Endless woods to as far as the eye could see. Mountains made of stone that were as high as skyscrapers. The memories of his fallen loved ones all around. These are just many of the thoughts running through the mind of Oliver Queen as he slowly watches the foreign boat he is on sail away from Lian Yu.
A place that in Mandarin meant purgatory. His own personal hell over the last 5 years. 5 years of being stranded on that island. 5 years away from home. 5 long years since he has gotten to see her. Years that have allowed him to come face to face with his own demons. With his own insecurities while he fought for survival each and every single day.
An experience that changed him forever. No longer was he the rich playboy Oliver Queen that had first arrived on the island. He no longer had clean hands. Instead now as he sips down some water he was gracious been given by his rescuers once he had been helped onto their boat there sat a different man.
A man whose hands were stained of the blood of his enemies. A man that had developed into a weapon. A man with a mission on his mind. The mission to keep a simple promise he had made to his father. The promise to right his sins and bring justice to his home.
Just a few days later….
As the residents of Starling City continue to socialize amongest each other inside of a local cafe talking about various topics such as what has been going on in the city to their own personal lives suddenly everyone in the cafe goes dead silent when they see a breaking news story come across the television screens hanging on the walls. A breaking news story that instantly makes everyone's eyes widen as they see the headline Lost Billionaire Found across the bottom of the screen.
Something that instantly makes a few of the residents instantly gasp as a few others suddenly gossip about what they see before they go dead silent as the see the news broadcaster begin to speak.
" Oliver Queen is alive. The Starling City resident was found by fishermen in the North China Sea five days ago. Five years after he was presumed dead following the accident at sea which claimed The Queen's Gambit. Queen is the son of Starling City billionaire Robert Queen who was also on board but now officially confirmed as deceased. The heir to the Queen empire is currently being evaluated at a local hospital. We will bring you more news as it comes into our newsroom. Again Oliver Queen has been found alive."
Just miles away as he stares down out of a window from the 2nd floor of the hospital towards the ground below to see news reporters gathered around the outside of the hospital only to be blocked off from entering by a large police force that is stationed outside there is only one thing on his mind. Not the city below him. Not the promise he had made to his father.
No the only thing on Oliver Queen's mind is redemption. Earning the redemption in the eyes of another. To see the woman that he has dreamed about every single night. The woman that had been his guiding light when he thought the pain on the island was too much to bear. To tell her the truth about what had happened on that boat. The truth about what really happened to her sister.
Sensing that someone is watching him as his body tenses up slowly Oliver hears the sound of the door to his hospital room opening before suddenly he hears the footsteps coming to a stop.
" Oliver?"
Hearing a voice that he had forgotten for so long as he takes a deep breathe Oliver slowly turns around and looks up to see Moira Queen looking towards him with watery eyes before slowly a small smile forms on his face.
" Mom."
As he sees tears slowly falling down her cheeks to the ground below slowly Oliver makes his way over towards Moira as he sees her doing the same with shaky legs before he stops a foot away as he sees her eyeballing him up and down.
" My beautiful boy."
Suddenly as he feels himself being brought into an embrace Oliver slowly wraps his arms around Moira to return the embrace before he feels her crying into his shoulder. An embrace he holds for many minutes as he rubs circles around her back and feels his shoulder getting wet until just minutes later he feels Moira releasing the embrace as he hears her taking deep breathes to calm herself down.
" You're home."
As he stares into his mother's eyes seeing nothing but happiness radiating from them slowly a small smile forms on Oliver's face before he gives her a small nod.
" I'm home."
Without taking his eyes away slowly Oliver watches a smile form on Moira's face as she gives him a nod before suddenly a knock at the hospital door forces him to take his eyes away from his mother to look towards the door where he sees a doctor standing on the other side of the glass. The same doctor that had done a series of medical tests to him once he had arrived into the hospital and was put into his care.
Turning his attention away from the glass Oliver looks back over to see Moira glance over to give the doctor a nod before he watches her lean over to give him a kiss on the cheek. As he watches Moira slowly walk towards the glass door suddenly Oliver takes a few steps forward to follow after her.
" Mom?"
As he watches Moira stop in her tracks as she touches the handle to the hospital door slowly Oliver watches his mother look over her shoulder at him with concern before he takes a deep breathe.
" Have you seen Laurel?"
With hopeful eyes Oliver locks eyes with Moira before suddenly the hope leaves his eyes as he sees her shaking her head.
" No. Not for a while. She visits Thea at the mansion from time to time but beyond that she doesn't make any special appearances. Laurel is very angry with you. If you want to call it anger. In her heart Laurel believes you are responsible for the death of her sister Sara. She may not show it as much as her father does but she truly believes it deep inside."
