Undercover Chapter (14/14)

Banner By: Kyra_and_co

Chapter Thirteen: The Knight in Shinning Leather

Chapter 14
‘The Beginning in the End’



Chloe sat on the small examination table her hand sticking slightly to the sheer paper on it. She sighed as Oliver leaned against the wall flipping through the newspaper in his hands trying to keep himself busy, without much success. All he’d been able to think about since he’d rescued her from the facility was how he’d failed her. How he let Lex violate the woman he loved…and Chloe…she’d barely spoken about it.

The first night he got her home…she spent the entire night in his arms, hands gripping his body tightly crying for hours on end. She would stop and he would finally think there were no more tears left, but then, minutes later they’d come again. It had broken his heart. He’d never felt more guilty in his life. He was supposed to be a hero…her hero…and he’d let her down.

The next morning they’d been sitting at the table and when he attempted to broche the subject about how they were going to handle things she had tensed up and said she wanted to call Emil. Her tone had been clipped and she refused to say much more about it. Oliver had already briefed Emil on what happened and had gone with her to see him.

They hadn’t even been in the office five minutes when she asked that he get it out of her. The look on her face alone as she had begged Emil to reverse what Lex had done almost made him break down right there in the hospital. Emil had tried to calm her down, reassure her and explain her options but she hadn’t wanted to hear them.

It took a while to calm her down but when Oliver was finally able to he told Emil to do whatever Chloe wanted. Chloe clearing her throat startled him out of his thoughts and he glanced back down at the paper before turning the front page towards her his voice light as he broke the silence between them.

“You’re positive that this was the woman?” She turned her head catching sight of the headline ‘Young Doctor Slain in Explosion.’ A large photo of the facility in the middle and a small photo of Doctor Regina Wright towards the bottom of the page. She nodded.

The article was of course a lie. By the time Oliver had gotten out of the facility with her all the heat signatures had left. Lex killed Regina Wright…not the explosion. She was sure of it. “Yea…she was the informant…”

Oliver’s jaw tensed and he nodded as he put the paper down and shook his head. “I knew her…she used to work with Emil…I ran into her at the hospital not long ago when we were here with Lois…I wanted to introduce you two…”

His voice trailed off and she could already see him starting to blame himself again. It had been three days since they took down Lex’s facility. The team had dropped all three wives off at Metropolis General Hospital and within the hour Jean Paul, John, and Lex all made their way to the hospital.

When Oliver had seen Lex, it had taken Carter, J’onn, and AC to hold him back. But eventually they were able to calm him down enough to get him to leave. It pissed her off to no end that they couldn’t nail him…at least not for this. They didn’t have any evidence linking him to what happened expect Chloe’s word, which unfortunately wouldn’t go far in court with Lex’s lawyers.

She tilted her head to the side and let out a small breath. “Ollie…we’ve already gone over this a dozen times…this isn’t your fault. Please stop blaming yourself. He fooled all of us all…me most of all…if this is anyone’s fault it’s mine…”

He frowned ready to tell her this was not her fault when she continued speaking a hint of confusion filling her face. “And why would you want to introduce her to me?” He glanced over at her and Chloe stretched a hand out to him.

Oliver appreciated her reassurances, but it didn’t help the guilt that filled him. He pushed away from the wall taking it as he stood in front of her before bringing her hand to his lips, placing a kiss there, and speaking softly. “She was the lead doctor working on a cure for your Mother…” Chloe’s eyes widened, her voice slightly taken aback. “You have a team of doctor’s working on a cure for my Mother?”

Oliver frowned. “Of course I do…When I gave her a place to stay in Star City…well what did you think I’ve doing all these years?” Chloe opened and closed her mouth several times, tears brimming in her eyes as she cupped his cheek.

She couldn’t believe he’d spent all the years looking for a cure. Her finger caressed his cheek lightly and he leaned into the touch, brown eyes meeting green as she spoke. “I just thought you were keeping her away from Lex…but it means so much to me that you’ve been trying to find a cure…thank you.”

He turned his face once again kissing her palm before placing his hands on her hips, a small grin sliding onto his lips. “You’re very welcome Sidekick.” She returned the smile and leaned up wrapping her arms around his neck pulling him down for a short kiss right as the door opened.

