Turn the Page (5/?)
Author: 
serafina19
Title: Turn the Page
Rating: R
Summary: Oliver Queen meets Chloe Sullivan right before his life takes a turn for the worse. Together, they work to find peace in their lives and justice for the people they have lost.
Warning: coarse language, adult content, AU
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Chapter 5
“Dinner was great, thanks.”
Chloe smiled as she pulled back her stool, not really sure what the plan was, so she went into the main area, within walking distance of the exit in case.
"No problem.” Oliver sensed the apprehension in her voice, her subtle glance towards the elevator. Part of him wanted to let her leave the clocktower, as she wasn’t the only nervous one. But he couldn’t ignore the truth any longer. “Can I get you anything to drink?”
“No thanks,” Chloe said, holding her stomach. She didn’t intend to eat that much, but that was some of the best food she had in a long time. Then again, it wasn’t like her Chinese take-out set the bar very high. He could also tell that she was enjoying it, so he kept it pushing it towards her.
It wasn’t something that he regretted, as her reaction got him to smile. But it soon fell, knowing what was next. It was supposed to be easy, he had recited what he was going to say, but now that the moment was here, everything he had planned had faded away.
He needed something to take the edge off. “Do you mind if I …”
Chloe shook her head. “Go ahead.”
It didn’t take him long to find his scotch and pour himself a glass, but as he stared down at it, Oliver realized everything that everyone had warned him about. He realized they were right. Even though he had his reasons for this, there was a chance that by waiting as long as he did, he’d scare her off.
Based on what little he knew about Chloe Sullivan, she didn’t trust easily, but she had taken the chance to trust him. If he told her the truth, that he sought her out on a few occasions, would she continue to trust him? Because it was about more than recruiting her now. Oliver had grown to appreciate her presence in his life and he didn't want to lose that.
However, even his silence had consequences, as Chloe had watched him for the past few minutes, wondering what was on his mind. It felt like everything had changed since they had left the kitchen. “Are you okay?”
This wasn’t the guy that greeted her earlier tonight, the guy that teased her throughout dinner. She couldn’t see much of his expression, but this was closer to the expression she had caught him with earlier this week, also with a scotch in his hand.
That’s why Oliver put the glass back down, abandoning it on the table. No matter how much he wanted it to help, he knew it wouldn’t do any good. “This is going to be harder than I thought,” he admitted loud enough for Chloe to hear.
She swallowed hard, her earlier worries coming back to the surface, so she took a step back, ready to tell him that she’d see him around, but his words stopped her. "Chloe, I have a proposition for you."
"O…kay." Chloe wasn’t sure how to interpret that.
But it appeared that Oliver thought she had. "Not like that." It wasn’t his best word choice, and he couldn’t help but jump to the physical interpretation. However, in trying to find another word to replace it, Oliver was coming up with blanks. "Well, it's..."
Her eyes narrowed, trying to piece together what he was trying to tell her with little success. "What?" was all she could say.
"I'm trying to figure out how to say this without sounding like a crazy person,” he said as his hand came up to rub the back of his neck. Closing his eyes, he decided that the straight-forward approach was probably the best. "We're... working the same case."
Her mouth gaped open. "I'm sorry... what?"
"I guess in your case, it would be a story."
Despite how much she wanted to maintain a strong face, Chloe’s teeth tugged slightly at the inside of her cheek. "Oliver, I told you, my journalism career is behind me."
He smirked, recognizing that she was right about her lying abilities. "Maybe for the Daily Planet, but not when it comes to the cause of Jimmy Olsen’s death.”
This time, there was no hesitation in her stepping back. “How did you know that?” Sure, he knew a few people in her life, but there was no way he could know that.
But he did, and Oliver knew that he had to tread carefully. “You know what it's like to feel completely alone, but it will get better one day... right?" Quoting her own words got a reaction out of her. "Except it hasn’t, has it? Because the person who killed Jimmy is still out there and they’re connected to the people involved with my parents' plane going down."
She blinked, letting the words sit in. All this time, she wondered why this had happened, but now, things were a lot clearer. "This wasn’t an accident, was it?"
Those crazy coincidences, the stories he told her, maybe it was all a big lie. That was supposed to make sense, but this wasn’t the first time he looked at her like this. It wasn’t much, but his eyes were enough to freeze her, so she watched him swallow this time, which provided an answer to her question.
But what Chloe didn’t realize was that the answer wasn’t that easy. “I’m not sure I can answer that anymore and I don’t blame you if you want to leave now.”
Except saying that caused her to move her foot forward. “How much of this was real?” Because as much as she wanted to leave, it took a lot of courage for him to come clean. There had to be a reason for that, and she owed him that much.
“Almost all of it,” he replied. That was where their problem currently lay, because until a few minutes ago, it almost felt like he wasn’t lying to her. He had forgotten that he knew more about her than she realized. “On paper, you were always qualified for this position, but I wanted to get to know you first. And I knew the only way for you to let me in, was if I did the same.”
She shook her head. “You already know my stance on working for Queen Industries.”
“This is a little different.” Watching her tilt her head, Oliver chose his words wisely, trying not to tell her more than necessary in case she said no. “It requires technical expertise, maybe a bit of field work.”
His phone buzzed in his pocket, so Oliver knew that he had to work fast. “This is simply a combine and conquer initiative to stop these people. My team seems to think you're trustworthy and based on these last few months, I believe you are too."
"Your... team?"
Hearing his phone buzz again, Oliver pulled it out of his pocket and put it on the table. "You work with us, take these guys down. The only down side is you have to help maintain my cover.” He sighed. “With things picking up, I need someone who can either verify my whereabouts through a fake photo or an actual appearance. You are uniquely qualified, what with the press already jumping to conclusions."
Taking a few steps forward, he gauged her reaction to his proximity. "I'm not asking you to do anything you're not comfortable with, but I guarantee you’ll find more answers working with us."
"Hard to say no to that," Chloe replied, trying to keep her breathing even as he kept approaching her. “Will I… will I get to meet the team?”
“If you’re in, then absolutely.”
Breaking eye contact, she had to focus on the whole offer. “And if I’m not, I assume that all this is off the record.” Not that he had to worry about that. Chloe may have just met Oliver, but that didn’t mean that it was a stretch for her to believe he was looking for justice for his parents.
Still, he nodded. “It would be best for both of us.” Because the wrong people finding out about this would lead to people looking down holes that he couldn’t afford right now.
