Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Everything belongs to their rightful owners.
AN1: So after being heartbroken by Laurel's death I felt the need to write a Laurel focused story and this came to me, I would have poste sooner, but I'm balancing two stories at once.
AN2: THANK YOU SO MUCH TO Mocking_point who has helped me more than I can put into words.
For Laurel Lance it is a night just like any other, at least recently, her alone in her apartment with take out and piles of Law Books that she is studying.
Fourteen months ago Laurel sister, Sara, was lost, and believed killed, at sea in a boating accident and if that wasn't bad enough at the time Sara was with Laurel's boyfriend, Oliver Queen, he was cheating on her with Sara and now she can't even be angry because they're both gone, and she can't grieve because even though she is trying not to be angry, but that anger is still inside of her.
As she reads over the same line for what feels like the hundredth time Laurel's phone starts to ring,
"Hello."
"Laurel." Her father's voice responds.
"Where do you need me to pick you up from?" Laurel asks her father as while she has been avoiding dealing with what she has been feeling by pushing down her anger and studying her father has been dealing with it by drinking, and her mother dealt by leaving.
"Nowhere, something's happened." Lance's voice responds.
"What is it?"
"Moira Queen has been killed." Lance informs his daughter.
"What? How?" Laurel asks, her voice breaking as Moira is someone she was quiet close too.
"It looks like a home invasion."
"Oh god, Thea." Laurel says in horror, "Is she okay?" she asks her voice full of fear as she has known Thea Queen her whole life, has watched her grow up.
"That's why I'm calling." Lance says, "Thea found her mother, and she's hugging the body; she won't let go." He reveals, "I've tried talking to her but the only thing she has said apart from Mom is your name." he explains, "I know it's asking a lot, but do you…..."
"I'll be right there." Laurel says before hanging up, not even needing to think about it, and as soon as she hangs up Laurel runs across her apartment, grabbing her jacket and keys as she goes.
As she drives to the Queen Mansion Laurel is very happy that it is quiet late as it meant the traffic was pretty light so she could get there quiet quickly. Thankfully the officers working at the scene know who she is so she is allowed right in. As soon as she gets out of her car she spots someone quiet familiar.
"DAD." She calls and she walks towards her father who walks to her, "Where is she?"
"In here. Just try and get her to move off Moira we need to take the body." Lance explains.
"I'll try." Laurel responds as they head inside.
As he walks into the lobby of the house that Laurel has been to so many times, the place she spent so much time at, the first thing that Laurel hears is Thea's heartbreaking cries. Hearing them Laurel hurries straight over to where Thea is lying on top of her mother, clutching her dead mother for dear life.
"Thea, sweetheart." Laurel says as she crouches down next to the thirteen, almost fourteen-year-old, putting her arm around her shoulder.
"Laurel." Thea says through her tears, looking up at her.
"I'm sorry Speedy, I'm so sorry." Laurel says, using her old nickname in an attempt to make her more comfortable.
"It's not fair." Thea tells Laurel, her voice full of more pain that she should have ever had to experience.
"I know." Laurel says, "You don't deserve this." Laurel says as in just over a year Thea has lost her father and brother and now her mother.
"I want them back; I want them all back." Thea says before throwing herself into Laurel's arms, and crying into her chest.
"I know, I know." Laurel says as she just holds Thea close and rubs her back.
For a few minutes Laurel just holds the teenager while she cries, having no idea what to say, or what to do as honestly Laurel doesn't think there is anything she could say or do to help.
"Laurel." Her father's voice says after about ten minutes and right away Laurel realises what he has to do.
"Thea." Laurel says and the teenager looks up at her, "They've got to take your Mom's body away now."
"NO! THEY CAN'T." Thea yells.
"They have to, Sweetie." Laurel tells her, "I know you want her to, but she can't stay here."
"What happens to me now?" Thea asks.
