FicWad

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

A couple of days later saw Oliver sat in what had to be the best bakery in the world, though he couldn't quite work up the energy to enjoy his pastry or his smoothie, and he didn't know what was more worrying. His lack of appetite or the way one of his buddies were staring at him like he had six heads.

"What?" He asked, having had enough of the staring.

Arthur didn't react and Bart's sandwich paused inches from his mouth. "What do you mean what?"

Oliver's brown eyes rolled. "It's taken ten minutes for you to eat half your sandwich and A.C hasn't blinked since I sat down."

His friends looked at each other, then looked back at their comrade. "Dude," Arthur spoke. "You have a kid."

"No," Oliver drawled. "She's a donkey cleverly disguised as a kid."

His pals didn't look amused and he sighed. "Yes, I have kid. Lots of other guys have kids. It's no big deal."

"You been to see her yet?" Bart asked around a mouthful of club sandwich.

Oliver shook his head and focused on the table top. "I got halfway to the hospital, then turned around and hid in Alfie's for a few hours until they had to call a cab."

"Dude, your mom's gonna string you up," Bart stated after chugging half his soda in a single gulp. "That place is daylight robbery, man."

"Yep," Ollie finally looked up with a helpless smile. "But those Long Islands are long."

"Here, here," A.C raised his water in agreement. "So what are you gonna do about the kid? Molly you said."

Molly.

His kid and the reason he called in the troops. He shrugged. "No clue, man. I mean, this chick just lands on my doorstep and thanks for that, by the way, Bart. Really made my day."

The younger man narrowed his eyes suspiciously before realising. "You hit on her, didn't you?" Not that he mentioned his own involvement. After all, man had his pride.

Arthur silently chuckled. "You dawg!"

Ollie glared until they shut up. One of these days, this would happen to them and then he'd have the last laugh. "No," he lied. "Would you hit on a woman who said she had your kid?"

"I hit on her and she had your kid," Bart confessed. "Did you see those hips?"

"I really wish I could say I'm surprised, but I'm really not." Oliver took a deep breath. "What do you guys know about bone marrow? I mean, I know it's something to do with cancer, but that's about it."

Arthur and Bart's smiles faded into nothing as they shook their heads.

"Sorry, man," Arthur shrugged helplessly. "I've asked at the aquarium, but..."

Bart gave a similar shrug. "Your dad's got me running my ass off, so I haven't had much time to get my Google fix." He frowned. "Or my Match and eHarmony fix. Your dad sucks."

Great. "I'm really gonna have to go down there, aren't I?" Ollie knew he had to go there, but well... Seeing a kid he didn't want or ask for was some scary ass shit.

Arthur would forever hate himself for what he was about to do, but when Oliver Queen got like this, the guy could talk himself into being scared of his own shadow. "You know..." he started, purposely speaking slowly to get the attention he wanted. "Even going to see doesn't hold you to anything. You don't have to do anything. As you say, she's only your kid through a mistake."

He knew he'd hit a mark when his buddy averted his gaze and he smirked. Oh yeah, he was good.

Bart stared at Arthur in disbelief. "That's harsh, dude. Seriously harsh."

Arthur returned the look with one that said play along, fuckwit.

Oliver was too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice the silent conversation going on in front of him. He let his body flop back against the seat. "This officially sucks," he stated. "My mom's besotted, my dad treats me to endless shots of whisky, and I feel like a sack of shit."

Arthur smirked to himself. He'd hardly needed to say anything before his friend started to get things off his chest. "I thought I could smell something gross."

"Har har," Ollie sneered and threw an empty straw packet at him. "Assbutt. All joking aside, guys. How can I go down there, huh? What the hell am I gonna do with a kid?"

"Help her, maybe?" Bart asked, still oblivious to Arthur's plan.

Oliver couldn't keep from glaring at Bart. "How could I help her? Don't even know what's wrong with her or what bone marrow has to do with it." He ruffled his hair in frustration. "If it was money, not a problem, but it isn't. She wants something from me and I don't how to give it."

