Blankly Staring

Disclaimer: I own nothing but what you see here. This is set at the beginning of season 1 and features Rugged!Oliver. The events with Adam Hunt happen at a much more reasonably later time. Got a bit inspired by PTSD related fics about Oliver on AO3 and since I've covered that a little myself, I thought I'd do more.


Moira

As Moira Queen looked on through the door's window at the back of her son, she listened to the words of Dr. Lamb and tried to hold back a shudder at all of what she was told. The fact her son had apparently been staring blankly into the window for at least an hour now was highly unnerving for the older woman. The doctor had stressed that acting like nothing had happened would not be a good thing to do as her son needed as much support as possible in order to truly come back to them. But for all her experiences in the world, this was something she had no experience in dealing with. She also wondered why her son had yet to shave off all that hair as well, but the answer being that having a blade of any kind that close to him unnerved him greatly and it made her want to weep as she considered what that meant.

The unknown horrors on the island he was on that left numerous scars and burns on her baby boy that would most assuredly leave him with PTSD and any other numerous problems made her quickly realize that this was going to be something her boy was going to have to deal with for a long time to come. And that not everyone was going to be able to easily understand this new reality. Coming inside and gently closing the door so as not to possibly disturb him, she slowly walked up to her baby boy that she'd thought lost for so long and made sure to keep some distance between herself and him. "Oliver?" She called out softly but received no response in return.

And while that was expected, it still stung a bit and so she sat down in a near by chair and awaited his return from wherever it was he was at in his mind. It wouldn't be until thirty minutes later when her son turned to look in her direction with a face that almost was unrecognizable with all the hair on it and a lost look in his eyes that made her heart break. He studied her for a moment as if he was trying to figure out just who she was. The sight of his eyebrows finally raising up made her think that perhaps he finally remembered who she was. "M-mom?" He asked softly, unsure of what was in front of him.

She nodded as she stood up and walked towards him with open arms to show she meant him no harm, and soon found herself wrapping her arms around her baby boy in a fierce hug with tears joy and sadness coming down her face. "You're home sweetheart, you're home."

Paparazzi

Paparazzi and various other forms of media were stationed outside the hospital as word had gotten out somehow that Oliver Queen was due to be walking out of those doors very soon, they were waiting for the moment that the long thought to be dead son of Robert and Moira Queen walked out of those doors as this was one Hell of a story for all of them and many of them hoped to capture the perfect sound bite or picture that would be worth a whole lot of money and other various things. They didn't have to wait much longer as they were soon greeted by the sight of Moira Queen and what was quite possibly Oliver Queen himself, but the fact he looked to be unshaven and covering his face with a green tattered hood made it somewhat hard to really know for sure. He was dressed in blue jeans, black sneakers, a black button up shirt that was mostly covered by an unzipped forest green jacket that made many think at first that the tattered green hood was part of it until they realized it wasn't. Three of the Queen family's personal security quickly got in front of the two as reporters and the like tried to rush them in an effort to ask all sorts of questions or take pictures.

"Mr. Queen! What's it like to be back in Starling!?"

"Why isn't Sara Lance with you!?"

These and other various questions were thrown his way and the amount of people around with their flashing lights were beginning to bother him quite a bit. It wasn't until one particular question that got asked that made him stop in his tracks. Said question being if whether or not he was a danger to himself and those around him. It got the questioner an intense stare down that was viewed by a lot of people and the questioner soon found herself a bit creeped out by how long Oliver Queen was staring at her. It was almost as if he was staring at something that wasn't really there. Making her think that her question really was a valid one. Prodding from his mother managed to shake him out of it and cause of how things had gone down, the family and the security guards were able to leave without further incident.

"That was the most intense but creepiest thing I've ever experienced." The reporter said with a shudder.

Dinner Time

It hadn't taken long for Tommy Merlyn to show up and ever since then, he'd been informing his recently returned from the dead best friend about all he'd missed over the past five years. Naturally what had gone down earlier at the hospital was also a hot topic too but once Tommy and the others had realized Oliver wasn't even really paying attention things had gone quiet. He seemed to be staring a hole into the table and it was rather unnerving too and no one quite seemed to know what to do. At least until Thea decided to ask what it'd been like on the island and not really thinking it through fully either.

"Cold… Cruel… Harsh… Lonely..." Oliver responded before getting up and walking away and leaving everyone to think on his words.

Thea honestly felt like wanting to cry after that as she realized her mistake too late. Tommy quickly hugged her and re-assured her that everything was going to be okay. Something both Moira and Walter did shortly afterwards too. When Thea learned her big brother was alive and coming home, she honestly thought things were going to be okay, but after tonight she realized then and there it wasn't going to be that easy. She just didn't know how hard it was going to be for her brother to be able to find some sense of normalcy in the days to come.

