Categories > TV > Smallville > Dragonfly Wishes and Butterfly Kisses
Title: Dragonfly Wishes and Butterfly Kisses
Author: Sunscorched
Rating: R for language used in some chapters.
Category: AU
Pairing: Chloe/Oliver
Summary: Donations come in all forms.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Distribution: Chlollie on LJ, FF.net, and whever else I choose to post it!
Notes: I came up with the idea over sausages and I may be writing it, but a lot of folk have helped. Al, Strom, Gen, and Solo to name but a few. You know who you are :-D
Four half a years later saw Chloe Sullivan sat staring at her cousin, her entire being espressing sheer exhaustion. She pushed short strands of blonde away out of her eyes and prepared herself for the worst. "Did you find anything?"
Lois Lane looked as tired as she felt. "I did and you're not gonna like it."
A humourless smile appeared. "Just tell me, Lois. Please."
Anger turned her lips thin. "There was a mix-up at the bank on collection and one donor's sample was swapped for another."
A lump of dread formed in Chloe's chest. "When you say sample..." Something told her she really didn't want to hear the answer.
Lois took a deep breath that did little to calm. "I mean just that. One of the employees had been caught smoking pot and boom. Someone's little soldiers got sent to the wrong camp." She saw her cousin's face and could have kicked herself right in the head. "Sorry, Chlo."
"Do they..." Chloe tried to speak as her chest got tighter. "Do they know who?"
Her cousin pulled out a file that had been getting increasingly thicker with information, notes, names and addresses. "There were 130 men who donated that week, but only sixty-seven made the grade. I've already narrowed them down to the more possible ones."
Chloe took the offered folder with a nod of gratitude, but she'd learned long ago to trust her instincts and her instincts were screaming. "What else?"
Lois didn't want to drop this particular bombshell on her cousin, but it had to be done. "One of the donors is Oliver Queen. The Oliver Queen."
Her first reaction was to laugh and laugh she did. A good, hearty laugh that honestly made the day just that bit brighter. "You're telling me," Chloe stated through her laughter. "That Oliver Queen donated to a sperm bank?"
Okay, so it was nice hearing her cousin laugh for the first time in months, but it was also a little irritating, especially considering the possible consequences. "Wednesday on July 28th 2010, at exactly 2:30 pm... And you're still laughing."
"I'm sorry, Lois," she chuckled. "I just can't see Oliver Queen donating. What could he possibly gain by donating sperm? It's probably someone with the same or similar name."
Her cousin wasn't laughing in any way, shape or form, and it began to dawn on Chloe that Lois was deadly serious. Wasting no time, she flipped open the file because she wanted to see it for herself. She stared at Oliver Jonas Queen's name written under a photograph before looking at her cousin.
"Did you record the conversation with the bank?"
"Oh yes," Lois stated quite firmly. "I'm thinking lawsuit and when we contact Oliver Queen, I'm sure he'll only too happy to help..."
"Are you serious? Contact Oliver Queen about a little girl that may or may not be his? He'd be happy to help with a lawsuit." When she laughed this time, it was without humour and lot more cynical. "There's no way a guy like him would help with anything except what's down his Armanis."
Silence reigned for a good few moments before Lois broke it. "You have to ask, Chloe, and you know you do. There's too much to lose if you don't."
The younger woman looked into the hospital room where her daughter lay sleeping and though her eyes burned, no tears fell. It'd take more than a conversation with Oliver freaking Queen to make her cry.
Still, Chloe thought as she opened her mouth, "I think I'll leave him for last," and Lois couldn't help the laughter that left her mouth.
XOXOXO
The first house Chloe went too was just on the outskirts of the city and if houses could be cute, then that's what it was. Not too big and not too small, with a smoking chimney and good sized windows that held floral blinds. The wasn't much of a yard at the front and she couldn't see the size of the back yard, and sure it was out the way of everything, but all in all, it did look like a nice place to live.
