brittany2922

Banner by miss_morrygan

Title: Everything Changes With Time…
Author: brittany2922
Summary: 4 years after the events of Lazarus, Chloe Sullivan suddenly comes back to Metropolis. But her relief to be home is short lived when she realizes how long she's been gone and how much has changed…
Characters: Chloe Sullivan, Oliver Queen, Lois Lane, Clark Kent, Dinah Lance, Bart Allen, Victor Stone, Author Curry, John Jones, Perry White
Rating: PG-13 for now
Genre: Angst/Romance
Words:2,520
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Spoilers through episode 10x2 Shield

Chapter 2

"Queen."

"Oliver?"

"Hey boy scout, what can I do for you?"

Clark took a deep breath, "Are you sitting down?"

"No I'm in the gym, but go ahead anyway."

"Oliver, you really need to be sitting for what I'm about to tell you."

"Well that doesn't sound good, what's wrong? Is one of your fellow Kryptonians trying to take over the world again?"

"No. Look Oliver you really should sit down."

"All right, all right, I'm sitting. Now what's going on?"

"It's Chloe."

"Chloe?"

Clark could hear the pain in the other man's voice at the mere mention of her name.

"Oliver, she's alive."

Oliver's hands shook as his pulse began to race and his breath caught in his throat. He opened his mouth to speak but as hard as he tried no words would come.

"Oliver?" Clark said the concern evident in his voice.

He stared blankly, the words spoken by the other man replaying over and over in his head.

"It's Chloe."

"Oliver, she's alive."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was the news that he had been waiting four years to hear.

He had searched for her for years.

Followed every lead that he had found and all of them had led to one dead end after another.

"Oliver, are you there?"

"Could you repeat that?" he asked shakily, he wanted to hear the words again.

"She's alive and she's here at the farm with me."

"I'm on my way." Oliver said jumping to his feet and rushing to his bedroom to start packing a bag.

"Oliver, I don't know if that's such a good idea right now."

"Why the hell not?" he asked stopping his movements mid step.

"She asked me not to call you." Clark answered quietly.

Oliver shifted slightly until his back was resting against the wall of the hallway, "why?"

"Look Oliver, I'm sorry, I had to tell her…"

"Tell her what?" he asked fearing he already knew the answer.

"About you and Dinah."

"Why would you do that?" he asked softly shaking his head.

"Because Oliver, all she could think about was getting me to bring her to you. It was the only way I could get her to stay put and rest," he paused for a moment, "besides I thought she had a right to hear it from a friend."

"She should have heard it from me." Oliver said weakly.

"What would you have me do Oliver, bring her there and when we show up she finds not you but Dinah? That would have broken her heart worse then me telling her."

Oliver tensed as Clark said the words, but knew that the other man was right, "Clark I need to see her. I have to explain."

"I know, just give me a few days to ease her into things, and try to find out what exactly happened to her."

"No that's too long; I can't stay out here knowing that she's there. I need to see her." He rubbed a hand over his face, "Please Clark, I know that technically you could keep me from her, but I'm begging you not to."

"All right, I understand, but give me until tomorrow; I need time to give her a heads up that you're coming."

"Fine. I won't fly out until tomorrow morning."

"Okay."

"Hey Clark?"

"Yeah?"

"How is she?"

"I don't know Oliver." he answered honestly, "When I found her some guy was trying to mug her or something, then I brought her back here and all she wanted was to get to you. She is pretty beaten up physically, and emotionally as well I'm willing to bet."

"She hasn't told you anything about what happened to her."

"She didn't want to talk yet; I thought it was best not to push her."

"That was probably the right choice." He said cringing at the memory of what the men she traded herself to had done to him in the twenty four hours they had him. He didn't want to think about what they had probably done to her over the past four years. "I'll be there tomorrow." he said finally.

"All right we'll see you then."

Oliver pressed end disconnecting the call.

The flicker of light reflecting off of his gold wedding ring caught his attention, and he looked down transfixed on the one thing that could now keep him and Chloe from finally getting their happily ever after.

He let out a small bitter chuckle at the term 'happily ever after' it was a term he had never believed in until he fell in love with Chloe Sullivan, and now they may never get their chance to have it.

Even through his fear and uncertainty of her reaction to where his life had gone he also felt a surge of happiness and relief.

Chloe was alive.

There was always a part of him that had never given up hoping that she would come back to him.

Even after all the time that had passed.

Even when everyone else had given up all hope, a small part of him never had.

He still dreamt about her almost every night and reveled in the memories that would flood his mind nightly.

Memories of the woman he had loved more then anybody else that came into his life before or after.

He pushed himself from the wall. Slowly he made his way out of the bedroom and toward his hidden Green Arrow room in the back of his walk in closet. Once inside he closed the door behind him and walked to the hidden drawer underneath the arrow display case.

Pulling it open his breath caught in his throat at the sight of her beautiful smiling face.

It was there just like it always was. The picture she had left for him. The only picture he had of her from their time together. Sure he had managed to find pictures of her from her high school, and Clark had plenty as well, but this was the last and only picture taken of her after her doomed wedding to Jimmy Olsen.

