Chapter Two

A door slammed in the distance and Chloe jerked her eyes open sleepily. The bedroom was bright. Middle of the day bright and she heard the heavy footfalls of a man downstairs.

"Clark?" Chloe called out groggily. There was no answering response. Chloe sat up and scooted herself into a sitting position, the sheets pooling at her waist. Clark's side was empty. She looked over at the old alarm clock. The black on white numbers read half past one in the afternoon. There was a rattling in the kitchen and Chloe tried again.

"Clark!" She yelled, a little annoyed. Why wasn't he answering her? Chloe heard steps on the stairs and finally a tall shadow began moving down the length of the hall toward the bedroom. Chloe tucked her shaggy bed hair behind both ears and launched into her tirade as the figure rounded the corner, "Well, I hope you made me some coffee after you kept me up all night because-"

Oliver Queen stood in Clark's place, his eyes marble-size at seeing Chloe sitting quite contentedly in a heap of sheets in Clark's bed, not a stitch hiding her upper assets.

"Oliver!" Chloe screamed, pulling sheets up to cover herself and glared at him in a rage. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Oliver extracted two tiny buds from his ears and waved them at Chloe in explanation. "I didn't hear you. Sorry." He smirked unapologetically.

"What are you doing here?" Chloe asked, craning her neck to see if Clark possibly stood behind Oliver. Chloe busied herself straightening the sheets out around her, refusing to meet Oliver's merry eyes in embarrassment.

"I came by to talk to Clark. Is he here somewhere? Under there, maybe?" Oliver suggested with a wry grin as he motioned to the rumpled sheets beside Chloe.

"Was his truck out front?" Chloe questioned. The thought of her compromising state being chased from her mind as a cold loneliness began to spread through her limbs.

"Yeah, that's why I thought he was home." Oliver noticed Chloe's color fading and took another step into the room. "Chloe, are you okay?"

"Did you check the barn?"

"Yes. Chloe, what is going on?" Oliver stepped further into the room, his shock at finding Chloe in Clark's bed unclothed pushed aside by the concern for Chloe's apparent panic.

Chloe wrapped the sheet around her, noting it wasn't nearly as graceful as it was in the movies and shot to her feet. She sprinted past Oliver and down the stairs.

"Chloe!" Oliver called as he followed her, seeing the tail end of the blue sheet she'd wrapped around her body fly out the kitchen door seconds before him.

Chloe ran to the barn, ignoring Oliver's frustrated calls. She stabbed the tender skin of her foot on a sharp rock. Whimpering slightly she continued on, heedless of the throbbing in the arch of her foot. She took the stairs to the loft two at a time until she was kneeling before the keepsake trunk Clark stored up in front of the ratty sofa. Throwing it open, she dug through the contents haphazardly. The book was gone. Clark was gone.

Chloe sat back on her heels just as Oliver crested the stairs.

"What the hell, Chloe?" Oliver demanded. He watched Chloe fall back on her bottom and crumple against the sofa. She was staring at the open trunk, its normally ordered inside looking as if a hurricane blew through.

"He's gone," Chloe murmured, her throat working convulsively.

"Who's gone?" Oliver asked gently. He knelt down next to her and laid a hand on her bare shaking shoulder.

"He promised he'd wake me. Oh, god," Chloe groaned, turning eyes filled with so much agony. Oliver's hand instinctively gripped her tighter. "He's gone. He's really gone."

"Clark? Gone where? Why?" Oliver fired in quick procession.

Chloe laid her head down on her kneecaps, taking deep breaths to stop the hyperventilation of her lungs. She knew he was leaving. But part of her, the part that she'd allowed to be unveiled last night, hoped he would have stayed. There would be time for this later. Right now she needed to get to the caves.

"I have to go," she told Oliver serenely, using his arm as a lever to get to her feet.

"What? Where? Chloe." Oliver stood, too, bounding after Chloe's waddling form. "What is going on?"

Oliver caught back up with her out in the open air. He grabbed her upper arm and whirled her to face him. "I want some answers. Why were you in Clark's bed with no clothes on and where is the guy?"

"We can talk later, but right now I need to go somewhere," Chloe replied testily, shrugging her arm out of his grip.

"I'm coming with you," Oliver said. For some reason, he felt she didn't need to be alone.

"Fine, whatever. I need to go change." Chloe waved her hand at him as she disappeared back inside. Oliver leaned against the hood of Clark's truck. Is something wrong? Where is Clark? he wondered anxiously.

Dressed in baggy shorts and a hoodie, Chloe emerged again. She made a bee-line for the truck and hauled herself in the driver-side, Oliver jumping into the passenger side.