Rain

Oliver had been home a month now with little to no contact with anyone in the outside world aside from Tommy. The former castaway had also yet to shave either and Thea honestly had come to strongly dislike it. Conversations with him had been stiff and fairly short and the family had learned very quickly not to go near him when he was having a nightmare or just sleeping in general. Walter had quickly noticed fairly on that young Oliver had a habit of rubbing his fingers together, though was unsure of the purpose of it other then thinking it was likely meant to help calm nerves.

He also liked to hang around in trees for hours as well, though Tommy and Thea had found it pretty neat he knew how to tell time by looking at the sun. Even if at first they weren't quite sure to believe it since both had thought that was just some myth but in a rare instance Ollie had happily shown how much of a myth it really wasn't. It was a moment Thea had really cherished, especially in getting to see her big brother smile again. And currently the archer was standing out in the back yard, looking up at a tree when in reality he was just really staring into nothing.

Walter had come out to see how the young man was faring on this particular day. Despite the fact the boy had been home a month now, he'd had few chances to speak with him and thought that perhaps today would be a chance to try. And maybe see what he thought of his marriage to his mother. A notion that was likely foolish and perhaps selfish on his part all things considered. "Greetings Oliver." The British man said as he stepped up to the side of the former cast away.

Of course silence was his only response, not that he truly expected anything else despite any hopes he may have had. Walter stared at the tree the young man was seemingly staring at as he had been doing so for who knows how long. It was a truly marvelous tree in its own respect and would certainly be a challenge for any who might decide to climb it. Perhaps young Oliver wishes to challenge himself? But quickly pushed the notion out of his mind as the young man had rarely done much that would present a challenge to him since his return home.

"You've certainly chosen a fine time to be tree gazing." The man commented but again received no reply.

There was a silence between the two beyond the noises of the animals near by and Walter didn't particularly find it uncomfortable as Moira or Thea may have in his place. The gentleman was considering making his leave to allow young Oliver to have his time to himself and was even turning around when a voice not often used spoke up. Surprising him greatly in the process even if it was only one word that was spoken. "Rain..."

Walter turned his attention back to his beloved wife's son in slight confusion, wondering if perhaps he mis-heard and merely imagined it. "What was that my boy?" Figuring it would be prudent to ask just to see if he had heard correctly or not.

He honestly wasn't expecting a response but the married gentleman found himself pleasantly surprised if a little curious on the younger man's words. "Its… Going to rain soon." The former cast away said.

And while there had been reports of rain to come in the days that would soon arrive, there had been no indications that there would be any this day. Of course Walter had heard of reports in the past that those attuned with nature to a certain level could sense when it was going to rain and it was because of that knowledge that he wasn't going to outright doubt the claim of the younger man. Not to mention that the weather could surprise you. "Yes, thank you Oliver. I am sure we will all appreciate the early arrival of the rains." Walter responded in the end, feeling it best to leave it at that.

Storm clouds and rain fall would soon appear three hours later, much to the amazement of Walter. Moira, who'd been near by had noticed the look on her husband's face and found herself curious enough to ask what was going on. "Hmm? Oh, my apologies Moira. I was informed earlier by Oliver that the rains would soon happen. And it appears he was correct amazingly enough."

Moira's eyes had shot up in surprise at learning her own son had predicted the rain currently falling down. It made her wonder just what else her son could do and how often he had had to put it into practice. For Thea, despite her misgivings about the changes in the new Ollie, she did find it cool that he was some kind of rain detector now in addtion to telling time by looking at the sun. But in the end, she didn't really care about it a lot as she just wanted her fun loving big brother back more than anything else in the end and didn't care if she was being selfish either.

This new Ollie just wasn't her Ollie and she had trouble dealing with it.

Old Love

Two months had passed since Oliver's return and there'd been more than a few times when he just completely disappeared. Greatly scaring Moira as she feared something happened to him everytime he vanished for hours on end. It had wound up causing her to hire John Diggle in an effort to have someone help keep an eye on her son so that nothing untoward would happen to him. Diggle was someone that Oliver found he could surprisingly relate too as the other man knew full how well how it was to struggle with being home again and with people expecting things to be the same. His new friend's silence and understanding when it came to blankly staring off into space was oddly re-assuring. And at one point, Oliver had even thanked his mother for hiring Mr. Diggle. Something she herself was happy that he was happy about.

Diggle had even taken Thea aside and had a long talk with her as he was able to relate to some degree about coming home a changed person that some couldn't really deal with. His insight was something the girl really appreciated and applied it in how she dealt with her big brother. Sure it was still hard but it was at least a little easier.

