Thank you all for the support! Means a lot to me!

The gravel road made the vehicle bump along. And the pain and grief it caused Oliver was absolutely horrendous. His thigh and leg were both painful, but he was lucky enough that none of the wounds were infected. That would have been worse than bad…

He gasped with pain as the back end of their car seemed to be shot two feet off the ground by a big stone in the road. His hands were already steadying his leg, but it didn't really cause him any comfort…

He could feel the bones inside his leg jarring against one another. The pain made him feel nauseous. Passing out wouldn't be the worst option, he imagined… At least he wouldn't be feeling all the pain…

"How are you doing back there?" Roy's concerned eyes met his in the rearview mirror.

"I can't complain… I've only felt all of the 9,483 potholes and stones in the road this far…"

"Sorry…"

"Not your fault that the road should have been fixed fifteen years ago, Roy… You're doing as great a job as can be expected!"

Roy focused his eyes back on the road ahead. The gravelly road stretched on for a few more miles, as far as he could remember… Then there would be asphalt, which was at least a bit better…

.ARW.

What Oliver could use right now, apart from sleep, was a ton of painkillers or something. His leg pulsed with pain, it hurt fiercely.

The wounds had mainly stopped bleeding days ago, but every now and then, something ripped open and started bleeding all over again.

He closed his eyes, and tried mastering the pain. Channeling it into a dark, abandoned place in the back of his mind… The place where all uncomfortable memories, and pain went to die… They hit another bump in the road, and Oliver let out a painful groan. This was too much… It shouldn't hurt like this? Should it?

He didn't notice Roy's worried eyes as he glanced in the rearview… He didn't notice how the vehicle slowed down, almost to a full stop… All he could fathom then and there, was the pain radiating from his leg…

A few minutes later, the worst of it had passed once again. Oliver was able to breathe normally again…

"How far do we have left?"

"Couple of hours, I'm afraid…" Roy answered apologetically.

"Guessed so…" Oliver voiced solemnly. "Still no service?"

Roy made a point of checking his phone, "Still no service…"

Oliver let out a frustrated moan. Why could life never be easy…? Why had the island happened? Why A.R.G.U.S.? Why Russia? Why Starling, no, wait… Star City…? WHY?

He leaned back against the door, resting his head against his arm…

.ARW.

Suddenly Roy hit the brakes with no warning what so ever. The driver's door was ripped open as he unbuckled his belt and out he went.

Through the pain, Oliver could hear Roy emptying his stomach contents on the side of the road. The poor guy shouldn't even be driving… Much less driving for five hours straight…

Oliver felt sorry for Roy, much more than he had earlier during their road trip… Roy had kept his act together, he had shown no signs of illness… Not until now, anyway…

Oliver opened his door, and painfully maneuvered himself outside. The pain pulsing through his leg, threatened to black out his vision. He steadied himself against the car, before he hopped over to Roy. Each jump was more antagonizing than the last.

He placed one hand on Roy's back. Partly to comfort Roy, partly to steady himself…

"Roy, you need to rest…"

Oliver felt a slight rush of anger as Roy shook his head, still in the puking position.

"Yeah, you need it!" his voice was a little sharper, a little more on point…

"NO! I need to get you to the doctor!" Roy almost screamed back.

"We both should get to a doctor… But I can wait… I'm in no life-or-death battle with my body here… You need some rest! And you need it now!"

Roy stood back up, swaying slightly once or twice before he found his balance.

"Look, you go rest in the passenger seat, or the backseat… And I try to take a shift at the wheel… That way, you get your rest, and we still make progress…"

"You can't drive! Your leg's hurt!" Roy said forcefully.

"You can't drive, your head's hurt!" Oliver shot back at once. "Now get in the car! And not the driver's seat!"

Roy frowned, looked like he contemplated to argue more. Then he fell in beside Oliver, ready to aide as a crutch for the fourteen feet of distance between them and the car. He helped guide Oliver to the driver's door, then he helped him get settled…

Roy closed the door, and walked around the front of the car. He got in the passenger seat, and closed the door behind him.

"You win…"

I know this wasn't the longest chapter I've ever written…
Hope you liked it anyway…