Epilogue
Not Even Death Can Stop True Love
Two Days Later
(Oliver POV)
I opened the door, walked into the room, and sat in the plastic chair next to the hospital bed. I sighed and leaned back in the chair. It’s been a long few days. My mind drifted back to the night we found Chloe…
*Flashback*
I watched Clark fall onto his back and Lois made a high pitched noise before moving over to him.
“Oh my god…Clark…”
Her tear stained face looked up at me as the doctor moved from Chloe to Clark. I couldn’t focus…Chloe’s gone…my name being called pulled me from my thoughts. Bart was yelling.
“Oliver…he’s going into some kind of shock…”
I frowned. Was that even possible? The doctor spoke as he looked Clark over.
“His senses…they’re being overloaded. There’s too much going on at once…think of it as something akin to a panic attack…he can’t focus on anything…”
I was about to speak when the jet was filled with a brilliant white light. I closed my eyes and heard Clarks voice mumble ‘Chloe’. When the light was gone and we all opened our eyes Clark had passed out. I heard Lois’ loud voice.
“Oh my god…look…”
She pointed in Chloe’s direction and we all turned our heads. She was still lying there. Only now…I couldn’t believe it…her chest was moving up and down slowly. The doctor scrambled over to her, hooked her back up to the machines, and we heard erratic beeps filling the room.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy…she turned her head and everyone froze. Her lips opened slightly and she said one word.
“Clark…”
Before she passed out. The doctor glanced up at us and spoke in a hurry.
“Come on…we need more blood. We might not have much time. I’m not sure how many times her body can repair itself…we need a hospital and proper equipment.”
I came back over to him and nodded. My voice sounded far away as I spoke.
“Is Clark going to be okay?”
“He should be. I’ll check on him in a minute.”
I sat there with my arm out, blood flowing from it and closed my eyes…everything’s going to be okay now…
Present Time
A slight moan brought me back to the hospital room I was in. I sat up, leaned forward and took one of Chloe’s hands. I watched as her eyelids fluttered open and she glanced around for a minute in confusion. Her eyes then landed on me and I smiled.
My voice was warm when I spoke.
“Hey.”
She gave me half a smile and tried talking.
“Hey…”
Her voice was hoarse so I reached over and poured some water for her. I handed her the cup, she lifted her head slightly, winced, and then gulped at the water greedily. When she was finished she handed the cup back to me and I placed it on the small table.
Her brows scrunched together as she spoke.
“What happened?”
“You want the short version or the long version?”
She grunted.
“Let’s pretend my head is killing me…how about just the highlights.”
I nodded and took a deep breath.
“The kids who took you from the Ace of Clubs were working for Tess. Basically they needed your blood in Lex’s body to ‘bring him back’. They had already begun the process when Clark found you…”
I stopped when I saw her eyes widen. She sat up a little more a spoke.
“Clark found me?”
I nodded.
“He heard you call for him. If he didn’t hear you…well there’s a very good possibility we wouldn’t be talking right now.”
I tried to make my voice sound light, but I wasn’t fooling anyone. Chloe took my hand and squeezed it lightly.
“I’m fine.”
I snorted.
“Yeah…now…you died on our way here…it was horrible Chloe…and now…well you’ve been out for two days. I was starting to think you were never going to wake up, but Lois said to just be patient…”
She cut me off.
“Lois?”
I grinned.
“Clark found her…and brought her back. Everyone’s here waiting for you to wake up. She just dragged Clark downstairs to get some coffee…said that he had to be fully awake when you finally decided to grace us with your presence.”
She chuckled lightly, but then the smile faded. I reached up and brushed the hair away from her face.
“What’s wrong?”
She shrugged and then spoke in a soft voice.
“I’m going to miss you.”
I frowned.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
She titled her head to the side and gave me an ‘I know that’ look.
“Lois is back though…has she forgiven you yet? Will you two be okay?”
Ahh…I see now…
“Chloe…just because our relationship is shifting again…doesn’t mean I won’t be here if you need me. You’re my best friend…the first one I’ve ever had. I’m not giving that up so easily.”