A.C bit back the urge to comment on how Ollie was not as bad a guy as he thought. That was something his buddy would have to figure out for himself. He offered up an encouraging smile. "Only one way to find out."

XOXOXO

"And then do you know what she said?" Laura asked as she passed her husband the salt.

"No, you didn't," Robert forced to keep the smile on his face as he seasoned his dinner. For the last couple of days, his wife had been at the hospital and coming home with tales and stories of what Molly had done and said.

It had been endearing for the first few hours, then it got steadily worse until all his wife could talk about was her granddaughter.

"But mommy, she said," and Laura chuckled. "Mommy, I don't know if I want sandy shoes."

Robert resisted the urge to massage his temples, choosing instead to shut himself up with a bit of minted lamb. It wasn't right that he was angry she talked so much about Molly and maybe he was a little jealous that he hadn't been invited to go see her, but neither had Oliver. It felt a little wrong to see his son's daughter when Oliver hadn't seen her first.

Oliver.

The son who had such low esteem because he thought he hadn't done anything with his life apart from work for dad.

It hurt Robert to no end to think how his son saw himself and it angered him to see his wife almost blind to it. Not that he was much better, of course. He'd spent so much energy on trying to ignore Oliver's actions, that he'd unknowingly ignored the hidden sadness.

He felt like a failure, both as a father and friend to his son.

Yet Laura...

Laura seemed to have stars in her eyes when it came to the situation and though he couldn't blame her, he did think she could stand to be brought back to Earth about it.

"Oh, Robert," she said through a smile that reminded him why he fell in love with her. "If you could see her, I know you'd love her just as much."

He put his cutley down and wiped his mouth with his napkin, contemplating what to say and how to say it. Thankfully, he didn't have to start as his wife's expression turned from blatant happiness to concern.

"Bobby?" Laura asked, her brow furrowed. "Is there something wrong?"

"It's Ollie," Robert began and then watched as she paused before nodding. "He's..."

"Not going to do it, is he?" God, that was just too horrible to think about.

He had to blink once or twice. "This has nothing to do with Molly, Laura. It's about Oliver."

"What about Oliver?" Laura quizzed. "I know he hasn't been to see her yet, but I've been trying to get Chloe to say he's welcome."

"Enough about Molly!" Robert exclaimed. Here he was, trying to talk to his wife about their son and all she could think about was someone else's child. He hadn't met the girl and right now, she was not his priority.

"Excuse me?" Laura's frown disappeared as she looked at her husband, part in shock and part in anger. "Don't you dare speak to me like that, Robert Queen."

"I'm trying to discuss our son and all you can think about is..."

"My granddaughter?" She offered, her tone snappish. "My very sick granddaughter who could well die if she doesn't get the help she needs."

"And she won't get the help she needs if you don't listen to what I have to say."

Fine.

He wanted her to listen? Then she'd give him all the listening he could stand because she had a few choice words for him to hear, too.

Laura pushed her plate aside and leaned her chin on her knuckles. "What about Oliver, Bob?"

Her attitude was duly noted and it did nothing to placate his feelings on the subject. "Our son," he exaggerated. "Our son feels like he's worthless, like he has nothing to offer anyone. Much less his daughter."

Robert took no satisfaction in watching his wife's face go ashen or in hearing her voice go quiet. "He what?"

"Feels worthless," he managed, remembering his son's expression. "God, Snoop. Our son feels like he isn't worth anything and all you've done is sit and talk about his daughter."

"Maybe that's what he needs," she pointed out. "Maybe he needs to hear about his daughter and maybe so do you. She's just a child, Bob. A child Oliver can help. We can talk too him, make him understa..."

"No, Laura," Robert remained firm. "We can't. Not this time. Haven't you wondered if Oliver feels worthless because we made it easy for him?"

She closed her eyes and nodded. "Yes, I do."

"We can't make this easy for him, sweetheart. This has to be his decision and not one we can force or guilt him into doing."

