AN: Wow thank you to those who added an alert or fav since my last post. That still blows me away. To those who have left a review or nine along the way, thank you.

After finishing Chapter 9 I found myself in a bit of a dilemma on how to best progress the story so I get to that 'happy place' hinted at in the prologue 5 years in the future. My muse and I debated, drafted, deleted and restored many times. Hopefully I've made a good call :-p

Thanks to Hellzz_on_Earth for the pre-read, any mistakes are all mine though.


Chapter 10: Halo

Everywhere I'm looking now, I'm surrounded by your embrace, Baby I can see your halo, you know you're my saving grace, You're everything I need and more, it's written all over your face, Baby I can feel your halo – Beyonce

Star City, 5th December 2008

The red Volkswagen soft-top convertible had been a sentimental purchase and was a call back to her days in Smallville. It bought back memories of summer's at the lake, breaking into LuthorCorp and helping Clark with the towns more unique… citizens. It was a past that had very much put her on the path to her future with the man sitting next to her.

She stole a glance at her husband. He was trying very hard not to pout causing him to look absolutely adorable. She couldn't help herself and let out a chuckle.

"What?"

"You're still pouting," she giggled.

"No...yes…absolutely, I hate driving in the slow lane. We have a garage with sports cars and you wanted to go for a drive in this one."

"Oliver Queen you snob, stop insulting Ruby. I love my car, besides the roof was already down and it's such a beautiful afternoon."

"And I adore you… which is why I am driving in the slow lane."

"Hmm … and since we are driving in the slow lane…" she purred moving towards him.

"Chloeeee," the warning tone in his voice clear, "we are not going that slow."

"What?" she said innocently. "I was just going to…" He grabbed her hand before she could finish her sentence.

"This Queen is not amused," his sunglasses hiding the roll of his eyes.

"But you are cute when you pout." She settled instead for blowing him a kiss and letting her hand rest on his arm.

They had both been home by the earlier afternoon and Oliver had surprised her by telling her that they were going for a drive about 45 minutes out of city limits and to bring an overnight bag just in case. She had to admit it was the perfect distraction to her current musings regarding her various 'jobs.'

Oliver smiled a little at the warmth of her hand on his arm. He had let out a sigh of relief for them when the pregnancy test had come back negative, thanking the universe for more time to work on their relationship before adding a little person to the mix. As fate would have it, her body had just been having a stress reaction to everything that had happen in the last few months after all.

Chloe promised she was going to do better at taking her mother's advice in the future. They had also agreed that unless they got a 'surprise' they wouldn't be planning kids until Chloe got the green light. So with the pregnancy being a false alarm, things had settled down in the last few days, which he was grateful for. They deserved a little down time from surprises.

Oliver turned off the main highway onto the road that led to several housing estates. He had been trying hard to regain Chloe's trust and show her that he meant what he said about being around for the long haul but it had only been a couple of days since he had said that.

It had been Mary who had suggested this trip to his childhood home as a way to further show Chloe that he was all in. He had heard stories in bars about interfering monster-in-laws and while he had no doubt that Mary could kick him into the next century if she had wanted, she had been nothing but supportive and dare he say it…motherly.

The car slowed down as they rolled up to a wooden gate. Oliver entered a couple of numbers on a pin pad and the gate swung open. The property had been his until Lionel acquired it (somewhat underhandedly), during Nicholas Crane's illegal fire sale of his assets. And while he didn't feel the need to make a pilgrimage to Lionel's grave to say thanks, he was now grateful to have it back.

"Oh wow, the owners must love the gardens…it's so green and beautiful," Chloe enthused.

"So you like the gardens then." His parents had taken great care in cultivating them in the beginning and he had made sure that they had been maintained.

"Yeah why wouldn't I, I mean we had the woods in Kansas, but this is ferns, palm trees and orchids, like its own little tropical paradise."

"Points for the garden then."