She grinned and I returned it. The doors opened and I could hear Lois lecturing Clark about how he should go home and shower because he smells bad. I turned my head and as soon as they looked at us Lois shut up and Clark dropped his newly acquired coffee on the floor.
He looked shocked. Lois was running toward us in a matter of seconds. She came to the other side of the bed and threw her arms around Chloe. Chloe smiled and returned the hug.
“Don’t you ever do that to me again. You scared the crap out of me cuz. Jeez…”
Chloe laughed and shook her head. I could see her trying to be serious.
“Look who’s talking. Next time you feel like taking a trip somewhere, how about you stay in this century…”
Lois gave her a playful glare. I watched them talk and catch up for a few minutes before Clark finally unfroze and made his way into the room. Lois and I glanced up at him as he stared at Chloe. I cleared my throat and looked at Lois.
“Hey ‘Lo, how do you feel about joining me for some lunch?”
I watched her glance between Clark and Chloe before sighing and getting up.
“Sure. I’ll be back after lunch Chlo…”
She nodded. I leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“I’ll be back later too.”
I whispered ‘good luck’ in her ear, stood up and winked before following Lois out of the room. Hopefully after everything that’s happened those two can work things out…
(Chloe POV)
I watched as Clark made his way over to me and sat down in the chair Oliver just vacated. He finally met my eyes and spoke in a low voice.
“Hey…”
“Hey Clark.”
He glanced over my body before looking back at my face.
“How are you feeling?”
I shrugged.
“Better than I was I’m guessing.”
He gave a strained laugh before looking down at his hands. We sat there for a few minutes in silence as he gathered his thoughts. The next time he looked up and met my eyes they were swirling with emotion. He took a deep breath and spoke.
“Chloe…I don’t…I don’t even know where to start. God…I’m so sorry…I’m sorry that I walked away…that I left you when you needed me most.”
I opened my mouth to say something but he shook his head and cut me off.
“No, let me finish please. I’ve spent my whole life being different and as hard as I’ve tried to be positive about it…who I am…what I am has always made me loose the people I love. Whether it’s them leaving, dying or being hurt…I put the people I care about in danger constantly.”
He took another deep breath and then looked away from me.
“Until you…no matter what’s happened in the past you’ve never left my side…you’ve always been there for me…always believed in me. And then…after everything with Brainiac this past year…then Doomsday and Jimmy dying…”
He hesitated and looked back at me.
“I realized that the one person who is always there…always ready to fight for me and be everything I need…is the one person I’m constantly hurting because of who I am…as hard as it sounds to believe I left so I wouldn’t hurt you anymore…I left because at the time it’s what I thought would be best for you and for the world.”
He stopped talking long enough for me to say something. I reached a hand out and touched his arm. I felt a jolt go through my body and his head glanced at my hand then my face.
“Clark…I know you didn’t leave to hurt me…it was never a question of that. I just…I couldn’t understand how it was so easy for you to walk away from everything we’ve been through…it hurt to think I was that unimportant in your life.”
My voice quivered slightly as I looked down. I think that’s the first time I said those words out loud…I felt him entwine our hands together before speaking in an intense voice.
“Don’t you see, Chloe; it wasn’t because I didn’t care enough. It killed me to leave you standing there. I had to convince myself that you’d be better off without me in order to go. I was tired of having a life full of pain and not knowing how to choose between the people I love and the world…”
He shrugged and was about to speak when my startled voice got his attention.
“The people you love?”
He gave me that famous Kent smile and nodded.
“Yeah, the people I love. You know…we’ve spent years teetering back and forth between friendship and something more. I think I’ve known for a while that you and me…we’re something more…”
His voice trailed off and he tried to catch my eyes, but I avoided eye contact. Is he saying what I think he’s saying? Is Clark telling me he…he loves me? No…that can’t be right…when I finally did meet his eyes I could see the truth in them.
Oh my god…Clark Kent loves me…I frowned and tried to be rational when I spoke.
“Clark, you’ve been gone for three months. I’m not the same person I was when you left…and I think with all of the recent excitement…your feelings are just a result of everything that’s happened.”