Laura opened her eyes and Robert's heartstrings twitched at seeing tears in her beautiful eyes. "She's four years old, Bobby. Four. If she doesn't get a donor in time, she might die at four years old. She hasn't had a chance and if Oliver hears that, then..."

"No," he said, his own eyes growing hot. "I'm sorry, Laura. I won't have Oliver forced to do something he doesn't want to do."

"In that case," she stood and dropped her napkin on her half-finished dinner. "You can be the one to tell Chloe why her daughter is dead. As for Oliver... All I can think about is seeing him at four years old and how the only care he had was what tree to climb next or when Arthur was coming out to play. All we had to care about was what to buy for his fifth birthday and not if he'd live long enough to see it."

"Laura..."

She looked long and hard at her husband before speaking again. "I understand your point of view and I've listened to what you had to say about Oliver and you're right. He does have to grow up, but at the price of a little girl? That we obviously disagree on."

Robert stood. "That's not what I'm saying," he could help raising his voice.

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm saying..." and he took a breath and lowered his voice. "I'm saying Oliver needs to find out for himself and make his own choice. We can't do this for him, Laura. Not this time. He needs to understand his actions have consequences that we can't always clean up."

"Then what do we do?" Laura asked, her voice showing the first sign of crying and her husband was right there, taking hold of her and stroking her hair.

Robert closed his eyes to stop his own tears from falling. "There's nothing we can do, sweetheart," and that killed him more than a shot to the head ever would.

XOXOXO

Like his mother a couple of days before, Oliver found himself being given a green sticker to show he was cleared for visitation and then got his face mask. It was so overwhelming in so many ways, that he was seconds from running far away.

The terror he felt at going to the hospital was now an intense curiosity and he truly hated that he wanted too know. It was serious enough for every visitor, including parents, to go through the same thing he had and that was enough to tap into his heart more than anything.

He should be here because it was the right thing to do and not because he wanted answers or because of some morbid need to understand.

"Mr. Queen?"

Oliver looked at the woman. "Yes, nurse..."

"Jaques," she replied, her tone a little shrewish and firm. "Charge nurse Jaques, thank you very much and if you'd like to follow me, I'll be happy to show you where to go."

Was it him or was that a subtle hint?

Oliver didn't have time to question it as he was being led down a corridor until a hand came to stop him in his tracks.

"Mr. Queen," she said. "I may warn you that there's nothing on this ward that I don't know about."

He was about to question her, but she beat him to it by smiling in a way that made him think twice. "Enjoy your visit, Mr. Queen," and then she was walking away, leaving him to face his fate alone.

Oliver blew out a breath and he looked at the room he was left in front of and felt dread, but then he heard a little voice.

"Mommy is coming right back, Nemo. She just went to the store to get some stuff and I have to behave."

That little voice was childish in ever sense of the word. It had the high pitched tone of a little girl, yet it was a little slurred and he didn't know if that was because she was tired or the medication she was on.

He took a few steps closer and saw her through the window.

She was so small to him, small and fragile and she had different machines around her, yet there she was. Stroking a toy Nemo and smiling at it like there was nothing wrong.

"Mommy has a new story to write," she told Nemo. "The killer is a kid, but not sick like me, but just real bad like..."

Oliver heard her pause.

"Damien," and he wondered what that harpy was doing showing a four year old The Omen. "But Damien isn't as good as Freddy. I like Freddy. He's funny!"

His expression was one of disbelief as he continued to listen to the little girl talk.

"I like Nancy," she said. "She has pretty hair. It's really curly and brown. If I had hair, I'd want it to be just like hers."

Oliver's face could be set in stone as he realised a four year had been allowed to watch an actual horror film. What kind of mother allowed their young child to watch something like that?

Did Charge Nurse Jaques know this happened on her ward?

He thought not.

"I like it better when Nancy isn't scared of him," she said. "She takes it all back and she isn't scared anymore. It makes me not scared, Nemo. Mommy is, I think, but mommy's not dark and curly like Nancy."

Oliver kept listening.

"Nancy's a good girl and she beats a bad man, but don't tell I like Freddy better. I like his long arms and you can see the ketchup all over, Nemo. It's real funn..."

