Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not the Green Arrow comics or Arrow or any show in the Arrowverse. I'm simply presenting an alternative way the show could've gone back in S4.

A/N: This is an update, not a complete rewrite. The same story overall but with additional scenes that will hopefully make this story feel less rushed and flesh out some of the changes I wanted to see in the team dynamics. This is a follow-up to my short story: Daughter of the Demon. This story covers the entirety of S4 with how that one little change in S3 could affect the show over time. Most of the season happened as it did on the show – which means there will be Olicity and even the engagement – but Lauriver is endgame. Two things to keep in mind: 1) I have not seen most of that season because of what they did to Laurel; my knowledge is based off recaps, so I couldn't rewrite every scene that needed to be fixed to match with my changes, and unfortunately I may be missing important things that happened because they were glossed over in the recaps. 2) the flashforwards to the grave still happen, but Barry calls Oliver (since he's powerless at that time on the Flash).

Part One

Ivy Town was uniformly unoriginal, safe as a button, and easily breached. The last place one might expect to find Oliver Queen, at least if one knew the real Oliver. It was also the last place on Earth that Dinah Laurel Lance wanted to be.

Laurel took a deep breath as the house came into view. Thea parked the car and Laurel told the butterflies in her stomach to stop fluttering. They weren't here to fight. They'd come to ask for help – help from the man she'd sent off into the sunset with another woman. She'd thought that would be the hardest thing she had to do, but this was harder. To face him again and keep her heart locked away; the only way she could protect herself now.

"Are you ready?" Thea asked, sympathetic to Laurel's reluctance but impatient to see her brother.

"Of course," Laurel projected confidence she didn't feel. She could do this. She had to. She wasn't some damsel in distress or a fragile doll to be sheltered. She wasn't even the ex-lover who couldn't move on. She was a successful ADA, the Black Canary, and a daughter of Ra's al Ghul.

But this would be the first time she'd seen Oliver since that night . . .

The day after their wedding in Nanda Parbat, Laurel began her training as a daughter of the Demon. The League of Assassins was relentless and thorough. They wanted to break her until Laurel Lance was no more, then rebuild her as Dinah al Ghul. They would've succeeded too, if not for Oliver. Each night, when she returned to their rooms, too exhausted to even eat, he was there. He'd tend to her injuries, make sure she was fed, and then held her through the night, murmuring encouragement and reminding her who she was.

Laurel didn't even realize Oliver had to accelerate his plan and call the team in early until after the League had captured her friends. Oliver told her that night and then had to pin her to the bed to stop her from checking on the team. He inoculated her against the virus, then gave her the updated plan. While he and Nyssa accompanied Ra's to Starling City, Laurel freed their teammates and escaped with them back to their plane. When Felicity asked how Laurel was free to aid them, Laurel fibbed about joining the League. She didn't want to explain her confusing rebirth, much less the marriage which still felt surreal. Malcolm had smirked at her, knowing the truth, but he hadn't betrayed her secrets and the others hadn't questioned her story. They had bigger problems on their minds.

They stopped Ra's in the end. With Ray Palmer's help, they vaccinated the city before the Alpha-Omega virus could be spread. Oliver had to fight Ra's to the death, but the city was saved, and he kept his promise to Malcolm, giving him the ring of the Demon's Head. It felt wrong to Laurel, to reward the man who killed her sister and set everything into motion; the man who had ruined countless lives. Unfortunately, Oliver had more honor than Merlyn, and Laurel loved him for that – one day though, she vowed Malcolm would pay for the deaths he'd caused.

"Nyssa, there you are," Laurel had tracked her blood-sister down to Sara's clocktower. She knew the last few days had to have been tougher on her than they'd been on Laurel; "I'm sorry, if I'd known this was how things would end, I would've talked to Ollie about his plan . . ."

"It is fine, Dinah. I suspect our father wouldn't be surprised at the deal – though another wears the ring, your husband is the rightful heir to Ra's al Ghul. One day, he will have to accept that."

"I wish you wouldn't call him that," Laurel grimaced when Nyssa used the matrimonial term.

"Husband? You love him, do you not, sister?"

"With all my being, but it doesn't mean a future together is in the cards for us," Laurel sighed and leaned against a window sill, looking out onto the city. She'd seen the way he looked at Felicity, the way he'd once looked at her but no longer. That was a man in love.

"Is it because of Felicity? Because I am a highly-trained assassin," Nyssa joined Laurel at the window with a conspiring smile.

"Nyssa!"

"It is only a joke," Nyssa promised. "Mostly," she added under her breath and Laurel pretended not to hear.

"Oliver may love me, but he's not in love with me the way I am with him. I told him we could never be together, because our best friend died loving me more than I loved him. I wanted to punish myself back then and pushed Oliver away, straight into Felicity's arms. He fell for her and deserves the chance to see where that will lead. He deserves to be happy, just happy, not weighed down with the baggage we share."

"You are different people than when you were last together, perhaps he loves you more than you realize," Nyssa offered, revealing a more optimistic romantic than Laurel had pegged her as.

"I have to let him go, let him make that choice on his own."

"Why do you look prepared for him to never come back?" Nyssa questioned after watching Laurel steel herself for the conversation.

"Because Ollie always runs from me when I ask him to get serious. He's never fought for me, for us. My love, it's never been enough for him."

She'd been right of course.

Laurel had gone to Oliver, Nyssa shadowing her. She'd told her so-called husband she knew his feelings in Nanda Parbat were all an act to save her life, and he'd agreed. She'd told him to take the chance he had with Felicity, to find happiness with her and hold on tight. Oliver had thanked her for understanding and left to find his new love. He didn't see the tears that Laurel shed as her heart broke again, but Nyssa was there to hold her together. Even in her pain, Laurel was comforted with the knowledge that she wasn't alone – she had a sister again.

