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The Matchmaker
Chapter Three
Chloe was about ready to pull her hair out. Her son had pranked the restaurant seventeen times since she arrived and she could tell the servers knew it was her fault. Michael was annoyed, but putting on a brave face. He wasn't giving in if he could help it. Honestly though, she was about fed up with her night off. She really just wanted to go home, climb into her pajamas and fall asleep with her notes on her latest story. The dinner was good, the company was fine, but she was just plain tired. She'd had a long week and she couldn't wait for the weekend. Mini golfing and a nice dinner with Oliver and Eric would be the highlight of the month really. He'd been out of town a lot lately and it was obvious Eric didn't approve of Michael in the least. She didn't know what she felt for the man across from her. He was handsome and intelligent and he was strong enough to put up with both her overzealous eleven year old and her strong friendship with Oliver Queen. Most men had split when they realized that she had a son that was very much the pride and joy of her life. When they managed past that point, it was her relationship with Oliver that had them fleeing.
True, they were a little closer than most best friends. He'd been there for her from the beginning. They'd been friends long before Eric; due to her ties to the Justice League mostly. She was their Watchtower; happily. She spent a lot of time at his apartment, working through his computer to access files most people didn't even know could exist. She'd helped bring down some of the worst criminals that the public couldn't conceive of. She'd been there to tend his wounds and even sacrifice her life for his a few times in the process. Of all the members of the Justice League, she'd used her healing powers to bring him back the most. There was connection there that couldn't be broken. He'd die, she'd save him, she'd die, and he'd wait by her side until she came back. Every single time. All forty three in the fourteen years she'd known him.
He blamed himself for what happened that night almost twelve years ago. She'd been on the trail of a date rape drug epidemic at a club she'd infiltrated under the guise of a different name and a make over that made her look far easier than she was. She was waving off every guy who tried though, putting on a front that she was above them all, trying to snare the scoop. She hadn't been watching her drink like she should have though. Her hand had been covering it the whole time, but when somebody got a little grabby, she'd accidentally uncovered it to get the guy away from her. She knew that was when he must've struck. The bartender was in on it, she later learned. He was working with the owner of the bar, who paid him extra on the side to help. The owner then sold the girls to the highest bidder. She, unfortunately, was a victim. And Eric arrived nine months later, to a man she could never identify and honestly didn't want to. Oliver never forgave himself. He knew what she was doing and he told her to be careful. He had wanted to spot her at the bar, to keep an eye out for suspicious behavior, but he'd been called away at the last minute and couldn't make it. He made her promise not to go without any one she trusted to help, but in the end, she couldn't find anyone on such short notice and Saturday was the only night that there was any drug background on. So she went in and she messed up.
After that, Oliver almost never left her side. Despite how many times she told him it wasn't his fault, he still thought it was. And when she told him she was pregnant, he ransacked the bar it happened in. Completely shredded it when nobody was there except the bartender who was cleaning up and the owner who hadn't had any charges pressed against him. Not enough evidence to support their theory, the cops said. So Oliver, dressed in all black so not to implicate the Green Arrow, beat the shit out of them both until they could barely breathe. They were in the hospital for the next couple months. She considered abortion early on; she didn't know how she'd be able to handle it. Having a baby that wasn't planned, wasn't' with anybody she even knew by name. It was... awful.
Oliver was there through the morning sickness and always on call for food cravings. He rubbed her back and her feet when her body blew up like a giant balloon and everything ached. He went to Lamaze classes with her and bought every book he ever saw on parenting and pregnancy. He was more read up on the subject than she was. He was the one that brought her to the hospital when she went into labor. He spent the last couple weeks on her couch when her due date approached. He'd already painted the nursery and built the crib; he set up the diaper disposal and changing table. She had to admit, despite his not being the father he was doing it so well, she often wished he was. He was so attentive and caring and he was really there for her. He'd been one of her closest friends during the two years leading up to Eric. Possibly her best; rivaling even in Clark. Her feelings had changed for him long before the date rape incident. He was handsome and charming and he was the most important man in her life. She could talk to him on the phone for hours, about things nobody else would even think about. The silences were never stifling, but comfortable. They had chemistry, she knew. And Lois had long ago given her the go-ahead. But there was something holding her back. And then, just when she realized that she was completely and totally in love with him, she got pregnant with someone else's baby.