His eyes never left mine, he laughed, and that only made my frown deepen. Why is he laughing? I opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to it.
“Every time one of us has expressed an interest in the other, that’s more than friendship…one or both of us always backs down. I’m done doing that.”
I swallowed hard and he continued.
“You’re right…recent events…have forced me to open my eyes and see what’s been in front of me for a long time now. I messed up…again and I’m sure if you decide to let me back into your life that at some point I’ll make another mistake because lets face it I’m far from perfect, but I’ll never walk away again…”
He paused to make sure what he was saying was getting through. He ran a thumb across my hand and his voice lowered.
“I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to become the man the world needs here. But you were right Chloe… Human emotion is what made me the hero that I am today…without it I would be as bad as all the people we fight. I can’t do it alone though…”
My heart was pounding in my chest and my head felt like it was swimming. Clark is sitting here pouring his heart out to me and I’m not quite sure what to do…on one hand he hurt me so bad when he left…at the time I didn’t think I’d recover from it…
On the other hand…I think a part of me has been waiting for this since freshmen year of high school…I’m in love with Clark Kent…I’ve already made my peace with that…but was I ready to forgive him and move on to something more?
I cleared my throat and he watched me intensely.
“It won’t be easy…”
He nodded, but I could see a smile start to appear on his face.
“Nothing worthwhile ever is.”
“We have a lot to work through…everything between us is not okay…”
His face sobered and he nodded again. My face softened and I squeezed his hand.
“But we can rebuild what we had…and hopefully this time it will be different…better…stronger…”
I saw his face break out into a genuine smile.
“I’d like that.”
I smiled.
“So would I…”
I paused before speaking again.
“I’m glad you finally realized that Smallville was your home Clark…I’m glad you’re back.”
He shook his head, lifted his body, sat on the hospital bed next to me, and placed an arm around my shoulders as he looked at me.
“No Chloe, you’re wrong…Smallville’s not my home…no shhh…neither is Metropolis…”
He paused and made sure I was looking at him when he spoke again.
“You’re my home…I came back to you…”
Tears pooled in my eyes and I couldn’t help myself I leaned up and he met me half way. His lips touched mine and if felt like the world exploded around me. My hands went to his face and he drew me closer. It was perfect.
When he finally pulled away my eyes were closed and I felt his finger trace over my bottom lip. I opened my eyes and he looked stunned. His voice was slightly amused when he spoke.
“I’m not really sure why I’ve never done that before…”
I laughed and then winced.
“You okay?”
I nodded. He titled my chin up and his next words came out in a whisper.
“Chloe…I love you…”
I opened my mouth then closed it. I leaned my head against him and he leaned his body back against the bed. I spoke quietly as my fingers splayed across his chest.
“I love you too Clark…”
I could feel his smile against my hair. He tightened his grip on me and we stayed like that for what felt like hours. Clark’s made his mistakes…and so have I, but it’s finally our turn…it would take time to rebuild everything that was broken…but I knew we could do it…
I’m Clark’s home…and he’s mine…as long as we stick together…there isn’t anything we can’t accomplish. I smiled. Look out Metropolis…here we come…
Not Even Death Can Stop True Love
Two Days Later
(Oliver POV)
I opened the door, walked into the room, and sat in the plastic chair next to the hospital bed. I sighed and leaned back in the chair. It’s been a long few days. My mind drifted back to the night we found Chloe…
*Flashback*
I watched Clark fall onto his back and Lois made a high pitched noise before moving over to him.
“Oh my god…Clark…”
Her tear stained face looked up at me as the doctor moved from Chloe to Clark. I couldn’t focus…Chloe’s gone…my name being called pulled me from my thoughts. Bart was yelling.
“Oliver…he’s going into some kind of shock…”
I frowned. Was that even possible? The doctor spoke as he looked Clark over.
“His senses…they’re being overloaded. There’s too much going on at once…think of it as something akin to a panic attack…he can’t focus on anything…”
I was about to speak when the jet was filled with a brilliant white light. I closed my eyes and heard Clarks voice mumble ‘Chloe’. When the light was gone and we all opened our eyes Clark had passed out. I heard Lois’ loud voice.
