I Do Not Own Arrow

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Breaking News…

Missing, Year 1

'…Breaking News: The Queen's Gambit has been reported as lost at sea, with billionaire CEO of Queen Consolidated, Robert Queen, on board. It is also reported that with the crew of the ship Robert Queen's son, 22 year old Oliver Queen was on board, with 20 year old Sara Lance. It is unknown at this moment if there are any survivors…'

The world as Tommy knew it had stopped upon hearing that news.

Since receiving the call from a scared girl he'd been hurrying back to Starling as fast as he could. Thea had called him in hysterics at the news that the Queen's Gambit was missing, and rather than have a twelve year old come flying to him; because she would, he had returned to Starling City. After almost running over the horde of paparazzi camped outside he had cursed himself for not thinking to use one of the lesser known entrances to the Queen's home as he moved through the press. Pulling up to the house he was out of the car and opening the mansion's door.

"Thea!" he called out as he walked into the house.

"Tommy!" the young girl appeared, her long, curly brown hair in a tangled mess, her face stained with tears. The girl was like his baby sister, he'd been here when Moira and Robert had brought Thea home, he had practically lived with the Queens since he had been eight, he'd seen Thea take her first steps, heard her speak her first words, and had helped her get into plenty of mischief.

"They're dead! They said they were dead! They're dead!" Thea sobbed as she ran the stairs down and threw herself into his arms.

"I know," he choked as he tightened his hold on the young girl. "I know Thea."

"Why?" she sobbed.

"I don't know," he murmured as he kissed her head. For the next hours, he was there for Thea, when she had finally fallen asleep Riasa had taken her up to bed.

"I'll be back Riasa, I need to go… go check on Laurel," he managed in a strained voice. The older woman nodded. He hurried out of the Queen Mansion as he got in his car and took a side exit before driving towards Starling City again.

He didn't know what he was doing, he didn't know what he was supposed to do, he didn't know what he was supposed to say and he didn't know how this was going to go.

Laurel and Oliver were complicated. Tommy had been there for all the break ups, make ups, the cheating (he'd even been known to help Oliver pick his targets from time to time). And they were semi-serious, but above all the complications, he, Laurel, and Oliver had been friends, childhood friends, they were that first, everything else was just… everything else.

And he felt he needed to go check on Laurel, not because she was Oliver's girlfriend, but because she was his friend.

Pulling up to the Lance's quiet house he shakily got out of his car and stood there for a moment looking in on the house where he could see into the living room and he could see the pain of this. And he couldn't even move as he stared at the Lances weeping together.

Oh God, what the fuck was he supposed to say?

Laurel had lost her boyfriend who was cheating on her with her little sister, and lost her sister.

Tommy saw Laurel look at him through the window, he got in his car then and drove as fast as he could to Queen Mansion. He wasn't that guy, he was never that guy, he was the fun guy, the party guy, he was not the shoulder to cry on guy. Not caring about the traffic laws, he sped to the Queen Mansion then got out of his car as he walked back into the quiet mansion.

The world was crumbling beneath his feet as he fell onto a couch.

His phone was buzzing in his pocket and he couldn't even find the energy to answer it as he lay there staring at the ceiling. It felt like he had just lost a limb, his family, and everything was turning to ash around him as he stared up at the ceiling.

What the fuck was he supposed to do now?

He knew what he wanted to do, run, get drunk, get so sloshed that he could forget that his best friend was dead. But he couldn't even move right now. He couldn't even move, there was a weight crushing him, shoving him underwater, drowning him, and burning everything in his chest.

And knowing what he wanted to do was part of the reason he didn't run off and do exactly what he wanted to do. The image of a sobbing Thea was plastered on the front of his mind, Thea would need him. Thea was going to need someone, he knew that. Oliver and Robert were her people, Tommy knew that because Oliver and Robert had been his people too. Those two had been the support system for him and Thea and with them gone Tommy was going to need to be here for Thea.

Sitting up he rubbed his hands over his face when he looked up at the archway and saw a teary Thea again, staring at him with Oliver's eyes, her bottom lip quivering, and her pajamas were too big for her.

