Chapter 30 — Merry Christmas, Baby

Zoey squirms as the SUV comes to a stop in front of the familiar yellow farmhouse. She always loved Smallville at Christmas time. Snow covered the grounds and the trees. This Christmas, she was filled with anxiety. She and Oliver had just gotten married in Vegas three days earlier. She felt lucky that the press hadn't picked up on their newlywed status yet. She had no idea how she would feel when that happened.

Zoey wakes up when she feels the bed dip. She glances over her shoulder to see a smiling Oliver. He holds out a strawberry. She sits up. He had a plate of fruit. "How did you sleep," he asks, settling in beside her.

"Um, fine," Zoey softly tells him. She raises a hand to brush her hair out of her face. Then sun catches the diamond band that now sat on her left ring finger. "Do…do you think this plan will work?"

"I hope it will."

"Do…Will we…"

"Zo, we don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

Zoey stares at him for a second, then a blush covers her face. "Oh. That. I-I-I wasn't talking about sex. I mean, if you want to, then we can. I mean, I enjoyed that time in Monte Carlo. I just I-I don't like—"

Zoey's cut off when Oliver suddenly kisses her. His kiss was slow. She grabs a fistful of his shirt. She leans back on the bed and pulls him on top of her. She spreads her legs and he settles right between them. She could feel his erection pressed against her. She grabs the bottom of his shirt and pulls it up. Her hands run over his skin.

Oliver rests his forehead against hers. "We need to stop because we're supposed to be meeting Max for brunch," he says but doesn't move. "What are you going to say?"

"I…I was going to ask if we were going to have to live together," Zoey softly says. She shifts. He lets out a groan and she flushes. "I-I'm not going to Princeton next year. I figured it would be awkward with everything that happened with Bruce. I applied to Met U and got an early admission decision. I start in the fall."

Oliver smiles. "Then I will just move to Metropolis to be with you."

"Are you sure? I can still apply to Stanford or UC Star City."

"Zo, do you want to go Met U?"

"Yes."

"Then you'll go to Met U and I'll move to Metropolis."

Zoey presses her lips against his. She wraps her arms around him. "I love you," she blurts out.

Oliver softly smiles. "I love you too, Zo."

"Zo."

Zoey blinks. Oliver had gotten out of the SUV and had opened the passenger side door. She was nervous.

"Zo, everything will be fine."

"Uncle Jonathan lost his shit when he thought Clark got married in Vegas and he didn't actually get married. We actually got married," Zoey nervously tells him.

Oliver softly kisses her. "Zoey, everything will be fine. And if it's not…well, I'll have the jet get ready to take us on our honeymoon. I was thinking Bora Bora."

Zoey climbs out of the SUV. She tightly holds Oliver's hand as they walk up their stairs to the fully rebuilt farmhouse. She opens the door and steps into the kitchen. "Zoey," Martha brightly greets. She wipes her hands on a kitchen towel before hugging Zoey. "Sweetheart, how are you doing?"

"A little help would be nice," Oliver calls. Zoey winces and opens the door. "Zo, we've only been married for three days and you're leaving me to carry all your stuff."

"Married," Martha repeats, looking between the two of them.

Zoey nervously laughs. "Uh, yeah. Oliver and I just got married in Vegas."

"This is…" Martha trails off. "I thought you two were just friends."

"We-we are," Zoey quickly says. "It just…happened. Suddenly."

"I'll say."

"After Bruce dumped me, I went to stay with Ollie. And all these feelings came out and it was…why not get married," Zoey says. She grabs Oliver's arm and pulls him towards the stairs, leaving a bewildered Martha standing in the kitchen. Once they're inside her bedroom, Zoey closes the door. "I thought we were gonna ease them into it?"

Oliver shrugs. "It just came out."

Oliver couldn't remember the last time he had faced an angry dad. He figured the last time was when he was in high school and got caught in a girl's bedroom. He had been embarrassed and it had been an awkward moment. This time he wasn't embarrassed at all. But it was still very awkward. Jonathan Kent was not a man who could be persuaded to back down, especially when it came to matters concerning his family. And the newly minted Zoey Queen was not a woman who could be persuaded to back down.