Nine months of pregnancy, she spent most of it crying. Over being pregnant in the first place and feeling like she really wasn't ready, over the question of adoption or keeping it, the fact that eventually, she was going to have to fill in that name of father space on his birth certificate and she didn't have one, and then the fact that she was madly in love with her best friend and there was nothing she could do about it. Given her choice of lifestyle, she was pretty sure her future plans were basically scrapped. A single mother of a baby couldn't be an investigative reporter and when the Daily Planet noticed, they weren't exactly congratulating her on her spawn. Due to emotional strain at the time, she quit on the spot when they mentioned that adoption or hiring a nanny wasn't completely out of the question.
Without a job and pregnant, she was about ready to jump off the Metropolis bridge. But then Oliver was holding her as she cried and humming a lullaby that always made the baby kick. He was rubbing her stomach and stroking her hair and when she was done sobbing her heart out, he told her that she was going to come stay with him in Star City when the baby was born. She wanted to say no, she wanted to be the independent woman she'd always been, but she still felt so lost. So she stayed in Smallville until she'd had her baby, a fourteen hour labor that felt like being stretched on a medieval torture device. The second he was put into her arms though... It was like everything made sense. She didn't care about the empty name of father space on the birth certificate. She didn't care that she'd quit her dream job or that she was a single mother. She didn't care about anything but the beautiful little being lying in her arms. He was incredible. So small and delicate and he was relying solely on her. It should've been terrifying, but all she could feel was relief.
Oliver stood by her the entire time, holding her hand despite the bone crushing grip. He did the incredibly ridiculous breathing exercises with her and he yelled at nurses and doctors whenever she was in tremendous pain.
"I'm scared," she gasped, looking over to Oliver tearfully. She was covered in sweat, her hair pushed back and matted against the pillow. Her legs were up and pain was shooting up and down her every few minutes. She was holding his hand tightly, needing his strength because she honestly wasn't sure how any person in their right mind could ever do it once, let alone more than!
He ran the back of his hand over her forehead, brushing her hair back. "Me too," he admitted, eyes wide and face not bothering to hide his fear.
She sniffled, smiling at him genuinely. "Thank you."
"For what?" he asked, brows furrowed. His thumb was stroking her temple gently.
She inhaled a shaky breath, letting it out in a tiny, stifled sob. "Being here."
He smiled. "Of course I'd be here. I'll always be here."
"I know," she murmured, inhaling a deep, wobbly breath. "And I really, really appreciate that, okay? You have no idea!" She lifted a hand, wiping away a stray tear. "You're my rock, you know?" She smiled, laughing through her tears.
He wiped them away for her, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "I'm going to take care of you," he whispered. "Both of you. All right?"
Her eyes closed, but she nodded.
"We're going to get through this and you..." He paused for a second, swallowing tightly. "You're gonna be the best mother ever, all right?"
"I will," she agreed, nodding.
Another wave of pain flashed through her and she grit her teeth, sobbing. "It hurts so much." She breathed heavily, shaking her head. "Oh god, I never want to do this again."
He chuckled slightly.
"Shut up!" she whined, glaring at him.
He lifted a shoulder. "I bet you a million dollars, one day you're going to want to be back here. And the guy standing next to you is gonna be as proud as I am right now. He's going to love you beyond anything and everything and you will probably tell him the exact same thing. That you're done having children." He grinned.
Her eyes filled with tears and for the nine billionth time since she found out she was pregnant, she wished that man that loved her beyond anything and everything, the father of her child or children, was him.
"All right," said the doctor as he entered the room, distracting them. "My nurse tells me you're about ready to get this show on the road!"
Chloe glared at him. "The show started a long time ago, doc. The fat lady has sung and she's exhausted. So get this baby out of me before I strangle you!"