Reading the fraternity name on the shirt told him that it was Oliver's, and the shirt was hanging off her tiny shoulder.

"What is it Thea?" he asked wearily. He felt exhausted now.

"I had a bad dream, and Mom's crying a lot, she didn't… she didn't see me," Thea whimpered.

"Come here," he murmured. The little girl flew to him in a flurry of dark curls and tears.

"I miss them Tommy! I miss them!" she sobbed as she buried her face in his neck.

"Me too," he admitted. "Me too."

"I don't wanna be alone," she whispered.

"You got me," he assured her. "I'm not going anywhere Thea. I'm staying home," he said sternly.

"Really?" she whispered.

"Yeah," he nodded. He didn't know what the hell he was going to do, but he was coming home. Perhaps he'd figure out what he was supposed to do, but he was coming home and staying here with what was left of his family.

He couldn't stand the loneliness that was coming from this loss and he still had a tie here, to Oliver, through Thea. He'd look after Oliver's little sister for him.

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Missing, Year 2

'…And In Other News: Malcom Merlyn has filed for legal custody of Thea Queen, claiming her to be his illegitimate biological daughter from an affair between himself and Moira Queen twelve years ago. Many are wondering what this means for Starling's princess, as Thea Queen is nowhere to be seen as the custody battle rages on…

Thea wanted to scream!

The rage filling her as she stormed out of her mother's room was uncontrollable. How!? How could her mother keep this from her!? Everything she ever believed about herself to be real was a sham! The man who had raised her wasn't her father! She wasn't even a Queen! And the worst part was she had to hear about this through the news rather than her shut in mother just telling her!

"I Hate You!" she screamed as she slammed the door on her mother who was struggling to get out of bed to try to no doubt explain this lie away. But Thea was not having that.

Stomping through the Mansion she stormed out of the house through the back as she tried to keep the tears from falling, they were burning her eyes though as she furiously blinked them back. Stalking with purpose she came across the two markers which had been her final connection to her brother and her father. No, that wasn't right, Robert Queen wasn't her father! Merlyn was! And it disgusted her.

"Did you know?" she spat at her father's grave. "Did you know she was lying to me!? Did you want me!? Did you even love me!? I hate you all!"

She screamed, she raved, she ranted as she furiously paced before her father's grave before she finally collapsed in tears.

"I miss you daddy," she whimpered as she propped herself on the grave and carefully hugged her knees; noting that she had scrapped one knee when she had collapsed. "I miss Ollie too. I want you guys back."

"Would it really be the end of everything if we're related?" a smooth voice asked her and her head snapped up as she looked at Tommy then.

"She lied to me!" Thea roared.

"Yeah."

"My Dad wasn't even my dad!" she spat out. "Malcom Merlyn is, I'm not even a Queen."

"Well, Thea, that might be true, but Malcom Merlyn isn't a dad, he's not even a father," Tommy said as he sat beside her.

"But the tests mom was reading said he's my dad!" she shrieked.

"Yeah, and maybe he is, but if anything he's more like a sperm donor than a dad," Tommy said, she glared at him as she thought about his words. "Trust me, I don't even consider him my father, your dad was more like a father to me than mine ever was."

"How can you say that?" she demanded.

"Because, your dad was there, he was there for every hockey game, dance recital, taught me to ride a bike, and took you to the Zoo. Robert Queen is your father," Tommy assured her as he slung his arm around her shoulders. She scooted closer to Tommy then and comfortably curled up against his side. "He loved you, very much, I saw it from the first day you were born, you are Robert Queen's daughter. All that DNA test proves is that now you have two brothers rather than just one."

"Really?"

"Really," he assured her.

"I hate her Tommy," Thea muttered as she hugged her brother; that felt weird to think, and it felt good to think too. She had another brother, she wasn't alone anymore.

"Thea," he sighed.

"She lied to me! And now I have to see Malcom one weekend a month! I don't even know him!"

"How about this, those weekends you go the to Merlyn Mansion, I'll be there and we can hang. Movie nights, I'll take you to the mall to hang with your girl friends, and even parties. You won't have to do anything with Malcom if you don't want to do anything. You're just there for a weekend of hanging out, mom free," Tommy offered.

