People Make Mistakes Chapter (5/13)

Banner By: Andrea

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Chapter 5
August 16th 2010



Chloe sat in the passenger seat of the explorer arms crossed over her chest as she glanced out the window. She couldn’t believe she let Oliver talk her into this. Supporting his decision even though she didn’t agree with it was one thing, but becoming a willing participant was another all together.

If they got there and she handed in this paperwork and by some miracle they actually got custody of Nathan, she’d be committing herself to a lifetime with Oliver. She’d be committing herself to something she wasn’t entirely sure she was ready for.

And just like that the insecurities inside of her went on red alert. Her heart beat quickened as her breathing increased. She glanced at Oliver, voice short and tinged with panic.

“Pull over.”

He turned his head and glanced at her, confusion lacing his voice.

“What?”

“Oliver pull the car over now.”

He could see her freaking out and he steered the truck over to the shoulder of the road, parking it and sliding off his seatbelt as he reached for his panicking girlfriend.

“Hey, hey calm down. What’s going on Chloe?”

She pushed him away from her, breathed in deep a few times, and then met his eyes, voice hesitant as she swallowed hard before speaking.

“I don’t think I can do this Ollie. I get it…honest I do. I understand why you feel like you need to do this and even though you know I think it’s not the greatest idea I’ll support you, but I don’t think I can help with this.”

He frowned, pursing his lips together as he studied her.

“Chloe--”

“Ollie it’s a hug responsibility! It’s a child. A child that we’d be responsible for until he’s eighteen. A commitment…a connection that will always be there between us.”

He sighed and shook his head.

“I thought we were passed this…past the fears and commitment phobia. Chloe we’ve been in a relationship, a real relationship for over a year.”

Her face softened as she tilted her head to the side, voice more calm then before.

“I know and we are. You know that I love you…I just…we’re young and you’ve got the company and I’ve got Watchtower and the team and then there’s Mia to think about. She just came back…and shuffling a child back and forth between Metropolis and Smallville might not be the best thing.”

She watched him for a minute or so and he nodded a calm look on his face as he spoke without hesitation.

“Okay…you want to look at this logically…fine I accept that. You’re right, I’m busy with the company, but I’m not the only one running it. I can cut back a little on my hours and Watchtower duties can be done from just about anywhere as long as you have the equipment. Right?”

She frowned.

“Well I guess--”

“And as far as Mia goes, I think she’ll like having someone else around the house you know for when I’m not around. What else…ah yes, the shuffling. You’re right that does seem a bit tedious, but that can be fixed simply enough. Move into the Penthouse with me and Mia.”

Chloe’s mouth dropped open and she stared at him. Did he just say what she thought he said?

“Are you crazy?”

He rolled his eyes.

“Stop acting as if moving in with me is so scandalous. You spend more time at the Penthouse then your place anyway. It’s closer to Watchtower and I promise to always keep a stock pile of coffee around for you.”

She shut her mouth and he nudged her lightly. There was humor in his voice, but the look in his eyes was completely serious.

“Come on Chloe…what do you have to lose. Take a risk…”

She studied him and bit her lip, voice soft, but stern when she spoke.

“Okay,” a grin broke out on his face, but before he could say anything she was speaking again, “on one condition.”

He should have known. Oliver tried to hide his smile as he motioned for her to state her condition.

“You need to start training with Mia again.”

His body tensed and he was about to protest when she shook her head and held up a hand.

“I won’t pressure you to suit up or go on patrol. Just get back on a training schedule with Mia…for me. You gotta give a little to get a little Ollie.”

He clenched his jaw and thought about her words before relinquishing.

“Fine. You move in and I will go back to training with Mia.”

Chloe held out her hand and Oliver glanced at it before ignoring it and pulling her in for a kiss. When they broke apart he held his forehead against hers and she spoke low.

“Deal.”

He placed a kiss on her forehead before buckling his belt and pulling back out onto the road. Oliver took a deep breath. Now that, that was solved it was time to talk to Rebecca Chase and meet Nathan face to face for the first time as Oliver Queen.



_____

Nathan sat at a small table in the corner of the large multi-purpose room, eyes trained on the window, paper and crayons laid out in front of him. His mother was dead…the real kind of dead. The kind you don’t come back from, but the real question was how?

Ever since Nathan could remember his mother had been able to heal herself. It didn’t matter if it was a paper cut or a bullet wound, she was never gone for very long. And so he’d waited for her to come back this time and take him away.

A week had gone by and then another and another. A whole month of waiting and nothing to show for it until today. Water pooled in his eyes as he continued to stare out the window. One of the ladies who watched them during the day was listening to the news on a little black radio and he’d heard all about the body they found the other day.

His mother’s body. Nathan squeezed his eyes shut, tears slowly running down his cheeks. He wiped them away angrily and looked down at the paper he’d scribbled on earlier. He should have known that this time was different.

When they ran away from home this time his Mother had been scared. She’d said there was a bad man after them and it was time to go home, but Nathan had moved around so much since his Dad died that he didn’t know where home was.

But he followed his Mom like he always did, because she protected him from the bad people. They came to Metropolis to find his Mom’s brother and sister. She’d said they would help protect them and Nathan had believed her.

They were on their way to the hotel when they were attacked. His Mom tried to stop them, but they were too strong. Right when Nathan had thought the worst would happen a man in a green suit had swooped out of the sky and saved them.

He had a bow and arrow like Robin Hood and Nathan was pretty sure he was a superhero. And then he saw the van. He saw it speed up and run over the sidewalk. So he did the only thing he could do, he called out for his Mother and ran towards her.

