AN: Thank you to all who have been following this story, reviewed and alerted.

For those of you who thought things were going to happen in Vegas, you would be right but you are warned there is angst ahead (well my version of angst anyway).

The events in this chapter take place over 4 days and the chapter does jump around a bit mostly between POV's. Also I be interested in how many of you think Lionel is a Villain in this story.

Thanks to Hellzz_on_Earth who without the story would never have started. Any mistakes are all mine though. Also don't forget to feed the author, reviews help to keep the muse happy.


Chapter 7: My Way

For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught. To say the things he truly feels and not the words of one who kneels, The record shows I took the blows and did it my way – Frank Sinatra

Star City, 3rd November 2008

Afternoon

There were people shoving microphones in her face asking for a statement. She held her head high flanked by the boys acting as her body guards, determined not to show any sign of weakness, with Lois giving her the 'take no prisoners' look that would've made her daddy's drill sergeant proud.

"I have no further comments, please respect our privacy thank you" she said with the same firmness she had when dealing with incompetent people.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. She refused to let tears fall, she wouldn't give him, the person who had caused this mess, the satisfaction and she had no doubt she was being watched.

A weekend in Vegas with a few close friends for a joint birthday celebration, that was all it was supposed to be. While a hangover would have been reasonably foreseeable this wasn't. If she knew all those months ago when Ollie floated the idea that this was going to happen she would have booked an assignment in Antarctica to hang out with the penguins and told him she wasn't available.

Not that this was his fault, he was as much a victim as she was, maybe even more so.

-xxXxx-

Las Vegas, 1st November 2008

Late-Afternoon

Lois fumbled in her purse for her room key and pulled out Chloe's instead. Sneaky sneaky cousin, and sneaky Mrs Kent who hadn't been surprised in the least!

While she had come to Vegas for a joint birthday celebration she had been more than a little surprised at the other reason to celebrate. Not once in their many conversations had Chloe hinted that her life was moving in that direction.

Her cousin was an excellent secret keeper, she would grant her that. She groped along the walls until she came to Chloe's room. Not like she would be using it.

Bending down to pick up the day's paper she grinned at the front page, definitively a keeper for her scrapbook.

-xxXxx-

The first thing Oliver noticed when he woke was the way he smelt...it was a distinct scent that he'd long since associated with sex. He reached out to grab a cream lace thong and a size six Louboutin platform.

What the hell had happened last night? He and Chloe weren't there yet and he was certain he would remember if things had changed in the last 24 hours. But couldn't ignore the evidence that he had gotten lucky last night.

A feeling of dread started to slowly build in the pit of his stomach. Why couldn't he remember anything?

The room phone rang "Queen," he croaked.

"Sorry to bother you Mr Queen, but Mr Graham left a package for Mrs Queen and yourself…may we…" he hung up before the concierge could finish his sentence.

Sam was in Vegas? Left a package for Mrs Queen and him? That's when he saw the little circle of precious metal that shouldn't be where it was and he certainly didn't remember who had put it there…no No NO this was not happening.

He bolted for Chloe's room, forcing the crushing feeling in his chest down. He had obviously done something very very stupid or someone was playing an elaborate prank on him. Either way he needed to know she was okay even if she was never going to speak to him again.

He desperately wished he could remember something.

-xxXxx-

The smile on her face was wide, her body humming like never before and she wished she could remember what specifically had happened to make her feel like that so she could arrange to do it again. She hadn't felt this light or happy in a long time.

Yesterday had been a perfect carefree day when she hadn't worried about super villains, either of her jobs, or being meteor infected. They'd gone on a scenic helicopter ride out to the grand canyon, walked down the strip, and visited a couple of other landmarks before bumping into Lionel in the hotel lobby around 4:00 pm as they were going to get ready for a show that evening.

She couldn't remember anything else after that and in the back of her mind something told her that she should be worried.