She sat in her car at the end of the drive double checking she had every bit of information that may be needed. Photos of her daughter? Check. Proof that he donated at that particular bank? Check. Proof that her daughter was honestly sick just in case he thought she was crazy? Check.
"Okay, Sullivan," Chloe breathed as nervousness began to take over her nerve. "Baby steps, remember? First goal... Get out of the car."
Her fingers never left the wheel.
"Again... Get out of the car."
Yet her fingers stayed right where they were.
Oh, this was stupid, she was stupid.
Her beautiful, gorgeous little girl was in hospital and she was being an idiot. She didn't have time to be an idiot because any moment spent being an idiot was a moment wasted.
Chloe sucked it up and got out of her car, locking it before she got back in it. Smoothed down her shirt, tugged her pants into place, and pushed her hair behind her ears. She might sound like a crazy person, but she wasn't gonna look like one.
Each footstep up the path was a footstep closer to the potential father and though she tried not to get her hopes up, she knew they were partially there.
"You're here now, so just raise your fist and knock on the door."
It took a few knocks until someone answered and when they did, Chloe knew instantly the guy in front of her was definitely not her daughter's father. The guy in front of her was tall and broad shouldered, which didn't mean anything, but he had brown hair and green eyes. Still, she had to be sure.
Confusion shone in those green eyes. "Can I help you?"
"Erm..." Chloe began. "Did you donate any..." She couldn't bring herself to say sperm. "Bodily fluids to the Star City Bank about four and a half years ago? July 28th, to be exact."
The guy's face turned seven shades of red and his eyes darted here and there. "I did... Oh... Oh my God! That was supposed to be annoymous!" If his girlfriend found out about this...
Chloe was quick to stop his panic before he gave himself a coronary. "No, no, wait! It's not what you think, I promise. At least I don't think it's what you think, but I just need to be sure. Here, look."
She opened her file, pulling out the three photos of her daughter. "She's in hospital and needs a bone marrow transplant," she explained. "She doesn't have any siblings, so the best match is her father, and since I used the bank..."
The guy took the photos and his face fell and when he looked at her, it was with genuine feeling. "I'm sorry about your daughter, Mrs...?"
"Sullivan," she replied. "And it's just Miss. All I need to know is your blood type."
"I'm AB..."
Chloe closed her eyes and tried to get a hold of herself. "I can cross you off the list." God, she should've done better to keep her hopes down.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"I'll just be going," she said when she opened her eyes. "Thank for your time, sir."
He gave a simple shrug and an expression that clearly said he wished he could do more.
She was about halfway down the path when his voice stopped her. "Do bone marrow transplants need the same blood type? Cos I was thinking..."
Stunned by the stranger's kind offer, Chloe turned back to look at him and it was all she could do to not throw her arms around him in gratitude. "It's very kind and I thank you for it, but family are often the best matches, which is why I'm breaking the rules to find my donor."
"In more ways than one," he said with a boyish grin that immediately fell when he realised what he said. "I-I mean... Um... Sorry."
Cloe smirked at his attempt to pull his foot from his mouth. "I know what you mean," she coughed to hide her snigger. "What's one more shot of bodily fluids? Thank you for your time and your generosity."
She was glad her car was in the opposite direction because it allowed her to effectively hide her giggling.
"Men," she sighed and unlocked the doors.
XOXOXO
Any second now, Chloe would pick her jaw off the floor and put her eyeballs back in her head.
Any. Second. Now.
This had to be some kind of karmic joke invented specifically for her.
Not only was one prospective father a billionaire, but it looked as though there were three because there was no other explanation for what she was looking at right now.
A house, if one could call it that, stood less than fifty feet from the beach was a serious work of art. Two stories, , two sets of patio doors and two balconies, and it was completely, perfectly symmetrical.
As if the house itself wasn't enough to make her question karmic forces, there were three large sun loungers perfectly spaced right in front of a beautiful swimming pool that was at least 15 metres long.
