wonder Clark had pouted for weeks after she'd left Metropolis. He'd be pouting too.

The cynic in him wondered how long it would be until he pushed her away for getting to close, or he screwed her over, either way destroying one of the best things in his life. The optimist in him frequently told the cynic to shut-the-hell up, because he wasn't going to do anything to change the status quo.

"Coffee date bust again?"

"Yeah. After five times I am going to take the hint that it's not meant to be…his loss. How 'bout you, any updates on John the Swindler and his helper?"

He couldn't help but notice the disappointment in her voice. But she was right, absolutely the guys loss. He couldn't help feel a little relieved that she wasn't going to pursue dating tall, dark and brooding.

"Not a ping heard about those two."

"Work?" she asked noticing the scattered papers.

"Yes and invitations," he said handing Chloe an envelope, looking at her puzzled face.

"Someone is economizing on postage," she commented opening it.

Oliver Queen and Chloe Sullivan

are invited to

Sam Graham's 70th Birthday Celebration

"I'm your plus one? I guess Sam still doesn't buy that there is nothing going on between us huh," she said lightly.

"Might have something to do with you standing in front of crazy guy to defend my honor, that he thinks I gave you this ring," he said holding up the hand sporting her mother's ring, "or the fact that you live here."

"Mmm when you put it like that I guess I can see why he might not believe us. But you should be allowed to take however you want. You can tell him that I am completely okay with whoever you take." Her large green orbs looking at him.

He had felt himself drifting off in those depths more than once of late.

She peered up at him and saw he was far way. "Ollie?"

His eyebrows knitted together at her attempt to palm him off to the next pair of legs that caught his fancy. The problem with Chloe's idea was he didn't want to take anyone else. Plus she was the reason that Sam had given him another chance and as much as he hated to admit it, Sam's good opinion mattered to him so going without her was also not an option.

"I think I'll decline."

She shrugged her shoulders. "You don't want to go to Sam's party cause that's completely fine too."

He shook his head. "No, I just think if I went with someone else, I'd be back in his bad books. He's kinda taken with you."

"So you want me to go with you or you won't go at all?" she asked.

"Would you?"

"I have no problems going with you if that's what you want. I just didn't mean for you to feel obligated into taking me because it's my name on the invitation."

"It's a date," he said smiling a little.

She ruffled his hair a little and rested her other hand on his chest. "All you had to do was ask. Sam is never going to believe that there isn't anything going on with us now."

"I'm not worried. The truth will be apparent to everyone sooner or later."

-xxXxx-

Star City, 27th September 2008

"What about this one," Moira said as she held up a deep purple dress for Chloe to look at.

"Ah…wow..no. It's not me."

This outing marked the first time they had gone shopping for clothes together …since well ever. And until that point they had had a similar eye.

"Really, it's totally your color."

"I like the color, just the gown is a little fussy." She said pointing to the beading and the layers.

Moira continued to look through the racks and pulling out another dress. "This one."

"That could work. Let me go try it on." Chloe immediately liked it. It was a simple red satin column halter neck floor length gown that had some detail around the waist and showed that she had some curves.

She emerged out of the dressing room and looked at her reflection. Yeah she could totally rock this dress. Some simple accessories and a pair of killer heels were all that she needed now.

"Oh can you take a photo… I want to send it Lois," she asked as she did a little runway walk and twirl for her mom.

Moira just beamed. Doing something so everyday like shopping for clothes with her daughter was not something that her future had held. But thanks to her daughter's gift, the everyday was going to be part of her future as was the extraordinary.

She had been given a second chance at life and the assurance that steps had been taken to protect her against people like Lex Luthor. Moira now wanted to be part of the real world and to help people.

She had been with Emil when the team had bought in several patients from the last 33.1 facility they had taken down a couple of weeks ago. They were of course terrified and she had been able to calm them down, which reassured her that her ability could be used for something good.

While she would be there for the team if they needed her she wanted to combine justice with her passion for helping people. Under the alias of Mary Jones she was now the Star City Police Departments newest recruit.

"Right, I have a dress," Chloe said as she linked arms with the older women. "Now Mom I want to introduce you to the most fabulous shoe store."

-xxXxx-

Sam Graham's Birthday, Star City, 10th October 2008,

Oliver made his way into the Hotel Ballroom. For the first time in weeks he felt a little like his old self. While he would have preferred to arrive with Chloe, she had arranged to meet him here.

