Chapter 18 - Love Again

Pain. It was all she could feel. Zoey opens her eyes. She lets out a startled gasp seeing Jason underneath her. He was dead. The vacant look in his eyes confirmed that for her. She remembered seeing the same look in her mom's eyes. "Help," she gasps. "Help!"

She could hear her name being called. It sounded familiar. Her eyes grow heavy. She coughs, spitting up blood. Then darkness.

Martha and Jonathan's exchange confused looks as they enter an empty hospital room. Instead of seeing Zoey lying in the bed that she had occupied for the past four days, someone neither of them recognized was there. Things in Smallville were still in chaos. People were still missing and being found in the debris. Clark no longer had his powers. "Excuse me," Jonathan says, to a passing nurse. "We were looking for our daughter. This was her room last night—"

"What's her name," the nurse interrupts, moving over to the nurses' station.

"Zoey York," Martha answers.

The nurse types the name into the computer and frowns. "There's no one with that name here."

"What do you mean? Our daughter was in room 1120 last night. Dr. Avery—"

"Dr. Avery did have a patient in 1120 last night, but they were moved to a different hospital early this morning."

"We didn't authorize anyone to move our daughter, let alone to another hospital," Jonathan angrily says. "I want to talk to Dr. Avery. Now."

"Unfortunately, Dr. Avery is in surgery."

"Mr. and Mrs. Kent." They turn to see Austin walking towards them. He looked out of place while in his designer suit and briefcase in the sea of scrubs and plaid.

"Mr. Wells, someone moved Zoey to a different hospital," Martha greets.

Austin sighs. "I was hoping to talk to you before you got here."

Martha grasps Jonathan's hand. "Please tell us Zoey is okay."

"Zoey's fine. She was transferred this morning to Metropolis General where one of the country's top cardiothoracic surgeons is now her doctor."

"We didn't authorize Zoey to be transferred."

Austin sighs. "That's because her husband authorized the transfer."

The Kents exchange a confused look. "Zoey's not married," Jonathan replies.

Austin reaches into his briefcase and pulls out a file. "There's a copy of Zoey and Oliver's marriage certificate. There's also a copy of her will and advance health directive, both of which give Oliver control over any decisions involving Zoey."

"What's going on?" The Kents and Austin turn to see Max. "Zoey was fine last night when I left," he tells them. "Just tell me she's still alive."

Jonathan slams the file against Max's chest. "Did you know about this?"

Max frowns. "Know about what? What is this?"

Austin steps forward. "Look, I'm sure all of you want to see Zoey. I have a car waiting outside to take us to Met Gen—"

"Will someone explain what the hell is going on," Max angrily interrupts. "I'm not going anywhere until I see my niece."

"Zoey was moved to Met Gen this morning, Max."

"Who the hell authorized that?" Max looks at the Kents. "Why didn't you tell me—"

"We just found out, Max," Martha tells him. She glances at her husband. "And I'm guessing you didn't know about Zoey being married."

"I knew she and Oliver eloped. She told me that," Max counters. He looks through the file and finds the will Zoey had made out. "But I…I didn't know about this paperwork. I don't get why Zoey would do this." Max looks at Austin. "Why did you tell me about this?"

"Because I'm Zoey's lawyer, Max. Not yours."

Max stares in disbelief. "After everything we've been through, you're gonna pull privilege on me. Fuck you."

Austin shakes his head. "Look, this isn't the time or the place to do this. Oliver is at Met Gen with Zoey. I'm getting ready to head back to Metropolis, so if you want to ride with me you're more than welcome to."

Zoey groans and slowly opens her eyes. The last thing she remembered was a loud noise and pain. Her gaze roams around the room, barely taking in the hospital equipment. "Zoey." She looks at the voice and sees Oliver. He places a soft kiss on her forehead. "You don't know how happy I am to see that you're awake."

"What…what happened," Zoey rasps.

"You need to take it easy. Let me go find a doctor."

"No! Don't leave me!"

Oliver rests his forehead against hers. "Hey, hey, I'm right here, Zo. I'm not going anywhere. I promise." He grabs her hand and tightly squeezes.

"I-I don't like hospitals."

"I know."

Zoey lets out a sob. "Don't let me die, Ollie. I don't want to!"

The heart rate monitor starts to beep faster. Oliver gently cups her face. She was covered in scratches. "Look at me. Zoey, look at me." Her dark green eyes meet his hazel ones. "I'm not going to let you die. I promise."

The door opens and nurses along with the doctor walk in. Oliver starts to pull away, but Zoey tightens her grip on him. "Don't leave me!"

"Zo, I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here. But they need to check you out."

"No!"

"Let's give her a sedative," the doctor says to a nurse, before turning his attention to Zoey. "Mrs. Queen, how do you feel?"

Zoey's gaze goes between Oliver and the doctor. She doesn't see the nurse inject a sedative into the IV that led to her arm. "Where am I?"

"You're in Metropolis General. A meteor hit the house you were in," the doctor says. "That was about four days ago." Zoey blinks. Oliver's face was blurry. Everything was blurry. She closes her eyes. "That's the sedative kicking in."

"Is she going to be okay," Oliver asks, moving out of the way.

"She's disoriented. She just went through major trauma and somehow survived," the doctor reminds. Oliver watches as he examines Zoey. "I would be more worried if she didn't have a panic attack. The surgery was a success. Her heart was repaired and is beating strong. The most recent CT shows the swelling in her spine going down. We'll test her in a few days to make sure there was no permanent damage."

Oliver looks up when the door opens. Austin was standing there along with Max, Martha, Jonathan, and Clark. "How is she," Max asks, walking into the room. He grabs Zoey's hand and rubs it. He was more concerned with how she was doing than anything else.

