Perseverance

Chloe flit around the kitchen of the Kent farm, pulling bowls, ingredients, utensils, everything she could possibly need from the cabinets and carefully laid each piece out on the counter, constantly checking the cookbook to make sure she had everything she needed. She was determined to make Jonas's cake from scratch, by herself. It was his first birthday and this was her only goal for the day, well, that and getting the entire League here for his birthday party.

"Mamamama," came the excited babble of her precious little guy. She looked up and smiled as Clark walked into the kitchen, tightly grasping the wiggling one year old.

"Hey, sweetie!" she greeted, leaning over to plant a quick kiss on the little boy's head. "And hey to you, too, Clark. Thanks again for letting us have the party here."

"Hey, anything for my little nephew," Clark told her, smiling brightly at the little tyke he held. Chloe was amazed at how well Clark seemed to take to Jonas. Her son was only a few hours old the first time he got to hold him and she had been sure he would be a bumbling nervous mess but she had been pleasantly surprised when he had cradled the tiny little bundle like a pro, no hesitation what-so-ever. They became fast friends from that point on. Uncle Clark was Jonas's favorite person, aside from Mommy and Daddy.

Thinking of Oliver brought an even larger smile to Chloe's face. He had really stepped up to the plate when it came to fatherhood. Anything she or Jonas ever needed, Oliver was right there to take care of it. Jonas was his daddy's boy, there was no denying it. His little face would light up the room when Oliver would walk in. His first word, and still his favorite, was Dada.

"Hey! Anyone home?" Lois's voice called out from the entryway.

"We're right here!" Chloe called out to her cousin, bringing her attention to the kitchen.

"There's the man of the hour!" Lois gushed, reaching for the toddler that Clark currently was attempting to hold onto. The little guy squealed and reached for the brunette. "There's my guy."

"I thought I was your guy?" Clark asked a fake pout on his face.

"No, you're my back up guy… Jonas is first string," she informed her boyfriend.

"Ha ha, very funny."

Lois just smiled then tickled Jonas, causing him to break out in peals of laughter. Chloe rolled her eyes then went back to making his cake.

"Have you ever actually baked a cake before, Chlo'?" Lois asked.

"Once… and it didn't turn out too badly. Give me the benefit of the doubt," she jokingly told her cousin.

"Hmm… okay, but Clark's trying it first. He's the one with the impenetrable stomach."

Chloe still didn't know to this day what went on the night she found out she was pregnant, neither Clark nor Lois really wanted to talk about it except to say that the other woman wasn't pregnant and that Clark had finally broken down and told Lois his secret. She didn't know which had come first and felt it really wasn't any of her business. The two seemed to be closer than ever after that point so Chloe was happy.

"Hey, buddy, wanna go find Shelby?" Lois asked the squirming boy.

"Bel-by," the little boy mumbled in his still incoherent speech.

"I take that as a yes. Here you go Clark, go find the mutt," Lois said, handing the excited boy over to his Uncle.

"Umm… okay. Let's go find Shelby, Jonas."

Once the two boys were outside, Lois turned to Chloe, a nervousness settling around her.

"I just got back from another appointment with Dr. Hamilton," Lois blurted out.

"Oh my god, Lois, are you okay?" Chloe asked, suddenly worried about her cousin. Lois never saw Emil, he specialized in the… weird things, and Lois was… well, human, so she had always stuck with her normal, everyday doctor.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's just… well… Clark and I have been talking… quite a bit actually, about… maybe, you know… starting our own family. We've kind of discussed marriage and all that and… well, he's been talking a lot with Dr. Hamilton… and… he thinks it could be possible. We might need some help, but, well, he really thinks we could have a baby," Lois's words spilled out, falling on top of each other. She bit her lip and waited for her cousin to say something.

"Oh, wow. Lois, I had no idea you guys were even thinking about this."

"Yeah, I know. We… we kind of wanted to keep it to ourselves, just in case there was no hope. It's easier to not have to deal with the pitying gazes when they find out you can't…"

"Yeah, I get what you're saying. Wow, Lois, that's great. You guys are really thinking about tying the knot?"

"It's in our plans… in the near future probably," Lois admitted, giving her cousin a small smile.

"Well, I'm happy for you guys! Really!" Chloe told her, smiling to hide the slight hitch in her chest.

She really was happy that Clark and Lois had come to this point in their relationship. They both deserved to be happy and they were… they were each other's destiny, of that she was sure, but a small part of her was jealous. Not of Lois, not that she ended up with Clark, but more that she seemed so sure of her relationship and where it was going.

Chloe knew Oliver loved her and she loved him. He had stood by her through every scary month during her pregnancy. He was there when Jonas entered the world; he even cut the umbilical cord! Twice Oliver had brought up marriage, and both times she had turned him down. She couldn't bare the thought of him marrying her just because he had gotten her pregnant. After the second refusal, he hadn't brought it up again.

Jonas was a year old today. He was no longer her little baby; he was growing up right before her eyes. A few days ago, while she was sitting in the floor playing with him, she realized what she wanted. She wanted a family. A real, honest to God family, a husband, a wife, two-point-five kids… it was cliché, and probably slightly pathetic, but it was what she wanted. The only problem was that she wasn't sure Oliver wanted that anymore.

Oliver sat at the table, his son sitting securely in his lap while all of their friends lounged around enjoying the cake Chloe had made, each poking fun at the fact that she had actually managed an edible piece of food. It was all in good fun; Chloe could actually cook, she was no Martha Kent, but she could dish out pretty decent meals when she tried. One could even go so far as to say she was a culinary expert when put side by side with Lois.