Then there were two brown eyes looking at him.

Not knowing what else to say or do, he gave her a little wave. "Hi."

She kept silent.

Oliver bit his lip before making the decision to move into her room. "You must be Molly."

She still remained silent.

What the hell did he say to a kid? "Is, uh," he scratched his head. "Is your mom here?"

Molly paused before shaking her head.

"Okay, I'll take that as a no. I see you have Nemo. My friend works in an aquarium," and those brown eyes went wide and he swore she was about to speak, but apparently decided against it.

God, he felt like a total loser.

Oliver inched closer to her bed and watched as she clutched Nemo a little tighter, so he stopped and shoved his hands in his pockets. "My mom comes to see you sometimes."

Brown eyes blinked.

"Laura," he said. "I'm Laura's son. My name is Oliver or Ollie."

Molly frowned a little before whispering to Nemo. "Molly says she isn't supposed to talk to strangers."

Now he felt like a total jackass, but he soldiered on. "Nemo, tell Molly that's good advice."

She offered a shy smile before whispering to her toy. "Molly says you have a green sticker and that means you can take the mask off."

Oliver hesitated, but she made her toy nod. He took the mask off. "Tell Molly I said thank you."

"Molly says you're welcome and she likes Laura and you're not a real stranger, right?"

Oliver struggled to keep a straight face as she tried to find a way to speak to him and still do as she was told. "Tell Molly I'm not a real stranger and that Laura likes her, too."

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Molly wants to know if your friend really works in an aquaroom."

He rubbed a hand over his face to wipe his laughter away. "Tell Molly Arthur really does work in an aquarium and she can visit if she wants."

Those brown eyes lit right up and she gave him to one of the biggest smile he'd ever seen. "Molly asks if she can really visit? If the doctors said so."

"Tell Molly yes, she can really visit."

Molly gripped Nemo and he watched childish excitement made her bounce a little. "Molly wants to know if there are dolphins and fish and sharks like Jaws."

Oliver couldn't stop the laughter if he tried and he took a seat next to the bed, then reached out to Nemo. She gave it to him and giggled when he whispered to the toy before pointing the face at her. "Ollie says there are lots and lots of fish and some dolphins and sharks."

"Like big, big sharks?" She asked, then slapped her hand over her mouth.

His shoulders shook. She was pretty cool for a kid. "Big, big sharks," he said. "You can see when you come visit."

That little hand fell from her mouth. "Promise I can come visit?"

"Cross my heart," Oliver made an X on his chest. "Does your mom know you watch Jaws?"

Molly's eyes widened. "David has a TV in his room and he lets me watch when mommy goes to the store. You won't tell on me?"

He snorted, remembering how he used to sneak movies inside cartoon boxes and take them to Arthur's. "I promise," he assured in a whisper. "So you like Freddy, huh?"

"Uh-huh, David has all of them and he has Godzilla and King Kong, too, and Doctor Who."

Oliver wondered what her mommy would think if she knew her daughter was a monster movie geek. "You don't like Disney or cartoons?"

Molly thought for a second before answering. "I like The Little Mermaid and Cars and Finding Nemo and Pokemon. Do you like Disney and cartoons?"

Thank God his buddies weren't around to hear this. "I like The Emperor's New Groove and Toy Story and Daffy Duck."

She nodded. "I was s'posed to go watch Jason today, but David isn't feeling very well."

It took Oliver a moment or two to figure out she meant Friday The 13th. She really was a sneaky little thing. "Don't you have a TV of your own?"

Molly shook her head. "Mommy says that I have to share my movies with my friends, but David doesn't move a lot, so he has his own."

He wondered what this David had and chose to nod instead of asking. "Anyway, it's more fun watching movies with my friends." She scowled, "Even if they talk all the way through."

"I know exactly what you mean," Oliver grumbled, scowling himself. Bart and Arthur simply couldn't keep their mouths shut and it was beyond annoying.

Molly fiddled with her bed sheets. "If you want, I can ask David if we can borrow his TV and we can watch Jason and I promise not to talk."

