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A/N: Blah...ok, I normally don't like posting fics, because I don't think they're NEARLY as awesome as some that I've read, but...I came up with this one not too long ago, and I figured, what the heck? It's a bit sad. But I hope you enjoy it. P.S. Can't I just say how happy I am that there is a separate Chloe/Oliver thread? 
Inner Strength
Author: ~H
Pairing: Chlollie (futurefic)
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything except my own imagination.
Synop: Oliver finds inner strength after fate deals him a tragic blow.
********
Something just didn’t seem right.
Then again, nothing about this felt right at all. And yet Oliver couldn’t help but feeling that everything in his life was going exactly the way he wanted. He and Chloe had been married for…what…three years now? Crazy. They hadn’t even reached their first anniversary when they found out they were expecting. But one afternoon, during a routine ultrasound, their baby had no heartbeat. That was probably the hardest day of Oliver’s life; it was as if Chloe just shut down. Slowly but surely, they healed.
Six months later, Chloe was pregnant again. Two months later, though…same story. After that, it broke Oliver’s heart to hear his wife tell him that she didn’t want any more children. Because he did.
Oliver waited outside of the operating room, reflecting on how the past nine months had seemed to fly by. This baby was a surprise, and at first, they held their breath. Here they were now, though. But something still didn’t seem right. Chloe had called him at work about fifteen hours prior, saying that she knew it was time. It had been a rough fifteen hours for Chloe; she hadn’t progressed past four centimeters. Her doctor ordered an emergency c-section. Oliver was still waiting. Suddenly, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder;
“You can come back now, Mr. Queen.”
********
It was becoming ever so surreal to Oliver that, in just a matter of minutes, he would be meeting his son or daughter for the first time. It was both his and Chloe’s decision to wait on finding out the sex. Smiling at the sight of his beautiful but exhausted wife, he took her hand and kissed her forehead.
“You ok?” he asked. She nodded, smiling slightly back at him. She squeezed his hand.
“So, did you decide on a name?” she asked groggily, “because you’re just absolutely convinced that it’s a girl.”
Oliver chuckled, stroking Chloe’s hand. “Olivia,” he finally said. “Olivia Joanne. A combination of your middle name and mine.”
Chloe smiled wider this time, nodding. “It’s beautiful,” she managed. She sighed. “I like Gabriel Robert, if it’s a boy. My dad’s name and your dad’s name. What do you think?”
“Almost here,” they heard the doctor say. Oliver squeezed Chloe’s hand tighter, the knot in his stomach growing. It wouldn’t be much longer now.
“I can’t wait to see you be a dad,” Chloe whispered. The couple shared a kiss. All of a sudden, an alarm went off, and Chloe’s grip on Oliver’s hand slackened. Something wasn’t right.
“Chloe?” What was happening?
“Clot,” the doctor said, “hemorrhage. Move, people!” A nurse took Oliver by the shoulder. Alarms were going off everywhere now.
“Chloe?”
It felt as if Oliver’s life was suddenly spinning out of control. The nurse took him outside of the operating room.
“Please, you have to save her,” he managed, desperately. He felt his knees give way and he collapsed onto the floor. At that moment, joy of meeting his child gave way into fear, terror, and helplessness. Stay strong, Chloe, he repeated in his mind over and over, Stay strong.
********
The minutes seemed to tick slowly by. Oliver didn’t doubt his wife’s strength, but deep in the pit of his stomach, he had a sinking feeling; it was taking way too long. After what seemed like an eternity, the doctor was approaching him, speaking to him. At that moment, it was as if the world seemed to slow and spin at the same time; he heard words he didn’t want to hear, incoherent voices:
“We did everything we could.”
Then there were apologies, too many, but it didn’t matter, Chloe was gone…gone…
Gone forever.
Oliver’s heart felt as if it would never stop breaking. Numbness took over. He was alone now, alone…
Overcome, he rose, but the aching and loss of Chloe succumbed him, and he collapsed to the floor. There would be no more anniversaries, no more silly voicemails at work, no more staying up late just talking about life, no more hearing her laugh, feeling her touch, no more dancing in the kitchen at three in the morning. No more.
No more. Oliver started to cry. He wasn’t sure if he would ever stop.
********
The nurse sighed deeply and put the chart to the side. Sometimes I really hate this job. It was never easy to lose a patient, but for some reason, the loss of her patient today really had affected her. She was such a bright young woman, so excited to bring her first child into the world. And her husband…
Her heart broke for her husband. She didn’t know him, nor had she ever met him prior to today, but from what she could gather, he truly loved his wife.
The nurse glanced over her shoulder; he hadn’t left the same spot in a few hours. Perhaps, what she was about to do, would help ease his loss. Perhaps just a little.