Chloe walked up the gravelled drive, the crunch of loose stones under her shoes drowned out by the large WOW echoing constantly in her head. This was where two of her possible donors lives and hell if she wasn't hoping they would give her daughter the time of day...
There was the other side of that was thinking of how unsuitable it would be for Molly. All that glass could be hazardous to any little kid, let alone one with leukemia, and being so close to the beach was a big no-no. Too much risk of infection, even if the fresh sea breeze would probably do her the world of good.
Then there was another side to her, the side that wrote good crime novels and was always on the lookout for good locations and inspiration. Which was funny because all of her best-selling ones involved rich people...
Right now, she could fully understand why.
As a crime novellist, she made a decent enough living and would have had a more than comfortable income for her daughter and herself, but healthcare costs had been slowly eating into her savings over the last year or two. That was without taking into consideration of the cost of bone marrow transplants and the aftercare...
Chloe felt truly awful as she couldn't help but hope one these three were her daughter's father, not that money was the reason she was here, because it honestly wasn't. The reason was the tissue found inside hollow bones and that she would get, no matter what.
XOXOXO
Arthur was walking back from the kitchen, two beers in one hand and a large bag of assorted chips in the other, while his teeth held a small packet of roasted nuts. "Ude? Ittle elp ere an?"
He frowned when he saw Bart staring out the large window with what appeared to be a lovestruck expression on his face. Oh great, he thought with an eye roll, Queen had bought another new car and prepared himself to hear hours of Bart's Can I Drive Your Car song.
"Mmm... Pretty girls are pretty..."
Arthur's brows rose.
Pretty girls?
Had Ollie planned a party without telling them? Cos that was just wrong.
He dropped the peanuts and chips to the floor and hurried to where his buddy had his face plastered to the sliding window, and peered out. Sure enough, there was a pretty girl staring at the ground of their pad, affectionately named El Guarido Del Amo.
Arthur watched her touch the sun loungers and stare up at the building as a whole before noticing him looking at her. Hoping to encourage the pretty one, he grinned and waved.
"Hey, jackass," Bart hissed. "The brewskis, dude."
Huh?
Oh, crap.
Arthur hid the bottles behind his back and kept on smiling, feeling like a world class moron when she crossed her arms and shook her head. She walked closer to the sliding windows until she was close enough for him to see a definite smirk on her face.
She stood there, waiting for something, but he wasn't quite sure what cos he was too busy trying to shove the beer into Bart's hands.
"And you two say I'm the douchebag," the younger one said kicked his buddy in the leg.
"What did you do that for?" Arthur yelled when the sudden sting shot up his calf and into his thigh.
Bart rolled his eyes, only pushing open the sliding glass window to give the pretty girl room to come in.
It finally dawned on Arthur what the young woman had been hoping for and mentally asked Bart to kick him again, this time in the head.
"Thank you," Chloe greeted them, her voice cry and filled with what was probably the first genuine bit of humour she'd felt in a very long time. "Mr. Allen?" She asked, not wasting any time through the need to know.
Bart grinned and puffed up his chest while giving her his most charming smile. "That would be me."
"I know this is gonna be a weird question, but may I have your blood type?"
The young man's face fell. He'd been sure his luck was finally in. "A, why?"
She nodded and glanced at the other young man. "I assume you're Mr. Curry? Same question."
Arthur blinked, sharing an obvious look of confusion with his buddy. "O and why?"
"Well," Chloe breathed out, finally allowing a smidgen of hope to rise up inside. "One of you could potentially be my daughter's father."
XOXOXO
"Are you okay?" Chloe asked the younger man, her voice gentle and understanding.
Bart had been sat there holding and staring at photos of her daughter for the better part of an hour now, and he seemed to be getting increasingly nervous.
His mind was on a completely different track.
Oh God, oh God, he thought. A.C and Ollie are gonna find out I'm freaking Big Bird, and they're gonna laugh and kill me and demand their money back.