His first response was to say yes, but then if her mom found that not only did he know her four year old watched stuff like that then watched it with her, there'd be hell to pay. Having once been on the end of her simmering temper, he didn't want to risk castration.

"I don't think..." and he face fell as she nodded.

"You're not staying, are you?"

Oliver swallowed when tiny shoulders shrugged. "It's okay. You came to see mommy anyway and she's not here..."

His heart clenched in his chest. "I had to come see if you're as pretty as my mom says you are and you know what?"

Molly perked up at that. "What?"

"You're prettier than what my mom says."

"Then you really came to see me?"

He grinned. "Course I did, kiddo. It's just... Your mommy might not be happy if I let you watch Jason."

Molly gasped. "You said you wouldn't tell!" She was gonna be in so much trouble.

"And he doesn't have too."

XOXOXO

Like all parents, Chloe had panicked when nurse Jaques told her there was a man in Molly's room and had pretty much ran down the hall, only to find Oliver Queen laughing at something her daughter said. Her first instinct was to go in there and stop him from promising a visit to the aquarium, but when Molly started to ask questions and talk to him, she paused.

Then came her daughter's little confession and she was marching toward's David's room, fully intent on snitching him up to his parents.

Chloe poked her head round the door, only to see the twelve year old sound asleep. "Well, damn," she muttered, startling Denise.

"Hey, Chloe," Denise whispered the greeting.

"Your son, the little rugrat, has been letting my daughter watch his movies when I've gone out." There. Let's see how the two sneaks deal with getting caught.

Denise's eyes narrowed and she looked at her sleeping son. "I knew they were upto something when I got back from work yesterday."

Chloe went to say something, but deflated. "Oh, what's the point? They'll just find another way to do it," and the other woman chuckled quietly.

"I am sorry, Chloe, but you know what they're like when they get together."

"Sadly, yes," she sighed. "At least this way, we can moderate it. Somewhat."

"It's the somewhat that worries me," Denise grinned. "I'll have a word with him about more... Appropriate movies."

"Nah," Chloe shook her head. "If it gets Molly's interested enough to get her out of bed, then..."

The other gave her a nod of sympathy. "She still not wanting to do much?"

"She seems to be perking up a bit lately, but I've got Laura to thank for that. Her visits have really put a smile on her face."

"I know what you mean. David was so happy when she brought him a King Kong poster."

"She's a sweetheart, isn't she? Maybe too kind for her own good, I think."

They were about to continue when David stirred and shifted, causing Chloe to smile affectionately. "Family room later? You, me, coffee?"

"Sounds like fun," and they said their goodbyes.

"One down, one to go," Chloe marched back toward her daughter's room and got there just in time to here Molly's gasp. "And he doesn't have too."

It was so much fun to catch her daughter in the act.

XOXOXO

Oliver quickly stood up, ready to defend his presence. Crap, crap, crap. "I was just... I mean I wasn't gonna..."

Chloe arched a brow at seeing the oh so suave playboy look the bumbling fool. "You weren't going to what? Tell how my daughter has been sneaking off to watch inappropriate movies or you weren't going to let her watch one?"

"Neither! I mean my mom said it would be okay if I came to see her and I didn't know she was doing that."

Yeah, Queen, you're real smooth.

Chloe folded her arms. "So you weren't going to tell me what my daughter was doing," and glanced said innocent little girl.

"No, well... Yes!"

"You were going to snitch on me?" Molly gasped. "You promised."

Oliver looked at those big brown eyes shining with accusations. "No!"

"Liar, liar, pants on fire."

"You're in trouble, Molly Anne, not Mr. Queen," Chloe stated firmly. "Now apologise or you won't any treats and you'll be going to bed early."

Ollie took in Chloe's stance and instantly recognised it. He'd seen it on his mother and as such, he was an expert in getting out of it. He gave Molly a quick wink and his most charming smile before turning to Chloe with that smile in place. "Of course I was going to tell you," he said. "What kind of responsible grown-up would I be if I didn't?"

