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babydee1I tried to fit the girly conversation into just one chapter, but it got too long for LJ to handle, so I've split it. The good news is that I should be able to post the next chapter either tomorrow or Friday. Huzzah!
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alxnhnt22. Love ya, babes! :-)
Title: Beauty in the Breakdown IX – ‘Fessing Up
Author: BabyDee
Pairing: Chlollie
Rating: PG-13 (for adult themes)
Warnings: A Re-telling of Chlollie post-Warrior
Timeline: Season 9
Disclaimer: All characters belong to the CW & DC comics.
Series Summary: With Oliver by her side, Chloe learns to let go, find peace, and fall in love.
Story Summary: Chloe upped and got married. Lois is not amused. :)
Feedback: …Always. :)
Read previous chapter here.
Read story from the beginning here.
Chapter 4
It was a huge bombshell she had just dropped on her cousin, and Lois’s reaction was just as Chloe had expected. She was staring at her in disbelief, a horrified expression in her eyes that were rapidly filling with tears.
“My God,” she whispered, pressing her hands to her cheeks as her voice rose. “Oh, my God. How did I not know this? Chloe, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to worry,” she replied reaching for Lois’s trembling hand. “You were getting your life together, and I didn’t want to burden you with my problems. And…” she paused. “After everything with my Mom, I didn’t want you looking at me like I was crazy.”
“I’d never have done that!” she exclaimed. “I’m your big cousin, Chlo, it’s my job to worry about you!”
“I know, Lois; but…” she sighed. “It goes both ways. I worry about you, too, and I didn’t want to do anything that would get in the way of your success.”
“You should have told me,” Lois insisted, her face grim. She got up and went to stand at the window, still in a state of shock. “You should have told me, Chloe. I’d have looked after you, no matter what.” She rested her forehead in her palm and shook her head sadly. “God, there is so much I don’t know about you. We all have our secrets, sure, but this…?”
“I’m sorry,” Chloe said quietly. There really wasn’t much else she could say. Until Clark decided to expand his circle of trust to include Lois, the heavy secrets would have to remain.
“What happened to you?” Lois finally asked, turning to face her.
Chloe frowned. “It’s really hard to explain. I, um… I contracted a very rare virus; a foreign virus that infected my brain, resulting in significant lapses of memory among other things.”
Lois’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Did Clark know?”
She nodded. “Yes, he and Ollie, and they---”
“Oliver? You told Oliver, back then?” she said incredulously. “But aside from the fact that you were my cousin, he barely knew you!”
“He…kind of found out, but once he knew he did everything he could to help,” she explained, doing her utmost not to say anything that would reveal too much. “It was pretty serious. I was forgetting things, forgetting people, missing appointments, until it got to a point whn my brain was almost a blank slate.”
Lois’s eyes widened. “Did you…did you forget me?”
Chloe nodded, very slowly. “Yeah.”
“That must have been really scary for you.”
“It was. I was pretty much out of it towards the end, and there’s still a whole chunk of time that I can’t really remember; but with Oliver’s resources and contacts, and with Clark’s help, I got better and made a full recovery. See?” She gave Lois a bright grin. “I can tell you where you were born, who gave you your first kiss, and when you got your first bad dye job.”
Lois cracked a smile then, and some of the sternness left her face.
“I’m just glad you’re all OK. Sounds like a modern day miracle, almost,” she said wistfully.
Chloe’s smile faded. “Almost. My relationship with Jimmy couldn’t be saved, though.”
“Probably just as well, if you weren’t in a position to really consent to the marriage,” Lois said thoughtfully.
“True. But I was this time,” Chloe pointed out. “And it’s the best decision I ever made in my life. Oliver and I…” she brushed her fingertips over her wedding rings and sighed contentedly. “We’re so happy together. I really love him, Lois.”
Lois nodded in agreement. “And Clark?” she asked softly. “How do you feel about him?”
Chloe smiled. “I let go of all that a long, long time ago, with Oliver’s help,” she replied. “Ancient history.”
Lois sighed heavily and sat down on the couch. “That’s a relief,” she said looking visibly more relaxed even though there was still a degree of tension in her gait. “I guess I…” She paused and clasped her hands tightly, looking suddenly nervous. Chloe waited patiently for her to continue.
“Ever since I started working at the Daily Planet and you got fired…and then I suddenly found myself side by side with Clark…” she stopped again and waited for several seconds before speaking again.
“I feel like I stole all your dreams somehow,” she finished brokenly.
“Lois, that’s crazy,” she admonished, but Lois shook her head.
“I knew you still loved Clark when you married Jimmy, and I should have said something, but I didn’t, and I feel responsible for everything that happened afterward,” she said, the words tumbling out of her. “And…and when I heard you’d married Oliver…”
“…You thought it was happening all over again?” Chloe finished.
Lois nodded, visibly upset. “I’m so sorry, Chlo.”
Chloe sad down next to her cousin and wrapped her arms around her heaving shoulders, giving her the biggest hug she possibly could. When Lois had calmed down a little, Chloe leaned back and took her cousin’s hands in hers.
“Lois, please believe me when I say that none of this is your fault,” she said earnestly. “I’ve explained about my state of mind when I married Jimmy, so don’t you ever feel guilty for that, okay?”
Lois nodded, and she continued. “As for Clark…people change, Lois. Feelings change. If anyone had told me this time last year that I’d be married to Oliver freakin’ Queen twelve months later, I’d have laughed in their faces. Yet now he’s the one person I can’t do without. We’re crazy about each other, and we couldn’t be happier. Oliver sings me cheesy love songs all the time, and I pretend to be embarrassed, but honestly? I can’t get enough of it!”
Lois laughed a little bit then, though her expression remained slightly dubious.