Oliver sighed at the interruption and pulled back glancing to his side and seeing Emil. He shifted so he was standing next to Chloe as Emil made his way back into the room. He glanced down at his clipboard before coming to rest in front of them.

When he looked up he could see the tension in Oliver’s body as he rubbed gentle circles on Chloe’s back. The blonde in front of him arched an eyebrow as she tried to appear calm, but he could see the underlined anxiety surrounding her.

He gave them a small smile, voice calm when he spoke. “Relax, the procedure went well. I was able to remove the embryo. Everything should be fine now.”

Oliver’s body unclenched and he smiled. “That’s great news…so why do you look like someone just ran over your dog?” Chloe’s hand squeezed Oliver’s gently as she chuckled lightly, happy that he was there to break the tension in the room. Emil watched them closely before leaning back against the counter and shrugging.

“Because this is still a very serious issue… The thing about implantation is it takes 14 days to know whether or not the embryo has actually secured to the uterine wall…that wasn’t the case here. Chloe’s body was showing early signs of pregnancy, which I’m still slightly confused about. These embryos though an amazing leap in genetics and technology are dangerous. Do we know if he had more than just what was in that facility? Or a better question, was anyone else implanted? Or was it just you?”

Oliver and Emil both glanced at Chloe and she shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t know…I mean I guess it’s possible, but I can’t really be sure.” Emil nodded while folding his arms over his chest. “Well…I suppose we’ll figure things out…I kept the embryo to study. I still can’t believe that Regina was involved in this.”

He shook his head brows furrowed. Emil had known her for a long time and she didn’t seem like the type of woman that would have gotten mixed up in all of this stuff, but then again money was an amazing motivator for most.

Oliver patted Emil on the back lightly, “I’m sorry about that…I know the two of you were friends. I hate to say it, but we need to recheck all our medical files and data. Make sure it’s still secure, especially out in Star City. Can you check in on Moira?”

Emil nodded before glancing at Chloe with a smile. “You’re Mother is doing quite well out in the Star City facility. You should come visit her some time I’m sure she’d like that, even if she’s not awake at the moment.” Chloe gave him a small smile. “I might just do that.”

The room grew silent and Emil cleared his throat as he glanced back down at his clipboard. “I have a script for antibiotics for you. I’d like you to take one a day for the next ten days…also for the next few weeks or so your hormones are going to be a little out of balance because of the fertility drugs Lex was injecting you with. So, don’t freak out if you randomly break down crying…or anything…”

A horrified look crossed Chloe’s face as she glanced between Emil and Oliver. “Burst out crying? Oh my god I’m not actually going to do that am I?” Oliver chuckled his hand once again rubbing comforting circles against her back. “Even if you did Sidekick we’d still adore you.”

Emil smiled and handed her one script before lifting his prescription pad off the counter as he spoke, “I need to see you back here in a couple of weeks for a follow-up…I noticed something slightly odd with your blood work, but it could just be the side effects of the procedure and the embryo that was introduced into your system.”

Chloe frowned, Oliver’s arm tightening around her as he spoke. “Is this something we should be worried about?” Emil shook his head. “No, no right now…like I said just keep your follow-up appointment I should be able to clear everything up then.” Chloe nodded expression slightly pensive. Emile glanced back at the clipboard and spoke yet again.

“Oh and you also asked for a script for birth control right?” Chloe bit her lip and flushed lightly. “Uh…” Emil glanced up eyebrow arched. “No?”

She swallowed heavily, face still tinged red as she nodded. “I did.” The dark haired man held out the second script and she took it as Oliver grinned, voice teasing. “Looks like someone’s gonna get lucky…” Chloe snorted as she hopped down from the table. “And it’s not gonna be you if you keep it up.”

She smiled at Emil as she grabbed her bag and headed towards the door. “Thanks again for all your help, and you’ll let us know what you find when studying…everything?” Emil nodded. “I will.” Oliver tossed the paper he had been reading into the garbage as he followed Chloe to the door, grabbing the scripts gently from her hand.