She spoke again and he only looked up when Arthur slapped the back of his head while trying to slyly look towards the blonde. "Huh?"
Chloe struggled to keep from smiling. If he thought she hadn't noticed the way he'd been looking at her ass then he was very much mistaken. "I asked if you were okay."
"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm fine."
She held her breath for a moment and put her glass of water down. "I know how she looks, Mr. Allen, but..." But what? It isn't as bad as it looks? Cos it kind of was.
In his panicked state, Bart grabbed onto her train of thought like a lifeline. "Oh, uh, it's just Bart and it isn't how she looks, Miss..."
"Chloe, please, then what is it?"
He showed his youth and naivety showed when he asked, "How do you cope?"
"Dude!" Arthur hissed, then apologised. "Sorry about him."
Chloe waved it off with a simple smile, but answered with her heart. "I love my daughter, Mr. Curry..."
"Arthur, or A.C," he offered.
"Then Chloe, please," she returned easily, relaxing a little more in their company. "I love Molly and I cope by knowing once I find the father, there's a good chance he'll be a match for her."
"A match? You mean like that bone marrow stuff?" Bart asked and she nodded. "Does it have to be a blood match?"
That was the second time she'd been asked that today and she was beginning to wonder about how little information there was out there regarding leukemia. "No you don't, I asked about the blood type because it takes certain groups to make certain groups."
"Like A positive and all that?"
"Yes," she had to smile at his curiosity. "Molly is O positive, and that means either one of you can be her father and if you are..."
Both Arthur and Bart understood what she was going to ask. The look in her eyes was one that asked them not to make her beg for her daughter to be saved.
Arthur was the first to speak. He couldn't let a little kid suffer like that, even if he had no clue about what the hell a bone marrow transplant entailed. "I'll take a DNA test and if you don't need to be a blood match..."
A wave of feeling had Chloe taking a big drink of her water to hide the fact she really was about to cry. Two total strangers had genuinely cared had offered too go through hell to help a little girl they didn't even know. "Thank you, Arthur," she said and the weight on her shoulders got a little lighter.
He gave a shrug and blushed. "I'm a gentleman," he stated, feeling oddly hot. "You want some more water? Or there's juice? I'd offer a beer, but you're probably driving. It's no trouble..."
For the millionth time that day, Chloe covered up a snigger with a cough. "That would be lovely, thank you," and he was gone before she could blink.
"So..." Bart began, unsure of what to say now that he was alone with her. "How come you used a donor? I figured a hot chick like you would be knocking em back with a stick."
This time when she coughed, it was with shock and surprise. "A hot chick?" She wheezed and gave her chest a pat. How long had it been since someone paid her a compliment? "I think I'm flattered."
He nodded vigorously. She should take it as a compliment. "Are there any other potentials?"
"Just one more," she managed. "Oliver Queen, though why on Earth he donated is beyond me."
Bart frowned at this. Oliver Queen's jizz had been thrown out and he said just that. "But..."
"There was a mix-up," Chloe stated shortly. "And there will be a lawsuit on the bank I used. Believe me. Especially if Mr. Queen has a family history of illnesses. Though I have no idea how I'm gonna get to ask him for a DNA sample without being on the receiving end of a restraining order."
The young man thought very, very quickly. "If you help me, I'll help you."
"Excuse me?"
He leaned forward and whispered. "I didn't donate!"
Chloe stared at him. "You were there that day."
"I know, I know! I chickened out! I couldn't do it!"
What... Ohhhhh....
Performance anxiety.
"Then how can you help me if you aren't the one I'm looking for?"
Bart's confession bubbled right out of him. "Ollie and A.C gave their money to help me out at school, but I couldn't do it. You don't tell them that and I'll get you into the Queen manor." Seeing she wasn't quite following, "Oliver Queen owns this place and let's us rent it at low cost cos we've known each other all our lives."
Chloe narrowed her eyes. "You'd get him to see me for a while if I keep quiet?"