"You need to go to the hospital to get checked out, make sure you're okay, and then I need to talk to you about what you heard, what you saw." Lance informs Thea in a kind voice as even though he might hate Thea's brother, even though he is dead, Thea is an innocent girl and doesn't deserve his anger.
"Will you stay with me, please?" Thea asks Laurel.
"Of course I will. I won't leave, promise." Laurel responds and as she does Thea turns back to Moira's body and for a while she doesn't say anything she just stares.
"Okay." Thea says after a while, "We can go." She says and she forces herself to look away from her mother and stand, Laurel doing the same thing, "Don't leave me." She says to Laurel.
"I won't." Laurel promises and as she does Thea reaches down and takes Laurel's hand which she holds onto for dear life.
"I'll drive you myself." Lance tells Thea as he takes off his jacket and puts it around the teenager who is shaking.
"Thank you." Thea says and holding onto Laurel's hand, she follows Lance out of the house.
An hour and a half after Laurel, Thea and Lance left the Queen mansion they arrive at the station and as they do they find someone very familiar waiting for them.
"Tommy." Thea says, sounding glad to see someone else that she has known for her entire life.
"Thea, I'm so sorry." Tommy Merlyn says as he walks over and hugs Thea, who is still holding Laurel's hand, something which she hasn't let go for a second, "I'm so sorry."
"Me too." Thea responds as she and Tommy break apart.
"Thea I'll try and make this as easy for you as possible, but I'm going to have to talk to you about everything that happened." Lance informs her.
"Can Laurel sit in?" Thea asks.
"Sure." Lance answers.
"I'll stay out here." Tommy says as he wants to do whatever he can to do to help the young girl.
"Thank you." Thea says as she, Lance and Laurel head into the interview.
"Okay Thea, we can stop at any time if you need to." Lance informs Thea as they walk into the interview room.
"Okay."
"I'll be right here the entire time." Laurel promises Thea as they sit down.
"Okay Thea, I need to ask you what you heard, what you saw." Lance informs her.
"I didn't see or hear anything." Thea answers.
"Okay, why don't you tell me everything that happened." Lance suggests.
"I was up in my room, the house was quiet, like always, and I couldn't sleep so I was going to head downstairs to watch some TV." Thea explains, "I found Mom when I got downstairs…" Thea explains, tears coming to her eyes, "I grabbed the phone and hurried to her and….."
"It's okay." Lance says, "You don't have to say anymore." He assures her, "I just have a couple more questions." He says, "You said you didn't hear anything, but you might have heard something you didn't realises. Did you hear anything that sounded like a loud pop or a crack? Did you hear your mom say anything? Any sounds in the silence?"
"Um… no I don't think so." Thea says as Lance writes everything she has been saying down, as she does there is a knock on the door.
"Yeah." Lance says and an officer walks in.
"Detective there is someone here from social services to take Ms Queen." The Officer explains.
"NO!" Thea yells, "Can't I stay with you?" she asks Laurel, "Please, I don't want to go somewhere I don't know." Thea begs, her voice full of complete desperation, and as she hears the desperation sees the look on Thea's face Laurel knows that there is no way she is going to let Thea go anywhere other than home with her.
"I'll talk to the social worker." Laurel tells Thea, "If you want to stay with me then it's alright with me. I just don't know if they'll let you." She explains.
"I don't want to go with anyone else, please don't let them make me." Thea says to Laurel.
"I'll do my best." Laurel promises, "But to go talk to them I'm going to need you to let go of my hand." She says and Thea reluctantly let's go of Laurel's hand so that she can stand up, "I'll be right back." Laurel informs Thea as she walks across the room.
"Laurel." Lance says just as she walks out of the room, once Thea wouldn't be able to hear, "Do you really think having Thea stay with you is a good idea?" he asks as he really doesn't think it is.
"Thea has lost everyone she loves, she he no one, I'm not going to leave her too." Laurel informs her father before she walks over to the woman who is clearly the social services.
"Excuse me, are you from Social Services, here about Thea Queen?" Laurel asks the woman.