" I need to talk to her. I need to tell her the truth about what really happened on that boat."
For the next couple of seconds Oliver looks deep into Moira's eyes before suddenly he watches her nod her head.
" I suggest you go see her then. She lives in the very same apartment she has lived in for 5 years."
Nodding his head slowly Oliver makes his way towards Moira as he sees her opening the glass door before he slowly starts to walk down a long hallway.
" Don't you want to know where her apartment is located?"
Stopping dead in his tracks Oliver slowly turns his head to look over his shoulder at Moira with a small smile on his face.
" I already know where it is."
As he turns his head back forward and starts to walk forward down the hallway Oliver misses the shocked look across Moira's face before slowly he rounds the corner of the hallway to see a couple of doctors and nurses around a front desk in the distance. Some that are looking down to charts in their hands. Other just socializing among themselves.
Slowing his advance down to a dead silence approach Oliver slowly makes his way down the hallway and towards an open door leading to another hospital room as he glances around the hallway to see a pair of stairs seen through a small opening on a door just a few doors down when suddenly Oliver dips into the hospital room as he hears the sound of laughter coming from the doctors.
Hearing the sound of footsteps approaching Oliver slowly backs himself up towards the wall next to the open doorway before he slowly watches a doctor walk on by the room with a nurse by his side. As he hears the footsteps getting further away into the distance Oliver snaps his head back forward to glance around the hospital room to see an unmade hospital bed with a tray of half eaten food off to the side of the bed along with a pile of clothes.
Taking a few steps forward as he reaches over to grab a black sweatshirt that is laying atop the pile of clothing suddenly Oliver snaps his head to the side of the room towards a closed door when he hears the sound of a toilet being flushed. Snatching the sweatshirt from the pile Oliver quickly throws the sweatshirt on and makes his way out of the room as he hears the sound of the side door opening. Reaching back Oliver suddenly throws the hood over his head to conceal his face before he slowly enters into a room a few doors over and slowly descends down a pair of stairs.
Within an hour of making his way out of the hospital grounds avoiding the detection of the media along with the police force that were stationed around the hospital as he looks at peephole of an apartment door for the first time since arriving back into Starling City Oliver feels a sense of fear. The fear of what could come from knocking on this door.
The fear that he could lose her again. To never be able to see her again. To hear her voice again. Something he had dreamed about every single night. Dreamed of simpler times when it was just him and her. Them just laying on his bed talking. Him distracting her as she attempted to study.
As he takes a deep breathe with a shaky hand slowly Oliver raises his hand up and knocks on the apartment door. With his heart beat increasing Oliver listens in closely as he hears footsteps approaching the door when suddenly his heart skips a beat as he sees the door opening revealing Laurel Lance.
Not believing what he is seeing is truly real Oliver's hands slowly start to shake as he stares into Laurel's eyes seeing a look of happiness that quickly turns into hatred the moment she laid her eyes on him before slowly he stops the shaking in his hands and stares deep into Laurel's eyes.
" You have every right to be mad and hate me but please listen to what i have to say."
As he sees out of the corner of his eye Laurel cross her arms across her chest and her eyes change momentarily from anger towards curiosity Oliver takes a deep breathe.
" I've had 5 years to think about what i was going to say to you if he ever made it back. But there is so much that i need to tell you. Even though you have no reason to believe me about what i'm about to tell you from our history, I didn't cheat on you with Sara."
" Why should i believe you? You have always lied to me in the past. Why should i believe anything that comes out of your mouth?"
" Because you are going to hate the answers you're going to hear. When i was on the island, I promised myself that if i ever got the chance to see you and got to be apart of your life again, I would always be truthful to you no matter what. You deserve that."
Closing his eyes Oliver takes a deep breathe before he opens his eyes to see Laurel staring at him with with the same look of curiosity in her eyes she had once before just a mere few seconds ago.
" A day before i set sail with my dad Sara asked my dad and I if we could drop her off to San Francisco as we passed on by the city. Sara told me that she was running away from her father saying she needed to walk her own way by herself and do her own thing."
Sinking in this new information into her mind Laurel looks away from Oliver's eyes for a few seconds before suddenly her eyes widen when she looks back up and deep into Oliver's eyes once again to see nothing but truth and guilt radiating from them. At that moment she knew deep down inside that what he was telling her was true. The truth of what really happened to her sister. Truth that instantly made a feeling she once had for the man standing before her to slowly awaken.
" I tried to get her to stay with your parents. To work everything out but she wouldn't listen to me."
Suddenly Laurel's eyes widen once again when she sees tears start to drop from Oliver's eyes to the ground below as she hears him taking a shaky breathe.