"You keep quiet and I'll get you a whole hour with Oliver Queen."
Author: Sunscorched
Rating: R for language used in some chapters.
Category: AU
Pairing: Chloe/Oliver
Summary: Donations come in all forms.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Distribution: Chlollie on LJ, FF.net, and whever else I choose to post it!
Notes: I came up with the idea over sausages and I may be writing it, but a lot of folk have helped. Al, Strom, Gen, and Solo to name but a few. You know who you are :-D
Four half a years later saw Chloe Sullivan sat staring at her cousin, her entire being espressing sheer exhaustion. She pushed short strands of blonde away out of her eyes and prepared herself for the worst. "Did you find anything?"
Lois Lane looked as tired as she felt. "I did and you're not gonna like it."
A humourless smile appeared. "Just tell me, Lois. Please."
Anger turned her lips thin. "There was a mix-up at the bank on collection and one donor's sample was swapped for another."
A lump of dread formed in Chloe's chest. "When you say sample..." Something told her she really didn't want to hear the answer.
Lois took a deep breath that did little to calm. "I mean just that. One of the employees had been caught smoking pot and boom. Someone's little soldiers got sent to the wrong camp." She saw her cousin's face and could have kicked herself right in the head. "Sorry, Chlo."
"Do they..." Chloe tried to speak as her chest got tighter. "Do they know who?"
Her cousin pulled out a file that had been getting increasingly thicker with information, notes, names and addresses. "There were 130 men who donated that week, but only sixty-seven made the grade. I've already narrowed them down to the more possible ones."
Chloe took the offered folder with a nod of gratitude, but she'd learned long ago to trust her instincts and her instincts were screaming. "What else?"
Lois didn't want to drop this particular bombshell on her cousin, but it had to be done. "One of the donors is Oliver Queen. The Oliver Queen."
Her first reaction was to laugh and laugh she did. A good, hearty laugh that honestly made the day just that bit brighter. "You're telling me," Chloe stated through her laughter. "That Oliver Queen donated to a sperm bank?"
Okay, so it was nice hearing her cousin laugh for the first time in months, but it was also a little irritating, especially considering the possible consequences. "Wednesday on July 28th 2010, at exactly 2:30 pm... And you're still laughing."
"I'm sorry, Lois," she chuckled. "I just can't see Oliver Queen donating. What could he possibly gain by donating sperm? It's probably someone with the same or similar name."
Her cousin wasn't laughing in any way, shape or form, and it began to dawn on Chloe that Lois was deadly serious. Wasting no time, she flipped open the file because she wanted to see it for herself. She stared at Oliver Jonas Queen's name written under a photograph before looking at her cousin.
"Did you record the conversation with the bank?"
"Oh yes," Lois stated quite firmly. "I'm thinking lawsuit and when we contact Oliver Queen, I'm sure he'll only too happy to help..."
"Are you serious? Contact Oliver Queen about a little girl that may or may not be his? He'd be happy to help with a lawsuit." When she laughed this time, it was without humour and lot more cynical. "There's no way a guy like him would help with anything except what's down his Armanis."
Silence reigned for a good few moments before Lois broke it. "You have to ask, Chloe, and you know you do. There's too much to lose if you don't."
The younger woman looked into the hospital room where her daughter lay sleeping and though her eyes burned, no tears fell. It'd take more than a conversation with Oliver freaking Queen to make her cry.
Still, Chloe thought as she opened her mouth, "I think I'll leave him for last," and Lois couldn't help the laughter that left her mouth.
XOXOXO
The first house Chloe went too was just on the outskirts of the city and if houses could be cute, then that's what it was. Not too big and not too small, with a smoking chimney and good sized windows that held floral blinds. The wasn't much of a yard at the front and she couldn't see the size of the back yard, and sure it was out the way of everything, but all in all, it did look like a nice place to live.
She sat in her car at the end of the drive double checking she had every bit of information that may be needed. Photos of her daughter? Check. Proof that he donated at that particular bank? Check. Proof that her daughter was honestly sick just in case he thought she was crazy? Check.