“So…how long do the pills take to go into effect? Do you pop one in and then we can just go at for hours until neither one of us can move…cause if that’s the case I say we ditch going to Watchtower and head to my place instead…”

Chloe’s chuckle floated through the door as Emil watched them go shaking his head and grinning at Oliver’s words, knowing that things weren’t nearly okay, but thankful that Oliver was around to help Chloe through everything that had happened.


_______

Lex pushed the door to his car open, got out and tossed the valet his keys. He went through the sliding glass door and made his way in the main lobby of the hospital. He glanced at his watch and sighed. It had been a long few days.

Between the facility blowing up, the Justice League, and keeping the press off his back he was exhausted. After he’d had his men take care of Doctor Wright, he’d made his way out of the facility making sure there was nothing left that could be traced back to him.

When the masked vigilantes delivered Lana, Crystal, and Maria to the hospital they had told the authorities that he was there and a part of the kidnapping. He had only been able to spend twenty minutes with a barely conscious Lana before he was brought down to the Metropolis PD.

He’d spent two nights in jail and they had released him early that morning. They’d gone through all of his things and he had let them. Phone records, business records, and even his personal belongings. When they found nothing linking him to the crimes they had no choice but to let him go.

He’d filed a very public lawsuit against them within minutes of being released to which the lot of the Police force was blaming the Justice League for. Lex passed the security in the hospital and nodded to them as he made his way to the elevator and pressed the up button.

Seconds later the door was opening and he was stepping inside to make his way up to Lana’s room. He’d had his doctors keep her in the hospital until he was able to come and pick her up himself. The elevator chimed, doors sliding open before he stepped out.

He walked down the hallway and made a left at the end of it. He turned into the second door on the right and grinned as he saw Lana tossing the hospital gown on the bed as she fixed the sweater she had just pulled over her head.

“Well if it isn’t the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen…” Lana spun around and her eyes widened. She ran forward and threw her body at him, arms wrapping around his neck as he chuckled while resting his hands on her lower back.

“God I’ve missed you.” She relaxed in his arms and nodded. “Me too…being away from you…it was horrible and then those guys…I can’t believe everything got so turned around.” He pulled back from her slightly cupping her cheek as he nodded, concern filling his features.

“I know…what happened out there Lana?” Her brows furrowed as she concentrated trying to remember, but nothing came to her. She shrugged as he rubbed her arms comfortingly. “I don’t know…I remember being taken from the fundraiser…and bits and pieces of being in the white room…and then Chloe getting tossed into the room with us…but that’s it.”

He nodded. That was good. That was all she was supposed to remember. Before he and Doctor Wright had come into the room to start the procedure on Chloe, he’d had all three woman injected with a serum that would wipe their memories of the last few days.

Not one of them had been able to report a description of anything relevant that happened, which only made his case against the police station stronger. He leaned in and placed a kiss against Lana’s temple. “I’m just glad you’re back…I’ve been going crazy looking for you. I was the one who asked Chloe to talk to the vigilantes she knew…we worked together to find you.”

Lana frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense…why would they accuse you of being behind this then? If they worked with you to help find us?” Lex shrugged, “I have no idea…though I’m starting to think it was because of that protest a while back about the vigilantes being able to do whatever they want…they wanted to start a campaign for a Vigilante Registration Act and I supported it…ever since then I’ve been on their radar…”

She nodded. “I remember that…well the police let you go because you’re innocent and we’ll make the Justice League pay for trailing your name in the mud. I promise.” Lex smiled as Lana leaned in capturing his lips with her in a short kiss.

He rested his hands on her hips, voice light when he spoke. “Are you all set to go, did the doctors give you the all clear?” Lana’s face brightened. “They did…actually there’s something I need to tell you…”


_______

Chloe and Oliver made their way down in the elevator to the main lobby, heading for the front entrance and froze. There were dozens of reporters outside and several police officers attempting to keep them out of the way. She tilted her head to the side and glanced at Oliver.

“How did they know we were here?” He sighed lightly before taking her hand in his and giving it a light squeeze. “I don’t know. Someone probably tipped them off…we’re going to have to deal with it sooner or later.”

She nodded and straightened up, “You’re right…and look I think that’ J’onn out there…he said everything is ready…we might as well get it over with.” Oliver nodded as they continued to move to the sliding glass door. The second they stepped foot outside they were bombarded with flashes and questions shouting from every direction.