"Yes, who are you?"
"My name is Laurel Lance and I have known Thea her entire life. She's asking to stay with me and considering everything I think that might be for the best." Laurel explains.
"I appreciate your opinion on the matter Ms Lance, but we have protocols in this situation and in this situation the protocol is to get Miss Queen into emergency care." The Social Worker explains.
"Thea has just lost her mother after losing her father and brother last year, she feels completely alone and she wants to stay with me. After everything that she has lost she needs to feel safe and loved, and she won't in a strange place." Laurel argues.
"Laurel's right." A voice says and Laurel and the social worker turn to see Tommy.
"Who are you?" The Social worker asks.
"Tommy Merlyn, like Laurel I've known Thea her whole life and I saw her when she walked into this station tonight, she was clutching Laurel's hand for dear life, and no one should take that comfort away from her." Tommy says, "Not now."
"For now all I can authorise is one night." The Social Worker informs Laurel, "Bring Miss Queen to the social services building at twelve tomorrow and we will discuss long term accommodations for Miss Queen." She informs Laurel, "here's my details." She says as she hands over a card.
"Thank you." Laurel says and the social worker nods and walks away, "You didn't have to do that." Laurel says to Tommy.
"Yeah, I did. I owed it to Thea." He reveals, "And Oliver." He adds, "You've always looked out for Thea, always been there for her. The best place for her right now is with you."
"Thanks Tommy." Laurel says, "I should go give Thea the good news, or at least kind of good." She corrects.
"Yeah, you should." Tommy says and once he does Laurel heads back to the interview room so that she can tell Thea.
"So? Can I stay with you?" Thea asks, it being clear that she is worried.
"You can for at least tonight." Laurel explains as she walks over and sits back down next to Thea, "Tomorrow we've got to go to Social Services to talk about something more permanent."
"Does that mean I won't be able to stay with you?" Thea ask, "Because I really want to."
"I will do everything I can to make sure you can." Laurel promises and Thea just hugs her.
As she holds Thea Laurel knows, without a doubt, that she will do whatever it takes to keep her promises as she knows that she will not let Thea go and live somewhere strange, somewhere unfamiliar, she won't.
Half an hour later Laurel and Thea have arrived back at Laurel's apartment.
"Keep the door locked and chained." Lance, who gave them a lift, says.
"I will." Laurel promises him, "Night Dad." She says before hugging her father.
"Goodnight Laurel, Thea." Lance says before leaving.
One Lance leave Laurel closes and locks the door behind her father and then walks over to Thea who is standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.
"It's late, you should try and get some rest." Laurel tells her.
"I don't know if I can." Thea admits.
"Do you want to try?" Laurel asks and Thea nods, "Come on." Laurel says leading Thea towards the spare bedroom, "I'll grab you something to sleep in and then be right back." Laurel tells her and Thea nods.
For a couple of minutes Thea just stands alone in Laurel's spare bedroom, not really having any idea what she should be doing, or feeling, until Laurel comes back.
"Here, it might be a bit big but it should be pretty comfortable for you to sleep in." Laurel says as she hands Thea some pyjama's.
"Should be fine." Thea explains, "Thanks, Laurel."
"You don't have to keep thanking me." Laurel assures her, "Gets some rest, Thea." Laurel says, before heading to the door.
"Laurel." Thea says once she reaches the door, "Do you think you could stay in here tonight?" Thea asks, her voice nervous.
"Sure." Laurel responds, "I'll be back as soon as I get changed." She promises and Thea gives her a grateful look.
A few minutes later Laurel returns to her spare room wearing her pyjamas to find Thea has changed too.
"Let's get some sleep." Laurel tells Thea as she walks over to the bed.
"Yeah." Thea responds and a minute later both Laurel and Thea are in bed, lying next to each other, "Laurel?"
"Yeah, Thea?"
"I'm completely alone now, aren't I?" Thea asks, sounding upset.
