Fic: Letting Go (Chlollie 16/20)
Banner by: energis121bgd
Author: Poetgirl925
Title: Letting Go
Rating: R, based on later chapters
Summary: When Chloe's life starts to unravel both personally and professionally, she decides some major changes and a fresh start may be the answer to her problems.
Fandom: Smallville
Pairing: Chloe/Oliver
Status: WIP, approximately 18-20 chapters at completion
Warnings: Spoilers through Siren, but goes AU from there.
Disclaimer: I own only my original characters appearing in the story.
View photos of the original characters in the story. View dresses worn to events in the story.
Chapters: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7
Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15
“In a surprise press conference today, District Attorney Robert Landers announced plans to indict Star City Mayor James Whittaker, along with former city councilwoman Helen Jenkins, on charges of international weapons trafficking, money laundering, conspiracy, aggravated kidnapping and battery, and attempted murder. Landers stated that his office will work in conjunction with federal prosecutors to determine charges at both state and federal levels.
Star City residents awoke to the startling news of Whittaker’s and Jenkins’ arrests following their implication in the kidnapping of Star City Gazette reporter Chloe Sullivan. Ms. Sullivan, the investigative reporter who broke the story on Jenkins’ alleged involvement in weapons trafficking months ago, was abducted by force yesterday from the alley behind Café Firenze on the corner of 5th Avenue and Knox Street.
Sources inside the police department confirmed that Ms. Sullivan was being held in a warehouse near the south end of the city. Upon arrival, police found ample evidence to arrest both Whittaker and Jenkins, along with several others at the scene. Ms. Sullivan was found unconscious inside the warehouse and was then rushed to Star City General Hospital. According to a brief statement issued by hospital staff this morning, she is expected to make a full recovery. Although the circumstances leading to her rescue are still unclear, it is believed that the Star City Police Department, as well as the California Bureau of Investigation, received the information from resident vigilante Green Arrow.
Landers confirmed that the warehouse belonged to the late Nicholas Donovan, who was infamous as the head of Star City’s notorious mob syndicate before his death fifteen years ago. In another astounding announcement, Landers said police now have evidence pointing to Helen Jenkins’ ties to both Donovan and the mob syndicate. Jenkins’ popularity among the citizens of Star City assisted Whittaker in his quick rise to mayor, and the two are believed to have colluded together in the misuse of city funds as well as in the use of Jenkins’ charitable foundation to mask illegal arms dealing.
Whittaker and Jenkins are being held pending a hearing to determine bail, though Landers stated he will ask that both parties be denied bail on the grounds that they are considered a flight risk. If convicted of these charges, both Whittaker and Jenkins could face life in prison.
“You know you’re supposed to write the news, not be the news, right?”
Chloe glanced away from the news report on TV as Clark entered the hospital room. “I was wondering when you were going to make an appearance.”
Clark walked over and sat in the chair beside her bed. “I was here earlier, but you were still sleeping. And Lois has been here, and Oliver, and… I just didn’t want us to have an audience the first time we talked. I was afraid it might be awkward.”
She couldn’t help smiling at that and reached through the bed rails, finding Clark’s hand as he met her halfway. “I think it only has to be awkward if we let it be awkward.”
Clark scooted his chair closer. “Chloe, I’m sorry. Victor tried to reach me the second the news broke, but I was at the Fortress. By the time I got back, the story was all over the national news and Lois was in full-on panic mode.”
“And probably terrorizing everyone around her,” Chloe concluded. “Clark, it’s ok. I know you would have been here if you could have. Luckily, I’m pretty hardheaded. Now, why were you at the Fortress?”
“I decided a few months ago to start my training with Jor-El.”
She raised her brows at that. “And how’s that going?”
“Surprisingly well,” he admitted. “I guess you could say we’ve reached an understanding, and he doesn’t seem to think my human side is such a liability anymore. It gives me insight into a lot of situations that are outside his experience.”
“Such as?”
“He plugged himself into the real world as part of our agreement, and let’s just say he doesn’t get human behavior at all.”
Her laugh turned into a groan. “Ow.” She reached to gingerly probe the back of her head.
“Are you ok?” Clark’s eyes focused on her head for a moment before he relaxed.
“Did I just get a Clark scan?” His sheepish expression confirmed her theory. “Emil says I’ll be fine, you know. And as overbearing as Oliver has been ever since I woke up, I’m sure he triple checked everything. The nursing staff kind of hates Ollie right now, and I’m pretty sure Lois is on their list too.”
“At least they knew you were okay by the time we got here,” he pointed out. “She started making calls after that.”
“I’m aware. Lois told me that my dad will be here tomorrow.” Chloe still wasn’t sure how she felt about that. She wanted to be happy about it, but things had been strained between them for so long that she didn’t know how to find her way back to the relationship they’d had when she was younger.