"Mr Queen," her voice inquiring, "are you shopping for property? I mean it's beautiful but you already have a Penthouse, a Beach House, a residential Warehouse and that Lighthouse in Wales. You don't need another property."

"Relax we are not shopping….we already own it, palms, flowers and bowling alley."

She opened and closed her mouth several times. "Seriously…a bowling alley?"

"Mini movie theatre too."

She watched as his eyes glazed over reflecting a nostalgic look as they pulled up to the main house. It looked like it was straight out of the Life Styles of the Rich and Famous.

"This is your parents house," she stated putting together a couple of pieces. He nodded. "Ollie…. I…if this is difficult for you…." He moved quickly around the car to open the door for her.

"It hasn't been difficult for me to visit in a long time. I have lots of happy memories here."

Seeing that he was smiling, she got out of the car. "Wow… its huge…do you have a map?"

"I won't let you get lost." He grinned offering her his arm. "Welcome to Villa Queen. Care to take a trip down memory lane with me Ms Sullivan?" She smiled back at him taking his arm, as they moved towards what Chloe assumed was the back of the property. She couldn't miss the change in Oliver's demeanor to playful boy as he began to reminisce.

As they walked through the gardens, he told her of the times he and his dad had had boat races on the pond, the first time his dad had let him shoot an arrow, the walks around the garden with his mom, the camping trips under the stars and the movie nights, just the three of them.

He told her of the time he had tried to impress Cissy Jones at his sixth birthday party and the time a hundred doves had been released in honor of a business deal that had circled the delegation and proceed to crap over everyone. Oliver loved the sound of her laugh, which was something he was hearing a lot of today. Laughing wasn't something she did nearly enough of.

Her heart warmed that he had all these happy memories of his childhood and spending time with his parents. She was also somewhat grateful that the property had made its way back to its rightful owner.

As he told her about the time he had decided to be an explorer in the deepest jungles of the Amazon and the time he broke his arm falling out of a tree while investigating a UFO, she had images of a little blonde mini me tracing his footsteps wanting to be just like dad.

Wow, six months ago kids had been even further away for her than marriage but now that she had Oliver… She had to admit that the possibility of a little bundle of trouble with his chin dimple sometime in the future suddenly made the myriad of tests that Emil was going to run on her after Christmas much more bearable. She had no doubt that given the opportunity Oliver would be an excellent father, just as he was proving to her that he was an excellent husband.

She had only been quiet for a few moments before she felt his arms wind around her engulfing her in his embrace. Her heart had fallen in love with the boy he had been and a little more in love with the man he was now.

"Thank you," she said sincerely.

"For what?"

"For bringing me here. For wanting to share those personal moments, it means a lot to me."

"It means a lot to me that you listened, I haven't shared a lot of those memories with anyone," he said bending down to kiss her then pressing his forehead pressed to hers.

"I love you," she replied kissing him back.

His heart skipped along joyously. After twenty years of not hearing those three little words, he was going to treasure it. "I love you too."

-xxXxx-

Hours later his fingers played with her mother's ring that she still wore. It was a daily reminder to him that he hadn't given her one and that their wedding weeks ago hadn't been by choice. But the headline that had accompanied their Vegas nuptials had preempted the truth. Their love really had bloomed in a time of adversity and Oliver was falling in deeper with her as the days went by.

"Hey hero, I can hear you thinking."

"Lots to think about."

"Would one of those things be to have Christmas here at the Villa?"

"You'd want that?" he queried, surprised. His only intention in bringing her here was to give her an opportunity to get to know a little bit more about how his childhood had shaped the man she was joined to for life.

"There's something about this place. After hearing you talk so lovingly about your parents, it would seem fitting for us to have our first Christmas together somewhere they could be with us in spirit. But that's only if you want to."

"I'd like that." He pulled her over until she was lying on top of him and brushed the hair out of her eyes. "It would mean a lot to me… to have Christmas here."