For a second, Chloe thought she was staring into a mirror. The way he was looking at her, the conviction he held for the truth, not just for her, but for him. It took a lot for him to admit what he just did and she knew that they wouldn’t be standing here if he didn’t think she could help.
She knew what she had told people all this time, what her hesitations were regarding letting people in, but this time felt different. "In that case, I'm in."
“Really?” He had honestly expected more questions from her, but he wasn’t about to argue, as relief came across his face.
Moving past him, Chloe brought her head up, letting herself grin a little. “I’ve hit more dead ends than I like to admit and you’re as likely to let this go as I am.” That was one of the perks to this situation. “The personal connection is there for both of us and I’m not about to ignore your connections and capital.”
"Great,” he said, walking forward because that he didn’t have much time to get ready. “Then Evie will fill you in on the rest."
Chloe whirled around in time for Oliver to pass where she was standing. Her eyes widened before she asked, "Evie?"
That’s right. Their personal affiliation wasn’t as obvious as others. Regardless, he kept his nonchalant attitude as he stood in front of the clockface. "She should be here in five minutes." Or rather, right away, as the elevator noises started up behind them.
Regardless of timing, his response didn’t answer her question. "Why not you?"
"Because what you’re about to join is much bigger than my story and it's my night to patrol." Pulling apart the two sides of the clockface, he didn't even bother to look back and see her reaction as he changed in front of her. "As you know, the city's crime rate doesn't go down by itself."
Gone were the slacks he was wearing, as he had prepared for this beforehand and put his leathers on underneath. He then grabbed his vest to put over his shirt, when he heard approaching footsteps. It was this moment that his curiosity got the best of him and he finally turned around.
It was a good thing that he never bet anyone on her reaction to all this because he would have lost. Her eyes weren't wide, her lips were relaxed, while her mind worked a mile a minute. She was so transfixed by the room that she almost didn't see him looking at her, but once their eyes met, she smiled.
"That... explains a lot." Turned out Lois was right, she would end up asking Green Arrow for help after all. Speaking of her cousin, "And Lois is going to kill me for keeping this secret."
Oliver was about to respond, but someone clearing their throats behind them caused both of them to look towards the elevator. Leaning against the gate, Evie smiled. “And that means you're in. Welcome." Walking quickly to join Chloe and Oliver in his Green Arrow room, Evie dropped the papers she was carrying on his desk. "Oliver, the specs you wanted."
"Thanks," he replied, not wanting to go into further details right now. That was a mission outside of what Chloe was recruited for and he didn’t want to drag her into everything else just yet.
However, she hardly noticed the papers, as she was still trying to figure out everything that had just been revealed to her. Eventually, Evie decided to call Chloe on it. "What?"
"I'm just... happy to see you're involved in all this." It shouldn’t have caught Chloe this much off-guard. Evie was the face of a meta-assistance charity, she was dating Victor, and related to Bart, yet Chloe figured she was the exception to the rule of normal people when it came to the presence of metas.
"You have no idea," Evie replied, bumping shoulders with Chloe as she walked by to grab a glass of scotch.
"Yeah, I'm getting that idea," Chloe said with a chuckle. "Echo... that's you isn't it?"
Evie lifted her glass in a mock-toast. "Guilty."
"Evie, give us a sec,” Oliver called from behind them. When Evie nodded, Chloe turned around and took a moment to remind herself that Oliver Queen was Green Arrow.
"If you're worried about secrets, you don't have to,” she said. “I've known Vic and Bart for years, they can-"
"That's not why I wanted to talk with you." He sighed before reaching out to take her hand in his. "Don't get mad at her, but Evie and Victor have both expressed that you're reluctant to let people in because of this, that you don't want to lose anyone else because of these people."
This wasn’t the first time he had done something like this, but her reaction of looking down at their hands was the same. "Oliver, I already told you that you’re different and I'm in. What more is there to know?"
"The simple fact that we are a team,” he said while squeezing her hand. He had caught her reaction both times, but this time, he wasn’t letting go because he wanted her to pay attention to what he was about to say. “That means we tell each other our suspicions, but more importantly, we trust each other with our moments of weakness. It may not look like it, but I can see why people trust you, and I'm hoping that you can trust us one day."
Chloe’s mouth stretched into a smirk. "Us meaning you?"
"Both." He shrugged as he let go of her hand to slip down his sunglasses. "See you around," he added with a smile, turning his head to look at Evie across the room. “Vic’s running the comms?”
“Yeah, he was online when I left.”
“Thanks Evie.” Oliver lifted up his hand to turn on his comm. "Arrow online."
Chloe was tempted to follow him out of the room, wonder how he got away with this when he left from his own place. But when he disappeared from the room, Chloe felt her feet still in place as a whole new world opened up around her.
That’s why she looked back over to her friend. Chloe knew that Evie and Oliver knew each other, what with Victor being the youngest head in Queen Industries and the elder Queens’ commitment to H.O.M.E, but it appeared to be much more than that.
Feeling the stare, Evie shook her head. "Okay, can you just say it so you don't have to look at me like that?"
"You're a meta," Chloe said, for a start.
"I am related to Bart."
"Yeah, but... your powers are different." Although Chloe couldn’t exactly define what those were. Most metas had one ability, but that wasn’t the case with the elusive Echo. For the most part, there were conflicting reports, and it wasn’t like she appeared often with the group. Now knowing it was Evie, all the pieces were coming together, and Chloe wondered how she didn’t figure this out before.
"I have no idea how it happens, genetically-speaking, but it happens more than you think.” Streaming her fingers through her hair, Evie leaned against the couch. “Trust me, I'd trade mine for his any day if I knew he could handle mine. I'm practically a female Clark without the alien heritage or the expectations."
Evie’s eyes popped up, waiting for Chloe’s reaction. "You..."
Yeah, she knew. "Vic filled in the blanks I was in the process of filling myself. When I found out about the Blur, I… I wanted to know him. I wanted to know how to find hope in freedom.”
Evie swallowed hard as she remembered those days, as it took a long time for her to accept that her life was hers again. “I had it narrowed down to a student that went to Smallville High that graduated your year. But when Victor told me that I knew him, I realized that I didn’t need to know everything after all.”
After a chuckle, she smiled at Chloe. “It answered so many questions, like why Victor reached out to you after everything. He told me how he accidentally found out about Clark’s secret, your devotion to keeping it.”
“So then why keep your abilities a secret?” Chloe asked.