J’onn gave them a nod and a small smile before addressing the crowd. “Everyone please stay behind the barricades, if you have a question for Mr. Queen or Miss Sullivan you can ask it one at a time. I’d like to once again thank them for their courageousness in helping with the Metropolis Police Departments undercover mission.”

He stood next to Oliver and shook his hand as several pictures were snapped before moving over to Chloe and doing the same. J’onn had not been able to convince the entire world that Oliver and Chloe hadn’t gotten married. It was beyond the range of his powers so he’d come up with a more effective plan.

It had taken him several hours to plant ideas and memories into the minds of several of his fellow officers and detectives that they had planned an undercover mission involving Oliver Queen and Chloe Sullivan.

When it had been announced on the news two days prior there has been uproar in the community and things still hadn’t died down, but it provided the cover that Chloe and Oliver needed to release them from their fake marriage.

Oliver held up a hand for the crowd to quiet down and when they did he spoke. “We’d like to officially state for the record that Chloe and I were never really married, but posed as husband and wife to help the police draw out the kidnappers. We worked alongside the Metropolis PD and The Justice League. And we’re glad this nightmare is finally over.”

One reporter stuck her microphone towards them as she shouted, “Is it true that you were working with Lex Luthor to help find the missing women including his wife? And if so why would the Justice League falsely accuse Lex Luthor of working with the kidnappers?”

Oliver tensed and Chloe opened her mouth to respond when another voice interrupted from the side of the front entrance. “That’s exactly what we’d like to know.” At the sound of Lex’s voice Oliver’s grip tightened almost painfully on Chloe, but his face stayed emotionless as Lex and Lana made their way over toward them.

Lana’s eyes widened in relief when she saw Chloe and pulled the other woman into a heartfelt hug. Several pictures were snapped of the woman embracing and Oliver met Lex’s eyes. He clenched his fits and counted to ten to himself in an attempt to keep his cool.

The mirth dancing in the other man’s eyes made him want to reach over and strangle him, but all that would do was get him arrested and make him look bad in the papers. They had no tangible proof that Lex was behind this and with his bad mouthing the League…Oliver couldn’t take any more hits to his reputation at the moment.

Chloe pulled back from Lana moving to the side as Oliver and Lex continued to answer some of the press’s questions. She gave her friend a hesitant smile, “How are you feeling? They kept you in the hospital longer than Crystal and Maria…I was worried.”

“I’m doing a lot better now. They wanted to run some tests and things, but I’m doing okay. I still can’t believe that you and Oliver faked a marriage to help me.” She chuckled lightly, her face sobering as her voice turned soft. “You’re my best friend Chloe…I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She pulled her into another hug and Chloe swallowed hard. When the team had first accused Lex and he was arrested, she’d tried to explain to Lana that they wouldn’t lie and she really should listen, but Lana had only gotten angry.

She brought up all the years that Chloe had been painting Lex in a bad light and explained that she understood Chloe was only being a friend, but until she could come up with proof to back up her allegations her loyalties lied with her husband.

And so after that she stopped bringing it up, Lex had been right…Lana wasn’t going to choose her over the man she loved…not unless she had proof and so…she’d wait until she did. A hand on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts.

She moved away from Lana and towards Oliver who hooked an arm around her waist pulling her away from Lana and to his side. Lex pressed a hand against Lana’s lower back as the four of them stood there, on opposite sides of each other.

Though Oliver’s posture was tense, his voice was soft when he spoke to Chloe. “J’onn is clearing a path for us so we can head out.” She nodded. “Good.” Her eyes were back on Lana as she ignored Lex, not even bothering to acknowledge his presence.

To anyone else Chloe might have seemed calm, but Oliver knew better. Her body was rigid against his side and her nails were clipping his skin at the intensity of her grip as she spoke voice even. “You were saying they kept you here for some tests…is everything alright?”

Lana glanced at Lex and he shrugged before she moved to his side and placed a hand against his chest, a bright smile blooming on her face. “Well…it’s funny you should ask.” She took a deep breath and glanced between Chloe and Oliver, excitement in her voice. “I’m pregnant…Lex and I are going to have a baby! After all this horrible stuff to come back and find out…it’s a blessing. The doctor said it was a miracle that nothing happened to the baby while we were kidnapped…Isn’t that amazing?”