"If that would make you happy, then it's settled."

"You make me happy Chloe." Yeah, she definitely had a keeper.

She snuggled comfortably into his arms, relishing how protected and safe she felt. "Ollie?"

"Mmm."

"Do you think we would be here if it hadn't been for Lionel?" That was a question neither of them had addressed yet, but it was something she had been thinking about a lot.

"Absolutely, just on a timetable of our making. As for the here and now, you accepting me back, me wanting to stay with you and falling in love under extreme circumstances. That has everything to do with the type of people we are and nothing to do with Lionel. Despite what he told me he could have very well intended for us to end up like Lex and Lana. Bitter and resentful." He paused. "What about you, what are you thinking?"

She repositioned her head on his chest, surprised at the ease in which they were having a conversation that could've bought up all kinds of negative feelings. "Some days I really hate that the Luthor's have manipulated so much of my life and my experiences with love and relationships before you, made me skeptical that I would ever have anything close to what I fantasized about. But the type of connection we have, and the trust that we are building, it's already more than I ever thought I would have in my life. I think that while Lionel was responsible for the wedding, the marriage is all on us and that we would've have gotten here on our own."

He interlocked his fingers through hers and nodded in agreement. "Like it or not, Lionel is always going to be figure in our lives somehow. It wouldn't surprise me if his doppelganger stepped through a portal sometime in the future to play havoc with our lives some more. I hate most of the things he did to people in his lifetime. But you're right, being married is all on us; it's our choice and our way. I wish I could guarantee that staying together will be as easy as breathing. I can't…but we can work at it until it is."

They drifted into companionable silence, satisfied that they had come to some sort of understanding on where Lionel factored into their relationship.

She gently caressed his cheek. "Ollie?"

"Hmm"

"I'm glad you're my husband."

"Ditto professor."

-xxXxx-

Star City, 23rd December 2008

As Chloe walked down the busy street crowded with last minute Christmas shoppers, she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She stopped in front of a shop, pulling her taser out discreetly from her purse and putting it in her jacket pocket while subtly checking out the area. Ever since the place Lionel's dummy library was stored had had attempted break-ins, Chloe had been feeling uneasy, sure that it was Lex looking for something. It had made her a little more on edge than normal.

He watched her from the shadows, his lips pursed as he observed her scoping out the locale. While he hadn't meant to alarm her, he was comforted that she seemed to be aware of her surroundings.

Then she was looking directly at him, eyebrow raised, hands on hips, the wind whipping the strands of her hair sticking out from under her hat around her face. The blue tooth in his ear chirped, 'incoming communication from WatchTower'. He. Was. So. Busted.

"Hi honey," he gulped. "I was about to call. Sorry if I spooked you. I thought I would walk you to your destination and you could tell me how your last day of work was." He hoped she wasn't too irritated with him. He had thought a lot about her during the day but had been unable to get away from his office until he was scheduled for patrol.

She shook her head and bit down on her lower lip. Gee he was being sweet and overprotective all in one move. She started walking again knowing he would follow on his highway. Truthfully she had missed him during the day and would have preferred to have her husband walking and talking beside her, rather than several story's above her, and through a voice distorter. But that was part and parcel of her life.

"A reporter from the Tattler tried to pass himself off as the new intern and engage me in water cooler gossip," she replied lightly to his question.

"Bet you saw right through that phony attempt."

"Oh yeah, he seemed genuinely surprised though when I turned up with security to escort him off the premises. Then I spent the afternoon listening to Perry's stories. I'll miss working with him."

After a tug of war between her heart and her head Chloe had resigned her position as part of the research staff for Hour. She was profoundly grateful for the opportunity to work with Perry, but with the changes in her life came the chance to dream bigger about the type of difference she could make in the world. Staying part of the staff wasn't part of the plan anymore.

"How was your day at the office?" Her pace quickening a little as she spoke because the breeze had cooled considerably.

