N.B.: You are more than welcome to review, message, or ask me anything, but I ask that you please be NICE (kindness makes the world go round). If you decide to take time to read this story, then thank you; I truly appreciate and love you for it.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Arrow, its characters, and everything that relates to it and to them belong to their rightful owners.
This story is AU. A lot of the events in season one did occur, but there are still quite a few modifications in this story which make it AU.
Oliver Queen walks into St. John Memorial, ignoring the chaos that surrounds him. He was focused on finding his best friends, Tommy Merlyn and Laurel Lance. He was somewhat badly injured, the blood from his fresh wounds staining several areas of his shirt. Felicity had tried her best to take care of his injuries as best as she could. However, he knew that once Laurel saw him, he would not be able to dodge her questions easily, and at this particular moment, he did not care. When he finally reached the second floor waiting area, he tried to look for her through the chaotic atmosphere that greeted him upon exiting the elevator. Once he saw her, he took a deep breath. Seeing any image of her brought him peace. He could see that she was devastated. She looked a mess.
When she finally looked up, their eyes locked. Oliver walked closer to her, seeing the devastation in her eyes the minute his eyes met hers. Her eyes were swollen and slightly red, with a circle of darkness around them. The tears had not stopped from the minute she thought Tommy had perished. The tears did not stop even when she finally saw his lifeless body buried in the rubble after forcefully letting go of her father's embrace to run inside the damaged building. Her cries became stronger upon entering. When she had finally managed to go inside, she had knelt down over Tommy's still body. Taking his face into her hands, she remembers telling him, begging him, not to leave her. When her father had finally gotten to her, he let her grieve as they waited for help to arrive. Everything that happened after that was a blur to her.
"Laurel." It was the first thing he could say to her once he had finally made it to where she was sitting. There were so many people in the waiting area. The devastation was excruciatingly palpable. Everyone in that waiting room had suffered some sort of traumatic loss or pain.
Once she heard him calling her name, she stood up, immediately falling into his arms. He held her tightly, loving how comfortable and soft she felt in his arms. It was as if she was built to perfectly fit in his arms.
When she slightly pulled herself away from his embrace so that she could look into his eyes again, she saw just how shattered he was. After all, Tommy was his best friend. Tommy was his brother. They had known each other since they were babies. Laurel had entered their lives in grade four and the three of them had developed a strong friendship since that crazy first day of school together.
"Ollie…" A fresh set of tears fell again. For a moment, she actually thought she would lose him. The damage that had come from Malcolm Merlyn's terrorist act had left nearly the entire city in shambles. She was not able to fathom the idea of losing him again, however, just a few hours prior, she had thought that there was a high possibility that she would lose him. The death count was at 130, with 300 injured. However, the speed at which those numbers were increasing brought a sickness to her body that just escalated the devastation she was already experiencing.
"How's Tommy?" She knew just how hard it was for him to ask her that. The pain and heartache that came from his voice felt like a knife had stabbed her in the heart.
"He is still in surgery. I haven't heard anything yet. It has been four hours already and…" Her crying started as soft and calm, but then quickly became more intense, so much so, that she could not continue to speak. Oliver brought her closer into his arms. Resting her head on his chest, just below his shoulder, he brought his right hand up to her head, his fingers interlocking through her auburn brown hair.
He did not know how to respond. He did not know how he could tell her that everything would be okay, because, truthfully, he was not sure if things would ever be okay. The only thing he could think of that would bring a slight comfort to the situation was to be there for Laurel and Tommy. He really could not do anything else.
He felt her head move, so he detached his hand from her tresses. She was looking deeply into his eyes again. There was just something so comforting, so peaceful, so therapeutic about her eyes. They always had a way of making his heart melt. The beautifully captivating green eyes that would make Oliver feel at peace every single time, even for the slightest second, were one of the things that had attracted him to her in the first place.