He ran his fingers over her face. It really was the most beautiful picture he had ever seen of her even though she had hated it and complained that she looked horrible in it.

Then he reached back in the drawer and pulled out the email of her final words to him…

Oliver,

I never thought I'd have to tell you how I feel about us because the smile on my lips when I looked at you pretty much said it all, but now that you won't be seeing it anymore, I'll have to use words to tell you.

I've never loved anyone the way I've loved you and I never will again.

You will always be my brightest star…

My knight in shining leather…

My hero…

He felt his chest tighten as he read the words that had haunted him for the last four years. She had written that he was her hero but he had failed her. He hadn't saved her."Oliver," a voice spoke from behind him as he felt a small hand gently touch his back.

He turned toward his wife whose gaze drifted to the items in his hand and frowned deeply.

"What are you doing?" Dinah asked a slight edge to her voice her eyes never wavering from his hand. She reached out pulled the objects from his hand.

He watched as she flinched at the sight of what had become his most treasured keepsakes.

He didn't respond, he knew there was nothing he could say to ease the sting he was sure she was feeling right now.

Oliver left the room and walked toward their bedroom, "I gotta head to Metropolis for a couple of days," he called over his shoulder.

She turned and stormed from the room the picture clenched firmly in her hand, "Why?" she asked following behind him.

Oliver started throwing random clothes in a duffel bag.

"Oliver. Why are you going to Metropolis?" she repeated.

He took a deep breath and turned back toward her, "it's Chloe." he answered honestly.

Dinah's face went pale. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.

"She's alive." he continued, "and with Clark and Lois at the Kent farm."

"So what you're just taking off and running to her side." she said angrily crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her eyes.

"Yes." he turned his attention back to packing.

"Fine, I'll come with you." she said making her way toward her own dresser, and pulling out clothes of her own.

Oliver hesitated for a moment, "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Because this is something I need to do on my own, there's no reason for you to come," he said not bothering to look back at her.

"Like hell there isn't." she spit out, "you're my husband." she held up her left hand bearing her engagement rind and wedding band to prove her point.

Oliver cringed when he heard the words "my husband" coming from her and realizing that the woman that had sacrificed herself for him knew that he hadn't waited for her to come back to him.

"And she's… Chloe"

"That's right I forgot, she's the sainted Chloe Sullivan. The eternal martyr."

Oliver whipped around, "Don't ever talk about her that way. Do you even understand what she did for me? What she sacrificed?"

"Oh trust me I'm fully aware of what she did for you, I've been living in the shadow of her 'heroic act' and your memory of her for too damn long."

Oliver turned back to his packing without responding. He knew what she was saying was true, and he wouldn't disrespect her even more by denying it. She never could live up to Chloe, she had always been the one he had truly wanted.

Even at his wedding when he had watched his bride walk down the aisle he had silently prayed that when the veil was lifted it would be Chloe behind it, and when he saw Dinah's face in front of him he had felt a surge of disappointment and heartbreak.

It wasn't fair to her, Dinah had been good to him, and she had helped him survive what had happened with Chloe. But as much as he wanted it to none of that mattered, this was Chloe, his sidekick, his watchtower, and the love of his life.

"I don't want to hurt you," he admitted quietly.

"But you're still going?"

"I'm sorry, but I have to."

The silence that followed was deafening and was only broken by the sound of her heel clad feet storming off and a slamming door.

Lois entered the bedroom and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her baby cousin lying motionless on the bed; the sound of her breathing was the only thing she could hear.

She slowly made her way to the bed and looked down at her. For the last four years everyone had thought that she was dead, well everyone except for Oliver, who never gave up hope even to this day she was sure.

She smiled sadly knowing that even though Chloe was back she had a very hard road ahead of her.

She moved to the side of the room and pulled a chair to the side if the bed causing a small scraping noise against the hard wood floor.

Chloe's eyes shot open and she quickly sat up her eyes searching the room around her. "Lois," she said finally when her eyes seemed to focus on her cousin.

"Oh Chloe," Lois stood from the chair and sat on the edge of the bed and hugged her cousin tightly. It only took a moment for her to feel and hear the sobs racking through her cousin's body. She sat on the bed and turned herself so she was sitting straight up her back against the headboard and placed Chloe's head in her lap brushing her fingers through her cousin's hair, and tried to hold back her own tears as she listened to Chloe sob uncontrollably…

A/N thank you so much for all the amazing reviews I received for the first chapter of this story. It was the best response I've ever gotten for anything and I really appreciated it. So PLEASE keep them coming.

Also sorry for the long wait on this update I've been crazy busy, I haven't even hada chance to read many stories over the past few days. So I can't wait to read some new Fanfic, Next update ASAP!

I really hope this one didn't disappoint! *finger's crossed*

Chapter 3- Chlo-Lo, some Chloe and Clark, and the Chlollie Renunion! Excited?

Read Chapter 3 HERE!