Currently, Oliver was sitting on a bench while keeping his face covered by his tattered green hood and blankly staring off into the sky. Something various members at home had quickly learned he was fiercely protective of. Raisa had even offered to patch it up for him but he'd refused, saying that he'd do it himself at some point as it was only right that he did. His words had confused the woman but she left it alone afterwards. Tommy at one point had even asked about it and nearly got hit in the face for insulting it, making him quickly learn to never say anything negative about it again.

A voice was soon heard however in the park he was currently in. A voice he'd not heard in years, a voice that belonged to Laurel Lance. It was enough to break him from his staring and to look in her direction and he saw that she was with another woman. And both seemed to be arguing about something or other that for all he knew could have been about where to go to eat. Before he could really stop himself, Oliver found himself getting up and walking in their direction before finally stopping a short distance away.

Joanna was the first to notice the newcomer just staring at them and pointed it out to Laurel. "Oh! Um…. Hello there." Laurel said, unsure of what exactly she should do and hoped this person wasn't going to try something stupid.

"I'm sorry." Came the man's gruff and hoarse voice, though the Lance girl found it familiar with somehow.

The two girls looked at one another in confusion before looking back at him. "Sorry? What about?" Asked Laurel curiously.

Their guest was silent, leaving the two of them to wonder if he was going to say anything. "I'm sorry… About Sara."

Joanna was surprised as Hell to hear the man say that and Laurel was feeling pretty much the same while wondering how the Hell this man even knew how to connect her to Sara. "Who, who are you?" The Lance girl asked suspiciously and ready to kick ass if need be.

What he did next surprised the two girls as he pulled back his hood and then looked up at them with expressionless eyes. But Laurel would know those eyes anywhere however but was honestly shocked to see her ex here before her. She had thought of going to see him but had yet to do so after a few things Tommy had said. Which had made her wonder if he was just saying any of it to keep her from confronting his best friend. But seeing it for herself made her realize then and there that he hadn't just been saying it after all.

Though seeing it first hand for herself was an entirely different matter. Joanna immediately noticed the change in her friend and it worried her. "Girl? You okay?"

Only Laurel didn't answer as she was simply too shocked by the sight in front of her. That can't be Ollie… The Ollie I knew would never let himself look like that. She argued in her head as she tried to comprehend the sight before her.

Before more could be said however, Laurel quickly took off, much to the confusion of Joanna. Looking at the back of her retreating friend, she then looked back towards the mysterious man with a frown on her face. He only stared at where Laurel had been until she decided to chase after her friend to see what was going on. Though she did have to admit that hood had looked slightly familiar…

Angry Fathers

Despite the warnings from not only Laurel but Tommy as well, one Detective Quentin Lance had finally decided to make an appearance at the Queen Mansion with his daughter and the Merlyn pnnk along for the ride after she had mentioned to him about randomly seeing her ex. Though whether or not Laurel would help keep things from getting too out of hand was unclear. The Detective and Diggle nearly got into a fist fight right in the foyer but thankfully Walter had managed to keep it from happening. Both Walter and Moira however had threatened to have the man's badge taken away if he continued to act like a huge ass. While Moira knew the man was looking for closure, she wasn't about to let the man run roughshod in her home and against her son and even said as much.

"Further more, I will allow you to speak with my son. But Walter and I WILL be in the room when you do." She told him sternly and the look she gave him told him clearly she wasn't to be messed with over that.

He didn't like it, but he'd take it. "Yeah, fine." The man muttered.

Thea chose to take that moment to stroll through rather quickly as she didn't want to be anywhere near the cop since she knew he would have relished the opportunity to do some damage to Ollie in some way. "I can safely say you are wasting your time as Ollie's not even in the house right now."

That alarmed both Diggle and Moira, something the Lances and Tommy took notice of rather quickly. "What!? Thea! Where is he!?" The mother asked frantically, causing her daughter to turn around while crossing her arms.

"I saw him go out in to the woods awhile ago." Informed the girl with a shrug of the shoulders, though on the inside she was worried about him.

Diggle qucikly took off towards the back of the house that led to the back yard and the surrounding woods with everyone else following along. They all stopped near the edge and Diggle yelled out Oliver's name to no avail. Looking towards Thea, the bodyguard hurriedly asked her when exactly he ran off into here.

"I umm.. I'm not sure? Maybe 3 hours ago?" She knew she should have said something earlier but what good would it have done to cause worry? Bad enough she was doing enough of that on her own as it was!

Quentin scoffed and felt slightly paranoid that this was some ploy of the Queens to keep him from talking with the little prick. "Is this bad?" Came the surprisingly concerned question from Laurel despite the fact she'd rather not care at all.

"He has been known to frequent the outer edges of the woods, but thus far he hasn't ventured further. At least to our knowledge. Why he would do so now is something of a mystery." Informed Walter helpfully.