For a moment, he was frozen in time. Her left hand had come up to feel the wound on his shoulder. It was not until she tried to put her hand under the fabric of his shirt that she felt the fresh blood leave a stain on the tips of her fingers. Oliver was brought straight back to reality the minute she had pressed the fresh wound. Her touch of the wound brought a sharp, shooting pain throughout his entire body.
"Oliver, we need to get you seen by a doctor. Oh my god, your shirt is covered with blood, Ollie, we need to get you checked out." She was now feeling all of the areas that had left their mark on his shirt.
When he felt her try to move away from him, he knew she was about to get medical attention, however, his much stronger hand grabbed a tight hold of her wrist to stop her from making any movement. "Laurel, I'm fine, Felicity helped me take care of these injuries. I'll be fine."
"Felicity? The 'Internet router' girl? Is she a medical professional?" He had not realized what he had revealed to her, however, it was far too late to backtrack, especially with Laurel, who could see through him like no one else. John Diggle would have been a more believable lie.
"Laurel, I'm fine, I promise." He saw the dissatisfaction in her eyes. She knew he was not telling her the entire truth. He was saved from further interrogation when Detective Lance had walked up to them. He immediately let go of Laurel so that she could fall into her father's arms. He watched how tightly and lovingly he held onto his daughter. Despite their differences, Oliver knew that Quentin was a very good father. Quentin's presence also just saved him from further interrogation from Laurel.
"Queen, you okay? You look like hell." Quentin said, still holding Laurel. It surprised Oliver that Quentin Lance actually cared about his well-being. Quentin knew that right now, at this moment, everyone needed to come together so that they could somehow lift each other up after such immense heartache and destruction.
"Yeah, I'm fine…I'll be fine. How are you holding up?" Oliver was anything but fine and he sure was not going to be fine later, but he needed to be strong, for Laurel and for Tommy.
"Thankful that my baby girl is okay…" He laid a kiss atop his daughter's forehead and his voice started to crack as he spoke.
"Ms. Lance?" They could hear a male's voice interrupt them. They all turned to face the man to which the voice belonged. Laurel and Oliver almost did not want to hear what Dr. Lamb was going to say next. They were not naïve. They could both see the look in the doctor's eyes: He was not bringing them any good news.
It took every ounce of his being not to run back to Laurel and hold her in his arms as she cried hysterically after Dr. Lamb had spoken to them. He and her father had held her as she let all of her heartbreak take over her. They both felt so helpless, so useless. They could not bring Tommy back, and that made them feel like they were both failing her.
"Is Thea okay?" Felicity who was seated at one of the desks, in the basement of Verdant (his secret lair), had asked once she heard his footsteps walking down the stairs.
"Yeah, she's home now; she and Roy will be fine." She could see the pain on his face. He was broken, shattered, and there was nothing she could do or say to make him feel better.
She watched him sit at the edge of one of the tables, burying his face in his tired hands, like someone who had just suffered a terrible loss to an impossible battle.
"Tommy…" Felicity started. She saw him lift his head up to stare right through her eyes.
"Let's not talk about Tommy." She had never heard his voice filled with so much anger and anguish. His voice was firm and cold.
There was a short silence before she spoke. "Oliver, how about you get some rest. Even if it's just for three hours…Just get some rest." She had now walked over to where he was seated, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I need to get back to Laurel. To Tommy…" His voice was slightly trembling.
"I know, you will, but you need to rest first. You can't be there for them if you risk your health in the process. Just three hours, I promise I will wake you up myself."
"And you still don't know just how stubborn he can get. You've known him for what, 10 months now?" Diggle's voice brought a slight lightheartedness to the dark atmosphere in that basement.
"How are Carly and A.J.? And I know he's stubborn, but he listens to me more than he listens to you." She whispered the last part as John Diggle was now standing in front of Oliver and beside Felicity. They were both trying to bring some lightness to the darkness that had become so palpable all over their city.
"They're fine, thank God." He did not even want to ask Oliver if he was okay, he knew the answer to his question since Felicity had already called and told him that Tommy was still in surgery, however, that was all they knew about the state of Tommy's condition.