Seeing it wasn't working in the slightest, Oliver started glancing towards Molly and tried to get a message across.

"You were?" She asked, rolling her eyes. "That's very grown-up of you. Molly?"

Oliver sighed and looked to the little girl. "Sorry, kiddo. I tried."

Her shoulders slumped, knowing she'd been well and truly caught. "It's okay, Ollie. I made you promise and it isn't your fault you have to be a grown-up."

"When David's feeling better, you're going to apologise to him."

Molly's jaw dropped. "You told on him?"

Chloe nodded. "I did. You shouldn't put people in trouble, sweetheart. It isn't fair. You'll still be allowed to watch your monster movies, but..." and she raised her hand to prevent her daughter from talking. "You will be monitored by either myself or David's mom. Am I understood?"

There was silence before a little voice was heard. "Yes, mommy."

Chloe reached over to stroke her daughter's smooth head. "Good girl."

Oliver felt invisible as he watched mother and daughter interact, but there wasn't much he could do. Well, apart from chuckle when Molly brightened.

"So can I borrow David's TV? Ollie said he'll watch Jason with me."

"No, you can't. No TV for a week until I feel like you've learned your lesson."

"But you just said..."

Chloe raised her hand and Molly quickly shut up. "You can still watch your movies, but not for a week or until I say." She glanced at Oliver. "That goes for you, too."

His eyes widened innocently. "I can't watch TV for a week? Man, that's harsh."

Despite their previous meeting, she found herself chuckling. "Nope and just for the attitude, you can come help put the groceries away."

"But Ollie didn't do anything wrong, mommy!" Molly looked at her mom, hoping she could get her new friend out of trouble. "I was naughty, not Ollie."

Oliver watched Chloe bite her lip and had a feeling she was about to give in. Remembering the trouble his mom had with him, he knew that if a parent gave an inch, the kid would take a mile. "I was naughty too, Molly. I wasn't gonna tell on you, remember? If I do something naughty, I'm not allowed to go to the aquarium."

She shot him a look of surprise and gratitude. "That's right, Molly. No TV for a week or no trip out."

The little girl pouted, but nodded. "Okay, no TV for a week."

Oliver felt quite proud of himself. "I'm gonna help your mom put the groceries away and if you want, I can come back."

Molly merely nodded. "Okay."

"Come on," Chloe gestured to the door and lowered her voice. "She'll be fine by the time we get back. She just likes to sulk for a while."

Oliver hesitated, but followed the mother's advice, yet couldn't leave without saying one thing. "Five minutes tops, kiddo."

Another tiny nod and Chloe's lips narrowed, but there wasn't anything to do when her daughter got into a sulk except let her get on with it. "The groceries await," she said loudly. "If you're lucky, I may even make you a hot chocolate."

Magically, Molly's sulking faded a bit and Oliver caught a little gleam in those brown eyes.

She was such a little sneak.

XOXOXO

"This is the family room, Mr. Queen," Chloe stated and dropped the few bags on the table.

Oliver looked around and whatever he was expecting, this was not it.

There were a few sofas in the middle of the room, a couple of armchairs to one side, and a small kitchen at the back of the room. It was like a home of sorts or a common room in a backpacker's hostel, and the thought of Chloe living here was humbling.

"It's not what you're used too, I know, but..."

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have too."

Oliver shook his head. "It's just... People live here?"

Chloe really looked at him and wanted to slap herself. He was only curious, nothing more or less. She tried to make up for her horrible comment with a smile. "Some of us don't live too close to the hospital, so we spend most of our time here and go home once or twice a week."

He was still looking around and was surprised to see a saucepan of milk on the hob. He didn't think people made cocoa the proper way anymore and it was nice to see. "What about..."

No, it was rude to ask that.

"What about what?"

"Nothing," he muttered. "Never mind."

She set a large jar of coffee down on the table. "What?"

"Bathing?"

Chloe couldn't help but laugh at his expression. Poor guy looked so out of place, that she didn't have the heart to be sarcastic. "There's a bathroom with a small shower through that door. Cleanliness isn't something we can skimp on, I'm afraid."