“Oh my god…look…”
She pointed in Chloe’s direction and we all turned our heads. She was still lying there. Only now…I couldn’t believe it…her chest was moving up and down slowly. The doctor scrambled over to her, hooked her back up to the machines, and we heard erratic beeps filling the room.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy…she turned her head and everyone froze. Her lips opened slightly and she said one word.
“Clark…”
Before she passed out. The doctor glanced up at us and spoke in a hurry.
“Come on…we need more blood. We might not have much time. I’m not sure how many times her body can repair itself…we need a hospital and proper equipment.”
I came back over to him and nodded. My voice sounded far away as I spoke.
“Is Clark going to be okay?”
“He should be. I’ll check on him in a minute.”
I sat there with my arm out, blood flowing from it and closed my eyes…everything’s going to be okay now…
Present Time
A slight moan brought me back to the hospital room I was in. I sat up, leaned forward and took one of Chloe’s hands. I watched as her eyelids fluttered open and she glanced around for a minute in confusion. Her eyes then landed on me and I smiled.
My voice was warm when I spoke.
“Hey.”
She gave me half a smile and tried talking.
“Hey…”
Her voice was hoarse so I reached over and poured some water for her. I handed her the cup, she lifted her head slightly, winced, and then gulped at the water greedily. When she was finished she handed the cup back to me and I placed it on the small table.
Her brows scrunched together as she spoke.
“What happened?”
“You want the short version or the long version?”
She grunted.
“Let’s pretend my head is killing me…how about just the highlights.”
I nodded and took a deep breath.
“The kids who took you from the Ace of Clubs were working for Tess. Basically they needed your blood in Lex’s body to ‘bring him back’. They had already begun the process when Clark found you…”
I stopped when I saw her eyes widen. She sat up a little more a spoke.
“Clark found me?”
I nodded.
“He heard you call for him. If he didn’t hear you…well there’s a very good possibility we wouldn’t be talking right now.”
I tried to make my voice sound light, but I wasn’t fooling anyone. Chloe took my hand and squeezed it lightly.
“I’m fine.”
I snorted.
“Yeah…now…you died on our way here…it was horrible Chloe…and now…well you’ve been out for two days. I was starting to think you were never going to wake up, but Lois said to just be patient…”
She cut me off.
“Lois?”
I grinned.
“Clark found her…and brought her back. Everyone’s here waiting for you to wake up. She just dragged Clark downstairs to get some coffee…said that he had to be fully awake when you finally decided to grace us with your presence.”
She chuckled lightly, but then the smile faded. I reached up and brushed the hair away from her face.
“What’s wrong?”
She shrugged and then spoke in a soft voice.
“I’m going to miss you.”
I frowned.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
She titled her head to the side and gave me an ‘I know that’ look.
“Lois is back though…has she forgiven you yet? Will you two be okay?”
Ahh…I see now…
“Chloe…just because our relationship is shifting again…doesn’t mean I won’t be here if you need me. You’re my best friend…the first one I’ve ever had. I’m not giving that up so easily.”
She grinned and I returned it. The doors opened and I could hear Lois lecturing Clark about how he should go home and shower because he smells bad. I turned my head and as soon as they looked at us Lois shut up and Clark dropped his newly acquired coffee on the floor.
He looked shocked. Lois was running toward us in a matter of seconds. She came to the other side of the bed and threw her arms around Chloe. Chloe smiled and returned the hug.
“Don’t you ever do that to me again. You scared the crap out of me cuz. Jeez…”
Chloe laughed and shook her head. I could see her trying to be serious.
“Look who’s talking. Next time you feel like taking a trip somewhere, how about you stay in this century…”
Lois gave her a playful glare. I watched them talk and catch up for a few minutes before Clark finally unfroze and made his way into the room. Lois and I glanced up at him as he stared at Chloe. I cleared my throat and looked at Lois.
“Hey ‘Lo, how do you feel about joining me for some lunch?”
I watched her glance between Clark and Chloe before sighing and getting up.