********
Oliver hadn’t moved in a few hours. What was he supposed to do, anyway? All he wanted to do was sleep. Sleep and remember the nightmare of the day. Shaking, eyes tired from crying, he barely felt the gentle touch on his shoulder.
“Mr. Queen?” a quiet voice asked. She wasn’t surprised that he didn’t respond.
Please, not another apology. He could feel her kneel down to his level.
“Would you like to see your daughter?”
The heaviness of loss hit Oliver like a thousand bricks; he was a single parent now. Nevertheless, he had…a daughter? Shaking slightly, he faced the kind nurse.
“I…I have a daughter?” he managed. A girl?
The nurse smiled warmly. “Yes,” she answered, “Six pounds, nine and a half ounces, ten fingers, ten toes. She’s perfect.”
Despite himself, Oliver could feel himself rising to follow the kind nurse. It was now or never; time to be a father. Even without Chloe.
********
Oliver was left alone once again; it had suddenly dawned on him that Chloe would never meet her daughter. Just as a new wave of tears threatened to resurface, the nurse opened the door with a pink bundle in her arms.
“Here she is, Mr. Queen,” the nurse said gently, “I’ll give you as much time as you need.” She passed the pink bundle to Oliver. The door quietly closed.
Oliver lifted the top of the blanket to reveal a small amount of dark blonde hair and brown eyes, just like Chloe. He couldn’t believe that he was staring at the face of him and Chloe’s daughter. She was looking at him.
“Hi,” Oliver said quietly, smiling despite himself, “Hi, Olivia. I’m your dad.” She looked exactly like Chloe.
“So…I don’t really know where to go from here,” Oliver continued, “because…it’s just you and me right now.” The previous wave of tears he had tried to suppress before were now falling freely. “But all I do know is that I love you…so much.”
He gazed upwards, and knew at that moment, that Chloe was with them. He would make it through.
********
TWO MONTHS LATER
There had been many sleepless nights. There had been many nights in which Oliver had cried himself to sleep. There had been good days and bad days. Most days, it still hurt. But then there was Olivia.
Oliver had not expected to fall so hard in love with Olivia as he had. She brought him so much joy into his life.
He sat slowly on the loveseat and stared across the way. There sat a framed picture of Chloe from their wedding day. Most days, it still hurt.
Oliver brushed a tear from his eye and looked over his shoulder, his two-month-old daughter sleeping soundly without a care in the world. His Olivia. His inner strength.
END
Inner Strength
Author: ~H
Pairing: Chlollie (futurefic)
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything except my own imagination.
Synop: Oliver finds inner strength after fate deals him a tragic blow.
********
Something just didn’t seem right.
Then again, nothing about this felt right at all. And yet Oliver couldn’t help but feeling that everything in his life was going exactly the way he wanted. He and Chloe had been married for…what…three years now? Crazy. They hadn’t even reached their first anniversary when they found out they were expecting. But one afternoon, during a routine ultrasound, their baby had no heartbeat. That was probably the hardest day of Oliver’s life; it was as if Chloe just shut down. Slowly but surely, they healed.
Six months later, Chloe was pregnant again. Two months later, though…same story. After that, it broke Oliver’s heart to hear his wife tell him that she didn’t want any more children. Because he did.
Oliver waited outside of the operating room, reflecting on how the past nine months had seemed to fly by. This baby was a surprise, and at first, they held their breath. Here they were now, though. But something still didn’t seem right. Chloe had called him at work about fifteen hours prior, saying that she knew it was time. It had been a rough fifteen hours for Chloe; she hadn’t progressed past four centimeters. Her doctor ordered an emergency c-section. Oliver was still waiting. Suddenly, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder;
“You can come back now, Mr. Queen.”
********
It was becoming ever so surreal to Oliver that, in just a matter of minutes, he would be meeting his son or daughter for the first time. It was both his and Chloe’s decision to wait on finding out the sex. Smiling at the sight of his beautiful but exhausted wife, he took her hand and kissed her forehead.
“You ok?” he asked. She nodded, smiling slightly back at him. She squeezed his hand.
“So, did you decide on a name?” she asked groggily, “because you’re just absolutely convinced that it’s a girl.”
Oliver chuckled, stroking Chloe’s hand. “Olivia,” he finally said. “Olivia Joanne. A combination of your middle name and mine.”
Chloe smiled wider this time, nodding. “It’s beautiful,” she managed. She sighed. “I like Gabriel Robert, if it’s a boy. My dad’s name and your dad’s name. What do you think?”
“Almost here,” they heard the doctor say. Oliver squeezed Chloe’s hand tighter, the knot in his stomach growing. It wouldn’t be much longer now.