He simply grinned before winking at Oliver and tugging his mask over his face. "I've heard worse."
"She's actually willing to go through with it though," Oliver told him.
The doctor looked skeptical for only a moment and then called his nurses in. "Don't worry. This will be over soon."
He totally lied. It took forever. When she heard the screaming shriek of her son and felt the pain slowly ebb, she fell back to the bed and just breathed. Her eyes were ready to close and she gladly relished the idea of sleeping. But then a nurse was asking her if she wanted to see him and she was on high alert. Did she? Could she be a mom? Would she be disgusted when she set eyes on a baby she knew had come from a huge, ginormous mistake? She nodded mutely, still uncertain. But then the squirming red baby, wrapped in a bright blue blanket was carefully placed in her arms and her heart just about leapt out of her chest.
"Oh my god," she whispered, eyes wide in astonishment.
Oliver was next to her, a hand running through her hair soothingly.
"Look at him," she murmured.
"He's beautiful."
She nodded, eyes filling with tears. "He really is."
"Have you already picked out a name?" a nurse asked, looking back and forth from Oliver to Chloe.
"Eric Jonas Sullivan," she told her, smiling while she tenderly stroked the soft tuft of hair on her son's head.
The nurse smiled. "Would you prefer to fill the rest out later?"
Chloe simply nodded, before turning to Oliver. "Do you want to hold him?" she asked softly.
He looked a little unsure, but then nodded. Chloe carefully handed him upward and he cradled the tiny baby in the crook of his arm expertly. He grinned down at him, a mega-watt Queen smile. A tiny, almost non existent tear escaped from Oliver's eye and Chloe watched him covertly wipe it away so no one could see. He cooed to Eric, murmuring little noises and words to soothe him. Eric's tiny hand wrapped around Oliver's large index finger and he shook it as if to say hello. Oliver cleared his throat, overwhelmed, and looked over to Chloe. "You've done great, Sidekick."
She smiled, nodding.
There was a loud shouting noise in the background and then Lois was bursting into the hospital room, hair a mess and clothes in disarray, Clark following behind her, looking embarrassed.. "Oh my god! Why didn't you call me?" she yelled, before suddenly stopping. Her eyes widened and she slapped Clark's chest as he stood next to her. "Is that it?"
"Him," Chloe corrected.
"Him," Lois repeated in a sigh.
"Eric," Oliver told them, smiling down at the gurgling baby as it dozed in his arms.
"Wow," Lois said, hurrying over to Chloe. She leaned down and hugged her tightly and then scurried around the bed to Oliver. "Lemme see!" she told him.
He lowered his arms slightly so she could peek into the blanket.
"Aww... He's so bald!" she said, chuckling.
Chloe rolled her eyes. "He's like fifteen minutes old, Lo. Give him a break."
Lois chuckled, lifting a shoulder. "You gonna hog him all night Queen, or are you going to let us hold him?"
He glared at her. "You're going to wake him up." He turned slightly, keeping the baby in his arms.
"This isn't keep away!" she groaned, frowning. "Come on, just a couple minutes. He's my nephew."
"Technically, he's your second cousin," Clark reminded.
"Semantics, Smallville," she replied, frowning.
Another burst of people flooded the room and Chloe turned to see Bart, AC and Victor standing with flowers, balloons and teddy bears.
"Check it out, mamacita!" Bart exclaimed, grinning. "We brought muy cool gifts!"
"So who's this?" Victor asked, smiling at the baby in Oliver's arms.
"This is Eric Jonas Sullivan," Chloe announced proudly.
"How's it going, little man?" AC said, leaning over to grin at the tiny baby.
The crowd started talking loudly, everybody getting louder to be heard over each other. All but Chloe, Oliver and Eric were practically shouting in excitement. Oliver took a seat next to Chloe, holding Eric at an angle while she reached out to rub her curled forefinger over his soft cheek. She was tired, but she would gladly stay awake the rest of her life just to stare at her son.
"Excuse me," a loud voice interrupted.
Everybody quieted, turning to the boisterous voice.