"Really?" she whispered.

"Yeah."

"I'm still Thea Queen," she decided then. Malcom wasn't her dad, he might be her father, but he wasn't her dad. She wasn't going to let him ever be her dad.

"Good," he chuckled as he stood up then. "Come on, I think there's a quart of strawberry fudge ice cream in the freezer."

"But…"

"Raisa will never know, we're ice cream bandits, I'll get the car, you get the spoons," he smiled.

She laughed as she raced to the house feeling better than she had earlier in the day. Grabbing the spoons and the ice cream she dashed to the car and Tommy pulled out of the drive way as they left the Queen Estate. She grinned then.

"How's Laurel?" she asked, remembering Tommy mentioning something about having her as a tutor for some of his classes.

"She's good," Tommy said.

"Still hates your guts?" she asked innocently as they pulled over at a park.

"Yeah, still hates my guts," Tommy admitted.

"Do you think there's a heaven?" Thea asked abruptly, she wanted to know if there was a possibility that she'd ever see Ollie again, she missed him so much. the mansion was so quiet without him, and it felt empty.

"Why?" he asked as they sat down and started eating the ice cream.

"Well… I… I miss Ollie and dad, and I just… I want to know if there's a chance that I'll ever see them again. I miss them," Thea admitted.

"Oh… um… when I was younger than you, my mom tucked me into bed at night before going out. The next thing I knew, there was a police officer at my door. He said that she was gone and that I would never see her again. But you know what?"

"Hm?" she hummed as she stared at the man who was now a brother to her.

"He was wrong."

"Huh?" she managed. "But I thought your mom was dead before… before I was born?"

"Mhmm, but every time I close my eyes, I can see her. Every time I go to bed I see her in my dreams."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he assured her. "And I bet if you close your eyes you'll see them too. They aren't gone Thea, they just aren't here anymore. If they're in heaven I don't know, but they're still here."

"I see them," she whispered as she sat there imagining their faces again. "Do you see them like you see your mom?"

"Yeah."

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Missing, Year 3

'…Breaking News: Sara Lance, after being declared dead two years ago, when the Queen's Gambit was lost at sea has been recovered by a shipping freighter on a make shift raft. She has confirmed the deaths of the Queen's Gambit's crew, CEO of Queen Consolidated, Robert Queen and his son, Oliver Queen…'

Sara Lance stared at the twinkling lights of Starling City and she trembled, in relief, in joy, in disbelief and she smiled. The ache in her heart was burdensome, but after all the hells she had been through to get here, losing Slade, Shado, and Oliver had crushed her. But she had made it, for a second time in her life she had made it, she had survived, she was home again. The door behind her creaked open, she tensed as she listened.

"S-S-Sara?" a wavering voice whispered in a watery tone and she turned to see her father standing there. Her lip quivered then as she stared at her father, he looked like a sleepless mess, but she had been discovered by a Japanese freighter and it had taken a week before she had made it to the consulate, and another week before she had gotten here.

"Daddy!" she sobbed as she ran to her father, throwing her arms around his neck as his arms wrapped around her and held her close.

"I'm so sorry daddy! I'm so sorry! I never… I never wanted…" she gasped as her throat felt thick with tears.

"You're alive, baby, that's all that matters!" her dad sobbed and she hugged him tighter. The door opened again and she peeked over her father's shoulder to see her sister and mom there.

"Mom! Laurel!" she gasped, she wasn't ready to let her father go then.

"Sara?" her mother whispered. "Sara!" her mother was hugging her and her father then. and slowly Laurel approached them.

"Sara?"

"I'm so sorry Laurel… I'm so, so, sorry," Sara whispered as she reluctantly pulled away from her sobbing parents and slowly walked to stand before her taller sister. Laurel just stared at her.

"Are you…? Are you the only survivor?" Laurel whispered.

"Y-Yes," she lied. She wasn't sure, but she was sure that Ollie had died on the Amazo, no one could have survived that. Not even Slade, she had almost died that time too.

"And Ollie?"

"He… He died when the Queen's Gambit went down," she whispered. She had died that night too, but in a different way. Ollie had died too, the Ollie she had encountered on the island wasn't the Ollie who had boarded the Queen's Gambit.