"Where are we going?" He asked as Chloe started the truck and backed out to make a U-turn.

"The caves," Chloe said simply.

"What caves?"

Chloe gave Oliver a brief history of the caves and their significance with Clark. The rest of the trip was spent in silence. Chloe went off-road and drove over many ruts and gullies, the truck bouncing as she drove along the rough terrain before pulling up in front of an unimpressive rock formation.

Wishing he'd worn sneakers instead of his expensive Gucci loafers, Oliver followed Chloe around the side and spied a narrow fissure between two of the rocks. It widened at the bottom and Oliver watched as Chloe prepared to lower herself into the opening.

"What are you doing?" Oliver questioned nervously.

"Relax, Oliver. I've done this many times," she assured him as she slithered into the dark interior. Oliver shook his head and copied her movements, trailing behind her as she climbed down some boulders and finally jumped the last three feet, landing cat-like in a ball on the cave floor. She waited patiently as Oliver did the same, landing with a thud on his butt.

"Ow," he groaned, rubbing his backside. "So, what exactly do you need down here?"

Chloe made her way to the still open antechamber, the key still in its slot. She gazed at it for a few moments. The book sat next to it on the stone table. She could hear Oliver behind her, muttering 'oohs' and 'aahs' while milling around the cavern.

"Whoa," he sighed when he joined Chloe in the small room off the main cave. "What is this place?"

The sense of urgency now gone, Chloe picked up the key gingerly. She could almost feel the warmth of his skin on the cool metal. In the other hand, she had the book. Slow steps carried her out and once she crossed the boundary, the wall closed with a earthy groan.

"What-what was that?" Oliver asked in awe, running his hands now over the solid wall where once there was a room.

The binding hissed as Chloe pulled the book open to replace the key. A folded piece of paper lay in wait. Unfolding it, she read in Clark's blocky script: Keep this safe for me.

She couldn't wait until she got back to the farm house. She couldn't wait until she was alone. With an eery calm, Chloe walked over to the wall and sat back against it. Fitting the key snugly in its cut-out, she laid it on the ground next to her. And then she began to sob. Heart-wrenching, gut-twisting sobs that sent chills down Oliver's back.

Quickly, he knelt next to her, not knowing what to do. Chloe turned toward him and Oliver opened his arms. For unnumerable minutes, Chloe cried lustily into Oliver's crew neck sweater. She cried until she hiccuped.

"Chloe, come on. Let's get out of here."

Chloe let him haul her up and pull her out of the caves. She hiccuped and cried all the way back to the house while Oliver drove. Inside, he sat her down on the living room sofa with a glass of water, forcing her to sip it slowly.

"Chloe, please, tell me what the hell is going on here! Where is Clark?"

"Clark is gone. He went to train at the Fortress with Jor-El," Chloe answered tiredly.

"Is that all? Then what was with the. . . Back in the cave?"

Chloe turned her eyes on Oliver, the orbs snapping with emerald fire. "He'll be gone for two years, Oliver. I won't see him for two years. There will be no way to contact him. For all we know, Jor-El may have sent him to a galaxy far, far away!"

"Did the two of you. . ." Oliver let his question trail off, ignoring her outburst.

"Yes, we did," Chloe spat as she jumped off the sofa. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to be alone. Preferably in the shower." She tossed the empty glass on the cushion next to him.

Now Oliver understood. It wasn't that Chloe was upset that Clark had left for his training without saying good-bye. It was that Clark and Chloe had finally crossed the line and he left without saying good-bye. As long as he lived, Oliver would never understand Clark. Clark was surrounded by outstanding women and yet he treated this as if it were a curse.

Listening to the old pipes groan, Oliver puttered around the kitchen making a sandwich. He settled in front of the TV and began to channel surf. Waking up from dozing, he saw night had fallen. Oliver wandered upstairs to check on Chloe. He found her where he had found her earlier in the day. He pulled the covers up under her chin and returned to the living room. He toyed with the idea of calling Lois but quickly dismissed the idea. How could he explain Chloe's need for feminine company and Clark's absence?

He stuffed his phone back in his pocket as he hunted around for a news program. Looked like he was on Chloe detail for a couple of days.

"Clark," Chloe whispered into his ear as he propped himself up above her on one elbow, a self-confident smile spread across his face.

"Don't you go getting a big head," Chloe warned him, recognizing the smile as pure inflated male ego. "It's been a while."

"Come on, Chloe," Clark's growled huskily. He pulled her closer as he ran his fingers through her short curls. "Look me in the eye and tell me that was not the best time we've ever had together."