"Oliver is sleeping on the couch," Jonathan sternly states.

"Oliver is sleeping in my room," Zoey angrily argues.

"Couch."

"My room."

Clark enters the house from the kitchen. He finds Martha standing at the edge of the living room. "Mom, what's going on," he asks, looking between Jonathan and Zoey.

"He is sleeping on the couch," Jonathan says.

"He is sleeping in my room. We're married," Zoey counters.

"You're nineteen."

"Old enough to get married in all fifty states."

"Who got married," Lana asks, walking up behind Clark. She was spending the holidays with the Kents. It was to be Clark and Lana's first Christmas together as a couple.

"Zoey and her friend Oliver," Martha explains to Clark and Lana.

"Zoey got married?"

"In Las Vegas," Jonathan loudly adds.

Oliver turns to them. He smiles. "Three days ago."

"Oliver is sleeping in my room," Zoey coldly says. "We're married. We're sharing a bed. And if you don't like it, then we'll go get a motel room. Either way, I'm sharing a bed with my husband."

"Jonathan," Martha softly starts. "I would like my family to be together for Christmas."

Jonathan Kent was not a man who easily backed down. The only person that could get him to stand down was Martha and he had zero desire to disappoint her, especially at Christmas time. "Fine," he forces out. "Oliver can sleep in your room." He turns to Clark. "Lana still is not allowed to sleep in your room, Clark." Jonathan walks out of the living room. Zoey lets out a relieved breath.

Zoey walks into the barn to find Jonathan cleaning some of his tools. Things had been tense since the revelation that Zoey and Oliver had eloped in Vegas. She clears her throat and Jonathan sets down the tool he was cleaning. She holds out an envelope. "This is for your campaign," she tells him. Jonathan takes the envelope. He pulls out the check. "The account said that was the biggest campaign donation I could make. Well, technically Oliver could make."

Jonathan puts the check back in the envelope and hands it back to her. "I'm not taking money from you and Oliver, Zoey," he replies.

"Oh." Zoey shifts. "I'll, um, I'll let your campaign manager know that I can go the interviews after New Year's."

"No. You're not doing any interviews for my campaign."

"Oh."

Jonathan walks over to her. He grasps her shoulders. "Sweetheart, I'm not going to use you to help my campaign."

"But I want to help."

"No. All I want from you is your vote." Zoey softly smiles and tightly hugs him. Jonathan warmly hugs her back. He places a soft kiss on the top of her head. "Does Oliver make you happy?"

Zoey smiles. "Yeah. Oliver makes me very happy."

Zoey rolls over. She smiles seeing Oliver lying next to her. He opens his eyes. She leans in and softly kisses him. "Merry Christmas," she whispers. She kisses him once more. Her hand runs down his chest and slides into his boxers.

Oliver breaks the kiss. "Last thing either of us needs is your godfather barging in," he quietly tells her.

Zoey glances over his shoulder at the clock on the nightstand. "It's barely five," she softly says. "He won't be up for another hour or so. Besides, if we're quiet no one will know."

Oliver rolls onto his back and she immediately straddles his waist. "You are playing a dangerous game, Mrs. Queen," he teases. Zoey rolls her eyes. She leans down and kisses him. His hands slid under the nightgown she was wearing. He's surprised to find that she wasn't wearing any underwear. "A very dangerous—"

Oliver's cut off when barking comes from outside of Zoey's bedroom. She lets out an annoyed breath and opens the door. Shelby runs into her room and jumps onto the bed. "Shelby," she whispers. "Get out." Shelby barks once more.

"Zo, it's fine," Oliver amusedly says, scratching the dog behind the ears.

Zoey sighs. She closes the door and crawls back into bed. Shelby crawls up the bed and places his head in her lap. Oliver laughs and lays back in the bed. He pulls Zoey against his chest and wraps his arm around her waist. He presses a soft kiss to her shoulder.

"Merry Christmas, Zo."

"Merry Christmas, Ollie."

Merry Christmas baby, you surely treat me nice
Merry Christmas baby, you surely treat me nice
I feel just like I'm in paradise