"I see," Laurel blinked and Sara trembled then. "How'd you survive?"

"I was rescued by a freighter then held prisoner, I escaped and now… I'm here," she whispered.

"I'm… I'm glad you're back," Laurel said softly, but Sara saw it, her sister was gone, before she had even said anything else.

"Laurel!"

"Sara, just… just give her a minute," her father said.

"I just… I never meant to hurt her," she said earnestly. After her two years of hell she realized what a bitch she had been and how this must have hurt her sister, but she didn't know how to fix this. And she wanted to. She wanted to fix things with her sister again. But she might not be able too.

Laurel made it around the corner before it hit her and she sunk into one of those chairs in the hallway.

Sara was alive!

Ollie, her Ollie, was dead.

The news was both uplifting and crushing as she sat there trembling and feeling her world being half restored and half destroyed. Pulling out her phone she stared at the number, a number she hadn't dialed for two years, all calls they had between them were ones he initiated and they were about school.

Hesitantly her thumb hovered over his number then she hit talk, her shaky hand brought the phone to her ear as she sat there trembling. It was just past one in the morning, the only reason the hospital had even let them see Sara now was because she'd been missing for two years, and her father wasn't not going to Sara tonight.

"Hello?" a groggy voice answered on the fourth ring.

"Hey, can… can we still talk?" she asked. Her voice wavering.

"Of course, what's wrong Laurel?" he asked as she sat there, tears escaping her guard then.

"It's Sara, and Ollie," she whispered.

"What about them?" he asked.

"Sara's alive," she whispered. "Ollie's dead. Sara said he's dead, went down with the Gambit."

"I'll be right there, Laurel, where are you?" he demanded.

"Starling General, I'll be out front," she murmured weakly before she hung up her phone. Grabbing her coat and her bag she hurried down to the front entrance of the elevator. Twenty minutes later she saw Tommy's car pull up, she just got in and he drove her away. She just needed to get away. She didn't expect anyone to understand, no, she knew that this was abnormal, but she needed… time. A minute to catch her breath.

"He's really dead?" Tommy whispered.

"According to Sara," Laurel said, her voice wavering as she sat in his passenger's seat. She knew how this felt to Tommy. She was feeling it too and it was just as painful as it had been two years ago when they had hope that there was a chance that Ollie was alive.

But now, it was final.

Oliver Queen was dead.

Laurel felt a numb, crushing weight on her as she stared at the city lights. Her boyfriend, her cheating, lying, bad boy, boyfriend was dead, and she still loved him, still missed him. She missed having her friend, she missed having Ollie here to make her smile with his crazy antics, she just missed him.

"I… I… I feel numb," she whispered. "Ollie was… I love, loved him, and I feel this numb weight pressing in on me," she muttered dazedly.

"I miss him too," Tommy murmured.

"I don't miss the guy I thought I loved, I miss…" she started bt the word was stuck in her throat as she felt the trembling take over her.

"Miss the friend?" he finished.

She nodded then.

"I miss my brother," he said blankly.

Neither spoke the rest of the night as she took his hand in hers and they just drove.

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Missing, Year 4

'…And In Other News: The marriage of Moira Queen and the current CEO of Queen Consolidated, Walter Steele, has been confirmed. After three canceled weddings, it is confirmed that Moira Queen will be married to Walter Steele this coming Saturday. It's going to be the wedding of the century. Malcom Merlyn is nowhere to be found on a comment on his daughter's future step-father or what this will do to the custody arrangement…'

"You look amazing mom!" Thea bounced in her glee and Moira chuckled as she watched her bouncing daughter. A few years ago, she had been ruined when Malcom had come bursting into her life claiming Thea as his daughter, even having a DNA test done to prove it. It had broken her relationship with Thea, but they had mended the fences slowly, though a teenager was still trying on the nerves, Moira felt better about hers' and Thea's relationship than she had in years.

"Thank you," she smiled.

"Yes, stunning," a condescending voice spoke which had Moira tensing as her daughter prickled then. Moira pulled Thea closer. "May the blushing bride and I have a moment, daughter?"

