Taking A Sick Day

Banner By: Andrea

Title: Taking A Sick Day
Rating: PG-13
Author: Sxymami0909
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Oliver/Chloe
Word Count: 2560
Prompt: A small moment between Chloe and Oliver post ‘Absolute Justice’ but pre ‘Warrior’



Chloe sat in her desk chair that she’d moved in front of the large monitor in the middle of Watchtower. She squinted at the blurry words on the screen as she lifted a tissue to her nose and blew. She winced tossing the tissue in the already full waste basket near the computer console in front of her.

It was Tuesday, barely noon and Chloe was struggling to keep her eyes open, but with the ever growing files and information that kept coming into Watchtower she refused to go home. There was just too much to get done. She pressed the mouse and scrolled through another page before pausing to blink rapidly at the screen.

Chloe groaned lightly and pulled her hands to her temples rubbing them gently for a minute before moving them back to the keyboard. Her head was pounding, her throat and back were sore and her nose was running. She’d been sick since Sunday night, but hadn’t had a chance to really rest with the Kandorias running amuck and the whole aftermath of the Justice Society, Icicle debacle.

But sick or not the team needed her there. Dinah, A.C. and Bart were currently running a recon mission in Germany, following up a lead on another possible Lex sighting and they were due to link back up with Watchtower and check in, in an hour.

She double clicked one of the icons on the desktop, typed in a password and brought up the paperwork she’d put together for the Kandorians before signing into a program to access the logs from their tracking devices. Chloe was in the process of reading through the logs when the double doors were pushed open, but she didn’t bother looking up.

Oliver made his way into Watchtower carrying a Styrofoam cup filled with Chloe’s favorite latte and immediately paused at how warm it was in the room. He frowned as he glanced around looking for the blonde in question when he heard typing coming from a few feet in front of him.

He shifted and walked further into the room finally seeing Chloe sitting in a chair in front of the large screens. His frown only deepened when he took in the area around her work space. There were tissues, cough syrup, cough drops, and a large bottle of Aleve scattered around her as her fingers pounded diligently away at the keyboard.

He had no idea what she was working on, but it was obvious that she was feeling under the weather. What in the world was she doing at Watchtower? He cleared his throat and she turned her head to glance at him and right as she did a strange look covered her face before she scrunched her nose and let out a loud sneeze barely covering her mouth in time.

He watched her grab a tissue and wipe her nose before tossing it in the garbage. When she faced him this time he could see the glassy look in her eyes and her red nose. Oliver arched an eyebrow, voice holding a hint of concern as he spoke.

“What are you doing here Sidekick?”

Her brows furrowed, voice hoarse as confusion filled her face. “Is that supposed to be a trick question? Why wouldn’t I be here? I work here.”

He pointed to the mess around her, “You’re sick.”

“And you’re tall…did you come by here just so we could rattle off facts to each other because if that’s the case you could have just called. I’m busy.”

He pursed his lips together noting her foul mood which he was sure was due to whatever sickness that was working its way through her system. Oliver held up the cup in his hands, voice light, “Actually I was trying to be nice…thought I’d stop by with a dose of caffeine for you see if maybe you were hungry…and possibly wanted to grab some lunch…but I can see that’s not in the cards for today.”

She spun around in her chair slightly her face softening. “I’m sorry…I’ve just got a ton of stuff to do, I appreciate the coffee though, thanks Oliver.”

She reached out for the warm beverage, but he stepped back and shook his head. “No you don’t…why are you here if you’re sick…you should be at home in bed.”

Chloe snorted and went to grab for the coffee again, but this time he held it over his head and she scowled taking note of the serious look on his face. “Oliver…”

He could hear the warning in her tone, but he ignored it. Ever since he’d had that little one on one talk with big bird a week or so ago, Oliver had been reevaluating what and who was important in his life. And he’d noticed in the past few months there was one person in particular that had become increasingly important to him.