"Lois," she said in surprise as her cousin stumbled through the door. She didn't remember her cousin arriving, although she had been invited for the birthday celebrations.

"Cuz, shouldn't you be getting hot n sweaty in the honeymoon suite?" she slurred a little and then collapsed on the floor causing Chloe to raise an eyebrow.

"Chloe?" she heard Ollie call from the doorway, before she could ask Lois what she meant by that statement.

"Hey what's wrong?" she asked as he took two strides into the room inspected her left hand, visibly upset.

No ring. "It wasn't you," he said dejectedly. The pessimist in him screamed 'you screw up.' The feeling of dread rising to the surface making him feel physically sick as two other possible scenario's came to mind. Drugged or Drunk.

"It wasn't me what?" She was now officially confused.

How did he even go about explaining to his girlfriend that he'd had sex and probably gotten married in the last 24 hours to someone who obviously wasn't her. He wished the earth would just swallow him whole. He wasn't that guy anymore, the one who cheated on his girlfriends with the next pair of legs that came along and didn't really remember doing it. She had even defended him against an angry ex-employee and said she knew he wasn't the cad. Except apparently he was.

"Hey what ever it is, I'm sure it's not that bad" she said as she gently rubbed his arm in an effort to help him relax.

Normally her touch would soothe him, but he refused this time. "I think I screwed up big Chloe," he said quietly. How was he even breathing? He should've known sooner or later things were going to go wrong. They always did for him when it came to relationships. Even if it wasn't his fault, there would be nothing to ease his guilt that he had betrayed her and that by itself destroyed any chance of them staying together.

"Did you two have your first fight?" piped up Lois from the floor. She had a killer headache. She hadn't expected to run into another ex while in Vegas. AC had introduced her to Victor and Bart and they had gone out after the reception. That was 18 hours ago.

"Killer celebration by way both of you, although cuz you never explained to me why your dad wasn't here or why you let Lionel Luthor give you away at your wedding."

Chloe froze and the optimist in Oliver made a comeback.

"Excuse me?" Chloe asked.

"Your wedding, sunset last night in the Venus Garden. Lionel gave you away, I was the maid of honor," pointing to Chloe. "Bart was your best man" pointing to Oliver "and "Mrs Kent and Mr Graham sat in for your parents. It was beautiful."

His head hurt and the situation would obviously still be screwed if they had married each other but then at least he wasn't a cheating bastard on top of it. He felt a little calmer than he had a few moments ago.

"Oh Lois that's….." she was about to say crazy, her eyes going wide as Oliver held up his left hand and wiggled his ring finger. She took his hand. Holy possible matrimony, Oliver had a ring on his finger meaning there could be some truth behind Lois's story.

She needed to talk to Ollie and her cousin obviously needed to rest.

"You know what, thanks cuz, Ollie and I are just going to go back to his…our room. Talk to you later," she said leading him out of the room. They needed to find out what happened to them last night.

Her mind went into overdrive, she did after all have an almost 24 hour hole in her memory. One thing she was sure of was that she wasn't ready for 'till death do us part.' She hadn't even turned 22 yet and things with Ollie were still newish so she couldn't see herself willingly saying, "I do."

Oliver was watching her face as she processed the information that they had possibly gotten married. She wasn't freaking out they way he expected her too, but that didn't mean she wasn't freaking out.

And while Oliver had concede that he had lost his heart to Chloe, and that he wanted a "them" with all the bells and whistles he didn't think she was ready to hear I love you. And he wasn't ready to be a husband yet. As his earlier freak out proved he still had some issues he needed to deal with.

He picked up the paper that was at his front door obviously missing it when he left. There on the front page was proof that what Lois was saying was true.

They had gotten married last night. The picture was of a radiant bride and an adoring groom taken at sunset. The headline reading: Former Billionaire weds Respected Journalist: Love in Time of Adversity.