“Because I was just starting over,” Evie said, taking a moment to think, as she wasn’t sure if she wanted to admit her days as a captive to Chloe without Victor here. He had given her the okay, but she knew it would be tough for Chloe to accept. “It had been a long time since I had genuine friends. Even though you were accepting of Clark and Victor, I… I was afraid of taking the chance. For a while, I thought it would keep you safe.”
Then Evie saw the extent Chloe fought for the truth, the dedication that she had for others. “Seeing you at your worst after Jimmy changed that, but I couldn’t do this without you joining the team. You knew too many of the pieces and I couldn’t tell you my truth without compromising other’s secrets.”
That made sense, as did the choice to bring Evie here tonight. But there was one question that Chloe still needed to ask. “Does Oliver know… about Clark?”
“I don’t know.” There were times when Evie was tempted to use telepathy to figure out the truth, but deep down, she figured that he’d share something like that.
Chloe nodded. “Thanks for not telling him."
"We have to look out for each other right?" She wasn’t an alien from another planet, but the sentiment remained. Not many other people were going to do it.
Unfortunately for Chloe, as some questions were finding answers, multiple new questions were forming. “So what can you do?”
Evie grinned, as she considered a show-and-tell approach, but instead settled on a direct answer. Counting them on her fingers, she said, “Telekinesis, telepathy, super hearing and… mind control I guess?”
Chuckling, Chloe realized that Evie wasn’t kidding with her earlier comparison to Clark. “That’s quite the repertoire.” She could only imagine what her friend had gone through in adjusting to all those abilities.
It wasn’t easy, especially with how much Evie had to hide the truth. Sighing as she stared down at her drink, she remembered those first few days her abilities surfaced, how much she owed her now-deceased uncle for keeping her secret in the beginning.
Initially, she blamed his death as the reason that she lost control and got caught, but in the end, it was simple naivety and stupidity, traits that came with being a teenager. Swirling the glass, she whispered, “It’s what made me valuable.” Because she didn’t feel like hiding that truth.
Chloe narrowed her eyes at the comment, but based on her friend’s expression, she didn’t call her on it. Instead, she focused on the fact that Evie’s job was a lot more personal than Chloe realized. "So... H.O.M.E. was -?"
"Was meant to help mentor people whose lives were taken apart by 33.1… or any meta who was experiencing hardship. Although it was initially intended as a place to help people start over. Like I did." It was killing Evie to give Chloe the censored version of 33.1, but they had to take this one step at a time. With a chuckle, she admitted, "After all, it takes one to know one right?"
Chloe took a step back as her friend’s words started registering. "I...wait, you were...?"
"That’s where I really met Victor. Inside a facility in god-knows-where, with four stone walls and bitter silence… when they weren’t trying to exploit us." For months, the only comfort Evie had was Victor's voice, but that voice kept her from going crazy, while she kept him from giving up.
Collapsing on the couch, Evie remembered the first time she had come here, the confusion in her eyes as she saw natural light for the first time in years. "We had little to no sign of hope, but I had one family member that believed I was still alive and he convinced the only person who would listen to him to save us. He may be the comic relief on the team, but I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Bart."
After a deep breath, Chloe walked towards the scotch, understanding Oliver’s need for it earlier. “This is why you never talk about your family.”
With a nod, Evie said, “I haven’t seen them in ten years.”
That was something that her and Chloe had in common, so even though she knew her answer, Chloe asked, "Do you ever think of going back?"
"Chloe... Evie Chambers is a name I made up for myself." It wasn’t an easy decision, but she felt like she couldn’t go back to the person she was. In other words, normal wasn’t an option anymore. "If there's one way we can relate, it's leaving our previous lives behind. The only difference is that I changed my name." She scoffed as she finished her drink. "I mean, it's just my brothers now, not much point in uprooting their lives for a sister they don't even recognize."
Because she wasn’t Emily Hopkins anymore. She wasn’t their lighthearted sister who wanted to be a sports reporter, who fit various team sports between straight A’s in the high school she never technically finished. That girl left the moment she first felt zipties tightening around her wrists.
"Must be tough," Chloe said. It probably wasn’t easy for Evie to hash up these memories, even if they served a greater purpose down the line. Because if she was inside 33.1 with Victor, then at least four years of her life had been stolen from her.
Evie didn’t have the heart to tell Chloe that it was actually five. She shrugged as she ignored the frustration that built up inside of her. "It's survival Chloe. Adapt or die right?" It was sad that she could summarize her pain in that small sentence, but those were words she had to live by.
Besides, life wasn’t that bad. In time, she had found a new forms of happiness. "But enough about me,” she said, pushing herself up from the couch. “Tonight is supposed to be about your initiation, which is about more than just me."
Chloe nodded, but there was one thing she needed to say first. “Can I just say that it’s just a little jarring that you guys know more about me than I thought?”
Her concern was understandable, but Evie knew that they would never use that knowledge against her. Partially because they knew it was only a matter of time before she knew the whole truth about them and they hoped that Chloe would employ the same courtesy.
“One day, Vic and I will tell you the whole story, but let’s just say your skeletons are a lot easier to live with than ours.” Noting Chloe’s skepticism in her eyes, Evie tilted her head. It wasn’t like Chloe had the easiest life either. “In some ways.”
“Well, this obviously isn’t HQ, right?”
Evie grinned, grateful for the switch in conversation. “No, but you’ll see it soon. Victor can’t wait to show you the database.” Her boyfriend was proud of what he had built, it gave him something that he could be proud of in his new form, as he called it. She hated when he did that, but she couldn’t blame him either.
That did sound exciting to Chloe, as she had hoped to have access to it right away, but Oliver's place was a more neutral site, a wise decision for a night like this that depended on her response. Besides, tonight seemed to be about filling blanks, while also giving Chloe a chance to know how this came together. “So I guess this is where everything started?”
“I guess,” Evie replied, knowing it wasn’t a great answer. “Honestly, Vic and I came into this about six months in, but we didn’t really care about the intricate details of the origin story once we were taken out of 33.1.”
“About that.” Chloe said, knowing it was the elephant in the room, the topic she had to broach with caution. “I was with Lex when he shut down the 33.1 facilities.” She didn’t want to question Evie about this, as her wounds were still visible, but this was something she had to hear.
“That didn’t mean that some weren’t on his radar.” At least that was mostly true. “The higher priority facilities were hidden deeper, so that’s why we weren’t released before Lionel Luthor’s death. We’re still finding sites today, but we’re determined to clean up the rest. And with H.O.M.E, I can be on the ground helping to make their lives better… no thanks to Oliver, obviously.”
