Title: Operation Rescue Watchtower now complete

Author: SmileeFace
Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville/DC or the characters. I am just playing with them.
Rating: PG/PG-13
Spoilers: None that I am aware of

Oliver and the other members of his team stood silently in the elevator as it carried the league up to Oliver's penthouse…the official Metropolis head quarters. Oliver stood rigidly, silently fuming. His anger clearly palpable in the elevator and the others didn't want to divert said anger onto them. Heroes, each one in his own right to the populace of the world; cowards when it came to their leader's anger. It was laughable really, the strongest men on the planet, each with his own special ability, quaked in their boots at garnering the wrath of their leader and friend. However, there was only one other person on the planet who could make them all, their fearless leader included, fear for their lives…Watchtower…a little itty bitty piece of womanhood that could bring them all to their knees. Even Oliver, when in his right mind, knew never to step into Watchtower's cross hairs. Needless to say that Oliver wasn't in his right mind, because as soon as the elevator door opened he wasn't just willingly stepping into her cross hairs…oh no, he was jumping--both feet, straight into the line of fire. He was so angry and his anger was directed at only one person who was never afraid of his anger, his Watchtower.

Though the others knew better than to just stand on the sidelines to watch this epic battle of titans, their morbid curiosity would not let them move from their spots. They knew that they should take cover but they all silently vowed to stand their ground as the spectators to the beginning of World War III. Someone had to document this for posterity.

"WOMAN!" Green Arrow bellowed as the elevator door opened. The other guys cringed.

"Dude," AC leaned over and whispered to Bart, "did he just 'WOMAN' Tower?" Not answering verbally Bart, Clark, and Victor all just nodded their heads yes as they followed Oliver into the penthouse. Their eyes scanned the penthouse for places for them to hide, each man rethinking his earlier vow to witness the beginning of World War III, to hell with posterity. Each man was wholly grateful that it was Oliver that would incur her wrath for that statement.

"Excuse me, Arrow, what was that?" The petite pixie like blond jumped up from her station at the computer, her hands immediately going to her hips--her classic battle pose--and her glare directed squarely at Oliver. "Were you addressing me?" She pointed her finger at herself cocking her hip to the side. "Were you BELLOWING for me? Should I tremble, curtsy, and respond 'Oh yes milord, what can I do for you? How may I help you?' Yea, I don't think so. Who the hell do you think you are speaking to me like that? I thought we were partners?"

"Oh, oohh, that's not good. Ollie's lost this battle already." Clark whispered to the other guys, knowing that stance, that glare, and that tone from first hand experience.

"A GPS chip? Really? In my cell? Oliver, come on. What gives you the right to track me without my knowledge? Did you think that I wouldn't figure it out? HELLO!!!! Have you met me?" She threw her hands up in the air dramatically. "I'm Chloe, best friend to an alien, infected by and brain taken over by said alien friend's technology…YOUR Watchtower…I figured out your secret all by myself. Did you NOT think I was intelligent enough to put two and two together?"

"For the record," Clark whispered to the other guys never taking his eyes off the scene before them, "I prefer intergalactic space traveler." The guys snickered quietly. This…Oliver getting his ass handed to him by Chloe was turning out to be more fun than they imaged.

Oliver remained speechless throughout her tirade. He knew he had gone into over-reactive, man in love, panic mode when the chip in Chloe's cell phone went silent. When the GPS connection was lost, he believed that Lex had grabbed her again and/or that she was in serious trouble. He, without serious proof of her needing rescue, did not hesitate to call the team in for Operation Rescue Watchtower. He suited up, sent out the team without gathering all the information. He called Clark in for crying out loud. Thankfully they hadn't gotten all that far when Chloe called Clark's cell phone demanding to speak to Oliver knowing that Oliver shut his phone off during missions. They didn't even stop to get their communicators. They left for this supposed 'rescue mission' blind. And that is what Chloe is mostly upset about. That Oliver almost put his entire team at risk because he was scared and went off half cocked. He knew better than that. He was smarter than that. She expected more from him. He almost put himself, her 'boys', her family in jeopardy because he was too protective of her and this in her mind had to stop. It was endearing at first, but now it was just overbearing.