"Wow," they both said in unison. Could that really be them? The people looking back at them in the photo were the perfect poster couple. There was another picture of Lionel and Sam both kissing the bride.

Considering the hole in his memory started after they had run into Lionel, Lionel had to have done something to them shortly after they bumped into him in the lobby. The next paragraph in the paper only added weight to the assumption that Lionel had something to do with this sudden change in marital status.

Following the evening nuptials of Oliver Queen and Chloe Sullivan-Queen it was confirmed that Lionel Luthor gave a very generous wedding gift to Ms Sullivan-Queen, including his remaining shares in LuthorCorp, Queen Industries and DC Media. Mr Luthor also gifted a large amount of residential property including the former Queen Mansion in Star City which had been sold earlier in the year. The total gift is estimated to be worth a low nine-figure sum.

The next hundred million dollar question was. Why?

Chloe surveyed the room, noting that a cream one-shoulder gown had been discarded behind the door. Oh. The implication of that particular word coming to her mind not lost on her. It was the dress she was wearing in the picture, it had obviously come off, along with her shoes, stockings, and underwear.

She could only conclude that the amazing way she had felt today had been because they had gotten hot n sweaty – to use Lois's words. She felt sick to her stomach - that they had taken that step in their relationship before she thought she was ready.

"How are you doing with all of this," he asked gently, his earlier panic replaced with concern for her.

"Confused is a good start. I mean I just can't fathom what Lionel has to gain from playing his version of the Matchmaker. Yeah he was concerned about the league's identities staying secret and your financial situation," she said recalling his visit at the hospital. "But getting us to say I do and giving us all these things makes no sense to me." She was grasping at straws trying to find a logical reason why Lionel would do something like this.

"What about you, you were clearly upset when you came to my room?"

"Well I got a phone call that mentioned a package for Mrs Queen and then realized that I had a ring on my finger and you didn't. I thought...I thought that maybe I had cheated on you."

Her face softened a bit. "Turns out your Cinderella was me..see," she said putting on the platform shoe and trying to lighten the mood. None of this was his doing and he had been nothing but supportive of her decision to take things slow.

That the idea that he had cheated on her upset him touched her. It reinforced her belief that he was a good person and that he wouldn't willing do that to her.

"Chloe last night …did I hurt you?" he asked quietly.

She thought back to how her body had been humming not half an hour ago. "No. You took good care of me."

He saw her looking back at the photographs but couldn't make out her expression. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Everyone in those pictures looks so happy. I mean we look like we could give Ken and Barbie a run for their money with those smiles. Mrs Kent and Sam have that Mona Lisa thing going on, like they knew it all along. But I don't remember any of it. Do you?"

"Truthfully no, I've got nothing between seeing Lionel in the foyer and the phone call that woke me up."

She could feel herself getting teary. It wasn't like they had gotten drunk of their own accord and rocked up at Elvis's chapel. Lionel had deliberately set them up, and she was not okay with that.

He pulled her into his arms, grateful that she wasn't pulling away from him like he had the plague.

"I think we should return the gifts and talk to the Wedding Planner. Then we can figure out whereto from here."

She nodded her head in agreement her fist balling at the thought of being in a room with Lionel. The possibility of her holding back this time was zero.

-xxXxx-

Las Vegas, 2nd November 2008

Mid-Morning

They'd spent most of the last 18 hours going through a rather large file containing the details of Chloe's present courtesy of Lionel's lawyers. Lionel of course had left the state soon after the wedding. Coward.

The boys were still grinning about the fact that Arrow and WatchTower had gotten hitched and repeatedly congratulated them on a mission well planned. As far as they could tell all of their wedding guests were none the wiser about their personal drama and for right now they were going to leave it that way.

Chloe had however confessed to her mom, who had been miffed about not being in attendance. At least their plan to keep Mary's identity safe had worked.

Overall Oliver just wanted to hit something and the tension in the room was suffocating. This was quickly turning into one of the worst days this year and that was saying something.