Chloe’s eyes finally drifted to Lex, and the look of coldhearted victory that stared back at her made her sick to her stomach. Her body wavered slightly and Oliver held her steady. Lana frowned, a hint of concern in her voice. “Chloe are you alright?”

She nodded as she held onto Oliver tighter, putting on her best poker face. “I’m fine, still feeling a bit sick is all…that’s…really great. I’m happy for you Lana. Congratulations.” Before Lana could say thank you Lex cut in, “Our car is here…we should really get you home to rest. The doctor said you should take it easy.”

She nodded and gave Chloe and Oliver a small smile before waving. “Thanks again, both of you for helping find me.” They nodded as Lex guided her to the car and slid into the car behind Lana. As it slowly pulled away, he glanced out the window at the two blondes standing there watching them, his lips sliding into a cruel smirk. Chloe and Oliver might have won the battle, but they wouldn’t win the war.


_______

Chloe groaned slightly as Oliver dragged her down the hallway towards the double doors of Watchtower. “Ollie…I thought we were going to go back to your place.” He arched an eyebrow, amusement dancing on his features.

“We were?” She nodded with a small pout and he stopped right in front of the closed doors to lean down and place a chaste kiss against her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck as one of his hands cupped her cheek before sliding into her tussled curls.

When they broke apart, she slid one hand down to his side as his caressed her back. Oliver’s voice was soft as he placed a kiss on the tip of her nose. “You scared the life out of me when you disappeared back there…”

Her face softened and she tilted her head back so she could see him better. “I’m sorry…but the important part is you guys found us and saved the day as usual.” She smiled, but Oliver didn’t return it. He shook his head, voice filled with regret.

“I was too late…you shouldn’t have had to go through that Chloe…no one should…least of all you.” She sighed the smile leaving her face and he saw the shutters coming up. He gripped her arms gently. “You’re doing it again…you’re shutting me out.”

“Ollie…”

“No, don’t Ollie me…you’ve been having nightmares…last night…the night before. Chloe you’re hurting…let me help…let me be there for you.” Her eyes teared up as he pleaded with her and she looked down, voice shaky as she spoke.

“I’m not ready…I’m not trying to shut you out Ollie…I’m just not ready to talk about what happened. I’m not ready to deal with it yet. I just want to focus on finding a way to put Lex behind bars and to get Lana to finally see what a monster her husband is.”

She looked up and cupped his cheek, “Please just give me time…I promise when I’m ready you’ll be the first person I talk to about it. But right now it’s too fresh…I just want to focus on something else…that’s what I need right now.”

He swallowed hard and nodded before attempting to smile through his own red-rimmed eyes. “Okay…in that case there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.” She brushed at her eyes before watching him affectionately and smiling.

“Oh yeah?” He nodded as he slid both arms around her waist. “Remember how you said we’d figure this out when the mission was over?” Chloe tilted her head to the side and gave him a thoughtful look, mischief dancing in her eyes.

“Hmm did I say that?” He leaned down and placed a kiss against her neck before glancing back at her face. “You most certainly did.”

“Ahh…” He smirked and arched an eyebrow at her as he spoke. “And well…the mission is over…” Chloe gave him a mock surprised look. “It is?”

“Yes Sidekick, it is…so tell me this thing between us…what is it exactly?” She studied his face for a long moment before her voice turned serious. “That depends…what do you want it to be?” Oliver pursed his lips and sucked in a deep breath, brown eyes meeting green.

“I want you. I want us to be together…no games…no missions, just Chloe and Oliver in a relationship. I know that we’ve had our fair share of bad relationships…” He winced before continuing. “But this…you and me it’s different. I honestly believe this will work. All of the things that made our other relationships bad aren’t an issue between us.”

He paused and moistened his lips, voice lowering slightly. “And I know you’re worried about our friendship…and the team, but…it’ll work Chloe…we can make it work.” She could see the hope in his face and she smiled as she leaned up and pressed a kiss against his chin, her voice a whisper when she spoke.