"No. you're not." Laurel tells her, "You've got me, you'll always have me." She promises and not trusting her voice Thea just gives a nod, "Get some sleep, Thea. We'll talk in the morning."
After only a few hours of sleep Laurel is woken by the sound of someone crying. After a couple of minutes of confusion Laurel is able to figure out where the sound is coming from and what it means.
"Thea?" Laurel asks concerned.
"It's not fair, Laurel. I want them back! I want them back so much." Thea says, sounding heartbroken.
"I know. I know you do." Laurel says as she hugs her, "And I wish I could bring the back for you." Laurel says, telling the truth, and once more Thea starts to cry into Laurel's chest while the older woman holds her.
Hours later, after spending a lot of the last few hours crying, Thea, with Laurel by her side are walking into the Social Services building, somewhere where Thea would honestly not be.
"Tommy." Thea says surprised when she sees him.
"What are you doing here?" Laurel asks as he walks over, sounding completely shocked.
"I have extra ammunition for you both." Tommy reveals and he just gets two confused looks in response, as he holds up a folded document, "I went to the Queen Lawyers first thing this morning, if something were to happen to Moira then she wanted Thea to choose who she lives with out of a list of people." He explains, "Your name is on that list." He reveals, leaving out that his and his family names are too as he knows that the best play for Thea is with Laurel.
"So I can stay with Laurel?" Thea asks, looking hopeful.
"Let me see that." Laurel requests and Tommy hands over the document, "It definitely looks like it." Laurel says, "Thanks Tommy."
"Happy to help, like I said." Tommy responds, "Good luck." he tells them both and Thea and Laurel nod and head to the elevators,
"I forgot to ask, are you even okay with staying with you for a while?" Thea asks concerned
"Of course I am." Laurel answers, "You can stay with me as long as you like." Laurel assures her, honestly not even needing to think about it, and Thea look grateful at that.
A few minutes later Laurel and The arrive at near the floor where the social worker that wants to see Laurel and Thea is.
"Hi, I'm Laurel Lance and this is Thea Queen, we're here to see Jean Green." Laurel says to the welcome desk.
"Of course, please take a seat." The person at the desk says and Laurel and Thea walk over to the chairs and sit down.
For a few minutes Laurel and Thea sit together until the social worker from the night before walks out.
"Ms Lance, Miss Queen, please come with me." The Social Worker says and the two of them get up and follow Jean to her office.
About a minute later laurel and Thea are in Jean's office, sitting across from her.
"An hour ago I got a call from The Queen Family Attorney's." Jean reveals, "According to your mother's wishes you are old enough to choose who you live with according to a specific list..."
"I choose Laurel." Thea says.
"I suspected as much." Jean says, "But for that to be possible there are a few things that need to happen." She says looking at Laurel.
"What? Whatever it is I'll do it." Laurel informs Jean.
"To start with you'll need to get verified as a foster parent so that you can get permanent guardianship and to get that certification there are several things that has to occur, including a home visit." Jean explains, "For now you can get emergency foster care status, but the process to get you officially verified will have to be started right away."
"That's fine. I'll do what I have to." Laurel answers.
"I there any chance that Laurel won't be able to get permanent guardianship?" Thea ask concerned.
"Under normal situations I would say yes, but as this is complying with your mothers' wishes and part of those wishes includes a monthly allowance to help with expenses, which are all things that make it more likely for Laurel to get approval." Jean explains, "I cannot guarantee permanent guardianship, but there are a lot of things that are in your favour."
"When will we know whether I have been approved for permanent guardianship?" Laurel asks, wondering how long things will be uncertain for Thea.
"Well, it's November at the moment and considering the holidays I would say that early January is the most likely time." Jean answers.
"Okay." Laurel says, "Can I get the process started today?"
"Of course, it's a lot of paperwork though." Jean reveals.
"I really don't mind."
"Then let's get started." Jean says, pulling out the paperwork that Laurel is going to have to complete.