She had been spending time with Clark and her mom the last few days and her absence had made him ornery. The boys had also been out of town on assignment, which had left him a lot of alone time to think and he had spent most of it thinking about her.

He was also looking forward to the Vegas escape after he realized this was the longest period of time since he was a teenager that he had actually stayed put in his hometown.

Scanning the room for her, he saw a lot of black penguin suites and black evening gowns. And when his eyes finally found her, he was captivated.

He had always noticed her, but he had never seen her looking so gorgeous; her hair was styled in soft waves the highlights looking like spun gold which caught the sparkle in her eyes. The red dress she was wearing was simple and highlighted her curves. And her person just radiated with happiness. She was by far the most beautiful woman in the room.

As he started to move towards her, she turned and saw him. Her smile taking his breathe away and she began to make her way towards him, putting her arms around him and kissing him on the cheek when they finally met in the middle.

Sam Graham interrupted before he could say anything. "Chloe, Oliver delighted to see the two of you together this evening."

Chloe resisted the urge to roll her eyes that the implication of his statement. But as Oliver had pointed out the evidence was against them. She was comfortable with what they were; housemates, Chloe/Ollie, best of friends. Although she was grateful that Oliver was no longer the bread and butter of the paparazzi, it meant that they could enjoy an evening out in public without being followed.

"Sam," Oliver said shaking his hand. "Happy Birthday."

"Thank you and can I say I am ecstatic you agreed. It will be good to have you back onboard. Truthfully we should never have let you leave. We should have dinner again one night." Looking at both of them again he smiled. "Now if you'll excuse me I have other people I need to great but I hope you two kids have fun tonight."

Chloe watched Sam leave. "Back on board?"

"The board reinstated me as CEO."

She was so pleased that after a couple of horrible months things were looking up for him "Ollie… that's…that's good isn't it?" she asked trying to judge from his face if he was happy about it.

His lips curled into a smile. "Yeah it is, guess my holiday's over."

Her smile matched his. "If the last few months were your idea of a holiday why I am going to Vegas with you again?…."

"Because I do actually know how to show a girl a good time."

"Really. Ah well I think we should use tonight as a test run for that, because I can always change my mind."

He just grinned at her. "Come on, the dance floor has our name on it," he said holding out his hand.

She hesitated remembering the prom when Clark had bailed on her, or the tango with the skirt swooshing with Jimmy at the Ace of Clubs. Cute at the time but cringe worthy now. "I don't really do the couple dance routine," she hesitated.

He pulled her towards him and she went without protest. "It will be okay, I promise."

As soon as his arms were around her she had forgotten the reason why she had protested in the first place. He wasn't going to run off on her or embarrass her and for the first time in a long time she felt completely content and safe with her date.

The evening was pleasant and relaxed. Most of the guests were viewers of Hour and were well aware of the happenings at Queen Industries courtesy of the treacherous CFO. They were eager to talk to Chloe about her work and had nothing but praise for Oliver and the way he had handled his recent business challenges.

Chloe saw a flash of red hair motioned to Oliver and they headed towards the entrance.

"Mrs Kent!" Chloe said as she put her arms around her surrogate mother. "Lionel," she acknowledged.

"Chloe, Oliver what a pleasant surprise," Martha said smiling.

Pleasantries exchanged, Oliver was keenly aware of Chloe leaving as she excused herself to catch up with Martha. He motioned to Lionel heading out the balcony doors for some fresh air.

"Lionel Luthor, what brings you to Star City?"

"Sam invited me. I couldn't turn the invitation down and Martha was more than happy to accompany me. I must say I am surprised to see you here with Ms Sullivan. You two make quiet the couple; embattled businessman and spirited journalist, champions of weak, seekers of justice, and keepers of intergalactic secrets."

Oliver ignored the inference about their alter ego's, he wasn't surprised that Lionel knew really.

"So I've heard you've become quiet the philanthropist, using your wealth to help the underprivileged. Not very Luthor like."

"No need for the contempt Oliver, in fact I had hoped you would see me later this week to discuss a proposal that would be to your advantage."

"I doubt you have anything that I want."

"If you take the time to listen you'll find that I have a great deal of what you need."

"I doubt that but even if you did, I'm sure I couldn't afford to do business with you. You tend to have a lot hidden costs and all that."

"Speaking of costs I imagine it will be very difficult for you when the time comes to let your little league know how far you've fallen."

"They know what I know, so unless you know something that I don't…."

"You know the true measure of a man is how he treats his enemies; you've been known to do the right thing. I'm trying to give you the opportunity to keep the surrogate family you've created for yourself safe, Oliver."