"Seeing as we normally just chase leads for the Weird and Unexplained Tales of a Kryptonian on Earth, this was pretty spectacular," Chloe admitted. It had never been like this with Jimmy. Jimmy was sweet and tender. Clark was... A whole different animal. Or alien.

Chloe gazed up at Clark, memorizing the way his bangs fell into his eyes at the angle and the way his perfect chest flexed when he moved his arm, his hand trailing up and down her hip. His muscles were like satin-covered steel and warm to the touch. She rubbed her hand up and down his arm, letting the coarse dark hair that covered his forearm brush against her palm.

"You're not going to regret this, are you?" Chloe was surprised to hear those words, so quiet in the night stretch between them. Even more so when she found they'd been spoken by Clark's low timber and not by her.

Meeting his eyes, the color matching hers almost exactly. Chloe smiled sadly. She leaned up and began to nuzzle his jaw-line, something she'd found made him very happy. Minutes later, Clark rolled them over, Chloe straddling him. He caught her momentarily under her arms, holding her away from him.

"I do want an answer, Chloe," said Clark, his eyes dark with passion.

"I won't regret it tomorrow," Chloe answered truthfully.

"Chloe?" Oliver asked gently, bringing Chloe suddenly out of her reverie. Chloe looked over at Oliver, a dish towel in his hands. Looking down, she found her arms encased up the elbows in yellow rubber gloves buried in a sink full soapy water.

"Yeah?" Chloe responded, resuming the sloshing of water as she scrubbed a bowl.

"You okay?" It was the second time her mind had went somewhere else in the past hour he'd been with her. Earlier today when Oliver came out to check on her, she'd been standing at the foot of the front stairs, staring into the family room. She hadn't seen him or heard him until he was pulling on her arm.

"I'm fine, Oliver. Just fine," Chloe assured him testily, handing him the next dish. He dried it deftly and put it away in one of the upper cabinets.

"Okay, listen. I was wondering if you were ready to come back to work?" Oliver asked, hoping this was good time to mention this. His team was desperately missing their colleague and Dinah was missing her female cohort.

"Oliver," Chloe ground out in an exasperated tone he'd become very familiar with over the past week. She continued to wash dishes but held her body in a stiff line.

"Chloe, I wouldn't even ask, but we think we found a left over 33.1 Lab we missed somewhere in Iceland. And since Lex's death was never really confirmed, I thought-"

"You mean after you blew up the trailer, you didn't think to check for Lex's DNA?" Chloe accused him.

"I did," Oliver replied defensively, getting a little testy himself. He and Chloe had never seen eye to eye on the Lex thing. He almost mentioned the little freak she murdered protecting Clark, but caught himself just in time. There was a good chance she didn't remember the incident, taking into consideration she had been partially possessed by a technologically advanced artificial alien intelligence. And that was the last thing Chloe needed right now. "We had no positive matches. The samples we did come up with were so close but not enough for any authorities to declare Lex Luthor legally dead."

"So just what exactly do you need me for?" Chloe handed him the last dish and pulled of the gloves with a we sucking noise after unplugging the sink to allow the water to drain. Walking over to the table, Chloe slumped in a chair and put her head in her hands. Why won't he just leave me alone? It had been a week since Clark left and everyday, Oliver made the hour and a half trek from his loft in Metropolis to the farm in Smallville to make sure Chloe hadn't jumped out a second-story window or stuck her head in the oven. And it was getting old.

"I think it would be good for you to get back to work. The Isis Foundation has been hopping since last week. I stopped by the other day and you poor receptionist had so many post-it notes for you it looked like the East Bunny hurled on it." Oliver joined her at the table, lacing his fingers on the wood in front of him. "It would make the time go by faster."

Rustling her hair with a breath, Chloe lifted her head and directed her attention to Oliver. "I didn't think I would miss him this much. He's been gone before. I thought it would be like any of the other times he left."

"But I'm guessing the two of you never slept together before he left," Oliver said, earning him a glare.

"Would you get off that? Please?" Chloe asked.

"As much as I've heard from Lois, you and Clark, I would think the friendship you two have is complicated enough without adding to it."

"It hasn't been complicated for a long time, Oliver," Chloe told him with a self-deprecating laugh, thinking of the tight-rope Clark and her had walked since high school. "I have this thing where when I think my life is about to drastically change I need to express myself physically. I usually just grab the closest guy and have a very Casablanca moment with him. This time I took it a little further."