Almost two hours later Laurel as completed the paperwork to get the process, for Laurel to get permanent guardianship of Thea, started and she and Thea are walking out of the social services building.
"So, I was thinking that we could go to the mansion so that you can grab the things that you really need." Laurel suggests.
"No." Thea says, sounding short, "I can't go back there yet." Thea reveals.
"Okay, that's okay." Laurel says, "How about we go for food. You haven't eaten today." Laurel suggests.
"Sure, but can we get take away?" Thea asks as she really doesn't want to spend more time in public than necessary.
"Of course we can." Laurel responds.
"I know I've pushed you into this, but why are you? After what Ollie…..." Thea starts to say.
"Thea, stop." Laurel tells her, turning to look right at her, "What Ollie did doesn't have anything to do with you. I am doing this because I want to look after you, because I care about you." Laurel says, stressing the you, "I will be your guardian for as long as you want me to be, I'm not leaving you." Laurel assures Thea and Thea just hugs her.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Let's go get some food." Laurel says as she and Thea break apart.
"Lets." Thea says and she and Laurel start to walk, Thea linking her arm with Laurel as they go.
A couple of hours later Thea is attempting to get some sleep while Laurel is working on her Law School work when there is a knock on the door. Putting her work Laurel gets up and heads to the door. Looking though the peep hole Laurel sees her father so she unchanged, the door, unlocks it and lets him in, as she does she notices that he is looking less than happy.
"Thea's sleeping so if you're going to lecture be quiet about it." Laurel informs her father as she closes the door behind him.
"Look, I get keeping the kid for a few days, but permanently is a completely different ballgame." Lance tells Laurel, it being clear that he really doesn't like the idea.
"I'm doing this because she needs someone to look out for her, she needs someone who cares." Laurel explains.
"Last time I checked there would be a lot of people willing to take in Thea Queen, why does it have to be you? You don't owe that family anything." Lance tells Laurel.
"This isn't about the Queen family." Laurel says angrily, "This is about the thirteen-year-old girl who has lost everything." She explains, "You say that there are a lot of people who would take in Thea, but how many people would do that just because she is a Queen? And not because she is Thea?" Laurel asks, "If something had happened to you when Sara and I were Thea's age wouldn't you have wanted her to be taken in by someone who really cared about us and not someone who cared because we were your daughters?" Laurel asks, and Lance has no answer to that, "Thea has lost her parents, her brother, she has no family left but she does have me and no matter what I will be there for her. I will be her guardian and help her through this. I will do everything I can to help her become the incredible woman I know she can be. You don't have to like it, but this is happening, I don't care what you think." Laurel tells her father, there being no room for argument in her voice.
"Laurel." A voice says, sounding completely shocked and Laurel and Lance turn to see Thea standing at the doorway to the bedrooms, looking both shocked and amazed.
"Thea, how much did you hear?" Laurel asks concerned.
"Everything." Thea says before hurrying over and hugging Laurel, "Thank you, thank you."
"I told you, you don't have to keep thanking me." Laurel assures her as she holds Thea tightly, as she does Lance looks at the two and even though he doesn't think Laurel being Thea's guardian is the best idea he can see how much Thea needs Laurel right now.
"Why don't I make dinner for tonight." Lance suggests as Thea and Laurel break apart.
"Really?" Laurel and Thea ask together.
"You'd do that?" Thea asks, sounding surprised.
"Yeah, I would." Lance answers, it being his way of showing that he will be supportive.
"I have no groceries." Laurel informs her father.
"I'll go get some." Lance says before leaving.
"Did he just go from being against you being my guardian to making dinner for us?" Thea asks surprised.
"Yeah." Laurel says, "I think it's his way of being supportive."
"Huh." Thea says, having no idea what to think or feel, partly because she is amazed by what she heard Laurel say and partly because she isn't sure what to make of Lance's behaviour. All she knows is that the fact that Laurel is being so kind to her after everything that Oliver did to her is incredible.