Oliver had left with Felicity, driving off into a literal sunset. That left John, Thea, and Laurel to defend the city – with Roy having faked his death and fled, a fact no one told Laurel until months later. Nyssa stayed in the newly christened Star City to train Thea and Laurel in the League's ways – Malcolm had agreed since they were both daughters of the Demon now. At first, John had overseen their little group, but it quickly became evident he had a tough time calling the shots when those he cared about had their lives on the line. Nyssa made the bigger decisions in the field for a while, even though she scorned the concept of being a vigilante. Eventually, Laurel, Thea, and John worked out their own little democracy and they became a stronger team for it. One of them lead when they had the best mind for the situation, but none of them was the leader.

The Ghosts appeared out of the blue. They were fast, trained, and tough to take down. Even using League tactics, they barely kept up. Then Malcolm recalled Nyssa to Nanda Parbat. She'd pronounced Laurel and Thea worthy of their titles only a week before her summons, but she'd been planning to stay, to help her sisters-in-blood. Unfortunately, an order from Ra's couldn't be ignored, which led to the current car ride to Ivy Town.

"You know, it's not too late to turn back. Maybe ARGUS could help stop these Ghosts," John said when Laurel made no move for the door. Thea suspected parts of the truth about what went down in Nanda Parbat, but Diggle had remained oblivious to Laurel's healing heart, for which she was glad.

"Lyla told us ARGUS has been trying to catch these guys for years, I doubt their aid, if they give any, will do us good," Thea tutted and shot Laurel an exasperated look.

"We voted on this already, John. We need another body in the field, one with training like the League's. Ted's remaining firm on his decision, which leaves only one option. So, let's do this," Laurel grabbed the door handle and let out a calming breath.

Grumbling, John opted to stay in the car while Laurel and Thea walked up to the door. Thea knocked while Laurel settled her nerves one last time. She could handle being around him, being only his friend, and seeing him look at another the way he once looked at her. She'd healed from the pain of letting him go, she was stronger now than she'd ever been. And when the door opened, she proved to herself that this was true.

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When Laurel told him that she believed his confession in Nanda Parbat to be an act, Oliver took the easy way out. He took the wedding band she offered, and he walked away. He hadn't fought for her when he should have so many times in the past, and he'd lost her. He didn't deserve her; never had, never would. He also didn't deserve the face-saving rejection she gave him, but he took it.

He did love Felicity. She'd been there for him so much in the past few years. Not a consolation or a replacement for Laurel, but something new. A relationship without so many burned bridges or mistakes on his part. Oliver did as Laurel suggested and he worked to build a happy future with Felicity. He let his mission go and focused on her, holding on as tightly as he dared without suffocating her. He'd already messed up the future he wanted with the first love of his life, he wouldn't ruin his chance at a second.

Ivy Town was a wholly different life than one he was used to – a life he'd once envisioned sharing with Laurel, back when he was a different man. His days often felt like a vacation from reality; a break he'd needed to escape the memories of the past. Felicity tried to get him to talk about the island, about Nanda Parbat, but he couldn't. Ra's had been right about one thing - Oliver couldn't be the Arrow when he was with Felicity. He had to be Oliver Queen with her; and the island, his time with the League, those were part of the Arrow's mission. He feared her discovering the man he was in those places. Yet there were times in Ivy Town when Oliver wasn't sure who he was anymore, as if Oliver Queen was fading to be someone else entirely for Felicity Smoak.

Then Laurel and Thea showed up at their door, asking for help. Despite his hesitation, there really was no choice for Oliver. It was his sister and oldest friend – he would always answer when they called.

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They stopped the train Damien Darhk tried to blow up. There were a few bumps along the way. Oliver tried to resume leadership of the team; they gave him some leeway but respectfully reminded him that they'd been managing on their own for five months. They weren't going to just take his directives anymore, not if they had serious problems with the plan. Oliver floundered for a minute but agreed to hear their voices.

When Felicity confided in Laurel that she wanted to stay, but was concerned Oliver wanted to leave, Laurel gave her a nudge to help Oliver see the city was where he wanted to be. After Oliver revealed his new masked identity to Star City, that of Green Arrow, Laurel knew they'd made the right choice. Though she was more surprised at how easy it was to see him so obviously in love with Felicity. He was happy and that made it easier to be his friend without envy – they had been friends for so long, that part came naturally.

Then Thea flounced into their living room, complaining of Oliver's brotherly talk about her aggressive fighting. "Did you tell him you've been trying to control it?"

"No," Thea huffed and then caught Laurel's questioning look; "He left! And he'll leave again, because that's what he does when I need him the most. He's not here for me the way you are. Just like he's not there for you either."

"Oh, Thea, he didn't leave me, I let him go," Laurel said, because she wasn't going to tell Thea how to feel about her brother, but she could at least give her one less reason to be mad at him. She could see her little sister didn't believe her, so, after months of silence, Laurel finally caved and told Thea what had happened in Nanda Parbat and after.

A/N2: Final thought, I'm writing the story in limited third person. This means you'll get to see how I interpret the thought patterns of Laurel and Oliver and how they perceive others' actions. Their perception isn't always accurate but based on their own personal biases. Sometimes, they will be hypocrites, because face it, everyone is at some point. In my head, Oliver self-loathes a lot, even over things he couldn't control, and I try to reflect that. Laurel doesn't always see Oliver's actions in the best of light because of their history together and Thea has some issues, besides the bloodlust, that will get addressed later.

Reviews are appreciated! Just no bashing!