Thea looked to her and Moira sighed, no matter what Malcom was a man on a mission and he would be getting whatever it was that he wanted. She smiled and nodded to her daughter.

"It's alright, I'll be down in a moment," she assured her daughter as she released Thea's hands and watched her daughter hurry out of the room Malcom was in. Thea still wasn't comfortable around or near Malcom and made her dislike of Malcom very well known.

"What is it Malcom?" Moira asked coldly as she turned into a business woman.

"I'm just here to make certain that your conviction isn't wavering to the cause," he said with that charming smile in place. She felt her blood run cold then.

The only reason that he even had a weekend a month with Thea was the threat he had delivered to her. The man had their daughter in his crosshairs and was more than willing to kill Thea to keep her involved with the Undertaking. After all, this man had murdered her late husband and son, she would not let a single hair on her daughter' head be harmed.

"Yes Malcom," she replied icily. "But know this, if anything, anything at all, should happen to Thea or Walter I will take your play house, and your empire, and your meticulous plans, and I will burn them to ashes before your face. My family is off limits."

"Oh, Moira…" he chuckled and shook his head as she walked away. "Thea's my blood too."

"Which you've proven means very little too you, you had a killer on call to eliminate her if you couldn't have her. So, know this Malcom, I will end you if you harm her in anyway," Moira growled lowly before she walked out of her room and down the stairs.

Her second wedding was small, a few friends, family, and it was in the Queen Mansion's private gardens, no press, and no helicopter fly overs. Moira had come to appreciate her privacy after losing her husband and son and having Malcom examining her under a microscope. A brief moment of pain, and loss, and loneliness had driven her and Malcom together, but they hadn't lasted, that brief affair had ended with him disappearing and leaving his son in their care, and her pregnant.

Oh, Robert had known about Thea, how could he not when she had that dark hair, but he had loved Thea without question, or hesitation, and when she was filling out the birth certificate he said Thea was his baby and his name was to be on the certificate. Moira had remembered why she loved Robert.

Now, now she wished she hadn't been so easily swayed by her emotions, even though she loved Walter she was very cautious around him. There were things in her life that couldn't be shared, but she loved this man fiercely. Even more fiercely than she had loved Robert.

Also, Walter and Thea had been quick to forge a deep bond.

"What did he want?" Thea spat out as Moira reached her.

"Nothing," Moira smiled as she took her daughter's elbow.

"I don't like him, I mean I like that I exist, but why'd you have to sleep with him, Mom?" Thea whined.

"Thea, it was brief, it was a mistake, and he left, Robert was here and stepped up. I'm very happy to have you though," she smiled graciously then. Thea smirked, it was Oliver's smirk then and she looked more like a Queen than a Merlyn, even with her dark hair.

"You are looking lovely as ever Mrs. Queen," Tommy announced as he appeared.

"Tommy," she chuckled in exasperation. "There's no need for flattery."

"It's not flattery," he smiled and she sighed. She saw so much of Oliver in Tommy, they had both been so similar, and though it hurt to look at him at times because she could see so much of Oliver around him, she also knew he was Thea's brother and they were strong siblings.

"Thank you for being here," Thea grinned as her excitement resumed and she all but bounce in place.

"Of course, you're family," Tommy exclaimed.

Moira chuckled as she was pulled into a hug by the tall young man and she wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm very happy you could be here Tommy," she assured him.

"Oh, and creepy dad is here," Thea sighed.

"I'll handle it," Tommy said and disappeared. Moira chuckled, she saw a lot of Robert in Tommy too, it was amazing at times.

"Ready mom?" Thea asked as they resumed walking to the gardens.

"Very," Moira assured her daughter.

"Walter will be a great step-dad," Thea offered.

Moira chuckled and kissed Thea lightly on the cheek.

"Yes, he will be," she agreed and Thea picked up a small bouquet then. The music started, Moira settled her nerves.

She was a Queen after all, and nerves was not something that controlled her.

A light tune was picked up before they stepped out the doors and Moira smiled earnestly as she saw the future in a man she never expected to come barging into her life telling her to get dressed and that they were going to lunch that day.