"He's going to be gone for two years, Chloe. The bond you two have go way beyond friendship. This should be almost natural for the two of you," Oliver replied, hesitantly taking one of her hands. He'd never really been goon at platonic relationships like Clark. It was hard to believe his two friends hadn't gotten together sooner with all the stray feelings running around like trapped mice. Maybe now, with a night spent together, something changed between the two old friends. Then why did Clark leave anyway? Oliver wondered. Guessing he would have to wait along with Chloe for that answer, Oliver tuned back to Chloe's voice.

"I knew he was leaving. I know why. He's running away from his pain over Lana, like he always does. But part of me still thought he'd stay. It doesn't matter now. His running away has inadvertently pushed him to doing something I've thought he should do in the first place. Accept who he is and his destiny," Chloe said, smiling at Oliver's gesture of kindness. She squeezed his hand and pulled back, knowing he wasn't the touchy-feely kind of guy. "I just hope he is still my best friend when he returns."

"I doubt Clark Kent can change that much. You and your cousin are hard girls to forget, Chloe. You don't find women like you very often," Oliver told her with a touch of sadness, thinking about Lois.

"Thank you, Oliver. Just give me a few more days to wallow in self-pity and then I'll come back to work," Chloe said, trying to end the conversation before Oliver went into a melancholy state. She just couldn't deal with any of her heroes' personal problems right now. Even if one was her boss.

"So where allegedly is Clark supposed to be?" Oliver asked, still somewhat confused about how Chloe was covering all this up.

"Well, the first leg of his trip he's going to visit his mom on D.C., then he is headed to Minnesota to visit Kara. After that, I've got him scheduled to do some non-profit work and research for the Isis Foundation in countries where there have been significant meteor activity. Its all smoke and mirrors really." Chloe drummed her fingers on the shiny wood of the table.

"Speaking of smoke," Oliver chirped, standing to his feet hurriedly. "I forgot I was going to go over some new distraction techniques with the crew."

"Have fun. Thanks for stopping by. Again," Chloe reprimanded him.

"You wanna tag along?" Oliver suggested hopefully as he headed for the kitchen door. Chloe followed behind him, not a bit upset to see him go.

"A couple of days, Oliver. Not a couple of minutes," Chloe replied.

Oliver smiled. He was sorry to see her hurting. He'd become quite close to Chloe in the past year. She was so selfless and smart, giving so much of herself to other people like himself, all for the greater good of humanity. With a wave he walked out of the door.

Chloe returned to what she had been doing before Oliver barged in and demanded she have lunch with him. She curled back up on Clark's bed and fingered the Blue Kryptonite Clark left on her night table. She put it on her own wrist. It looked clunky on her, but she tightened the band until it fit snugly.

The next few days found Chloe in a tizzy. Laundry had piled up and the house had a fine layer of dust everywhere. In a moment of clarity, she unplugged the phone and turned off her cell phone. She sent Lois an email letting her cousin know she would be incommunicado for a couple of days. Lois, able to tell when Chloe was avoiding the world, had called her twice the other day but Chloe begged off, promising her they would talk soon. She also sent one to Oliver, warning him if he so much as showed a green booted foot on her doorstep, she'd get the emergency rifle Clark kept in the coat closet and fill him so full of holes he'd look like moldy swiss cheese.

The first day all she did was wander around the house in one of Clark's old shirts. She went through all the drawers in his room, looking at old stuff he'd kept like yearbooks and class assignments he'd gotten good grades on. In one notebook she found all the old issues of the Torch she'd edited. Every single one from when the two of them started on it in ninth grade to the time they graduated. Even during the time period when she and Clark were on the outs and he hadn't been allowed to enter her inner sanctum, he'd kept those issues too. Gathering them up in their three inch notebook, she went downstairs and laid out on the couch, reading each one cover to cover.

She woke up the next morning in the same spot she'd fallen asleep in, on the sofa with issues of the Torch surrounding her. She heard a soft yap! at the kitchen door.

"Shelby!" She cried. Chloe jumped up and ran to the door. Opening the door, she found the old, red dog sitting forlornly on the stoop outside the kitchen. "Sorry, boy." Chloe apologized as she motioned the dog in. She poured him some food and scratched his neck lovingly as he chomped it up.

"Guess its time for me to get busy," she told the dog. She changed quickly into a tank top and capris and came back downstairs to find Shelby finished and waiting by the back door again.

"I promise I won't forget you this time," Chloe said as she opened the door. Shelby woofed! at her reproachfully before heading back out, tail high in the air. Chloe just left the door open so he could come and go as he pleased. She made a mental note to look into a doggy door so when she had work long hours or was needed to go out of town for a few days, Shelby was able to come in if he needed to. He was getting older and in her opinion, not able to move around as he once did. Plus he was used to a master who could zip home whenever. Hopefully this would make both their lives easier.