"Okay, Sullivan," Chloe breathed as nervousness began to take over her nerve. "Baby steps, remember? First goal... Get out of the car."
Her fingers never left the wheel.
"Again... Get out of the car."
Yet her fingers stayed right where they were.
Oh, this was stupid, she was stupid.
Her beautiful, gorgeous little girl was in hospital and she was being an idiot. She didn't have time to be an idiot because any moment spent being an idiot was a moment wasted.
Chloe sucked it up and got out of her car, locking it before she got back in it. Smoothed down her shirt, tugged her pants into place, and pushed her hair behind her ears. She might sound like a crazy person, but she wasn't gonna look like one.
Each footstep up the path was a footstep closer to the potential father and though she tried not to get her hopes up, she knew they were partially there.
"You're here now, so just raise your fist and knock on the door."
It took a few knocks until someone answered and when they did, Chloe knew instantly the guy in front of her was definitely not her daughter's father. The guy in front of her was tall and broad shouldered, which didn't mean anything, but he had brown hair and green eyes. Still, she had to be sure.
Confusion shone in those green eyes. "Can I help you?"
"Erm..." Chloe began. "Did you donate any..." She couldn't bring herself to say sperm. "Bodily fluids to the Star City Bank about four and a half years ago? July 28th, to be exact."
The guy's face turned seven shades of red and his eyes darted here and there. "I did... Oh... Oh my God! That was supposed to be annoymous!" If his girlfriend found out about this...
Chloe was quick to stop his panic before he gave himself a coronary. "No, no, wait! It's not what you think, I promise. At least I don't think it's what you think, but I just need to be sure. Here, look."
She opened her file, pulling out the three photos of her daughter. "She's in hospital and needs a bone marrow transplant," she explained. "She doesn't have any siblings, so the best match is her father, and since I used the bank..."
The guy took the photos and his face fell and when he looked at her, it was with genuine feeling. "I'm sorry about your daughter, Mrs...?"
"Sullivan," she replied. "And it's just Miss. All I need to know is your blood type."
"I'm AB..."
Chloe closed her eyes and tried to get a hold of herself. "I can cross you off the list." God, she should've done better to keep her hopes down.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"I'll just be going," she said when she opened her eyes. "Thank for your time, sir."
He gave a simple shrug and an expression that clearly said he wished he could do more.
She was about halfway down the path when his voice stopped her. "Do bone marrow transplants need the same blood type? Cos I was thinking..."
Stunned by the stranger's kind offer, Chloe turned back to look at him and it was all she could do to not throw her arms around him in gratitude. "It's very kind and I thank you for it, but family are often the best matches, which is why I'm breaking the rules to find my donor."
"In more ways than one," he said with a boyish grin that immediately fell when he realised what he said. "I-I mean... Um... Sorry."
Cloe smirked at his attempt to pull his foot from his mouth. "I know what you mean," she coughed to hide her snigger. "What's one more shot of bodily fluids? Thank you for your time and your generosity."
She was glad her car was in the opposite direction because it allowed her to effectively hide her giggling.
"Men," she sighed and unlocked the doors.
XOXOXO
Any second now, Chloe would pick her jaw off the floor and put her eyeballs back in her head.
Any. Second. Now.
This had to be some kind of karmic joke invented specifically for her.
Not only was one prospective father a billionaire, but it looked as though there were three because there was no other explanation for what she was looking at right now.
A house, if one could call it that, stood less than fifty feet from the beach was a serious work of art. Two stories, , two sets of patio doors and two balconies, and it was completely, perfectly symmetrical.
As if the house itself wasn't enough to make her question karmic forces, there were three large sun loungers perfectly spaced right in front of a beautiful swimming pool that was at least 15 metres long.