"This is a hospital, it's very early and patients are trying to sleep," a stern nurse told them. "And there are way too many people in here. I understand that it's a joyous event, but why don't you all come back at visiting hours? Looks like mom here needs to rest and so does baby. Now, everybody but dad, mom, and son, out!" she said, waving her thumb backward.
Chloe reached out to still Oliver by placing her hand at his arm. "Stay," she murmured. The nurse obviously assumed he was the dad and she wanted him to hang around a little longer.
With hugs and kisses from everybody else, she smiled at them in goodbye.
"How come he gets to stay?" Lois moaned, glaring at Oliver.
"He deserves it," the nurse told her, closing the doors behind her as they left.
Oliver hummed to Eric as he stirred in his arms, obviously waking from all the commotion. "You want him back yet?" he asked Chloe as she watched them.
She shook her head. She knew she'd be falling asleep soon and thought it better if he kept hold of him. She could trust her son in his arms. "You'll make a great dad one day, Ollie," she whispered.
He smiled at her, but there was something in his eyes, something that very much resembled pain. She had no idea where it came from.
With a slight sigh, she let her eyes drift closed. "When I wake up, I expect not to be eating hospital food for breakfast," she let him know with a slight smile.
He chuckled. "I'll make sure of it." She felt him stand up and then the pressure of his kiss against her forehead. "Get some rest, Chlo."
She nodded before letting sleep consume her.
She saw another waiter approaching her, looking more than a little steamed and sighed. "I'm sorry Mike." She frowned. "Michael," she corrected. She had no idea why it bugged him so much to be called the far less stiff moniker. "It's been a long day and an even longer night. My son obviously wants me home and I'd really just like get to bed early. Maybe tomorrow night, okay?"
He frowned, but nodded anyway. She could tell he wasn't pleased, but she couldn't summon any sympathy. He led her out, surprising her slightly when he asked if she'd go halfers with him for their barely eaten meal, and then left her to open her own doors. When she arrived home, she didn't bother with even a peck on the cheek and instead waved goodbye to him and kicked her heels off. As she walked upstairs, she dodged the baseball that had somehow escaped her son's room to land in the worst place possible. She picked it up and brought it with her. As she entered his bedroom, she found Jess sitting on the bed reading a Mad magazine and her son twirling in his computer chair, waiting for his usual chat with Oliver to start. The phone sat next to him, obviously ready for his next prank call.
"What time is it?" he asked Jess, staring up at the ceiling.
"Time for Jess to go home and you to explain," his mother replied.
He stopped his chair abruptly and lifted his head. Busted was practically written across his forehead in bright red ink.
Jess hopped up from the bed and smiled apologetically at Chloe before rushing out of the room. "See ya, Eric."
He waved slightly, still staring at his mom. "Sorry?"
"Not gonna cut it," she told him, shaking her head and crossing her arms over chest. "What is up with you lately?"
He frowned, shoulders slumping. "Nothing."
"Don't give me that," she told him, walking over to sit on the edge of his bed. "You've been acting funny the last couple months. Is it Michael or Oliver?"
He glowered. "Why would it be Oliver?" he asked.
"He hasn't been around much and I know you guys are really close." She smiled slightly. "You have been since birth."
He sighed, twisting around in his chair again. "Why do you have to date him?"
"Michael?" she asked, brow furrowing.
"Are you dating someone else?" he replied sarcastically.
"Watch your tone," she replied disapprovingly. "And Michael's a good guy. You just have to give him a chance."
"Maybe I don't want to. Maybe I think you can do better. Maybe I think Michael is a jerk. The Jerk." He crossed his arms over his chest.
"Where's all this even coming from? You barely know him," she reminded, shaking her head.
"You've been together awhile and I've made my decision. He's not good enough." He set his jaw in a way that much resembled his mother. His decision was apparently set in stone.