Feeling incredibly domestic, Chloe began a load of clothes and went about cleaning the house. For two days straight she worked harder than she'd ever worked before, taking out her frustrations on oil stained jeans and stubborn shower spots. By the third day, the house was as clean as the day Martha Kent had left to go to D.C. The housework had fallen behind once Clark took over, him nor Kara being much with a broom or a mop.

Despite being bone tired, Chloe also felt elated. For three days she proved she could be alone. Her biggest fear had been the loneliness she would be left with when Clark went away. Granted, she was so tired when she fell into bed at night she had no time to stop and reflect before sleep captured her. Chloe knew it was time for her to go back. She'd had her few days, the days she needed to prove to herself she could do this. She could live without Clark Kent. Of course, every couple of minutes the words two years, only two years, please only two years, whispered through her mind.

Monday morning dawned with thick clouds and a heavy fog. One look outside and Chloe regretted her decision to return to work. She hadn't counted on the day being anything but life affirming. Chloe fought the urge to pull the covers back over her head and return to sleep. Instead, she kicked the covers away from her and bounded from the bed before she could give in to the temptation.

In an hour, she was dressed in a smart blue pencil skirt paired with a bright red silk blouse. The color scheme was not something she would normally wear, but today the blue and red combo felt oddly comforting. Slipping into a pair of red heels, she did a once over in the full-length mirror in Martha's room and deemed herself presentable for her first day back after her two week vacation. Sending Shelby out the door with the promise of a doggy-door in a couple of days, Chloe followed, locking the kitchen door behind her.

The drive to Metropolis was slow and clotted this morning. When she finally arrived at the Isis Foundation she was thirty minutes late for her first client. Opening the door to the purple hued waiting room, she saw the young boy and his female guardian.

"Hello, Jeremiah," she greeted with a kind smile. "I'll be with you in a moment." Walking further into the office, Chloe met her receptionist, Gladys, who gave a glad cry and barreled into Chloe with a hug.

"I am so glad you're back, Chloe!" Gladys exclaimed with a heavy Italian accent.

"Its good to be back. Thanks for holding down the fort, Gladys!" Chloe responded with pleasure. She allowed the larger woman to squeeze her a few more seconds before she pulled away. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Of course!" Gladys agreed quickly.

"Could you run down and get me a tall Caramel Latte with two shots of espresso? I don't think I can wait for coffee pot to sputter and spit this morning."

"Sure, sure. I'll send Jeremiah to you right before I go," Gladys said with a happy smile as she handed Chloe a stack of pastel multi-colored message post-it about an inch and a half thick. Chloe gazed at them with big eyes and decided they would make good lunch reading material.

"You," Chloe started, looking at the receptionist she'd hired right after the one left over from Lana, quit over being held hostage by a client who wanted counseling attention immediately. "Are awesome."

The work day passed quickly. Chloe saw clients back to back, so busy she didn't think once about the empty house quietly awaiting her return to Smallville. Her lunch hour was the same. She took big bites of the chicken salad sandwich from a corner bistro called Bernie's between returning calls from a few members of the small board along a couple of fund-raising specialists. At the rate the Foundation was growing, the money Lana had funneled away was burning fairly quickly. She waded through the rest of the messages, dividing them into the ones she could hand over to Gladys for booking and consultations and ones she wanted to handle herself. Chloe looked over the paperwork that awaited her once the clinic closed for the day. It was becoming apparent to Chloe she would need to hire another counselor. Where would she even find another person willing to work with the meteor infected? Gladys' own son, Luis, had come in for counseling for his ability to conduct electricity. As a mother, she'd been eager to work in the place that had brought such comfort to her family. Maybe Gladys would like a promotion. It was something Chloe would think on for a couple of days.

At six-forty-five, Chloe was calling good-bye to Gladys as the older woman was locking up and leaving for the day. The office, for the first time since eight-fifteen that morning, was silent. The only sounds Chloe could hear was the slight lulling whir from the computer room to her left as she bent over a mountain of paperwork. Glancing at her watch, she knew most of this would have to go home with her. Neatly gathering it into a pile, she walked a few paces to retrieve a briefcase she'd stashed in the corner for days like these.

She reached out and clutched the cool, battered leather. Chloe heard a familiar whoosh! noise followed by the sound of papers scattering softly onto the floor and around.

"Clark," Chloe breathed with relief. She spun around on a heel, a bright smile on her face only to stop short.

"Sorry, gorgeous. A little shorter and a lot faster," Bart quipped. He was dressed in his customary brunt red jacket and dark blue jeans with black sneakers.