And that person was the angry blonde currently glaring at him. He set the coffee down on one of the computer stands behind him, voice soft as he spoke. “Chloe…you should have called me and told me you were sick. You realize I can have Victor link up to Watchtower from Star City and hold down the fort if you need to take it easy for a few days.”

She shook her head another sneeze letting loose from her throat as her hands came up covering her mouth. She scrunched her nose while looking at him, “I don’t need a few days off…I’m fine. Can you please just give me the coffee?”

Oliver frowned before giving her a curt nod and moving towards her computers. Her eyes widened slightly as he reached out clicked a few buttons and logged her off the system. She opened her mouth and he spun around to face her, voice stern. “You’re officially cut off.”

She glared, “Excuse me?”

He nodded as he went about collecting her things and tossing them in her purse. “You heard me starting right now you are officially taking a sick day. I’ll call the office and cancel the rest of my meetings for the day after I get you back to the penthouse.”

Chloe stood there flabbergasted, an incredulous look covering her slightly pale face. “A sick day? The penthouse? What?”

He grabbed her purse before lifting the cup of coffee off the stand, depositing it in her hands and guiding her towards the exit. Chloe was confused. What had just happened? She could feel Oliver’s hand at the small of her back as he gently nudged her into the elevator.

She didn’t know what was going on with him, but he’d been acting increasingly strange lately and she wasn’t sure why. The elevator jolted, the doors sliding open and he once again placed his hand against her lower back guiding her towards his car. He opened the door and she paused, a suspicious look covering her face as she watched him closely.

“Why are you doing this? I told you I was fine…”

Oliver let out a sigh as Chloe tensed in front of him. He leaned against the car door and pursed his lips, voice attempting a comforting tone as he spoke.

“Chloe…you’re one of my closest friends…I know it might not always seem like it, but you know me better than anyone else…you are always helping me out…and now it’s my turn to help you. You’re clearly sick,” he held up a hand, “and before you protest it’s okay…believe it or not we all get sick…good to know you’re human…sometimes with the hours you keep I wonder…”

His voice trailed off and she could see the humor in his eyes. She rarely ever let anyone take care of her and she wasn’t really sure she wanted to show Oliver her vulnerable side. But in his defense he had been there for her quite a bit lately…maybe it was time for her to put her faith in someone again even if it was with something small.

She bit her lip, her shoulders deflating slightly as she gave up the farce of being fine, a small pout forming on her lips as she tilted her head to the side gazing in his direction. “My whole body hurts.”

Oliver moved away from the door a sympathetic look on his face, “Aww Sidekick…come on. Let’s get you to bed.” She snorted lightly as he helped her into the passenger seat, took the coffee from her hand and placed it in the holder while helping her buckle herself in.

“I bet you say that to all the girls.”

Oliver smirked as he shut her door, moved over to the driver’s side, got in, started the car and pulled out of the underground parking lot onto the street. He winked at her as they made a left turn heading towards his penthouse. “Only the special ones.”

Not even fifteen minutes later he was pulling into the parking garage of his building and turning off the car. He got out and she groaned as she shifted, unbuckling the seat belt before he pulled the door open and leaned inside the car.

He slid his hands under her body and lifted her up startling her as she tossed an arm around his neck tightly, eyes bulging. “Oliver! What are you doing?” He chuckled at her panicked voice as he kicked the car door shut and walked towards the elevator.

“I’m carrying you upstairs…what does it look like I’m doing?”

Chloe swallowed hard, her hand pressed against his hard chest. She’d never been this close to Oliver before and it was slightly unnerving. Her cheeks flushed as his hand brushed against the curve of her ass as he reached toward the panel on the inside of the elevator to type in the code.

He mumbled a short sorry before the elevator started to move. She cleared her throat, voice still hoarse, but now she was unsure if it was due to her sore throat or the proximity of their bodies. “You can put me down…I’m fine.”

He shrugged with one shoulder as he leaned against the wall, “It’s fine…you’re making me feel useful…you know how I love playing hero saving the damsel in distress…” He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes.

