The Man Who Cannot be Moved
Relationships: Oliver x Laurel, Laurel and Sara, Laurel and Quentin, Oliver and Nyssa.
Oliver stood in front of the old playground he had used to frequent, with a small photograph in his hands. This was where he had met the most important person in his life. And now he had returned in hopes of finding her.
He stared at her smiling face, full of hope and joy. Could she ever have imagined this situation? Where everyone had lost hope of finding her alive. He could see that first meeting clearly in his head. A bully had pushed him to the ground and he had scraped his knees. She had stormed over and told him off, in her childish squeaking voice.
That was the day he had met the love of his life. Laurel Lance. He knew that the hunt for finding her was the only thing that was keeping him from breaking down. He wanted to sit in this corner and hope that she would come back to him. Back where she belonged.
He didn't know where she was, how she was or even if she was alive. But he carried on. He placed fliers all over the cities. Her father scoured for leads. Felicity listened to interrupted transmissions on different frequencies. Sara Lance was unable to be found at this time; otherwise, her resources and determination would be of great use. There was one person who was still available.
"This is where you met her?" The familiar British accent broke his train of thoughts. He turned to look at her, standing there in her cape like a warrior. There was steel in her eyes, with a hint of worry. He knew she and Laurel had bonded over their common love for Sara.
"Yeah. The best day of my life," he said wistfully.
"We have to find her, Oliver. She would do the same for us." Nyssa glanced at the playground and her steel resolved to get these two lovebirds back together.
"I swear Nyssa, I will not rest until Laurel is found. And then someone is going to pay."
It had been a month since she had last seen him. The most important person in her life, beside her family. She wondered how her father was holding on. He had a heart condition, and hoped (though she knew it was fruitless) that he was not overdoing it. Her sister was probably off saving the world. She knew how furious and ruthless Sara would get if she found out.
She was sitting in a chair, with her hands behind her back. They were tied so tightly that the ropes were cutting into her hands. She had been held hostage for a week because she refused to give up the information fat her captors wanted. The Arrow was a vigilante who was trying to clean up the street from crimes like drug dealing, burglary, robberies and even murder. This gang had grown sick of it.
They had heard on the news that the Arrow had saved Laurel Lance several times and guessed a connection to her. She had been working on a drug case against this very gang, helped by information from the vigilante. One night, closing up later than usual, she had been confronted by two darkly dressed men.
She had taken self-defense classes. She had trained by herself. Nyssa and Sara had helped out a lot. She had taken down one man by kicking him in the groin and thrown a purse at the other man catching him off guard. She slammed him into the ground and then punched the other guy in the face when a scarf came around her neck and started strangling her until she blacked out.
Her keys were the only thing found the next morning.
No, she wasn't going to put Oliver in danger just to save herself. Besides, she trusted Oliver and his team. She knew that sooner or later she would be found. She just had to hold on.
The door behind her opened and she shivered involuntarily. They had threatened to do some very disgusting stuff to her over the few weeks. She had a feeling her luck was about to run out.
In the lair, Oliver was pacing. "We need a new strategy to find Laurel. Clearly, they're not holding her for ransom."
Quentin Lance was running his hand over his head. "What are we going to do? My baby girl's been gone a month."
"Felicity, run a search on all of Laurel's active cases and filter out the ones who are the most dangerous. Also run a search for recent parolees."
Felicity's eyes went wide as she read a news article. "Oliver, I think we have to consider a far more frightening possibility."
Oliver's eyes went completely blank and his expression turned to stone as he read an article about the disappearance of ADA Laurel Lance. The author speculated that this might be an attempt to lure out the identity of the Arrow from Ms. Lance and cited the various incidents that the vigilante saved the prosecutor.
Thea regarded her brother with a worried gaze. She knew he had a tendency of blaming himself, and this was Laurel. The love of his life. The person who had stood by him at his highs and his lows, through his mistakes and his accomplishments. And now he was thinking that he might lose her, and it was all his fault.
Oliver looked at the team coolly. "We need to send a message through the TV stations tonight. Felicity, run a search against Laurel's against the data on the criminals we have apprehended."
He looked at his Arrow hood solemnly. "This ends tonight."
Sara Lance was beyond furious at Oliver. He hadn't told her about the disappearance of her own sister, although he wouldn't have been able to contact her. How the hell had he not found Laurel by now? The elevator door opened and she stormed into the lair, stopping when numerous people turned around and looked shocked. One of them was her father.
He rushed over to her and pulled her into a hug. "Oh darling, I'm so glad you're back."
Sara glared at Oliver. "Any news on Laurel?"
"Yes, actually. Why don't you suit up, Sara?"
Laurel moaned when she heard the door to the side being pulled open. She could see only blurry shapes of people, but could distinctly hear her name being called out. A woman in white leather leaned down beside her and started untying her ropes.
"Laurel, wake up," the familiar voice stated. The other figures were moving around the room, looking for her kidnappers.
"Sara, is that you?" She muttered, the haze clearing a bit and her sister's worried face becoming clearer.
"Ah, Mr. Arrow. It was about time we met." The deep voice of a man startled Laurel, who then looked at Oliver standing there in the green hood. She knew him better than anyone and knew that his blood was boiling. That goon should run for his life.
"You made the biggest mistake of your life by kidnapping, Ms. Lance," Oliver growled and shot an arrow into his chest. He looked at Sara who was holding Laurel and motioned her to leave.
When Laurel woke up, she was in the hospital with Sara on her right side and Oliver on the left. Her father was asleep on the sofa and Thea was leaning against the wall. She smiled, blessed to have such wonderful people in her life. She gasped in pain when she moved a little, and Oliver & Sara immediately woke up.
"Laurel, I'm so sorry," Sara apologized. "If I had come back earlier, maybe you wouldn't have suffered so much."
"Sara, don't be ridiculous. You have nothing to be sorry for. Look, you're so tired and it shows on your face. Go home and rest. We'll talk later, okay?" Seeing that she was about to protest, she assured her further. "I'm fine, sis. I have Thea, Dad and Ollie."
"Call me if you need me. I love you, L." Sara leaned down and hugged her before leaving.
Laurel turned her head to the other side to see Oliver wiping tears from his eyes. "Dad, Thea, could I have a moment alone with Ollie?"
Quentin looked hesitant but a firm glare by Laurel caused him to leave. She then focused her eyes on her boyfriend, who was looking down and avoiding eye contact.
"Oliver, look at me." He turned his head to look at her full of sorrow. "This is not your fault."
"But it is, Laurel. I got your name associated with the Arrow and that landed you in trouble."
"Ollie, I'm a big girl. If I thought you were at fault here, I would have told you so. Come on, Ollie. I have been freed after 1 month. This is a cause for celebration. So give me a smile okay?"
When he still didn't smile, she poked him in his side. And got a twitch. She did it again. The same reaction. She tried one more time. Oliver gave in and smiled, giving Laurel a huge relief. She truly couldn't relax until she had seen that smile. And for Oliver, his world wasn't complete without Laurel Lance.