Making his way to the front of the group, Quentin stared into the woods and muttered various things to himself before turning around with an unhappy expression on his face. Not that Moira particularly cared at that moment. "Guess I'll come back some other time yeah? That boy of yours can't avoid me forever." Sneered the man and getting a glare in return.

Moira was about to try and inform the man that her son wasn't avoiding him or having help to do so when she trailed off as the body of a Stag was dropped gently to the ground via a rope. Shocking not only the mother, but everybody else. Though Quentin was confused to the whole thing since he had yet to look behind him. Oliver dropping down silently in torn clothing and his green hood only added to their shock. A knife was holstered on his side, making Moira wonder where the Hell he got the thing!

"What? What's with all the looks?" Asked Quentin, irritated with what was going on.

Laurel raised a finger and pointed behind him. Grudgingly he turned around while muttering again and received quite a shock when a body that wasn't there before was right up behind him! "Jeez! What the Hell!?" The man asked as he stumbled back in surprise.

The newcomer didn't say or do anything but stand where he was and Thea had a feeling he was doing that blank stare thing again that she had come to hate as it could be hard to get his attention at times. Though she had been doing less of it and letting him be ever since John had had a talk with her. "Detective, I believe you wished an audience with Oliver?"

Walter got a glare of his own as he could hear the mirth in the man's voice and didn't appreciate it one bit. "Hmmph… Well don't you look all nice."

Frowning when he got no response, he decided to test his luck with an insult that got him a surprise slap on the arm from his daughter. "Hey! What'dya do that for?"

Laurel had to fix him a glare as she knew he knew why she did it. "I may be mad as Hell with Ollie myself but I'm not gonna be stupid about things in someone else's own home." The Lawyer informed him, causing Moira to feel some happyness over the girl's manners.

"I knew I liked you for a reason." The mother joked, earning a smile from Laurel in the process.

Ignoring the byplay, Quentin put his attention back on the Queen punk. "So what'd that deer do to ya? And you forget how to shave or somethin'?" He asked sarcastically and not giving a damn if he was being ignorant, making Thea roll her eyes and making Diggle squash down the urge to deck the man. Something Tommy himself was doing as well!

Oliver looked down at the Stag before looking back at Laurel's father. "Food." Was all he finally said and confusing everybody too.

"Not shaved cause hate blades near my face."

Quentin had trouble understanding that logic considering the fact the kid had a damn knife on him! "You uhh, you forget you got a knife on your side there Mr. Hairy and Tattered?"

Much to his annoyance, his sarcasm just bounced right off Oliver. Leaving Thea, Tommy, and Diggle to be amused. Though in Thea's case slightly grossed out along with her mother and Laurel. Walter was rather queasy himself at the thought. "Goes nowhere near my face. Use to skin Stag."

"But son, you don't need to do that." Moira quickly told him as her boy could always get Raisa to make him something if he was that hungry!

Her son looked at her for a moment before saying anything. "Prefer this kind of food."

She sighed at that as she was aware of his aversion to civilized cooking that he was having trouble overcoming. Quentin, having enough of the freakshow, decided to walk away and try this whole thing again when the punk was able to provide full on sentences. Laurel gave an apologetic look towards everyone but her ex before following after her dad. Tommy stayed where he was however since he didn't want to cause a potential issue between Laurel and her dad with his being around.

"So buddy… You gonna get any help with that big fella?" He asked curiously, something everyone else was wanting to know the answer too even if they weren't exactly sure if they really even wanted to hear the answer.

His best friend and brother in all but blood simply shook his head. "No. Do myself. Shengcun." He told them cryptically before un-sheatthing his knfe and getting down on his knees and slicing at the Stag's skin to begin the skinning work. Instantly making a few of the onlookers rather green.

"Oh God… I'm gonna be sick!" Cried out Thea and she ran off as quickly as she could to get somewhere else to puke. Tommy was also on his way to puking too while Moira, not being able to handle the scene anymore, feld herself with tears in her eyes.

Walter quickly followed with out a look back as he knew his wife was going to need all the support she could get. Diggle, having seen worse thanks to the horrors of war stayed there and wondered what that 'Shengcun' word meant. "You need anything man?"

Stopping his work, Oliver thought about the question. "Wood for fire to cook meat." He finally said and Diggle nodded before taking off to do so.

This and other moments would continue to show that the Oliver that friends and family once knew was long gone and in his place was a different person entirely. But with time and their support, the new Oliver would fully recover and be able to move on with his life and into righting his father's wrongs before doing more then just as that as the hooded figure known as the Green Arrow.


Author's Notes: I felt that was a good place to end this. I probably could do more with this theme if there's any interest and anything I can think of that would go with what I've done in this fic.