“You might be a hero, but I’m no damsel in distress Mr. Queen…I can hold my own.”

Oliver nodded as the elevator chimed and the doors slid open. He walked them into his apartment and nodded. “I know…which is all the more reason for me to enjoy this because really when’s the next time you’re going to let me parade around acting all chivalrous and cavemanly without slapping me back in my place?”

She laughed lightly before covering her mouth and letting out a few small coughs while nodding. “Point taken.”

He walked her all the way back to his bedroom before placing her down until her heels hit the floor. She shifted on her feet and glanced around taking in the unique, but clean design of his room. The space was open and bright, but still managed to have hints of green and black woven through it.

Chloe stood there awkwardly and Oliver raised an eyebrow, “What’s wrong?”

She gave him a sheepish look and shrugged, “I’ve never seen your room before…it’s weird. Not the room…being in it.”

Oliver waggled his eyebrows as he moved towards his dresser, “If I had known you were so eager to see it I would have brought you here sooner.” Chloe scoffed as he dug around in his drawers and pulled out a pair of boxers and a t-shirt for her.

“Please you’re bedroom is the last place I’m eager to see…god knows what kind of depravity has gone on in here.”

She glanced at the clothes and arched an eyebrow at him as she took them. “What is this for?”

He motioned to the bed, “For you to change into. You can’t honestly say you’re comfortable in that…so change, relax. I’m gonna call my office and tell them I’m working from home and then I’ll call Victor and let him know he needs to log into Watchtower for the day.”

Chloe opened her mouth and Oliver shook his head as he backed out of the bedroom, “No I don’t want to hear it…whatever it is I don’t care…change hop into bed…I’ll order you soup or something…and no worries there hasn’t been too much depravity lately so the sheets are safe.”

He gave her a cheeky grin before moving out the door and down the hall. Chloe shook her head a small smile forming on her lips. She gazed around the room before shrugging and changing into the clothes Oliver had offered her.

Five minutes later her skirt, shirt, heels and bra were all tossed on his chair as she stared at his bed practically salivating at how incredibly comfortable it looked. The silk sheets were calling to her extremely tired body. She reached out a hand hesitantly and pulled the blanket back before crawling into the overly large bed.

As soon as her warm skin hit the cool sheets she groaned, eyes sliding shut as her body melted into the bed. The door creaked slightly as Oliver ducked his head in, calling out to her softly. “Chloe are you all changed? I’ve got some medicine for you…”

There was a slight grunt and he pushed the door open further as he caught sight of her in his bed. He paused licking his lips as his eyes traveled up her legs to his boxers then shirt and finally landing on her mused curls spread against his pillow.

Oliver’s heart thudded in his chest as he took her in and it occurred to him how right she looked laying there in his bed, his clothes hugging her curvy body. He swallowed hard as he took a step forward, brushing a hand against her cheek.

“Come on Chloe…let me give you some medicine and then I promise you can go to sleep.”

She scrunched her nose in the most adorable way before her eyes fluttered open and he handed her the pills. She pushed herself up slightly, wincing as she took the pills from him, tossing them in her mouth, pulling the cup of water from his outstretched hand and taking a large sip.

Chloe handed it back to him as he helped her lie down, brushing the hair away from her forehead as her eyes closed again. “I’ll be right outside if you need anything…I’m gonna call Emil to come take a look at you later too…”

Oliver pulled the covers up over her body and she let out a content sigh before nodding. He moved towards the bedroom door again and he heard her mumbled voice call out o him. “Thanks Ollie…for taking care of me.”

His heart melted slightly a small smile settling on his features though she couldn’t see it, “Anytime Sidekick…that’s what friends are for right?”

She nodded her breathing evening out as he watched the blonde fall into a deep sleep. Oliver made his way out of the bedroom and closed the door slightly to keep the light out so she could sleep.

Carter’s words about having a connection with someone…and not wanting people to know how important they truly were to him once, again rushed through his head. Oliver let out a small groan…Oh yeah…he was definitely in trouble.