Hearing his name, Chloe smiled, looking back over her shoulder towards the spare equipment in the room. “I still can’t believe that I never saw this. He really is the perfect person to fund these efforts.”
After a sigh, Evie realized that they probably shouldn’t leave those doors open. Walking up to the room, she pulled the clockface back in place. “He’s more than the funder.”
“I know,” Chloe said, and that was the real reason she didn’t see it before. Before a few months ago, Oliver Queen wasn’t on her radar. She knew next to nothing about him other than the trash on the tabloid covers, but everything had changed.
Tracing her fingers down the clockface, Evie was further reminded of her first night here, the conviction in Oliver voice as he told her and Victor that they were safe. “He’s a good leader.”
More memories came to the surface as he told them to join a team to help others, the belief that he had in helping make the world a better place. As a smile formed, Evie turned around. “He’ll never admit it, but we know it. With the way Bart used to be, he probably would have been exposed, imprisoned or killed. Vic and I…we wouldn’t know what freedom tasted like. Oliver saved our lives and he’ll never believe that he’s a hero.”
With Oliver, it was never enough. Not until these guys were stopped. Their last attempt to make them pay crashed and burned, and the whole team knew that until he made amends he’d never see the hero he was.
That sounded like him. Even before she knew about all this, Chloe had witnessed the way Oliver underestimated the good he did. “Wait a sec, does that mean that it’s his money that went into Chris’ company? Is he the real silent partner?” While the money was technically a loan, and Victor did make a decent salary at Queen Industries, it suddenly made more sense that Oliver was the real donor.
For a second, it felt like Chloe was the one who could read her mind, but still, Evie nodded. “He has his reasons for that. When you introduced me to Chris as she was opening up her shop, it gave him a way to make amends.”
Chloe's eyebrows furrowed. “But Chris loves the Green Arrow and clearly has no issues with Oliver.”
Biting her tongue, Evie had hoped that this wouldn’t come up, but now that it had, she would have to give Oliver a head’s up tomorrow. “I can’t tell you that story.” Even if she could, it wasn’t a story that she knew well and it wasn’t hers to tell. “My demons, sure, but his? I can’t, Chloe.”
~0~
Walking into the main area of the clocktower, Oliver paused as he saw Chloe standing in front of the clockface. Evie must have closed it behind him. “Didn’t think you’d still be here.”
Chloe chuckled as he talked to her with his distorter still on. Turning her phone back on, she walked towards him as she found the photo released earlier tonight showing her entering Oliver’s building. “Our names are already over the tabloids. Figured it’d be good for the cover.”
“Smart,” he said, pulling back his hood and taking off his glasses. “Is Evie still here?”
She shook her head. “She left about five minutes ago.” Victor called her to say that Oliver was on his way back, so Evie said she’d give them their privacy. Something told Chloe that Lois wasn’t the only one that would be bothering her about this. “She also raided your cabinet to celebrate… hopefully you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” Opening the room up again, Oliver quickly put his uniform and equipment back in place. Normally, he took better care, but tonight was a unique occasion. He would finish the rest of his routine in the morning. Pulling up his slacks, he added. “If you don’t mind, I’ll join you.”
Looking towards his abandoned glass from earlier, Chloe grabbed it and brought it to him just as Oliver secured the room. As he reached for it, about to thank her, she spoke first. "Oliver, did you mean it?"
"Mean what?" Oliver asked, his fingers working around hers to grab the glass.
"You trust me." For as grateful as she was to have this opportunity, this was a big deal. “I get that you have your influences from your team, but I can’t have gained your trust that easily.”
“Actually, you did.” He watched her eyes widen in front of him, so he explained, "I'm used to a few reactions to people being associated with me.” People wanting fifteen minutes of fame, people who flatly deny any association. “It's rare to have a woman in my life who isn’t afraid to tell the truth, to state that our relationship is simply platonic."
He had monitored her reactions to the increased presence of press in her life, including at work or in front of her place. "You basically looked them all in the eye and said, So what?" That meant that her talking to him wasn’t any different than talking with any other person in her life. “The extent you would go to keep our acquaintance simple, combined with the fact that you didn’t disclose anything, clinched it.”
“Our lives are our business, right?” Because anything that she did for Oliver was no different than anything she would have done for Clark. Secret keeping was something that she took seriously and from the moment they met, she knew how much it meant to Oliver.
“Right,” Oliver said, his grin widening before he took a sip of his drink. “I have to admit, you’re taking this better than I thought. Because I kind of had an advantage over you.”
She wasn’t about to lie and say that he didn’t have her worried initially, but there was a reason she accepted. “We didn’t talk all those times because you were trying to recruit me. Or at least, that wasn’t the only reason. You said it yourself that I earned your trust.” Chloe couldn't express to him what that meant to her, especially considering how her best friend couldn't even muster the courage to tell her a secret similiar to this one.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’re taking this so well.” He pursed his lips as their eyes met. “I… I didn’t want to lose you yet.”
“Ditto,” she said, chinking her glass against his before moving past him to sit down on the couch.
“So what did Evie cover?” he asked. That was the one part that they didn’t cover in their preparations. Sure, they covered some of the basics, but without Evie being here, Oliver wanted to ensure he didn’t disclose anything Chloe wasn’t ready to hear yet. For even though she’d hear it one day, learning his secret was a process, one he wanted to do right.
“Portions of her backstory, the beginnings of how she joined the team and how I’m likely working with Victor on the comms in the future.” After that, it was about filling the blanks of their friendship, little things that Oliver likely wouldn’t care about, but she felt grateful to learn.
“Any questions?”
“Yeah,” she replied, but she was going to wait to ask them for now. There was the initiation with the team still to come and she had a feeling that more answers were coming then. “But right now, all I want to say is thank you. Not just for this, but for what you did for Evie and Victor. I don’t think I got the full story, but… but it’s not everyone who believes a confused kid looking for his cousin.”
“I appreciate your thanks, but it’s not necessary. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” Saving Evie and Victor was also one of his biggest gambles, but it reminded him of what he was capable of, that he could do this. It was also refreshing having more than Hal who really got him. It was likely a sentiment that they all shared, and Oliver could only hope Chloe would do the same.
But he couldn’t worry about that right now. Instead, he found his focus shift to the fact there was a blanket laid down on the couch she was sitting on. “By the way,” Oliver said as he headed to his office, “I have three spare bedrooms, so please use one.”