“Sure. I’ll be back after lunch Chlo…”
She nodded. I leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“I’ll be back later too.”
I whispered ‘good luck’ in her ear, stood up and winked before following Lois out of the room. Hopefully after everything that’s happened those two can work things out…
(Chloe POV)
I watched as Clark made his way over to me and sat down in the chair Oliver just vacated. He finally met my eyes and spoke in a low voice.
“Hey…”
“Hey Clark.”
He glanced over my body before looking back at my face.
“How are you feeling?”
I shrugged.
“Better than I was I’m guessing.”
He gave a strained laugh before looking down at his hands. We sat there for a few minutes in silence as he gathered his thoughts. The next time he looked up and met my eyes they were swirling with emotion. He took a deep breath and spoke.
“Chloe…I don’t…I don’t even know where to start. God…I’m so sorry…I’m sorry that I walked away…that I left you when you needed me most.”
I opened my mouth to say something but he shook his head and cut me off.
“No, let me finish please. I’ve spent my whole life being different and as hard as I’ve tried to be positive about it…who I am…what I am has always made me loose the people I love. Whether it’s them leaving, dying or being hurt…I put the people I care about in danger constantly.”
He took another deep breath and then looked away from me.
“Until you…no matter what’s happened in the past you’ve never left my side…you’ve always been there for me…always believed in me. And then…after everything with Brainiac this past year…then Doomsday and Jimmy dying…”
He hesitated and looked back at me.
“I realized that the one person who is always there…always ready to fight for me and be everything I need…is the one person I’m constantly hurting because of who I am…as hard as it sounds to believe I left so I wouldn’t hurt you anymore…I left because at the time it’s what I thought would be best for you and for the world.”
He stopped talking long enough for me to say something. I reached a hand out and touched his arm. I felt a jolt go through my body and his head glanced at my hand then my face.
“Clark…I know you didn’t leave to hurt me…it was never a question of that. I just…I couldn’t understand how it was so easy for you to walk away from everything we’ve been through…it hurt to think I was that unimportant in your life.”
My voice quivered slightly as I looked down. I think that’s the first time I said those words out loud…I felt him entwine our hands together before speaking in an intense voice.
“Don’t you see, Chloe; it wasn’t because I didn’t care enough. It killed me to leave you standing there. I had to convince myself that you’d be better off without me in order to go. I was tired of having a life full of pain and not knowing how to choose between the people I love and the world…”
He shrugged and was about to speak when my startled voice got his attention.
“The people you love?”
He gave me that famous Kent smile and nodded.
“Yeah, the people I love. You know…we’ve spent years teetering back and forth between friendship and something more. I think I’ve known for a while that you and me…we’re something more…”
His voice trailed off and he tried to catch my eyes, but I avoided eye contact. Is he saying what I think he’s saying? Is Clark telling me he…he loves me? No…that can’t be right…when I finally did meet his eyes I could see the truth in them.
Oh my god…Clark Kent loves me…I frowned and tried to be rational when I spoke.
“Clark, you’ve been gone for three months. I’m not the same person I was when you left…and I think with all of the recent excitement…your feelings are just a result of everything that’s happened.”
His eyes never left mine, he laughed, and that only made my frown deepen. Why is he laughing? I opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to it.
“Every time one of us has expressed an interest in the other, that’s more than friendship…one or both of us always backs down. I’m done doing that.”
I swallowed hard and he continued.
“You’re right…recent events…have forced me to open my eyes and see what’s been in front of me for a long time now. I messed up…again and I’m sure if you decide to let me back into your life that at some point I’ll make another mistake because lets face it I’m far from perfect, but I’ll never walk away again…”
He paused to make sure what he was saying was getting through. He ran a thumb across my hand and his voice lowered.
“I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to become the man the world needs here. But you were right Chloe… Human emotion is what made me the hero that I am today…without it I would be as bad as all the people we fight. I can’t do it alone though…”
My heart was pounding in my chest and my head felt like it was swimming. Clark is sitting here pouring his heart out to me and I’m not quite sure what to do…on one hand he hurt me so bad when he left…at the time I didn’t think I’d recover from it…
On the other hand…I think a part of me has been waiting for this since freshmen year of high school…I’m in love with Clark Kent…I’ve already made my peace with that…but was I ready to forgive him and move on to something more?