"I'm going to go back to the hospital. Felicity, you go to my house with Mom, Walter, Thea and Roy, and Diggle, bring Carly and A. J. there as well." They watched him quickly get off the table and then speed walk to the exit.
"I'm coming with you then." Felicity quickly ran to catch up with him. She had forced him to turn around, his height towering over her. They were just a few feet away from the staircase.
"No." It was a firm, 'no', but she was not going to back down.
"Well, if you are not going to rest, not even for three hours, which did you know is the length of one sleep cycle? Or, hey, not even just for 20 minutes, which, believe or not, is the best way to recharge your body if you are ever suffering from sleep deprivation and…So, yeah, no, I am coming with you, despite what you do or say." She completely stopped rambling after noticing the impatience that became evident on his face.
"Felicity…" Oliver was mad now.
"Too bad! I'm coming with you! No ifs, ands, or buts!" He was too weak to argue with her.
"I'll go and make sure Thea and Roy are safe and meet up with you guys after I drop off Carly and A.J. there too." Felicity gave Diggle a smile and a wave before catching up with Oliver who had already started to walk up the stairs.
The moment they had entered Tommy's room, Felicity could feel the sadness within the room penetrate her already aching heart. She could feel the pain that was evident in the atmosphere the minute she walked outside of Verdant. The feeling became even stronger when they reached the main lobby of St. John Memorial. She took a deep breath before noticing Laurel and Quentin upon entering Tommy's room.
Laurel had been awake for a good 40 hours until her body surrendered. From all the painful screaming and crying she had endured in that time, her body had finally let her down and could not possibly take anymore. With the bed rail down on Tommy's left side, she looked so peaceful with half of her body laying by Tommy's, her head resting in the crook of his neck. Felicity could see the tears that had left their mark on one of her visible cheeks. She could also see a few of the bruises and scratches that she had obtained from the disaster. She put a comforting hand on Oliver's back as a way to remind him that she was there for him.
Once Quentin saw them, he stood up from the uncomfortable chair that he had occupied before Oliver and Felicity had entered the room.
"Queen, Ms. Smoak." He walked closer to the doorframe so that he could stand next Felicity. "They need me back at the station, Laurel told me to leave earlier, but I refused to leave her alone. She finally fell asleep a little over an hour ago…" His voice was tired and weak as he spoke. Quentin would definitely be in a lot of trouble later for not immediately returning to the station, however, his daughter was the most important person in his life, so he could care less what his police chief would do to him.
Felicity noticed the anguish and sadness in the older man's eyes. "Go back to the station, the people need you. We'll be here for Laurel, Detective Lance." Felicity said in the most comforting way possible.
Quentin gave her a sad smile. "Are you sure, I'll be back once…"
"Don't worry, we'll be here." Felicity gave him an adorable yet reassuring smile. After all, they had managed to work together to stop one of the earthquake devices set up my Malcolm. There had been a second device, but there was no denying that had they not worked so hard and well to stop one of the devices, the city would be in a far worse predicament.
"Thank you, I'll back soon. Take care of my baby girl." Quentin gave her a caring smile and a soft pat on the shoulder before leaving them.
Once Quentin left, she noticed that Oliver had remained in the same position that he was in once they had entered the room. He looked frozen, his eyes on Tommy and Laurel, not even blinking once. His best friend was hanging on for dear life and he could not do anything to save him. Felicity did not want to say or do anything to get him to talk or move. She simply left his side and walked to where Laurel was sleeping.
This was the second time she had encountered Laurel, the first time she had seen just how beautiful she was. Now, watching her with her eyes closed, she saw just how broken the woman who had left an impeccable and remarkable impact on Tommy and Oliver's lives was. The painful atmosphere had finally caught up with her. Felicity could feel tears forming and she tried her very best to keep them from falling; she had to be strong for Oliver. She had to be there for Oliver. She closed her eyes tightly to prevent her tears from falling.