Chapter 6
.
serafina19
Title: Turn the Page
Rating: R
Summary: Oliver Queen meets Chloe Sullivan right before his life takes a turn for the worse. Together, they work to find peace in their lives and justice for the people they have lost.
Warning: coarse language, adult content, AU
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Chapter 5
“Dinner was great, thanks.”
Chloe smiled as she pulled back her stool, not really sure what the plan was, so she went into the main area, within walking distance of the exit in case.
"No problem.” Oliver sensed the apprehension in her voice, her subtle glance towards the elevator. Part of him wanted to let her leave the clocktower, as she wasn’t the only nervous one. But he couldn’t ignore the truth any longer. “Can I get you anything to drink?”
“No thanks,” Chloe said, holding her stomach. She didn’t intend to eat that much, but that was some of the best food she had in a long time. Then again, it wasn’t like her Chinese take-out set the bar very high. He could also tell that she was enjoying it, so he kept it pushing it towards her.
It wasn’t something that he regretted, as her reaction got him to smile. But it soon fell, knowing what was next. It was supposed to be easy, he had recited what he was going to say, but now that the moment was here, everything he had planned had faded away.
He needed something to take the edge off. “Do you mind if I …”
Chloe shook her head. “Go ahead.”
It didn’t take him long to find his scotch and pour himself a glass, but as he stared down at it, Oliver realized everything that everyone had warned him about. He realized they were right. Even though he had his reasons for this, there was a chance that by waiting as long as he did, he’d scare her off.
Based on what little he knew about Chloe Sullivan, she didn’t trust easily, but she had taken the chance to trust him. If he told her the truth, that he sought her out on a few occasions, would she continue to trust him? Because it was about more than recruiting her now. Oliver had grown to appreciate her presence in his life and he didn't want to lose that.
However, even his silence had consequences, as Chloe had watched him for the past few minutes, wondering what was on his mind. It felt like everything had changed since they had left the kitchen. “Are you okay?”
This wasn’t the guy that greeted her earlier tonight, the guy that teased her throughout dinner. She couldn’t see much of his expression, but this was closer to the expression she had caught him with earlier this week, also with a scotch in his hand.
That’s why Oliver put the glass back down, abandoning it on the table. No matter how much he wanted it to help, he knew it wouldn’t do any good. “This is going to be harder than I thought,” he admitted loud enough for Chloe to hear.
She swallowed hard, her earlier worries coming back to the surface, so she took a step back, ready to tell him that she’d see him around, but his words stopped her. "Chloe, I have a proposition for you."
"O…kay." Chloe wasn’t sure how to interpret that.
But it appeared that Oliver thought she had. "Not like that." It wasn’t his best word choice, and he couldn’t help but jump to the physical interpretation. However, in trying to find another word to replace it, Oliver was coming up with blanks. "Well, it's..."
Her eyes narrowed, trying to piece together what he was trying to tell her with little success. "What?" was all she could say.
"I'm trying to figure out how to say this without sounding like a crazy person,” he said as his hand came up to rub the back of his neck. Closing his eyes, he decided that the straight-forward approach was probably the best. "We're... working the same case."
Her mouth gaped open. "I'm sorry... what?"
"I guess in your case, it would be a story."
Despite how much she wanted to maintain a strong face, Chloe’s teeth tugged slightly at the inside of her cheek. "Oliver, I told you, my journalism career is behind me."
He smirked, recognizing that she was right about her lying abilities. "Maybe for the Daily Planet, but not when it comes to the cause of Jimmy Olsen’s death.”
This time, there was no hesitation in her stepping back. “How did you know that?” Sure, he knew a few people in her life, but there was no way he could know that.
But he did, and Oliver knew that he had to tread carefully. “You know what it's like to feel completely alone, but it will get better one day... right?" Quoting her own words got a reaction out of her. "Except it hasn’t, has it? Because the person who killed Jimmy is still out there and they’re connected to the people involved with my parents' plane going down."
She blinked, letting the words sit in. All this time, she wondered why this had happened, but now, things were a lot clearer. "This wasn’t an accident, was it?"
Those crazy coincidences, the stories he told her, maybe it was all a big lie. That was supposed to make sense, but this wasn’t the first time he looked at her like this. It wasn’t much, but his eyes were enough to freeze her, so she watched him swallow this time, which provided an answer to her question.
But what Chloe didn’t realize was that the answer wasn’t that easy. “I’m not sure I can answer that anymore and I don’t blame you if you want to leave now.”
Except saying that caused her to move her foot forward. “How much of this was real?” Because as much as she wanted to leave, it took a lot of courage for him to come clean. There had to be a reason for that, and she owed him that much.
“Almost all of it,” he replied. That was where their problem currently lay, because until a few minutes ago, it almost felt like he wasn’t lying to her. He had forgotten that he knew more about her than she realized. “On paper, you were always qualified for this position, but I wanted to get to know you first. And I knew the only way for you to let me in, was if I did the same.”
She shook her head. “You already know my stance on working for Queen Industries.”
“This is a little different.” Watching her tilt her head, Oliver chose his words wisely, trying not to tell her more than necessary in case she said no. “It requires technical expertise, maybe a bit of field work.”
His phone buzzed in his pocket, so Oliver knew that he had to work fast. “This is simply a combine and conquer initiative to stop these people. My team seems to think you're trustworthy and based on these last few months, I believe you are too."
"Your... team?"
Hearing his phone buzz again, Oliver pulled it out of his pocket and put it on the table. "You work with us, take these guys down. The only down side is you have to help maintain my cover.” He sighed. “With things picking up, I need someone who can either verify my whereabouts through a fake photo or an actual appearance. You are uniquely qualified, what with the press already jumping to conclusions."
Taking a few steps forward, he gauged her reaction to his proximity. "I'm not asking you to do anything you're not comfortable with, but I guarantee you’ll find more answers working with us."
"Hard to say no to that," Chloe replied, trying to keep her breathing even as he kept approaching her. “Will I… will I get to meet the team?”
“If you’re in, then absolutely.”
Breaking eye contact, she had to focus on the whole offer. “And if I’m not, I assume that all this is off the record.” Not that he had to worry about that. Chloe may have just met Oliver, but that didn’t mean that it was a stretch for her to believe he was looking for justice for his parents.
Still, he nodded. “It would be best for both of us.” Because the wrong people finding out about this would lead to people looking down holes that he couldn’t afford right now.