He could remember her screaming for him to run, but he couldn’t leave her…he wouldn’t…she was him Mom. And that’s when the man in green saved him. He yanked him right out of the way of the van. Nathan’s eye’s closed again as the images from that night assaulted him.

His heart rate quickened and his breathing grew heavy. That was the worst night of his life. Out of all the times they ran and his Mom had gotten hurt, that was the worst. The man in green had stayed with him until the ambulance and police arrived and then disappeared into the night.

The 8-year-old took a few deep breaths calming himself down and right as he opened his eyes he heard his name being called. He turned his head and caught sight of Rebecca. She smiled at him and waved. Rebecca was a nice lady.

She was safe. Good. He could feel it. She started to move across the room towards him and that’s when he caught sight of the two people following her. There was a tall man with blonde hair and next to him a short lady who seemed a little nervous.

When Rebecca reached his table she bent down and gave him a warm smile, but he couldn’t bring himself to smile back.

“Hey Nathan.”

“Hi.”

“Do you remember I told you yesterday that there were some people who wanted to meet you?”
He nodded and she rubbed his arm lightly.

“Well here they are. That is Oliver Queen and Chloe Sullivan.”

She pointed to the man and his companion and when Nathan looked up and met his eyes he froze. There was something familiar about the man now that he was looking at him up close, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Oliver gave him a nervous smile and held out his hand.

“Hey Nathan, it’s nice to meet you.”

He glanced at the older man’s hand and hesitated before taking it and shaking it.

“Hi.”

Rebecca cleared her throat smile still in place as she spoke to Nathan.

“Oliver and Chloe are going to hang out with you for a little bit is that okay?”

He shrugged and she nodded. She straightened up and motioned for them to sit before speaking quietly to Oliver.

“You can stay for as long as you like, but make sure you come back to my office before you leave.”

He nodded and Nathan watched her wave and then disappear down the hall. The two adults sat down and it was quiet. He picked up his crayon’s, pushed some of his papers around, and started coloring again. Oliver glanced at Chloe and she motioned for him to say something.

“So uh…what are you drawing?”

Nathan glanced at him and then back at his picture.

“A picture.”

Chloe smirked and tilted her head toward Nathan so she could see what he was drawing. Her voice was soft and friendly when she spoke and Nathan decided he liked the sound of it. It reminded him of his Mother’s voice.

“Wow, that’s a great picture.”

“Thank you.”

Oliver swallowed hard as Chloe shifted a piece of paper towards her before speaking.

“Can I draw with you?”

“I guess.”

He moved a few crayons towards her and continued working on his drawing. Another bout of silence settled over them until Nathan spoke softly.

“I know why you’re here.”

Oliver raised an eyebrow as he studied the boy closely.

“Why do you think we’re here?”

“You want to adopt me…”

Oliver hesitated and catching Nathan’s eyes as he spoke softly.

“If that’s why we’re here…would you be okay with that?”

He shrugged.

“It’s not like I have anywhere else to go.”

Chloe’s chest tightened at the little boys words. She didn’t know what it was, but she couldn’t help feeling for him. She couldn’t help wanting to make the pain in his voice go away. She reached out her warm hand gently touching his arm. Silence settled around them again, but this time it was comfortable and Oliver watched as Chloe and Nathan continued drawing on the paper in front of them.

Oliver was looking around the room when a piece of paper was pushed in front of him along with a green and a black crayon.

“You can draw with us too…if you want.”

Oliver smiled, his body relaxed, eyes light as he spoke.

“I’d love too.”

And so he took his paper and starting drawing. Rebecca shifted so she could see the three of them from where she was standing. She smiled as she watched the three of them interacting. Maybe she was wrong about Oliver Queen.

Either way procedure was procedure and when Mr. Queen and his girlfriend left there was one more person interested in adopting Nathan. Once the meet and greets were completed she’d ask Nathan who he liked better and that would be a large part of what would help her decide.

Rebecca sighed, but until then she had another background check to pull. She took one more glance at the table before heading back to her office.



_____

Tess glanced down at the paperwork on her desk. She couldn’t believe Lex was alive, scratch that who was she kidding? This was Lex. Of course he found a way to keep himself alive. She sighed. When he showed up at the mansion last night she was floored.

He’d looked exactly as he had the last time she’d seen him and he was surprisingly cordial. They’d had drinks and he’d explained how he wanted majority control of Luthor Corp back. Lex made it very clear that if she got Oliver to sign over his shares, that she’d be able to keep her stake in the company.

Tess could stay at the mansion and keep forty percent of his assets. He’d even drawn up the paperwork for her. She’d told him that she needed a day or two to think things over, but the truth was she needed to warn Oliver.

If Lex was back it meant he had something up his sleeve and she was pretty sure that whatever the plan was it wasn’t good. Tess looked at her computer screen before pulling out her cell phone and dialing Oliver’s number. It rang three times before his voicemail picked up.

She swallowed hard and when it beeped, paused for a second before speaking.

“Oliver it’s Tess. I’m aware that I’m not your favorite person at the moment, but we need to talk. I have some information that you’re going to want. Call me back…and Oliver make it sooner rather than later.”

She pressed the end button and tossed her phone lightly on the desk. Tess reached for the glass of scotch in front of her, bringing it to her lips and taking a long sip. She yet again gazed at the image on the screen, the Green Arrow staring back at her.

Lex was actively looking for the vigilante and not so subtly told her to do the same. She gazed at the liquid in her glass, brows furrowed. It was time. Now that Lex was back, Tess was going to have to make a decision…pick a side.

Was she ready to turn her back on Oliver and embrace the darkness with Lex? Or was she still that girl from the island who had strived to save the world one project at a time? She let out a heavy sigh. She guessed only time would tell.

Chapter 6