And she loved Walter for barging into her life.

He'd saved her from herself.

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Missing, Year 5

'…And In Other News: Thomas Merlyn is confirmed to be engaged, to the ex-girlfriend of the deceased Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance. Thomas Merlyn was the former best friend of Oliver Queen, and is the half-brother of Thea Queen, and to be the next head of Merlyn Global. Laurel Lance is the daughter of Detective Quinten Lance, and sister of Sara Lance, and a lawyer at CNRI…'

Everything felt surreal to Laurel as she smiled at the weekly family dinner her family had arranged. True, her parents were still divorced, but since Sara had returned from the dead they had made an effort to be together for at least one dinner for Sara's sake. Laurel had started bringing Tommy to these dinners so she could have a friend, and as they had slowly mended their relationship over the last few years, they had gotten here and as she sat there she was excitedly waiting to tell her parents about her news.

Laurel had never thought she'd get to the point of having a steady relation, or that she'd fall in love; again, she was happy, and she wanted to share her happiness. Since the confirmation of Ollie's death she had let that go and now she was moving forward, same as Sara.

"So Laurel, how's your week been?" her mom asked with a tight smile.

"Great, I actually have some really good news!" Laurel smiled.

"What's hat sweetheart?" he dad smiled as he served the meal.

"Tommy proposed," she announced giddily as she looked at her family. Her father looked like he'd been struck by lightning, her mother looked flabbergasted, and Sara's jaw was hanging open at the moment. Laurel smiled then.

"What?"

"We're getting married!"

"To that… that… that hoodlum!?" her father stuttered in disbelief.

"Tommy's not a hoodlum dad, he's grown up," Laurel pointed out quickly.

"Honey, he's still on the club circuit, and he's trouble, nothing but trouble, like that Queen boy," her father warned her and she stiffened.

"Tommy's changed a lot, and he's not going to cheat on me," she snapped. Honestly, it was his skirt chasing ways which had had her trying to not date him. But once Tommy had committed to her she had found him to be honest, genuine, and funny. Unlike with Oliver who had crappy lies, and tabloid exploits, and the charming grin which had her believing him rather than the tabloids, Tommy didn't lie to her. He'd been upfront with her the moment he had decided he wanted to date her and she appreciated that.

"I'm so happy for you!" Sara interjected before their father started on his crusade about how billionaire playboys would never be reformed, and she defended Tommy and his party habits.

"Thank you, Sara," she smiled genuinely at her sister as her mom brought up wedding details.

Things weren't perfect at the Lance home, they never would be. But having Sara returned to them had greatly improved their family in ways that would never be able to be said. Once the initial pain of Sara's betrayal and death had faded Laurel had been so happy to have her baby sister back in her life again. She hadn't realized how much she had missed having Sara in her life until Sara had been gone.

And though Laurel missed Ollie still she was coming to see that she might have never really loved Ollie that way.

Sara was walking with Laurel to Laurel's place then, her hands were in her pockets as she listened to her elder sister's excitement.

"I'm really happy for you," Sara blurted out then and Laurel looked at her.

"Thank you," she smiled, Sara grinned then too. Her sister had been happier with Tommy than she had been with Ollie, not that Sara was ever going to say that. Ollie had loved Laurel, in his own way, but it wasn't real love. But then she supposed that love wasn't real when you were twenty and thinking with hormones rather than your brain. "How's med school going?"

"Oh… you know, lots of studying," Sara smiled then.

"Sara, are you alright?" Laurel asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good, I just… I was thinking about Ollie and how he'd like to be here for you and Tommy," Sara admitted as she looked up at her sister who looked thunderstruck then. "He did love you both, and he'd be happy for you two, I just… I don't know, I wish he could see you two."

"I still miss him," Laurel admitted.

"Yeah," Sara agreed. She remembered the anguish in his eyes when he looked at her after Shado's death, and the way he'd fought. She miss Ollie too, but however she had known before the Amazo had blown up wasn't Ollie, merely a young man who had looked like Ollie.

"Do you ever wonder what it'd be like if he was here?" Laurel asked quietly.

"Sometimes, him and Tommy still getting into trouble," Sara chuckled.

