Author's Comment: Okay, this is relatively AU in the sense that Oliver and Chloe have not been having their friends with benefits fling, but otherwise, I'm going to do my best to be consistent with the SV timeline.

Enjoy!

BlueSuedeShoes

Prologue

I remember when I thought I was normal. I remember when normal seemed normal.

Those convictions didn't last long. Somewhere between creating the Wall of Weird and discovering that my best friend was an alien from a distant galaxy I realized that there was no such thing as normal, and even if there were, I was far from it. It wasn't that I was inherently abnormal as a person. All things considered, I was just the average, carbon-based life form with two X chromosomes who really wanted to survive high school. Long before I was inhabited by alien technology intent on destroying the world, chosen as the object of an alien monster's affections, or infected by meteor rocks and given temporary healing powers, I was physically...ordinary. But even so, I attracted weirdness and I was astonishingly alert to the weirdness in the world, unlike the blissfully oblivious people around me.

It often made me suspect that all those years of insanity were building up to this life, my life as Watchtower, as if somehow I was being physically and mentally trained to lead the Justice League and no one but me could do it.

Maybe it was a little vain, thinking I was the only on who could handle being Watchtower, but somehow, I think I knew it had been predestined the moment I put in that earpiece and Watchtower officially went online. Everything I'd gone through over the years, everything I'd lost and gained, had somehow been leading up to that moment.

It was strangely easy to accept the fact that my life was never going to be remotely close to normal. I didn't just accept it; I embraced it. I no longer wanted normalcy. I wanted bigger picture, grand scheme. Dedicating my life to helping a team of heroes fight the good fight and save the world on a regular basis was the only way I could live. It was who I had to be. It was what I needed.

Weird had become my normal.

Chapter 1

This is unbelievable, Oliver thought. A car accident? Of all the ways he had morbidly envisioned Chloe coming into harm's way, never had he expected something so...everyday to incapacitate her.. Car wrecks could happen to just anyone, not Chloe. Kidnappings, assassins from the future, alien monsters, Checkmate agents...hell, ninjas, but a car accident?

It was an insultingly mundane way for her to end up in the hospital. How was it that he'd managed--by some miracle--to keep her safe from so much, but he'd allowed her to get hurt in a hit and run?

"Mr. Queen? Mr. Kent?"

Oliver's and Clark's heads whipped up at the same time to see a doctor looking at them calmly.

"Miss Sullivan is awake, but--"

Oliver didn't hear the rest but immediately burst into Chloe's room in relief. Clark rose instantly to cal Lois and give her the news.

Relief and guilt simultaneously washed over him at the sight of her sitting up in her bed, looking thoroughly battered.

"Oh thank God," he said. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, Sidekick. How are you feeling?"

Chloe stared at him blankly, her mouth slightly open and...was she blushing?

"I...uh...I'm sorry," she looked confused, shaking her head slightly, "Do--do I know you?" She looked at him helplessly, her ears turning red as she did so.

Oliver stood shell-shocked in the doorway, shell-shocked. After a very pregnant pause, he called out, still staring at her, "CLARK!" He vanished from her room.

Chloe watched him leave, trying to fight off anxiety. Clearly she was supposed to know him. "Wow," she whispered quietly, wondering who he was and how in the world she knew someone like that.

Several minutes later he reappeared, this time accompanied by Clark. And yet, it wasn't Clark, not her Clark anyway. This model was much older, slightly sophisticated looking in a suit and tie and...was that a press pass? Well that was unexpected. The Clark she remembered sported a farmer's tan and flannel most of the time, and his hair was never neatly combed.

I guess a lot changes in close to ten years, she thought wryly.

"Chloe?" Clark said tentatively.

"Hi, Clark," she said awkwardly. "I guess the doctor told you?" she asked.

He nodded. "How much do you remember?"

She shifted, not making eye contact. "Clearly? I remember everything up until freshman year of high school--" both men's eyes widened "--and after that, well I have little tidbits here and there."

"Tidbits?" Clark repeated incredulously.

"Yeah," she carefully studied the tile on the floor. "Like, I remember homecoming and that big tornado. I remember Pete moving away. Graduating. Your dad's heart attack. Little flashes of things, but nothing particularly coherent."

Clark's mouth was hanging open. "But you don't remember Oliver?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, not sure who he meant, but then she realized he was referring to the man next to him. She shook her head but stopped. It hurt a little.