" I'm so sorry Laurel. I'm so sorry for Sara's death. I'm sorry that i couldn't save her. You have every right to hate me for what i have done and if you never want to speak or see me ever again i understand. I just needed to see you one last time."
Without giving having anytime to react suddenly Laurel watches in silence as Oliver turns around and slowly gets further and further away down her apartment complex's hallway before she snaps out of her shocked state and whispers out as she sees him rounding the corner.
" Ollie."
Dead silence. That is all that could be heard coming from Oliver Queen as he now sits inside of his family's limousine alongside his mother whom is looking towards him with concern. Concern of not hearing a single sound coming from him once she had seen him enter into the hospital and back into his hospital room surprisingly undetected by anyone outside. Something that in the back of her mind she found to be very odd but put it on the back burner as she too was lost into thought.
Lost in thought about what she had heard from Oliver's doctor. The information of what the medical tests had found. Tests that showed her worst possible nightmares and more come to life. Nightmares that at some point Oliver had been tortured by the amount of scar damage all across his body along with signs of a couple of his bones being brutally broken over the last few years.
Feeling the limousine coming to an complete stop Oliver and Moira are snapped out of their thoughts at the same time before seconds later they exit out of the limousine when their long time driver opens up the door for them. As he sees the limousine driver making his way towards the trunk Oliver slowly follows after him before seconds later Oliver reaches into the trunk at the same time as the driver towards a wooden box inside. A mysterious wooden box that was found with Oliver.
" I've got it."
Receiving a nod Oliver reaches over and picks up the wooden box from the trunk and slowly follows after his mother towards the mansion as he hears the sound of the trunk being closed. As he glances around Oliver can't help but let a small smile form on his face when he looks at the mansion.
The Queen Mansion. The home of the Queens for generations. A place he had spent so much of his childhood in. A place he knew at the back of his hand. Knew where the best resting spots were to get away from everything. The best routes to take to avoid the security guards when he wanted to be alone.
As he hears Moira opening up the front doors Oliver snaps out of his thoughts and glances around the inside of the mansion finding it to be the exact same as he remembered. The same small dining tables in the front. The same balcony that lead to the next floor. The same chandelier that hung high above the entrance.
" Your room is exactly as you left it. I never had the heart to change a thing."
" Oliver."
Turning his attention away from Moira looking over towards the stairs leading to the second floor Oliver watches a man that he doesn't recognize slowly descending down the stairs towards him as he places the wooden box in his hand to the ground.
" Damn good to see you."
For the next few seconds Oliver stares at the man in silence before he sees the man's eyes go wide as he sees in the corner of his eye Moira glancing back and forth between him and the man.
" It's Walter. Walter Steele."
As he sees Walter extending a hand out Oliver slowly grabs his hand and gives it a firm shake as he feels Moira gently placing a hand onto his shoulder.
" You remember Walter. Your father's friend from the company."
Hearing the sound of a door opening from the second floor slowly Oliver moves away from Walter and Moira towards the staircase before suddenly a smile comes across his face when he sees his little sister Thea looking down at him from the top of the stairs.
" Speedy."
As he watches Thea descend down the stairs with a wide smile across her face Oliver slowly moves forward towards the stairs when suddenly he feels himself being brought into a tight embrace.
" I knew it. I knew you were alive. I missed you so much."
" You were with me the whole time."
Oliver's smile widens as he feels Thea's grip tightening around himself before after just a couple of seconds Oliver pulls back from the embrace to see Thea smiling at him with tears in her eyes. As he sees Thea reach up and wipe away the tears from her eyes Oliver looks back over towards Moira and Walter when suddenly he tilts his head slightly when he sees Walter's arm around his mother's waist.
A sight that confused him greatly to only have his thoughts snapped when he feels Thea gently grabbing his arm and start to tug him up the stairs.
Turning his head back forward Oliver can't help but to smile at Thea as he sees the smile across her face before within a couple of seconds of being lead down a long hallway his eyes widen once again when he sees his bedroom. His bedroom that is exactly the same just like his mother said. A king sized bed off to the corner of the room. Countless electronics all around tables including cellphones and laptops. A room for a billionaire.
Feeling a tug on his arm Oliver is snapped out of his thoughts as he is lead towards the king sized bed before within seconds he sits down on the bed next to Thea as she smiles brightly towards him. Without having anytime to react Oliver suddenly is brought into another embrace by Thea before the sounds of her sobbing into his shoulder echoes throughout the room.
Reaching up Oliver rubs circles into Thea's back as he hears her calming down before he slowly leans his head against her own.
" Please don't leave again. Please don't leave us again."
" Speedy…."
" No!"
Feeling Thea pulling her head back Oliver looks down to see Thea staring directly at him with watery eyes.