"Encouraging. We are making some headway in China with our previous partners and they are keen to do business with us again," he estimated the gap he needed to bridge between buildings before leaping, making a small 'oomph' sound as he landed.

Chloe started breathing again. It was one thing to know that your husband was a kick ass vigilante and quiet another to hear him in action even if it was just following her. Her heart always beat a little faster when any of them were out on Patrol until she knew they were safe and sound.

"And we signed a deal with firm as preferred supplier over LuthorCorp." Taking that deal out from under Lex's nose had been particularly satisfying for him.

"Someone sounds very pleased with himself."

"Any day I can dampen Lex's plans is a good day. Besides with this new contract, there's a good chance we can bring the WatchTower 2 project forward."

"Vic will think all his Christmases have come at once." She froze momentarily as she heard a cry for help.

"Go!" she ordered, and in a heartbeat he was gone. She forced herself into a jog towards the boy's lair, which was currently doubling up as HQ, even though she really wanted to head towards the scream. The only thing stopping her was that she didn't want to distract Oliver and he had made her promise to think safety first.

"Tower." Vic nodded as she walked in.

"Vic," she acknowledged looking at Ollie's dot.

"He's fine, it was a domestic squabble. He's just going to do one more sweep of the area before calling it."

"Thanks, anything else happen of interest."

"Just the usual lackeys trying to get into that Warehouse."

"How far did they get this time?"

"Only level 2. The last lot got to level 4, which excellent programming by the way. When do you think they'll realize that there is nothing there?"

"Why thank you. I should be able to help out a lot more with IT now that I am a free agent. Hopefully they don't figure it out for a while. So long as they think all the security around that warehouse means something valuable is there, we get extra time to figure out what it is that they want."

"Welcome back to JL International, Ms C Anne Sullivan," he grinned.

-xxXxx-

Queen Villa, 25th December 2008

Secret Santa drops had been made, presents had been opened, Skype conferences had taken place with Lois and Martha and several large Turkey's consumed.

The boys were busy indulging their inner child and racing their toy boats on the pond and Chloe and Mary had been strolling around the gardens in companionable silence in an attempt to help all the food they had eaten digest.

It was just another one of those surreal moments that Chloe wouldn't have thought possible six months ago. Mary grabbed her daughter's hand and held onto it as she had when Chloe was a little girl and started swinging them.

Chloe couldn't help but smile and think back to the times when it was just the two of them walking in the park, or she and her cousins were running to Mary to save them from the general's wrath. While the journey certainly had its share of the strange and unexplained, she was grateful to have her mother back in her life.

"It means a lot to me that you're here mom."

"It means a lot too me too sweetheart." They sat down on a nearby bench. "Everything has been so hectic. How are you doing?"

"I'm in a good place at the moment. Did John tell you that he agreed to train with me?"

"He did," a small grin appearing on Mary's face. Chloe had noticed that a lot lately with her mom.

"So….. what's going on with you and my favorite Martian?

"Lets just say I am also in a good place in my life right now."

Raising an eyebrow she asked. "Do I need to talk to him about his intentions towards my mother?"

Mary chuckled. "Believe it or not Oliver already did that. I kind of adore my son-in-law. The conversation was quiet amusing to listen to…"

"What Oliver…he didn't tell me that…"

"Relax its hardly something to get worked up about. I think he was more worried about shattering any dreams you might have about your dad and I." Mary looked at her reaction carefully.

Chloe tilted her head from side to side thinking how best to explain how she felt about that. "Sure…I've thought about it a lot, and played 'what if'. But I've known for a long time that was never going happen. While there is still a place for you in dad's heart, and he never spoke bad of you, he emotionally moved on a long time ago. My hope is that one day we can sit down together for dinner or something like that, but that's all I hope for. Anything else is just a fantasy with no expectation behind it."