Chloe walked up the gravelled drive, the crunch of loose stones under her shoes drowned out by the large WOW echoing constantly in her head. This was where two of her possible donors lives and hell if she wasn't hoping they would give her daughter the time of day...
There was the other side of that was thinking of how unsuitable it would be for Molly. All that glass could be hazardous to any little kid, let alone one with leukemia, and being so close to the beach was a big no-no. Too much risk of infection, even if the fresh sea breeze would probably do her the world of good.
Then there was another side to her, the side that wrote good crime novels and was always on the lookout for good locations and inspiration. Which was funny because all of her best-selling ones involved rich people...
Right now, she could fully understand why.
As a crime novellist, she made a decent enough living and would have had a more than comfortable income for her daughter and herself, but healthcare costs had been slowly eating into her savings over the last year or two. That was without taking into consideration of the cost of bone marrow transplants and the aftercare...
Chloe felt truly awful as she couldn't help but hope one these three were her daughter's father, not that money was the reason she was here, because it honestly wasn't. The reason was the tissue found inside hollow bones and that she would get, no matter what.
XOXOXO
Arthur was walking back from the kitchen, two beers in one hand and a large bag of assorted chips in the other, while his teeth held a small packet of roasted nuts. "Ude? Ittle elp ere an?"
He frowned when he saw Bart staring out the large window with what appeared to be a lovestruck expression on his face. Oh great, he thought with an eye roll, Queen had bought another new car and prepared himself to hear hours of Bart's Can I Drive Your Car song.
"Mmm... Pretty girls are pretty..."
Arthur's brows rose.
Pretty girls?
Had Ollie planned a party without telling them? Cos that was just wrong.
He dropped the peanuts and chips to the floor and hurried to where his buddy had his face plastered to the sliding window, and peered out. Sure enough, there was a pretty girl staring at the ground of their pad, affectionately named El Guarido Del Amo.
Arthur watched her touch the sun loungers and stare up at the building as a whole before noticing him looking at her. Hoping to encourage the pretty one, he grinned and waved.
"Hey, jackass," Bart hissed. "The brewskis, dude."
Huh?
Oh, crap.
Arthur hid the bottles behind his back and kept on smiling, feeling like a world class moron when she crossed her arms and shook her head. She walked closer to the sliding windows until she was close enough for him to see a definite smirk on her face.
She stood there, waiting for something, but he wasn't quite sure what cos he was too busy trying to shove the beer into Bart's hands.
"And you two say I'm the douchebag," the younger one said kicked his buddy in the leg.
"What did you do that for?" Arthur yelled when the sudden sting shot up his calf and into his thigh.
Bart rolled his eyes, only pushing open the sliding glass window to give the pretty girl room to come in.
It finally dawned on Arthur what the young woman had been hoping for and mentally asked Bart to kick him again, this time in the head.
"Thank you," Chloe greeted them, her voice cry and filled with what was probably the first genuine bit of humour she'd felt in a very long time. "Mr. Allen?" She asked, not wasting any time through the need to know.
Bart grinned and puffed up his chest while giving her his most charming smile. "That would be me."
"I know this is gonna be a weird question, but may I have your blood type?"
The young man's face fell. He'd been sure his luck was finally in. "A, why?"
She nodded and glanced at the other young man. "I assume you're Mr. Curry? Same question."
Arthur blinked, sharing an obvious look of confusion with his buddy. "O and why?"
"Well," Chloe breathed out, finally allowing a smidgen of hope to rise up inside. "One of you could potentially be my daughter's father."
XOXOXO
"Are you okay?" Chloe asked the younger man, her voice gentle and understanding.
Bart had been sat there holding and staring at photos of her daughter for the better part of an hour now, and he seemed to be getting increasingly nervous.
His mind was on a completely different track.
Oh God, oh God, he thought. A.C and Ollie are gonna find out I'm freaking Big Bird, and they're gonna laugh and kill me and demand their money back.
She spoke again and he only looked up when Arthur slapped the back of his head while trying to slyly look towards the blonde. "Huh?"