"Bart," Chloe greeted, forcing enthusiasm into her voice at the sight of her young friend. She stepped forward and caught him in a hug, clamping her hands over his as they attempted to feel up her butt.

"Do you ever give up?" Chloe asked with exasperation as she moved back from the guy, crossing her arms.

"That depends," Bart replied with a sly grin. "Do you ever give in?"

"If she's anything like her cousin," a new voice threw in as the tall, lean form of Arthur Curry appeared in the doorway, resting a shoulder against the frame. He shot Chloe a devilish smile over Bart's head. "Then, no."

"Fishstick!" Chloe greeted another member of Oliver's Justice League. AC, as he preferred, screwed up his face in disgust at the degrading nickname. AC met her halfway, bending down to hug her.

"Still wearing you official colors, I see," Chloe snorted. AC nodded smartly, showing off his standard orange muscle sheet and moss swim trunks.

"They bring out my eyes," AC retorted, flopping down in a chair next to Bart at the circular table in Chloe's workroom/office/counseling room.

"What gives? What are you two doing here?" Chloe asked, only to be shocked by the sight of Victor Stone striding into the room as well. "Okay, make that three."

"The Leprechaun called an urgent staff meeting," Victor answered Chloe. "Told us to meet here. Did you not get the memo?"

"No," Chloe said. Picking up her purse, she dug around for her phone. It was only then she realized she'd left it connected to her charger beside the bed that morning. The three guys noticed her hands come up empty and immediately began ribbing her. The thought of their Watchtower being caught dead without her communication devices was highly amusing. Seconds later, as Chloe was talking to AC about his recent vacation to the Caribbean, she felt her phone being pressed into her hand. With raised eyebrows, she turned her to find Bart trying to stealthily slip her keys back into her purse. Chloe ignored him, knowing he wanted her to acknowledge his gesture. Instead, she focused her attention back on AC who had caught Bart's actions as well. AC rolled his eyes and smiled, noticing Bart's crestfallen expression when all Chloe did was turn the phone on and watch the screen, as if she'd always held the phone in her hand.

Sure enough, there were five missed calls from Oliver, three voice-mails and one text message in all caps: JL MEETING AT ISIS TO TALK ABOUT BOY SCOUT. Chloe groaned audibly. It needed to be done, to let the team know their super-powered back-up had flown the coop, but she dreaded it all the same.

"Boy Scout?" Victor said curiously as he read the text over her shoulder.

"What?" Bart and AC both asked sharply. The two crowded around Chloe with Victor to read the message.

"Boys, boys!" Oliver exclaimed as he gracefully entered the room. "We are all happy to have Ms. Sullivan back with us, but give her some room!"

Victor, AC and Bart turned on Oliver, giving him hard stares. Chloe watched Oliver look right back at them, not batting an eyelash.

"What's this about needing to talk about Clark?" Victor was the first one to voice. Oliver looked at Chloe, his facial expression leaving no room for argument.

"Why don't we all take a seat," Oliver suggested. Bart returned to the chair he'd vacated while Victor and AC sat at the other end from Chloe, who sank down into the plush office chair she's treated herself soon after moving in. Oliver grabbed two more chairs from the waiting room and shoved them into the fast shrinking room. Sitting in the chair closest to Chloe, scooting as close as he could to speak with her quietly without the rest of the team overhearing in the small space.

"I tried to call you, your cell phone and here but Gladys refused to put me through. She said you were too busy to be bothered," Oliver explained with respect shining in his eyes."

"I'll have to talk to her," Chloe responded haughtily, not having the slightest intention on correcting Gladys. "Queen Industries is by far one of our biggest benefactors."

"Aw, well," Oliver played along, knowing Chloe couldn't care less who Gladys chose to put through to her. "Its hard to find employees that are so committed to their work and their bosses. It inspires confidence."

"I agree. Why didn't you come over earlier? Queen in just a few blocks over," Chloe suggested, still a little annoyed at this meeting being sprung on her.

"I was stuck in back to back meetings. I also had a feeling if I told you face to face, there would have been a good chance I'd have my mind changed." Oliver slid her eyes back to her, a knowing look in them.

"Dating Lois was good prep on how to handle me, wasn't it?" Chloe teased.

"There are definite similarities between the two of you," Oliver replied. "I am sorry for springing it on you. But I think the guys need to know. Its only fair since we are a team."

"You're right. But you and I are the only ones who know about Clark's Kryptonian heritage in the club. I'm not sure he'd appreciate us outing him without his consent."

"Clark can stay in the closet as long as he likes. Tell them your version on his absence. They just need to know he won't be around for awhile," Oliver replied. He turned his attention to the group gathered around the circular table of the workroom. One was still missing.