Mary's hand moved to her daughter's arm. "Gabe will always have a very special place in my heart. I was so in love with him, his take on life, his sense of humor. In the beginning I thought maybe we could work things out…but we don't always get what we want. We have the most amazing daughter though whose empathy healed me. I don't think I tell you enough how proud I am of you, what you've accomplished, how you're facing your fears and conquering them. If anyone gets how hard that is, I do. "

"Thanks mom, that means a lot to me."

Mary kissed her on the temple "Merry Christmas my little cub."

-xxXxx-

Chloe walked into the room they were currently claiming as theirs slightly nervous. The last time they had been at the Villa they had talked about being married in contrast to the wedding and an idea had formed in her mind.

She took out the small box from its hiding place, hoping that what was inside was okay.

"Hey what you doin?" He asked when he noticed her rubbing her palms on her pants. That was one of her tells that she was nervous about something.

She took a deep breath and approached him with the box tucked in her hand. "I have one more gift for you. I thought of a hundred different ways to give this to you and then just decided to go with the direct approach."

"I have something for you too." He took her free hand, getting the picture that they had been on the same wavelength without knowing it.

"Ollie I love you…and I feel a bit robbed that I don't remember giving you a ring and what I said when I did." She opened the box to reveal a Platinum men's ring with several emeralds inlaid in the band. "So I am hoping that you will take this ring and wear it as a symbol of the love that I have for you that keeps growing as the days go past."

He held his hand out silently as she slipped the ring on his finger. She looked at him reverently "I love the way you hold me and chase my fears away. I love that you had a dream to help people and followed it and invited me to participate. I know things won't always be easy but I do promise to stand with you, beside you, as long as I live; to comfort you when you are sad, to protect you and to support all your endeavors. I promise to try and be honest and open with you, even for things that I think are silly and that the name Oliver Jonas Queen will always be cherished by me. You are more than just my best friend, you're my kindred spirit and if I have given you reason to doubt me before, I am in – all in, attitude, heart, mind, body and soul."

Nothing in his life had prepared him for the wonderful emotions he was feeling right now. And she was literally radiating a heavenly glow that projected peace and happiness.

"I accept your ring Chloe and I hope you accept mine and know that if I could find a way to give you the moon, I would." She looked at him with trusting eyes as he exchange her mother's ring with a platinum emerald and diamond one. "With you I don't feel alone anymore in a world that would tear me down faster than it would raise me up. I never thought I would find someone who would see me for me and want to stick around. You may have started off as a friend, but now you are the person who means everything to me. You ground me and give me purpose. You are my one true love, my family, my home. I promise to listen when you talk, to ally your fears and pull you back if you're on the edge. I too promise to try and be honest and open with you, even when I think withholding the truth would protect you and I will cherish you for as long as I live."

She took a moment to look at the ring on her finger. "It's beautiful Oliver."

"It pales in comparison to us." He lifted his hand to caress her cheek, his eye's locking with hers. It didn't matter that there had been no witness to their little exchange. It was all in their eyes, everything they had said, and everything they hadn't gotten around to saying yet, all confirming that they were living those three little words. It wasn't the wedding that was important, it was the marriage. And it was their marriage and no one could take that away from them.

Chloe bought his head down and kissed him passionately. This had to be her favorite Christmas in a long time and they would be celebrating it well into the next day.

-xxXxx-

John and Mary had been sitting in the gardens enjoying the sea breeze. Being in tune with the younger couple, they couldn't help but use their respective abilities to hear the exchange.

"I'm very proud of them," a small tear escaping down her cheek.

"As am I." John stood up. "Come it's a beautiful night for flying."

To Be Continued


AN: For those of you who are interested there is a link in my profile page of what the Queen Villa could have looked like. Needless to say if I had a spare couple of mill I would love to buy it. Its beautiful! Also on my profile page are the links to Chloe and Oliver's rings.

Next Chapter: Our Blondes will be heading to Metropolis and a Luthor meeting is on the cards. Reviews are love :-p