“Would I have been happy with Clark?” Chloe asked, and shrugged. “Probably, yes. Maybe not. Who knows? But it’s completely moot. None of that even matters because, my God, I am so in love with my husband. And I wouldn’t change a thing about this crazy journey, because it’s what led us to each other.”
She put her hands on Lois’s face and stared into her eyes. “So please…no more silly talk about stealing my dreams and such, okay?”
“Okay,” Lois sniffed, smiling through her tears. “Okay.”
Chloe grinned. “Good.”
“Only…”
Chloe rolled her eyes at that one hanging word. “Only what?” she asked, exasperated.
“Well…I know you’re in love with Oliver now, so that’s all sorted; but what about your other dream?” she asked.
Chloe frowned. “What other dream?”
“The Daily Planet,” Lois qualified. “When are you coming back to the Planet, Chloe? Because there’s no way you can tell me you don’t still dream about that.”
***
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Date: 2012-05-03 10:44 am (UTC)*Cuddles You*
Miss you!
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Date: 2012-05-03 12:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 10:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-03 08:52 pm (UTC)I know, I know...but I always love to hear it! :-P
"nice talk between the cousins even if i had the same impression as Lois about her stealing all Chloe's dreams ! really that's what i thought watching the show !!!"
Oh, so it wasn't just me, then? ;-)
"is Chloe coming back to the DP ?! i hope not, better if she's moving to SC with Oliver and work for the SC Register !! lol"
Ah, but if they move away, who's gonna babysit at a moment's notice-? Oops, I've said too much...! :-P
"thanks again for the update *hugs*"
A pleasure, babes! *hugs*
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Date: 2012-05-03 04:22 pm (UTC)Glad that Chloe is so happy now. As for the Planet..Well, there's still the Gazette, besides Chloe already has a job, you know ;) I know she'll be good anyway.
Thanks for the chapter! Looking forward to another one :)
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Date: 2012-05-03 09:13 pm (UTC)You assume correctly. :-P
"I really expect him to confess."
Let's hope so! ;-)
"Glad that Chloe is so happy now. As for the Planet..Well, there's still the Gazette, besides Chloe already has a job, you know ;)"
Perhaps...but as Lois asked, is that what she really wants? ;-)
"I know she'll be good anyway."
Totally. :-P
"Thanks for the chapter! Looking forward to another one :)"
Thanks for the awesome review, I'm so glad you liked it! *hugs*
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Date: 2012-05-03 07:33 pm (UTC)The chat was kind of hard for Lois, but Chloe was able to deal well with the situation.
Loved Chloe confirming that loves Oliver singing the cheesy love songs for her.lol I knew it. :D
Great, can't for more. :D
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Date: 2012-05-03 09:16 pm (UTC)Thankee, Dani! :-D
"The chat was kind of hard for Lois, but Chloe was able to deal well with the situation."
It was never gonna be easy. But at least the hard part is all said and done, and all is right with the world. :-)
"Loved Chloe confirming that loves Oliver singing the cheesy love songs for her.lol I knew it. :D"
Of course she loves it! What girl wouldn't?!? :-P
"Great, can't for more. :D"
Glad you like, I should get the next up tomorrow! *cuddles*
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Date: 2012-05-04 12:50 am (UTC)I'm so jealous of Chloe...I want an Oliver Queen to sing me cheesy songs too *pout*
Can't wait for more :D
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Date: 2012-05-04 07:04 am (UTC)Awesome chapter Dee.
Thanks, babes! :-)
I'm so jealous of Chloe...I want an Oliver Queen to sing me cheesy songs too *pout*
Don't we all?! *giggles* :-P
so glad you like it. Will try and get the next chapter posted tonight!
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Date: 2012-05-04 09:00 pm (UTC)I like it. I think the characters deserve these developments, and very rarely do they actually get them in stories.
This chapter... It's really quite annoying and problematic that Clark can't be honest with Lois yet. It seems that Chloe and Oliver are more than ready to divulge secrets, tell the truth, explain things. It's only Clark's inability to do so, that is standing in others' way. His secret is at the centre of everything else, and it makes Chloe alter her story when talking with Lois. And it's not fair of Clark to keep things like they are, especially when Lois is strong enough and can be trusted, however brash and in your face she can be. (God, Clark really needs a Lois in his life.)
Clark's done many morally questionable things that have been glossed over (actually, I have no problems seeing that they were wrong, no question about it). It's always frustrated me. How can it be said he's come a long way on the show, when his character doesn't even have to acknowledge what he's done, much less feel remorse and apologise?
That's why this story is just what was needed, that's how I feel, anyway.
I really do hope this is the last time Chloe has had to swear she does not have romantic feelings for Clark anymore. After what she's been through, she'd never marry a guy while having unresolved feelings for another. I also agree, that she would not have agreed to marry Jimmy had she been able to make a decision by her 100% self.
Least of all she's hurt Ollie, who's helped her grow so much. And whom she also helped.
Now the journalism question. What will Chloe say? She can't tell about Watchtower duties, of course. By the way, thanks for that, Clark... Anyway, she's never wholly given up on thet dream, even though she had to move to another things. Will she come back? Will she come back, yet?
I've always been angry, that it was Chloe, who's b greatest dream was to be a journalist, who's had to fight the hardest for it, that lost it.
We'll see what happens, I guess.
I haven't forgotten about possible pregancy yet. Then again, it's only been, what, two weeks since the wedding? So there's still time to find out if Chloe is gonna be busy with pregnancy and taking care of a baby, or if she'll have more time to think about her career choice...
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Date: 2012-05-05 06:59 am (UTC)I'll be back to sink my teeth into it properly in a bit; I just want to tidy up the next chapter and post that first.
Thanks for all your input, Patie! *cuddles*
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Date: 2012-05-07 09:49 am (UTC)