He nodded. “My mom will be here tomorrow too. And Lois said Lucy and the General are coming, but it might be a couple of days before they arrive. How are things now? With your dad I mean.”
Chloe shrugged. “The same I guess. Things have been increasingly weird between us since my last year of high school. First with Lionel and witness protection - I get the feeling that he thinks I ruined his life.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Clark said gently. “He loves you. I think the two of you just need to talk.”
She bit her lip and nodded, eyes downcast as she plucked at a loose thread in her blanket. If only it were that simple.
“Hey.” He reached out and put his hand over hers. “It will work out.”
“I’m sorry that things have been so broken between us,” she replied, turning her hand over in his and linking their fingers together.
“I think we both had a hand in that, Chloe. I’m sorry that I made you feel like I was manipulating you. And maybe I was, but it wasn’t intentional. Everything just felt wrong when you told me that you were leaving.”
“Leaving was about me Clark, not you. And my decision to cut the cord between us was a bad one. I thought starting over meant letting go of the past completely.”
“I just want to try something,” Clark said hesitantly.
Chloe smiled up at Clark as he smoothed her hair back gently, but her smile faded as she met his intent gaze. He was going to kiss her; she was certain of it. And as his hand slid down to cup her cheek, she didn’t try to stop him.
His lips were soft and warm, his kiss full of love and friendship, familiarity and comfort. It was something she had dreamed about so many times over the years, and she knew she would cherish this memory of Clark just as she did so many others because in this moment, it was about her. There was no Lana or Lois - she was certain that in this moment, it was only about them. But despite the part of her that rejoiced in finally having him, she knew something was missing. There was none of the passion she felt when she was with Oliver; none of the spark that threatened to burn her alive from the inside out. When Clark pulled away from her, she wrapped her arms tightly around him as she put her childhood love behind her once and for all.
“I love you, Chloe,” Clark said, pressing his lips to the top of her head as he hugged her.
“I know,” Chloe replied softly. “I love you, too. You know that, right? That I’ll always be here for you?”
“I know. You’re my best friend, Chloe. And sometimes it feels like it should be more, but we can never seem to get it right. And now there’s Oliver.”
Chloe sighed and pulled away before reaching for his hand again. “Clark, what did you feel just now when you kissed me?”
“I felt loved. It felt safe,” he replied without hesitation.
Knowing how important it was to get this right, Chloe tried to channel her emotions and her thoughts into a coherent response. “But when you’re in love with someone, it’s not always safe, Clark. Remember how you felt about Lana? It was about the fire, and it was passionate. That’s what I feel when I’m with Oliver. And it’s messy, and it hurts sometimes, and it’s complicated… because of you and because of Lois. And I think deep down you know that I’m right, and you deserve to have that with someone else. Because we’ll never be that for one another - not now. I think this is how it was always meant to be with us.”
Clark was silent for several minutes, staring at his fingers twined with Chloe’s. “I know you’re probably right, Chloe,” he finally said, his eyes meeting hers. “But there’s still a part of me that doesn’t want to let go of you completely.”
“You don’t have to let go completely,” she said with a watery smile. “That’s where I messed up, Clark, and I’m so sorry that I hurt you, that I hurt both of us that way. Moving forward doesn’t mean you have to let go completely. You just have to hang on a little less tightly and give yourself room to grow.”
Clark smiled back at her. “Since when have you been so smart?”
Chloe snorted. “Since birth?” She slid her fingers away from his for a moment before linking her pinky finger with his. “Besties forever, right?”
“That’s a promise,” Clark replied, remembering for a moment a much younger Chloe who had given him his first kiss all those years ago. He smiled wistfully. “I’ll always be here for you too, Chloe. And I hope Oliver recognizes how lucky he is to have you in his life.”
“He gets me, Clark,” she answered softly. “I know that he often exudes a careless, flippant attitude, and it seems like he doesn’t always take his relationships with those around him seriously, but he cares about people - about the world - more than anyone realizes. He wouldn’t do what he does, or take care of everyone in his life the way he does, if that wasn’t true.”
“I know,” Clark said. He thought about Oliver’s tension and fear as they waited for Chloe to wake up. Whatever Chloe’s feelings were for Oliver, it was clear they were reciprocated. “I just want you to be happy Chloe.”
“I am happy. And a lot of that has to do with you being here right now. How long are you staying?” She leaned back against the pillows.
“I’m here through the QI gala. Since I came early because of your kidnapping, my editor told me to stay and do a piece on that story, too. And Lois is already planning your birthday party.”