"Where's Dinah?" He asked the collective group. "She's the first one to be contacted but the last to arrive. Women!"

"I find that quite stereotypical of you, Mr. Queen." The seductive feminine voice of the Black Canary floated through the doorway, just ahead of its owner. Dinah appeared, her luxurious chestnut wig perfectly in place, dressed in a black knee length trench coat, cinched tightly at her waist. She waltzed in and all male stares centered on her momentarily as she took the last remaining chair on the other side of Chloe. Even Oliver was a little goo-goo eyes at one of his two female Leaguers.

"I was detained by our new fearless leader," Dinah explained, referring to Tess Mercer, Lex's unknown second in command when he was alive.

"What did she want?" Oliver asked her, knowing Mercy usually steered clear of the Voice of Justice, Dinah's stuff never really interested Tess.

"Believe it or not, she wanted fashion advice," Dinah answered Oliver. Her voice dripped with sarcasm, her way of telling Oliver to back off.

"Fine," Oliver conceded. The group watched him stand and look out on the people surrounding him. "I called this emergency meeting because we, I mean, Chloe, has an announcement she-" Chloe cleared her throat loudly. "I feel she should share." Oliver say back down and looked at Chloe, giving her the floor.

Chloe elected not to stand. "As you all have seen or heard, this past year has been really hard on Clark."

"And you," Bart pointed out.

"Yes, I've had a hard year, too. Anyway," Chloe hurried on, wanting the spotlight off her botched wedding and the death of her husband. "Clark felt the need to leave Smallville for a little bit, to clear his head and take some time to heal."

"How long?" and "Where did he go?" were spoken by Victor and AC simultaneously.

"He went to visit family and then he's doing me a favor by participating in a research project for the Foundation. He should only be gone two years."

"Two years!" Bart exclaimed. "What if we need him?"

"Chloe can get in touch with him if that arises," Oliver hastened to add, not wanting any of his team to get suspicious. "He's taking some much needed time off, though. And we need to respect that."

Bart nodded, knowing the last part was meant for him not to go tearing around the globe to find his running buddy.

"Is this because of Lana?" Dinah asked. She'd met Clark only recently and didn't know the whole history of Clark and Lana like the rest of the boys. She'd heard enough about the woman called Lana from Chloe to know she was very special to Clark.

"Sort of," Chloe answered reluctantly. She didn't want the League to think Clark was this weak when it came to women. But he was when it came to Lana. . .

"So, is that all?" Dinah asked, jumping from her seat, startling the rest of the group. The men looked at her as if she'd just stabbed one of them. Chloe smiled. Of course Dinah wouldn't take the news of Clark's twenty-four month long hiatus as hard as the rest. Everyone in this room, except for Dinah, had benefited in some way from Clark's unique brand of kindness and confidence.

"Got a hot date?" AC brayed, hoping to break the tension.

"If you consider hacking into a wayward congressman's personal files a date, then yes, I do," Dinah shot back.

"We don't, so sit back down," Oliver ordered her. Dinah sunk back down, crossing her arms childishly. "Since we have Watchtower back online, I think it would be a good idea to go over some of the projects we've been working on and bring her up to speed."

Chloe sat in her chair, taking notes for the better part of the next three hours, Oliver's little band of merry-people had certainly been keeping themselves busy. Each had their own special pet projects Oliver assigned them along with the bigger hits they worked as a team. When it was close to mid-night, Chloe yawned obviously and Oliver brought the meeting to a close.

"That should wrap it up. I'll see you all in three days," Oliver dismissed them as a whole.

Chloe stood and stretched, waving good-bye to Bart as he zipped out into the night. Looking at her watch, it was half-past mid-night and she still had an hour and a half drive ahead of her. Groaning, she began packing up her things to go home.

"Hey, AC and Victor are going to crash at my place," Oliver told her, rubbing a friendly hand along her back. "You wanna come?"

"Or you could stay with me," Dinah offered, too. Chloe looked at both of them and smiled, shaking her head.

"I left Shelby out today and I'm sure he would appreciate if I came home and let him back in," Chloe responded.

"You want me to call Bart back and have him run you home?" Oliver suggested.

"Oliver," Chloe started, taking in his concerned stare and protective stance. "I'm good. I can drive home. I want to. By the way, how did Bart know to get my phone out at Clark's?" She asked Victor.

"Clark told him you moved in with him a couple of months ago when they met in Canada," AC answered.

"We thought the two of you had finally become an item," Victor revealed. "Thats why we were all a little shocked when you said Clark went off the radar."