For a second, Chloe thought she was staring into a mirror. The way he was looking at her, the conviction he held for the truth, not just for her, but for him. It took a lot for him to admit what he just did and she knew that they wouldn’t be standing here if he didn’t think she could help.
She knew what she had told people all this time, what her hesitations were regarding letting people in, but this time felt different. "In that case, I'm in."
“Really?” He had honestly expected more questions from her, but he wasn’t about to argue, as relief came across his face.
Moving past him, Chloe brought her head up, letting herself grin a little. “I’ve hit more dead ends than I like to admit and you’re as likely to let this go as I am.” That was one of the perks to this situation. “The personal connection is there for both of us and I’m not about to ignore your connections and capital.”
"Great,” he said, walking forward because that he didn’t have much time to get ready. “Then Evie will fill you in on the rest."
Chloe whirled around in time for Oliver to pass where she was standing. Her eyes widened before she asked, "Evie?"
That’s right. Their personal affiliation wasn’t as obvious as others. Regardless, he kept his nonchalant attitude as he stood in front of the clockface. "She should be here in five minutes." Or rather, right away, as the elevator noises started up behind them.
Regardless of timing, his response didn’t answer her question. "Why not you?"
"Because what you’re about to join is much bigger than my story and it's my night to patrol." Pulling apart the two sides of the clockface, he didn't even bother to look back and see her reaction as he changed in front of her. "As you know, the city's crime rate doesn't go down by itself."
Gone were the slacks he was wearing, as he had prepared for this beforehand and put his leathers on underneath. He then grabbed his vest to put over his shirt, when he heard approaching footsteps. It was this moment that his curiosity got the best of him and he finally turned around.
It was a good thing that he never bet anyone on her reaction to all this because he would have lost. Her eyes weren't wide, her lips were relaxed, while her mind worked a mile a minute. She was so transfixed by the room that she almost didn't see him looking at her, but once their eyes met, she smiled.
"That... explains a lot." Turned out Lois was right, she would end up asking Green Arrow for help after all. Speaking of her cousin, "And Lois is going to kill me for keeping this secret."
Oliver was about to respond, but someone clearing their throats behind them caused both of them to look towards the elevator. Leaning against the gate, Evie smiled. “And that means you're in. Welcome." Walking quickly to join Chloe and Oliver in his Green Arrow room, Evie dropped the papers she was carrying on his desk. "Oliver, the specs you wanted."
"Thanks," he replied, not wanting to go into further details right now. That was a mission outside of what Chloe was recruited for and he didn’t want to drag her into everything else just yet.
However, she hardly noticed the papers, as she was still trying to figure out everything that had just been revealed to her. Eventually, Evie decided to call Chloe on it. "What?"
"I'm just... happy to see you're involved in all this." It shouldn’t have caught Chloe this much off-guard. Evie was the face of a meta-assistance charity, she was dating Victor, and related to Bart, yet Chloe figured she was the exception to the rule of normal people when it came to the presence of metas.
"You have no idea," Evie replied, bumping shoulders with Chloe as she walked by to grab a glass of scotch.
"Yeah, I'm getting that idea," Chloe said with a chuckle. "Echo... that's you isn't it?"
Evie lifted her glass in a mock-toast. "Guilty."
"Evie, give us a sec,” Oliver called from behind them. When Evie nodded, Chloe turned around and took a moment to remind herself that Oliver Queen was Green Arrow.
"If you're worried about secrets, you don't have to,” she said. “I've known Vic and Bart for years, they can-"
"That's not why I wanted to talk with you." He sighed before reaching out to take her hand in his. "Don't get mad at her, but Evie and Victor have both expressed that you're reluctant to let people in because of this, that you don't want to lose anyone else because of these people."
This wasn’t the first time he had done something like this, but her reaction of looking down at their hands was the same. "Oliver, I already told you that you’re different and I'm in. What more is there to know?"
"The simple fact that we are a team,” he said while squeezing her hand. He had caught her reaction both times, but this time, he wasn’t letting go because he wanted her to pay attention to what he was about to say. “That means we tell each other our suspicions, but more importantly, we trust each other with our moments of weakness. It may not look like it, but I can see why people trust you, and I'm hoping that you can trust us one day."
Chloe’s mouth stretched into a smirk. "Us meaning you?"
"Both." He shrugged as he let go of her hand to slip down his sunglasses. "See you around," he added with a smile, turning his head to look at Evie across the room. “Vic’s running the comms?”
“Yeah, he was online when I left.”
“Thanks Evie.” Oliver lifted up his hand to turn on his comm. "Arrow online."
Chloe was tempted to follow him out of the room, wonder how he got away with this when he left from his own place. But when he disappeared from the room, Chloe felt her feet still in place as a whole new world opened up around her.
That’s why she looked back over to her friend. Chloe knew that Evie and Oliver knew each other, what with Victor being the youngest head in Queen Industries and the elder Queens’ commitment to H.O.M.E, but it appeared to be much more than that.
Feeling the stare, Evie shook her head. "Okay, can you just say it so you don't have to look at me like that?"
"You're a meta," Chloe said, for a start.
"I am related to Bart."
"Yeah, but... your powers are different." Although Chloe couldn’t exactly define what those were. Most metas had one ability, but that wasn’t the case with the elusive Echo. For the most part, there were conflicting reports, and it wasn’t like she appeared often with the group. Now knowing it was Evie, all the pieces were coming together, and Chloe wondered how she didn’t figure this out before.
"I have no idea how it happens, genetically-speaking, but it happens more than you think.” Streaming her fingers through her hair, Evie leaned against the couch. “Trust me, I'd trade mine for his any day if I knew he could handle mine. I'm practically a female Clark without the alien heritage or the expectations."
Evie’s eyes popped up, waiting for Chloe’s reaction. "You..."
Yeah, she knew. "Vic filled in the blanks I was in the process of filling myself. When I found out about the Blur, I… I wanted to know him. I wanted to know how to find hope in freedom.”
Evie swallowed hard as she remembered those days, as it took a long time for her to accept that her life was hers again. “I had it narrowed down to a student that went to Smallville High that graduated your year. But when Victor told me that I knew him, I realized that I didn’t need to know everything after all.”
After a chuckle, she smiled at Chloe. “It answered so many questions, like why Victor reached out to you after everything. He told me how he accidentally found out about Clark’s secret, your devotion to keeping it.”
“So then why keep your abilities a secret?” Chloe asked.