"Eric, I understand that you're upset because of this dating thing. I haven't been with anyone as long as I have Mike - " She frowned. "I mean Michael." She shook her head. "It's always just been me and you and maybe you're feeling threatened but-"
"No, it's never just been me and you. It's always been me, you and Oliver. And that's the way I like it. I don't' want it to change. I don't want Mike or Michael or The Jerk or anybody, okay?" he half-shouted.
She took a deep breath, not entirely sure what to say to that. "What do you want to me to say?"
"I want you to say that I'm right. That he's not good enough. That you'll happily dump him today, tomorrow, in five minutes! I want you to realize that you're so much better off than all the creeps you keep dating. Geez mom, don't you realize it yet?"
"Realize what?" she shouted back at him, angry.
"Realize what's staring you right in the face. What's been there all along, but you're both so frickin' stubborn!" He threw his arms up, face reddening with his irritation.
"Bad time?" Oliver's voice interrupted from the computer.
Eric sighed, turning toward the screen. "No."
"Yes," Chloe said, glancing at him. "Apparently Eric doesn't think Michael is good enough."
Oliver didn't reply right away, turning his gaze toward Eric. "I know."
"You know?" Chloe asked, brows furrowing.
He sighed. "He doesn't like him, Chlo. He never has. What do you expect?"
She shook her head. "Unbelievable." She threw her arms up and started pacing the room. "So now what? I'm supposed to take dating advice from my eleven year old son?"
"What? No. Look, Eric, you can't decide who your mom dates. You know that. And she can't base all of her decisions off of you or your feelings." He sighed. "I don't know Michael very well, so I can't make an honest conclusion on what I think of the relationship. I support your mom in her decisions, whatever they may be." He turned to Eric. "You know that I love you and your mom very much, but sometimes, we can't interfere with each other's lives, we just have to let them live them."
"She's making the wrong choice," Eric told him, his face falling. He wanted Oliver to agree with him, to jump up and shout, "Leave him, be with me instead!" But he wasn't. And maybe he knew that he wouldn't. He didn't always choose his mother's side, but he was always logical and he looked out for her feelings before making selfish decisions.
"Maybe. But you have to let her make it," Oliver told him.
Eric stewed for a moment before sighing. "Fine." Not!
He nodded. "How was school today?"
Eric frowned. "Boring. I already did all of today's work so I spent most of it doodling."
Oliver grinned. "Ah, the good old days."
Chloe shook her head. Crisis averted, for now. She backed out of Eric's room slowly, leaving him to talk with Oliver, who she knew would set him straight. He may not have been Eric's dad, but he might as well have been. He'd been playing the part of father to him from before he was even born. Chloe's throat tightened as she thought back to those days. He'd moved her into Queen Mansion after she was checked out of the hospital; flying her over on his jet. There was a crib in the room she usually used at his place, although he had started work on a nursery there too. He'd brought over the stuff from her former apartment above The Talon and fixed up the room right next to hers especially for Eric. She lived with him for the first year and a half, mostly on his dollar, which she never quite came to terms with. She applied for a job at the Star City Gazette though and when Eric was two years old she moved them into their own apartment. Oliver told her from the beginning that she could stay as long as she wanted. Forever wasn't out of the question. But she didn't want to stifle him and it wasn't his burden to bear. The tabloids were already running wild on the few glimpses they'd had of Oliver walking around with Eric or both of them. The dating scene was sparse for him and she felt like she was cramping his style.
It was a small rather crappy apartment, but she made it work. He and rest of the League helped her renovate it and they had it spiffed up after a few weeks of hard work. Her job was doing well and she fit in with the people of Star City. Oliver was a familiar face around the Gazette and often took care of Eric when she couldn't find a babysitter. Bart, Clark, AC and Victor all took turns as well. And Lois even came up from time to time to see him. Oliver paid for Chloe's trips to Smallville to show her dad his grandson and Martha had happily been dubbed a grandmother to Eric. He grew fast; getting out of diapers and learning to run everywhere he could. He got into everything and teething was a nightmare she wished never to repeat. But he was a really good kid. He got into baseball early and listened to his mom most of the time. He always held her hand when crossing the street and he never talked to strangers. The people at the Gazette adored him and he loved them back. He was a regular around the office and as he grew up, he loved to sit behind her desk, in her chair and play boss for the afternoon.