"I'm house-sitting, that's all," Chloe said to all three men left standing in her work room. After another ten minutes of shooting the breeze, they finally strolled out, turning off lights as they went. When Chloe was at the door to the clinic, ready to lock up, she realized Dinah was still straggling along behind her.

"Dinah, you okay?" Chloe asked the woman as she sailed through the doorway so Chloe could lock up.

"I'm fine," she assured Chloe. "Are you sure you don't want to come over tonight?"

"What's up, Dinah? Is there something you need to talk to me about?" The women walked together down the hall, both stuffing their hands into their coat pockets.

"No, not at all. In fact," Dinah stopped and turned to face Chloe as they waited for the elevator to rise to the tenth floor of the building. "Oliver mentioned you might need to have some girl talk. Not that I'd be very good at it."

"So, you know," Chloe said quietly.

"Oliver didn't tell me exactly what happened but he left enough fill-in-the-blanks for me to put two and two together. Especially after tonight," Dinah replied.

"Thanks, Dinah. I'm fine, really. I've had a few days to get used to this. I would appreciate it if you could keep this to yourself. Oliver only found out because he doesn't have personal boundaries. Or the ability to knock on doors. I would rather the whole crew not get a good look at this entry in my diary." The elevator dinged. Chloe and Dinah stepped inside.

"Of course. I won't say a word. Was he good? I bet he was good," Dinah quipped in an uncharacteristic showing of light-heartedness.

"What kind of a girl do you think I am? I don't kiss and tell," Chloe replied with a sly grin.

Chloe offered to give Dinah a ride to her apartment, which she accepted. It was a quiet ride, but a comfortable quiet. Dinah again repeated her offer to talk if Chloe wanted to.

"Thanks. Maybe one day."

Chloe still wondered if the entire League knew what she and Clark had done. She wasn't embarrassed, but she would prefer to keep what had happened to herself for the time being. It was private and special and Chloe didn't have many things like that. Working for a League of Heroes and spending the rest of her time helping people deal with their own secrets, she felt she'd lost most of herself to the space of others.

Parking in front of the house, she found Shelby laying by the front door. With an arthritic lurch, Shelby roused himself to his feet and wiggled on the porch.

"Sorry I'm late. Let's go." Chloe entered the house, Shelby's claws clicking behind her. The house was silent and dark. She'd never seen the house this way before. Warm light or background noise had always filled the spacious farm house. Dropping her purse and briefcase on the floor, she hurried through and turned on all the lights in the house.

Finding herself in Clark's room, she stripped out of her work clothes and pulled on a long sleeve sweat shirt of Clark's that hung to her knees. As she had done for the past week and a half, she slipped on the Blue Kryptonite Bracelet and curled up in the blue sheets. Shelby wandered in. After a few whines, Chloe lifted the dog up onto the bed. He nuzzled himself up against her hip, a warm, comforting presence.

"This can't become a habit, big guy," Chloe told the dog. "Clark will not be happy when he gets back and finds you've taken over his bed."

She rearranged the pillows under her head.

"Oh, well. Its only for two years. Right, Shelb?" Chloe murmured as she closed her eyes.

Images of her filled his mind. The sunlight bathing her face as she climbed the stairs to his loft. Her soft smile directed at him from across the hallway. Sitting in the Talon sipping coffee as she watched the other patrons around her. Her shining hair feathered out on the pillow as she laid in bed next to him, sleeping soundly.

"Kal-El," his father spoke harshly, his annoyance at his son's wandering mind apparent. "You're obsession with this earthly woman is a distraction. It makes you weak."

"Chloe Sullivan makes me anything but weak," Clark snarled back, angered at once again letting his mind give in to the memories; angered at Jor-El for interrupting them.

"I'm sorry," Clark apologized, returning to the task at hand.

"I have told you before the only way to embrace you destiny is to let go of the ties holding you to the Earth. Be in the human race, but not of it," Jor-El advised again.

"And I can't do that," Clark argued. "Earth is my home. I have friends and family there. If you didn't want me to have human emotions then you shouldn't have sent me there."

"I do not mean for you to give up your humanity completely. Learn from your mistakes and do not let it rule you as you have in the past," Jor-El's voice echoed through the cavern-like space.

"How long have I been away?" Clark asked, finally voicing the question that had plagued him since he set foot into the Fortress.

"One and a half Kryptonian years. Are you that anxious to return, Kal-El?" Jor-El asked in a moment of fatherly interest.

"I think someone is waiting on me," Clark answered.

"The woman who keeps distracting you away from your training? She will be there when you return," Jor-El told him.

"Only a year and a half? It feels like so much longer," Clark muttered. Six more months, Chloe.

"May we continue preparation for your next mission?"