"Doctor says that she's out of the woods," Oliver answers. "He was able to repair her heart. There's some swelling around her spine. So, they're waiting to see if there's any damage."

"Why isn't she awake? You'd think after four days, she'd be awake."

"She woke up a couple of hours ago. They had to give her a sedative. She had a panic attack." Oliver lightly brushes Zoey's hair. He looks up. "You guys all seem fine. At least physically."

Jonathan steps forward. "We're fine. But it would have been nice to have been consulted before you proposed."

"I would have, but getting married was Zoey's idea," Oliver argues. "I haven't asked or forced her to do anything. If anything, I've tried talking her out of things. But she doesn't listen."

Austin clears his throat. "Oliver, why don't you head to the hotel and get some rest?"

Oliver shakes his head. "I promised Zo I wouldn't leave."

"You look like shit. I think Zoey will understand that you needed to rest. Go to the front desk of the Rosewood. They'll give you the key. I already got everything set up. Max will stay with Zoey for a few hours." Austin turns to the Kents. "Jonathan, Martha, Clark. I know a great cafe a few blocks from here. Lunch is on me."

Zoey opens her eyes and looks around. She was in a hospital room. She sees Oliver, head on her bed, asleep. "Ollie," she quietly asks. She places a hand on his arm. Oliver sits up with a start. "Where am I?"

"Met Gen," Oliver answers. "Your godparents' house was hit by a meteor."

"How long have I been here?"

"Five days."

"How…was anyone—"

"Everyone is fine. They're all okay. Your godparents are a little pissed. But that's more to do with finding out we eloped."

"Everything hurts, Ollie."

"I'd be surprised if it didn't, Zo. You had a house fall on you."

"I can't feel my legs."

"They think there's some spinal cord damage. They were more forced on the damage to your heart. I never knew how much damage a house could do by falling on you. Makes you rethink who's the actual bad guy in Wizard of Oz."

Zoey softly smiles. "At least my legs didn't shrieval up."

Oliver chuckles. He presses a soft kiss to her forehead. "I'm gonna go let them know that you're awake. I'll be right back."

Zoey nods and watches him walk out of the hospital room. She didn't remember the meteor hitting the house. She remembered Jason threatening Martha and Jonathan, demanding information about Clark. She sighs and settles into the bed.

Zoey wakes with a start. She looks around the dark penthouse. The spot next to her in the bed was empty. She had only been back in Star City for a couple of days. She had spent three weeks in the hospital before being released. Martha and Jonathan had wanted Zoey to come back to Smallville, but Oliver had squashed that idea when she had a panic attack. Max had said she was exempt from attending the annual Fourth of July party. But she wanted to be there. She wanted to show everyone that she was alive and well.

Zoey pushes herself into a sitting position. The crutches she had been given were sitting against the wall where Oliver had put them before leaving. The pressure on her bladder was making it impossible to go back to sleep for the moment. Zoey slowly stands up. Pain erupts throughout her back. While her back wasn't broken, her spinal cord did still have some swelling that was slowly going down. Her neurologist had advised her to go take it easy, but that she could walk with crutches. She slowly walks towards the crutches. Her physical therapist had reminded her that there would be some pain, but not to push herself too much.

She's almost to the crutches. Then, she trips. She falls to the ground with a thud. She hears footsteps run into the room and she turns to see Oliver, still dressed in his Green Arrow outfit. He scoops her up before she has a chance to argue with him. "You can put me down," she tells him. He starts to move towards the bed. "In the bathroom."

After she finishes in the bathroom, Oliver is there with the crutches. "What are you doing up, Zo?"

"I had a nightmare," she answers, moving to wash her hands. "Then I had to pee."

Oliver leans against the counter. "You want to tell me about your nightmare?"

Zoey grabs the crutches and walks out of the bathroom. "No."

Oliver follows after her. "Zo—"

She winces as she sits down on the bed. "I'm fine."

"Zoey—"

"Ollie, I'm fine. I'm just…I'm tired. And I'm in pain. Can we just not do this right now? Please?"

"Okay."

Zoey lets out an annoyed breath. She wished she had taken Max's advice and sat the Fourth of July party out. The sympathetic looks were one she was tired of. Hearing about her miracle survival was annoying. "Your party kinda blows."

Zoey turns and finds Bruce standing on the other side of the picnic table she had retreated to. "Bruce, what are you doing here," she questions. She hadn't expected him to show up.

Bruce shrugs, moving to sit down next to her. "You know I never miss these parties." He eyes the crutches sitting next to her. "How are you doing?"

"Well, I'm alive," Zoey answers. She lifts up her legs. "And I can walk. Doctors say that it was a miracle my back wasn't broken. I look forward to starting Met U in the fall."

Bruce raises an eyebrow. "Met U?"

"My doctors are in Metropolis."

"After you left and I went back to Princeton, I was thinking that maybe I should rethink…certain things."

"No one likes when people speak in metaphors, Bruce."

"Zoey, we wouldn't have worked out. We want different things."

Zoey looks away, trying to ignore the hurt that was slowly building. She refused to let him know how much what he had said hurt.

Bruce stands up. "I'll see you around, Zoey."

Zoey doesn't say anything as he walks away. She wipes away the tears that made their way out.

"Zo?" She turns to find Oliver standing there. "Do you want me to kick his ass? Cause I'd be more than happy to."

Zoey laughs. She shakes her head, standing up. "No." She makes her way over to him. She leans up and softly kisses him. "Let's go home."

I never thought that I would find a way out
I never thought I'd hear my heartbeat so loud
I can't believe there's something left in my chest anymore
But God damn, you got me in love again