"You're angry and upset, I completely get that."

"Do you because you seem to be towing the party line," he almost hissed.

Her palms smacked the edge of the table. "Lionel hasn't given us much choice Oliver." The use of his formal name, not lost on him.

"There's always a choice Chloe."

"The outcomes for those choices in this case are unacceptable."

"To who? So he out's me as the Green Arrow if we try to get out of this marriage and two hundred and fifty million dollars worth of stuff goes to Lex. But I would rather out myself and rot in a jail cell than dance to his tune."

"You don't mean that." The look of resolution on his face told her he did.

"You know what happened in Gotham when the people thought they had Batman in custody. You'd be opening yourself up as a target to every person or group the Green Arrow ever crossed. There wouldn't be any of you left to rot in jail. You can't do that, the good you do is greater than whatever mess is happening in our personal lives…. I won't let you do that, not to yourself, the team and people at Queen Industries."

"So that's it then huh. Wow Lionel knows how to push your buttons. Dangle the opportunity for you to play martyr for a cause and you're willing to overlook his manipulation of the situation."

"That's not what I am doing and you know it."

"No I don't know that. What I see is a woman who has a price and who is willing to live a lie for the rest of her life because this," he said picking up their marriage certificate "is a lie."

"You think I'm happy that I had no say in the change in my last name. I'm not, but we can work something out. I'm not the enemy here."

He sighed, he didn't like arguing with her and they had been going around in circles for hours, both of swaying between degrees of anger and helplessness.

He grabbed his things. It was time he hunted down Lionel to let him know exactly what he thought of his little plan to trap them both in marriage neither of them was ready for. "I'm not the enemy either Chlo."

"Wait, where are going?"

"To find Lionel."

"I'll…"

"Alone."

"Fine! Run away and leave me here!"

He slammed the door.

She threw the folder after him scattering dozens of pages over the width of the room. It wasn't fine. They weren't fine and she didn't know if they would be again. But she wasn't going to let him give up his other identity for the sake of getting a piece of paper dissolved.

Flopping down back into her chair she put her head in her hands. Damn if she didn't hate Lionel Luthor right now, he knew her so well.

-xxXxx-

Metropolis, 3rd November 2008

Morning

Oliver had spent most of last night trying to find a happy place. He failed miserably, although he had been able to work off some of his pent up aggression on patrol.

The man he wanted to see hadn't been that hard to find. Certainly didn't seem to hiding in anyway shape or form. Security had buzzed him right through.

"Lionel."

"Oliver," he said not bothering to turn around.

"Care to share with the rest of the class, how and why?"

"Straight to the point."

"You expected anything less."

" How – you don't need to know the pharmacological details. Why. Restitution. "

"Last time you used the word restitution we were talking about just finances."

"Well Lex's little stunt changed my original plans and I have to say this works out much better."

"For who?"

"You know for a man who now has access to more than 65% of Queen Industries shares not to mention a spot on the board of LuthorCorp, I would have thought you could see the benefits to being married to Ms Sullivan."

"Chloe's not a business transaction. What's the bottom line. What were you hoping to absolve yourself of that this was your great plan."

"I've given you everything, Oliver. Saved you month's, even years of anxiety about the status of your relationship with Ms Sullivan or the end outcome. She already cares for you, won't leave you or abscond with your fortune. In fact I am positive she will share her new - found wealth with you. You now both have the means to keep your little club going indefinitely, not to mention the guardianship of Kryptonian library and artifacts. The bequest was done whilst I was of sound mind, Lex won't dare touch either of you for years. It's a win-win arrangement."

"Again, Why?"

"Because Lex needs someone to keep him in check and who better."

"Try again."

"Because I took something from you, that I can never give back."

Oliver blinked at that, he never would have expected that answer.

"What, did you take?"