"Of course," Laurel giggled.

"Dad's wrong you know, Tommy's changed, he's changed a lot for you and for Thea, he's grown up. And he's nothing like Ollie was, I think dad still just sees the troublemaker boys they had been, and remembers all the mischief they had gotten into. If there was trouble, they were usually in the middle of it," Sara murmured. "Dad will come around, he likes Tommy, he just doesn't know it."

"You think?"

"I know, besides, this totally makes it easier for me to spring my girlfriend on dad," Sara giggled.

"What!?"

"Yeah," Sara smiled.

"Wow, a girl?"

"Nyssa is really nice, she's an exchange student," Sara mused.

"Oh, this is just… I'm surprised," Laurel admitted.

"Yeah, I was shocked too, but… she's great," Sara smiled. Besides, after all the hells she'd been through with her time with Ivo she was done with men for a bit. Also, Nyssa had snuck up on her.

"I'm happy for you," Laurel smiled. "After you got back I was worried that you'd never open up to another person, but I guess I didn't have a reason to worry."

"I know, it's good," she admitted as they got to Laurel's building. After a hug goodnight Sara walked down the street and wondered absently if her life would have been different if she had never gone on the Queen's Gambit, and if Ollie would still be here if he hadn't gone. She missed her friend still.

She didn't miss her sister's boyfriend though, that Ollie had been an ass.

.

Found, Year 1

'…Breaking News: Oliver Queen is Alive! Oliver Queen was found on a deserted, uncharted island in the North China Sea where he was reportedly stranded for five years. Local Chinese fishermen found him after he started a bond fire on the beach to be rescued. He is currently in Hong Kong for medical treatment before he will return to Starling City…'

Staring down at the city he had once thought he knew he could only feel… tense.

Five years, five years of hell, of pain, of surviving, of planning, it had been his one goal, his one aim, it had been the thing he had been reaching for since he had been stranded on the island. Outside the door the doctor was no doubt talking to his mother and sister, telling them about his scars, and fractures, and that he would have issues.

He knew all that and somehow it didn't matter.

He was home, really home, no one was coming after him; Waller wouldn't touch him. The sense that he was free was almost tangible, and he was now eager to get to work. There was a city to save, he would honor his father's wishes, and he would right the wrongs of his father.

"Oliver?" a voice spoke, his ears perked at hearing it as he turned to see his fifteen year old sister and mother standing there.

"Hey Speedy," he grinned genuinely at seeing his little sister standing there looking not so little. She trembled then she darted towards him. He caught her with ease, and oh God did it feel good to hold her again as he tightened his hold on her.

"Sara said you were dead!" Thea choked out.

"No," he whispered in her hair.

"Oliver," his mother choked, looking ready to fall apart, she was over to them and he pulled her into him. Every day for the past five years he had dreamt of this moment, the moment when he could be with his family again.

"I thought about you guys every day," he murmured as he felt the emotion straining him.

"I'm just happy you're back," Thea muttered. "A lot has changed."

"Thea, we'll discuss everything with Oliver tomorrow, no doubt he's tired, and the doctors are not releasing you from here until you've had a full medical," Moira interjected.

"Ah, I'll see you tomorrow then," he promised as his mother stood up straight and looked every bit as regal as he remembered. He still had an arm around Thea who was hugging him tightly. "Speedy, you have to let me go."

"No, I'm afraid this will all be a crazy dream," Thea muttered as she looked up at him with earnest eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'll be home tomorrow," he assured her.

"Promise?" she demanded.

"Promise, go," he encouraged. He watched as his mother and sister reluctantly left him behind and he felt the weight of everything come crashing into him as he turned to look back out at the city. He had kept up on the news of his family when he could, so he was, fairly, certain just what it was they would want to discuss in the coming times. But he'd worry about it tomorrow. For now, he'd endure the prodding of the doctors, then he'd scout Starling City out and decide where he was going to set up his base of operations.

Hey, yeah, I'm rewriting this a bit, I'm fitting it more to fit with a certain Universe I'm unintentionally building. So gimme a week of minor rewrites here before I post something new.

That's all for now folks!

Enjoy Oceans Away! =)