“You know…you could have just stopped after the, I want us to be together part.” She shifted back so she could meet his eyes again, humor in her voice, but her eyes soft. “Ollie this isn’t something you need to convince on…these past couple of weeks with you…something changed and I don’t want to go back to the way we were. I don’t want to pretend there isn’t more here because there is…”

Oliver’s smile beamed down on her and he leaned down capturing her lips in a long drawn out kiss that had her moaning in the back of her throat. He only pulled back when air was necessary. “You are coming home with me tonight.”

She pulled out of his arms and smirked eyebrow raised. “Is that an order Hero?” He nodded and grabbed her hand as he started to pull her to the double doors again. “Damn right it is Sidekick.” He pushed open the doors and as soon as they walked in a loud shout started her.

“WELCOME HOME!”

Oliver grinned at the look of surprise on Chloe’s face as the team moved forward to greet them at the door. Lois was of course the first one there, not that it surprised Oliver in the slightest. She pulled Chloe into a hug with her good arm.

“It’s about time you two got here, what did you do stop off for some nookie on the way?” Chloe flushed and Oliver waggled his eyebrows as he guided Chloe further into the room. She shook her head at her cousin before rolling her eyes. “There was traffic Lois…and we needed to make a statement for reporters…”

Lois smirked as Clark came to her side and leaned over placing a kiss on Chloe’s cheek. “Good to have you back Chlo…sorry I couldn’t help with the rescue.” She gave him a good natured shrug. “It’s s’okay.” The next person to greet them was Mia.

She yanked the older woman into a tight hug as she spoke quickly. “I’m so glad you’re okay. Oliver wouldn’t let me and Courtney come to help, but we stayed and helped Victor guide the guys through the mission.” She pulled back and Chloe gave Mia a warm smile, voice quite as she addressed the teenager in front of her.

“Sometimes technical support makes all the difference.” She winked and Mia grinned. Courtney waved and then came over when Mia shifted to the side. She hugged Chloe and then smiled as she pulled back. “Thank god you’re okay. Don’t ever get kidnapped again…do you know that the team is totally lost without you?”

She motioned to the line of guys behind her as she continued speaking. “They had no clue what to do…it was actually kind of sad.” Chloe chuckled and grinned before looking to her left and catching sight of Bruce. Her eyes widened slightly before she made her way over to him.

“What are you doing in Metropolis?” He gave her his patent smirk and shrugged, “I couldn’t miss the welcome back party for my favorite Sidekick.” Oliver frowned, his voice traveling over everyone that was talking. “She’s not your Sidekick she’s mine…get your own.”

The team laughed at his words as they moved in to get their chance to make sure Chloe was okay and say hello. Fifteen minutes later Lois had turned on the stereo system, music blaring in the large room as Bart, Victor, AC, and surprisingly enough J’onn used one of Chloe’s larger monitors to hook up Xbox Kinect and were currently in the middle of a Call of Duty Black Ops showdown.

Courtney and Mia sat on the couch laughing at the guys as they attempted to shoot each other on screen. Across from them Oliver watched as Clark, Carter, and Bruce debated something about the agenda in local news, while Lois and Dinah stood in the kitchen arguing over what drinks to make next Margaritas or Strawberry Daiquiris.

He leaned against Chloe’s desk, arms lazily crossed against his chest as he watched his team…their team and warmth filled him. Chloe walked over to him, nudging his side with her hip before leaning against the desk next to him.

He glanced over at her as she looked around the room face flushed with happiness, body relaxed as she spoke softly. “What are you doing over here all by yourself Romeo?” He shifted moving an arm to rest behind her as she leaned into his side. He shrugged.

“I’m just…taking it all in. We’ve got a great team here you know that?” She turned away from the room and glanced at him. “Yeah…we do.” She swallowed hard her smile fading for a second. “What are we gonna do about Lex?”

Oliver pursed his lips, voice steady when he spoke. “We’ll keep on doing what we’re doing and eventually we’ll get proof Chloe…I promise you. Until then…this isn’t the end…it’s only the beginning.” He glanced over at her and smiled. Her face softened and she squeezed his hand lightly.

Oliver was right. It was only a matter of time until they had what they needed to send Lex to jail for a long time…and until then they’d just keep on doing what they were doing…helping people, preserving justice one mission at a time.