I cleared my throat and he watched me intensely.
“It won’t be easy…”
He nodded, but I could see a smile start to appear on his face.
“Nothing worthwhile ever is.”
“We have a lot to work through…everything between us is not okay…”
His face sobered and he nodded again. My face softened and I squeezed his hand.
“But we can rebuild what we had…and hopefully this time it will be different…better…stronger…”
I saw his face break out into a genuine smile.
“I’d like that.”
I smiled.
“So would I…”
I paused before speaking again.
“I’m glad you finally realized that Smallville was your home Clark…I’m glad you’re back.”
He shook his head, lifted his body, sat on the hospital bed next to me, and placed an arm around my shoulders as he looked at me.
“No Chloe, you’re wrong…Smallville’s not my home…no shhh…neither is Metropolis…”
He paused and made sure I was looking at him when he spoke again.
“You’re my home…I came back to you…”
Tears pooled in my eyes and I couldn’t help myself I leaned up and he met me half way. His lips touched mine and if felt like the world exploded around me. My hands went to his face and he drew me closer. It was perfect.
When he finally pulled away my eyes were closed and I felt his finger trace over my bottom lip. I opened my eyes and he looked stunned. His voice was slightly amused when he spoke.
“I’m not really sure why I’ve never done that before…”
I laughed and then winced.
“You okay?”
I nodded. He titled my chin up and his next words came out in a whisper.
“Chloe…I love you…”
I opened my mouth then closed it. I leaned my head against him and he leaned his body back against the bed. I spoke quietly as my fingers splayed across his chest.
“I love you too Clark…”
I could feel his smile against my hair. He tightened his grip on me and we stayed like that for what felt like hours. Clark’s made his mistakes…and so have I, but it’s finally our turn…it would take time to rebuild everything that was broken…but I knew we could do it…
I’m Clark’s home…and he’s mine…as long as we stick together…there isn’t anything we can’t accomplish. I smiled. Look out Metropolis…here we come…
See yesterday i started to read a chlex fic and and to tell you the truth it was a good fic, but now that i finished to read this beautiful chlark piece i realize that i'm such chlarker at heart, they are MY DREAM PAIRING :-D, so much love for this fic!!you did wonderfully good Corina. I hope to read more chlark stories from you.
ReplyDeleteChloista4ever aka (Ana)
Ana-
ReplyDeleteAww, thank you so much! I'm definitely a Chlarker at heart, but as I was writing this I couldn't help but like the thought of her and Oliver...HaHa...But I still think Chloe and Clark should end up together...but Clark has gone through a couple of girls so I think it's only fair that Chloe get to go through a few guys! ;-)
<3
C
Great fic I loved it and can picture the actors acting this out.
ReplyDeleteI don't read all the fic yet. The start is so much sad... and I am very angry with Clark to leave. But I read it and it's very very good. A great job!
ReplyDeleteI am glad finally they are together and all will be okay.
I think that Chloe need to do a big effort to forgive him. But of course she can do it. Chloe is very, very good and as she love him, it make it more easy.
I will read the complete fic when I have time. But I don't like so much the moment that this fic start. It don't mean the fic necessarily don't like me. I am sure it do. But I prefer all the season 8 things never happened.
The Chloe arc in this season are very sad and it's not far for the character image. More of Chloe detractors use it against her.
But it means that make a fic is more changeling.
I saw good another Smallville fic? If I understand good the manip it's in season 8 too. I hope you change some things in the season in the fic happens trough the season.
The epilogue is really so good. Very good write and very touching... Good job.
RedGigant
This was such a beautiful story! I love all your work, and thank you for reminding me why I'm a Chlarker!
ReplyDeleteHey Everyone-
ReplyDeleteThanks again for all the great feedback on this story. I really appreciate it. Look for the start of my new Oliver/Chloe/Clark fic called 'The Games We Play' sometime in the next week or two. :-)
<3
C
great story i love it.
ReplyDelete