"What about Jimmy or Davis?"

She started to say no, but then, "Wait, Jimmy? I--Didn't he intern with me...yeah! I interned at the Daily Planet one summer and I met him there."

Apparently she had said something earth-shattering because both men looked mortified.

"I--" Clark stammered, "I should call Lois and warn her." He backed out of the room.

Chloe watched him go dubiously. "He and Lois know each other? Huh. I bet they're at each other's throats constantly." She looked to Oliver as though she expected him to laugh or at least smile but he was still looking thoroughly horrified. She blushed and cleared her throat. "Um...so, wh--who are you exactly?"

Oliver opened his mouth but nothing came out. He shook himself. "Sorry, I'm your...boss?" He seemed unclear on the concept.

Chloe frowned as several questions surged forward at the same time. "Boss? God, I hope you're the editor of a newspaper. But, isn't it weird for someone's boss to check on them at the hospital?" she asked him awkwardly.

Once again words failed Oliver at first, unsure how to handle this. "We're friends, too."

"Oh." She paused. "What do I do?"

Oliver had no idea how to answer that. "Well, you used to work at the Daily Planet, if that makes you feel any better."

Her eyebrows practically disappeared into her hairline. "Used to?" she repeated, brushing aside the fact that apparently there was something to feel bad about.

"Lex Luthor bought it and fired you." The words poured out of his mouth before he could stop himself. He wasn't supposed to upset her.

Suddenly an image of Lex Luthor sitting behind the editor's desk flashed through Chloe's mind. Her head started to ache as she clung to the memory, trying to remember anything else attached to it. "I think...I kind of remember that..." she trailed off. "But not really." He was obviously telling the truth, though. That was enough for her. She looked at him again. "What do I do now, though?" she asked, noting how he had evaded answering that question in the first place.

He shifted uncomfortably. "Erm...you don't really have a job title."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. "Try."

Oliver searched frantically for an explanation that would satisfy her for the moment. He had to discuss with Clark and the team what was to be done about this situation, but he had a feeling she needed to remember on her own. "Personal assistant?" he suggested valiantly.

Down the hallway a nurse almost dropped her clipboard in surprise as she heard someone screech "I'M A SECRETARY?"

Back in the room Oliver panicked. "Not..not exactly. You're...well, it's complicated. We'll explain it to you later. Right now I'm not supposed to give you too much information at once. The doctor warned me it might send you into shock. You've been out of it for hours."

Chloe looked at him, horrified. A personal assistant? What on earth had happened to her over the years? "Who are you?" she demanded once again.

"I'm Oliver Queen. We've been really close friends for several years now and you started working for me a couple of years after we met."

"How did we meet?"

His mouth opened and his eyes darted to the side in a clear desire to evade that question. The longer he stood in the room, the more Chloe became suspicious that there was something distinctly weird going on. He wasn't just trying not to put too much on her at once. He was clearly hiding something. But what? she wondered. Is it something I'm supposed to know but forgot, or is it something that I wouldn't know about anyway? Finally, Oliver gritted his teeth for response. "I dated your cousin for a while--a really long time ago," he added hurriedly. "And then I met Clark around the same time and that was how I got to know you."

She frowned, her heading starting to hurt more and more as she struggled to remember. "How does Clark know Lois again?"

"They're--" he cleared his throat "--dating?"

Chloe's jaw dropped and she felt a sudden, familiar pain in her chest. She had several images of Clark and Lana pass through her brain at once as she recalled being sloughed to the side for her on a regular basis.

"Wh--what happened to Lana?" she asked, suddenly sure they had been dating at some point. Never mind the fact that her best friend and her cousin were dating and it was absolutely impossible to envision.

"She's...gone?" Oliver said, not even remotely sure how to explain everything that had happened where Lana Lang was concerned.

Chloe stared at him, once again certain that he was holding back vital information. She closed her eyes in frustration. "Where's Clark?" she asked. He would tell her the truth, surely.

But as soon as she thought it, she was suddenly seized with the conviction that it was wrong, that Clark did nothing but keep secrets from her. She rolled her eyes in frustration. Great.

"So..." Oliver began, watching her anxiously, "the doctor says your memory should come back on its own. We just need to keep an eye on you and make sure you don't strain yourself in the meantime. It shouldn't take long."

She narrowed her eyes at him again. "The doctor spoke with me, too. He also said there's a chance that I'll never regain my full memory."