“I can’t wait to see you be a dad,” Chloe whispered. The couple shared a kiss. All of a sudden, an alarm went off, and Chloe’s grip on Oliver’s hand slackened. Something wasn’t right.
“Chloe?” What was happening?
“Clot,” the doctor said, “hemorrhage. Move, people!” A nurse took Oliver by the shoulder. Alarms were going off everywhere now.
“Chloe?”
It felt as if Oliver’s life was suddenly spinning out of control. The nurse took him outside of the operating room.
“Please, you have to save her,” he managed, desperately. He felt his knees give way and he collapsed onto the floor. At that moment, joy of meeting his child gave way into fear, terror, and helplessness. Stay strong, Chloe, he repeated in his mind over and over, Stay strong.
********
The minutes seemed to tick slowly by. Oliver didn’t doubt his wife’s strength, but deep in the pit of his stomach, he had a sinking feeling; it was taking way too long. After what seemed like an eternity, the doctor was approaching him, speaking to him. At that moment, it was as if the world seemed to slow and spin at the same time; he heard words he didn’t want to hear, incoherent voices:
“We did everything we could.”
Then there were apologies, too many, but it didn’t matter, Chloe was gone…gone…
Gone forever.
Oliver’s heart felt as if it would never stop breaking. Numbness took over. He was alone now, alone…
Overcome, he rose, but the aching and loss of Chloe succumbed him, and he collapsed to the floor. There would be no more anniversaries, no more silly voicemails at work, no more staying up late just talking about life, no more hearing her laugh, feeling her touch, no more dancing in the kitchen at three in the morning. No more.
No more. Oliver started to cry. He wasn’t sure if he would ever stop.
********
The nurse sighed deeply and put the chart to the side. Sometimes I really hate this job. It was never easy to lose a patient, but for some reason, the loss of her patient today really had affected her. She was such a bright young woman, so excited to bring her first child into the world. And her husband…
Her heart broke for her husband. She didn’t know him, nor had she ever met him prior to today, but from what she could gather, he truly loved his wife.
The nurse glanced over her shoulder; he hadn’t left the same spot in a few hours. Perhaps, what she was about to do, would help ease his loss. Perhaps just a little.
********
Oliver hadn’t moved in a few hours. What was he supposed to do, anyway? All he wanted to do was sleep. Sleep and remember the nightmare of the day. Shaking, eyes tired from crying, he barely felt the gentle touch on his shoulder.
“Mr. Queen?” a quiet voice asked. She wasn’t surprised that he didn’t respond.
Please, not another apology. He could feel her kneel down to his level.
“Would you like to see your daughter?”
The heaviness of loss hit Oliver like a thousand bricks; he was a single parent now. Nevertheless, he had…a daughter? Shaking slightly, he faced the kind nurse.
“I…I have a daughter?” he managed. A girl?
The nurse smiled warmly. “Yes,” she answered, “Six pounds, nine and a half ounces, ten fingers, ten toes. She’s perfect.”
Despite himself, Oliver could feel himself rising to follow the kind nurse. It was now or never; time to be a father. Even without Chloe.
********
Oliver was left alone once again; it had suddenly dawned on him that Chloe would never meet her daughter. Just as a new wave of tears threatened to resurface, the nurse opened the door with a pink bundle in her arms.
“Here she is, Mr. Queen,” the nurse said gently, “I’ll give you as much time as you need.” She passed the pink bundle to Oliver. The door quietly closed.
Oliver lifted the top of the blanket to reveal a small amount of dark blonde hair and brown eyes, just like Chloe. He couldn’t believe that he was staring at the face of him and Chloe’s daughter. She was looking at him.
“Hi,” Oliver said quietly, smiling despite himself, “Hi, Olivia. I’m your dad.” She looked exactly like Chloe.
“So…I don’t really know where to go from here,” Oliver continued, “because…it’s just you and me right now.” The previous wave of tears he had tried to suppress before were now falling freely. “But all I do know is that I love you…so much.”
He gazed upwards, and knew at that moment, that Chloe was with them. He would make it through.
********
TWO MONTHS LATER
There had been many sleepless nights. There had been many nights in which Oliver had cried himself to sleep. There had been good days and bad days. Most days, it still hurt. But then there was Olivia.
Oliver had not expected to fall so hard in love with Olivia as he had. She brought him so much joy into his life.
He sat slowly on the loveseat and stared across the way. There sat a framed picture of Chloe from their wedding day. Most days, it still hurt.
Oliver brushed a tear from his eye and looked over his shoulder, his two-month-old daughter sleeping soundly without a care in the world. His Olivia. His inner strength.
END
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