Chloe raised a brow. “Then you’d better keep that super hearing tuned in and derail her if she starts getting too crazy with her ideas, especially if she gains Ollie’s financial support. There are weekends in Vegas ending in blackouts and 24 hour marriages that seem tame in comparison to some of the birthday bashes I’ve seen her throw.”
A knock on the door interrupted them, and they both turned as Emil Hamilton walked in. “Sorry to interrupt, but I have some of your tests back, Chloe. I just want to go over them with you.”
Clark looked back at Chloe. “Do you want me to leave?”
She shook her head and looked at Emil, who shut the door and made his way over to the foot of her bed. “So what’s the verdict?”
Emil adjusted his glasses. “Chloe, I’ve been monitoring your progress. At first when the emergency room doctor gave me his prognosis and it didn’t match up with the tests that came back, I thought he had just made a mistake; he could have been tired, and head injuries are tricky to begin with. Now, I don’t think that’s the case.”
Chloe tried to ignore the little burst of anxiety she felt and asked, “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I think you are somehow healing at an accelerated rate,” he answered. “So I ran some blood tests on my own - they’re not officially part of your chart.”
She nodded. “And you discovered my meteor infection.”
“So you do know.” Emil glanced at Clark.
“Clark knows too.”
“And Oliver?” When Chloe shook her head, he continued. “Do you mind telling me what you know of your meteor abilities?”
“I can heal people of injuries. But I only discovered that last year, and it’s never worked when I’ve injured myself before. This is not my first hospital encounter by a long shot,” she pointed out.
“There could be a lot of explanations,” he mused thoughtfully. “It’s possible that your healing ability is getting stronger. It’s also possible that it only kicked in because of the life threatening nature of your injuries. If the first doctor was correct, you most certainly could have died.”
“Well it’s sort of a moot point now - I’m fine.” She couldn’t help feeling a little defensive any time the subject of her meteor ability came up. She’d spent months in Star City trying to forget, trying to be normal for a change, and the reminder that she was a freak wasn’t welcome.
Clark raised a brow at her dismissive tone. “Chloe, he’s just trying to help. And the more we know about your ability, the better. It wouldn’t hurt to have Emil looking into it from the medical side.”
After a moment of silence she said, “I don’t want Oliver to know. Not right now anyway.”
“Chloe, you’re still my patient. And even though Oliver pays me for help with the team, I won’t violate doctor/patient confidentiality unless you tell me that’s what you want.”
“Fine,” she sighed. “What do you want to know?”
**
Oliver whistled as he headed towards Chloe’s room, stopping when he saw Lois seated in the waiting area. He handed over one of the coffees he was holding. “One hazelnut, black. And may I say that your coffee order is a hell of a lot less complicated than Chloe’s?”
She took the cup and said, “I’d wait about going in if I were you. Clark’s in there, and they looked like they were having a moment.”
“A moment, huh?” Oliver sat down, wondering how to take that. “Of the good or bad variety?”
“More like of the kissing variety,” Lois replied bluntly.
The jealousy that ripped through Oliver took him by surprise. He reminded himself that he and Chloe were still in the friend zone. But he knew there was something more between them; not for the first time he wondered how Clark fit into that. “Well. Friends kiss, right?”
“I think Clark has had more than friendship on his mind ever since Chloe left,” she explained. “That possibility has always dangled between them; one will feel it, and then the other, but never at the same time, you know? At least, not since early on in high school. There was Lana, and then Jimmy, and then Lana again. It’s why I didn’t try to talk Chloe out of leaving. She needed the distance.” She picked at the sleeve on her cup, something Oliver remembered she only did when she was upset.
Oliver kept his eyes on Lois, wondering if he was imagining the reason for her distress. “You have feelings for Clark, don’t you?”
Her fingers stilled. “This isn’t jealousy, Ollie. I would never stand in the way of Chloe’s happiness, and she was in love with him for a long time. I’m just not sure Clark is clinging to those feelings for the right reasons, and that worries me.”
“And Chloe?”
Lois raised a brow. “I think you’d know better than me, wouldn’t you?”
“It’s not like that between us.”
“Please. The media have been running photos of the two of you for months. And if a picture is really worth a thousand words, yours scream love, lust, and too many other things to even list right now. So tell me again how it’s ‘not like that’ between the two of you.” She raised a challenging brow as she took another sip of her coffee.
“It’s not… yet, anyway. I do have feelings for her,” he admitted. It surprised him how easy it was to admit that to Lois. “But we haven’t talked about it yet.”
“And what’s your impression of Chloe’s feelings?”
“That she feels the same way. But it also felt like whatever was going on between her and Clark was hanging there between us. I still don’t know what happened there.” Oliver was certain that Chloe had feelings for him; he just wasn’t sure they were strong enough to compete if Clark had finally decided he wanted her.