Ollie leaned over and kissed his son's soft, blond locks. He couldn't believe his little boy was a year old today. It seemed like just yesterday the doctor had handed a little blue bundle to him, telling him he was a father. The months had flown by.

"Okay, time to sing!" Lois told the assembled group. The whole table broke into an off tune rendition of "Happy Birthday".

Jonas watched everyone with wide eyes and clapped the hardest when everyone finished the song.

"Happy Birthday, Jonas," Ollie told his son, offering him a large slice of chocolate cake while Chloe stood nearby, a camera at the ready. He watched his son attack the cake and smiled while everyone laughed wholeheartedly. Things were almost perfect. Hopefully, after tonight, everything would be as it should be.

"Okay, remember, no peanuts, of any kind, only milk or water, no juice and, Lois, no sugar. I'm serious. He's had more than enough," Chloe told her cousin.

"We know, Chloe. We've done this a time or two. Now, go! Enjoy yourselves! We'll be fine, right, Clark?" Lois asked, turning to face her boyfriend.

"Yes. Chloe, Lois is right. We've watched him before. Go, have a good night. You guys deserve it."

"Chloe, let's go before they change their minds," Oliver said, leading a slightly reluctant Chloe to his car. Lois and Clark had agreed to keep Jonas for the night so he and Chloe could celebrate Jonas's birthday in their own special way. He had the perfect plan.

"Okay, okay, let's go. Thanks again, guys. We owe you."

"Just remember to return the favor some day," Lois called out, causing Clark to blush.

"No problem," Oliver called out, starting the car and pulling away as soon as Chloe had buckled her seat belt. He was wasting no time tonight. He had something very important to talk to Chloe about and the drive to Metropolis was already too long.

The drive that should have taken three hours took Oliver a mere two. Chloe felt they were lucky they hadn't been stopped. Of course, Oliver would have just paid the ticket and not thought twice about it, but Chloe knew that the tabloids would have had a field day with that.

Once Ollie pulled into his spot underneath the Clocktower, he stopped the engine and jumped out of the car. He ran around to Chloe's door and had it opened before she could even unbuckle her seat belt. She just laughed.

"Are you in a hurry?" she asked coyly.

"Do you realize how long it's been since we've had the place to ourselves? It's been forever since we've had a chance to be as loud as we want and heaven knows it been far too long since I've made you scream," he whispered into her ear, causing goose bumps to appear on her arms and a shiver to make its way down her spine.

"Well, Mr. Queen, what are you waiting for?"

Oliver just smiled and led her into the elevator. Pushing the top button, he turned and pressed her into the side of the lift. He attached his lips to her neck while his hands gripped her hips and pulled her lower body flush with his, showing her exactly how eager he was to get her into his bed. She laughed but quickly turned it into a moan as he laved at her pulse point.

The elevator doors slid open and Oliver pulled Chloe with him to the sofa before collapsing onto it. He released her and pulled back, his eyes dark with desire.

"Before we go any further, I have something I wanted to give you," he told her, reluctantly pulling away and reaching over to the end table to grab a beautiful silver package. "Here, because I think Mommy deserves something for today, especially after that amazing cake you made."

"Ollie, you didn't have to get me anything. I liked what we were about to do just fine," she told him, disappointed that he had stopped.

"Oh, I promise, we'll get back to that, but I wanted you to open this first," he told her, prodding her with his knee.

"Okay, whatever you say, Mr. Queen."

Chloe pulled off the silver wrapping paper and opened the box. She pulled back layers of silver tissue paper to reveal a beautiful silver tri-fold picture frame. In the first square, she recognized a picture Lois had taken of her a few days after they had found out she was pregnant. The farthest square held a picture she was pretty sure Clark had taken of Oliver a few months ago; he looked so happy and carefree. The center picture… this one brought tears to her eyes. It was probably the worst picture in the world of her and definitely not the best of Oliver, but it was a memory she would never forget. It showed her, red faced, covered in sweet with tears running down her face. An anxious and awed Ollie stood beside her, the largest grin she had ever seen plastered on his face, tears in his own eyes, and there on her chest was a bloody, messy squalling baby Jonas. He wasn't even a minute old. Lois had snapped this picture the second he came out and the doctor plopped him down on her.

Engraved on the bottom of the middle square were the words, "Jonas Gabriel Sullivan-Queen". Chloe quickly wiped her eyes and glanced up at Oliver.

"Oh, Ollie, thank you. It's perfect," she told him, placing a chaste kiss on his lips, her eyes straying back to the picture frame.

"I have something else," he told her, fidgeting in his seat. Chloe looked back up, a question in her eyes.

"What, Ollie?"

"Chloe Ann Sullivan, I love you. You know me, and you know I'm not the best with romantic gestures… but they don't seem to suit you anyway. I do know, however, that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You are my life, Chloe. You're my sidekick, my partner, my lover, my best friend. I can't imagine going a single day without you by my side. I know that you've been hurt before and I know you don't want to rush into anything, but we have Jonas… we are already tied to each other forever. I love you and I'm pretty darn sure you love me, so… will you marry me? We don't have to run off to the Justice of the Peace tomorrow, we can take our time, have a long engagement, whatever you want, I just want to make it official. I want you to be my wife," he finished, nervously meeting her eyes as he pulled out a small black velvet box.

Chloe reached over and took the box, carefully opening it. Inside was a simple ring. It had a platinum band and a reasonably sized emerald cut diamond. It was perfect. She knew he had been thinking about this a lot over the last year and a half and each time he had brought it up, she had run the other way. That wasn't the case this time. She was finally ready to face the future with him. There was no more looking back, only forward. She raised her eyes to meet his anxious ones.

"Yes, Oliver, I will marry you."

THE END!