He shrugged. "I was being positive, but if you want to look at it like that..."

She felt her mouth twitch into a smile at his response. She had a feeling that that statement somehow symbolized their relationship with each other...whatever that relationship really was. She looked up to find him scrutinizing her.

Suddenly she felt herself overwhelmed with a feeling of embarrassment. Her face grew hot and she stammered something about wanting to talk to Clark.

He nodded and left. When he returned, Clark and Lois were with him. Lois nearly crushed her in an embrace that made her cry out in pain from her bruised ribs.

"Sorry," Lois apologized, instantly loosening her grip before pulling away completely. "You just scared the living daylights out of me, cuz. I'm sorry I couldn't break away from work right away. There was a huge scandal at City Hall. But I rushed over as soon as Clark told me you were awake. How's your memory?" she asked.

Chloe grinned at her cousin, who also looked older and much more mature than what she once remembered. "Well...I remember that you got a tank to drive you to prom and the general never figured out how."

Lois grinned. "Well, at least you've got the important stuff." She turned to Clark. "What have you guys decided about where she's staying?"

Chloe looked up at the three of them. Oliver and Clark shifted nervously. Lois's hands went to her hips.

"You didn't discuss it, did you? You know I'm going to an assignment in Mexico tomorrow. I'll cancel it if necessary, but can't one of you look after her?" She looked at Clark expectantly.

"Lois," Clark rolled his eyes. "We're going on that assignment together. What do you expect me to do?"

Oliver shot Clark a look that Chloe didn't fully comprehend.

"I could stay with Lana..." Chloe suggested weakly. She suddenly had an image of the two of them sharing a room in Chloe's house. Apparently Lana had once stayed with her.

But the three people in the room looked from one to the other awkwardly. What's with all these people acting like everything I say is completely bizarre?

"Um, Chloe, Lana...moved," Lois said finally. "We haven't heard from her in a couple of years."

Chloe looked sad but slowly nodded her head. "Oh. Well, what about staying at the farm with Mrs. Kent?" she suggested, looking at Clark. "She'd probably appreciate the company, wouldn't she?"

Clark nodded. "Yeah, but unfortunately, she's not at the farm much these days, Chloe. Mom became a state senator."

Chloe stared at him in surprise. "Oh."

Lois turned to Oliver, but he backed away instantly. "No way, Lois. That's totally inappropriate. She has no idea who I am."

Chloe stared wide-eyed at her cousin. Why in the world would Lois even suggest she stay with her male boss? That was a law-suit waiting to happen.

"What about Dinah?" Clark suggested. "At least she's a girl."

"Who's Dinah?" Chloe asked, but no one appeared to be listening to her anymore.

Oliver shook his head. "We both know Dinah would get her in trouble before Chloe could bat an eyelash, and anyway, she's in Paris again. She'll be gone for at least a month."

"Who's Dinah?" Chloe repeated again, more demanding now.

"Oliver," Lois said, annoyed. "Chances are she'll remember you in a couple of days, and your place is the most convenient. We both know she's not going to get into any trouble with you around," she shot him a significant look that Chloe didn't understand.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chloe asked, but once again no one answered her.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Clark spoke up.

Thank you, Clark.

"Oh get over it," Lois snapped at him. "She'll be perfectly fine with Ollie."

"And...and she clearly can't go back to her place," Oliver pointed out, giving Clark another one of those loaded expressions that seemed to be flying back and forth all over this conversation.

"Why not?" Chloe asked suspiciously.

"You shouldn't be alone," Clark answered too quickly. She had a suspicion that wasn't the only reason. Yes, Clark Kent, man of mystery. The absurd statement fit, she realized, seized with a feeling that she had struggled for years to find out what he was hiding.

"Isn't there anyone else?" Oliver asked pleadingly. Chloe was on his side. She did not want to go stay with her boss that she couldn't remember anything about. How awkward was that?

Lois shook her head. "Maybe I shouldn't go," she said sadly.

"Lois," Clark stopped her. "You're the one who's been having visions of Pulitzers ever since we got this assignment. I don't care. I'll stay and look after her."

"Oh for the love of--" Chloe rolled her eyes. "Don't make me feel like a priority or anything, you two. Apparently whatever this trip you're going on is important. I'll stay with spiky hair over there if it's the easiest thing."

She looked at all of them with an air of defiance.