He’d been sure there was something more than friendship between them when he first met Chloe and Clark, and it had been months before he found out Chloe had a boyfriend named Jimmy. Even then, he’d figured it was only a matter of time. And when he’d learned that Clark was with Lana again, he was surprised because Chloe knew and accepted all of his secrets, and he could trust her implicitly. He couldn’t figure out why Clark wanted a relationship based on lies when there was an alternative - a very attractive one at that.
His thoughts were interrupted when Clark stepped out of Chloe’s room and walked over to join them. “According to Emil, Chloe’s doing really well today. He’s going to keep her for another day or two as a precaution while they’re running tests, but he says she can probably go home after that.”
“Good. That means the birthday planning can commence.” Lois held out her hand to Oliver. “Card, please.”
Oliver raised a brow. “Why would I ever give you my credit card, Lois?”
“Because I am being totally cool about my ex having the hots for my baby cousin,” she retorted. “And I can smooth over that bump when the parental units arrive because something tells me the General and Uncle Gabe aren’t going to totally approve. Now, the black Amex will do nicely.”
Oliver smiled and shook his head as he dug out his wallet. “That’s a no on the black Amex, but this one should suffice,” he replied as he handed over a card.
“I’m buying birthday outfits for me, Chloe and Lucy with this too,” she warned, pocketing the card triumphantly.
“I think my card can take that hit. And you should involve Lanie and Ashlyn in the planning. Ashlyn has a lot of pull here, so she can get you into the venue of your choice,” he said. Lois had met both women the previous evening, and they’d all seemed to get along well.
She held up her phone. “I have their numbers. Now, I’m going to visit with my favorite cousin for a little while and then I’ll get started on the birthday bash planning.”
Clark eyed Oliver as Lois walked away. “You realize giving her your credit card may come back to bite you…”
“In the ass?” Oliver laughed. “It’s just money. All kidding aside, I trust her. And she has a point about me owing her.”
“Because of Chloe.” Clark pushed up his glasses.
“You know, I still can’t get used to you wearing glasses,” Oliver commented. “Whose idea was that?”
“Mom’s. She worries.”
The two men were silent for a moment, and Oliver wondered if he should be the one to mention the elephant in the room or if he should wait for Clark to bring it up. Then he thought about the two of them kissing. Screw it. “So I guess we should talk about Chloe.”
“Are you in love with her?” Clark suddenly asked.
The bluntness of the question took Oliver by surprise. “I don’t think we’re quite there yet, Clark. We’re kind of toeing the line between friends and more right now. But to be clear, I do have feelings for her and I’m not walking away from that because I know she feels something for me too. And I’m done ignoring it, so it’s something I plan to discuss with her as soon as possible.”
“I think having that talk would be good for both of you,” Clark finally said. At Oliver’s surprised expression, he explained, “I love Chloe. I’ve always known that much. But trying to figure out the difference between platonic and romantic love where she’s concerned has always been kind of difficult for me.”
“Maybe that’s a sign,” Oliver pointed out.
Clark nodded. “Maybe it is. Just be sure before you go to her Oliver. I don’t want to see her hurt the way you hurt Lois.”
“I think even Lois would agree that things ended with us where they should have,” he said evenly.
“It’s not an accusation.” Clark stood up. “Anyway, I have a story to write up for my editor.”
“There are rumors coming out about Jenkins’ connection to Donovan,” Oliver said. “It’s not official yet, but the CBI apparently uncovered payments made from Donovan to Jenkins’ mother, and they corresponded with Jenkins’ birth. It’s widely known that Helen Jenkins grew up on the wrong side of Star City - her mother was a cocktail waitress, no father on the scene. They think now that Donovan was her father. It’s probably worth looking into before you write up your story. Just be sure to share that with Lois unless you want to be on the wrong end of her wrath.”
“Thanks. I’ll see what I can dig up.”
After Clark left, Oliver leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. Talking to Chloe about what he wanted from their relationship was something he was eager to do, but he also didn’t think the hospital was the place for that discussion. Patience had never been his strong suit, and the enforced waiting was beginning to wear on him. But with Lois’ approval and a greater conviction that the only thing between her and Clark was friendship, he at least felt better about broaching the subject with her.
Her birthday was in just over a week, and he thought that might be the perfect time. If everything went the way he wanted, she’d be his date for real on the night of the QI gala. And once he had her, he wasn’t letting go.
A/N: The story will start picking up speed from here, and I’m happy to finally be on the downhill slope with this one. I’ll try to keep posting regularly because I’m hoping to finish the story this month. Only 4-5 chapters remaining (depending on where I break the chapters.) More updates soon, and thanks for being patient with me!