Chloe struggled to keep from smiling. If he thought she hadn't noticed the way he'd been looking at her ass then he was very much mistaken. "I asked if you were okay."
"Oh, uh, yeah. I'm fine."
She held her breath for a moment and put her glass of water down. "I know how she looks, Mr. Allen, but..." But what? It isn't as bad as it looks? Cos it kind of was.
In his panicked state, Bart grabbed onto her train of thought like a lifeline. "Oh, uh, it's just Bart and it isn't how she looks, Miss..."
"Chloe, please, then what is it?"
He showed his youth and naivety showed when he asked, "How do you cope?"
"Dude!" Arthur hissed, then apologised. "Sorry about him."
Chloe waved it off with a simple smile, but answered with her heart. "I love my daughter, Mr. Curry..."
"Arthur, or A.C," he offered.
"Then Chloe, please," she returned easily, relaxing a little more in their company. "I love Molly and I cope by knowing once I find the father, there's a good chance he'll be a match for her."
"A match? You mean like that bone marrow stuff?" Bart asked and she nodded. "Does it have to be a blood match?"
That was the second time she'd been asked that today and she was beginning to wonder about how little information there was out there regarding leukemia. "No you don't, I asked about the blood type because it takes certain groups to make certain groups."
"Like A positive and all that?"
"Yes," she had to smile at his curiosity. "Molly is O positive, and that means either one of you can be her father and if you are..."
Both Arthur and Bart understood what she was going to ask. The look in her eyes was one that asked them not to make her beg for her daughter to be saved.
Arthur was the first to speak. He couldn't let a little kid suffer like that, even if he had no clue about what the hell a bone marrow transplant entailed. "I'll take a DNA test and if you don't need to be a blood match..."
A wave of feeling had Chloe taking a big drink of her water to hide the fact she really was about to cry. Two total strangers had genuinely cared had offered too go through hell to help a little girl they didn't even know. "Thank you, Arthur," she said and the weight on her shoulders got a little lighter.
He gave a shrug and blushed. "I'm a gentleman," he stated, feeling oddly hot. "You want some more water? Or there's juice? I'd offer a beer, but you're probably driving. It's no trouble..."
For the millionth time that day, Chloe covered up a snigger with a cough. "That would be lovely, thank you," and he was gone before she could blink.
"So..." Bart began, unsure of what to say now that he was alone with her. "How come you used a donor? I figured a hot chick like you would be knocking em back with a stick."
This time when she coughed, it was with shock and surprise. "A hot chick?" She wheezed and gave her chest a pat. How long had it been since someone paid her a compliment? "I think I'm flattered."
He nodded vigorously. She should take it as a compliment. "Are there any other potentials?"
"Just one more," she managed. "Oliver Queen, though why on Earth he donated is beyond me."
Bart frowned at this. Oliver Queen's jizz had been thrown out and he said just that. "But..."
"There was a mix-up," Chloe stated shortly. "And there will be a lawsuit on the bank I used. Believe me. Especially if Mr. Queen has a family history of illnesses. Though I have no idea how I'm gonna get to ask him for a DNA sample without being on the receiving end of a restraining order."
The young man thought very, very quickly. "If you help me, I'll help you."
"Excuse me?"
He leaned forward and whispered. "I didn't donate!"
Chloe stared at him. "You were there that day."
"I know, I know! I chickened out! I couldn't do it!"
What... Ohhhhh....
Performance anxiety.
"Then how can you help me if you aren't the one I'm looking for?"
Bart's confession bubbled right out of him. "Ollie and A.C gave their money to help me out at school, but I couldn't do it. You don't tell them that and I'll get you into the Queen manor." Seeing she wasn't quite following, "Oliver Queen owns this place and let's us rent it at low cost cos we've known each other all our lives."
Chloe narrowed her eyes. "You'd get him to see me for a while if I keep quiet?"
"You keep quiet and I'll get you a whole hour with Oliver Queen."
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