His favorite Uncle was probably Bart, but he had a special connection with all of them. Nobody topped Oliver though. He'd wanted Ollie to be his dad from day one. His second word was dada and he directed it straight at Oliver. They were all pretty sure he meant to say banana, but it hadn't turned out that way and she'd honestly never seen Oliver more proud than in that moment. From the beginning of preschool, she knew her little boy was smarter than most. He surpassed a lot of the other children and his teachers told her he'd probably skip a few grades, but she didn't want him to. She didn't want him getting out of his comfort zone and he already had such great friends his age. She didn't want to push him.
He was five, just starting kindergarten, when he turned to Oliver and asked him to be his dad. He'd seen all the other kids with their father's and none of them called their dad's by their first name. It had been hard to tell him that Oliver couldn't be his dad, but he'd just nodded, upset but accepting. He was seven when he took it into his own hands and made up a little chapel-tent with all of his blankets in his bedroom. He made them crawl under and hold hands and then he made them get fake married. "Do you Oliver take my mom to be your awful wife forever an' ever?" he asked, holding one of his favorite books in his hand and wearing his best suit with his Winnie the Pooh t-shirt beneath his coat.
With a slight chuckle, Oliver had nodded. "I do."
"And do you, mommy, take Oliver to be your awful husband forever an' ever?"
She knew it was fake, but some part of her wanted it to be real. "Yes, I do."
He nodded and then closed his book abruptly. "Okay, you are then. Don't kiss her though, girls have cooties!"
Laughing, Oliver had reached out and tickled Eric until he was crying through his laughter.
A year later, he'd shocked Oliver by interrupting him while he was reading the paper and drinking coffee by telling him quite bluntly, "I want a baby brother and it's your job!"
Oliver sprayed coffee all over his paper while everybody else at the table, the entire League, Martha, and Gabe, since they were spending Easter holiday at the Kent farm, broke into loud laughter.
Chloe had covered her face, shaking her head, and they'd taken Eric off to another room to explain that she and Oliver weren't together like mom's and dad's were.
"But I married you guys last year and Jess said that her parents only took two months before they had her. You guys are really behind!" he informed them.
Oliver was trying not to laugh, while Chloe was exasperated. "I love Oliver, Eric. But Oliver and I are not together. We don't... We don't love each other like parents do. We... We're friends, okay? Like you and Jess are."
He frowned. "How come you're not like Uncle Clark and Aunty Lois?"
"We're just not, sweetie," Chloe told him with a sigh. Not for lack of wanting to be, she thought.
She had decided to get over her feelings for Oliver though. He was obviously destined only to be her friend and now that her son was eleven, it was time to move on and find love somewhere else. Obviously, her son hadn't agreed with the assessment and still believed that she was meant to be with the man he'd wanted to be his dad from day one. But it wasn't going to happen and they had to accept that. With a sigh, Chloe made her way to her bedroom and lay down on the bed. On the bedside table were two photos, one of her while she was holding Eric as a baby, taken shortly after he was born. And another of her, Oliver, and Eric at the cabin a few years ago. Eric was up on Oliver's shoulder and Chloe was standing in front of him, leaning back. One of Oliver's arms was up, holding Eric in place, while the other was looped around the front of Chloe's waist. They looked like a family; a real one. And she closed her eyes as tears filled them. Too bad it would never be.
Author's Note: I'm well aware that many of you aren't going to be happy with who Eric's dad turned out to be. Many of you thought Oliver - I considered it, but I honestly can't see him denying Eric for eleven years when it was so clear that he wanted him to be his dad. Some of you thought Clark - that would just cause a lot of problems. Someone questioned Jimmy - again, I can't see him not being a part of his son's life. I had planned it this way from the beginning and almost changed it a few times given the reviews, but I think this is the best route. More is explained in the next chapter, which is Oliver's POV. Hope you liked this. Reviews are sustenance, readers! Luv yas - Fina!