“Because I was just starting over,” Evie said, taking a moment to think, as she wasn’t sure if she wanted to admit her days as a captive to Chloe without Victor here. He had given her the okay, but she knew it would be tough for Chloe to accept. “It had been a long time since I had genuine friends. Even though you were accepting of Clark and Victor, I… I was afraid of taking the chance. For a while, I thought it would keep you safe.”
Then Evie saw the extent Chloe fought for the truth, the dedication that she had for others. “Seeing you at your worst after Jimmy changed that, but I couldn’t do this without you joining the team. You knew too many of the pieces and I couldn’t tell you my truth without compromising other’s secrets.”
That made sense, as did the choice to bring Evie here tonight. But there was one question that Chloe still needed to ask. “Does Oliver know… about Clark?”
“I don’t know.” There were times when Evie was tempted to use telepathy to figure out the truth, but deep down, she figured that he’d share something like that.
Chloe nodded. “Thanks for not telling him."
"We have to look out for each other right?" She wasn’t an alien from another planet, but the sentiment remained. Not many other people were going to do it.
Unfortunately for Chloe, as some questions were finding answers, multiple new questions were forming. “So what can you do?”
Evie grinned, as she considered a show-and-tell approach, but instead settled on a direct answer. Counting them on her fingers, she said, “Telekinesis, telepathy, super hearing and… mind control I guess?”
Chuckling, Chloe realized that Evie wasn’t kidding with her earlier comparison to Clark. “That’s quite the repertoire.” She could only imagine what her friend had gone through in adjusting to all those abilities.
It wasn’t easy, especially with how much Evie had to hide the truth. Sighing as she stared down at her drink, she remembered those first few days her abilities surfaced, how much she owed her now-deceased uncle for keeping her secret in the beginning.
Initially, she blamed his death as the reason that she lost control and got caught, but in the end, it was simple naivety and stupidity, traits that came with being a teenager. Swirling the glass, she whispered, “It’s what made me valuable.” Because she didn’t feel like hiding that truth.
Chloe narrowed her eyes at the comment, but based on her friend’s expression, she didn’t call her on it. Instead, she focused on the fact that Evie’s job was a lot more personal than Chloe realized. "So... H.O.M.E. was -?"
"Was meant to help mentor people whose lives were taken apart by 33.1… or any meta who was experiencing hardship. Although it was initially intended as a place to help people start over. Like I did." It was killing Evie to give Chloe the censored version of 33.1, but they had to take this one step at a time. With a chuckle, she admitted, "After all, it takes one to know one right?"
Chloe took a step back as her friend’s words started registering. "I...wait, you were...?"
"That’s where I really met Victor. Inside a facility in god-knows-where, with four stone walls and bitter silence… when they weren’t trying to exploit us." For months, the only comfort Evie had was Victor's voice, but that voice kept her from going crazy, while she kept him from giving up.
Collapsing on the couch, Evie remembered the first time she had come here, the confusion in her eyes as she saw natural light for the first time in years. "We had little to no sign of hope, but I had one family member that believed I was still alive and he convinced the only person who would listen to him to save us. He may be the comic relief on the team, but I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Bart."
After a deep breath, Chloe walked towards the scotch, understanding Oliver’s need for it earlier. “This is why you never talk about your family.”
With a nod, Evie said, “I haven’t seen them in ten years.”
That was something that her and Chloe had in common, so even though she knew her answer, Chloe asked, "Do you ever think of going back?"
"Chloe... Evie Chambers is a name I made up for myself." It wasn’t an easy decision, but she felt like she couldn’t go back to the person she was. In other words, normal wasn’t an option anymore. "If there's one way we can relate, it's leaving our previous lives behind. The only difference is that I changed my name." She scoffed as she finished her drink. "I mean, it's just my brothers now, not much point in uprooting their lives for a sister they don't even recognize."
Because she wasn’t Emily Hopkins anymore. She wasn’t their lighthearted sister who wanted to be a sports reporter, who fit various team sports between straight A’s in the high school she never technically finished. That girl left the moment she first felt zipties tightening around her wrists.
"Must be tough," Chloe said. It probably wasn’t easy for Evie to hash up these memories, even if they served a greater purpose down the line. Because if she was inside 33.1 with Victor, then at least four years of her life had been stolen from her.
Evie didn’t have the heart to tell Chloe that it was actually five. She shrugged as she ignored the frustration that built up inside of her. "It's survival Chloe. Adapt or die right?" It was sad that she could summarize her pain in that small sentence, but those were words she had to live by.
Besides, life wasn’t that bad. In time, she had found a new forms of happiness. "But enough about me,” she said, pushing herself up from the couch. “Tonight is supposed to be about your initiation, which is about more than just me."
Chloe nodded, but there was one thing she needed to say first. “Can I just say that it’s just a little jarring that you guys know more about me than I thought?”
Her concern was understandable, but Evie knew that they would never use that knowledge against her. Partially because they knew it was only a matter of time before she knew the whole truth about them and they hoped that Chloe would employ the same courtesy.
“One day, Vic and I will tell you the whole story, but let’s just say your skeletons are a lot easier to live with than ours.” Noting Chloe’s skepticism in her eyes, Evie tilted her head. It wasn’t like Chloe had the easiest life either. “In some ways.”
“Well, this obviously isn’t HQ, right?”
Evie grinned, grateful for the switch in conversation. “No, but you’ll see it soon. Victor can’t wait to show you the database.” Her boyfriend was proud of what he had built, it gave him something that he could be proud of in his new form, as he called it. She hated when he did that, but she couldn’t blame him either.
That did sound exciting to Chloe, as she had hoped to have access to it right away, but Oliver's place was a more neutral site, a wise decision for a night like this that depended on her response. Besides, tonight seemed to be about filling blanks, while also giving Chloe a chance to know how this came together. “So I guess this is where everything started?”
“I guess,” Evie replied, knowing it wasn’t a great answer. “Honestly, Vic and I came into this about six months in, but we didn’t really care about the intricate details of the origin story once we were taken out of 33.1.”
“About that.” Chloe said, knowing it was the elephant in the room, the topic she had to broach with caution. “I was with Lex when he shut down the 33.1 facilities.” She didn’t want to question Evie about this, as her wounds were still visible, but this was something she had to hear.
“That didn’t mean that some weren’t on his radar.” At least that was mostly true. “The higher priority facilities were hidden deeper, so that’s why we weren’t released before Lionel Luthor’s death. We’re still finding sites today, but we’re determined to clean up the rest. And with H.O.M.E, I can be on the ground helping to make their lives better… no thanks to Oliver, obviously.”