"You have a second chance Oliver, to build up Queen Industries, to have a family who are home for you, to be a respected leader, you can take it or not. The choice is yours and while I don't expect you to be happy just yet, I think over time you can make the situation work in your favor.

"What. Did. You. Take?"

Lionel shifted to face him. "Not, what – who."

"Who?"

"I was a selfish -man, I wanted control over the traveler and I took care of anyone I thought would stop me from reaching that goal."

Suddenly he was a 9-year-old boy again, being told that there was an accident, that he would never see his parents again. He had wanted to scream at someone, anyone, to blame them for his loss but there had been no one at the time.

"You killed my parents." Oliver clenched his fists into a tight ball and let a right hook fly before grabbing Lionel's collar. "Any reason why I shouldn't throw you out the window right now?"

"You're not a killer Oliver, and as it says in the book of Job are my day's not numbered."

It all made sense now to Oliver. Restitution. In his own twisted way Lionel had tried to guarantee him a family to replace the one he had lost.

But nothing ever could… The death of his parents had had such a huge impact on defining the man he had become. And an arranged marriage, even to a woman whom he had feelings for was never going to make up for that loss.

Shoving the older man hard against the couch, Oliver got in his face. "When this life is over, I hope you go to hell."

"You still have a choice to make. Don't let your hatred for me destroy you. You can still have it all."

Lionel watched the young man leave. It was done now, he had tried to make things as right as he could – his way.

-xxXxx-

Star City, 3rd November 2008

Afternoon

Chloe shut the door to her room, grateful for the peace and quiet that greeted her after dodging the press outside.

She hadn't heard from Ollie since he'd left her in Vegas and the longer he was away the more she despaired that maybe their friendship was irrevocably damaged.

A light thud on the balcony caused her to rush to the window but not before picking up a vase. Seeing who it was she quickly opened the door and threw herself into his arms.

"Ollie."

"Chloe." He breathed in her scent and just as they had many times before he found himself melting into her, his cares been drawn away. He'd come back to Star City his mind made up about what he felt he needed to do.

"I've missed you. I'm sorry about Vegas, that you thought I wasn't on your side, Ollie but I am."

Now that he was holding her and they'd had time to process what happened, she was sure that they could work the details out, because while neither of them would have wanted to get married this early in their relationship, it was the most beautiful lie she had ever told.

"I am sorry about Vegas too, the horrible things I said to you."

"It doesn't matter so much now. You're here and we've been good at rebounding from our setbacks. I don't want to loose you."

The knife in his heart just twisted a little deeper, he buried his face in her hair.

"I don't want to lose you either." But he just might anyway.

"Did you find Lionel?"

"I did."

"Did you get him to talk?"

"He wanted restitution."

"What?"

"He took my parents," he choked. "Vegas was his way to give back what he had taken." It was still raw which is why he needed to go through with his plan.

She pulled away from him a little her arms still around him as that piece of rationale tried to register in her brain.

"I care about you Chloe, but I can't do this, not right now."

"What are you saying?"

"I came to tell you I'm leaving." Her arms dropped and she looked up at him unshed tears in his eyes. "After everything...Lionel just... I need time away...too sort through what I'm feeling...maybe that makes me a coward..."

She shook her head a little, time was what she had essentially asked for weeks ago. After he had been so understanding of her needs how could she not at least pretend to return the favor. And that he had actually come to tell her in person spoke volumes to her. She could do this, be the supportive friend even though her heart was breaking.

"You're not a coward, you're a hero and don't you forget it. You've gone through more than most people would believe possible... Do you know where you're going?"

"There's an Ashram in India."

"Will you come back?"

"When I can."

"Okay," she said quietly. "Be safe."

"You too. I'm sorry," he said as he caressed her face. "Let the others take care of you once in while," then his lips captured hers in a tender kiss and then one, two, three, four he was gone before she even had a chance to change her mind, to be selfish and plead with him to stay, that they could work things out together. She didn't even try to stop the tears this time.

To be Continued