"Oliver, I can take care of myself. If I get into a situation, I can get myself out of it…most of the time. You need to stop being all cave man here. All you had to do was ask me to carry the GPS chip for your piece of mind, and I would have. You did not need to secretly implant my cell phone with a chip. That is wrong Oliver. That is an invasion of privacy that I will not tolerate. Get it through your head once and for all, I am a FULLY trusted and capable member of this team or I am outta here."

"Chloe," Oliver started out calmly…his anger had dissipated as he listened to her. His brown eyes, dark with fear and sadness, captured her eyes with their intensity. He knew he was being overprotective with her. But since they had started to explore their mutual feelings for one another, he realized the one hard truth about his love for her…that he would be useless without her. She was his other half. She was what has been missing in his life all these years. She was his partner. He would be lost without her. He loved her as he has loved no other. This was an entirely new experience for him. He didn't know what to do next.

Oliver ran his fingers through his already messy blond hair. His pained expression clearly written on his face for Chloe to read. Taking pity on the man that she absolutely adored she crossed the floor to stand in front of him. She took his hand in hers and held it to her heart.

"Oliver, do you feel that?" She looked at him and he shook his head yes mutely. "That is my heart and it beats only for you. Do you understand? I love you but I will not live without trust. You have to trust me to take care of myself. I will even agree to carrying around that GPS chip, if it would make you feel better. But, you have to promise me to never put my family into unnecessary danger again. For Christ's sake you all left here without your communicators…how were you guys going to communicate? You are the leader here, Oliver; you need to use that brain of yours." She tapped the side of his head with her fingers of her other hand while she still clasped his hand to her heart. "What good would you do if you all charged in there and got yourselves killed? What kind of rescue operation was that? I understand that you were scared and you weren't thinking rationally, but I have seen you in action before, Oliver, you never go on a mission without a plan, or so emotionally charged up that you put your team in danger. What happened this time?" Her green eyes searched his face for answers. A slight rough sigh escaped his lips. Water welled in his eyes as he stared at her. He unzipped his vest then grasp her hand and brought it to his chest, flattening it palm side down over his heart so that she could feel his heart still racing at the thought of having lost her.

"Do you feel that, Sidekick?" She nodded never taking her eyes from his. "That is my heart racing because I thought that I lost you. My heart beats only for you now too. I love you. Do you understand? I love you. You are my life now, and should something happen to you I am not sure what I would do. You ARE my heart. You ARE my soul as cliché as that sounds. Nothing in this world matters to me more than you. I trust you, Chloe…more than I have ever trusted another soul. It's the rest of the world that I don't trust, not with you at least." A single tear escaped his eye and slid down his cheek. He didn't care that his team was witnessing this exchange between Chloe and him. They needed to know just how much she actually meant to him. He would die for her. He loved her. They leaned forward, their lips just barely touched when Clark cleared his throat.

"Ahhh, I think, guys," he addressed Bart, AC, and Victor, "I think that we should go now. I think that Green Arrow here has things well under control now. Operation Rescue Watchtower now complete." He smirked; he could tell that Oliver and Chloe needed to be alone. He was happy to see his two friends together. They were a perfect match for each other. He would keep her safe and she would keep him on his toes. The other guys all readily agreed that now was the time to leave. Oliver and Chloe heard the lift door close behind their team as they continued to stare into each others' eyes. The moment that the door closed fully and they heard the lift began to move, Oliver's lips quickly captured Chloe's lips in a kiss that seared his feelings into her. She responded by kissing him back with equal passion. In Oliver's mind his last thought before instinct took over was, she is definitely my partner, my equal, my love…my destiny.