"Are you threatening them?"

"No, its not me you need to worry about…there are others that are interested in what they can do especially your date. The rumor is she bought someone back from the dead. Imagine what that power would be worth to those willing to exploit it."

Oliver felt his heart speed up at the information. Chloe had been very coy about her ability. She and Mary had spent hours with Emil but she hadn't shared any more information with the rest of the class. He had no idea if that little tidbit was true.

"In your current position you lack the resources to keep Lex and other's like him in check or keep your league going for much longer."

"I'm not too worried about Lex, he got burnt pretty badly too."

"Let's just say he has an official government sponsor. I don't think you have that option."

"Why would you bother to help me, help us?"

"Restitution."

He knew the man was turning over a new leaf. They'd even sat at the same dinner table at the Kent's for Thanksgiving one year, but there was just something about him that Oliver didn't trust. Oh yeah and his son was the Devil. Still Lionel had been a great ally to Clark and he trusted Martha to be smarter than that.

"I'll hear you out, beyond that no promises." Spotting Martha and Chloe he started to move back inside. "Enjoy the rest of your evening Lionel."

He swept past the ladies collecting Chloe and moved towards an empty space on the floor bringing her close to him their feet quickly finding a rhythm to the music. Any irritation he felt over his discussion with Lionel forgotten.

Her arms settled around his waist and it seemed natural to rest her head against his chest. "Ollie."

"Hmm."

"Can we go home soon, I'm tired?"

He kissed the side of her temple and closed his eyes for a moment. Having her in his arms was where he wanted to be and he wanted to savor it for a little longer. Forget whatever meteor ability she had, her super power was being able to soothe him and that wasn't something anybody had been able to do before.

"Sure, after we sing Happy Birthday," he murmured his eyes closed, the two of them swaying to the music.

From a corner, Sam watched them silently, grin on his face. He'd seen a lot in his time and the look on Oliver's face told him that he adored his blonde best friend. He had been willing to concede that they might not be an item yet but proximity did breed attraction and he had high hopes for the two of them.

A while later after they had sung to the birthday boy and had a generous piece of cake, they stepped into the cool night air, Chloe huddling into Oliver seeking some additional warmth from his body.

She had begun to say something.

"Get down!" Oliver shouted and she felt him push her down, the pavement rushing up to meet her.

Then there was gunfire and screaming.

"No! Ollie !" she shrieked as he feel to the ground, the three patches of red on his chest getting bigger. She crawled closer to him and checked his pulse. His breathing was beginning to shallow out.

"Ollie, you are going to be okay." She said kissing his forehead, trying to shake the image of him being shot and stop herself from going into shock.

The gunfire had stopped and a number of people already had their phones out calling the police and ambulance.

"Chloe," he gasped.

"Shh, Shh you have to save your strength, you have to stay with me no matter what okay." She placed her hands over the wounds and tried to relax, focusing on the feelings she had in the dam when she healed Lois.

The commotion around her though was distracting her and she tried desperately to block out the background noise and focus on healing Ollie. She felt a rush of warmth and peace flow from her body and she could feel him breathing a little easier, his pulse a little more steady. But when she felt like she had nothing left she opened her eyes and could barley move the rest of her body. Ollie was still lying on the ground next to her, with three bullet holes, bleeding.

While it had felt like an eternity since he'd screamed at her to get down in reality it had been about 45 seconds. She could hear sirens in the background.

She willed herself to move applying more pressure to the wounds to stem the bleeding.

"I'm sorry Ollie, I'm so sorry, it didn't work," she said softly, fighting the compulsion to pass out.

"'Little bit, stay" he murmured.

"I'm not going anywhere."

She grabbed her headset and made a call. "Clark," she blurted "Ollie's been shot, I need you to get Emil…please, I can't loose him."

A distance away from all the commotion, sat a man talking on the phone, binoculars in hand.

"I would say that's a negative sir, Mr Queen is still lying on the ground showing no sign of movement and she doesn't appear to have done anything out of the ordinary. From her profile if she possessed such a gift she would have used it immediately, those wounds are critical."

To be Continued


AN: Hands up whose excited for Smallville Season 11 via the comics. Bryan Q Miller was an excellent scribe of all the characters on Smallville but I love how in an interview he stated "Chloe and Oliver are stronger than ever" six months after the events of the Finale.

AN: A link to Chloe's dress to Sam's party is available on my profile page.