" Promise Ollie. Promise me that you won't leave us again."
Without hesitating for a single second Oliver nods his head as he feels Thea burying her head into his shoulder.
" I promise Speedy."
Feeling Thea's grip softening for the next few minutes Oliver holds onto Thea in silence before suddenly he looks down at Thea when he feels her head leaving his shoulder.
" Ollie? Can i ask you something?"
As she sees Oliver nod his head Thea takes a deep breathe.
" Have you seen Laurel yet? She hasn't come to visit in a while now. And i thought with you back she would come back too. Have things slowly go back to normal."
As he sees Thea looking at him with hopeful eyes Oliver nods his head before he looks away from her not catching the suddenly look of concern across her face.
" What happened when you saw her? What is going to happen between you and Laurel now that you are back home?"
" I don't know. I told her the truth about what had happened but i don't think it will be enough."
" What truth Ollie?"
" I didn't cheat on Laurel with Sara. But because i caused her sister's death when i didn't save her when the boat sank into the sea, I have brought so much pain to her."
Taking a deep breathe Oliver looks back towards Thea as he feels her hands untangling from his lower back seeing the look of concern in her eyes.
" Before the island, I was a crappy brother and boyfriend to both you and Laurel. I promised myself that if i ever got off that island, I would change for the better for you and Laurel. I would never lie to either of you ever again. I would treat each of you better like i should have done a long time ago."
As he sees a smile form on Thea's face Oliver feels her gently grabbing his hands before he feels her giving them a small squeeze.
" So what are you going to do about Laurel."
" There is nothing i can do. I don't want to bring any more pain to her life. I didn't deserve to be with her from the beginning."
Taking a deep breathe Oliver looks away from Thea to look down towards the mattress as he feels her giving his hands a small squeeze.
" I have always loved Laurel. Ever since the moment i laid my eyes upon her. She's the reason why i'm still alive right now."
Glancing up Oliver sees a confused look across Thea's face before he looks back down towards the mattress as he takes a deep breathe.
" There came a few times that i came close to dying on that island. Every Time i thought that i didn't have what it would take to make it, I would think about her. Her smile,her laugh would give me the strength to go on. She was the angel that would always bring me back. It doesn't matter anymore though Speedy. I blew my chance at happiness with her the second i got onto that boat. All i want now is for her to be happy and safe now even if it's not with me."
" Ollie?"
Suddenly Oliver's eyes widen when he hears a soft familiar voice coming from the open doorway before he slowly looks up to see Laurel standing at the doorway with watery eyes. Without being able to take his eyes off of Laurel for a single second Oliver feels Thea's hands leaving his own before he sees Thea walk past Laurel as he sees Laurel approaching him.
Seconds later as he feels the mattress shifting from her weight slowly Oliver looks into Laurel's eyes with emotion in his own.
" How much of that did you hear?"
" I heard every word."
For the next few seconds Laurel stares at Oliver in silence before slowly she places her hands gently on his cheeks as she moves closer to him on the bed.
" Did you mean it? Everything you just said."
" Yes."
Looking on Oliver watches Laurel slowly lean forward towards him as he feels her hands lowering down behind the back of his neck before suddenly he closes his eyes and takes a deep breathe.
" You don't want to do this."
Opening his eyes Oliver sees Laurel looking at him with confusion before he glances down towards the mattress.
" If you come any closer i'm never letting you go again."
Suddenly as tears fall down her cheeks Laurel presses her lips to Oliver's own for a deep passionate kiss that she feels within a second later him returning with equal passion. A kiss after just a minute later Laurel breaks off to get some much needed air as she leans her forehead against Oliver's own before she suddenly pulls him into an embrace.
As she feels Oliver wrapping his arms around her and gripping onto her as if she is his lifeline Laurel returns the embrace before for the next few minutes she holds the embrace in silence.
" I would do anything to…."
" To go back?"
As she feels Oliver nodding his head against her own Laurel leans her head even closer to Oliver's own as she closes her eyes.
" We can't go back."
Feeling Oliver pulling his head away Laurel opens up her eyes to see Oliver looking down towards the mattress before slowly she unwraps a arm from around the back of his neck where within seconds she slowly cups his jaw and raises his head to look at her.
" We can't go back. But we can move forward….together."
Suddenly Laurel watches a small smile form on Oliver's face before she leans back forward and gives him a deep kiss.
Author Notes: Thank you for anyone that has come to read this story. Just to clarify a few things before you get the wrong ideas. Oliver will be slowly developing into the Arrow instead of basically becoming the Hood right away like in the show so bare with me. If you decide to continue reading you will find out why Laurel has basically reacted the way she did here. Always love to hear reviews.
Pootamis