Oliver felt his face grow hot. Of course cleanliness would be important. In an effort to cover up his discomfort, "Here, let me take that," and grabbed a few things from a bag. "Where do they go?"

"Under the sink, thanks." She focused on taking out the rest of the groceries. "I didn't expect to see you, Mr. Queen."

"I didn't expect you to see me," he confessed as he knelt down to put the stuff away. He glanced over his shoulder at Chloe, taking in the droop of her shoulders and slight curving of her spine. He thought to her words about some of the parents basically living here and he didn't think she'd be one of them.

Given how devoted she was to Molly, he would have thought she'd live close enough to not have to sleep here, but obviously that wasn't the case.

Oliver stood and walked back to the table, ready for more things to put away. "You shouldn't stand like that," he said, hoping she wouldn't take offense.

Chloe glanced at him. "I'm sorry?"

"Your spine's curving. You should stand straighter."

It took a few seconds for her to click onto the fact he'd noticed her bad posture. "Benefits of being hunched over a keyboard for six hours a day." Seeing the questions, "I'm an author and sadly being hunched for six hours a day for over eight years is taking a toll."

She straightened herself up a little. "Better?"

Oliver looked her over and shook his head. "You're straightening the wrong parts. I've done yoga since I was a teen. Here, lemme show you..."

Chloe watched as he stood in a certain way and her eyebrows rose when his height seemed to increased by a good inch or two.

"It's about elongating the spine. Try it."

She copied as best she could and pressure between her shoulder blades quite literally popped like air bubbles. She gave him an impressed look. "Not bad. Thank you."

Oliver grinned, pleased he was coming across as a decent person this time. "You're welcome."

Chloe shook her head and tried to keep the position while she finished unpacking. "I've got to say," she began lightly. "I expected a court order."

He noticed she didn't look at him as she spoke. "I didn't expect anything."

"Why are you here?"

"Curiosity," Oliver replied just as lightly. "Answers. I don't know..."

"Anything?" Chloe offered, finally looking at him. "Like how I was when I first found out she was sick. Like you have all these directions and don't know where to turn?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

Chloe paused for a moment and chose her words carefully. "I understand why you were before. I mean, I had all these pre-conceived notions about you and..."

"I proved you right, didn't I?" Oliver grimaced. "Yeah, about that."

She waved his apology off. "You don't need to explain, Mr. Queen. Your business is your business. I used your friends too get to you and I sort of knew what Bart was doing to have you see me."

Bart, huh?

"How come Bart gets Bart and I get Mr. Queen?"

Green eyes blinked. "I'm sorry?"

Brown eyes rolled. "You haven't once called me Oliver or Ollie, it's always Mr. Queen, but my friend gets Bart."

Chloe pursed her lips and tilted her head to one side. "You haven't called me anything."

Oliver opened his mouth, ready to retort, but realised she was right. To cover his tracks, he put on his most charming smile again and held out his hand. "Chloe, right? You say you write? Can't say I've heard anything..."

She didn't look at all impressed. "That's because I don't write under my name."

"Not working, is it?"

Chloe gave him a smile of total amusement. "Not one little bit. Sorry Oliver, Joey Tribianni you are not."

"Gee, thanks," and rolled his eyes. "So, about the aquarium..."

She took a breath. "If you don't intend to keep your promises, then please don't make them, Oliver. She's just a kid."

"No, no," he was quick to stop that thought. "I meant will she be allowed? Cos she said only if the doctors said so. I know Arthur wouldn't mind."

Chloe went to say something, but stopped and when she looked at him, he saw just how tired she was. "Her immune system isn't very good and she isn't often allowed outside for a little walk, much less a trip out. You don't know anything about her or her illness. Learn about that first because if you promise and then get scared or decide it's too much, she'll be the one in tears."

She saw his expression and felt awful. "It's not personal, Oliver. I swear. I just don't want my daughter hurt."

He nodded. "I understand," he said and he did.

It was now down to him.