Hearing his name, Chloe smiled, looking back over her shoulder towards the spare equipment in the room. “I still can’t believe that I never saw this. He really is the perfect person to fund these efforts.”
After a sigh, Evie realized that they probably shouldn’t leave those doors open. Walking up to the room, she pulled the clockface back in place. “He’s more than the funder.”
“I know,” Chloe said, and that was the real reason she didn’t see it before. Before a few months ago, Oliver Queen wasn’t on her radar. She knew next to nothing about him other than the trash on the tabloid covers, but everything had changed.
Tracing her fingers down the clockface, Evie was further reminded of her first night here, the conviction in Oliver voice as he told her and Victor that they were safe. “He’s a good leader.”
More memories came to the surface as he told them to join a team to help others, the belief that he had in helping make the world a better place. As a smile formed, Evie turned around. “He’ll never admit it, but we know it. With the way Bart used to be, he probably would have been exposed, imprisoned or killed. Vic and I…we wouldn’t know what freedom tasted like. Oliver saved our lives and he’ll never believe that he’s a hero.”
With Oliver, it was never enough. Not until these guys were stopped. Their last attempt to make them pay crashed and burned, and the whole team knew that until he made amends he’d never see the hero he was.
That sounded like him. Even before she knew about all this, Chloe had witnessed the way Oliver underestimated the good he did. “Wait a sec, does that mean that it’s his money that went into Chris’ company? Is he the real silent partner?” While the money was technically a loan, and Victor did make a decent salary at Queen Industries, it suddenly made more sense that Oliver was the real donor.
For a second, it felt like Chloe was the one who could read her mind, but still, Evie nodded. “He has his reasons for that. When you introduced me to Chris as she was opening up her shop, it gave him a way to make amends.”
Chloe's eyebrows furrowed. “But Chris loves the Green Arrow and clearly has no issues with Oliver.”
Biting her tongue, Evie had hoped that this wouldn’t come up, but now that it had, she would have to give Oliver a head’s up tomorrow. “I can’t tell you that story.” Even if she could, it wasn’t a story that she knew well and it wasn’t hers to tell. “My demons, sure, but his? I can’t, Chloe.”
~0~
Walking into the main area of the clocktower, Oliver paused as he saw Chloe standing in front of the clockface. Evie must have closed it behind him. “Didn’t think you’d still be here.”
Chloe chuckled as he talked to her with his distorter still on. Turning her phone back on, she walked towards him as she found the photo released earlier tonight showing her entering Oliver’s building. “Our names are already over the tabloids. Figured it’d be good for the cover.”
“Smart,” he said, pulling back his hood and taking off his glasses. “Is Evie still here?”
She shook her head. “She left about five minutes ago.” Victor called her to say that Oliver was on his way back, so Evie said she’d give them their privacy. Something told Chloe that Lois wasn’t the only one that would be bothering her about this. “She also raided your cabinet to celebrate… hopefully you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.” Opening the room up again, Oliver quickly put his uniform and equipment back in place. Normally, he took better care, but tonight was a unique occasion. He would finish the rest of his routine in the morning. Pulling up his slacks, he added. “If you don’t mind, I’ll join you.”
Looking towards his abandoned glass from earlier, Chloe grabbed it and brought it to him just as Oliver secured the room. As he reached for it, about to thank her, she spoke first. "Oliver, did you mean it?"
"Mean what?" Oliver asked, his fingers working around hers to grab the glass.
"You trust me." For as grateful as she was to have this opportunity, this was a big deal. “I get that you have your influences from your team, but I can’t have gained your trust that easily.”
“Actually, you did.” He watched her eyes widen in front of him, so he explained, "I'm used to a few reactions to people being associated with me.” People wanting fifteen minutes of fame, people who flatly deny any association. “It's rare to have a woman in my life who isn’t afraid to tell the truth, to state that our relationship is simply platonic."
He had monitored her reactions to the increased presence of press in her life, including at work or in front of her place. "You basically looked them all in the eye and said, So what?" That meant that her talking to him wasn’t any different than talking with any other person in her life. “The extent you would go to keep our acquaintance simple, combined with the fact that you didn’t disclose anything, clinched it.”
“Our lives are our business, right?” Because anything that she did for Oliver was no different than anything she would have done for Clark. Secret keeping was something that she took seriously and from the moment they met, she knew how much it meant to Oliver.
“Right,” Oliver said, his grin widening before he took a sip of his drink. “I have to admit, you’re taking this better than I thought. Because I kind of had an advantage over you.”
She wasn’t about to lie and say that he didn’t have her worried initially, but there was a reason she accepted. “We didn’t talk all those times because you were trying to recruit me. Or at least, that wasn’t the only reason. You said it yourself that I earned your trust.” Chloe couldn't express to him what that meant to her, especially considering how her best friend couldn't even muster the courage to tell her a secret similiar to this one.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’re taking this so well.” He pursed his lips as their eyes met. “I… I didn’t want to lose you yet.”
“Ditto,” she said, chinking her glass against his before moving past him to sit down on the couch.
“So what did Evie cover?” he asked. That was the one part that they didn’t cover in their preparations. Sure, they covered some of the basics, but without Evie being here, Oliver wanted to ensure he didn’t disclose anything Chloe wasn’t ready to hear yet. For even though she’d hear it one day, learning his secret was a process, one he wanted to do right.
“Portions of her backstory, the beginnings of how she joined the team and how I’m likely working with Victor on the comms in the future.” After that, it was about filling the blanks of their friendship, little things that Oliver likely wouldn’t care about, but she felt grateful to learn.
“Any questions?”
“Yeah,” she replied, but she was going to wait to ask them for now. There was the initiation with the team still to come and she had a feeling that more answers were coming then. “But right now, all I want to say is thank you. Not just for this, but for what you did for Evie and Victor. I don’t think I got the full story, but… but it’s not everyone who believes a confused kid looking for his cousin.”
“I appreciate your thanks, but it’s not necessary. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” Saving Evie and Victor was also one of his biggest gambles, but it reminded him of what he was capable of, that he could do this. It was also refreshing having more than Hal who really got him. It was likely a sentiment that they all shared, and Oliver could only hope Chloe would do the same.
But he couldn’t worry about that right now. Instead, he found his focus shift to the fact there was a blanket laid down on the couch she was sitting on. “By the way,” Oliver said as he headed to his office, “I have three spare bedrooms, so please use one.”
Chapter 6
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